-From Tanya, Senior Travel Consultant

It is always a privilege to cruise the stunning coastline of the mediterranean, but it feels especially privileged to experience it on a small, luxury cruise ship like Viking Cruises.  

In June this year we boarded our ship, the Viking Mars.  Stepping onboard you are embraced by the attentive staff and made to feel instantly at home.  All 14 of the Viking ocean ship fleet have a capacity of 930 guests and boast the unique Nordic charm, the understated elegance and the carefully designed public open spaces.

Having cruised with many cruise lines, all of varying guest capacity, the most valuable comparison that made our day-to-day port experience so seamless and enjoyable was our docking locations. 

When comparing large ships to small ships, the biggest considerations are; where you are docked, will you be tendered into to port and the total time spent in port.  As an example, there were a number of large ships sailing a similar itinerary to us and during our 8 day sailing there were 3 ports that only Viking were small enough to dock - Monte Carlo, Marseille and Sete (Montpellier).  While the other cruise ship guests were being bused into Monte Carlo, we were already ashore enjoying the stunning architecture and extravagance of the luxury yacht life.

Ship life feels so relaxed, the hard work is done, unpack once and just enjoy each day experiencing a new port with it’s enriching history and culture - and just remember, once back on land you will soon be asking “where is my ship/bar tender/waiter/chef/room steward???”

Bon Voyage!!