Soap and Shampoo

Can anyone advise is there is adequate bar soap in the cabins (DV)? How often is soap and shampoo replenished or do you have to request replenishment? Also, is the shampoo/conditioner in individual bottles or dispensers? Thanks.

All usual things shampoo, conditioner, shower stuff supplied for all cabins. If you need extra soap just ask cabin attendant. No point in lugging this stuff frm home.

Do they provide bath gel or only bar soap? If they are providing only bar soap, I'll bring my own bath gel from home.

There is also a body wash provided. Body lotion,.body wash, shampoo, conditioner. These are all provided along with bar soap. And, they are generous sizes.

Becki

If you're a Viking River Cruiser and are used to the L'Occitane products, be aware that the products on the Oceans line are a private label called Freya - a Norse god or goddess I guess. The products are manufactured in Germany. There's nothing wrong with them, but I did not find them as luxurious feeling as L'Occitane. They had the feel of something you'd get in a Holiday Inn, but for all I know, they're really expensive. They will be enjoyed by some more than L'Occitane as they are virtually scent free. But I missed my Verbena L'Occitane!

If you're a Viking River Cruiser and are used to the L'Occitane products, be aware that the products on the Oceans line are a private label called Freya - a Norse god or goddess I guess. The products are manufactured in Germany. There's nothing wrong with them, but I did not find them as luxurious feeling as L'Occitane. They had the feel of something you'd get in a Holiday Inn, but for all I know, they're really expensive. They will be enjoyed by some more than L'Occitane as they are virtually scent free. But I missed my Verbena L'Occitane!

Freya is a goddess of Norse mythology.

http://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-vanir-gods-and-goddesses/freya/

She was a party girl, some say.:D

Good name for body and bath lotions.

I suggest a reading of Norse myths or the Icelandic sagas to get a feel for the vast symbolism of the Vikings both ancient and modern.

My favorite character is Loki , the trickster.;)

Trickster, did any of you get supplied with robe and slippers as was listed as amenities?

We had both robes & slippers in our cabins upon arrival.

What category were you? I understand all categories are suppose to get these. Just wondering if they are doing it or if I need to request them.

We were in a V2 cabin.

I read the answer to this before, but have forgotten: What's in the room to use as an alarm clock (yes, some of us actually use one on vacation)? Is there a clock or radio you can set, can you get wakeup calls, or should I bring my little travel alarm? It's small, but I'm trying to reduce the amount of stuff I bring. I'm also not planning to use my phone on the ship, so using that alarm won't work. Thanks.

Roothy,

There is a way on the phones to set a wake up call, but I didn't test it to make sure it worked. Hopefully, someone else can tell you for sure. I always do carry my little travel alarm, as I have this obsession to need to know the time if I wake up in the night. :rolleyes:

Becki

There's no clock or radio. There's supposed to be a wake up call button on the phone and we tried it several times, but all we got when we pressed that button was Room Service. So, can't tell you if that's working now.

You can use your phone as an alarm clock even if you don't use it as a regular phone. Go into Settings and look for something like "Date and Time" - after you click on that there should be something that says "Set Manually". You set the date and time manually ie not associated with your GPS or cell location. Then set the alarm. That's what we did with both our phones set 15 minutes apart and it worked brilliantly. Of course you should try this at home first as every phone is different and what worked for ours might not for yours.

Roothy,

What Elizabeth said about your phone's alarm feature is correct. You should be able to use that w/o worrying about data charges. My hubby always used his phone as an alarm when he traveled in Europe.

Becki

We had both robes & slippers in our cabins upon arrival.

So, I am surprised about the robes and slippers. The literature said they did not come with a V cabin, just DV and above. One less thing to pack!

You can use your phone as an alarm clock even if you don't use it as a regular phone. Go into Settings and look for something like "Date and Time" - after you click on that there should be something that says "Set Manually". You set the date and time manually ie not associated with your GPS or cell location. Then set the alarm. That's what we did with both our phones set 15 minutes apart and it worked brilliantly. Of course you should try this at home first as every phone is different and what worked for ours might not for yours.

Thanks. I just went in and did this on my phone to make sure it works, and put the phone in airplane mode, too. I should be hearing the alarm (well, loud chirping birds or whatever) in 15 minutes. I suppose I'll also take my little travel alarm just in case I need it in a hotel or on the ship. But thanks for the tip.

Another packing related question for Elizabeth and Becki: If you did Viking's included tour in Istanbul and went to the Rustem Pasha mosque, were head scarves required? Were they provided? I'll probably take my own, as I hear some of the ones at the Blue Mosque are quite well-worn, but I was curious. Also, if people were wearing shorts, were they given something to put over their knees, or wasn't that checked too carefully? I'm planning to dress accordingly, and my husband never wears shorts, but I AM curious.

Becki, I think you stayed in a hotel pre-trip (and maybe post trip in Istanbul). Did you use any electrical things, and if so, did you need a converter? We're staying in small Venice and Istanbul hotels, not big American hotels like the Hilton in Venice, so I'm thinking we should bring a converter and Euro plug. I know most modern "devices" have dual current, but not sure if other things do. I always take more than I need on a cruise, and am trying to reduce a bit this time, but don't want to leave any essential things behind.

Also, this is perhaps the silliest/strangest question asked on Cruise Critic (or at least it is for ME), but I'll ask it anyway. I'm looking at the ship diagram that was originally included in the booklet we got from Viking way back when. Are there 4 elevators toward the rear of the ship on each deck, and 2 elevators toward the front? When I get on board, I like to pick out "landmarks" to help me determine quickly where I am instead of having to go by arrows and stateroom numbers for 3 days! Also, do you remember if there was anything I could use to determine which side I should turn towards once I get off an elevator that is specific to either the port or starboard or even/odd numbered side? For example, is there a wall-mounted phone, or edge marker or something else like that on one side only?

Oops...birds chirping; gotta go!

Roothy,

We did stay in Istanbul & Venice overnight, and I took a flat iron, but it was dual voltage, so I only needed an adapter plug, which is easy to pack. I learned my lesson at purchasing dual voltage hair appliances back when we went to Israel and I had a digital hair appliance. I had asked my engineer hubby to check it out to make sure I could use it with our converter, b/c if not, I'd take another. He said yes, w/o really studying it. Much to my dismay, once we got to our first hotel, because it was digital, meaning the temp wasn't steady, he said I couldn't use it with the converter. Aargh! So, I had to try to make do with a hair dryer (thank God each hotel supplied one) and a round brush I always pack. Lesson learned to buy dual voltage. Saves a lot of headaches and space in the suitcase. ;)

As far as the mosque, I did take my headscarf that I wore at the Blue Mosque the day before (I would never wear one of the "loaners"; don't know who or how many have worn them before they have been laundered. Ugh!), but I don't believe we were asked to wear them. Also, our weather was a bit cool, so I don't remember anyone wearing shorts, so the issue of wearing leg coverings never came up.

As far as navigating the ship; our cabin was very near the aft of the ship, while our friends' cabin was more forward. We would generally take the bank of elevators near The Restaurant or from the embarkation area to/from our cabins. So, yes, 4 elevators aft, and then two more forward. Since our cabin was at the end of the corridor, when I came to the corridor off the elevator, I could see which way to turn, as it was a short corridor vs a longer one to our friends' cabin (if that makes sense).

Becki

Telephone is on the port-even number side . That's the way to tell from the 4 elevator banka

Roothy - ditto to rjscott's comments. I took my own head scarf. The loaner ones they gave you looked a bit nasty. It was cool in Istanbul for us as well so no one was wearing shorts. However, when we went to the Blue Mosque, the entrance guards were making two teenage girls who had on skinny jeans wrap a large piece of cloth around themselves. At the Rustem Pasa Mosque, everyone in our group did wear headscarves, but some were loaners. Also, you have to take off your shoes in both places so you might think about wearing socks that day if you don't want to walk bearfoot.

Possibly already mentioned but is there body lotion in the cabin? Thanks!

DV3029

Yes to body lotion - all products are Freya - a brand made specifically for Viking - made in Germany - not L'Occitane like on their River Ships. The body lotion (and all the products - shampoo, conditioner, soap and lotion) is virtually non-scented which will appeal to some who don't like scented products.

Great to hear that Viking is supplying toiletries. There were none on our Viking river cruise and guests were scrambling in the river towns to buy them, difficult with labels in languages other than English.

Great to hear that Viking is supplying toiletries. There were none on our Viking river cruise and guests were scrambling in the river towns to buy them, difficult with labels in languages other than English.

I am astonished at this. With 4 Viking River cruises, we have always had L'Occitane toiletries in our bathroom, and replenished as soon as one was opened.

Becki

Us too! Wonder what Viking river cruise you were on? I would want to make sure I came prepared.

I missed the L'Occitane toiletries. I liked L'Occitane better than the Freya.