Hate nickel-and-diming? This new cruise ship is for you

ABOARD THE VIKING STAR — You cruise a lot. You've noticed a growing number of extra charges on ships for everything from room service to yoga classes. You hate it.

You're going to love the Viking Star.

River cruise giant Viking's first ocean ship, which set sail this week from Istanbul on its maiden voyage, is bringing the "no nickel-and-diming" philosophy that runs through the river cruise industry to the world of ocean cruising — and in a big way.

For starters, Internet access is complimentary. For readers accustomed to resorts on land, that may not seem like such a big deal. But in the ocean cruising world, it's revolutionary.

Ocean cruise lines love to charge exorbitant fees for Internet service. On some ships, it's as much as 99 cents a minute, and it's not uncommon for cruisers to spend $100 or more on a sailing just checking emails. But on the Viking Star, emails just flow in to your smartphone throughout the day, just as if you were at home — no muss, no fuss. No charge.

That one differentiator alone will make you love this line. But it's just the tip of the iceberg. Also included in the fare for a Viking Star cruise is a tour in every port — another hallmark of river cruising that has never caught on with ocean lines.

Ocean cruise lines love to tout all the wonderful places they'll take you in their brochures. But for the most part, they just drop you in each port on the schedule with little insight into what to do and see. Sure, you can sign up for a line-run tour. But they're invariably pricey. Often outrageously overpriced. Otherwise, you're on your own.

Viking founder Torstein Hagen has said the Viking Star was designed to focus on destinations in a way that has been lost across much of the cruise industry in recent years, and that includes giving passengers a solid orientation to every place the line takes them.

Hagen also has ordered beer and wine to be included with lunch and dinner at Viking Star restaurants -- another common-on-river-lines, rarer-on-ocean-lines offering. Bucking the trend at such lines as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Carnival, there's also no charge for room service available 24 hours a day. Also complimentary are the ship's two specialty restaurants, Manfredi's Italian and The Chef's Table. In addition, cappuccinos, lattes and other espresso drinks from restaurants and bars around the ship always are complimentary.

Indeed, other than alcoholic drinks at the bars and spa services, it's hard to find things on board the Viking Star on which to spend money. Even the little things. There's no charge to use the washers and dryers in the launderettes found on every passenger deck, or to watch a movie on the interactive, in-room televisions.

The exquisite thermal suite in the Viking Star's spa, which has a salt-water-filled thermal pool, hot tub, sauna, chilled "snow grotto" and other Nordic wellness-themed features, is complimentary to visit. On many ships, a day pass to the spa can cost up to $50 per person. Yoga and pilates classes at the adjacent fitness center also are included in the fare. You'll pay as much as $30 a class on some ships.

Even soda and snacks from the mini-bars found in most cabins are included in the fare. Three of five cabin categories also come with complimentary alcohol in mini-bars. The top three cabin categories also bring complimentary shoe-shining and pressing. Complimentary dry cleaning and laundry service is available to customers in the top two cabin categories.

Transfers between airports and the ship also are included.

Of course, passengers do pay for it all. They just pay up front. The Viking Star's inaugural season of eight- to 50-day cruises in Europe and the Baltic started at $2,499 per person, based on double occupancy, a higher starting price than the mass-market lines that have the most extra charges.

That said, the Viking Star isn't a mass-market product. Elegantly designed and intimate, the 930-passenger vessel offers the sort of sophistication and service that is found on upscale lines Oceania and Azamara, neither of which include a tour in every port or Internet access for all passengers (Oceania soon will begin offering unlimited Internet access to passengers in top suites; unlimited Internet access on Azamara costs $69.95 per day).

Specialty restaurants on Azamara cost $25 per person, except for passengers in some suites. Specialty restaurants on Oceania ships are complimentary, but the line charges $34.95 per day for unlimited wine and beer with lunch and dinner.

The value of what Viking is doing is about more than dollars and cents. A noticeable result of the all-inclusive mentality on the Viking Star is that there's no hard sell on passengers through announcements and fliers to run up extra charges — something that is common on many ships and often takes away from the tranquility of a cruise vacation. Without the pressure to drive on-board revenue, Viking also can afford to keep its ships in ports later than other lines that rely on spending at extra charge eateries and drinks with dinner to hit revenue targets.

For a deck-by-deck look at the Viking Star, click through our 'first look' tour in the carousel at the top of this story. For a peek inside one of Viking's 12 new river ships, click through the carousel below.