ONBOARD THE VIKING VESTA — It was my first time with Viking, sailing an ocean cruise on the Vesta, which joined the line’s ever-expanding fleet last year.
I was somewhat of an anomaly for a company with a 51% guest repeat rate. But travelers who crave familiarity are a big part of Viking’s core audience, as I found once I was ensconced in Viking’s world of quiet, practical luxury.
The dry sauna in the women’s changing room Photo Credit: Brittany Chang
If you’re already familiar with Viking’s ships, you won’t struggle to navigate the 784-foot, nine-deck Vesta.
Yet, once onboard, I immediately understood why the cruise line has become synonymous with Nordic sensibilities. They’re impossible to miss, from the atrium’s fish netting-inspired window coverings to the spa’s “hygge massage,” performed on a warm sand table. They’re also found in the food, like the heart-shaped Scandinavian waffles with sweet berries and savory Norwegian brown goat’s cheese served at Mamsen’s, a cafe named after former Viking Cruises CEO Torstein Hagen‘s mother (it’s also, fittingly, her waffle recipe).
The 998-guest Vesta has an air of peaceful contentment, accented by muted earth-tone decor and walls lined with family photos and prints from Norwegian artist Edvard Munch; Viking has a partnership with the Oslo-based Munch Museum, and it hosts one of the largest collections of his works outside of the museum on its ocean ships.
It’s all about understated luxury: Every banister has a leather wrap, crewmembers remember your name, every public bathroom speaker plays calming nature sounds. The Nordic-inspired spa thermal suite, including its saunas and cold plunges, is complimentary for all guests and the atrium-side Living Room lounge is seldom loud, despite the presence of a bar.
The atrium stairway on the Viking Vesta Photo Credit: Brittany Chang
It helps that there are no casinos or kids onboard. In fact, children aren’t allowed, and most of the guests I met ranged in age from their 50s to 70s.
Peaceful pursuits
As such, instead of waterslides and arcades, my afternoons on the Vesta were filled with live cooking demonstrations in the Star Theater, daily educational lectures about the history of upcoming ports and reading by the retractable-glass-roofed pool.
No matter my schedule, at 4 p.m. sharp I always made my way to the airy Wintergarden lounge for afternoon tea, where the caffeinated pick-me-up was served with a side of live classical music and three-tier towers of pastries and sandwiches.
The duck wrap from the Chef’s Table’s pan-Asian menu. Photo Credit: Brittany Chang
Afternoon tea aside, the dining options on the Vesta are decent, though perhaps not as memorable as the newbuilds of other luxury cruise lines. The two specialty restaurants — Manfredi’s (named for Silversea’s founder Manfredi Lefebvre), which serves Italian fare and killer lasagna, and The Chef’s Table, which rotates its menu every two days — are complimentary and require reservations. But don’t expect the rotating menu to reflect your voyage’s itinerary. I sailed to Turkey and Greece; on my night at the Chef’s Table, it had a Pan-Asian theme.
Clients who prefer more traditional cruise fare can dine at the World Cafe buffet or the main dining room, The Restaurant. I was partial to the burgers and salad at the Pool Grill — though the aforementioned Mamsen’s, located inside the panoramic window-lined Explorers’ Lounge, was also a great midday stop for light, open-faced Nordic sandwiches.
For a post-dinner show, evening entertainment features live musicians stationed throughout the ship, such as vocalists performing classic Abba or Beatles hits in the theater.
The ship only has six cabin categories across 499 staterooms, all with balconies, complimentary minibars and heated bathroom floors.
Large and luxurious
Inside a mid-ship Deluxe Veranda cabin on deck four. Photo Credit: Brittany Chang
The largest of the accommodations, the 1,488-square-foot Owner’s Suite, is about five times larger than the smallest Veranda Stateroom. The Owner’s Suite comes replete with a separate living and dining room, a sauna with ocean views and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne, to name some luxe details.
The ship lies somewhere between the contemporary modernity of Silversea and the classic pageantry of Regent Seven Seas‘ latest luxury ships. It’s, as the kids would say, Scandi-chic: comfortably minimalist without feeling hollow. And, at times, it feels more educational and destination-focused than vacation-y, with all the complimentary lectures, excursions and frequent shuttles between the town and the cruise terminal.
In a world of megaships with theme park amenities, the Viking Vesta is great for clients who enjoy the most traditional essence of cruises: the ability to conveniently explore and learn about the world.
