Viking Saturn Lives Up to its Promise 

Strolling in the cool and slightly breezy afternoon along the Vena canal of Chioggia, Italy, and crisscrossing a few of the nine chiseled bridges with their ancient crowns above the middle of the canal, we were enchanted by this “mini-Venice” town. At one of these crossings, we came upon a canal side café, unusual in its use of umbrellas as protection from the sun. In the notorious narrow side streets, cars seemed to have been abandoned blocking all traffic. Corso del Popolo, the main street, was empty except for a man leading his tiny dog along the rows of stacked café chairs in front of a closed bar. Many cafes and restaurants along this pedestrian street were closed for midday siesta. One souvenir shop was open, obviously ignoring the local custom, much to the delight of my wife. The lady owner explained that it was siesta time and people would come back after four that afternoon. It is hard to imagine that Chioggia hosted one of the best-known fishing fleets and fishing markets back in the 18th century. Much earlier in the sixth century, its main industry was collecting salt from the endless low water pans in the lagoon surrounding the town on its own island. 

Indeed, roughly an hour later, Corso del Popolo sprung to life. Without exception, every café, terrace, and bar was filled with patrons enjoying Campari soda aperitifs. Amazingly, almost all seats were occupied and except for an occasional German tourist, they were mostly Italians.

There was some loading and unloading of café supplies from small vans and trucks, but otherwise, the street was now full of pedestrians and there was one police car slowly cruising up and down the street from the Italian Carabinieri or State Police. Two young, good-looking officers in their smart black and red-striped uniforms showed off a $85,000 decked Alfa Romeo sports car that would be more in place on the Italian Autostrada pursuing speeders.

Thanks to the City of Venice recently barring cruise ships from entering the Grand Canal and docking at the city’s special cruise terminals, cruise lines had to find other venues to load and unload passengers and ended up in towns and cities as close as possible to Venice. Our ship, the brand-new Viking Saturn, was the lonely passenger ship in the freight harbor of Chioggia, some 30 miles south of Venice. No doubt, an unexpected money-maker for this charming sleepy town, although most of the passengers only spent time on excursions into Venice. We managed to do both, ignoring the time changes when arriving on our long flight from the U.S. 

We walked our feet off in Venice, despite masses of tourists, still one of the most romantic venues in the world.

Meandering around the Piazza San Marco and over the Rialto Bridge, with all its jewelry stores, will always be a highlight for me on any journey in Europe, no matter how many times I have been there, showing people the spectacular sights. However, Chioggia was a very different and peaceful experience.

Viking River Cruises is owned and operated by 81-year-old Norwegian billionaire Torstein Hagen. At 81, he still is very “hands-on” and involved in marketing. In 1997, he founded Viking River Cruises with four river ships purchased at a low price from Russians whom he had helped as a consultant. Hagen’s early operations were out of St Petersburg, Russia. However, the company never had any Russian ownership. Today, the operations office is in Switzerland and the marketing is done from Los Angeles. In 2000, Hagen made a very smart move by purchasing the ailing German riverboat company KD–Line. Instantly, Viking had the best docking spaces on the Rhine and Danube rivers. In 2013, Viking changed its name from “Viking River Cruises” to Viking Cruises. And in 2015 the first ocean cruise was launched with the Viking Star. Today, the company owns seventy-nine riverboats, twelve ocean-going vessels, and two expedition ships. In the next five or six years, Viking plans to construct at least fourteen more riverboats and ten ocean-going ships. Our ship, the Viking Saturn, was launched in 2023, and we were fortunate enough to sail and experience the brand-new ship during one of her maiden voyages in October last year from Italy to Athens via the Adriatic coast, visiting Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, and Greece. We arrived in Venice a day early, something I suggest everyone should do nowadays for any cruise or organized land tour. 

The past couple of years, airline delays and cancellations have become prevalent causing undue distress for passengers and travel suppliers alike. For the night of arrival, we had booked the Marriott Courtyard just outside Venice Airport. We dropped off the luggage at the hotel and immediately made our way into Venice on a very convenient local bus. After spending the entire day in the city, we returned to the neighborhood of our hotel for a final nightcap at a lively outdoor café and the next day, took the hotel shuttle back to the airport. We were greeted in the terminal by multiple Viking representatives and guided to a waiting bus for our transfer to the Viking Saturn in Chioggia.

It was our first experience enjoying the outstanding organization of Viking Ocean, which continued throughout the voyage. There was practically no waiting involved with check-in and embarkation and everywhere were smiling representatives ready to answer questions. Our first view of the Viking Saturn was impressive – a beautifully sleek and streamlined ship. Unlike cruise companies building bigger and bigger ships, Viking maintains “small” size ships, creating a feeling of quiet space and lots of room. The Viking Saturn is 745 feet long and takes a maximum of 930 passengers, all in Veranda Ocean staterooms or suites. Our stateroom had a bath and separate shower, bathroom amenities by Freyja of Iceland were tastefully arranged in small bottles together with bathrobes and slippers. Our fridge was stocked with soft drinks of our choice and some dry snacks. The crew-to-passenger ratio is two to one, which makes for outstanding service. Viking does not cater to children under eighteen years of age and has no casinos on board their ships. 

With Viking, the fares are quite inclusive, thus avoiding any nickel-and-diming that is a hallmark of many cruise lines. Like all other Viking Ocean ships, the interiors are spacious with modern Scandinavian décor and lots of light. In the evening, hidden floodlights create additional decor on a few of the floor decks, adding warmth to the atmosphere. One excursion is included at every port, and wine and beer are included daily with lunch and dinner.

The different restaurants and bars each have their own high points. The Explorer Lounge was our favorite, managed by Joe, the bartender from Peru. After the first day, he knew the personal drinks of choice for most of the guests. Background music was at each location varying from all-time favorites here to outstanding classical piano music in the atrium bar. The only area that got a little crowded was the main restaurant, but each evening the lovely Romanian restaurant manager made sure we were well taken care of in the main restaurant and in Manfredi’s specialty Italian restaurant as well. At the different dining venues throughout the ship, the food was outstanding. We tried the main restaurant one morning but could not stay away from the superb breakfast buffet in the World Café because the weather was perfect for enjoying outside breakfasts and lunch at the Aquavit Terrace. Often, we saw Captain Steen, his wife and his daughter also enjoying the al fresco dining here. Next to the Explorer’s Lounge is Mamsen’s, a smaller area offering Norwegian deli-style fare inspired by Hagen family recipes with open sandwiches and waffles topped with berries and cream. It is a lovely room where sofas and chairs are decorated with elk skin throws in front of a large fireplace. 

Viking Saturn decors have been inspired by long held Nordic traditions, and this is extended into the LivNordic Spa based on the holistic wellness concept of Scandinavia, including the transition from the sauna to the snow grotto with snowflakes in the chilled air.

Over many years I have been fortunate enough to sail on Viking River Cruises and now, after our Viking Ocean experience, I can certainly recommend the Viking Ocean product most especially for the exceptional service.