shadowlover

I have been asked this question from friends who know I have been on several cruises with multiple cruise lines. This is my opinion. I think that viking river in Europe is a wonderful experience with a really good included tour in each port. The ocean cruises that I think are the best value with Viking are not the caribbean because the tours are probably "panoramic" or similar. Great if you're less mobile but not much to see there. I think picking a viking cruise with a really interesting itinerary is the best value for the money and the best experience. This is speaking from someone who doesn't just cruise for the ship experience so keep that in mind. On celebrity you would need to book the retreat or aqua class to get a comparable included value so price is similar. Celebrity would include all drinks and tips in retreat class but no excursions. A good sale on viking includes air, drinks and sometimes gratuity but always special dining beer and wine. Spa included in viking. Entertainment much better on celebrity. No crowds on viking, and never a problem to find a wonderful place to sit.

You may want to ask for more advice for this specific question on an israel excursion post BUT.. we did go to the dead sea with our private guide and went in the water. I don't remember not shaving haha but I also don't remember having any issues. We did bring old bathing suits and old reef runners and then tossed them out after the swim. They tend to stink in my opinion. I thought it was a must see and do.

Except that this was Viking canceling a cruise without proper notification to the customer. I have trouble believing those on this thread giving the OP a hard time would not feel exactly the same way if it happened to you. I certainly don’t look at my Viking journey a year in advance just to “check in”. I go in when I’m notified that it’s time to schedule something etc.

Wonder when the flash sales for 2024 will begin... Maybe in the summer?

I am loving this thread... It has brought me joy today.

Well said. I walked away and let my husband deal with them and never said anything because I feel the same way- probably had enough of us complaining or asking a zillion questions by the end of a cruise! The problem was not resolved but looking back I am not sure there was a better solution. Getting off a cruise ship in the am in Puerto Rico with several pieces of luggage is a little tricky. There is no easy place to store, not enough time for a rental car, not enough time to try and store at the airport and then tool around town but way too much time to spend in a boring airport with no lounges. But we survived it haha. Viking dumped bus loads of us off with no one even working at the united desk to allow us to check in. there was no where to sit and it was raining outside. I felt badly for the elderly among us. The only united flights seemed to be early afternoon and they had us there shortly after 830 am. Ticket counter opened at 11. flight at 2:40 but it was then an hour delayed. Oh the joys of travel.

What travel insurance would not cover this scenario? It's the whole purpose that I buy it....Important reminder to buy insurance from a broker whom you can ask a zillion questions like I do. I buy from Steve from the trip insurance store. Not only does he guide you with what you need, but will also help you file a claim. At this point it is most definitely the insurance company that needs to step in, not sure about viking. (On a somewhat separate note )We definitely noticed cost cutting and service issues on our recent trip. We went down to guest services to inquire about our departure time (it was the earliest for a a later flight which viking booked through viking air) and the representative actually rolled her eyes at us.... I had to walk away.

I was on this cruise and I feel that they really didn't offer enough to do. There was only ONE exercise class- it was at 8 am and had maybe 10 people in it. It was yoga....I am not a fan. Anyway, I love to read so I am never bored and the weather was wonderfully warm for the sea days so it was relaxing. I just feel like viking could offer more to do and better entertainment. The ship is elegant but relatively small. Never had any problem finding a comfortable seat. Never had a problem finding something delicious to eat. We went for forced relaxation and we received it so all good here.

Have encountered some fellow passengers that seem like they would do better in a carnival cruise… they must have offered too many free silver spirit packages and perhaps discounted this cruise too steeply. Also seems like a lot of new staff. I realize everyone is having trouble fully staffing but then I wonder at the decision to fully fill this ship with max passenger capacity. It’s been a bit disappointing. We have eaten in the restaurant total of three times. Mainly world cafe which I like a lot but at times the food is not very hot. They will prepare many things for you hot. Any issues we have had have been quickly resolved as far as minor room problems. I agree with previous posters who notice a change in Viking quality. Not giving up on them though.

This was not the case for us. Currently onboard. We had to pay for our excursions with a credit card and this was not refunded via our on board credit once on board. Now we have both non refundable and refundable credit to use …. I will clarify that they use my non refundable first if I purchase anything.

We currently have refundable and non refundable credit. Do I have to specify that they use the non refundable first or is Viking “smart enough” to do this??

we did guided tour Israel and it was excellent. we did a two day private tour for four to see Masada, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We saw SO MUCH and our guide was able to drive us right up close to many sights. We stayed overnight on our own in Jerusalem. we walked at night to see the wailing wall. We did the group tour for nazareth and that was excellent too! We decided we most likely would not make it back so we maximized our time. Unreal once in a lifetime experience- the whole thing!

You will have to be at the airport by 12 or 1 so that doesn't really give you much time.

Make sure your viking cruise reservation is linked with the other couple. if you have viking link them, only one of you has to log on to make the reservation and then you can add them to your table. Getting a table for four was no problem on our upcoming December cruise.

When we call and ask to be ticketed they do it while we are on the phone with them...We were months out and just told them to ticket us because we were happy with the flights and viking air said ok and did it.

Thats not good. I hope viking does well by you. They should have made that clear when you purchased the insurance through viking.

If viking's "insurance" came directly from them then I would consider it. They use trip mate so why not go through an insurance broker who offers a cheaper option? I think all insurance companies take forever to reimburse and there is always a lot of paper work. I use steve from the trip insurance store and he is a wealth of information. The company will also assist you if you have to make a claim. They stand behind the companies they use but all companies have very explicit contracts. Most people who are dissatisfied with their lack of reimbursement have usually misunderstood their coverage.

I thought the whole purpose of auto gratuity is to not have to worry about all this tipping. Personally I feel that having to work hard just to see if you get paid is demeaning. Research the history of tipping- especially in the US. Interesting read... The two viking cruises we have been on have provided above and beyond service. These are professionals and I hope they are compensated as such.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post a review! I agree about the food- people rave about it and I think it is good to very good at times. We are foodies though. I don't really care about the food on a viking ship however I DO care about the quality of excursions. Your review is really helpful and we will plan on doing our own excursion in Granada. The entertainment leaves a lot to be desired but we have been so tired from touring on our previous trips that this didn't matter to us. You think they could change up the Abba and Beatles thing though.... time for a change. This is coming from an abba and beatles lover too 🙂

In my recent experience, we booked through airplus when we noticed that we had flights on our united app but the dates were not what we wanted. It was many months prior to travel and we just happened to notice them on our app. We then called airplus and they made our changes exactly as we wanted them. The only fees we were charged were the airplus and deviation fees because we are flying in a week early. These were NOT ticketed which I only realized when I read on this cruise critic about peoples flights being changed by viking not the airlines and the advice was to get them ticketed. We called, even though the message states "please do not call viking air unless you are 60 (or 90 can't remember) days prior to your flight" and we asked them to ticket them. No problem- they did it. Keep in mind, once you are ticketed you will be charged any change fees. prior to ticketing you can change everything with airplus.

They did move it in my viking journey since the last time we cruised. When you log in you need to go to payments and cart and then click payment method at the top. That is where ours is viewable. Hope that helps

Can you also see it on my viking journey? Just curious if they charge the air plus if we do our own changes on the app...

You should be able to plug in changes on myvikingjourney. Have you tried that? We flew air canada (rouge which is the no frills version) from Toronto to Athens and I had read horrible reviews prior which had me all worked up and worried. It ended up being a fantastic flight. I did pay a bit more for an upgraded seat and brought a cushion!

We went on the November trip several years ago and had glorious weather! It was sunny and at times hot in Greece (for me). Israel was very hot the day we did Masada. It rained one day when we did the amalfi coast but it was light on and off showers. It rained off and on when we extended but honestly with light layers I was very comfortable even in the rain. We ended up seeing SO much in Florence because the weather kept the crowds down so the rain was in our favor that day!

most recently the advantage for me was easier cancellation as everything was all in one package. Going forward as covid restrictions are mostly gone, I would only take the air if free or substantially discounted. We usually extend and/or go early so the extra fees tend to make their air not worth it. I am interested to see about this new way of doing air via myvikingjourney though. If I can pick my own flights, dates etc on the website without a fee then I would consider it. I think those who fly premium/first class may get a better deal with viking but we tend to go economy and spend our money elsewhere. So I can't speak to that