CCWineLover

Yes - we get breakfast there quite often!! And on a given cruise, you run into a lot of the same people at the station, those of us who have similar tastes! Quite fun. Didn't know that about the Dan Dan - may have to try that.

Yes! In fact, in the first picture, you can see the Viking server in the left background, who is serving up gelato at the time I took the picture.

Dan Dan Noodles - always there every night at dinner.

Here are some photos I took of some of the dishes and the arrangement.

We were beginning to sidetrack the Planetarium discussion, so I thought I'd start a new thread for people to share information and photos of the Asian Food Stations. It is around the corner from the Gelato Station in the back of the World Cafe. It is there on the 6 later ships - Orion, Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Neptune, Saturn. I've heard reports that on the earlier ships Star, Sea, Sky - they serve some Asian food at the Pool Grill. There are plans being discussed to add the Asian stations to those 3 as well when they go to dry dock. So many people miss it, since it is just a window at the back, where you can order up various dishes. It used to be other items than Asian, but now all Asian all the time - supposedly due to the feedback from passengers - and it is quite quite popular. We always check it out whenever we go to World Cafe - just to see what is being offered that breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They do not publish what is offered ahead of time. There is information on placards above the glass countertop that tells you what the items are.

No "Menu" posted. Just off the Saturn. They had "placards" on the high lgass protective counter above the food (like those in the World Cafe) that showed different things being served. Never listed on the app or wall screens. At dinner, they always had Dan Dan noodles, and then other dishes varied. Usually another noodle dish, like pork noodles, plus some kind of vegetable dish and/or possibly some meat dishes (like Kung Pao Shrimp for example). Just a variety of things. Not known in advance. We made a habit of always going to the Station right away just to check out what was available that night. For breakfast, usually had shumai, potstickers, or dumplings plus spring rolls, and other things. Generally a decent amount of choices. I will look for some pictures I took this past trip.

No tables removed at all. It is just a window that faces the bar, right around the corner from the gelato station.

Yes, all ships Orion and more recent, have the Stations. We've been to them all and are regular "customers:"! Further note - also heard they are talking about retro-fitting the Asian Stations onto Star, Sea, and SKy, when they go into dry dock - It has been quite popular. Another note - originally the "station" was going to be specialty items, not just Asian. For several years, we witnessed Viking using them as Breakfast-omelettes and such; Lunch-various things like pasta, etc Dinner-Asian. They made a decision about a year ago to switch to all Asian all the time - since they told us it was the most popular.

Interesting note on these planetariums . . We were talking with one of the Viking General Managers recently onboard who gave us some great knowledge and insights into the various Viking Ocean ships and future plans.... The original 10 ships are called "Star" class. The Star was the first. They then had 3 sets of 3 ships released from 2016 to 2023 to complete the Star class. First group was Sea, Sun, and Sky. The 2nd group of 3 - Orion, Jupiter, and Venus - had planned to add the planetariums. Only the Orion and Jupiter got them, as by the time the Venus was being built (and released in 2021), the feedback on the planetariums was so bad they cancelled it for Venus and all future Star class. They did add the "Asian Stations" by the Aquavit Bar on the 2nd group of 3 and kept them for the 3rd group. The 3rd group of 3 was the Mars ('22), Neptune ('22), and Saturn ('23).

That is exactly what we did. We wanted the optional more so booked it. Went onboard with no included in that port. Then after a few days of checking with excursion desk, slots opened up. Another time, we went standby on an included time. Viking sadly gets many people who are no shows for an included tour and don't bother to cancel since it is free. Happens all the time.

You absolutely right. I used the wrong "word". It was officially called "Passport Control". They ask you where you came from, where you are going, when you are leaving and examine your documents, picture and name. I stand corrected. Customs is not the right "word". Sometimes it is quite a long line and sometimes not so much. Depends on how many planes have just landed so it is hard to predict. I've had it take 90 minutes to get through to a connecting flights and I've had it a couple minutes. That is why you need to allow time for your connecting flight.

We just recently flew from SFO to FCO with a connection in LIS. (TAP Airlines). In Lisbon, we did NOT have to claim our luggage at baggage claim. We did have to go through a short customs line before getting on the connecting flight to Rome. We allowed 3 hours and likely 2hours would have been OK, but we felt better in case the US-Europe flight had gotten delayed.

Wow! We have the same itineraries but different dates. Good taste!

Yikes!!

Yes - COVID shutdowns in Morocco. This was Dec 2021. We are going to try again March 2025 on the Buenos Aires-Barcelona Southern Crossing. Will be following the Southern Crossing boarding today March 17 in Barcelona to see if they stop at Casablanca. PS - regarding the Malta Cruise - I am also leery of North Africa, if nothing else than that the world changes constantly and who knows what will happen (war, famine, internal disputes, etc) to some countries/areas. But for a $25 deposit and payment 6 months out, it's kind of like a stock option on the price we paid. (Like an option to buy the cruise at a low price, expiring at the 6 month timeframe). Cruise is 2026.

Be REALLY fast! pick your most desire excursion first and immediately go to the cart and pay for it. Unlike sports or concert events, the slots are NOT held. I've had many times where I select something, and in the 30 seconds it took me to go to the cart and enter in information, someone had beat me to it. ACH helps a lot as that makes it fast. You cannot store credit card info, but if I use a credit card, I have a separate Notes file open with the info in it, whereby I can do a quick copy and paste, which then only takes about 8-10 seconds to complete. Good luck!

Let's hope so! 🙂

Our experience in the Caribbean on Viking (albeit perhaps not quite as hot or humid, but still up there): Viking tended to over A/C the various common rooms, especially the Star Theatre. It was sort of bizarre to come in from warm weather and bring sweaters and use the blankets provided 🙂 We even had to bring sweaters to the WC and restaurants (unless of course we ate out on the fantail!)

Thanks for resurrecting this @Peregrina651 We are booked on the October 2025 cruise, as our friends just completed this in Oct 2023 and had a fabulous time! I'd add to the question list: -Did anyone come to Tokyo early? How many days? On your own? Private Tours? Where did you stay? -Anyone stay late in Hong Kong? same questions - days, DIY, Tours, Hotels ?? -Anyone do any private tours? Have read that with just a DV, many excursions are sold out from Viking. Thanks!

We just got off the Saturn in the Med. Here is the Manfredi's Menu #4 (or so they told us) a couple weeks ago. The Short Ribs were absolutely amazing! As was the Grigliata di Mare.

As noted, the time you refer to (1 PM) is NOT the time you can "board" the ship, but is the latest time your cabin will be available. It may even be available sooner! We always try to arrive early like 10 - 11 AM and never have many people ahead of us boarding. Then we have time to do the safety briefing, get connected to wi-fi, get any restaurant reservations, check on which Chef's Table menus are which days, make any excursion modifications,etc before heading to World Cafe or Pool Grill for a nice lunch! No Stress! We also always arrive in the port or main city a day or two or more early - both to do sightseeing and as insurance for any issues that might arise in travel. Less stress than arriving by air on the day of departure. Specifically regarding Ft Lauderdale - we've done that several times. For this particular port (unlike some of the European ones we've done), the mad rush is a bit later - like afternoon. So many passengers fly in from the East Coast leaving in the morning and arriving at the ship in the afternoon. When we would show up at 10:30 - 11:00, there was virtually no one in the check-in lines at all. We did hear from folks that arrive in busloads around 3 that it was a madhouse however - hour long lines (not Viking's fault, but not enough FLL port people). So keep that in mind. I would board as absolutely soon as you can.

Good suggestion. Certainly the ShoreEx managers are quite competent. The tough part is in the portion that requires explicit communication to the passengers on key information regarding excursions. Perhaps the cc would help, since as you say, they know what they are going to say (although often there are last minute items such as slight change in docking location or tendering or weather conditions, etc).

Thank you as well, Joe! Looking at this along with Lorna!

Sounds like another vote for Azamara over Viking. We should check the Azamara roll calls and see what they all say about Viking in reverse.

Unless you are like us, when our Viking cruise had Casablanca cancelled, so we went to Gibraltar instead (on the Viking Sea). We had a couple excursions. And yes, the monkeys were amazing, and very forward. Enjoyed Gibraltar very much - fantastic little place!