Cathyvee

We just came off 140-day sailing on Viking Neptune (World Cruise and British Isles). We loved our Penthouse Veranda cabin and the nice bathroom. However, in past we had a Penthouse Jr. Suite (on Saturn) which was even nicer. The ship is beautiful; loved the lay out. Officers and crew were overall terrific. Guest services? Not so good. Poor communication and much misinformation. Included shore excursions? Very few were worth the time, IMO. The optional (for fee) ones were mostly good, but always very crowded - up to 32-36 in a group. For me personally, the food on Viking Neptune was very good at times to just okay. Mostly ate in restaurant or world cafe. They did accommodate my 'low sodium' requirements. Room service was mostly on time, and though my order for breakfast was always the same, I would never know what to expect. Some mornings I got 2 pieces of toast; some mornings 4 and scrambled eggs inconsistent as to amount. (Not the biggest deal.) A year ago, we sailed inaugural sailing of Viking Saturn. On that ship, we liked Manfredi's. On Viking Neptune, we found Manfredi's food to be not much better than the main dining room and we were disappointed with service in Manfredi's. Very rushed and often the servers had to be reminded of part of our order that they missed. For us, Chef Table (fixed menu) is foo-foo food - much to do about nothing. Not for us. As the OP said, the food on Oceania is (in our experience) the #1 edge that they have over Viking. Both lines are very good and we would not hesitate to book on either in future. We have Eastern Shore booked on Viking Mars and a South American cruise booked on Oceania Vista.

Thank you. Thank you.

I would love to know this, too. Itinerary and ship.

Thank you.

Thank you. Less expensive than Viking tour. Looks good.

There are many tours on Viator for Great Barrier. Do you know which one is the Great Adventure tour?

New Topic: What tour company is best to book Great Barrier Reef / Green Island tour from Cairns?

Oh so sorry.

Makes sense. I am not blaming Viking. It's just we have this British cruise tacked on to a 121 day world cruise. I have followed 3 people who just got off the 2022-2023 and I get the idea that people get tired of the overcrowded tours for a multitude of reasons.

Thank you. Way too many people on the Viking tours - especially the included ones.

Were your independent tours smaller groups than what Viking tends to get? On our recent Iconic Med, we got weary of the 30+ on the tours. Hopefully, independent tours = smaller groups?

Best of luck to you. If you do go on bus tours, double mask. I asked a woman who did world cruise on Viking not this past one but the year before how she managed to avoid COVID. She said they did a lot of self exploring and avoided any tours that involved buses. I know that's hard.

That's good to know. I may have been given the wrong information. Thank you for clarifying. I was on brand new Viking Saturn first public sailing.

He is still in hospital. Very unlikely that we will be taking the cruise.

Thank you for quarantining and protecting the other passengers.

I liked it too. Last April we did Paris to Swiss Alps. Had to test before cruise, everyday on cruise, if you tested positive, you were quarantined and then sent to a hotel. And people had to wear masks on the buses. If we do go on the wc - which is doubtful at this point - I will be the woman handing out masks to the hackers. PS - So sorry about your husband.

Yes. We just returned from Iconic Med. on Viking Saturn last Friday.

Thank you. I'm not sure. But I'm pretty sure we will cancel.

I am sorry for what you went through. Things have changed. Viking didn't even have COVID tests on the ship, I was told. I'm not sure.

Thank you. Since I posted this, my husband tested POSITIVE for COVID (LAST SATURDAY). Me - on Monday. He has been hospitalized. We are (were) both very healthy, no comorbids, fully vaxed and boosted, sanitized, washed our hands. Just could not overcome the people who insisted in getting on overcrowded tour buses hacking and hacking (no masks). I could tell you some crazy stories but I will refrain from doing so. We managed to go this whole time without getting COVID and I have been to 3 business conferences all over the USA from Vegas to Austin to Miami and never stopped traveling. Last April, we did Paris to Swiss Alps and had to have tests before getting on the cruise, tests everyday and quarantines with those who test positive. Now they are treated COVID like a 'bad cold' but unfortunately, for some of us, it is much more than a bad cold. We are considering cancelling the world cruise. I would tell everyone - please know that with the new "don't ask, don't tell" policy - no testing - and people who feel that they are not going to stop going on tours even if sick - please take great precautions, bring test kits, paxlovid, plenty of cold and flu meds, etc. and hope for the best.

Question: What is the best way to book private tours IN GENERAL or small group tours that do not have large number of people particularly on a bus? I know that for our Silversea WC in 2025 they will book private tours for you. Does Viking do that as well? We just returned from Iconic Med. on the brand new Viking Saturn. Wonderful experience, beautiful ship. The only negative for us was the large number of people on the various excursions - particularly those involving buses. Sometimes we had up to 30-32 people. Not only was it tiring to follow the RED sign for long periods of time, we had people who had different thoughts about how slow or fast to walk. And then we had several people on the buses who were quite sick with bad colds or who knows what else - which we were not too crazy about.

I like this idea, too.

Thank you.

I have never gotten seasick either but I will go on WC prepared. Bringing sea bands, ginger drops and bonine. But remember if things get very bad for you, you can go to Medical Office and get treatment - even a shot. What I noticed is that the people who book lower deck midship seem to be okay overall. We originally had a DV midship on Deck 5 but switched to a PV on Deck 5 towards the front/bow. Those who are currently on WC, did you find that being on lower deck midship helped? How did you fare if you were in a PV on Deck 5 toward bow?