chatdad

Yea! Was probably the worst show I saw on our transatlantic.

Was also on that recent Star cruise and personally had no issue with the dogs on board. I recognize many have posted some very legitimate concerns and it also appears from some of the comments here Viking has listened and is addressing. As to our cruise, outside of one incident, the dogs were well behaved and under the control of the owners. The one incident involved a couple who were obviously afraid of dogs (we were standing in line to enter the theatre for the Captains farewell toast) where the dog was jumping on some other nearby guests who wanted to pat and play with him (owner should have removed the dog from the area once he noticed the discomfort of the couple). On the other hand, one of the other owners asked us before entering our elevator is we were ok with the dog joining us for the ride. We heard no barking, didn't see the dogs jumping on or off the furniture. Did see one dog in the lap of the owner one time. But overall it was nice to have them on board and I'd say they acted as well or if not better than a one or two of the quests we saw.

The dog with the gentleman coming down the stairs had a 'service dog' collar on. Not saying ti was or wasn't a service dog as I'm no expert and don't really need to debate that one way or the other. Just noting there was some 'identification' on the dog.

Haven't booked through Celebrity for air but surmise they do what others are doing. They 'book' your air ticket however they don't remit the payment to the carrier until closer to your departure date (30 days or so from flight) so you aren't 'ticketed'. So without the money in hand, no ticket issued, you're subject to being rescheduled by the carrier for a number of reasons with no real recourse with the airline. Happened to me several times already for tours this year; so the advice is to push the tour company/cruise company to ticket you early. For one of trips this year, I lost the flight and the tour company I was going with informed me there were no other flights with seats in the same category (economy) and that in order to do the trip I'd have to upgrade to 1st Class at a cost higher than what I had paid for the entire trip. Ended up cancelling. Best advice on air is to book it yourself outside of the cruise line or tour company and be sure you have insurance for cancellation.

They do change (like any other seat category) however as there are limited number more likely to go up than down. Some airlines (Delta for one) may offer 'buy ups' for the higher category seats so keep watching your booking.

the Bible.

Am sure by now you've taken a look at the posts on the specific Viking boards and perhaps even hooked into the very active Viking groups on a popular Social Media site used by everyone and their brother these days. Hope those have been helpful in helping you discern the underlying trends of concern with Viking. As we prepare for our first ocean cruise with them (have done a river cruise), a large portion of the negative views appear to center around air reservations when booked through Viking. Anyone who had traveled 'post' pandemic understands the air industry remains in a state of flux and to just expect change upon change. Like any other company, Viking is challenged by the constant changes the airlines do and staffing to take calls. It's the new 'business as usual'. I'm expecting once we board the cruise experience itself will meet all our expectations. Won't know until we try. As for booking, I highly suggest working with one of the Viking booking staff instead of an independent TA. He/she will know the ins and outs of Viking. Unless you have one that offers added incentives like OBC, I don't see the advantage. And do check on the social media boards as someone may know of a promotional code (typically for their Silver Spirit drink package or in some cases free air).

Guess it's kind the luck of the draw on who you talk to at Viking. You on the Viking Star TA 3/21 sailing?

Thanks for the info. Wife will be excited to learn it may be an offering.

Thanks, it does seem to be an issue right now. If it wasn't for the 'free air' offer we booked, I would have booked our own. On the bright side, we do have flight that will eventually get us home.

I'm not that old (well yes I may be but our transits on QM2 were within the last four years). Prior to that the only other transatlantic was on behalf of the Department of Defense on the USNS Geiger (Dad change of duty station to Germany). Am sure the 'golden age' of cruising prior to all the absorption of smaller lines by CCL and RCCL (and others) was a much different experience. Have sailed with 11 different cruise lines and the Cunard experience is still special.

Oh I spoke a day too early. Now I fall into the 'how can Viking Air be so inept side'. Checked our return flight last night with Delta, all well. Got the dreaded 'you flights have changed email' this morning (would be the third schedule) and Viking had gone ahead and ticketed the flights. So of course being inquisitive wanted to know why my great flight got changed. Called Viking and lo and behold, the agent who booked me didn't know he couldn't reserve a flight that leaves before noon (from Barcelona). One would think they'd train on that type of stuff. But wait the kicker is, the flight they rebooked me on last night also leaves before noon and the agent this morning said, 'No, No' that can't stay. Have to change'. So once again a new booking on yet another airline and more segments. What a fiasco. Oh well I hope this stays pat (they confirmed it was ticketed today) as I'm still trying to recoup the nearly $200 I spent on KLM grabbing good seat assignments on the original flights now cancelled. Gee, I need a vacation. LOL.

Have done four transatlantic on QM2 in the past few years and loved each one of them. Will admit the last one (last year) was not to the standard of the previous ones (pre-pandemic) although one would be hard pressed imho to find any of the typical Carnival traits on the Cunard ships. Am booked on our first Viking Ocean TA this coming March and looking forward to seeing how it compares to what we've experienced. I'm fully prepared to have a much more limited number of activity options (wife will miss not having her daily dose of watercolor classes) and limited entertainment, but do expect the food to be a cut above and not having to bring a tux or dress suit and tie will be nice. Also expect the 'ride' to be a bit more of rock and roll. Can't wait.

On our upcoming trip, I let Viking book the air as it was a 'free air' portion. Did not pay extra for Air Plus. The itinerary they picked originally was ok with three segments on our return with a less than ideal layover in Schiphol (AMS). I checked out the alternatives they showed on their My Viking Journey (MVJ) portal and none of the alternatives were any better. After I thought it over, I contacted Viking Air and talk to one of their agents who was able to find me a better route (direct back to ATL then on to my final destination) and rebooked us for no additional charge and no upgrade to Viking Air Plus (which costs $100 per person now, up from $50). Like many companies now, Viking makes the reservation but doesn't purchase the ticket until closer to your departure date unless you insist that they book it early. Until it's booked you can't upgrade (if the airline allows you to do so but you can grab seats). On a previous trip with Viking booking our air, our flight was late arriving and the airline had already rebooked us. The only problem was trying to get in contact with Viking to let they know of the rebooking since they don't apparently monitor the flights of their customers to adjust transfers. A minor inconvenience but we got to the boat and Viking reimbursed us for what we paid for a taxi. My preference is to book our own, but I do like free air.

We were in the Grand Suite on the starboard side on deck 11 (11010) and had the best view of the light show from the balcony. Highly recommend.