Viking Venus Ship Tour and Review
(I travelled on this ship as part of a press trip with Viking Cruises, however, all opinions are my own)
I couldn’t quite believe my luck when Viking Cruises emailed to ask if I’d like to join them for a two-and-a-half week trip around Southeast Asia. I replied almost immediately - yes please!
We embarked the cruise in Bangkok, after a brief pre-extension at the stunning Shangri-La Bangkok hotel. After spending an additional few days docked in Laem Chabang, we departed for Cambodia, Vietnam, and finally, glittering Hong Kong.
My first ocean cruise with Viking, I found that I loved the Viking Venus and am manifesting another trip onboard one of their ships soon.
Interested in seeing what it’s like? Here’s my full Viking Venus ship tour and review.
About Viking
Viking currently offers three categories of cruise: River, Ocean and Expedition, with a total of 15 ships across their Ocean fleet. Classified as small ships, each vessel carries just 930 passengers, and all of them are identical in design. This means that every time you board a new Viking Ocean ship you’re bound to feel right at home. The Viking Venus is a relatively new ship to the fleet, having been built in 2021.
All of Viking’s cruises are available on an all inclusive basis, which includes all of the food served on the ship, including room service, and certain drinks during meal times. Drinks packages can also be purchased for any additional beverages, unless guests would prefer to pay for them on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Although all of the ships have the same layout and facilities, this post and all of the photos were taken onboard the Viking Venus itself.
Starting with the centrepiece of the cruise ship, the Atrium is an open space spread across three floors, with a grand staircase running through the middle. Here I often saw guests and ship staff playing games during the day, and a pianist playing beautiful music in the evenings.
In the spaces that line the atrium you’ll fine one of my favourite parts of the ship - the Front Room. Modelled to resemble a cosy living room and filled with books and games, this is a great place to pick up a new read from their extensive collection. Indulge in a few games of Scrabble or chess, or check out the book swap filled with titles left by other guests.
A coffee shop and bar is conveniently located on the ground floor for when you’re in need of refreshment (such as a reading snack, for example.)
If you’re sailing in sunny weather, then make sure you head outside to the infinity pool and hot tub on the aft of Deck 7. Just past the World Cafe and Aquavit Terrace, there’s also a bar located here for those all important beverages.
You can see some spectacular views from this part of the ship, as I enjoyed while we were docked on our last morning in Hong Kong.
If you’d rather swim inside or are travelling during cooler weather, then make your way towards the main pool, also on Deck 7. The retractable roof means that it’s always warm and the area is lined with comfy sun beds. My favourite sun loungers were positioned around the edge of the ship, where the large glass windows meant I could relax in the sunshine with a book (or pretend to read while I had a nap).
The main pool is often used as an additional entertainment venue in the evenings, hosting either live music or movies under the stars - popcorn and headphones provided.
This space is also home to the Pool Bar, which is open throughout the day, and the Pool Grill, which serves food in the afternoons. This is an excellent place to have lunch, with a range of burgers, fries, salad and other options on offer. As a Brit on a ship full of Americans, I regularly confused the serving staff by asking for chips instead of fries, before correcting myself (my bad!)
Alongside the pool area you’ll come across the Wintergarden, which is where afternoon tea is served every afternoon at 4pm. This beautiful space has bright Scandinavian style decor and hosts classical performances while the tea is being served. It’s the ideal spot for enjoying freshly baked scones (with cream and jam), finger sandwiches and little cakes and pastries.
Bear in mind that the afternoon tea is incredibly popular on sea days, so arrive early if you want to make sure you get a seat.
Additional dining space can be found on either side of the main Wintergarden room, and was actually another of my favourite spaces onboard. The air conditioning was always a really great temperature here and each side has multiple bookshelves to peruse. The sofas are really comfy and guests are encouraged to put their feet up and relax!
One of the main entertainment venues onboard the Viking Venus, the Star Theatre is located on Deck 2. It’s small but perfectly formed, with comfy seating throughout. Here you can enjoy live shows, music, and lectures from the ship’s resident historian - all of which can be streamed on the television in your stateroom shortly after they are performed.
Two cinemas flank each side of the theatre and there’s a bar located at the entrance for those post-dinner drinks. The theatre feels plush and welcoming, and is regularly well attended by guests. Keep an eye on the Viking Daily for the following day’s entertainment schedule, which is delivered each evening to your stateroom.
The other main evening entertainment venue is the Torshavn, which you’ll also find on Deck 2, just past the Star Theatre and the Shop. This lively bar is, in my opinion, the best place to enjoy music on the ship, performed by the Viking Venus’s resident band.
A promenade deck wraps right around Deck 2, making it a great place to get some exercise in the fresh air. Four full laps amount to one mile, and you’ll often find guests here stretching their legs and getting their steps in on a sea day.
At the aft of Deck 2 is the ship’s main dining area, aptly named The Restaurant, which is open each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Table sharing and individual dining options are available, with no reservation required - just turn up within the designated meal times in the Viking Daily.
The menu here changes each day, and is filled with regional options and classic favourites. The kitchen are always happy to modify dishes - if fact, this is true of all the restaurants on a Viking cruise. This was great for me as I tend to be a bit fussy when it comes to food, and I was always able to have something tasty to eat.
If you don’t fancy eating in the main dining room then the Viking Venus also houses two delicious speciality restaurants which are included in your cruise fare. Manfredi’s Italian Restaurant serves a delicious range of Italian food, and I particularly loved the pomodoro pasta here.
One of the best things about all inclusive dining is that you can basically eat as much as you want, and in Manfredi’s they serve the most delicious bread baskets that I couldn’t get enough of. The focaccia was to die for!
Both speciality restaurants are located on Deck 1. Make sure you book each in advance as they’re very popular and fill up quickly.
Your alternative speciality dining option is the Chef’s Table, which serves a multi-course tasting menu accompanied by wine parings.
During my trip we travelled with the fantastic guest chef Karen Burns-Booth, who designed a delicious British tasting menu complete with Yorkshire puddings, fish and chips and scotch eggs. The kitchen did a fabulous job at vegetarianising the meal for me, and it’s one of my favourites that I ate onboard.
It was so fun to dine with Karen as she explained her inspiration for each course, and the process of putting the menu together.
The menu on offer rotates every few days, meaning that a return visit is a must.
If casual dining is more your thing, then you’ll love the World Cafe on Deck 7. Open each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, this buffet style restaurant offers a delicious range of self serve options. It’s a great place to eat and was my location of choice for breakfast each day, often followed by dinner.
For a more romantic option, bring your food through to the Aquavit Terrace (pictured below). There’s plenty of space to eat outside in good weather, with a little conservatory area inside by the bar.
The final dining option onboard the Viking Venus is Mamsen’s, a Norwegian style deli located inside the Explorer’s Lounge. This spot is open for breakfast and lunch, as well as afternoon and evening snacks. They serve the most delicious Norwegian waffles, cakes, and pastries that are absolutely not to be missed!
The Explorer’s Lounge bar itself is lovely, perched at the bow across Decks 7 and 8, making it one of the best places on the ship to watch the world go by.
My stomach is grumbling at the thought of all the delicious food that I sampled onboard the Viking Venus. Here’s a selection of some of my very favourite meals, featuring afternoon tea in the Wintergarden, soup at the Chef’s Table, pasta in Manfredi’s and a waffle with berries and syrup in Mamsen’s.
All of these meals were included in the cruise fare, as is standard for all of the dining options onboard. At a time when many cruise lines are charging a premium for speciality dining, with more and more options costing an additional fee, it’s one less thing to worry about while you’re on holiday.
Spa lovers won’t want to miss the luxurious Nordic Spa, located on Deck 1. The thermal suite is free for guests to use and features a hydrotherapy pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, snow grotto, heated beds and cold plunge pool. No booking is needed to use the spa facilities, and a variety of treatments are also available for an extra charge. You can even get your hair cut in the salon!
I indulged in two treatments during my trip - a full body Swedish Mindful Massage and a Blåbær Hair Ritual in the salon.
Next to the spa you’ll find the ship’s fitness centre with a full gym setup including treadmills, cross trainers, exercise bikes and weights.
When it comes to accommodation, Viking Ocean has six classes of stateroom: Veranda Staterooms, Deluxe Veranda Staterooms, Penthouse Veranda Staterooms, Penthouse Junior Suites, Explorer Suites, and the Owner's Suite. I stayed in a beautiful Deluxe Veranda Stateroom on Deck 4 and absolutely loved it.
To have a nose inside my cabin, click here for a full tour.
Thank you again to Viking Cruises for hosting me on the most incredible trip of a lifetime around Southeast Asia. It’s an experience that I will absolutely never forget and has whet my appetite for further Viking voyages!
Check out their website here to book a cruise for yourself.
Want to read more about my trip?
Click here for a full tour and review of my cabin onboard the Viking Venus