Is Viking Ocean Cruises Worth the Cost? A Real Comparison to Celebrity Cruises
Want to go for that truly all-inclusive cruise on Viking but aren’t sure if it is worth it? I was curious as well, so I made the comparison giving me a better understanding of the worth of everything that is in fact included.
I decided to compare a 7-night Viking Ocean cruise that is cruising through the Western Mediterranean with a 9-night cruise on Celebrity with a very similar itinerary. Both cruises take place during the same week in early June of 2027. Other than the obvious difference in cruise length, with the Celebrity cruise being 2 days longer, there are a few other perhaps more subtle differences as well. While the Celebrity cruise will definitely have fewer children on board as compared to a Royal Caribbean ship, the Viking cruise will have NO children under the age of 18. The Viking Jupiter was built in 2019 and holds at capacity 930 passengers. The Celebrity Equinox was built in 2009 (refurbished in 2019) and holds 2850 passengers, three times the number of passengers as the Viking ship. Another thing to consider is the vibe you are looking for. Viking Ocean Cruises focuses more on cultural enrichment offering lectures and intimate performances, whereas on Celebrity you will find the entertainment and activities that you are used to seeing on a mainstream cruise line, such as BINGO, production shows and trivia.
For the Viking Ocean cruise that starts in Barcelona, stops in 4 ports (including an overnight in Florence) and ends in Rome, the lowest level balcony room for 2, including travel protection, will come out to $11,496. This price includes an excursion in each port, Wifi for each passenger, Beer, Wine, and Soft Drinks served at Lunch and Dinner, all meals (featuring regional specialties and classics), specialty coffee and tea, 24-hour room service, complimentary access to the spa, and self-service launderettes. On top of that, you can add on airfare, which includes transfers, and pre and post tours, which are not an option with Celebrity.
For the Celebrity Cruise that starts in Rome, stops in 5 ports (including an overnight in Florence) and ends in Barcelona, the lowest level balcony for 2, including travel protection, will come out to $7,141.24. That may seem like a lot less but let’s add in all of the extras that are included with the Viking cruise. Most excursions are on average $125 per person so 5 excursions at 5 ports would be on average $1250. Wifi for 2 guests (you could just purchase one package and share it) for the entire cruise comes to $360. It is a bit trickier to compare the drinks packages because the basic drink package on Celebrity includes beer, wine, cocktails, soft drinks and specialty coffee all day long. But, if you were to purchase the basic drink package (there are definitely ways around it), the cost of your cruise would include an additional $1748. If you visited a specialty restaurant on board the Celebrity ship, you would need to add in an additional $120. Room service on Celebrity, with exception of the Continental breakfast, costs $12 per visit. A visit to the thermal spa for 2, while included on Viking, adds an extra $143 to the cost of your cruise. Finally, a bag of laundry that we have done at least once per cruise, will cost $50 on a Celebrity ship (less if you have loyalty). You can argue that you don’t need all of these add-ons, but for the purposes of comparing the two cruises I am going to include them all. At the end of the day, with all of the add-ons included, the Celebrity cruise will cost $10,824, which makes it $672 less than the Viking cruise.
It is up to you how you feel about the difference in these two amounts, but, either way, I thought it a very helpful comparison for when we choose to book our Mediterranean cruise. Other than itinerary being a big consideration, I really do feel that vibe is really important in making your decision. For us, the $700 difference might not be enough to sway us either way, so instead we would choose based what kind of experience we want to have while on board. Which cruise appeals more to you?
Regardless of which cruise you choose, let me know when you are ready to book that next cruise.
