It's difficult to give an adequate and accurate review for an entire ferry company, when the ships…read moreand prices vary so vastly.
My partner and I travelled to Turku, Finland, from Stockholm, spent a couple of days there, and then took a different ferry back, so we had two different ship experiences.
We had very specific dates which worked for us, so the price ended up being about 1200 SEK for the trip there and home. I'm under the impression that you can get much cheaper prices if you are flexible - and I've heard that it can be cheaper to book two separate party cruises (23 hours usually) and then just don't go back on the cruise; stay in Finland. That can be cheaper than buying 'regular route traffic'.
Anyways, for the price we got the cheapest cabins available which had private bathrooms. On the way there we took Amorella. It seemed fine, though it was a bit older of a ship. Our cabin was on Deck 2, the lowest deck for guests, below the car decks. This means it is only accessible by elevator and sometimes the wait can be long due to crowds.
Our cabin was technically for 4 people, with four fold-out beds. But we like it cosy, and the single beds were still wide enough that my partner and I were able to cuddle and share one bed comfortably. The bathroom and shower were teeny tiny, as expected, but fine.
We paid the 10 euro for the breakfast buffet in the morning, which was delicious and definitely worth it if you plan on hitting the town all day like we did. The buffet consists of fresh bread, scrambled eggs, bacon, meatballs, sausage, Finnish rice cakes, croissants, brie, jam, fruit, yogurt, juice, coffee, and more. We weren't even hungry for lunch after!
On the way back from Finland we took the M/S Viking Grace, a much newer ship. And what a difference! We didn't mind Amorella, but Grace was much better. They have rearranged things so that the lowest cabins are deck 8 - no more waiting for the elevator and hiding out below the cardeck! We had an inner cabin so we still didn't have any window, but the cabins with windows looked amazing (we got a peek). The ship is new and clean and has modern décor, and the cabins feel nice. The beds were slightly smaller than on Amorella - we struggled to squish into one - but one of the beds is also a couch, and there's a TV with Finnish and Swedish channels, so it's definitely still an upgrade.
There is a wide variety of restaurants and cafes onboard, everything from a 40 euro buffet to 9 euro pasta dishes in the 'casual dining' section. I haven't tried the spa, but entrance was 24 euros, which seems reasonable. There are also clubs, and on the Grace there was live music in several locations on the ship - even on Sunday night.
We didn't pay for breakfast on the way back to Sweden, but I'm imagining it's just as good or even better than on Amorella, as everything was.
I would say that the Amorella was a 3-star experience, and Grace was 4. It could be cheaper but it was fine for two people.
In short, if you are travelling within Scandinavia and want to cross the Baltic, I highly recommend taking a cruise instead of flying. But whether or not you get a good deal and whether or not it feels worth it is totally dependent on your flexibility and the cabin and dates and ship you choose.
