DrKoob

Nope, but they can get me a chocolate milkshake when no one else can 😁.

A lot depends on where you live now and how you react to cold. We have done nine Alaska cruises. Not because we love Alaska, but we live in Seattle so we can hop on a ship when there is a good deal. People from warmer climates find it very cold. We were on our verandah one afternoon when the weather was perfect outside and for us it was a nice, warm day (in the mid-60s) and looked out to see all the Floridians and Texans in their down parkas. The key thing to remember is layer...layer...layer.

And that's why (at least to me) the Hotel Manager is the most important person on the ship. 😀

We were long-time main dining room people. Like for 30+ cruises (on other lines). We think the noise level is from the low ceilings as opposed to most ocean ships where the ceilings are very high. One other thing we have discovered is that we eat less. In the MDR, it takes so long between courses and while waiting to order that we just eat bread. Lots of bread. In the World Cafe we get what we want, can hear each other and that's it. Great servers up there that kept our wine glasses full or brought us cocktails. Never got to eat outside. Where we were, it was just too hot. Hope to next month when we sail on Venus.

Wore exactly what you are talking about on our Viking Ocean cruise. But after three meals in the loudest dining room I have ever been in, with strange and inconsistent service we ate the rest of the 21 night cruise either in the buffet, room service (we were quarantined for four days) or the specialty restaurants.

I'm not saying the ship design doesn't work. I am saying that Viking would rather not have to deal with it but so they can say they do deal with it, they provide some fairly high priced staterooms where there is more room to accommodate a few. Then they can say that they are "accessible." Please don't interpret my explaining their business as endorsing their policies. I am just saying that as a person retired from the travel industry and from another marketing position, they do what they want because the CAN do it. They will continue to do it until they no longer have people who want their product. As far as being "socially responsible," they feel that they have done that because they have high-priced suites that they can show as being open to those with accessible needs.

Absolutely it will but that hasn't happened yet because of the quality of the cruising world in general. And Viking makes sure that TAs absolutely love them. As a former TA, I can tell you that they are the BEST at paying commissions because they pay commission on EVERYTHING! And they have the best phone reps in the industry. They ALWAYS answer the phones before the third ring and you never get a hold time that exceeds a very few minutes. I have sat on hold with some of the mainstream lines for more than an hour.

Social responsibility really does not apply here. You have a choice as to which cruise you take. If you have wants or needs that do not fit the Viking model, you should go elsewhere. If Viking was the only cruise line in the world, then yes, they should allow for some leeway. But there are plenty of other cruise lines (many have been listed here) that would be happy to take your money.

You are correct. Some corporate policies can be changed like the deposit/final payment situation. But they won't be changed until their ships start sailing with a lot of empty staterooms. So far, even with all the complaining, that hasn't happened yet. I tell friends about Viking and they complain about the deposit/final payment policy but lo and behold, they are on the cruise with me. Because they like the Viking experience. Other corporate policies can't be changed because of the physical environment. For example, ship design can only change with new ship builds. God knows, Viking likes to build ships but Tor discovered you can save a buttload of money by reusing the same plans over and over again. And that some people don't care (the ones he wants to attract) that every ship looks the same. They don't need the whiz-bang water slides and the platforms that go up and down on the side of the ship. They just want to go to cool places, on beautiful ships, see the ocean and not get nickeled and dimed to death. That said, the ship design doesn't really work with scooters and chairs, so they won't push for that particular guest. They will continue to do what they do in their niche. And those who love them will come back because they are in that niche.

You should try Windstar. They have a lot of single staterooms without a single supplement. And there are a lot of lines that now have single staterooms. And I totally agree with your assessment of the cruise industry in general. Even though ships are sailing full, they are still hurting from the pandemic and from trying to keep their shareholders happy.

If anyone wants to know why Viking does not encourage scooters or wheelchairs, you should realize it is the same reason they make us pay deposits a year ahead in most cases. It's because they can. When Tor started Viking Cruises, he decided to do a cruise line he would want to take, add all the things he would want and not worry about the things he wouldn't. Then, provide such a great product that loyal customers would put up with a few things being missing. If you want to go on Seabourn, Regent, Oceania or which ever other cruise line because you can take a scooter or get an accessible stateroom lower than a suite or pay a deposit only 3-6 months in advance, Viking is willing to have you do that because they have lots of other people who will take your place. Their ships and riverboats always seem to sail full or they do a last minute sale. Either way, not a lot of empty staterooms around, just a bunch of very loyal cruisers.

While I love the burger at the Dive-In, on our last HAL trip (on Koningsdam in May of last year) the wait for one was more than an hour between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. They only had three people working. It was horrid. I finally got one and it was cold. My best buddy ordered a simple hot dog and never got it. Sad.

Thanks so much for coming back to answer.

We are stopping there off Viking Venus in June. We signed up for the early morning included excursion which will get us into the city. We will just stay in and then make our own way back via taxi or train/shuttle. While I am here, it's been a few years since we were in Edinburgh, are either Uber or Lyft available?

You should have at least tried Vista. Those older R class ships are just that...old. A brand new ship has a vibe of its own. And the food we had on Vista was better in the specialty restaurants...even Embers (that I didn't like that much) than in Manfredis (where my wife got food poisoning) and the Chef's Table (but that's just because I don't like fixed menus.