Viking Jupiter: 'Journey into the Midnight Sun' diary

From before you leave, really weeks before, Viking Cruises makes it very clear that it offers a high-end experience.   The cruise line sent me a packet with my cruise documents which included luggage tags, a tag for myself so the cruise line could spot me at the airport, and some very clear instructions.

It was a level of communications which was appreciated given that I arrived in London by way of a 3-hour drive from Port St. Lucie to Miami, a similar length flight to New York's JFK, a brisk walk to my terminal (about 30 minutes), then a 6-hour plus flight to London.

Once I collected my luggage, it was easy to spot the cruise line representative who pointed me toward the bus to the ship. I was mildly surprised that we would actually join the Viking Jupiter in Greenwich, about a two-hour ride from the airport.

That ride, however, was on a luxury bus featuring a very well-educated tour guide who shared some British history before letting everyone doze off for a bit. The bus ferried us to a waiting room (in a lovely building which appeared to date back to the 1700s, which offered a waiting room with coffee, tea, and some small pastries.

After maybe 20 minutes we were lead on a short walk where our passports and boarding passes were checked, before we boarded a tender boat that took us to the ship. It was a pretty manual process, but it was handled so well that every step involved very little waiting.

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Boarding the Viking Jupiter   

It was clear from the point we boarded the bus that the average age was probably around mid-60s or maybe a little older. I was the only solo traveler I saw, but people were warm and conversation was easy to find.

When we stepped off the tender, we were handed a wet towel (not really a warm towel) and a glass of champagne. We were then guided to our muster stations for a quick presentation on life-jackets and safety procedures. 

It was simple, quick, and easy. 

We were then directed to the World Cafe, a buffet on deck 7 which also houses the outdoor pool. The buffet had ample seating, and while the selection was small, it included three fresh fish offerings, including a salt-crusted salmon that would stand out on many fine steakhouse menus.

Bartenders walked around taking orders while the head waiter went from table to table asking about food allergies and explaining how Viking handles them.

Cabins are not ready until 2 p.m. and I boarded about 11, but the cruise line has so far done an excellent job of making things easy and comfortable. Even logging into the included WiFi and accessing the ship's daily calendar only took a minute or two.

I'm tired, eager to take a shower, but Viking took most of the pain out of the embarkation process.

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