Viking versus Oceania

We've cruised Oceania and Azamara quite a number of times - prefer Azamara over Oceania for the R class ships, tho my wife prefers the O class over the R class. Regardless, I've occasionally been looking at Viking Ocean as an alternate. But we've cruised Europe quite a number of times and most ports they go to we've been to - and definitely not interested in cruising the Med during the winter!

So I'll look for alternates they offer - transatlantics, maybe segments of their advertised world cruise. We've cruised the Caribbean a lot too, so their West Indies itinerary is not of interest (been to all those islands). OK, we've been on 45 cruises!

A minor negative is no casino. My wife likes to play the slots a bit, so she'd miss that. Anyone know why they opted to NOT put in a casino?

Give them time; they'll branch out. Considering that they've only been running their ships (mostly just one, I guess?) a year, I think they're doing well. It took Oceania a while. I would guess that after the world cruise there will be more offerings in other locations. They may not be able to fill their ships going to the Med in late fall and winter forever.

As for the casino, I'm guessing it just didn't fit with their cultural enrichment emphasis/somewhat more sedate vision and/or they wanted the space for something else (maybe more spa area - it's pretty big). Viking's founder seems fine with NOT being like every other cruise line. I remember being surprised when we learned there would be production shows at night, as those weren't promised at first. The shows are modest, but more than a cultural enrichment type show like the ones on river cruises - visitors doing presentations, or crew doing a fashion show, for example. Then again, maybe with no casino the bar sales go up, so it's a money maker!

Thank you for your review of the two ocean liners. This is our first cruise with Viking and we were happy to know how others felt about the service, food and staterooms.

We've sailed the Oceania Regatta in both the Med and Caribbean but that was in 2010 and 2012. We were also on the July 25, 2015 Viking Star that didn't make it any further than Tallinn, Estonia and broke down so it's difficult to compare. (Will be giving it another try with our vouchers in January 16, 2017 on their West Indies Explorer sailing.)

We do like the smaller size of both ships. Have always raved about the food on the Oceania Regatta and weren't as impressed with the Viking Star. Only had chance to eat in one of the specialty restaurants though before "abandoning ship."

We didn't like that we had to pay in full almost 2 years out for the Viking Homelands cruise. Oh well, looks like they book up without a problem even given this requirement. Oceania was much more reasonable re payment requirements.

Seemed like we waited forever for Viking Star to post the price of their excursions for the Viking Homelands. They also haven't yet posted the price of their excursions for the West Indies. Could really help with budgeting and planning for our shore tours.

I did discover that Viking Oceans is now hosting Cruise Critic Meet & Mingles on their cruises and it's easy to sign up. Sure wish Oceania would add their name to the list of cruise lines offering Meet & Mingles.

We didn't like that we had to pay in full almost 2 years out for the Viking Homelands cruise. Oh well, looks like they book up without a problem even given this requirement. Oceania was much more reasonable re payment requirements.

Seemed like we waited forever for Viking Star to post the price of their excursions for the Viking Homelands. They also haven't yet posted the price of their excursions for the West Indies. Could really help with budgeting and planning for our shore tours.

I think Viking may be getting better with the timing of payments. Last month we booked a cruise for mid June of next year. It's encouraging that, despite what their booklet stated, we did not have to pay in full by June 30, which would have been only about 6 weeks or so after our deposit. With no prompting from me, they told me that we had until December 31 to pay the balance. That timing is more like Oceania's, so hopefully now they are no longer requesting such early payments. Perhaps early on they had to prove to their creditors that they had money coming in to get those ships built.

One little thing I do like about Oceania is that even though you do have to wait a good while to see the shore excursion information, before they finalize and post info that's specific to your cruise, they post previous information on excursions they've offered in the same ports with no prices. That at least gives me an idea of what's likely to be available, and the price isn't all that critical because I can kind of guess what it will be (i.e., not exactly cheap!!)

We are on the Viking Star "Homelands" cruise next month and if they come even close to our fantastic experience with Oceania, we'll be quite happy.

I have cruised on Oceania, Regent, and just returned from my first Viking Sea cruise. I have to honestly say, I was blown away by Viking. The Sea was only 3 weeks old and everything was perfect! The food was the best I have ever eaten at sea. The service was divine and our cabin steward couldn't do enough for us. I liked the little touches, like the throw pillows on the chairs and couches and the cashmere blankets thrown around for people who were chilled. I also liked the fact that you could get a table for two, in the main dining room, which was close enough to other tables that you always ended up conversing with your neighbors. The ship itself, was so beautifully and simply decorated. I loved the beautiful pictures at the top of the grand staircase that were constantly changing. I think Viking has really got something going with these new Ocean cruises. I would definitely choose Viking over Oceania or Regent.

I'm considering booking the 2017 Into the Midnight Sun cruise. I welcome any info on it as to how the included excursions were (Orkney Islands, Bergen & other Norway ports, etc.) as well as a guess as to how far Greenwich is to London and to London Heathrow.

 

Is it worth it to buy the "Air Plus" option? I imagine getting to London is easy but Bergen is a real question mark to us. Did anyone in the DC area fly to either city using Viking air? How was it? Is the weather likely to be any better in late July than it is late June? Sounds a little cold...

 

Did anyone do a blog on Into the Midnight Sun last year, assuming it was offered? Is anyone going this year who could tell me anything about it?

 

Thanks.

The air plus option for Bergen is not available because the Bergen airport us too small .

I have cruised on Oceania, Regent, and just returned from my first Viking Sea cruise. I have to honestly say, I was blown away by Viking. The Sea was only 3 weeks old and everything was perfect! The food was the best I have ever eaten at sea. The service was divine and our cabin steward couldn't do enough for us. I liked the little touches, like the throw pillows on the chairs and couches and the cashmere blankets thrown around for people who were chilled. I also liked the fact that you could get a table for two, in the main dining room, which was close enough to other tables that you always ended up conversing with your neighbors. The ship itself, was so beautifully and simply decorated. I loved the beautiful pictures at the top of the grand staircase that were constantly changing. I think Viking has really got something going with these new Ocean cruises. I would definitely choose Viking over Oceania or Regent.

So good to read. We traveled on the 2007 and 2010 Regent World Cruises, but have never sailed on Viking Ocean. However, we have signed up for the 2018 Viking Ocean World Cruise -- on a ship that hasn't even been built yet!

The OP raise an interesting question and, from where I'm sat, a tough call.

Having cruised both lines in the last 6 months I'm still not sure I could make a definitive choice.

Mainly because the itineraries were so different but one thing is for sure, I thoroughly enjoyed both...

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2016/01/31/oceania-riviera-mayan-mystique/

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2015/12/28/viking-star-a-taste-of-something-different/

And my final word?

I'd happily return to both.

Just booked the No 26 2017 West Indies cruise. We have been to all the ports before, but wanted to experience this ship. We have been on Azamara previously and liked it very much and hope this ship is as nice. I welcome all the comments and was disappointed to learn that the wine offered is not that great as we love wine. Anyone have any idea what "cocktails" run on the ocean ships? Thanks

$4-$6.00

Just booked the No 26 2017 West Indies cruise. We have been to all the ports before, but wanted to experience this ship. We have been on Azamara previously and liked it very much and hope this ship is as nice. I welcome all the comments and was disappointed to learn that the wine offered is not that great as we love wine. Anyone have any idea what "cocktails" run on the ocean ships? Thanks

Viking has a rather liberal policy about bringing bottles on board, so you can always buy it yourself and bring it aboard.

Moreover, wine is one of those very subjective things and you may find the Viking choices very much to your liking.

I welcome all the comments and was disappointed to learn that the wine offered is not that great as we love wine. Thanks

Please don't take my opinions as very reliable on wine. I think one can order other wine besides the free glasses of wine -- but if not, the wine was good, just not special, in my own opinion -- and I am not that knowledgeable on wine.

We did get a good Greek wine one day But in general, I skipped the wine and wen with dark beer, so the sampling size on the wine was not more than a few times.

Be interested in hearing your thoughts on the wine when you have finished your cruise.

In my opinion, it is not great wine....and if what they are pouring just doesn't work for you, ask what other options they have that they might not have first told you about! That worked fairly well more than once! And then, Sometimes there is fairly good that is included depending on the day. We enjoy good wine - so That said, they have very reasonable priced very good wine available - (much better price/quality points than other lines we have experienced) on their wine lists. Add to the fact that you can bring your own on board with no corkage fee, we were fine with using all of these options to mix it up. It really does work. At least it did for us - both on Viking Rivers and Oceans.

We just booked our first Viking Ocean cruise for June 2017, "Into the Midnight Sun" which is a 14 night cruise from London to Bergen. We booked a Penthouse Jr. suite. We generally travel in an Owners suite (on the small ships) or Oceania suite (on the big ships) both of which have 2 bathrooms and lots of space. Only the strangely configured Owners suite (a conference room with a table seating 12) on viking has two baths. One feature we like on Viking is that our suite has a dividing curtain so the living room can be isolated from the bedroom.

 

We've already completed 23 Oceania cruises, plus 7 Regent cruises among our 60+ cruises. After Oceania's recent outbreaks of Norovirus - and their really poor handling of the situation we have decided to look at other cruise lines for future cruises.

 

We'd also like to book Viking's New England cruise in October 2017 as soon as it is offered.

 

We're looking forward to our first viking cruise next year.[/QUO

From what I read we should have a great time, our cruise ends on the 17th.

Since I have only been on Princess twice and Oceania once...(just returned yesterday from an 11 day Baltic cruise) I am amazed to read GaryCD's negative comments about Oceania. I would compare Oceania's food to eating in a 5 star restaurant for every meal. Everything was so delicious. And what amazed me was that the desserts on Oceania were not sweet at all. They even offer a platter of cookies at the buffet that says, 'no added sugar' which must mean they keep the sugar in the recipe to a minimum. I had one meal that was salty (Toscana's tomato sauce) otherwise the food was perfectly salted. They did not rely on salt to boost the flavours of the food but let the freshness and seasoning of the food be the stars. We mostly ate at the buffets because you could see the food and even take a little bit of several offerings which I preferred. I appreciate that the buffet servers dish out smaller portions...although one could ask for more. Although on this cruise I ate a generous breakfast (bacon and eggs and low sugar smoothies) a light lunch in the port cities and a generous dinner every day, I actually lost 2 pounds on this trip. The service staff bent over backwards to make sure we were happy anticipating any issue before it could come up. Our housekeeping staff called us by name and asked how we were etc... Every staff member we passed said hello with a smile...which actually became a bit much after a while. I cannot find one thing I would change on our cruise. We do not drink alcohol, gamble, go to shows (too tired from 18,000 steps of walking per day) nor are we interested in going to the spa, hot tub etc... so we are glad that this is 'pay extra' on the Oceania. We travel for the destinations...and eating healthy and well. That is why Oceania suited us so well. I would be happy to go on a Viking trip but cannot imagine how Oceania could be beat.

Since I have only been on Princess twice and Oceania once...(just returned yesterday from an 11 day Baltic cruise) I am amazed to read GaryCD's negative comments about Oceania. I would compare Oceania's food to eating in a 5 star restaurant for every meal. Everything was so delicious. And what amazed me was that the desserts on Oceania were not sweet at all. They even offer a platter of cookies at the buffet that says, 'no added sugar' which must mean they keep the sugar in the recipe to a minimum. I had one meal that was salty (Toscana's tomato sauce) otherwise the food was perfectly salted. They did not rely on salt to boost the flavours of the food but let the freshness and seasoning of the food be the stars. We mostly ate at the buffets because you could see the food and even take a little bit of several offerings which I preferred. I appreciate that the buffet servers dish out smaller portions...although one could ask for more. Although on this cruise I ate a generous breakfast (bacon and eggs and low sugar smoothies) a light lunch in the port cities and a generous dinner every day, I actually lost 2 pounds on this trip. The service staff bent over backwards to make sure we were happy anticipating any issue before it could come up. Our housekeeping staff called us by name and asked how we were etc... Every staff member we passed said hello with a smile...which actually became a bit much after a while. I cannot find one thing I would change on our cruise. We do not drink alcohol, gamble, go to shows (too tired from 18,000 steps of walking per day) nor are we interested in going to the spa, hot tub etc... so we are glad that this is 'pay extra' on the Oceania. We travel for the destinations...and eating healthy and well. That is why Oceania suited us so well. I would be happy to go on a Viking trip but cannot imagine how Oceania could be beat.

What Oceania ship were you on?

What Oceania ship were you on?

In our opinion O can be beat. After 13 cruises in Owners Suites on O we tried Crystal and found that other than the size of the suite C beat them in every way. We have now booked an Explorer Suite on Viking because Crystal had nothing out of NY and hope it is as good as many here have reported.

Thank you for your comparisons.

What Oceania ship were you on?

I was on the Marina in the first two weeks of September. I would consider myself a particular/fussy person. I am picky when it comes to food. For example I would not eat seafood and dislike fish. I only like well done bacon. I don't eat margarine, cold cuts, drink soft drinks or alcohol. I am dairy intolerant.I even bring my own duvet cover as using hotel/ship sheets bothers me. Any kind of stain in my sleeping quarters turns me off completely. I don't like to be around rowdy guests or have loud movies blaring as I walk through a ship (Princess). I can't stand the hard sell throughout a cruise (Princess). And I don't like fake foods such as phony whipped cream and egg substitute (Princess). So, in general I am very hard to please. And the Marina, Oceania experience exceeded my expectations and was superlative in every way. Were you on that cruise?

We've done 28 Oceania cruises - we really like everything about the cruise line. We are doing our forst Viking cruise October 1 just to see what the ships and food are like. We don't go to shows, casino, trivia, tea time.

We have been on all the R ships 13 times and also don't do trivia,shows, casino or ships tours. We have noticed a big difference in food quality over the cruises since the year Oceania began until recently.

We also look for well presented interesting lectures which we only had on one O Alaska cruise with the brilliant Terry Breen. Good lectures are pretty much guaranteed on Crystal as is superb food, we'll soon see how Viking and QM2 Queens Grill compare to both lines.

We've done 28 Oceania cruises - we really like everything about the cruise line. We are doing our forst Viking cruise October 1 just to see what the ships and food are like. We don't go to shows, casino, trivia, tea time.

Hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did. Might suggest you give tea time a try. The Wintergarden is lovely, and the tea service was yummy!

Viking versus Oceania.

Have just completed my first cruise on Oceania after 20 years with Celebrity. Took the Marina on a Baltic just off September 24.

Very, very pleased with Oceania - a significant step up from Celebrity in everyway.

Have considered Viking, but hesitant about the "inclusive" pricing - ie having to pay for other people's alcohol and having to pay for Viking's shore excursions. Will not do either.

While on Oceania, met many guests who were on the cruise from Celebrity, Azamara, Viking and Crystal - because they did not want to pay for "forced" beverage packages and excursions.

Oceania allows for a greater amount of customization.

I do confirm that the Oceania management on board are dismissive of guest complaints - I made a complaint and was treated with contempt.

Viking Sea passengers we met said that Oceania's cuisine was the best.

Then again several of us agreed that the steak dinner in Manfredi's on the Sea was the best ever.

Eliminate excellent Silversea from your consideration because unlike Viking they also include unlimited booze for your fellow passengers.