Viking Sky

State rooms are spacious and extremely well-designed, even if you opt for the entry-level Veranda Suite, which has 270 square feet of space and (like every cabin) a full balcony. They include a small, separate sitting area with two bucket chairs and a table, a desk with a lamp; they can be configured into two twins or one king. These are rooms that won’t let you down, with many creature comforts and plenty of practical, helpful features. The palate of cream and burgundy and blue is soothing, and you’ll find more than enough places to plug in your phone and other electronics, ample drawer and closet space to fold and hang up your clothes (with soft-close doors), a big flat-screen television with both movie and TV series options, ranging from travel shows and documentaries to dramas and comedies. Bathrooms have large showers and lovely heated floors (plus, fog-less mirrors, perfect for styling your hair after your pre-dinner shower).

Crew are not permitted to lift or push wheelchairs, so guests with physical limitations need to travel with a companion that can help. Wheelchairs shouldn’t be wider than 22 inches, and Viking asks that an Accessibility Form be filled out and submitted at least 30 days before the voyage. The Sky has elevators, but Viking notes that thresholds could challenge movement, and encourages people to call them with any questions. 

With seven individual restaurants, you’re spoiled for choice on the Sky. After a full day’s shore excursion, a quick dinner at World Cafe, the buffet, is always a good option, with a rotating menu and specialty nights tied to specific ports-of-call on the itinerary. (Pizza, crab legs, shrimp, Caesar salad, ice cream and other favorites are available, every night.) The Restaurant, the ship’s aptly named main dining room, also keeps things fresh, with new options every night for soups, salads, mains and desserts. Servers relay orders to the kitchen with wireless devices, speeding up the service. Seating in all venues is always open, and no reservations are needed except at the specialty restaurants. These include the Chef’s Table, with its five-course tasting menu, as well as Manfredi’s, a true crowd-pleaser. The latter features Italian-American fare, with the very best meatballs and Florentine steak you’ll find at sea.

No matter where you turn, you’ll find a place to whet your whistle. The Viking Bar on deck one is a popular spot to grab a drink before listening to a live performance in The Viking Living Room. In the Explorer’s Lounge, order a cocktail with friends on the first floor, or find your own quiet corner on upper floor, where you’ll find a library penned by legendary leaders of polar expeditions, as well as maps and other memorabilia. On the stern, you’ll find an open-air bar and hot tub. And things heat up every night at Torshavn, where the house band plays some of your very favorite songs until midnight. (It’s also home to the biggest collection of Armagnac you’ll find on any cruise ship.) A menu of free-flowing beers and wines are available with lunch or dinner, but if you think you’ll have more than two drinks per day, opt for the Silver Spirits package, which includes most cocktails and an upgraded wine and Champagne menu.

This is a ship that sings (and plays, and dances, and jams, until late). Broadway-style performances take place in the Star Theater, with a four-person troupe (two men, two women) performing rousing renditions of songs we know and love, from ABBA to the Beatles. But that’s just the beginning. Public spaces on board are frequently filled with song. A stringed duo often performs in the Viking Living Room. A resident guitar artist plays and sings around the ship, including a nightly happy hour in the Explorer’s Lounge. And the house band rocks Torshavn, playing two sets nightly. While you won’t find the sprawling sets and massive venues you’ll experience on the big ships, the quality here is high, everyone delivering with passion and talent.

Occupying the stern side of the first deck, Liv Nordic Spa and Fitness includes a well-equipped gym, where treadmills and other top-of-the-line Technogym equipment looks out of floor-to-ceiling windows, to the sea. But more fun: a full spa menu, carried out in six different treatment rooms. And an absolute must—the thermal suite. Here, you can relax and unwind in a series of pools, including a hot and cold plunge and a large, communal therapy pool. In between soaks, pull down the cold-water bucket over your head (experts say alternating hot and cold is good for both body and soul), take a steam, and then gather your gusto for the snow grotto, where you can test your mettle against the white stuff, and subzero temperatures, before retreating back to the warm pool.