Viking Polaris

Fantastic trip with fantastic ship and crew. Interesting, beautiful itinerary with excellent on board and local guides. Enjoyed the opportunity for riding the zodiacs! Saw and learned a lot about various birds and wildlife, including bald eagles, blue and fin wales and dolphins. Food was outstanding. Would go again in a heartbeat. In fact, while aboard we booked another cruise on the Polaris!

Wonderful new ship, wonderful staterooms, staff very attentive and always positive, informative lectures

Viking Polaris, an Expedition ship, was at near capacity with 360 or so passengers, but never felt crowded, and had a crew of 225 that took care of every need immediately, usually before we knew we had a need. This was our 9th Viking cruise, but our first on an Expedition ship; it won't be our last! The food was a significant upgrade from all our previous Viking experiences (with a daily sushi bar, a seafood bar with unlimited king crab legs, shrimp, scallops and marinated mussels as standouts; and a tremendous grill with cut and cooked to order tomahawk rib eyes, filet mignon, NY strips steaks topping their offers). The ports were very interesting and enjoyable, although Alpena, MI wasn't for us. Mackinac Island and The Grand Hotel lived up to its reputation, but we did both included tours (walking and by horse-drawn carriage) that covered almost identical routes and dialogs, so we'd recommend picking the one you want, then tour around on your own. We thought Point Pelee, Canada was going to be our least favorite, but turned out to be one of the best. This was where the crew launched some of their toys. We went kayaking through a marshland game preserve and went on a high speed Special Operations boat tour that was one of the highlights of the cruise. Niagara Falls "behind the falls tour" was also a highlight.

Again, while the food was outstanding, all but two meals were buffet.

We really liked the expedition aspect of this trip, and the active options for excursions were fun and interesting, too. We were so impressed with the quality of service from crew members, and their addressing very personal needs. I do think that we would opt for an expedition cruise again instead of a “regular” ocean- going ship.

Very expensive. Drinks and all excursions should be included for the price. Drinks were expensive when we did buy them. No price break for solo traveler in fact twice that of double occupancy pp rate. Beautiful ship. Incredibly clean. Amazing staff. Would definitely cruise Viking again and I think more things should be included for price. Staff quickly came up with excursion options when ship was delayed leaving port. Very nice. Would like more dining options (included) for table service dinners.