Viking Venus

We have just returned from another wonderful Viking Ocean Cruise expertly booked and managed by Hannah Perry. Any concerns or changes we requested were promptly addressed and resolved. We travelled with Viking again as their ships are large enough to provide excellent facilities, service and dining whilst maintaining a personal element. Voyaging through... read more the Inside Passage to Alaska then across to Japan with Viking was filled with beatuiful, ever changing vistas. We enjoyed our shore time but also our sea days when we could choose our own agenda. So we have already booked another Viking Ocean cruise - using Hannah of course. Many thanks!

Really enjoyed this trip with Viking. The ship was super impressive with a luxurious feel across the board. The food was outstanding and the cruise itself took us through some spectacular scenery. The booking process with Global Journeys was very smooth also - really liked being able to pay off the trip over several months. Highly recommend the overall... read more experience and would book with Global Journeys and Viking again!

Firstly thanks to Hannah Campbell. Hannah was very helpful in booking our trip and responding to my queries. Some of the included excursions were disappointing. eg. 2 hours at Hiroshima Peace Park was too long and should of had an alternative excursion in Kobe when weather blocked mountain top views. No refund for cancelled excursion in Tokyo due to... read more bad weather.

This was our first cruise with Viking and won’t be our last. The Viking Venus had a wonderful ambience in all public areas. With a crew member for every two people, the service was quick in the restaurants, cafes and bars. Food, drinks, entertainment, lectures and port talks were first rate.

There are no internal cabins, they all have balconies... read more and serviced twice a day by friendly stewards. There are two specialist restaurants, as well as the main restaurant and World Cafe which is a buffet style and has special food nights, like pasta, kebab, lobster and Asian. Unless you particularly want yo drink premium wines, those served at lunch and dinner are of good quality.

In every port there was an included tour, some were better than others. We didn’t know before we went that there would be shuttle buses in some of the ports. Would have used one in Gdańsk to do the Amber Museum instead of paying for an optional tour. Go in the morning, as we had not time to shop for amber as the heavens opened up in the afternoon. A large storm with torrential rain, lightning, flooding cut our tour short and absolutely drenched and sitting soaked through on a bus for an hour.

In Oslo, go to Museum Island on the first day in port. As we were doing an included tour in the afternoon and the ship sailed before lunch the next day, we did not have time to do this. Kon-Tiki, Explorers and Folk museums are all near each other and you can take a boat from the wharf over to the island. Scandinavian cities are all situated around a wharf area, have brightly coloured houses, lovely gardens and many souvenir shops. Sailing into the fjords is very scenic and many waterfalls cascading down from the mountains.

The Majestic Iceland cruise continued from Bergen to the Faroe Islands and around Iceland to Reykjavik. We stayed two extra days there and did three tours. The first with Arctic Adventure, who offer a combo tour - the lava tunnels and Golden Circle. The second was with Gateway to Iceland to the Rekjanes Peninsula, which is the geo-thermal area and more interesting than the commercialised Golden Circle. We stood between the two continents, the North American and European plates that are pulling Iceland apart slowly.

Tracey at Global Journeys was always in contact with us from booking to departure and answered any queries promptly. We could pay by instalments, which spreads the payments easily during the months before our trip. We have now booked several trips with Global Journeys with no problems and appreciate the discounts and attention to detail.

The main purpose of this cruise for us was to experience the ship which we thoroughly enjoyed. The food on board was the best we have experienced on any cruise and we have been on roughly twenty or more cruises. The layout of the ship was perfect for our preferences. The crew were super friendly. Only one glitch was a problem with the hot water system... read more but it was remedied very quickly. We would recommend Viking and Global Journeys to everyone.

This was my first ever cruise and although, due to the worst storms in 40 years in Norway, we were only able to visit the Ports of Bergen, Alta and Tromso it was a fantastic experience. The weather was particularly cold with ice, snow and blizzards I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Instead of sailing in to London Viking chartered planes to take... read more us there which was a mean feat for them having to transport 900 passengers to and from London.

The service on board was excellent and all of the staff from the Captain, General Manager, Customer Relation Staff, Bar and Service staff as well all the entertainers were fantastic and made our journey one to remember. I would rather have been delayed in Tromso on board the Viking ship than up a mountain in a hut with no heating, food or drink and the bonus was we got to see the Northern Lights. Thank you Viking for a wonderful trip and the very generous discount on future cruises and I look forward to my river cruise next year. Well done everyone.

Absolutely wonderful trip. Everything was never any trouble for the staff and crew. Everything from the shore excursions to the wonderful food and service were great. Friendly staff who helped in any way they could. I had my luggage misplaced by my airline between Rome and London and Viking went out of their way to help me in any way they could from... read more tracking my luggage to give me a $150 on board credit even though it was not their fault. I think this is a great case of customer relations. I would have no hesitation in recommending Viking to any one wanting a wonderful trip.

Unfortunately, the cruise started 2 days late which resulted in missing the ports of Amsterdam & Navrik. The food and wine selections were good, and the Verandah cabin was comfortable with a glass enclosed shower, opening door and a window. Not a lot of activities during sea days. They concentrate more on lectures with three lecturers' being on board... read more for the 10-day cruise. No kids no casinos were a bonus.