Did any of you sail on Sun Viking?????

[mems]

Seems like the Sun Viking was a favorite of many. Thank you all for sharing. mems

[BJane]

We had three wonderful 10/11 day cruises on Sun Viking - in 1987, 1988 and 1995. We even booked the same cabin, #525, for all three. Sun Viking was not our first cruise and we have now sailed 42 times, but that ship is the one that brings back the really special feelings and memories. Capt. Bang who still sails with Royal Caribbean was the captain on the 1988 trip. Although I enjoy the newer modern ships I'm so glad that we were able to sail back in the earlier days. People who didn't get a chance to experience the older ships just don't know what cruising is all about.

[mems]

Singerbj, I agree. Sun Viking had class. We still like to cruise but it is not the same as our experience on that wonderful ship. mems

[sgttami]

My sister was on Nordic Prince (her first) and my girlfriend on Sun Viking...I was on Song of America in '95...my son's first cruise and I do miss the cozy atmosphere of the small ships, the passenger lists and everyone knowing everyone else by the second day...the mega ships are too big for me...

[Bucky3]

Thanks for the memories! It was just about this time of year, over Halloween I remember & I think the year was 1981 we sailed on the Sun Viking with our family. We all became addicted and have vacationed at sea often since then. In fact, our granddaughter, now 17, but at about age 4 took a land vacation with us and as we walked down the hotel hall to our room, she asked, "Which CABIN is ours??" I got a big kick out of that. We fondly remember the Sun Viking.

[mems]

Do any of you remember how many passengers Sun Viking held?

[setsail]

Sailed on the Song of Norway around 83 or 84 and it held around 700 pax. I remeber the port hole windows below deck on the side of the pool.

[PARNAMI]

I was alerted to this thread by Captain Bang's wife! Yes..they too loved this ship and are following this thread!

 

I have a short tour of Sun Viking on my web site that some of you might wish to visit. (Naturally, I expect those of you who have no respect for my opinions or comments to stay away!) Here's a link (if I remember how to do it): http://members.tripod.com/~PARNAMI/SunViking.html :o

[clayb]

Hi,

 

We cruised aboard the Sun Viking in June 1983. We did the first half of a fourteen day Caribbean cruise (we cruised from Miami to Barbados). This was our first cruise with Royal Caribbean and we LOVED this ship. The service in the dining room was outstanding. In fact, I have been on 44 cruises and this is one of the few cruises where I still remember the names of our waiter (Roger) and head waiter (Ernesto). Considering that this cruise was over 20 years ago, this gives you an idea of the impression that they made.

 

When we left Ocho Rios, a few passengers had missed the ship. They came out to the ship in a speed boat and climbed up a ladder on the side of the moving ship. I will always remember this.

 

Remember how small the cabins were? There were four of us in one of those tiny inside cabins. Still, this was a favorite cruise of mine.

 

Also, this was a very pretty ship. The exterior was sleek, modern, and perfectly proportioned.

 

I have cruised aboard many of Royal Caribbean's larger ships (Explorer, Voyager, Serenade, Vision, Splendour, Majesty, Sovereign, etc.), but still have very fond feelings for the Sun Viking. It was a wonderful ship with a great personality. The new ships are spectacular, but they lack the warmth of the Sun Viking.

 

We also sailed the Sun Viking from Barbados to Miami in June of 1983. Wow. We might have been on the same ship. That ship was small but it remains my favorite because it was my first cruise. And I remember when we discovered the automatic flushers for the urinals in the men's room. We had the women peek in to see. We were freaking out. Fond memories.

[pcur]

Hello Everyone,

I just finished reading the poll re: your favorite RCCL ship. Our new favorite is Radiance but we truly loved Sun Viking. If any of you share our view lets share our rememberance with the CC people. I remember the port holes underneath the swimming pool with cabins across from the side of the pool. I remember invading the gents restroom (a female egged on by a guy) to check out the urinals electric eye urinal flusher. I remember getting a guest list at the end of the cruise with all the names of the cruisers. I remember the the costume party when a guy dressed up as "Sun Viking".

Do any of you have fond memories of SUN VIKING?????

 

LOVED the Sun Viking. It was our second cruise in 1974. We turned around after our first in October 1973 and booked a two week Caribbean on the SV. It cost us $1,100 for the two of us including roundtrip air.

 

I've talked about the pastry chef on that cruise before here on CC. He was really old then, and he was the retired pastry for the French Embassy in Washington, DC. This man mentored and supervised the pastry chefs, and they produced the MOST AMAZING PASTRIES AND DESSERTS WE HAVE EVER EATEN IN OUR LIVES!!

 

It was also the first time we went into the Southern Caribbean, and we fell in love with the islands there. First time in Puerto Rico, too.

 

Loved that ship.

[Tiger Cruiser]

We wanted to do something special in 1980 when we got married, and we decided on a cruise. So we took the Sun Viking out of Miami to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel on a seven night cruise in June 1980. It seems like we stopped at Port Antonio In Jamaica.

 

Even though it was small, holding only about 800 passengers or so, I still remember the food in the dining room to this day. The first couple of days guests were late to our seating (no my time dining) but by about the middle of the cruise guests were lined up waiting for them to open the dining room doors at the appointed time. We even ate breakfast in the dining room most mornings.

 

I also remember the Sun Viking rocking and rolling as we cruised between ports, this was before the stablizers were used. My wife got a little sea sick coming around Cuba heading for Jamaica.

[mein18]

We wanted to do something special in 1980 when we got married, and we decided on a cruise. So we took the Sun Viking out of Miami to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel on a seven night cruise in June 1980. It seems like we stopped at Port Antonio In Jamaica.

 

Even though it was small, holding only about 800 passengers or so, I still remember the food in the dining room to this day. The first couple of days guests were late to our seating (no my time dining) but by about the middle of the cruise guests were lined up waiting for them to open the dining room doors at the appointed time. We even ate breakfast in the dining room most mornings.

 

I also remember the Sun Viking rocking and rolling as we cruised between ports, this was before the stablizers were used. My wife got a little sea sick coming around Cuba heading for Jamaica.

 

Our first cruise was on SV back in 1982. I believe it only held around 550 passengers. We still have the little book with every passenger's name in it that they handed out back then.

 

I remember the rocking from moreso when we got off the ship. Kind of kept swaying back and forth until the land legs kicked back in.

[JHCB]

Yep. Sailed on Sun Viking my first cruise in 1990. 7-day from LA to Mexico.

 

I remember the swimming pool had windows/port holes that you could see from one of the hallways inside the ship. At least, I thin that is where I saw that.

 

I saw the same man all over the shop...in the bar, the casino, theater, etc. The guy was always drunk. Every night he would introduce himself to me. He would say, "Hi. I'm Shea Stadium."

 

Cool ship.

[goodml]

Wow this is probably the oldest thread I've ever seen resurrected!

[nickthecruiser]

What was the itinerary? Any different destinations back then?

[SKJSKJ]

Sun Viking was also our first cruise (in 1989) with fond memories. Because of the small # or passengers, Crew all knew who you were and greated you by name, and other passengers on ship would get to know you quickly as well.

 

We continued to try bigger ships until Freedom Class. We perfer Radience class, it's size fits us best as it reminded us of small is somtimes better. So we will be back on it in 2014 to Alaska.

 

Thanks for others sharing their memories of the Sun Viking! :)

[timeoff]

Sailed the Sun Viking around Asia in 1996, flew to Beijing and cruise ended in Hong Kong. I remember the buffet outside area and the tiniest cabins. Thank you for bringing back so many good memories. Made lasting friendships and to this date we still travel together.

[mein18]

Sailed the Sun Viking around Asia in 1996, flew to Beijing and cruise ended in Hong Kong. I remember the buffet outside area and the tiniest cabins. Thank you for bringing back so many good memories. Made lasting friendships and to this date we still travel together.

 

If my timing is correct, that must have been one of her last sailings as part of the RCI fleet.

[PLEIKU68]

If my timing is correct, that must have been one of her last sailings as part of the RCI fleet.

 

Our first sailing on Sun Viking was in the late 70's , buy we also did the Asia run in 1996. We started in Singapore and ended in Hong Kong. Was a great trip but this time I paid to go to Viet Nam :eek: