Viking Ve Cabins

Editor Rating
4.0
Very Good
Cabins
Reid Bramblett
Contributor

Given the necessarily narrow profile of the boats themselves, river ship cabins are rarely spacious but those on the Viking Ve are about as big as they come, including some of the largest true suites on any European riverboat. Viking ships are designed so that there are no inside cabins; every one has a window, which lends an airy feel.

Other than size and window/balcony style, all cabins are largely the same in decor and amenities. Everything is done in a mod, vaguely Scandinavian style with clean horizontal lines and light wood tones accented with pale grays and white. The beds come with comfy duvets, and enough room underneath to store your luggage.

Viking is continually refreshing little elements and details with an eye to customer comfort. One small example: Since dresser drawers that open and slam shut just on the other side of a thin cabin wall can easily disturb fellow guests, Viking recently replaced the old drawers with a new kind that roll out more quietly and also catch themselves just before slamming shut to slide closed slowly, automatically and silently.

The 40-inch flatscreen TVs (suites have one in each room) screen a decent selection of cable channels (including CNN, BBC News, CNBC, National Geographic, TNT Series and Sky Sport), free movies on demand, plus live feeds from the ship's exterior cameras as well as channels devoted to the itinerary and ship itself.

On the narrow desk there are both 110V and 220V outlets, and an outlet for recharging the Quietvox headsets you use on all the tours.

The bathrooms are compact but well appointed, with a hair dryer, plenty of counter space for such a small room and (nice touch) heated floors on which you can adjust the level of heat. The Frejya-brand toiletries include body wash, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, bar soap, a shower cap and a small vanity kit (of swabs and cotton pads).

Fresh fruit, cookies and bottles of water are left in your room each day. There is a mini-fridge (with a cut in the shelf so you can keep a bottle of wine upright; nice), and bucket you can fill at the ice machine at the end of the hall.

You can control the volume of shipboard announcements that come over your in-room speaker, and there is a plethora of lights, from ceiling to soft wall lighting to independent bedside lamps. The closets, though tight, have enough room to hang plenty of clothes and a handy safe.

Riverview. The 25 Standard cabins on the lowest, Main Deck, are near the waterline and so only have windows on the upper half of the wall. As a trade-off, at 150 square feet they are actually a little bigger than the French Balcony rooms one deck up).

French Balcony. Ringing in at 135 square feet, the 17 French Balcony cabins on the Middle Deck are the smallest of the rooms, with a sliding-glass wall opening onto a railing (no actual "balcony," but great for catching breezes and making the small cabin seem airier). The French Balcony rooms do not have enough space between the bed and the window to fit a chair and table as in all the other cabins, but are otherwise the same.

Veranda. The 39 Veranda Staterooms measure 205 square feet, and in these the sliding-glass wall opens onto a small balcony with a table and two chairs (Viking is one of a handful of river cruise lines that actually has balconies).

Suites. The seven 275-square foot Veranda Suites have a true separate siting room opening onto a small balcony. Suites also have a sofa and two chairs in the living area and larger closest and shower cubicles.

Coming in at a whopping 445 square feet are the pair of large Explorers Suites at the stern of the ship with their wraparound balconies. These suites are among the largest in river cruising.

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