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I review and take you on Viking Venus ship tour, a ship that came into service cruising as part of the Viking Ocean Cruises fleet in 2021. I discuss and review the public areas, including lounges and bars, recreation facilities like the pools and spa, show you all the cabin grades and the restaurants. All while looking at if the Viking Venus improves on or is better than other cruise ships in the Viking Cruises fleet.
I booked and paid for the cruise I did on Viking Venus. I mention that as people always ask me to confirm that.
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0:00
is viking venus better the same or worse
0:03
than the other ships
0:04
in the viking fleet i'm here on board
0:07
viking venus and i'm going to answer
0:08
that question
0:09
right now for those who don't know me
0:11
i'm gary bembridge welcome aboard viking
0:13
venus i'm here to help make it easy and
0:16
fun
0:17
to discover plan and have unforgettable
0:20
vacations is viking venus unforgettable
0:23
viking venus falls very much into the
0:25
small ship category and that's something
0:27
that i
0:27
really like it holds 930 guests
0:31
in total the ship entered service in
0:33
2021 slightly delayed
0:34
because of the pandemic and it's over
0:37
nine decks and we'll talk about
0:38
some of the really great features and
0:40
some of the features that are pretty
0:42
fine as we go through this when you look
0:44
at viking venus from the outside
0:46
it looks pretty similar to the other
0:48
ships in the fleet
0:49
when you get inside you realize it's
0:51
also basically the same as the other
0:53
ships in the fleet in terms of
0:55
actual layout all of the ships in viking
0:57
fleets are basically carbon copies of
0:59
each other
0:59
so let's take a look at what is actually
1:01
on the ship from a decor
1:03
and facilities perspective to see if it
1:05
is actually better or a new twist on
1:07
the rest of the fleet one thing that did
1:10
certainly
1:11
divide people certainly when they
1:13
embarked on viking venus with me
1:15
was the decor it is unmistakably
1:17
scandinavian look so people were being a
1:19
little bit unkind
1:20
said it felt like they were in ikea
1:22
showroom and other people absolutely
1:24
loved it now personally
1:25
i really like look and feel so it is
1:28
kind of understated
1:29
it is very bright it is very light but
1:31
it is very very scandinavian
1:33
however as you start to explore the ship
1:35
you realize
1:36
and appreciate the quality of the
1:38
furnishings and
1:40
the artwork and the day called generally
1:42
i think it is a very contemporary
1:44
looking ship
1:45
without being really modern and too
1:46
quirky so that scandy look
1:48
i found really quite relaxing actually
1:51
and was a big
1:52
fan of it if you're looking for
1:54
something that's very plush
1:56
very rich you like that it's kind of
1:57
old-school kind of decor and i said in a
2:00
bad way but you like the more
2:01
traditional
2:02
kind of look this is not the sort of
2:03
thing you're going to see this is much
2:04
more
2:05
like a sort of a more contemporary
2:07
boutique hotel look
2:09
rather than a perhaps a more nautical
2:11
look that you might get on more
2:12
classic lines viking is known for a
2:15
number of kind of iconic
2:16
and standout venues and they have all of
2:19
them
2:20
not surprisingly on board this ship you
2:22
have the atrium in the living room this
2:23
is the big
2:24
grand heart of the ship with a big
2:26
impressive staircase i really like this
2:27
space
2:28
it is the real heart of the ship and you
2:30
find people there all times of the day
2:32
which is helped by the cafe and bar
2:34
that's right there guest services are
2:36
there booking for
2:37
restaurants etc there so the living room
2:39
and atrium is a really fundamental part
2:41
of the ship
2:42
the other key venue which is pretty
2:44
magnificent is the winter garden
2:45
which is up on the pool deck this is
2:48
where you have afternoon tea afternoon
2:49
tea on viking
2:50
is one of their iconic and signature
2:54
activities and events and it's on every
2:56
day it runs sometimes for up to two
2:58
hours
2:58
and it's a definite plus this for me is
3:00
one of the things that i absolutely
3:01
loved
3:02
the venue and afternoon tea the other
3:04
signature
3:05
venue which is on viking venus as with
3:08
other ships
3:09
is the explorer lounge this is on deck
3:12
seven and eight so it's
3:13
split across two levels it has loads of
3:15
seating area
3:16
which overlook the bow of the ship so
3:18
it's particularly good on sea days
3:20
and lots of comfortable seats it has a
3:22
bar there and also within there it has
3:23
mamson's which is a dining venue and i
3:25
will come to the dining venues and talk
3:27
about those
3:28
in a short while because some really key
3:29
things that you need to know about the
3:30
dining venues the explorer lounge is a
3:33
place where you will find
3:34
people all day sitting in there it's a
3:36
great place
3:37
to unwind and it's pretty quiet even
3:40
though it gets really really busy
3:41
the other signature areas on the ship
3:43
are the two pool decks
3:45
you have the central pool deck which has
3:47
a retractable roof
3:48
and this is a beautiful beautiful venue
3:51
really comfortable chairs
3:52
around and when you have great weather
3:54
with that retractable roof open it's
3:56
fantastic
3:57
but even more famous than that is the
3:59
infinity pool which is at the rear of
4:01
the ship this is fantastic particularly
4:03
on sea days as you sailing out or
4:05
putting out a port and swimming in that
4:07
pool it is again a signature part
4:09
of viking and it's here as you would
4:11
expect on viking venus
4:13
in terms of entertainment there's a
4:14
couple of key venues you've got the
4:16
theater of course
4:17
which of course all cruise ships have
4:20
and it's a pretty basic theater
4:22
which can run the normal sort of
4:23
production shows that you would expect
4:25
review type things you also have the
4:27
late night
4:28
venue which is called torsharvan which
4:30
is where you'll often have
4:32
perhaps some classical music in the
4:33
evening or pop or whatever and this is
4:35
where
4:35
people will gather sort of after the
4:37
show and late in the evening so it tends
4:38
to open
4:39
sort of nine until midnight or 1am one
4:42
of the things that i think is fantastic
4:44
on board viking ships and on viki venus
4:47
is they have a
4:48
fully wraparound promenade deck so
4:50
you're able to walk around the whole
4:52
of the ship which is a real big plus
4:54
unfortunately many modern cruise ships
4:56
have done away with the wraparound
4:57
promenade deck
4:58
it's here it's a classic in cruising and
5:00
for me that was something i
5:02
really really liked i love walking
5:03
around that deck particularly when
5:04
you're sailing there's a really big spa
5:06
area goods
5:07
fitness gym they don't have classes as
5:09
such so there's no
5:10
actual classes run and extra fees for
5:13
classes
5:14
you can actually go into the spa area so
5:15
you have the jacuzzis
5:17
the cold room the bubbling
5:20
hot thermal bars and you don't have to
5:22
pay to use those facilities unlike
5:25
on other cruise lines you just have to
5:26
book to go in there
5:28
as important as what's on the ship is
5:30
what's not on the ship so there is no
5:32
casino for example
5:33
on board there's no photo center where
5:35
they sell
5:36
photographs there's no art auctions and
5:39
art dealership
5:40
area there are of course shops on board
5:42
a few limited shops
5:44
but they don't have the big promotions
5:46
you know out put the tables out
5:48
with selling inches of gold etc so it's
5:50
a pretty sophisticated
5:52
and understated shopping opportunities
5:54
on viking venus
5:56
there are two other really really
5:58
important things to talk about when it
6:00
comes to
6:00
viking ships and viking venus
6:02
specifically let's
6:03
start by talking first of all about
6:05
dining now all dining is included within
6:08
the viking
6:09
fair and you have a huge range of
6:12
venues and opportunities to dine and i
6:15
must say i found the food
6:16
particularly outstanding on viking venus
6:19
really really outstanding but let's talk
6:20
about the venues
6:22
so as i mentioned they're all included
6:23
in the fair so you have the restaurant
6:25
which is the main dining room
6:26
normally open for breakfast lunch and
6:29
dinner
6:29
and that's pretty popular the world cafe
6:32
is
6:32
really really popular that's the buffet
6:34
restaurant and again open for all those
6:37
meal options the number of stations of
6:39
the choice is perhaps smaller than you
6:41
might get on other cruise lines being a
6:42
smaller ship
6:43
but certainly i've found the range
6:45
pretty extensive and the quality
6:46
really really good it has things like
6:48
sushi we had chateaubriand are there for
6:50
dinner so very
6:51
at sort of high-end as they say you also
6:53
sit out on deck and have
6:54
food from the world cafe which is called
6:56
the aquavit terrace and that's
6:58
actually where the infinity pool is the
7:00
pool grill by the
7:01
indoor pool is another great venue it's
7:03
mostly open during the day
7:05
really high quality things like burgers
7:07
seared tuna veggie burgers that kind of
7:09
stuff
7:10
really really excellent burgers there
7:12
are two specialty dining venues
7:14
again included within the fair there's
7:16
an italian which is called
7:17
man freddy's and manfredius is known for
7:20
particularly it's ribeye steak man
7:21
freddie's is actually
7:22
named after one of the original creators
7:25
of silversea who was really good friends
7:26
with
7:27
uh the people who set up viking then you
7:30
have the chef's table that was actually
7:31
my favorite the chef's table
7:33
has a set menu and it's themed around
7:35
different regions or places so for
7:37
example when i was on board we had
7:38
an asian night called asian panorama we
7:41
had a british menu
7:42
and then there was a californian menu
7:44
those are included and you just have to
7:46
make reservations
7:47
for those there's also a private dining
7:49
rooms that you can book out
7:51
there is then of course room service
7:53
which has a pretty big menu actually
7:55
right up on the very top of the ship is
7:57
a sports deck area
7:59
which is actually really nicely
8:00
protected it's right up in the front of
8:02
the ship
8:02
it has a little crazy golf table tennis
8:04
the usual sort of things you would
8:05
expect it's also
8:06
a really great place to go and sit in
8:08
sea days and really comfortable
8:09
seating up there there's one more really
8:11
really important thing to talk about and
8:13
that is accommodation
8:14
now there's not a wide huge range of
8:17
different accommodation grades
8:19
on viking venus there are basically
8:21
three
8:22
veranda grades there's one mini sweet
8:24
grade there's
8:25
the sweets grade and then there is one
8:27
owner's suite now i can show you
8:28
everything
8:29
except for the owner's suite got to see
8:31
all of those so let's talk about the
8:32
verandas you have
8:33
a standard veranda which is a pretty
8:36
good size
8:37
and looks pretty great and very
8:39
comfortable
8:40
then a notch up from that you then have
8:42
what's known as a deluxe
8:44
veranda again often it's in a better
8:47
slightly better location
8:48
then you have heading up from that
8:50
what's known as a penthouse
8:52
veranda suite which is a little bit
8:53
bigger has a sofa
8:55
and lots of comfortable space now that's
8:58
not to be confused with a penthouse
9:00
mini suite or a penthouse suite as it's
9:03
called
9:04
and this again of course as you would
9:05
expect it's a little bit bigger it's a
9:07
mini suite so it's still
9:08
one fundamental room and again it has
9:10
great locations
9:12
you then have the explorer suite now
9:14
this is actually an explorer suite that
9:16
i'm staying and actually
9:17
splashed out and booked an explorer
9:18
suite for my first viking cruise
9:21
these are one-bedroom suites so you have
9:23
a lounge area
9:24
a dining area you have a dressing area
9:27
a bedroom and a very large and expansive
9:30
bathroom
9:31
there is then one owner's suite and
9:32
unfortunately i didn't get to see the
9:34
owner's suite but i guess if you are
9:36
looking to spend the sort of money that
9:37
an owner's suite would be i'm sure
9:38
someone
9:39
will be more than willing to let you
9:40
know exactly what that looks like
9:42
viking venus is not for everybody that
9:45
is absolutely
9:46
clear and that's simply because they
9:48
won't let everybody on
9:49
you have to be over 18 to go on viking
9:52
venus or in fact any of the viking ships
9:54
whether it be on rivers or the oceans so
9:57
certainly you have to be an adult to
9:58
come and viking venus which i actually
10:00
really really like viking venus is very
10:02
much in the
10:04
small ship category definition it's a
10:07
very beautiful ship but it
10:08
is a carbon copy of the other ships so
10:11
it's no better it's no worse it is the
10:13
same
10:14
as the other ships same layout same
10:16
facilities in fact the decor
10:18
is basically the same and there is kind
10:19
of a running joke with both regular
10:21
passengers and even the crew
10:22
at spot the difference because there are
10:25
really subtle
10:26
nuances in terms of difference did i
10:28
like viki venus
10:29
i really like the ship a lot i do like
10:31
the smaller ship and i did like the
10:33
decor
10:33
find out more about viking in this video
10:36
where i talk about some of the key
10:37
differences and i start off by talking
10:39
about what actually makes viking as a
10:41
cruise line different to all the others
10:42
so take a click now take a look now and
10:45
enjoy i'll see you over there
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