From Manhattan to Montreal: Discovering North America Aboard Viking Sea

While in Concord, we also visited the town museum, which holds one of the two lanterns used by silversmith Paul Revere to warn his countrymen that the British were coming in 1775. The following day we joined a shore excursion in Boston along the Freedom Trail to see Revere’s home, the church where the lanterns were hung, and the graveyard where he and other heroes of the American Revolution are buried.

Then came a sea day, allowing us to get reacquainted with our Viking ship, which I first sailed on shortly after her launch in 2016. And I’m pleased to say that the standard of service is just as good now as it was then.

Viking’s fleet of five near-identical ocean ships, all launched in the past four years, are fitted and furnished like Scandi-chic hotels, with lots of space, comfort and muted colours. Highlights include a pool deck that remains a warm haven on the coldest days, thanks to its retractable roof.

Culinary choices include the Restaurant (the main dining room, with open seating and no reservations required), the Chef ’s Table, offering a daily tasting menu, and the Italian delights of Manfredi’s. But most nights we loved to dine in the World Cafe, Viking’s excellent buffet, with its choice of freshly cooked and cut meats alongside seafood, salads, and desserts.

We found it a great time-saving way to avoid dressing up and waiting for the service, while still enjoying a delicious range of food and attentive staff who greet you personally every night while topping up your drink.

That’s the great thing about a Viking cruise – you can have exactly the holiday you want, however formal or casual, indulgent or healthy you like to be. And however you play it, an included shore excursion in every port, pre-paid gratuities for UK guests and free drinks at mealtimes, you’re spared any nasty surprises at the end of your cruise.

Fine Times in the Maritimes

Arriving at Halifax, capital of the Canadian maritime province of Nova Scotia, we took a tall-ship tour of the harbour, followed by a hop-on-hop-off bus ride round this city whose history is steeped in the sea.

Standing proudly near the cruise terminal is a statue of Samuel Cunard, the Canadian chipping magnate who pioneered transatlantic cruises. More sombre memorials are found in the graveyard where many who died on the Titanic were brought to rest.

On the way to Gaspé. our next destination, dark cloud streaked the sky. But, swathed in our warmest jackets, we were still determined to get ashore. The ship anchored off the small port, and tenders conveyed us to yellow school buses for a trip to the Forillon National Park.

Here we visited the Hyman Store, a museum recreating the shops that served such remote communities in the early 20th century, and a nearby warehouse that recalls the days when intrepid fisherman set out from Canada to the Channel Islands and beyond.

A rainy day in Saguenay gave me the excuse to try the ship’s spa and the so-called Nordic experience, which involves warming up in the steam room, taking a cold shower, then braving the Snow Grotto-basically a walk-in fridge with snow drifts in the corner. It’s bracing but totally exhilarating, so don’t miss it.

Next came Quebec City, perched on the banks of the St. Lawrence and dominated by the towering bulk of Chateau Frontenac Hotel, where Allied leader met to plot the course of the Second World War. The only walled city in North America.

Its fortification is a legacy of 18th century battles between French, British and US forces for control of North America. Quebec’s Old Town still has a strongly European feel today, its quaintly narrow, stone-built streets lined with shops and restaurants.