CCWineLover

Yes they are usually $100 apart from each other, but occasionally there is a $200 difference between each PV. We've been in all 3 but like the PV2's a lot. You might also consider that half the PV's have slider doors to the balconies and half of them have swing open doorknob doors. Lots of threads on Cruise Critic on which people prefer and why. People have posted diagrams of which rooms have sliders and which have doors. Basically they lay out 2 sliders, then 2 doors, then 2 sliders, and so on.

They all have the same layout, same square footage, same amenities/benefits. Only difference is location on the ship. The descriptions are lumped together, for example, for 1, 2, and 3: https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-saturn.html PV1: Forware and aft on Deck 6, aft on Deck 5 PV2: Forward on Deck 5 PV3: Forward on Deck 4

We've done many many ocean cruises. We've always found the mattresses to be very good! Always so tired at the end of the day, always get a good night's sleep. As in people's opinions on the various food and restaurants, and SSBP, everyone will have a different opinion and experience!

Lorna - I also did the Photo tour. Ray's pics brought back great memories of Ronnie and his tour. One of the best tours I've taken on Viking! Recognize all those spots! Glad to see he's still going and survived COVID. As for crowds, we were just lucky (February 2019) I guess. The terminal was pretty empty and we had no crowds - amazing. Here's a couple shots from the pier of Viking Sea. I think only 1 other ship was in port and was in a completely different pier.

Excellent, Loiva! You are a wonderful wealth of knowledge! This is all good news for those of us who've done many Viking Ocean cruises and have more coming up. We are on one in June, so perhaps we actually we go see ABBA and/or Beatles, just for old times sake, knowing that's it. 🙂

Thanks, Lorna, for taking the time to do this very good, thorough, and I'm sure very honest review so far! Much appreciated!! Will look forward to the other episodes in this "Cruise Critic Series" 🙂

Excellent! Not so sure about a pool deck dancing show - but it will be great for some! Now a classic rock show is my style - looking forward to that. Wonder if it is just Jupiter or will be rolled out to the other ships and if so, when? Obviously they need to get performers, etc... (or have current ones practice new things)

So sorry for your loss. Some grieving time will help.

We've been to Bruges on a Sunday twice while on a cruise - once in April and once in October. The weather was perfect both times and all restaurants and shops were open. That won't be your issue though - Sundays were really crowded! Sometimes so much so it was difficult to walk around, particularly the main square. If you wanted to go to a restaurant you might have a wait. Just be patient and keep that in mind!

So sorry to hear of your difficulties. All I can speak for is my own experiences and I've not ever had any issues or difficulties in dealing with or communicating with Viking. We don't use Viking Air, however (which seems to be a great deal of issues). I guess we've all had different experiences.

Revisiting this thread on behalf of a friend who is considering booking one of these 3rd deck aft facing Explorers Suites. So many nice reviews and comments about no noise at all from The Restaurant. However, the question is: Since these are above the Aft Promenade of Deck 2, has anyone felt there was noise from there? (aft of the Restaurant). People walk through there all the times, and there are tables and chairs set up. My personal experience only in using the aft area to read and watch the wake, is that it is pretty quiet! However, if anyone who actually stayed in 3094/3095 has any comments, thanks so much!

Interesting! Yes, please let us know how it goes! As a note - we generally only book tours where the cancellation policy is good. There are still many out there, particularly those who cater to cruise passengers, as they realize that is what the cruise people are looking for.

So sorry to hear of your troubles - one of thousands sadly. Unfortunately, that is the problem with going via bulk air (Viking or any other 3rd party) rather than doing it yourselves. There really is no free lunch. Air may be free or cheap but you will pay somewhere (in $ or in hassle/stress) is our experience. I was on the phone with my Travel Agent today and she let me know that effective last Monday, Viking is now no longer doing coordination among different couples for flights. Apparently too much of a hassle with the airlines (maybe what you experience). So even that is gone. That is again why if you are savvy travelers, you are better off booking yourselves (or via a TA). You give up the airport transfers, and the theoretical Viking help should things go wrong enroute. However, you gain control over exactly what you wish to do. Not for everyone, but as I said, for savvy travelers, people might keep that in mind.

I never book with Trip Advisor as they are Viator. I use Trip Advisor to read reviews, see what's top rated and by whom. As I said, I contact the individual companies via their websites or emails.

Viator is merely a travel consolidator. They contract with individual tours. So it is hard to "rate" Viator itself. We usually use Trip Advisor to find individual tour providers, read their reviews, go to the tour operator's websites, learn more about them. Have had wonderful success that way. Travel Agents who are experienced in a specific area such as Douro Portugal would also be a help. Regarding the Viking cruise itself, you can certainly book through Viking. You can also use a Travel Agent to do so (or book through Viking and transfer the booking to a Travel Agent within 30 days). Many Travel Agents do provide you OBC's (Onboard Credits), some up to the limit that Viking allows depending on cruise length. There are a number of threads that discuss the pros and cons of this. We personally have a favorite Viking agent and often book the cruise with them and then transfer to our favorite Travel Agent. That way they both get compensated. The benefit is that the Viking agents have real-time access to all cabins available (unlike the Viking website which just lists a few per category).

Same here Dee! We'll take any offer that comes up - especially ones that others don't want and can't take.

Totally agree with you. If the OP is upset they should just go find another cruise line. Viking is VERY upfront on what they will and won't do and what their policies are. Their ships are going full after COVID so there must be many many customers who feel the issues like the OP stated are worth living with in order to sail with them. That being said, it is a business after all, and if they don't bend, that is very consistent. They don't really attempt to hide anything, or do bait and switch (like other companies). It is what it is. People who are upset, don't feel it fair, or don't like it, usually just go somewhere else. Since we know this is their policy, we book far ahead if we must have a specific itinerary and specific cabin. We pay the price, knowing full well that it might be discounted ahead of sailing. But that is the "cost" of getting exactly what we want. If we don't care about a good or bad cabin or a specific itinerary, we also wait to the last minute (a few months ahead) and book a much cheaper promo. It is the customer's choice.

Thank you Peregrina651. You make some good points. I haven't been paranoid, but based on your experiences perhaps I should be. I will try to put your suggestions into practice in the future. Appreciate your expressing your views.

I can verify that. For our June 7 cruise, suddenly last Sunday lots of restaurant slots for 2 opened up - especially 6:00 and 6:30, on nearly every day of the 14 day cruise on Saturn. There for the pickings.

Azulan - I was able to initiate, coordinate, and get a Roll Call Meet & Mingle together for Viking Star on our Dec/Jan Panama canal cruise. Here is what I did: I sent an email to the ship's email address (which I found in the final documents sent to me several weeks ahead of sailing). I addressed it to the Hotel Manager, Guest Services Manager, and Cruise Director. I explained that I had compiled a Roll Call list of people, emails, cabins, etc (and the number) and would like to work with someone on the ship to get a Meet & Mingle organized. I stated our preferred date (first sea date), preferred time (5:30) and preferred location (Wintergarden). I heard right back from Manager Guest Services. They said 6:00 was better but approved everything and said they would schedule it. They asked me to meet with them in person when I got on board and go over the details. I gave them my Roll Call List, they told me they would have drinks and eats provided, and also would send invitations to the people on the list. I sent reminders to everyone invited and had name tags printed up ahead of time. Several Viking officers showed up at 6 for a toast and a few short hellos. It was very nice and we had over 50 Cruise Critic people attend. It reminded me of the pre-COVID get togethers we've had. So we are indeed back. Viking again told me as long as a passenger initiates and organizes the event, they are happy to get these going again. I am also going to do this for our upcoming June 7th Saturn Iceland cruise. We already have nearly 60 people ready to attend! Good luck with your organization! Let me know if you have any other questions. Kent

I wondered this as well, as we are on June 7th with you. Perhaps worth asking someone at Viking. Perhaps I'll see if my TA can find out. The previous cruise (Reykjavik-NYC) has everyone getting off at 8 AM on June 6th, but we don't "board" until June 7th. Did you have any other details on the naming ceremony? I thought that might be the reason that Viking built in an odd extra day. I remember hearing about the Neptune, which had their ceremony in Los Angeles last winter with the World Cruise passengers onboard (FLL-LA and LA-rest of world). I thought I had seen reference that some people who stayed onboard were able to see it.

Also seasoned on Viking Oceans - and agree with your suppositions. I do have a data point in the last day regarding specialty reservations. On our June cruise, there was just about nothing open when we could book at 60 days. (some 9:00 reservations). Just went in yesterday and literally a whole slew of reservations (mostly 6:00 and 6:30) for nearly every day of the cruise were suddenly available to pick - so we did! This would seem to support the theory that Viking has implemented the pre-COVID restaurant booking scheme. Now whether they are still holding some % back (but a much lesser %) is another question.

Thank you for the pictures! We will have to try this one. You were fortunate to have a wonderful weather day! Last time we were in Falmouth (on Viking), it was not so good weather and we took the included tour which also was not so good. Won't do that again.

Curios - what itineraries and what date are these for?

I guess we are more of a glass half full couple, and we like to make lemonade. Or maybe we have learned to go with the flow, see something positive about unexpected changes. These days, to travel and enjoy it, you pretty much better be that way or you’ll get frustrated.. just my two cents.