CCWineLover

This confirms our decisions are the right ones - we always try to stay a day or two when we finish a cruise. Too much hectic and everyone trying to get out of town. We've always used the extra day(s) to unwind, lessen the stress, see some sights since usually the arrival port is not seen unless you do stay on. Of course we do not do Viking Air. And we have the time to stay a few nights. For others out there, you might consider this option if you have the means and time to do so - it makes it much nicer. (Still no excuse for Viking to do this however, we've seen it before which is why we never leave town directly when the cruise is over). We were told that usually only about 15 to 20 % of passengers do what we do, so with that large a mob leaving, they probably ought to fix things or communicate better.

I believe every ship later than the Star, Sea, and Sky have the drawers now. (Jupiter, Orion, Venus, Mars). We've done Sea and Sky and will be on Star in a couple months. Personally I don't think it is that big a deal. Every ship is nearly identical but yes, there are several little differences among them.

We will not use Viking 's Tripmate now that COVID testing is gone - for obvious reasons (do a search on Tripmate and you will see quite a bit of discussion). We use a broker and they are quite good (small easily understandable choice of companies to use) - called The Trip Insurance Store. Steve has had a forum on CruiseCritic. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2558-qa-cruise-insurance-with-steve-dasseos-of-the-tripinsurancestorecom-janfeb-22/

As usual, Andy, an Excellent Explanation! You sir are a wealth of knowledge and thank you again for sharing.

Yes, this is exactly what I was saying. For all those of you are letting this "Get you off to a bad start", relax, breathe, take a chill pill, and rest assured things will be fine when you get there. Remember - a lot of things have changed and are still changing from the advent of COVID. Remember, we still are only 15 months from the first Viking cruise back - and it was 15 months that they were shut down. We have to give Viking a bit of a break, as they are still also suffering from staffing and supply shortages, as well as trying to adjust to the new world.

Yes, this topic has been discuss many times in these forums. A hint - do a search on the Viking forums for any topic you are interested in and you'll find lots of prior posts and great answers - on any questions you may have. With that in mind, however - here is the scoop. Post COVID, Viking has set aside a huge number of tables at the 2 specialty restaurants - for reserving when onboard. That is why when you try to reserve at the days your reservations are available, they often show full, or just 8:30 or 9:00. Please do not get discouraged. There will be plenty of spaces. A couple points to consider: 1- When you board, after having downloaded the Viking Voyager app ahead of your cruise, log in and immediately go to the dining reservations section in the app. There you will find many open reservations now that you are on board. If you are not on the app, go in person to the restaurant reservations desk in the attrium area immediately. 2. People often overbook on the front end and by the middle of the cruise, have cancelled the many reservations they have - either because they found they didn't like a particular restaurant, or had other plans. The back half of the cruise often really opens up for times. 3. Visit the concierge on the evening you wish, especially at about 5:50 PM and ask if there are any openings that night from last minute cancellations. We've found there are always late cancellations. We've NEVER had any issue getting into a specialty restaurant. Enjoy!

For us, the big thing for SSP is that you can have drinks any time of day included. Since we are wine and beer people, no worries on the expensive drinks that aren't included. Thus, on a port intensive cruise, it sometimes does not pay for us to get SSP. But on a cruise with sea days, it often does. Keep that in mind as well.

Andy - On our cruise back in July (it happened to be a nice day), we anchored rather close, and our tender ride was just 10-15 minutes max. We anchored off the jetty behind where the Royal Britannia is. I happened to take a snapshot of our location (Viking Venus), plus Charlotte Square, where the free shuttles would pick up/drop off.

Excellent summary! In our 6 post COVID Viking Ocean cruises, we found that most of the time, dining reservations at Chef's Table and Manfredi's ahead of the cruise were nearly impossible to get. Don't be discouraged. Viking opens up a huge number of reservations the first day of the cruise, so immediately upon boarding, install the Viking Voyager app and get the reservations you want. And even then, in the back half of the trip, all those people who made reservations initially have cancelled them and tables usually go begging. Also Be aware that the World Cafe offers basically the exact same food/menu as the Restaurant. Enjoy eating on the Viking Ship! Don't forget the excellent room service as well!

In general with Viking our experience is as follows: When it is cold outside (we were Norway Midnight Sun and the Med in Dec in 30's/40's), the dining rooms were quite pleasant. Often no sweater required, although we always bring them to dining rooms and Star Theatre as in general for us, Viking rooms are always too cold. When it is warm/hot outside (we've been in places in the 90's), the rooms are VERY cold - over A/C'ed. If it is cold outside, and the rooms are cold, if they have the roof over the pool closed, the Pool Grill is a great place to have lunch as it is then usually nice and toasty out there. This seems to be normal pattern at least for USA buildings, hotels, offices, etc.

Sam here Clay. Our TA said same thing and still Viking did it. He was dumbfounded, and did say it’s been happening a lot with Viking. And I believe we have the same parent Travel Agency - one Viking wouldn’t really like to upset.

Viking Shipboard credits are different from Travel Agent on board credits - be aware. The OP asked about TA OBC. With these you typically will see them when you get on board. The exception is lately there have been instances for us (and with others) of the Travel Agent sending the OBC's to Viking a bit early. Then if you had purchased Excursions when they came available with your own money (Checking, Credit Card, etc), Viking now has a policy to immediately use those TA OBC's they received. They apply the OBC amount against the excursions and issue you a refund back to your form of payment for those excursions. You don't have a choice in the matter. In your example, if you bought excursions ahead of time totally $800, then you would get a refund back of $600. You could always wait to book excursions until you are on the ship, but this is not advisable. You can always go ahead a book the free included excursions. That way you might get the times you want. If you are reluctant to fork out money ahead of time to buy any optional excursions, then of course you can wait until onboard, but your pickings may be limited. If you are worried about using the OBC's when you are onboard, there are plenty of choices. We usually always apply them to the Gratuities, and possibly the Silver Spirits package, the spa, or the ship store. Never an issue.

Might be but we always see people coming in and taking pictures at the spa. Didn't know it was not allowed or I might have said something to them. In any case, people's attitude these days is don't ask permission, ask forgiveness. Lots of bold people on Viking cruises!

So sad you are mad and just gave up. they are SO good in the insurance industry. You cannot do better. Give them a call immediately! And leave a message!!!!!

We are on the Classic Panama cruise in December. I do suggest that you visit the excursion desk on the ship when you board and ask them specifically about whether there are any excursion groups designed for those less mobile. For this particular cruise they might have. I've already examined all the excursions in our MyVikingJourney. There appear to be some that are just bus rides and some that look like some more difficult walking and standing that might not work as well. But confirming with Viking will be your best bet! They will be very helpful. You may even try giving them a call ahead of time. Hoping you enjoy the cruise!

Wow! We are impressed!! I've now learned the art of rolling my clothes up - amazing how much space it saves! As well as having shirts and pants than aren't thick cottin (like jeans and heavy cotton shirts) - ones that don't need ironing and dry quickly! Our last cruise we flew to London like you. Only issue is that with all the horrible baggage situations, everyone is aware and so too many people didn't check luggage - it was a competitive battle for bins!!

Lorna - Same here. They had slower groups on our River Cruise in May. However, I don't recall ever seeing separate slow group tours on the Ocean trips we've had this year. Perhaps it varies cruise by cruise itinerary. I do think it is a good idea however, since so many times, we've had those with mobility issues not really understanding their position and insisting the entire group slow down for them. It is a tough situation for the guides to deal with. Separating into 2 groups - a fast and a slow group - on Viking's part would really help everyone enjoy the excursions.

Michelle - we'd had only the slider in PV rooms (by choice). Then our last cruise, Midnight Sun, in July, they gave us a last minute (literally as we were checking in) from DV2 to PV1. PV1 had the door and window, so we got to try it. It was just fine! Again, the PV rooms alternate as you move down the ship - 2 Slider Rooms, then 2 Door Rooms, and son on. Here is the list I've posted before. Viking Ocean - PV Rooms with Sliders.pdf

Yes we like the shu mai - as long as they are fresh and hot. If they've been sitting there, they get a big soggy and cool. I try to take them when I see them bringing out a new tray! Irony is, first time I discovered them was when someone near me took the was paper off and tossed it, thus exposing them to my view. (I don't think they were supposed to get rid of the paper cover though).

Excursions have been reduced post Covid because like everywhere in this world resources are now scarce. Viking scrambles to find tour operators but many have lost staff. It is just the Covid fallout here (again!). if they could find operators Viking would certainly do so. It also explains why some area are worse than others (lack of people). So many moved on to other professions during Covid and of course like the USA, many have simply chosen not to work anymore. I think it will be a long time, if ever, before the far reaching effects of Covid are gone..

We so like the CHef's Table !! As a person above said, food onboard is all personal opinion. Thank goodness for so many varieties! It isn't just the food at CT - it is the atmosphere. To us, we like the Manfredi's food but the atmosphere is way to loud and noisy to even carry on a conversation - and quite hectic with waiters running around. For us CT is so much more calm, with time to talk and hear your seatmates, have amazing discussions with the waiters, who aren't always in a hurry like Manfred's and the Restaurant. That being said, I do believe the food quality at CT has deteriorated post-COVID. I put this to the staffing issues with so many crew getting COVID from the passengers since the masks went away. It doesn't seem the same as it used to be. I am hopeful they will improve and also revamp the menu choices. We so enjoy having the set menu (i.e. no ordering), but it is getting a bit tiring. Last cruise, the Asian Panorama was quite good, but some other others lacked something. Still the atmosphere is what we like. I know others prefer Manfred's , so there is no "right answer" - it is personal taste!! Let's just hope they keep both! But improve them.

Have been an Alaska Air frequent flyer for 30 years up and down the west coast. Alaska does not have wide body planes. However, I beg to differ slightly, and it may be just semantics. Alaska Air has moderately nice first class seats on their 737's and A320's - certainly at least as good as UA and DL and AA. When you travel business class on a code share, if you have an Alaska leg, it is in their first class (which is more like business class without flat beds, on other airlines). I've done this many times and have one coming up back from Iceland, where it is bus class from KEF-SEA on IcelandAir and then first class on Alaska Air SEA-SFO - and it's sold as business class tickets. I personally would choose Alaska over Delta, but that is mostly because of what I perceive as superior service (and I flew Delta often to DFW).

Interesting notes on the types of people (a decently large group) that either cannot (allergic) or will not eat cilantro ..... According to a 2012 study published in the journal Flavour, the aversion was determined to be most common among East Asians (21 percent), followed by Caucasians (17 percent), those of African descent (14 percent), South Asians (7 percent), Hispanics (4 percent) and Middle Eastern study subjects (3 percent). Scientists were able to pin down most cilantro haters as people with a shared group of olfactory-receptor genes, called OR6A2, that pick up on the smell of aldehyde chemicals. Aldehyde chemicals are found in both cilantro and soap. Uh, yummy? I had indeed heard we can't help ourselves - the dislike is in our genes. Believe me I wish I could eat it, it would make things simpler, since it seems to be found everywhere nowadays.

KLM does this as well (but it is also a code share with Delta). We did Viking Air and KLM Economy Comfort to Europe with a stop in Amsterdam, non-stop from SFO. We sat in the Economy Comfort Seats SFO-AMS on the big plane and then the Premium Economy (more leg room, front of plane) on the short 737 flight (with no first class or economy comfort). And yes - we did priority check in at SFO and also on the return flight (thank goodness!).

Just read your follow - on post. I think you did quite well. We paid $4400 (before gas inflation), as we returned on BA Business via Basel. All in all we were quite happy with the results. I am usually not prone to Viking Air, but even though we might have gotten a couple hundred cheaper on our own, we viewed the premium like a COVID insurance. (This was back when testing was mandatory to go and return).