Courtesy of Viking Ocean CruisesCozy up to a fireplace in the LivNordic Spa on your Viking Ocean Cruises ship. The spa area is open to all guests at no charge.

Ship highlights

Like all Viking ships, there's no charge for Wi-Fi on board, and there is at least one high-quality shore excursion at each port included at non additional charge.

Veteran cruiser John Roberts recently sailed on Viking Sky and shared a few other highlights of this beautiful ship:

LivNordic Spa Thermal Suite – Another perk at no extra cost, this Scandinavian-style retreat is incredible and not to be missed. Mass-market lines offer such experiences for day passes that will cost you about $40 a day. Those other spa areas give you nothing quite like the LivNordic Spa thermal suite on Viking Sky. The space offers ceramic heated loungers, soft lounge chairs and a Thalassotherapy pool and hot tub, steam room, cold bucket (you pull a chain and dump icy water on your head) and a Snow Grotto (the freezing chamber has snow on the floor). In the locker rooms, try the sauna and cold plunge pool. The idea is to go back and forth between hot and cold treatments, and the experience is invigorating — if a bit startling to dump cold water on your head.

Wintergarden and Pool Areas – Serene. That’s a simple way to describe this space, which is an enclosed area with comfy seats adjacent to the pool (which has a magrodome so it can be covered or open depending on the weather). The Wintergarden, which offers bar service and is the place for the daily 4 pm tea service, has tons of comfy seating and is generally quiet throughout the day. A great place to relax (snooze) and read or surf the Internet. Natural light-colored wood encases the columns and climbs to the ceiling to create a forest canopy (without the leaves) and an overall inviting calm in the space. Don’t miss the tea parties. Even if you’re not big on the beverage, you’ll want to snag the tasty pastries, especially the scones and jam, and mini sandwiches.

Silver Spirit Drinks Package – At just $19.95 per person per day, you don’t have to be a big drinker to get great value out of the beverage package on Viking Sky. The package has almost no limitation, covering wine, beer, sodas and cocktails priced up to $15.

Courtesy of Tourist Office of SpainA view of Santa Eulalia Church in Palma de Mallorca, which dates to the 12th century. James II was crowned there as king of Majorca, part of the Balearic Islands in Spain.

Exotic itinerary

John Roberts writes of his voyage: "We sailed into Tunis, Tunisia; Palma de Mallorca and Valencia, Spain; and Cagliari, Italy, on the island of Sardinia; and Trapani, Sicily; as well as to Naples after embarking in Rome and ending our cruise in Barcelona. The smaller ship has access to these quaint ports that many of the larger cruise vessels can’t access. We were dropped off right at the edge of town in fishing villages and historic city centers. Viking Sky is one of the few ships to sail to Tunisia, a fascinating country in North Africa, and we were able to tour Carthage and the incredibly well-preserved Roman ruins there. In Naples, we went to explore Pompeii."

Viking Sky may resume its more exotic itineraries in 2023 or beyond.

Dining

Viking Sky offers multiple restaurant locations and food choices — from The Restaurant and the World Café, serving a variety of global cuisines and regional specialties to intimate dining experiences at The Chef’s Table, Manfredi’s Italian Grill and The Kitchen Table, all serving meals prepared with fresh, local ingredients. Furthermore, with multiple choices for outdoor seating during meals, Viking’s ocean ships will offer more al fresco dining than any other ship. 

John Roberts called out two dining venues for additional attention: 

Manfredi's – The Bistecca Fiorentina is reason enough to come to this included specialty restaurant, to which cruisers are guaranteed at least one visit per cruise (no additional cost). The thick ribeye, seasoned with garlic oil and spices, is huge, but you’ll find that you somehow managed to put it all away. Manfredi’s also has other fine items on the rustic Italian menu, but this is the star.

Pool Grill Burgers – Yes, there is space for one more red meat highlight on this list. The poolside grill’s menu offers four gourmet black Angus burgers, including the Viking Burger with cheddar, red onion marmalade, bacon and barbecue sauce, and the award-winning Pancho Villa Burger with blue cheese, guacamole and spicy habanero mayo. The grill also has veggie burgers, pastrami sandwiches and hot dogs. It’s such a convenient lunch to grab one of these burgers as you relax by the pool. No need to feel guilty; there is a salad bar right there, too.

JD Lasica / Special to CruiseableLook for small-scale but engaging musical productions in the theater on Viking Sky.

Entertainment

Connecting passengers to their destinations through authentic experiences is central to Viking Cruises, and onboard venues will include a three-deck atrium where you can enjoy musicians playing regional and classical music; the main theater, home of movies, stage performances and enrichment lectures from scholars and experts, and onboard cooking classes where you can learn local specialties.

Staterooms

All-Veranda Staterooms: Guests will choose from five stateroom categories, starting from a veranda stateroom at least 270 square feet in size. All staterooms have private verandas, king-size beds (which you can reconfigure as singles), large showers and LCD TVs.

Explorer Suites: Viking Sky features 14 Explorer Suites, which are two-room suites ranging from 757 to 1,163 square feet that offer sweeping views from wrap-around private verandas as well as the most amenities and privileges of any category on board.

Roberts' thumb up: "We found our rooms incredibly spacious and with all sorts of thoughtful touches, like nine USB ports for charging, U.S. and European outlets, heated bathroom floors and a large glassed-in shower."

24-hour room service: Room service is included, and you can order virtually anything that you would get at the main dining room at no extra cost. 

Sustainable features

Designed with the environment in mind, Viking Sky will feature energy-efficient hybrid engines, hydro-dynamically optimized streamlined hulls and bows for maximum fuel efficiency, onboard solar panels and equipment that minimizes exhaust pollution and meets the strictest environmental regulations.

Your take

Are you planning to cruise on Viking Sky or have you sailed on her already? Cool! Drop us a line or leave a comment below.

Interested in a cruise on this ship?

If you're interested in a cruise on Viking Sky, contact a Cruiseable travel advocate at 1-877-322-3773 or by email. We can usually offer a better deal than you can get by contacting the cruise line directly.

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