My cruise line is Viking

We are just home from a 14-night cruise from Bergen to Barcelona aboard Viking Neptune, our second with this line.

Choosing a cruise line is more complicated now as more ships head down the slipway. Today you have purpose built expedition vessels, sophisticated oversized yachts like Scenic Eclipse or the SeaDream fleet. There are cruise lines that only cater to the younger generation looking to party like Virgin - and of course there’s the ever growing crop of monsters catering mostly to families being pumped out by Royal Caribbean and others.

When looking around the first thing to remember is the old rule of you only ever get what you pay for. Cruise ship advertising is a loud as it is quite often dishonest. Sure you paid a small deposit and got a great deal on a balcony cabin - but once you are onboard and the ship steams out - so could your wallet. Depending on the deal you could be up for internet, every drink, specialty restaurants, excursions, every barista coffee, laundry and ironing. The super deal you saw on say Facebook often only applies to inside or cabins with obstructions. When you actually look at the cabins available - from luxury suites through to larger balcony offerings and finally say lower deck inside accommodation - the advertised price could double depending on what you want.

Deluxe Veranda Stateroom (DV) - supplied

For instance when you go to the Viking website and choose an itinerary you are given the option of a number of dates and cabin options. Choose the date and then you will see what cabins are available and the price. As an example on a cruise in Europe the top suite is priced at $20,595, penthouse junior suite $14,495, penthouse veranda that we prefer $11,795 and the cheapest deal is a veranda cabin for $10,295. All Viking cabins have balconies however. Your search might reveal only a few forward or rear cabins are still available - they tend to be unpopular because mid ship is the preferred place to be if seas are rough. Finally you might find that the ship is booked out on the date you want to travel.

You could decide to really splash out and book Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Seabourn, Crystal Cruises or say Silversea and you should have most costs covered - but the expense might be bigger than your budget. You could go for a short, cheaper cruise - but is it worth the hassle of finally getting onboard and finding your sea legs and way around?

To summarise - families and Royal Caribbean are a great match, Virgin is for the party crowd, the likes of Seabourn cater to the more affluent older crowd, the yachts to people who love being treated like the owners with just 55 other couples onboard. I really enjoy cruising with SeaDream. Next we have a number of cruise lines like NCL, Cunard, Azamara and Oceania offering a value cruise experience. The important thing to remember is know what you are going to pay for before you get onboard. They will be bombarding you with drinks and excursion packages that could save you heaps.

I have cruised on most of these lines over the years and my preference is Viking - and I will tell you why. Firstly it is a nice feeling stepping onboard a ship that you have already fully explored. All the Viking ocean fleet of 17 ships are the same design. We always choose the same cabin category so no problems wondering about power plugs or usb slots - and no chance of the ancient bath/shower combination or a shower curtain that clings to you like a second skin. All ships have a buffet style restaurant, a main restaurant and specialty restaurants you usually pay for headlined normally by the steakhouse. Royal Caribbean ships have lots more - you can even snack on fish and chips. The food and service at the buffet is usually fairly average and most people head to the main restaurant at night. Not on Viking though - a specialty menu is available each night that is really hard to beat. Crayfish was the drawcard one night - as much as you could eat. Offerings at the main restaurant also excel - I guess we spend 50% of our time there - or you can get room service, which can be great after a long day of sightseeing but it’s also very well done on Viking.

Chefs Table (supplied)

A speciality Italian restaurant is also included in your fare. Like a wine or beer with your meals? - they are also part of the deal. As well an excursion is included at each port along with a regular shuttle bus. Service with a smile is the rule on Viking - you get the feeling very quickly these are happy, well managed ships. There are no inside cabins by the way which means there are more public areas where guests can sit, relax, read. Finally the ship rides easily even in grumpy seas.

So to summarise, Viking offers cleverly designed ships with a relaxing understated Scandi decor, an excellent crew - well trained in making every request seem a pleasure - a peaceful, quiet atmosphere, large well equipped staterooms (power and USB’s either side of the bed for instance) and a good size, well designed bathroom with a heated floor. It has a modern gym with exceptionally well maintained equipment, cleaned all day. All in all this ship represents the next level in the cruise industry – that’s assuming you won’t miss Broadway shows in the theatre every night, a casino, kids screaming around, lift music everywhere, pool slides and lots of people.

MORE: www.vikingcruises.com

The writer travelled at his own expense