Overall Score

BERLITZ'S RATING
	Possible	Achieved
Ship	500	426
Accommodation	200	163
Food	400	240
Service	400	297
Entertainment	100	78
Cruise	400	293

How this score is created

This vessel (sister to Splendour of the Seas) has a contemporary profile and a nicely tiered stern. The pool deck amidships overhangs the hull to provide an extremely wide deck, while still allowing the ship to navigate the Panama Canal. With engines placed midships, there is little noise and no noticeable vibration, and the ship has an operating speed of up to 24 knots.

The interior decor is colorful, but rather glitzy for European tastes, al­though it makes a change from the bland interiors of many UK-based ships (the ship is based in Britain during the summer, and features Europe/Med cruising for both American and British passengers) The outside light is brought inside in many places, with over 2 acres (8,000 sq. meters) of glass providing contact with sea and air. There’s an innovative ­single-level sliding glass roof (not a magrodome) over the more formal setting of one of two swimming pools, providing a multi-activity, all-weather indoor-outdoor area, called the Solarium. The glass roof provides shelter for the Roman-style pool and the health and fitness facilities (which are good) and slides aft to cover the miniature golf course when required (both cannot be covered at the same time, however).

Golfers might enjoy the 18-hole, 6,000-sq. ft (560 sq.-meter) miniature golf course. It has the topography of a real course, complete with trees, foliage, grass, bridges, water hazards, and lighting for play at night. The holes themselves are 155-230 sq. ft (14.3–21.3 sq. meters).

Inside, two full entertainment decks are sandwiched between five decks full of cabins, so there are plenty of public rooms to lounge and drink in. A multi-tiered seven-deck-high atrium lobby, complete with a huge stainless steel sculpture, connects with the impressive Viking Crown Lounge via glass-walled lifts. The casino is expansive, incredibly glitzy but usually packed. The library, outside of which is a bust of Shakespeare, is a nice facility, with almost 2,000 books.

There is, sadly, no separate cinema. The casino could be somewhat disorienting, with its mirrored walls and lights flashing everywhere, although it is no different to those found in Las Vegas gaming halls, and it can be difficult to find relaxation areas without music (except for the Viking Crown Lounge in the daytime).

Berlitz Guide © Apa Publications 2008