Deck 6

As you can see from the deck diagram above, Deck 6 is pretty much an open deck. Lots of space to sit and catch some sun, or a great place to take photos. We were up there as we sailed out of Milwaukee. I should add that we were completely alone. Most people had gone to the bow for a sail-away celebration with live music and drinks, but we just wanted the photos, so the six of us were all by our lonesomes up there. Also, on Deck 6 are the BIG suites. The Owner’s Suite you see on the deck plan is more than 700 square feet and has its own private garden area. Seriously. The other suites on that deck are all over 500 square feet. I should point out that Octantis has no verandas/balconies. That would have made her too wide. Instead, you have large windows that open and take up almost the entire width of the stateroom. More about that below when we show you our stateroom.

Deck 5

This deck is completely public. No staterooms. From the front of the ship, my favorite place to sit while writing is the Explorer’s Lounge. Then you run into The Library, followed by The Living Room, a very nice and intimate meeting space, much like your living room at home. It is on two decks (4 and 5), and I am sitting in it right now as I write this. On the starboard side of the ship, you reach Mamsen’s next. This is one of my favorite places to eat breakfast. But I'll talk more about the food later, at the end of the cruise, in my roundup.

Moving aft, you run into the ship’s main restaurant, the World Cafe. Long-time cruisers may be surprised to learn that Octantis and her sister ship Polaris have no main dining room. We'll get to two specialty restaurants below, but the main place to eat is the World Cafe buffet. As I said, more about the food later on, but suffice it to say, it is an amazing buffet. An absolute plethora of choices.

At the aft end of the ship on deck five is the Aquavit Terrace, a very nice bar area that serves The Pools. They are interesting. When I say “The Pools,” you might think of more than one big swimming pool that you would find on a big cruise ship. There are three small ones (about the size of a large hot tub), and each is a different temperature. One is warm, one is cooler, and one is downright cold. Check out the photos; the pictures and captions explain everything.

Deck 4

Our stateroom is on deck four. The entire deck, except the very front, is staterooms. On deck four, there is also the lower level of the Explorer’s Lounge and a launderette. More about our stateroom below. Decks two, three and four all have launderettes (six washers/six dryers and an ironing board—this is crazy for a ship of 374 people when the Ocean ships have three washer/dryers for almost 1,000).Not only that but suites get free laundry done for them. 

Deck 3

Much like decks two and four, this deck is mostly staterooms, but it also has two interesting features. At the very front of the deck, you will find The Bow. Every ship has a bow. It’s the front of the ship. But on most ocean cruise ships, it is not always accessible. Usually it’s reserved for special occasions, like going through the Panama Canal or a glacier day in Alaska. But on Octantis, The Bow is always open. And right behind it is a really cool (or should I say warm) spot called The Shelter. This is mostly for those who go up on The Bow to look at the scenery and then need a place to get warm. Since this ship sails the Arctic in the summer and the Antarctic in the winter, this comes in handy. It’s a cool space—photos below. Midships is a tiny shop that sells Viking-branded merchandise, as well as the office of the “Travel Consultant,” who sells future cruises. I should add that this is the ONLY place on board where you can buy anything. Something I truly appreciate.

At the aft end of deck three is the upper entrance to the Aula. The Aula is the ship’s “theater.” I put that in quotes because there really aren’t any shows. And that’s OK because this is an expedition ship. Instead, there are scientific talks, port presentations and discussions of shore excursions. The room is amazing, with a huge screen that comes down from the ceiling in a most unusual way. When the screen is not down, the room is completely glass-enclosed, and the views are amazing. This is probably much more impressive in the Arctic or Antarctic. Here on the Great Lakes, we just see water. Lots of water. The Aula is two decks high, so you can enter either from deck three or deck two.

Deck 2

This deck is about half staterooms (forward) and half public (midships to aft). After the staterooms at the front, you run into Expedition Central, which focuses on shore excursions and expeditions off the ship. There is also a lot of science going on there, and they hold small-group talks from time to time. Then come the lifeboats (there are four lifeboats, and they each hold 160 people). Since there are 374 passengers and 260 crew members, they can easily accommodate everyone, and they are also used as tenders. I must say, they are the nicest tenders we have ever been on. So clean you could eat off the deck. Impressive.

Behind the lifeboat area are the spa and fitness centers. The spa has all the usual indoor pool amenities, including steam rooms, a snow shower room, saunas, and an indoor pool. There is NO CHARGE to use any of this. There is also a full-service spa where you can get anything from a haircut to a full-body massage. Past the spa is the lower level of The Aula, and beyond that is a deck area called the Finse Terrace. Just a nice place to relax outdoors, looking at the ship’s wake.

Deck 1

This is about half a service deck, which means that area is used for service and crew quarters. At the front of the ship is a small lounge called The Hide. It is called that because you can hide there and no one will find you. Seriously, it is very hard to find. There is only one way down there from deck two, and once you are down there, you are not sure where it is. There is a huge door that looks like it goes into a vault. It’s a cool space, and you can lean out over the windows to look down into the sea. They also use it at night for Expedition Tales, where different members of the Expedition Team tell stories of their adventures.

Midships on Deck 1 are the two specialty restaurants. One is Manfredi’s (an Italian-themed dining room), and the other is The Restaurant, which serves food similar to what you would find in the main dining room of most cruise ships. You need reservations for both of these venues, but eating there is free. We snagged two reservations for each, and at this point we have been to both once. We will go back to The Restaurant in a few nights, but after our experience at Manfredi’s we have decided to skip our other visit. More about that when I write about the food.

Then, all the way at the back of the ship, are The Laboratory and The Hanger. I have not seen them yet, as they are only open during presentations. But they both relate to the expedition side of things. The Hanger houses the ship’s Zodiac fleet, two Special Operations Boats, and two six-man submarines. Yes, submarines. I hope to include photos of these in a couple of days.

Deck A

This is about 90% of the service area. The medical team is stationed at the infirmary and on the lower level of The Hangar. This is also where you board tenders for excursions. Because we visit so many small ports, all our stops except Detroit are tender ports. That means we board a tender (lifeboat) and it takes us to shore.

Our Stateroom

We splurged on this trip and booked a Nordic Junior Suite. It is a really nice stateroom. As far as I am concerned, Viking’s ship and stateroom design are so far ahead of everyone else’s that it’s just not fair. The only comparable stateroom to what we have experienced with Viking is Celebrity’s Flora. That’s it. Below are some photos and above is a floor plan. The floor plan is a little off because they removed the table and replaced it with a desk, which makes more sense. It is a beautiful and very functional room, and I will say more in the photo captions.

If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it.  —Jonathan Winters