shipnc

In searching for a cruise I always look for an itinerary that has interesting ports AND some days at sea. One of the reasons I cruise is because I like ships and the sea and I enjoy days at sea as well as in port. I was on Viking a year ago in their maiden season and found a nice cruise with both. Yes you can wear yourself out trying to maximize shore destinations so give yourself a break a find a cruise with some relaxing sea days.

We were on a recent Star sailing and the life vests are indeed in locked bins on the wrap around deck. I thought it somewhat problematic to have to rely on someone to unlock all the bins and distribute life jackets in the panic of a real emergency, but I found it even more disturbing that our muster stations were at interior rooms. Does anyone believe that in the event of a real emergency people are going to congregate in the theater or restaurant in an orderly fashion and wait to be escorted out onto the life boat deck? Star is not the only ship to do this, but I much prefer the old fashioned muster by your lifeboat with your life preserver on concept.

Perhaps I made some assumptions about other cruise line's crew compensation methods that may not have been true, but my impression was that even if they received some base pay, tips were the lion's share of their compensation. On Viking, I'm sure the tip amount added to your cruise account is used to fund the crew's salary, but the crew gets paid their salary up front regardless. We were talking with some crew members who were on the ship in Tallin while it was being repaired, and even though there were no passengers onboard, they got their full salaries. I'm not sure that would be the case on other ships, but again, I can't say that for sure. In any case, the crew seemed happy and I was happy to give additional tips to those crew with whom we established an individual connection and who served us well.

The room key cards control lights and a/c but outlets by the side of the bed and desk are always on so you can charge your Ipad, phones etc. anytime. As far as the bathroom outlets for hairdriers, thanks to Ingra for explaining why Star is designed that way. But lest anyone think that we in the US are callous and indifferent toward electrocution risks, our bathrooms are equipped with GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupters) which protect against electrical dangers, so we don't have to leave the bathroom to plug in high voltage items such as hairdriers.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=511475

I have just posted a review of our altered Passage through Western Europe cruise. I tried to relate the details and misfortunes we experienced on this cruise while keeping in mind our problems were (hopefully) unique to this cruise and not a reflection of how the ship was otherwise.

We are just off Star on the ill-fated Bergen/Copenhagen to Barcelona segment. I suspected all along that the ship was not completely fixed. If the ship was capable of full speed, why did it get only as far as Copenhage? Why did we dock at LeHavre rather than sailing down the Seine to Rouen? Why were we 3 hours late into Lisbon? My suspicions were confirmed when I noticed there was only one propeller wake behind the ship! I even took a picture of it. Sailing on one engine is not all that uncommon and was certainly better than cancelling the cruise, but I guess my beef was being kept in the dark about it by the ship's officers. I even asked the cruise director (the only officer I could find) if all engines were operating and he assured me they were. When I asked about the single propeller wake, he was obviously flustered and said "he would find out." If he did, he didn't tell me. The ship's captain explained the delay into Lisbon as "maintenance". Yea, sure. As a retired airline pilot, I am more than familiar with mechanical problems that lead to delays and inconvenience, but I found out early in my career that being forthcoming, truthful and candid with the passengers was by far the best way to go. I wish Viking officers had felt that way, too. I sincerely hope the engines are finally fixed by the Barcelona installations and subsequent trips are uneventful on this beautiful ship.

"Without adequate drawer space, is there enough closet space for two females? "

The answer to the above question is: never! Ha Ha. We are just off of Star and while the rooms are a little short on drawer space, there actually is quite a bit of closet space. Our steward brought in extra hangars and I would estimate the closet was at least 6 feet across. It actually spanned the wall parallel to the beds and was about the same length as the beds. Also, there is a storage shelf above the closer and two drawers in the bathroom which we didn't discover until the last days of the cruise. And as roothy123 pointed out, there is lots of room under the beds to store stuff you don't need to regularly access in your suitcases.

Here's a tidbit FYI: there is a hairdryer in the bathroom but the outlet does not fit it, so you have to go into the room and connect by the table to use it. Not an issue for me, but annoying for Barbara.

We have just returned from the delayed 8/8 "Passage Through Western Europe" cruise. I had anticipated that many who chose to cancel after finding out about the revised schedule might be curious about how it went, so I started a new thread titled "comments from those who chose to stay on the 8/8 "Homelands" sailing. Unfortunately, I misidentified the title of the cruise, and no one else chipped in with their comments. Anyway, if you scroll down to that thread, I recounted in some detail what went up until the time we actually got on the ship. I also intend to write a full review of the cruise shortly, but in the meanwhile, I'll give you the Cliff Notes version.

Once aboard Viking Star, we loved the ship, had absolutely outstanding service from the crew and had an enjoyable time. However, what set this cruise apart from many similar offerings was the unique opportunity to sail up the Thames and Seine to overnight near London and Paris. By deleting these two "crown jewels" of this cruise, it became just another cruise, and an expensive one at that. We were already in Norway when the altered itinerary was announced so we were pretty much committed to go, but for those of you who cancelled before departure, it was probably not a bad decision.

We are on our final day of our 8/8 cruise and are thinking about tips. We have found a waiter we like and have requested his table multiple times. We intend to give him a tip in addition to the ships obligatory amount . In chatting with him, he said that this was his third cruise company and by far the best. They pay him a salary (from the obligatory pool I assume) which he liked, and based on the attitudes of the other staff, I think is it fair to say that our designated tip money makes its way to the designated recipients. We also intend to give a tip to our room steward. We have leftover currencies from several countries that we will not use again, but the crew can, so we intend to give that in the form of tips. Win win. Service on Star has been just outstanding.

I thought it might be interesting to get feedback from those who elected to stay on the Aug 8 "Homelands" sailing. How's it going? How has Viking managed the crisis? Was staying on the cruise a god decision? I suspect those who cancelled are curious about how things are going, and future VO cruisers would be interested in how Viking copes with irregular situations. So give us your two cents'-worth. I'll lead off. We came to Norway early so didn't find out about the itinerary change until we were there. We could still have cancelled , but would then have had to pay for our way home on a new routing, so we decided to stay the course. Saturday the 8th, the original embarkation day, was somewhat chaotic as Viking scrambled to see off the remnants of the last cruise and then accommodate the new arrivals in a scarce hotel environment. In all, 12 different hotels were used, with some as far away from downtown as the airport. There was some disgruntlement among travelers who were already here who had to move from their original hotel into another, even though Viking had booked rooms in that very hotel. We were fortunate in that I ran into a Viking agent by accident in our hotel and was able to arrange to stay there since it was one of the selected hotels. There was some also some confusion and limited communication about dining arrangements, but we ate at our hotel after finding out about the arranged meal by running into fellow travelers. The following day we had a full day excursion by bus to the fjord area, with staggered departures from all the different hotels. The tour was fine but there was some congestion at our lunch location. The next day, Monday, we did a short city tour, had lunch at a very congested hotel location and then shuttled on buses out to the airport for our charter flight. This was a very large logistical challenge that I thought Viking handled well. Flying under any circumstances is not much fun and standing in lines to check bags and get screened for security is not my idea of what you want to do on cruise, but Viking made it as easy as they could and we finally reached Star around 7pm. So, we are now onboard enjoying the beautiful ship and looking forward to the rest of the cruise. Yes there were some problems getting to this point, but overall, in this one man's opinion, Viking did one heck of a job in a most difficult situation. And here's a final irony: British Airways lost our bags at Heathrow and we did not recover them until 6 days later. Had Viking Star sailed on it's original schedule, we would have sailed with no clothes. So, it's an ill wind.....

We are aboard Star now and are concerned. What caused the shower glass to explode? Hope your situation turns out favorably.

Cmaasfamily......keep up the helpful insights. We are already in Norway and need to decide if we are going to pull the plug on this cruise, probably by Sat. a.m when the cruise would have started. Obviously we don't want to eat the costs already put into this adventure, but you've got to know when to fold them, too.

OK OneBag, you got me. I did not read the boilerplate fine print on the message so I am guilty, but her response was helpful and useful information that others on this problem filled trip were also requesting. So I guess I'm asking forgiveness now rather than permission. I might add this Viking Rep responded rapidly when information has been in short supply and gave me renewed confidence that Viking might actually be able to pull off this logistical nightmare. Her responses to other emails have been forwarded on various threads but if she objects to this one, I have no problem with TA deleting the thread.

Dear Mr. Shipman:

Thank you for your email. We are sorry for the delay in response from our Customer Relations team. I am happy to answer the questions posed in your email message below.

For guests, such as yourself, who have traveled independently and will already be in Bergen on August 8, 2015, we would encourage you to make your way to the original docking location in Bergen. The address is Skoltegrunnskaien, NO 5003, Bergen, NO. A Viking representative will be positioned at the Bergen dock for the day and will communicate hotel information and arrange a transfer to your assigned hotel - there will likely be more than one to accommodate all guests.

Despite your hotel stay, Viking will still provide each of your meals - just as we will aboard Viking Star. If you do purchase a meal on your own, please keep your receipts as I am happy to review reimbursement once you return home.

Mr. Shipman, should additional questions arise, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. Enjoy your trip!

Best regards,

Valerie Kepler I Viking Cruises I Customer Relations Agent I (t) 877.668.4546, ext. 8828 I (f) 818.594.8463 I valerie.kepler@vikingcruises.com I vikingcruises.com

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-----Original Message-----

From: Richard Shipman [mailto:shipnc@icloud.com]

Sent: Wednesday, August 05, 2015 3:45 AM

To: Tellus

Subject: What about those already in bergen for 8/8 cruise?

I know there are other travelers like us who are on the delayed 8/8 sailing who traveled independently and have hotel rooms for Friday. How do we find a Viking rep to coordinate our new hotels? Are you going to compensate us for the meals we buy that we would otherwise have eaten on board ? Why am I wondering where all these hotel rooms are going to come from when you didn't have enough rooms to accommodate the previous cruise people. I have contacted Viking customer service and they said they would get Back to me in 7-10 days. We kind of need to know something before that.

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I know there are other travelers like us who are on the delayed 8/8 sailing who traveled independently and have hotel rooms for Friday. How do we find a Viking rep to coordinate our new hotels? Are they going to compensate us for the meals we buy that we would otherwise have eaten on board ? Why am I wondering where all these hotel rooms are going to come from whe they didn't have enough rooms to accommodate the previous cruse people. I have contacted Viking customer service and they said thy would get. Back to me in 7-10 days. I will try the other email but am not holding my breath. And by the way, BA lost our luggage so we are sitting in cold wet oslo with our travel clothes still on.

I know there are other travelers like us who are on the delayed 8/8 sailing who traveled independently and have hotel rooms for Friday. How do we find a Viking rep to coordinate our new hotels? Are they going to compensate us for the meals we buy that we would otherwise have eaten on board ? Why am I wondering where all these hotel rooms are going to come from whe they didn't have enough rooms to accommodate the previous cruse people. I have contacted Viking customer service and they said thy would get. Back to me in 7-10 days. I will try the other email but am not holding my breath. And by the way, BA lost our luggage so we are sitting in cold wet oslo with our travel clothes still on.

How much did the cab ride just to the Acropolis cost? Did you pre-negotiate the price or was the fare based on the meter? It seems like this is the best way to get a jump on the crowds at the Acropolis. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Lydia...thanks for the timely posting! Our cruise that leaves next weeks stops in Athens and I was curious about a couple of things: was there any delay getting off the ship due to priorty departures of excursions? Did you consider taking a taxi just to the Acropolis without an all day "guide"? If so, how much would that have been? Finally, how long did it take you to get to the Acropolis via metro. Thanks for the help.