Mlb4chris

this has been a fun thread😉... i too am a level 3 WSET and i love all the "bubbles" talk, beside it being one of my favorite beverages to consume.  couldn't agree more with CDNpolar and CCwinelover....i'm on a Cava exploration at the moment. 

you can also buy an interesting bottle in port to enjoy with your dinner, no corkage

3 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Hi there - echoing others . . .

This is definitely a 14 night (15 day) cruise, as are many of Viking's Ocean cruises.

Maximum a TA can give for this trip is $300 pp.   TA's can offer less.

PV cabins are wonderful!  We decided to "upgrade" on this trip and do a PV and are so glad we did - so much more room.  But everyone has their own priorities and preferences.

 

We are obviously wine lovers, living in Paso Robles, and enjoy many great wines from that region.  We are not "wine snobs" in any way and enjoy many styles and types of wines.  And we enjoy trying new wines.   We have been very pleasantly surprised on this trip with the included wines.  In the past we've done Silver Spirits, but they have greatly diminished the availability of wines by the glass on this package compared to before. SSBP seems to be more used and beneficial for the many hard liquor cocktail drinkers, not the wine drinkers.

 

Unlike some, we've found on this cruise some very interesting wines and blends.  My wife loves the included sparkling wine and also one of the Chardonnay blends.  I prefer red, and while not totally in the league of Paso Robles IMHO, many are not bad at all.  We enjoyed the Chilean Cabernet and the French Syrah-Grenache blend the most, and some of the Portugal and Spanish wines are also quite good although I've never heard of them before.  I was not happy with the Viking stock in 2021-2023 post COVID but they seem to have elevated the included wines.  Not only that, if the "wine of the day" is not what you want, you ask the waiter or server for your favorite (perhaps from a day or two ago) and they will go find it for you.  (Which they never did before).  That is a game breaker for us!  When you like an included wine, take a picture of the bottle and then you can show it to the waiter in the future!

Happy tasting!

 

Pulled into Bergen this morning - typical weather - rain, mist, overcast - reminds me so much of Seattle!   Had a wonderful included walking tour in the morning.  Nice that Viking now has 2 includeds here - one for bus people and one for walkers.

Here we are pulling into Bergen a few hours ago, with the Neptune already in port.

omg, i can't wait and it seems so far away.  i booked yesterday, PV1 #5097 and was happy with mu $400 OBC, probably use on the SS package but still need to pencil out.  we don't drink hard stuff but definitely enjoy our share of wine and bubbles. i love paso wines and those from edna valley (tho i get a little tired of Pinot and Chard here). definitely not wine snobs either but my current paso favs are Paix Sur Terre and McPrice among others.   thank you for your (and everyone else's) response.  i'm doing my best to not go down the rabbit hole of board reading and planning yet but i don't think i'll be able to stay away😆. 

8 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

We are on the May 24 Trade Routes right now.  It is indeed classified as 14 nights.  15 days is a misnomer since on the 15th day you have to be out of your room at usually 8 am and off the ship at 9am (possibly can “stretch” it to 10 am) - so it really isn’t a real day.

 

max OBC allowed for this cruise by a TA is $300 pp.  Tip:  don’t prepay any gratuities even if offered the chance.  This way if things happen like weather and ports cancelled you might get SBC’s that you can then apply to gratuities and other things.

 

fyi you’ll love this cruise!  It’s been fantastic and we’ve been lucky with the weather!

Wait!!…. You’re on the cruise I’m taking, you’re a wine lover AND from Paso! That’s awesome. Ok then, how’s the on board wine? Did you get the SS package? I’m super excited to purchase interesting wines in all the ports. Can’t wait to hear about your trip. 

31 minutes ago, ericosmith said:

It's 15 days but only 14 nights.  Maximum onboard credits are based on nights and not days.  Different cruise lines count days differently and it's confusing.  Other cruise lines would sell this same itinerary as 14 days.  

lol, fine print… thank you!  

4 minutes ago, ericosmith said:

I believe that's actually a 14 night cruise and nights are what the maximum onboard credits are based on.  For that cruise you could get up to $300pp from a travel agent but not from Viking directly.  

It shows 15 days but as I told the hubs, if we’re spending 16k, I’m certainly not gonna quibble over a few hundred. 

Hi all, first Viking cruise and trying to book the May 2025 “trade routes of the Middle Ages” tomorrow. I’ve only booked one cruise and that was thru AAA. This is a 15 day cruise and they’re giving us a $200 OBC which seemed great. I’m now reading that a trip of that length is normally $500 pp. my appt is tomorrow and there are very few cabins left for PV1 so I want to get this booked asap. I’m confused about the talk of booking direct with Viking then moving to a TA (yay, at least I know what that means😉). If I book with AAA, do I move it to a Viking TA to get more OBC? I’m hoping someone will feel sorry for my ignorance on this subject and help. But seriously, I’m so excited about this trip I’m booking no matter what (but free wine never hurts, right?  Thank you so much in advance. 

Whoops, yes I did get those two confused! We actually did use that lounge a few times. Of course, we visited all the lounges a time or two;p

We just returned from Alaska on the westerdam. Unfortunately can’t comment on the magnets. As for the cabana, it was very cold on May 3rd, I can’t imagine being in a cabana. We were on the bow for a bit and the promenade deck. Keep an eye open for the stewards with special split pea soup, it’s soooo good and warm! There were tons of places in which to view the glaciers without crowds. We had a Neptune suite so spent lots of time on our veranda.

The explorers lounge is the space that used to be called the crows next. There’s no charge, it’s a coffee/drink type place. We really disliked this area, it was really crowded, people basically camped out all day in the view loungers. It’s kinda like a big Starbucks. I’m betting it was crowded during glacier bay, we avoided that area. Hope that info helps.

Just got off the westerdam Alaska two weeks ago. Gala nights were inside passage night and glacier bay night. We were in the MDR the first gala night and dress varied A LOT! There were several formal (tux/gown) couples, but mostly “dressy” cocktail clothes and suits/jackets on men. There were also some very underdressed diners:(. We were in the pinnacle grill on the second gala night so not sure if attire was similar. as I was watching from the bar later, there didn’t seem to be as many dressy outfits on the second go’round.

The halibut with shrimp was decadent. The king salmon was really good as was the crab. I just wish the portions were a little smaller, I never could finish my dinners. The pumpkin risotto is supposed to be wonderful too! Have a great time:)

We also had two “perk” dinners but we definitely wanted the pinnacle grill ON our 25th anniversary day. Since we were in glacier bay, I was thinking it would be a little more difficult getting that date. I made my reservations in advance. For us, the small price to pre pay for dinner was more than worth it to have it set and off my mind.

Besides, who wouldn’t want to eat at pinnacle grill twice!!

I was amazed at the amount of clueless people there were, wandering around, wrong side or whatever. I do think there may have been some language issues too.

My only complaint was my DH’s complaining about the cold, we thought it would be inside (and that I was late opening my bottle of bubbles😉). It seemed pretty efficient at station 11 for the most park.

I just wish I were back on the boat....*sigh*

Hello all CC members! First, thank you all for the advice I received on these boards over the last few months, it really helped us prepare (maybe too much😉) for our first HAL cruise. We just returned from the 7 day Alaska journey on the Westerdam and we had a fantastic time. It was COLD but I don’t think I’d want to visit Alaska if it were warm and sunny. Quick note about us... DH is a very young 71, me 56 and we were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. We’ve only traveled on Regent ships but those were private charters so this was all new for us

In a nut shell...

Loved: accommodations ( Neptune suite) all HAL employees (can’t say that enough), ship decor, dinner at Pinnacle Grill, being on a cruise!!

Just OK: MDR food, entertainment, Neptune lounge

Dislikes: Explorer Cafe (aka crows nest), Lido Market.

About the boat: we loved our Neptune suite (what’s not to like)! So much so, we determined for us it’s the only way we’ll travel. We found the embarkation perks, laundry, concierge service, among other perks, to be worth the $$, especially on a longer cruise.

Most all other public venues were wonderful. We enjoyed wine in the Ocean bar and I loved the decor in the Gallery bar.

The Explorer cafe (formerly Crows Nest), a waste of beautiful space. Now I know what the veteran HAL cruisers have been talking about. It was basically a giant Starbucks where people would park for the day or use it as their private living room. People sprawled out sleeping on the couches or “saving” a section of window view lounges. The large monitor screens blocking the forward view were useless, basically showing sunrise and sunset times and other generic info on a loop. Why not equip them with gps to show where you are or what’s in front of you as you’re sailing? Made no sense to me.

We really liked the vibe on the ship, super low key. Might be boring for some who want lots going on but it was right up our alley. We weren’t looking for discos, etc. We didn’t utilize the spa, it looked a little chaotic IMO.

Food: we ate in the MDR twice and it was good but not great. Bascislly what i expected for a kitchen making 100’s of meals. Service was awesome.

-Lido market, only did lunch once and that was enough. One word, chaos! It’s too bad because what we did manage to eat was mostly good, especially the salad area. Trying to find a table, one of us sitting while one getting food. Just not my thing.

-Pinnacle Grill, wonderful dinners, ate there twice. Lovely ambiance and service. I can’t say the same for breakfast. Service was spotty, couldn’t get coffee refills many times. Food came out cold or wrong three separate times.

-Canaletto, ate here once and that too was enough. The location, in the back of the Lido buffet area was terrible, loud and very brightly lit. I hate to say it again, but the food was bad. I won’t go into each dish but just not good. However, service was wonderful and they tried to help with what ever they could.

-Dive in, soooo yummy, great burger and the best fries!

Entertainment: we don’t really need a ton of entertainment venues. That being said, the one thing we would have enjoyed is a small jazz combo for dancing and post/pre dinner cocktails. Maybe in the under utilized Explorer Cafe!? We’re not ball room dancers by any means but something other than B.B. Kings would be nice. Lincoln stage was lovely but obviously not a dance venue. The dueling pianos in the billboard were very, very popular but I thought the performers were a little “cheesy”. B.B. kings band were good and we stopped by a few times but it is limited in the scope of music.

On board service: besides the Alaska scenery, this was the best part of our cruise. I swear, HAL employees are the friendliest people I’ve ever met. There was nothing they wouldn’t do to help, always smiling. I now understand why HAL has the reputation they have for service!! Just excellent. One silly thing I loved, our towel animals, they just cracked me up, especially the ninja!!

Sorry for the long review. When I was researching our cruise, I loved reading reviews so I probably went a little over board. One thing I’d do differently next time... not worry so much about stuff. My clothes were fine, my dining tables was fine, my room was great...I did too much pre-worrying.

We placed a future cruise deposit, hopefully a 12-14 Greek Odyssey if it stays on the schedule for 2020. I’m looking forward to a different experience with a slightly longer cruise.

Senior lady, we just got off the same cruise (burr, it was cold!) and we were kind of disappointed with activities. We aren’t looking for 24/7 entertainment but just an additional option or two. I couldn’t agree more about a dance venue that isn’t B.B. kings. Something with a jazz combo or the like.

We also booked a future cruise and are looking at a 12-14 day Greece trip. I’m hopeful that the longer cruise will offer a different experience, getting to know people and the ship better. We loved our first HAL trip and can’t wait to try another!!

We also just got off the 7 day Westerdam Alaska cruise. The first gala night we were in the MDR and I did see a few gentlemen in a tux and numerous dressy dresses. I also saw several men in basic short sleeve shirts and dockers:(

I wore a sweater style cocktail style dress (sounds weird but it’s really cute😍) high heeled boots with sparkly jewelry. DH work slacks, dress shirt and jacket. Second gala night basically wore the same thing but we ate in the pinnacle grill as it was our anniversary, no tuxes or fancy dresses there. It was nice to dress up so I’d say go for what makes you feel fabulous!!

Just off the westerdam to Alaska, happy hours everyday at 4pm-5pm then again at 10pm-11, only did the early one. Hubby and I just bought 2 of the same glasses of wine, the second being $2. Rolando would always come by before happy hour ended for us to get another round. I think it was in the ocean bar and one other one, can’t remember (maybe we ordered too many:')).

We just got off the westerdam and brought 6 bottles with us, desk was stationed right before entering the gangway entrance. He just wrote the total # of bottles (less 2 free) and we were charged 4-5 days into the cruise. I will say, other than a few bottles of bubbles, I don’t think I’d bother bringing that much on board if I did another 7 day cruise. We are big wine drinkers and I was pleasantly surprised with the selections and prices. You must know what you’re buying however, their California wines are ridiculously over priced. Old world wines were well priced. We enjoyed having a glass of wine in different bar, wine hopping🍷😋

Btw, just got back yesterday, will post my review ASAP! Spoiler alert..... loved it!!😍

I’m boarding the westerdam tomorrow! First HAL cruise and first time to Alaska. I’m anticipating cold and wet weather but keeping my fingers crossed. At least the ports won’t be crowded with only one other ship tagging along.

Thanks to all that have patiently answered my questions!

Thank you!! I’m just wondering what I’ll do with all my free time upon return..... I won’t be spending every waking minute canvassing these boards, LOL! Who knows, we may get hooked on this cruising thing like all of you:hearteyes: ;)

Thank you Crews News! I’ve been checking your site daily, not exactly stalking, but kinda:eek:

We’re itching to go, your info has been incredibly helpful. I’ll be sure to report back when we got make home.

Oh, I get it.... I’m so fricken excited about our cruise I did all that the first day it was available!!:cool: I’ve been obsessively checking on everything and I couldn’t believe I’d missed something LOL!!

Really, thanks to everyone of you for your responses to the multitude of ?? asked on these boards. You all are ambassadors for this industry.

KroozNut..... I’m wondering about your mention of “pre register” before your cruises. We are boarding in Vancouver a week from Sunday (first cruise hence the probably dumb question), should I be filling out a pre registration something? We are in a Neptune suite if that matters. I’m all in for anything to speed up the process and start the fun!!

Thank you for all your reporting, I’m just sad I won’t see pics before we leave in two weeks! I have a quick question about the following...

With my printed Immigration photo paper in hand, I processed quickly through IS Immigration

We also have global entry cards, etc. it’s been a very long time since I re-entered from Canada, pre global entry. Is this “printing immigration paper” something I should have before we go? Thank you again for all your wonderful info. Can wait to board the westerdam, counting down the days

Yes, 4/29 sailing. Very excited, our first non-business cruise (sailed chartered regent ships 1/2 dz times with DH company). We’re celebrating our 25th anniversary in glacier bay!! Can’t wait, I’m obsessively looking at my countdown on HAL😍😍