Cruise Newsletter

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Dear Vacations To Go Customer,

Alan Fox recently sailed from Venice to Athens aboard the Viking Star, and his report follows.

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I'm just off my very first voyage with Viking, and the contrast with the large resort-style ships sailing today was apparent immediately.

Built for only 930 guests, the Viking Star is 745 feet long and has 465 staterooms, all with private verandas. There are no passengers under 18, no interior cabins, no casinos, no photographers chasing passengers around the ship and no amusement park attractions towering above the upper decks.

Instead, Viking concentrates on comfortable surroundings, attentive service, good food and destination-focused travel.

The ship's Scandinavian décor is light, tasteful and understated. Public rooms feature blond wood, comfortable furniture, bookshelves and large windows that keep the sea almost constantly in view. Even when the ship is full, it rarely feels crowded.

One of my favorite places was the three-story atrium known as The Living Room. It is a welcoming space with live music, comfortable seating, books, games and a small café serving drinks, coffee, pastries and snacks.

The floor-to-ceiling windows of the Explorers' Lounge, at the front of the ship, make it an excellent location for watching the scenery, particularly while sailing into and out of spectacular ports such as Kotor.

The Wintergarden, beneath a canopy of Scandinavian-style wooden branches, is used for afternoon tea. Nearby is the main pool, which has a retractable roof that allows it to be enjoyed regardless of the weather.

Viking has one of the most attractive spas at sea. Access to its thermal suite is complimentary, an unusual feature on a cruise ship. The spa includes a hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room, heated loungers and a "snow grotto," where artificial snow provides a chilly contrast to the warmer rooms.

Dining aboard the Viking Star was consistently good. The main dining venue is simply called The Restaurant and serves breakfast and dinner in an elegant but relaxed setting.

The World Café is the ship's buffet restaurant. Its open kitchens, wide range of familiar and international dishes, and outdoor seating make it an appealing alternative for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The ship also has two specialty restaurants, Manfredi's Italian Restaurant and The Chef's Table, and there is no additional charge for either. Reservations are required, but the absence of specialty dining surcharges is part of Viking's refreshingly straightforward approach.

Beer, wine and soft drinks are included with lunch and dinner, while specialty coffees and bottled water are available throughout the day. Wi-Fi and at least one shore excursion in every port also are included.

My nine-night voyage aboard the Viking Star began July 2 in Chioggia, Italy, a historic fishing city at the southern end of the Venetian Lagoon that Viking uses as a gateway to Venice.

In 2021, the Italian government prohibited cruise ships over 25,000 gross tons from sailing through waterways near Venice's historic center. Many cruise lines subsequently began using alternative ports, including Chioggia.

Venice is one of my favorite cities, and normally I would have spent time there before the cruise. However, I visited just last summer and had heard great things about Chioggia, so I opted to spend two nights in "Little Venice" instead.

I found an utterly charming and highly walkable town filled with outdoor cafés and canal-side photo opportunities. There is a bustling fish market, and every Thursday a much larger market fills the main street with hundreds of stalls selling clothing, food, household goods and seemingly everything else imaginable.

I stayed at the Hotel Grande Italia, an elegant, waterfront property on the main square. It was a great choice and only a five-minute taxi ride to the ship.

The first call of my cruise was Koper, Slovenia, where I joined a Viking excursion to nearby Piran.

Piran is a picturesque town on the Adriatic with narrow alleyways, Venetian architecture and a large central square named for violinist and composer Giuseppe Tartini. I enjoyed walking through its maze of old streets and seeing how strongly the town's history remains connected to Venice, just across the water.

We continued by bus to an outdoor venue in the countryside, where we sampled a generous assortment of homemade local specialties. These included bread and olive oil, red and white wine, bruschetta, prosciutto, and apple strudel.

It was a delicious introduction to Slovenia and a reminder that some of the most memorable cruise experiences involve going ashore and sampling food made by local residents.

After returning to Koper, I had lunch in the Old Town before walking back to the ship.

Our next stop was Zadar, Croatia. The Viking Star docked close enough to the historic center that our walking excursion began directly from the ship.

Zadar has Roman ruins, medieval churches, polished stone streets and an attractive waterfront, but its most unusual attraction is the Sea Organ. Sometimes described as a singing seawall, it uses waves and air moving through pipes beneath a series of stone steps to create haunting, unpredictable musical tones.

After the tour, I stopped at an outdoor café near the beach for fritto misto and tomato salad. Fresh seafood, a sea breeze and a view of the Adriatic made for an ideal conclusion to the visit.

Then we were on to Dubrovnik, one of the highlights of the cruise.

I joined a Viking excursion to the medieval Old Town. Broad, limestone streets, narrow alleys, grand squares, historic churches and massive defensive walls make it one of Europe's most interesting places to visit.

Our guide, Marko, was born and raised inside those walls and did a brilliant job retelling the stories of Old Town.

After the walking tour, I took the cable car to the top of Mount Srd and had a fresh seafood lunch at Panorama Restaurant. The breathtaking view extends across Dubrovnik's red-tiled roofs, the surrounding coastline, the Adriatic and nearby islands. It was one of the most spectacular lunch settings I have ever experienced.

The following morning brought us to Kotor, Montenegro, and perhaps the most beautiful arrival of the voyage. The Viking Star sailed for miles into Boka Bay, passing mountains, villages, church steeples and calm blue water before reaching the walled town of Kotor.

I had arranged a private excursion through Vacations To Go's Personalized Services division. We walked with our guide into Kotor's old town and explored the wonderfully preserved collection of narrow lanes, stone buildings, small squares and historic churches.

We then boarded a private speedboat for a ride across the bay and visited Our Lady of the Rocks, a church dating primarily from the 17th century, on a man-made island. The church contains Baroque paintings and adjoins a museum of maritime artifacts and votive offerings from generations of sailors.

In Corfu, I took another private excursion with a driver and guide. We traveled first to Paleokastritsa, an area famous for its monastery, rugged coastline, green hills and small beaches tucked into brilliant blue coves.

We visited the hilltop monastery and stopped to admire the nearby beaches before heading to Corfu's Old Town. There, we took a walking tour through the busy and colorful alleyways, admiring churches, fortifications and architecture that reflected centuries of Venetian and European influence.

Katakolon was our gateway to ancient Olympia. I joined a Viking excursion to the archaeological site where the first Olympic Games were held.

We walked among the ruins of temples, training grounds and athletic facilities and pictured competitors gathering there thousands of years ago. We visited the site of the ancient stadium, where visitors can still stand at the original starting line, as I did.

If you go to Olympia, don't forget to take your imagination. The nearby archaeological museum helps bring the ruins to life with sculptures and other artifacts recovered from the site.

Our planned call at Santorini had been canceled due to a bus drivers' strike, so the Viking Star instead visited Mykonos. I explored independently, wandering through narrow whitewashed alleyways lined with shops, cafés and bougainvillea.

Mykonos can be crowded, and it certainly was on that July day, but it is undeniably beautiful. Its white buildings, blue trim and mazelike streets create the classic Greek-island atmosphere that visitors hope to find.

I had lunch at a restaurant that extended over the water near the island's iconic windmills. It was a fine substitute for Santorini and one of the most relaxing days of the cruise.

The voyage ended with a full day and overnight in Athens, and my sightseeing continued with another private driver and guide.

We visited the Acropolis and gazed in amazement at the Parthenon, one of the most recognizable structures in the world. We toured the Acropolis Museum, an architectural masterpiece that was designed as a physical and visual extension of the Acropolis itself.

Afterward, we strolled through the Plaka neighborhood, one of Athens' oldest and most picturesque, and had lunch there. Its labyrinth of cobblestone streets is lined with pastel homes, blooming bougainvillea and lively tavernas.

This itinerary offered an extraordinary collection of beautiful places and some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in Europe. The smaller size of the Viking Star made it easy to move between the ship and the shore. The crew was friendly, polished and well-trained. Service was attentive without being intrusive, and the atmosphere aboard the ship was calm and gracious.

I want to give special recognition to my stateroom attendants, Bella and Riff. They were cheerful, thoughtful and consistently wonderful. They took such good care of me that I still miss seeing them.

The Viking Star does not attempt to provide the countless attractions, restaurants and entertainment venues found on today's megaships. Instead, it offers a comfortable, elegant and uncrowded way to explore some of the world's most interesting destinations.

For this port-intensive journey through the Adriatic and Greece, that was exactly what I wanted.

Alan Fox

To see itineraries and prices for the Viking Star, please click here.
To see all Viking cruises departing in the next 90 days, please click here.
For more information about Viking and a list of all its ocean ships, please click here.
For a slideshow of my photos of the Viking Star and the ports we visited, please click here.

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Please email me your comments, suggestions and questions at alanfox@vacationstogo.com and I will respond the same day.

Sincerely,

Alan Fox
Executive Chairman
Vacations To Go