I recently returned from an amazing famil with Viking, on their 7 night itinerary called Niagara & The Great Lakes. This was onboard their explorer ship, the Viking Polaris and we sailed from Milwaukee to Toronto. The Great Lakes are a series of interlocking freshwater lakes, and the largest inland lakes in the world. At times when sailing, there was no land to be seen, so it actually felt like you were at sea, but without the sea sickness with its calm waters.
From the moment I stepped onboard, I was wowed by the ship and its staff’s immaculate attention to detail. It was definitely a luxury small ship, which meets state of the art expedition ship. I really loved the modern, Scandinavian-inspired decor, with its fur throws over chairs and cozy areas to sit by the fire places.
The food was amazing and with so much variety. My staterooms felt luxurious, while I still felt like I was on an adventure, by having little extra touches like binoculars to sight animals and view the natural scenery from my balcony. After a day exploring, I loved relaxing at the Nordic spa in the afternoon and in the evening either listening to the musicians or attending a lecture to learn about the places we were visiting.
Our Viking famil host Ramon was fantastic and organised for our group to visit the Bridge and meet with the ship’s captain. It was really interesting to hear him explain about all the equipment and how the ship operates. Another exclusive private tour for a group was visiting The Hanger which stores all the state of the art expedition equipment. It was really cool to see the Yellow Submarine, Zodiacs, Special Operation Boats and also the science lab.
Some of the highlights for me on this cruise was visiting with the Harley Davidson Museum, visiting the very scenic Mackinac Island, which is famous for being car free and use of horse-drawn carriages (and also tasting the yummy fudge found everywhere on the island). We were fortunate to be there while the Lilac Festival was on, so the streets filled with trees of amass of purple and the sweet Lilac scent in the air. Another stop was trendy Detroit and visiting the Henry Ford museum, which was huge and has everything from trains, planes and automobiles.
I really loved the modern, Scandinavian-inspired decor, with its fur throws over chairs and cozy areas to sit by the fire places.
In Point Pelle National Park on the Canadian side, getting to experience the zodiacs, kayaking and also having an exhilarating ride on the Special Operations Boat, while searching for wildlife along the shores. On our last day it was a real highlight for me to finally tick off another bucket list item and visit the Niagara Falls. In the evening the ship navigated its way to Toronto through the Welland Canal and the many Locks. It was marvelous to see how the ship just fitted through these locks.
Overall, I had the most memorable time, and it was great to explore this beautiful part of North America and Canada. It was adventure and luxury all rolled into one unforgettable experience.
Alison
