Not too big. Not too small. Just the right size and this ship offers one of the smoothest cruises I’ve ever enjoyed.

Titled “Panama Canal & Central America,” our 15-day round-trip cruise itinerary from Fort Lauderdale offered a treasure of excellent shore excursions. Will talk more about them later. Right now, would like to share what makes the Viking Mars so special.

Launched in 2022 as Viking’s seventh ocean ship, the 14-deck Viking Mars has a capacity of 930 guests. We had 849 guests on our cruise.

Boarding was well organized and quite easy with no long lines. Walk onboard. Enjoy delicious lunch buffet. Stateroom ready with cabin attendant greeting us.

                             Staying in Fort Lauderdale Night Before Cruise

For the Viking Mars cruise, my brother Joe and I met in Fort Lauderdale the day before and stayed at Embassy Suites by Hilton on 17^th Street. I learned long ago that it is best to arrive a day before a cruise to get some rest and to be sure you are on the ship when it cruises away. I’ve heard too many sad stories about people having flight problems and arriving after their ship had already departed.

The hotel is not cheap but the rooms are like small apartments. Plus, each guest gets two drink coupons for the nightly cocktail/snack time and a complimentary scrumptious breakfast the next morning.

As the last two siblings in a family of nine, Joe lives in Colorado and I live in Indiana. We try to get together as often as possible and a cruise is the perfect way to do that. We get to share what’s happening in our lives while seeing the world and being pampered by an excellent cruise crew.

                                      Elegant Scandinavian Ship Décor

Just like its size, Viking Mars’ décor is not overdone. It’s not too much. Not too little. Just right with earthen colors and blue hues that create an inviting, relaxing and comforting Scandinavian ambiance.

The ship’s nine decks are efficiently laid out. Public areas are mostly on Decks 1 and 2 and Decks 7 and 9. Elevators are speedy. No long waiting times.

Musical performance in the Atrium

The three-deck-high Atrium features an open floor plan for live music and performances. Yet it also has plenty of nooks and crannies for quiet time. At the top of the Atrium’s lovely staircase is a video screen picture that changes frequently according to what’s going on in the Atrium.

Changing screen image on Atrium staircase

Be sure to look under the Atrium staircase to see a fascinating lichen garden made of moss, lichen, slate and birch bark. Laid out in knitting patterns, the unique design feature is intended to emulate the landscape of the mountain plateaus near the Norwegian village of Finse.

Lichen garden under the atrium staircase

Off from the reception area is a place with computers that can be used free of charge by passengers. Walk a few steps past there to a living room area with stacks of book for passengers to enjoy. No checkout necessary. Just pick up a book that strikes your fancy.

Books are available around the ship

Star Theater on Deck 2 is where enrichment lectures, port talks, live music and sometime even a movie are schedule. Viking Mars has two pools and hot tubs.

The Living Room

Deck 9 features a small sports deck with a walking track, bocce ball, golf putting green and shuffleboard.

The pool can be open or have a covered top

                                      What Viking Mars Doesn’t Have

Viking doesn’t have some of the “things” that other ships have which might be one reason Viking cruises are so popular. Viking Mars does not have a casino; interior staterooms; no children under 18; no fees for alternative restaurants (except for The Kitchen Table where diners help the executive chef prepare their dinner); no art auctions; no photographers trying to sell photos; no spa staff bugging you to buy expensive products; no decks devoted to multiple shops and no fee to use the spa and workout center.

                                     Part of Viking Mars Cruise Fare

Some ships offer extra charges that sure can add up a cruise bill. On Viking Mars, these are part of the cruise fare: every cabin has a balcony; beer, wine and soft drinks at lunch and dinner; shore excursion in every port; Wi-Fi; coffee, tea and bottled water at all times; daily afternoon tea; multiple no-charge-extra restaurants; self-service laundry; computer station with computers for passengers to use and port taxes and fees.

                                              Excellent Staff

Viking Mars also has one very important element to make passengers feel at home and quite happy with their cruise – an excellent staff.

No matter how beautiful a ship is, if the staff and crewmembers are lazy or unprofessional, passengers are not going to be happy.

Viking Mars crewmembers knew our names on the first day and promptly greeted us. They also knew where we preferred to sit in the restaurants and often what drinks we would order. Joe and I liked to sit at a two-seat restaurant table by the window and that is what we always got.

Another passenger told me that she had put down an open book she was reading in her stateroom. When the passenger returned after her room had been cleaned, the attendant had put a paper bookmark in the book and neatly closed it.

                                                   Our Stateroom

Walking into a ship’s stateroom that will be my cruise home-away-from-home is always exciting. Although I have seen online photos of my Deluxe Veranda cabin 4089, it is not the same as using my key card to open the door for the first time.

Even before I opened my Viking Sky cabin door, I noticed a difference. The stateroom opening door handle is covered in leather as are most handrails on the ship. A small thing, perhaps, but a hint at all that Viking Cruises does to make passengers comfortable and happy.

Our stateroom

I definitely was not disappointed when I stepped into my Deluxe Veranda Stateroom on Deck 4. It is larger than expected and quite comfortable with so many extra features that I was glad to have my room steward show me around.

One of my favorite stateroom features was the 270-square-foot private veranda with two chairs and a table. But then all 465 staterooms on the Viking Mars have verandas.

Another item I really liked was the mini-fridge stocked with six cans of complimentary soft drinks and two bottles of tonic water, along with snack candy and nuts. The fridge was replenished once a day.

A canister of filtered water sat on the desk. No expensive bottle of water to have to buy in case I got thirsty or accidentally opened it without reading the high charge fee. In fact, I noticed that complimentary drinking water was abundant on Viking Mars. Any time we left the ship, we were offered a bottle of water to take with us.

Our bathroom

My king-size Viking Explorer Bed had luxury white linens and pillows with a traditional Norwegian Marius-weave blanket draped across the bottom of the bed. Comfy robe and slippers mean I didn’t have to pack my own from home. Also, we had complimentary self-service laundry.

On the wall across from the bed is a 42-inch flat screen LCD TV with a remote control. The remote is very simple to use and the TV displays a wealth of information –  date, time, temperature, where we are, along with a section to access my onboard account and my personal itinerary.

Handles on the closet doors also are wrapped in leather and the closets have motion-activated lights. Open the closet door and the light comes on. Cabin also has umbrellas, shoehorn, hair dryer, safe and plenty of USB ports as well as European and American electrical sockets. The desk has a pop-up makeup mirror with some binoculars tucked inside.

Our balcony

The bathroom has a spacious glass-enclosed shower, heated bathroom floor and anti-fog mirror. Bottles of Freyja toiletries have easy flip-open tops and extra-large print which makes it simpler to read without eyeglasses.

                                          Multiple Dining Venues

The Restaurant is the main dining room. Located on Deck 2, the menu changes daily and also has “always available” selections like steak, chicken, salmon, ice cream, Caesar salad and cheesecake. Vegetarian and vegan options also are served daily.

Although there is no reserved seating in The Restaurant, Joe and I always got the same table by the window. Other passengers seemed to sit at their favorite tables, too.

World Café on Deck 7 is the ship’s buffet-style restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I learned long ago to walk the buffet before I fill my plate. So many choices and everything I picked was delicious. World Café also offers great views as we cruise along or dock in an interesting port.

Pool Grill features burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches and salads plus special cookout events at the casual eatery.

Mamsen’s on Deck 7 is great for a light breakfast or Nordic lunch buffet or late night snack.

Manfredi’s Italian Restaurant is truly authentic Italian.  Although Manfredi’s is one of Viking Mars specialty restaurants, there is no charge to dine there but reservations are required. One of the nice things about Viking Mars is that reservations can be made on my cellphone app and stateroom TV as well as by calling the reservation desk.

Unlike the Scandinavian-themed décor on the rest of the ship, Manfredi’s definitely has a dark-woods Italian vibe. The menu features a wide range of starters, salads, soups, pasta, sides and entrees like like thick cut ribeye coated in garlic oil and rubbed with porcini mushroom powder, kosher salt, brown sugar and red chili flakes.

Or Linguini ai Frutti de Mare – fresh linguini pasta, mussels, clams, langoustine with a Pinot Grigio and cherry tomato sauce.

The Chef’s Table, again no charge but reservations are required. Changing every three days, the five-course menus focus on a certain cuisine or region of the world. There are no menu choices, just items chosen for that particular region.

Joe and I ate there three times for awesome dining experiences. Our menus? “Yumi’s Corner: Voyage to Korean Cuisine,” “California Cuisine” and “Xiang, Inspired by China’s Catonese and Huailyang Cuisine.”

My favorite was “California Cuisine,” which featured a sweet potato chip for amuse bouche; crab cake for first course; Moscow Mule (vodka, ginger beer and lime juice) palate cleanser; seared halibut with roasted cauliflower and buttered panko for main course;and Ojai mandarin parfait for dessert.

The Kitchen Table is a culinary experience divided into two parts – a shore excursion and a meal. The ship’s executive chef and a local guide take participants ashore in a port to visit markets and food stores for authentic ingredients. In the evening, the chef and his team prepare a meal from scratch using those ingredients picked earlier that day. Joe and I didn’t do The Kitchen Table. The experience typically costs $199 per person.

                                              Excellent Entertainment

Viking Mars offered a wide variety of entertainment with talented performers. Resident pianist Artur played some musical interludes as a wonderful backdrop in the Atrium as well as elsewhere on the ship; guitar entertainer Jobie performed acoustic favorites and classical duo Agnes and Paulina often serenaded us with Norwegian music on the violin and cello.

No matter your musical preference, the House Band seemed to share it on our cruise. Resident vocalists Elsa and Arlando added their musical styles to the programs.

                                                 Shipboard Programs

The main stage on Viking Mars is the Star Theater on Deck 2 which also doubles as a movie theater. Arrive early, pick up a drink and some popcorn at the bar outside the theater, cozy up with a cushion on a padded chair.

Star Theater

Be sure and look at those theater pillows. They feature black-and-white photos of famous Scandinavian actors such as Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman. On the flip side of the pillow is the signature of the star.

Guest lectures covered a wide array of subjects and were fascinating. Experts onboard shared info about wildlife, the Panama Canal, space flights, pirates and treasure hunters, sunken treasures, NASA, the universe and others.

Guest speaker in the Star Theater

We also had port talks the afternoon before docking to let us know what to expect. The port talks were recorded and available on-demand on our stateroom TV.

                                            Sensational LivNordic Spa

The LivNordic Spa on Deck 1 has the same relaxing décor for which Viking ships are noted – muted colors, birch twigs and a long entrance wall filled with birch tree design. It also has a very popular snow grotto – on a cruise ship, for goodness sakes. The small snow grotto has piles of snow on the floor and running up the walls.

The Nordic Spa

Available for passengers without charge, the Nordic Spa features a thermal deep thalassotherapy pool, jetted hot tub, sauna, steam room, showers, padded loungers, heated ceramic loungers, lockers, dressing rooms and plenty of towels and drinking water.

The sensational spa is just part of the free-to-use facilities aboard Viking Mars. The ship’s fitness center on Deck 1 offers a good variety of cardiovascular fitness machines, such as treadmills, elliptical, stationary bikes and TechnoGym weight machines.

Of course, Viking Mars also features massages, haircuts, manicures and other services in an area on Deck 1.

Snow grotto

                                             Shore Excursions

I’ll just share one which seemed to get a wide audience – Rose Hall Great House, an elegant late 18^th century Georgian mansion in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

My brother Joe at a photo stop in Roatan with the Viking Mars behind him

But the reason most visitors come to Rose Hall is to hear the story of Annie Palmer. The “White Witch” of Rose Hall, Annie is alleged to have voodoo powers which she used to murder three husbands and an unknown number of slaves. Karma caught up with Annie from Haiti when the White Witch murdered the grandniece of a former slave named Takeo.

In revenge, Takeo strangled Annie. She is supposedly buried in a tomb on the grounds but legend says her ghost roams free at Rose Hall. Truth or fiction?

The tomb of the White Witch Annie Palmer

Annie was once immortalized in the 1970s song, “The Ballad of Annie Palmer” by Johnny Cash. Johnny and June Carter Cash lived in nearby Cinnamon Hill Great House for about 40 years. We didn’t visit the Cash home but a guide told me that Johnny and June and other family members had a horrifying experience at Cinnamon Hill on Christmas Day 1982.

Sounds like I need to return on another Viking cruise to learn more about Cinnamon Hill.  In fact, many people on my cruise were already booking their next Viking adventure while we cruised. Greatest compliment to any cruise line.

Photos by Jackie Sheckler Finch

 

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