Correspondent Marilyn Green is sailing on the new Viking Sky. Her first dispatch follows.
Fireplaces spell home to me. The hearth-and-home idea is so deeply ingrained that I will sit for hours watching the flames. And I seem to have a lot of company on the Viking Sky.
Dozens of passengers relax around the fireplace in the Explorers' Lounge and linger in the spa hallway to enjoy the vapor fire, so perfectly like wood fire that I caught people sniffing the air for the smoky scent.
A ship can be an experience served up to guests or it can belong to them, and Viking has taken the second path to establishing brand loyalty, with striking results.
People treat the ship like a country house they visit often. It's not a fantasy or a created environment, but a lot like staying at the home of a cultured family with wide-ranging tastes who left their books scattered across coffee tables, slipped into shelves (even next to the swimming pool) and piled by sofas in no particular order.
Guests feel free to add a few pieces to the big communal puzzles, laze on the comfortable couches to listen to live chamber music and cuddle up in the soft, thick Scandinavian throws draped over chair backs in the Living Room.
Passengers saunter through the World Cafe at all hours, helping themselves to sparkling or still water, cappuccino or hot chocolate. Their ship is their pride and joy: A passenger grabbed my sleeve as I came into the changing room in the spa and said, "Look, our key cards open the lockers now!"
Many guests -- around 40% -- are repeat Viking passengers who stake out familiar chairs, see what photographs are on the walls and examine the fabrics for signs of change.
Most of the guests on the ship's first cruise were pleased with the expanded fitness rooms, liked the changed menus that roll over three times in a week, and appreciated the additional lounging space on deck.
The Viking Sun launches later this year, and in 2018 the ship will sail the company's first world cruise, undoubtedly attracting repeat guests. And they'll have a new place to make themselves at home.