It’s been a few days since we got back from our 9-day expedition (?) voyage from Barbados home to NYC on Viking Octantis and we’re certainly missing the warm, sunny Caribbean. After spending a few days catching up on work I sat down to jot a review of the ship, the Caribbean Connections trip and Viking. It’s a bit wordy but hopefully it’ll help set expectations for those who are on the reverse trip in October. I know the Viking loyalists will be dipping their arrows into the fire to flame some opinions below so have at it. The flames will keep me warm.
The Ship-
Nice, shiny and new. It’s a pleasant sized ship with nothing being too far away. Plenty of elevators but the ship is small enough to take the stairs everywhere. On day two the top deck (Deck 6) was kitted out with loungers, couches, chairs and sitting areas to enjoy the sunshine which was really nice. The Hide at the front of the ship is a cool place to sit on sea days to watch the water level view (not for those who easily get seasick). The Living Room is a nice sized and comfortable place to hang out, play cards, read etc. The Explorers Lounge is a nice two-story place to grab a drink and watch the scenery go by. The booze selection is on the rather limited side, which applies to the entire ship. The Finse Terrace on the rear of the ship is an inviting place to sit and with it’s dual fire pits and rear facing couches. It’s definitely suited for cold weather destinations but it works in sunny climates too. The Aula is the theater/lecture hall at the rear of the ship. It’s a well designed and useful space with movable walls and screens that reveal expansive windows, depending on what’s needed. Below The Aula is the Hangar holding all of the toys and the Science Lab. The outdoor pool is terribly lacking. It’s about the size of a dunk tank at a school carnival flanked by a similar sized cold pool (called the Frigidarium) and a hot tub. Together these three questionable water features had some horrendously designed vents/drains/filters that made quite a racket so you would get in and out quickly before your ears were pummeled into submission. It was like sitting next to a giant airplane bathroom. There is a covered, indoor section of the pool that is connected to the “dunk tank”. Great for Antarctica, not so much for the Caribbean, but many people enjoyed lounging in that area.
The crew was great. Very friendly and courteous. They were definitely the highlight of the ship. The officers and the expedition staff were all great as well. We were always greeted, often by name, which is a nice touch.
The Room-
We stayed in a Deluxe Nordic Balcony. It’s nicely laid out and roomy enough, complete with a large, two door closet with a passport safe and a drying closet. Plenty of US/UKpower sockets and a wireless charging point on each nightstand (although only one worked and even then charging was excruciatingly slow). Next to each side of the bed are the light controls which turn on ceiling lights or night lights, which is a nice touch. The bathroom was roomy with a well designed shower whose seal held the water in when showering during rolling seas.
The two main drawbacks to this room are the dollhouse sized L-shaped couch and the ultimate in design blunder in cruise ship history, the Nordic Balcony. This design is trash and it’s not just Viking who fell for this farce, as I understand Celebrity has too on it’s newer ships. It’s just a window with a long name. Even in Antarctica this design is a fail. There is no peeking out the window to check the view or weather in the morning without raising the blackout shade, complete with the loud whirring that does not bring joy to a sleeping wife’s face. If it’s hot out and you want to enjoy a bit of fresh air on the “balcony”, your air-conditioned air will escape as will all peace and quiet in your stateroom. If your significant other is working or napping or basically enjoying the cool air an unpleasant moment will arise as you wait forever to raise the window. If that window is dropped for a photo op in Antarctica (which you will certainly miss if you’re trying to photograph wildlife due to the glacial pace that it moves) everyone in that stateroom had better be bundled up because the heat won’t hang out long, much like your significant other’s good mood. The ship is small enough that you can head out to a deck in a pinch, but the convenience of a balcony can’t be compared. This design should be taken behind the barn and shot.
Other room issues included a Nespresso-like coffee maker that never worked properly and a TV remote that you needed two hands to operate (one to push on the battery, after removing the door, and the other to repeatedly mash the desired button).
The World Café-
A nicely laid out buffet, including a sushi bar. Caribbean night was great. The homemade habanero hot sauce was outstanding, especially with the tasty jerk chicken. Standouts from other nights were the Pork Lok Lak, all of the curry dishes served and the Beef Wellington. Breakfast here was solid although you couldn’t get diced peppers in your omelet (which I thought was kind of a universal omelet ingredient) but not a big deal. Coffee on board was pretty awful throughout with the exception of cappuccinos or iced coffee in the Living Room.
The Grill-
I loved the look of the meat locker and all of the cuts featured but was disappointed that everything we ordered from here was basically pre-prepared and warmed up on the grill or in a salamander. I understand that this is done for speed but who would complain if you had to wait a bit to get an actual freshly grilled piece of meat?
Manfredi’s-
This was a strange experience. We had heard so many great things about this restaurant and we were excited to try it. After sitting for about 10 minutes someone brought us water and some menus. 3 seconds later someone else arrived and asked what we would like and then came back every 3 seconds until we ordered. We requested to see the wine list and were told there isn’t one. A waitress brought over two bottles of red for us to taste and poured a glass of our choosing. We had no idea if we were drinking the house wine or the next level up that comes with the SSBP that we purchased. This went on for the entire cruise even though we were told on night one that they just refilled their wine stock and were still putting the list together. The uneven service continued through out the whole meal with large gaps between courses and then a sort of pressured feeling to eat up. The lasagna was postage stamp sized and the filet had that sort of wedding banquet cooked en masse and heated up on the plate taste. Edible but definitely didn’t live up to the hype. The duck breast was huge but totally overcooked. We canceled our second reservation.
The Restaurant –
Service here was amazing. We checked in at the front desk and they apologized and asked us if we would mind waiting a few minutes, which wasn’t a problem as we’re on vacation. They apologized profusely for the wait and we said it really wasn’t necessary but appreciated. The bread, water and menus quickly followed in a professional and efficient manner, not a harried one like we experienced at Manfredi’s previously. We purchased some wine while walking around St. Barts and brought it with us to enjoy, which wasn’t a problem. The food here was good. The only exception was my steak. The inside was cooked to perfection but strangely the outside had a glass like texture that when chewed, shards of the “crust” would painfully pierce your gums. I can only assume that the steak is pre-prepared, brushed with oil or butter and then placed under a salamander like at the Grill. My piece may have spent a few minutes too close to the burner. We did enjoy our experience here and booked an additional night. We brought our own bottle of wine that night too and when they asked us to wait to be seated we said no worries and asked if they could please open our bottle to let it breathe. When we got to our table our wine was decanted which was unexpected and a very nice touch. Everything we had on our second night was well prepared and tasty. The service again was great.
Room Service-
We don’t typically order room service on land or at sea but on our first lazy sea day we went for it. The timing was fast and efficient. The fried chicken and corn on the cob was some of the best we’ve had anywhere. We liked it so much we ordered one portion again on our final night (we didn’t feel like leaving the room due to packing) with an order of spaghetti Bolognese. The pasta tasted homemade and the sauce was delicious. Another room service homerun.
Ports of Call-
We enjoyed all of the ports and we had nearly perfect weather throughout. St Lucia and St Barts were two new stops for us and we can’t wait to go back. The shore staff on all of our excursions were fantastic. The beach day in St Kitts was really nice and relaxing, except for the tender docking at the beach, and Old San Juan was as beautiful as it was prior to the hurricanes. It’s great to see all of the new restaurants and bars in the area.
The Viking experience-
We’re not at retirement age but we’re at a point where we can almost see it on the horizon. We are considering a World Cruise to kick off our first year of retirement and decided to try out some potential cruise lines before parting with a massive sum of cash without knowing the food and service. Scanning different forums and hearing ringing endorsements from family members we jumped at the chance to book a trip on Viking’s expedition cruise from Barbados back home to NYC, especially with a great itinerary including a place I’ve always wanted to visit, Montserrat. After looking at the included excursions we pulled the trigger in July 2021. We’re very experienced travelers and have always booked directly when making travel arrangements and this time was no different. Periodically we’d check in on the ships capacity by going online and entering a booking. We noticed that the price had dropped by $1500. I called our Viking rep and after she put me on hold for a few minutes came back and said “I’ll adjust it for you this time.” That wording struck me as weird but thanked her and went on with my day. With about a month to go before final payment the price dropped again. This time by $1000. I called our rep back and she said “Yes, it has.”. I asked what could be done and sounding bored with the inquiry said “Nothing.”. I then asked if canceling the cruise rebooking would be the answer and the response was along the lines of do whatever you want to do. If we hadn’t been cancelling trip after trip and going through the hassle of getting refunds and dealing with disappointment I would’ve (should’ve) punched out of this one. We thought it over for a while and reasoned we were prepared to pay the original price so let’s keep going forward since we’ll still have an adventure with the toys and islands. Final payments are made and a few weeks before our cabin type can book dining we’re notified that Montserrat is off the itinerary, replaced by St Kitts. The email said the reason is “The pier at Montserrat won’t be ready in time”. My first thought is we’re on an expedition ship, who needs a pier when you have a hangar full of zodiacs? Why can’t we just storm the beaches like a bunch of geriatric special forces? Dinner reservations opened up and we booked as directed so no issues there, but all of the included excursions have either disappeared or have become “additional cost” on MVJ. After contacting Viking again we’re told not to worry that it’s just a glitch and everyone will get the excursions they want. Weeks later we receive PDF’s for our journey and listed on it are the “included” excursions we wanted with the words “Sold Out” next to each. Another call to Viking and another reassurance that “you can book it when you board”. Long story short, we could not. To add insult to injury, we found out on board that there were several people (“media” types who post YouTube vids and Insta photos) traveling on this trip for free (in exchange for positive write ups/videos/photos which makes sense because who would have a complaint if they paid nothing and got everything?) who were on all of the excursions we were denied. I don’t mind losing a reservation based on first come – first served basis, but at least give us an even playing field. For the entire 9 day cruise we never once got on anything other than a giant tender to go to shore like we were Carnies heading to Senior Frogs on Cozumel. This expedition cruise became a small ship cruise with a science lab. We would not have booked this cruise if that’s all it was. Many Viking regulars on board shared our frustration with the excursions and told us not to give up on Viking and that this wasn’t up to typical Viking standards. I hope not because it wasn’t up to ours either.
As a side note, the owner of the Viking brand, Torstein Hagen, joined the ship in San Juan for the trip to NYC. In one of his media interviews he mentioned that this trip was a “one time repositioning trip” or something to that effect to get the ship up to the great lakes and several of the “media” types jumped on it and started using that description. ****. We were sold an expedition cruise in the Caribbean, to go where the big boats can’t go complete with all of the toys. While it was a very nice cruise, it was just wasn’t what we paid for and left us with a “bait & switch” feeling towards Viking. On the plus side, our list of World Cruise choices may have just gotten a bit shorter.
It’s been a few days since we got back from our 9-day expedition (?) voyage from Barbados home to NYC on Viking Octantis and we’re certainly missing the warm, sunny Caribbean. After spending a few days catching up on work I sat down to jot a review of the ship, the Caribbean Connections trip and Viking. It’s a bit wordy but hopefully it’ll help set expectations for those who are on the reverse trip in October. I know the Viking loyalists will be dipping their arrows into the fire to flame some opinions below so have at it. The flames will keep me warm. The Ship- Nice, shiny and new. It’s a pleasant sized ship with nothing being too far away. Plenty of elevators but the ship is small enough to take the stairs everywhere. On day two the top deck (Deck 6) was kitted out with loungers, couches, chairs and sitting areas to enjoy the sunshine which was really nice. The Hide at the front of the ship is a cool place to sit on sea days to watch the water level view (not for those who easily get seasick). The Living Room is a nice sized and comfortable place to hang out, play cards, read etc. The Explorers Lounge is a nice two-story place to grab a drink and watch the scenery go by. The booze selection is on the rather limited side, which applies to the entire ship. The Finse Terrace on the rear of the ship is an inviting place to sit and with it’s dual fire pits and rear facing couches. It’s definitely suited for cold weather destinations but it works in sunny climates too. The Aula is the theater/lecture hall at the rear of the ship. It’s a well designed and useful space with movable walls and screens that reveal expansive windows, depending on what’s needed. Below The Aula is the Hangar holding all of the toys and the Science Lab. The outdoor pool is terribly lacking. It’s about the size of a dunk tank at a school carnival flanked by a similar sized cold pool (called the Frigidarium) and a hot tub. Together these three questionable water features had some horrendously designed vents/drains/filters that made quite a racket so you would get in and out quickly before your ears were pummeled into submission. It was like sitting next to a giant airplane bathroom. There is a covered, indoor section of the pool that is connected to the “dunk tank”. Great for Antarctica, not so much for the Caribbean, but many people enjoyed lounging in that area. The crew was great. Very friendly and courteous. They were definitely the highlight of the ship. The officers and the expedition staff were all great as well. We were always greeted, often by name, which is a nice touch. The Room- We stayed in a Deluxe Nordic Balcony. It’s nicely laid out and roomy enough, complete with a large, two door closet with a passport safe and a drying closet. Plenty of US/UKpower sockets and a wireless charging point on each nightstand (although only one worked and even then charging was excruciatingly slow). Next to each side of the bed are the light controls which turn on ceiling lights or night lights, which is a nice touch. The bathroom was roomy with a well designed shower whose seal held the water in when showering during rolling seas. The two main drawbacks to this room are the dollhouse sized L-shaped couch and the ultimate in design blunder in cruise ship history, the Nordic Balcony. This design is trash and it’s not just Viking who fell for this farce, as I understand Celebrity has too on it’s newer ships. It’s just a window with a long name. Even in Antarctica this design is a fail. There is no peeking out the window to check the view or weather in the morning without raising the blackout shade, complete with the loud whirring that does not bring joy to a sleeping wife’s face. If it’s hot out and you want to enjoy a bit of fresh air on the “balcony”, your air-conditioned air will escape as will all peace and quiet in your stateroom. If your significant other is working or napping or basically enjoying the cool air an unpleasant moment will arise as you wait forever to raise the window. If that window is dropped for a photo op in Antarctica (which you will certainly miss if you’re trying to photograph wildlife due to the glacial pace that it moves) everyone in that stateroom had better be bundled up because the heat won’t hang out long, much like your significant other’s good mood. The ship is small enough that you can head out to a deck in a pinch, but the convenience of a balcony can’t be compared. This design should be taken behind the barn and shot. Other room issues included a Nespresso-like coffee maker that never worked properly and a TV remote that you needed two hands to operate (one to push on the battery, after removing the door, and the other to repeatedly mash the desired button). The World Café- A nicely laid out buffet, including a sushi bar. Caribbean night was great. The homemade habanero hot sauce was outstanding, especially with the tasty jerk chicken. Standouts from other nights were the Pork Lok Lak, all of the curry dishes served and the Beef Wellington. Breakfast here was solid although you couldn’t get diced peppers in your omelet (which I thought was kind of a universal omelet ingredient) but not a big deal. Coffee on board was pretty awful throughout with the exception of cappuccinos or iced coffee in the Living Room. The Grill- I loved the look of the meat locker and all of the cuts featured but was disappointed that everything we ordered from here was basically pre-prepared and warmed up on the grill or in a salamander. I understand that this is done for speed but who would complain if you had to wait a bit to get an actual freshly grilled piece of meat? Manfredi’s- This was a strange experience. We had heard so many great things about this restaurant and we were excited to try it. After sitting for about 10 minutes someone brought us water and some menus. 3 seconds later someone else arrived and asked what we would like and then came back every 3 seconds until we ordered. We requested to see the wine list and were told there isn’t one. A waitress brought over two bottles of red for us to taste and poured a glass of our choosing. We had no idea if we were drinking the house wine or the next level up that comes with the SSBP that we purchased. This went on for the entire cruise even though we were told on night one that they just refilled their wine stock and were still putting the list together. The uneven service continued through out the whole meal with large gaps between courses and then a sort of pressured feeling to eat up. The lasagna was postage stamp sized and the filet had that sort of wedding banquet cooked en masse and heated up on the plate taste. Edible but definitely didn’t live up to the hype. The duck breast was huge but totally overcooked. We canceled our second reservation. The Restaurant – Service here was amazing. We checked in at the front desk and they apologized and asked us if we would mind waiting a few minutes, which wasn’t a problem as we’re on vacation. They apologized profusely for the wait and we said it really wasn’t necessary but appreciated. The bread, water and menus quickly followed in a professional and efficient manner, not a harried one like we experienced at Manfredi’s previously. We purchased some wine while walking around St. Barts and brought it with us to enjoy, which wasn’t a problem. The food here was good. The only exception was my steak. The inside was cooked to perfection but strangely the outside had a glass like texture that when chewed, shards of the “crust” would painfully pierce your gums. I can only assume that the steak is pre-prepared, brushed with oil or butter and then placed under a salamander like at the Grill. My piece may have spent a few minutes too close to the burner. We did enjoy our experience here and booked an additional night. We brought our own bottle of wine that night too and when they asked us to wait to be seated we said no worries and asked if they could please open our bottle to let it breathe. When we got to our table our wine was decanted which was unexpected and a very nice touch. Everything we had on our second night was well prepared and tasty. The service again was great. Room Service- We don’t typically order room service on land or at sea but on our first lazy sea day we went for it. The timing was fast and efficient. The fried chicken and corn on the cob was some of the best we’ve had anywhere. We liked it so much we ordered one portion again on our final night (we didn’t feel like leaving the room due to packing) with an order of spaghetti Bolognese. The pasta tasted homemade and the sauce was delicious. Another room service homerun. Ports of Call- We enjoyed all of the ports and we had nearly perfect weather throughout. St Lucia and St Barts were two new stops for us and we can’t wait to go back. The shore staff on all of our excursions were fantastic. The beach day in St Kitts was really nice and relaxing, except for the tender docking at the beach, and Old San Juan was as beautiful as it was prior to the hurricanes. It’s great to see all of the new restaurants and bars in the area. The Viking experience- We’re not at retirement age but we’re at a point where we can almost see it on the horizon. We are considering a World Cruise to kick off our first year of retirement and decided to try out some potential cruise lines before parting with a massive sum of cash without knowing the food and service. Scanning different forums and hearing ringing endorsements from family members we jumped at the chance to book a trip on Viking’s expedition cruise from Barbados back home to NYC, especially with a great itinerary including a place I’ve always wanted to visit, Montserrat. After looking at the included excursions we pulled the trigger in July 2021. We’re very experienced travelers and have always booked directly when making travel arrangements and this time was no different. Periodically we’d check in on the ships capacity by going online and entering a booking. We noticed that the price had dropped by $1500. I called our Viking rep and after she put me on hold for a few minutes came back and said “I’ll adjust it for you this time.” That wording struck me as weird but thanked her and went on with my day. With about a month to go before final payment the price dropped again. This time by $1000. I called our rep back and she said “Yes, it has.”. I asked what could be done and sounding bored with the inquiry said “Nothing.”. I then asked if canceling the cruise rebooking would be the answer and the response was along the lines of do whatever you want to do. If we hadn’t been cancelling trip after trip and going through the hassle of getting refunds and dealing with disappointment I would’ve (should’ve) punched out of this one. We thought it over for a while and reasoned we were prepared to pay the original price so let’s keep going forward since we’ll still have an adventure with the toys and islands. Final payments are made and a few weeks before our cabin type can book dining we’re notified that Montserrat is off the itinerary, replaced by St Kitts. The email said the reason is “The pier at Montserrat won’t be ready in time”. My first thought is we’re on an expedition ship, who needs a pier when you have a hangar full of zodiacs? Why can’t we just storm the beaches like a bunch of geriatric special forces? Dinner reservations opened up and we booked as directed so no issues there, but all of the included excursions have either disappeared or have become “additional cost” on MVJ. After contacting Viking again we’re told not to worry that it’s just a glitch and everyone will get the excursions they want. Weeks later we receive PDF’s for our journey and listed on it are the “included” excursions we wanted with the words “Sold Out” next to each. Another call to Viking and another reassurance that “you can book it when you board”. Long story short, we could not. To add insult to injury, we found out on board that there were several people (“media” types who post YouTube vids and Insta photos) traveling on this trip for free (in exchange for positive write ups/videos/photos which makes sense because who would have a complaint if they paid nothing and got everything?) who were on all of the excursions we were denied. I don’t mind losing a reservation based on first come – first served basis, but at least give us an even playing field. For the entire 9 day cruise we never once got on anything other than a giant tender to go to shore like we were Carnies heading to Senior Frogs on Cozumel. This expedition cruise became a small ship cruise with a science lab. We would not have booked this cruise if that’s all it was. Many Viking regulars on board shared our frustration with the excursions and told us not to give up on Viking and that this wasn’t up to typical Viking standards. I hope not because it wasn’t up to ours either. As a side note, the owner of the Viking brand, Torstein Hagen, joined the ship in San Juan for the trip to NYC. In one of his media interviews he mentioned that this trip was a “one time repositioning trip” or something to that effect to get the ship up to the great lakes and several of the “media” types jumped on it and started using that description. ****. We were sold an expedition cruise in the Caribbean, to go where the big boats can’t go complete with all of the toys. While it was a very nice cruise, it was just wasn’t what we paid for and left us with a “bait & switch” feeling towards Viking. On the plus side, our list of World Cruise choices may have just gotten a bit shorter.
