Did I mention the food?

The Viking website provides excellent 360° tours of the ship, including the dining options here.

The World Cafe is the casual dining option. Food is served buffet style, although there are also made to order options available. The room is arranged so every table has a view, and there is something for every palate. My favourite was the fresh sushi & seafood, but the gelato was also popular, with different featured flavours each day. We often chose to eat on the Terrace, with ocean views that can’t be beaten. We ate breakfast there most days, and lunch if we were on board (not often).

Mamsen’s Deli & The Pool Grill

Mamsen is the affectionate nickname of the owner’s late mother, and this deli style cafe modelled on her kitchen serves traditional Norwegian food, including sinfully delicious waffles with brown cheese, berries and sour cream, and open faced sandwiches. The Pool Grill, as the name suggests, is by the pool, and serves a variety of burgers and hot dogs. Tasty food and a fun casual meal.

The imaginatively named “The Restaurant” is one of 3 more formal dining options. They recommend “smart casual” clothing, and most people dressed up a little, but it was very relaxed. The Restaurant is huge, and no bookings were required. My favourite thing about The Restaurant was that when you arrived you would be asked whether you wanted a table for two or to share. We always opted to share and met lots of interesting fellow travellers that way. However this did mean I was a bit lax at photographing our meals there! Sorry about that! We only ate in The Restaurant twice but thoroughly enjoyed the food and the atmosphere of both meals.

Manfredi’s is one of the two specialty restaurants on board (The other being Chef’s Table – see below). Manfredi’s is popular, and you do need to book. Its popularity is understandable – great Italian food, stylish decor, and huge servings. I do mean huge – you can ask for half portions and I recommend that, so that you can fit more courses in. We ate twice in Manfredi’s, and would have liked more nights to try more dishes.

Chef’s Table

I hope you are still reading because I have saved the best till last! Well, I thought so anyway – a lot of people preferred Manfredi’s, but I loved that Chef’s Table gave me the opportunity to try food I never would have ordered, and I enjoyed the way each meal was themed. The menu in Chef’s Table is a 5 course degustation menu with wines (included) to match. The menu changes every couple of days so you can try different cuisines that appeal to you. The waiters introduce each course with a full description, and service is prompt with little waiting between courses. We ate at tables for two but often found ourselves chatting with our neighbours at the next table. We went three times. Bookings were advised, but one night we arrived an hour early by mistake and there was no trouble getting a table.

I did make sure to photograph the menus and each course at Chef’s Table, so here they are:

That’s not all. I haven’t even mentioned the Wintergarden, which serves an indulgent afternoon tea every day at 4pm, or the (included) 24 hour room service menu. Despite what you see in these photos, I don’t think we over-indulged. Much. We really enjoyed trying different cuisines, and meeting people over a meal & a glass of wine. We rarely ate in port, because we were a bit driven to see as much as we could, but I don’t think we ever were hungry!