FirstTimeFreddy

August 2024 - We lasted just two days on board the Viking Tialfi's Rhine Getaway before self curtailing. It was our first river cruise and will certainly be the last. It was like a cattle market. Forced to sit on large tables making meals awkward and uncomfortable. The noise was awful with nearly 200 people crammed into the Restaurant, shouting conversation at one another. Every course was served in sequence at the same. If you skipped the starter, you had to wait until everyone reached the main course. Nil 2 seater tables for couples. Nothing remotely refined or enjoyable about the experience whatsover. The only escape was the Aquavit Terrace, but this had very limited seating, and you had to camp out to secure a seat at either of the two seater tables. There was also no flexibility offered regarding what time you ate. It was all or nothing! You weren't even allowed to eat your dinner in the Lounge, as crew would only serve you on the Aquavit Terrace. Nothing to eat but cookies and apples between meals. If you remained on the longship between lunch and dinner, roughly 6 hours in between, you were left hungry. Not the best if you're a diabetic. We literally had to order take out to be delivered to the boat! Cabin smelled of sewage upon arrival. Took 24hrs for it to subside. Cabin's were poorly insulated from surrounding noise, and even worse than on a cruise ship. Woken from 6am with the sound of vacuum toilets flushing. PA announcements were made inside our cabin from 8am regarding excursion pick-ups. We hadn't even booked any! We tend to be late risers, so this noise intrusion was awful, and we were even wearing ear plugs. We were pi**ed off and exhausted. Viking's ocean cruising product is far superior and better value for money. For our own mental and physical well being we felt we had no choice but to return home. We disembarked at Kehl and took a taxi to Strasbourg airport and flew back home to London at our own cost. The relief when we got home was palpable. The whole thing was an ordeal on our senses from beginning to end. It was the biggest waste of £5k ever, not that Viking will care. Never again.

Have just got off the Apex on an 11 night to Iceland. It was my first time back with Celebrity since cruising on a few Solstice Class cruises pre-pandemic. I then switched to Princess for a while. Not only did I see cut backs in menus, portion sizes and overall quality, the price gouging for speciality restaurants and excursions was crazy. I remember speciality costing $25-$35pp and now it's $70-$80pp for some. We ate at Fine Cut and the bill was $200! Celebrity aren't alone in this, as has been mentioned. It's across the board.

We're currently on a 12 day UK cruise on the Regal. Our 4th Princess cruise. We had the opportunity to get a very cheap fare on the Viking Venus for an 8 day Adriatic, when cruising was only beginning to return in 2021. There was only 175 passengers on the ship and it was amazing! It felt like having our own private yacht. We love both cruise lines, but they're very different from one another. In 2023 Viking cruise prices are upwards of 3k pp and for us there's better value for money with Princess. We have no issue cruising with the masses and the Regal even at capacity has never felt too crowded. We would like to try Viking again one day and would highly recommend them. In the meantime, right now we're more price focused and are happy to stick with Princess.

We've all been woken by in room announcements at 5.40am relating to an emergency in the engine room. All in-room electrical power, plumbing and air conditioning was shut off for at least 30 minutes before being restored at 6.15am. As I use a Cpap machine to breath, it stopped working due to the loss of power and that's what initially alerted me to a problem. We're currently off the coast of Ireland close to our intended port stop for Dublin. Have no idea at this stage what is happening, but the ship is at capacity and everyone on board will have been awoken by the situation. 🤷‍♂️

We're currently on the Regal Princess in L301. Balcony is great but the noise is awful. There are two automated doors that are directly beside this room that give access to the Lido deck. The rattling and banging is non stop. It starts as soon as crew/passengers are awake around 6am and doesn't stop until around midnight. Added noise is made from carts being moved from the bars and towel carts through these doorways, as they loudly bang the metal floor guards. We've been on many cruises and you should always expect some noise, but not even our ear plugs prevent us from hearing the noise. My partner was forced to wear noise canceling headphones in addition to the ear plugs just to get some sleep. We requested a room move but to no avail as the ship is sold out. Guest Services said that they are aware of the noise issues related to L301 and we're not the first passengers in this room to report the problem.