VIKING LINE: AN ESSENTIAL NORDIC EXPERIENCE. (Turku-Stockholm)

Member Name: purplegirl1989

Product:	Turku-Stockholm
Date:	06/08/09 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Comfortable, affordable, good entertainment.

Disadvantages: Too big to find someone if you loose them, staff on the ship were not friendly in my experience.

It's been almost a year now since I had the Viking Line Experience, and so things may have changed slightly, but I'll fill you in on what was certainly a trip to remember.

There are a few ferry operators who serve between Finland & Sweden; however, Viking Line is the company most people will choose to go with. My friend and I were greatly impressed with the service when we went to the Turku office, which was easily located within one of the main shopping malls in the centre. Not only did they secure us a place with very little notice, but they also got us great rates with our inter-rail tickets, I'm afraid I can't remember the exact price but it was no more than 15 Euros each. This was for a place on the deck and, although this seemed rather daunting, the thought of curling up for sleep in some corner, we couldn't complain for the price. It actually cost us more to travel (again with the inter-rail tickets) on the ferry from Calais to Dover for a couple of hours, which is amazing considering the trip between Turku and Stockholm lasts for approx 11 hours.

If you talk to any young(ish) Finnish local, they will tell you that the ferry to Stockholm is as important to them as actually getting to Sweden. If you particularly choose the night ship then you're guaranteed to witness a huge party. It goes without saying that if you actually want to sleep on this ferry, it would be wise not to choose a Friday or Saturday night (when there are actually age restrictions for passengers in place.) Another word of warning would be not to have a pizza at "Dennis Restaurant" in Turku before boarding...as authentic as it looks, the added grease really doesn't help if you suffer from sea sickness slightly!

The Viking Line terminal itself is located in what I would call a rather awkward place. If you're wise, you'd probably take the bus or taxi from the centre. However, my friend and I have a tendency to do things the difficult way and so we walked down the Abo River, from the centre to the castle, which is where it is a bit difficult to see, hidden away without a giant sign as you would expect. Inside, although we found the staff quite helpful, it was rather chaotic, without there seeming to be any ques. However, things settled down and the ship arrived and departed on time without any problems.

If you speak to a crew member at the help point on the entry deck, they will show you to a room in which you can store your luggage. After a little while, they lock it and you cannot return to collect it until you reach your destination (either the Aland Islands which it goes via, or Stockholm.) This is obviously good for security purposes, especially when there can be so many drunk people wandering around, however, it's not so good if you forget anything important.

I had very good first impressions of the interior of the ship (we were on Isabella) and it was of good standard i.e. it wasn't falling apart. The toilet cubicles were rather small but always kept clean. First of all, we decided to go to the top deck, which was a big climb if you didn't use the elevator. It was lovely to stand by the big Finnish flag looking down on the port of Turku with the castle in the distance and the amazing views of the Finnish countryside, which is mainly forest. It's also a good idea to stand there as the ship sails away passing hundreds of pretty islands, and was rather picturesque as "matching" music was played from the speakers of the closed nightclub. The problem was, it rained rather hard and so we thought it was time to check out what else Isabella could offer us.

On one of the decks there is a shopping centre, with various little specialist shops and one large department style store. This sold typical Finnish goods and souvenirs, which included a vast selection of Karl Fazer chocolate. Of course, the prices were rather ridiculous.

We were much more impressed with the entertainment facilities on board. There are some restaurants scattered on several decks, as well as an impressive looking kids' area with just about every toy they could want to keep them occupied. Yes, I did want to be little again! As far as I can remember, there was also a cinema onboard, though we never visited it.
The entertainment for us adults was rather great, consisting of clubs and one pub. Most of our time was spent in the pub, where we met some rather interesting people, including a couple of Army men who lived in the Aland Islands. It's always interesting to here peoples' stories, and in this pub it seemed everyone talked to everyone, whether they were Finnish, Swedish, Swedish-Speaking-Finns or what not. The nightclubs are also recommended.

If you have a place on the deck but don't want to party, it can be done as there is a quiet section with very comfortable chairs, but they get taken up rather quickly. It might be a good idea to book a cabin, and although we didn't stay in one, I had the chance to look at them. They're of a typical standard, nothing special but room for two double bunk beds and a toilet room (there was in this cabin anyway.)

Other than that, there's not much more to say. Except that I wasn't impressed with the service towards the end, when I lost my friend and requested for them to help me search for her. But instead, I was just interrogated and left to search for myself. So, word of warning take note of whether you go, because with the vast amount of cabins on each deck all looking the same, it feels like the chance of finding which one you are looking for is about the same as finding a pin in a haystack.

Summary: An unforgettable experience onboard...didn't take much of Stockholm in upon arrival because of it!