Recommend Oct 2017 - 44

Viking Sky-
A Spirit of Exploration

With its own Viking Heritage Museum and
decor that intertwines ancient Viking lore
with sleek Scandinavian design, Viking
Sky felt like the perfect ship for exploring
the Baltic and Scandinavia. The 15-day
Stockholm-Bergen itinerary, aptly dubbed
Viking Homelands, calls at 11 ports in Sweden,
Finland, Estonia, Russia, Poland, Germany,
Denmark and Norway. But as I learned at the
small onboard museum, the ancient Vikings
ventured as far afield as North America and
Asia, so wherever this ship sails, it embodies
the ancient Vikings' spirit of discovery. In
fact, one of the delights of the cruise was
using the onboard art app and honing in
on the subtle art and design references to
Viking history and Norse mythology sprinkled
throughout the ship, like the mischievous
trolls lurking in the birch tree images behind
the elevators.
"Our guests are explorers-curious travelers
who want to learn," says Karine Hagen,
senior v.p. of Viking Cruises, who leads its
enrichment efforts. True to brand, Viking Sky
meals featured authentic regional cuisine
as well as classic American dishes. Lectures
44 october 2017

"
Our guests are explorers-
curious travelers who
want to learn.

"

Geri Bain

-- Karine Hagen,
Senior Vice President, Viking Cruises

about the Hanseatic League, the Romanovs
and other topics were well attended; lectures
and port talks could also be watched on
demand on our in-cabin TV, which also
provided programming from Masterpiece,
National Geographic, BBC, TED talks,
movies and several cable channels. Live
classical music was performed at afternoon
tea and at other times every day; I especially
loved the Munch Moments, where traditional
Norwegian music accompanied slide shows
of the artist's works. But my perfect Viking
moment was when fellow passengers and I
were in the hot tub discussing the previous
day's talk about the historic and geological
forces shaping the Baltic and the presenter,
geologist Richard Munroe, slid in and joined
the discussion.

Viking Ocean Cruises' newest ocean
vessel, the 930-passenger/465 all-veranda
stateroom Viking Sky is almost identical to
the line's two existing ocean ships; it has a
slightly enlarged fitness center, and of course,
different original art. A fourth identical
ocean vessel ship will take to the seas later
this year and four more are slated to join
the fleet by 2022. The contemporary decor,
with its light woods accented by splashes of
blue and orange, will feel familiar to Viking
River passengers. Indeed, Viking's target
demographic is the same for river and ocean
guests-experienced travelers, 55 and older,
with an interest in history, art, culture and
exploration-and it seemed almost everyone
my husband and I met on board had already
sailed with Viking River.
"Viking Ocean has strong appeal to those
who have sailed on Viking River cruises.
They appreciate the line's destination and
educational focus and (extended) time spent
in each port," says Don Walker, co-president,
iCruise. "The understated elegance and
luxury are well suited to the upper premium
cruiser, often in the balcony suite category.
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