Viking Ocean ships are new, exciting, and giving established small cruise ship companies a good poke in the eye. How? By going against the grain and rapidly expanding with a fleet of near identical ships that carry just 930 passengers. Bigger is better? Not in Viking's world.

THE VIKINGS ARE COMING!

That wasn’t a cry of fear, it was a yell of excitement!

History and lore would have you believe that Vikings were considerably more unfriendly than their Scandinavian descendants of today. In fact, you could say they had a reputation as being rather nasty and particularly spiteful. Handy with an axe though.

So, it was with great pleasure that we were invited BY some modern Vikings to tour one of their longboats, well, the 21st century version - one of their ocean cruise ships.

The sons of Ragnar would be turning Valhalla upside down if they knew their monstrously unsociable reputations had given way to friendly and hospitable five star service but I somehow don’t think it bothers this new Viking crew too much. In fact, I don’t think it bothers them at all.

So throw off your tunic, grab some fermented fish and a horn of wine as we serve up a veritable banquet of fun facts and visual treats of this, the worlds newest and fastest growing cruise line.

Having conquered the worlds rivers since its inception in 1997, Viking moved into the ocean with it’s first cruise ship in 2015, the Viking Star. Obviously enjoying themselves rather too much on the sea, they excitedly stretched their debit card and launched another ship a year later, then another TWO ships a year after that. Like me eating Jaffa Cakes, four was never going to be enough. With another ship being launched this year and another next year, and - wait for it - FOURTEEN MORE due to be delivered by 2025, this would bring the total number of BRAND NEW ships to TWENTY in just TEN YEARS! Their forefathers must have done a whole HEAP of plundering and pillaging AND some decent inheritance planning to be able to afford that lot!

We are on the Viking Sky, one of the two launched last year, although between you and me, I couldn’t tell the difference between any of them. Their website explains:

“The company’s award-winning ships are engineered at a size that allows direct access into most ports... Each ship boasts a private veranda in every stateroom, a choice of restaurants offering a variety of fine dining options, the most al fresco dining at sea, an infinity pool, a Nordic-inspired spa, panoramic Explorers’ Lounge and thoughtfully curated book collections throughout the ship, and more—all designed in understated elegance.”

In other words, they are all very similar indeed, but that’s no bad thing at all. With only 930 guests on each ship, they are classed as small and it’s fantastic that Viking hasn’t bowed down to industry pressure by ‘going large’.

That’s enough chat for now. Thankfully, without a single axe being thrust into our backs, we had a good look around the ship. Please view the video for details of what we discovered.

As their ancestors were, these modern day Vikings are a bold and ambitious bunch, albeit with cleaner hair and a sharper wardrobe. Their invasion of the seas began only three years ago and if I were a betting man I wouldn’t have given them much of a chance. I’d have lost my stake because I’d have been wrong. This mad plan of theirs to encroach on the established cruising gentry’s fan base looks to be massively paying off. Territory has been won. Other five and six star lines are having had their noses bloodied and their homesteads raided. It seems the Vikings are conquering all once more. Ragnar would certainly approve!

If you enjoyed this review and would like to read about other luxury cruise lines then take a look at our review of the Seabourn Encore.

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