One Thing You Need To Know Before Your Viking Ocean Cruise | Our Only Concern

[@bruceritchie7613]

That firmness looks perfect for me! Bringing your own pillows is definitely a good idea - just put them in very good pillow protectors and wash as soon as you get home to reduce likelihood of bringing unwanted guests to your home.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Pillow protectors are a great idea! -K

[@djt_Art_Travel]

After many Viking cruises I've always found the beds to be wonderfully comfortable. But we are all different. Strange😮. I sleep like a baby on Viking Ocean .... zzzzzzz

[@Mleencihols]

I LUV Viking cruises. Surprisingly, I never had a problem with the mattress or pillows. Princess and the Pea situation ???

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

We LOVE Viking too - hopefully I wasn’t too negative in the video. We just need to plan for a topper next time. Can’t wait for our next cruise with Viking. -K

[@CatherineGates-p5r]

Your complaints seem weird to me, as we loved our bed and pillows-our mattress at home is fairly firm. The pillows were great as well and we didn't use the down ones as I'm allergic. We did a two week trip to Scandinavia and slept great.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Weird? As I mentioned, bedding is highly subjective. To each their own. Glad you slept well, we didn’t and weren’t the only ones. Thanks for watching. -K

[@carolineturnbull1929]

We've been on 2 Viking cruises and found the beds very comfortable. It's all a matter of preference.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Yes, totally agree

[@texasboy5117]

We have been on 7 or 8 Viking cruises, and never had any bed problems.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Lucky you. I’m jealous. -K

[@tomcaron9113]

Wow, we loved the bed, no issues.

[@petermewett7999]

I As you said, it's very subjective. I've done a Viking river cruise and a Viking ocean cruise and found the beds to be very comfortable. Can't remember the pillows, so they must have suited me! Better luck for your next Viking cruise.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Thanks for sharing! We will happily bring our own topper for our next Viking Cruise. Small inconvenience for such an amazing experience. Other than this one thing, we couldn’t say enough great things about Viking … especially their amazing crew. -K

[@TinaLee2042]

I’m curious, exactly what style bed/mattress do you sleep on at home, what kind of pillows do you sleep on at home, and is Viking Ocean the only ship you’ve ever had an issue with the bed on?

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

I travel a lot for work and stay in many hotels. Viking’s beds were worse than 95% of hotel beds I’ve slept in. However, bedding is highly subjective. If you like firm beds, you likely won’t have an issue with them.

[@timl5970]

We have been on five Viking cruises and have not had any problems with the beds. If you do want a softer mattress, the topper will be quite satisfactory for most people. I prefer a very firm pillow, so I ask our stateroom attendant for an extra firm pillow when we first meet them. I have considered bringing my own pillow, but I'm not willing to give up that much space in my luggage.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Thanks

[@jf0817bl]

I guess this is so personal. We loved loved loved the bed/pillows and had the best sleep.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Definitely a preference.

[@marias902]

We took a cruise on the Mars in October, and did notice that the mattress felt harder than we had remembered. Last year on the Viking Star, their newest replacement mattresses seemed softer. We’ll have to deal with the firm mattress on the Mars again in a few weeks when we go through the Panama Canal; 17 nights. The pillows were just ok, but we could sleep fine with them. But what a great feeling to get home to our own pillows and gel-topped mattress. 😊

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Thanks! That’s great insight. Hopefully the bed issue is only on Mars. Enjoy your Panama Canal cruise! -K

[@coolbreeze253]

I've done three Viking ocean cruises in less than five years in a penthouse veranda cabin and never had an issue with beds.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

That’s great. Glad it works for you. -K

[@travel4B]

We are on Mars now - our first Viking cruise. IMHO the bed is fine. Our usual cruise line is Seabourn and I find Viking’s bed is similar, albeit with lesser thread count linens than Seabourn.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Thanks

[@cmprophoto]

I appreciate the objectivity in your videos and thanks for acknowledging the fact that bedding is very much a matter of personal taste. It probably depends largely on what you are used to. Your video did come as a bit of a surprise, as one of the things my wife and I have always liked on Viking ocean is the comfort of the beds! Glad you have a potential solution by taking your own bedding and I wish you wonderful days and comfortable nights in future.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Thanks. Bedding is very subjective so I don’t fault Viking for their beds. We simply wish they had more options (pillows, an actual topper, etc). Bringing our own pillow or topper is a small price to pay for going on such an amazing cruise with Viking.

[@debraedwards7048]

Me too-- I really slept well during my three week Viking cruise

[@gregfredericks5201]

We we on Viking Venus and we had no issues with the bed. We were on it for 28 days I we slept just fine.

[@DaveM-FFB]

I have a bad back from years of business travel. I've tried everything short of surgery. I have discovered that using a 2 inch medium density memory foam mattress topper allows me to sleep pain free. So I've been traveling with a custom one for years. Initially in a rolling duffel bag, but now I have a narrow twin topper that fits in a carry-on bag.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Thanks! I will need to figure out something similar for our next cruise.

Thanks for the honest review without the typical Viking cruiser fawning. Yes, sleep comfort is no doubt subjective, but the demonstrated mattress looked thin, and cheap. When you pay $10k (or more) for a week, sleep comfort should be a blissful expectation. Rolling out toppers is, at best, bush league. Hope you have better luck in The Haven. We have gone back to HAL, and Celebrity where consistency, and quality are seldom compromised.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

We are excited for the Haven and our Alaskan cruise in April 2025. We will definitely have multiple videos and a comprehensive review from that cruise too. Glad you found the review helpful.

[@GlobalAdventurer]

I've slept at numerous hotels around the world and cruise ships and never had an issue with pillows or mattresses. I guess I've been very lucky. Wishing you guys some luck next cruise 🤞

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Maybe we are just difficult lol. I blame our tempur-pedic for spoiling us. -K

[@dogzdad123]

With what Viking charges for any of their cruises, I'm sorry to hear that your bedding wasn't up-to-snuff. Difficult sleep, especially away from home is such a bummer! We just came off a Viking European River cruise. Those accommodations were excellent and had overall wonderful time. Yeah, there were some downsides, but those issues were addressed by multiple levels of Viking staff that they had control over. We got over it...quickly. We have since booked another European river cruise and an ocean cruise in the near future...because Viking has raised the bar on this type of adventure. In your video, you had mentioned that the Viking staff made efforts and did what they could to resolve your issue(s). Bringing your own bed linen on future excursions seems a bit extreme! Perhaps, giving the heads-up before to your cruise line on your expectations (via your travel agent?) might help. I know I wouldn't want to haul around luggage full of bed linen to a distant destination.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

We would go through the hassle of extra luggage if it meant good sleep. Unfortunately, no luck on finding a “travel” king size topper. We can easily bring our own pillows which will help and worst case we can buy a cheap topper at the first destination. Our next cruise is on NCL and they actually have a pillow menu … I guess I expected the same from Viking considering the cost and how amazing everything else was. We still love Viking and plan to cruise with them again. We just hope for better sleep. -K

[@sctexan5392]

Like many here, ive never had any isdues with the bed. We sleep very well on the ones weve had. Now the pillows are another issue. I guess it all comes down to what you like.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Yes, it’s subjective but they do need to have options. 2 types of pillows and toppers that are the equivalent of a sheet doesn’t provide for any options. We weren’t disappointed so much in the bed as we were the lack of options to make it better for us. -K

[@MarciaHudson-df3vg]

What ship were you on?

[@thejokerspeaks]

Yikes, that could be a deal breaker for us. We have our first Viking River cruise coming up in 2026, and I was thinking about booking a transatlantic while onboard. Even if we love the bedding on Viking River, I'll be watching for updates or hacks with Viking Ocean.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

I will say that bedding is highly subjective. So, it could be great for you if you like a firm mattress. Maybe our tempurpedic has just ruined us for Viking beds.

[@thejokerspeaks]

@@ShaunaAndKevin We like a firm mattresses with padding, Serta hybrid with memory foam and spring. Maybe the topper fix would work for us.

[@MarieHiebing]

Hello and thank you for your report regarding the mattress and pillow situation. I have severe back issues and I have been advised by Viking that heating pads are not permitted on their ships. I was hopeful that the mattress itself would be soft as I am used to this at home. I have already contacted Viking and I have been advised that their is nothing I can do ahead of time to request a mattress pad or any other option. I would LOVE to hear if you have found an optional travel mattress pad. I would love to hear any suggestions you may have. Thank you

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

We have not found a travel topper - not sure it exists for under $2k. Our plan for the next Viking cruise is to find a local place at the first port that sells toppers then get a cheap one, use it, and either leave it with ship (if they allow it) or throw it away. I hate being so wasteful but we wouldn’t be able to spend 15 days on those beds again.

[@cringebucket6919]

@@ShaunaAndKevin I will research packable toppers before our trip and see what options I can find. I am just like the both of you, I can not tolerate a hard mattress due to my back issues, and I am not even that old yet. I will post an update if I find a viable option. If anyone else has a suggestion of what worked for them I am happy to hear any ideas. Thank you

[@texasmarshalls]

Is Viking your favorite cruise line? Also, have you all done a Mediterranean trip yet?

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

The Med is definitely on our list. Haven’t done it YET. We are still testing cruise lines. We absolutely love Viking but there are positive and negatives with a small ship. Our next cruise is in Alaska on NCL Bliss in their Haven accommodations. We can’t wait to compare it to Viking. More videos to come.

[@OoDeucexoO]

Great video. What was that location in the intro? Looked really nice.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Thanks. That was from our hike along the Vidden Trail in Bergen, NO.

[@raclay4267]

This is a real concern for me - my husband cannot do a really hard bed, and we don’t travel with a lot of luggage so I can’t imagine bringing our own topper.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

You may be able to call Viking to ask about your particular ship. Hopefully they have better options than what we had on Mars. The other option we are considering is buying a cheaper topper on day one then just leaving on the ship. This was our ONLY complaint. Other than the bed, Viking is amazing!

[@davidszakacs6888]

My advice, only cruise on the lines that have the bedding you like.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Thanks

[@marciareagan2718]

That’s a big deal having a crappy mattress.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

It did feel like a piece of plywood lol. That’s an exaggeration but it wasn’t great for us. Next time we will definitely bring our own pillows at a minimum. Still an incredible experience that we will always cherish. -K

[@aj_aka_alan]

My Viking cuise beds have not been like that. What class of cabin were you in?

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Penthouse Junior Suite. -K

[@danielrogers4072]

I usually have just the opposite problem…Westin heavenly beds are not heavenly in my subjective opinion. My recent Viking experience in Oct the bed was perfect!

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Bedding is tough to please everyone. Just wish there were better topper options … or even pillows. Our next cruise on NCL (Alaska!) has a pillow menu. I wish Viking had something similar but we can easily look past it because of how great everything else is. -K

[@nicolewrytr]

I found the mattress very soft on my Viking ocean cruise… Opposite problem from what is described here

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Interesting. Now I wonder if there is any consistency from ship to ship.

[@judithweedin6236]

What floor are you on?

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

We were in a Penthouse Junior Suite on Deck 6. Fantastic room. Blew us away … except for the bed. -K

[@isabel_lima]

two babies right here

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

🍼👶👼

[@garymencimer]

Hoping you have reached out to Viking management. I’d be interested in their response.

[@ShaunaAndKevin]

Yes, we spoke with a representative. Viking was very responsive and apologetic. They issued a credit for $750 per person on a future cruise - which we plan to book in the next month for 2025. That will more than cover any cost to bring our own bed topper. -K