Q: What led you to becoming cruise devotees?
A: We retired in 2009 and after that we were able to take our first big international trip. Once you take one, it becomes addictive.
We were doing bus tours and thought they were fantastic until 2016 when I convinced my husband Lee, who thought that he would get seasick, to take a Mediterranean cruise with Viking and that was the end of bus trips for us.
Q: And was he seasick?
A: He hasn’t been seasick at all on any of the trips that we’ve done so, so far, so good.
Q: What was it about that initial cruise that attracted you?
A: It was a short cruise, 10-days going from Venice to Istanbul, but because of the change in political situation at that time in Istanbul, they diverted us to Greece. So it was Venice to Greece and a port every day instead of sea days.
We also liked the itinerary as it was going where we hadn’t been before, down the Dalmatian Coast and visiting Croatia.
Q: So what is it about cruising with Viking that keeps you coming back?
A: You just don’t want to get off the ship and when you do get off, you want to get another trip booked so you can get back on as soon as possible.
We also like that once you book, all your gratuities, your wine, beer and soft drink for lunch and dinner, is all included, and you also get one included excursion per port.
You are able to book and pay for other excursions, of course, but once onboard you really don’t have to put your hand in your pocket for anything.
We’ve done three ocean cruises, one world cruise and one Great Lakes cruise and there are still things onboard that we haven’t used. We haven’t even had time to get in the pool. That’s the plan for our next trip – we must make it into the pool!
We’ve also been on four river cruises, which we’ve enjoyed, but I think we’re more keen to do the ocean or the expedition cruises now.
Q: What’s the specific attraction of the ocean voyages?
A: I think it’s the size of the ship, the facilities and the décor – it’s Scandinavian minimalist and very relaxing.
It’s also the fact that all their ships are designed the same so you know where everything is – you don’t have to discover things when you first get on and you know exactly where everything is.
There’s just so many things about it. We’re not ones for big shows – we’d rather do the excursions, attend the lectures or just find a spot to relax and read – but the entertainment is excellent, as is the food.
The lectures are just fantastic because they are focused on the destinations and the port. There’s so much going on I have to write a list of what we’re doing for the day. It’s like ‘we have to be here; we have to be there’…but we still have time to relax.
Q: How do you rate the service onboard from the staff?
A: I believe they are selected on their personality rather than their ability. We haven’t come across any bad staff and they always have the time to listen to what you require and to attend to it.
The fact that they know your name within less than 24 hours of you being on the ship, even though there are 930 passengers onboard, is pretty impressive.
Yeah, we believe that the staff are the jewel in the crown for Viking.
Q: So what does the future hold for you in terms of travel?
A: We know exactly what we want to do. We’re in our mid-70s and we realise that time is not always kind to people when they get to our age, even though we’re very fit and focused.
So we have just made a list of our preferences and we’ve got two that we really want to focus on. We want to do Fort Lauderdale to Antarctica and Vancouver to Sydney. But our next trip will be world voyage number two, going from Los Angeles to New York.
Q: Do you have a favourite destination in all the places you’ve been?
A: We really loved Russia and Egypt. My husband absolutely adored Egypt. I didn’t even want to go on that one because we had already been to Egypt on the world cruise, but the river cruise we did was very different. I don’t really have a favourite – I just love being onboard.
Q: You’re clearly very glad you made that first trip back in 2016?
A: I am very pleased…and my husband is more than pleased that I convinced him that he wouldn’t get seasick!
