Century2000

Allergy warning

This post only applies to those who have an allergy to nuts and is offered as friendly advice about the limited choices you might experience. Oceania’s pastry chefs add nuts to almost every dessert recipe (as well as several appetizers and entrees that don’t usually contain nuts). We were told that the ship offers ice cream, fruit, or cheese plates to accommodate those with allergies. These items are easily obtained at home and seem unworthy of a line that strives to offer the best cuisine at sea.  On a typical evening there might be four beautiful, creative desserts and ALL of them will be “off limits” to those with nut allergies. 

Oceania offers to provide the next day’s menu to those with allergies so that “safe” items can be selected. But, unfortunately, the substitute desserts with “no nuts” (usually one per meal) were bland, dry, and devoid of all flavor.

We love Oceania but have reluctantly decided to book future cruises with a line that offers those with common allergies more options and more variety.

I am on the Riveria right now.  Fabulous service as always.  However, it appears that the ship is overdue for a refurbishment.  Many windows in Horizons (as well as in our veranda stateroom) have signs of “seal failure”. This causes the windows to be hazy or foggy.  In the stateroom, several areas of wear and tear; for example, the shelf in the desk is broken, the shower head leaks from the side,  and the closet sliding doors are loose and rattle all night long. It appears that at one time there was a light in the closet, but all that remains are dangling electrical cords. Other than the suites, does anybody know if there are definite plans to refresh public spaces and veranda staterooms?

We will be disembarking the Viking Sky at Greenwich and would like some advice from past cruisers.

We prefer to carry off our own luggage rather than leaving it outside the cabin the night before. This isn't usually a problem, but at Greenwich there is a short tender ride from the ship to the port. If you have previously disembarked at Greenwich, do you recall if it is possible to roll a suitcase into the tender boat or does it need to be carried down steps into the boat?

We are fans of the British tv program "Death in Paradise" which is filmed in Gaudeloupe. We will be there for one day in December 2016 and would love to arrange a tour of Deshaies. Anyone done something like this or can you recommend a guide who could take us from Pointe-a-Pitre to Deshaies?

Yes, airfare is included if booked by Jan. 31. We love the itinerary - Guadeloupe, Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, etc. but most of all, we are attracted to the CC reviews that indicate Viking offers high quality cuisine.

Add us to the list of long time Celebrity cruisers who are actively seeking something better. We just booked the 11-day cruise on Viking Star from San Juan for next Christmas. Looks amazing!

I can't thank you enough, Jenna, for posting these menus! But I must agree with Maggie.1008...the menus look pretty plain and quite limited, almost institutional. The menus provide no help in discerning how a particular entry might be special. We consider ourselves "foodies" who would gladly pay more for higher quality ingredients and innovative recipes. Not sure that Luminae (at least from the menus) is the right choice for us. In the coming weeks will be interested to read more reviews of the food itself.