Gnoelj

When people complain about the entertainment it does make me wonder if they can't amuse themselves for a few weeks. Read a book, go for a swim, play cards, walk round deck, enjoy dinner. Maybe even research your next port, so you can plan something you would actually enjoy. Alarm bells ring for me if you need to speak to the general manager 4 times, i'm sure twice would be more than enough. As for the age of the others passengers, live and let live, who does it even matter.

I can empathize with the OP. Sure, he/she can do those things as you suggested, but surely you can only be expected to "amuse yourself" (!) for so many days before you begin to feel that perhaps some additional recreational activities and better entertainment standards would not go amiss !

Amusing yourself on cruises would be more ok if the cruise is port intensive. However, if the cruise has many, many sea days, requesting better a quality of entertainment and more on-board activities would, I think, be quite reasonable.

And of course, every individual is different. Some people are just happy to watch the TV news in the cabin/stateroom, repeated a dozen times or more daily and think that is "fine". After 2 weeks, others may begin to start climbing walls !!!

By the way @debsjc, weren't you on a Holland America cruise to Norway not too long ago ? Well, you know how great the entertainment and amount of recreation on board the Koningsdam was. It would be great if the level of entertainment/activities Oceania could be as good as on HAL. The sweet pastries and desserts on Oceania are far, far superior than on HAL though (Sorry HAL, there is no comparison to Oceania's pastries, not with your cruise line anyway!)

:loudcry::loudcry: I am posting this in hopes of dissuading those contemplating an Oceania Sirena Cruise.

 

Currently on the 35 day Oceania Sirena San Diego to Rio..sounds great, doesn't it??? Cruising the Amazon..great, huh???

 

Not so fast, dear readers....never again..

 

the most boring, worst entertainment..if any..

food above average, staff incredible and wonderful..

 

We are in a PH1...most expensive penthouse suite..have met with general manager..4x..i have profuse notes about the myriad of disappointments..if you are seeking anything close to the deceptive brochures, you may be in for a shock..more coming on this board when I can finally depart in Rio...dumped us in ghetto ports and more..so sorry I ever booked Oceania..they are riding on a reputation no longer deserved..5 star..in their dreams.:loudcry::loudcry: we booked back to back and jumping ship..cannot bear 21 more daysfrom Rio to Miami..flying home.

Let's see how 5 star Oceania handles my concerns when I call them next week. Many unhappy passengers here who will never return...:eek:will keep you posted with the details...

Just like to mention that , on one of the threads about Ocean's "arch-rival" (alledgedly! ) cruise line, Viking Ocean, there were similar comments on their Amazon cruise - great food, but disappointed with the entertainment and stopover ports! Now, isn't that curious??!!!

That's why we cannot be blamed if we often compare Viking vs. Oceania . The two cruise lines might "dis-like" (?) each other, but it appears they have so much in common !!!! (And both cruise lines could improve in their standards of entertainment provided to guests.)

That's also probably why some Oceania cruisers would happily cruise with Viking Ocean, and vice versa. And if they do not like Oceania, their feelings with Viking Ocean might not be that different.

Would you agree with that view or not?

See: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2582323

And let me clarify... I am happy on my upcoming Homelands cruise for two weeks to enjoy the entertainment they provide, which I like very much. But on our 2019 WC we are gone for over 4 months, with three stretches of sea days of 6+ days I would like some daytime activities.

 

And on our last cruise we had two great meals at Chef’s Table. Despite my lifelong commitment never to eat Bambi, I actually tried the reindeer consommé.

Just misread your message. Think you wanted more activities on your 2019 WC ( rather than entertainment) . In any case, you can still write to Viking at TellUs@VikingCruises.com . Inform them what you would wish on the cruise, and maybe they might respond to your wishes. You'd never know if you did not ask !

And let me clarify... I am happy on my upcoming Homelands cruise for two weeks to enjoy the entertainment they provide, which I like very much. But on our 2019 WC we are gone for over 4 months, with three stretches of sea days of 6+ days I would like some daytime activities.

 

And on our last cruise we had two great meals at Chef’s Table. Despite my lifelong commitment never to eat Bambi, I actually tried the reindeer consommé.

Perhaps you should write to TellUs@VikingCruises.com and tell them about your wishes for more entertainment for your 2019 WC?. At least, with the cruise still some time away, there is time for Viking to plan and add those activities if they respond to wishes like guests like you. That would actually be better than just hoping that Viking reads these threads and comments on CruiseCritic.

Lucca is a lovely place in the sunshine. It has a nice ambience, interesting shops, great churches, and of course the lovely walks or bike rides on the walls. On that day we actually stayed onboard as it was so grim outside. I had planned to reacquaint myself with Livorno,but we actually did that after our included Pisa tour in the sunshine on the day before.

I think you must have been very wet and cold as I think you will find it was Puccini that was born in Lucca. Verdi from Northern Italy near Cremona.

I think you may be in the minority with most liking Lucca. However I like St Tropez whereas others don't. If you are in the area again then try a tour with the lovely Paolo from Unforgettabletuscany.com. We have toured with him on several occasions. Last June we took a small party of cruise critic friends to Pisa, as one person hadn't seen it, then to a lovely Villa Torrigiani (our group were the only ones there) then on to Lucca. We had a lovely day.

Sorry, it was Puccini, not Verdi. You are right. Just revealed what a philistine I am about opera composers! Embarrassed Gulp!!!

You are probably right if you are saying different people have different views of different places and towns. For example, some folks did not like Port Grimaud during our stop at St. Tropez, but I loved it. It was so beautiful and yet it was one place where we did not have to jostle around with hundreds and thousands of other visitors - it felt so calm and relaxing. Talking photos of the lovely houses along the side of the canals, was really quite a pleasant experience.

Reading back what I said about Lucca, guess the Lucca Tourist Board will not invite me to give a speech on how lovely their town is now!!!! (Another gulp! ) Oh well.....

Did anyone do Lucca on your own or Scenic Lucca and Pisa tour? It looks like Lucca and Pisa you spend more time in Lucca and have a guide. We went to Pisa last year and once is enough I think.

We took the free/inclusive Pisa. And then the following day, we took the non-free/not included Lucca excursion.

Pisa tour was nice but it was quite rushed. However, it was a nice day, so that helped. We have relatively little time to ourselves to take pictures - and with such a large crowd of visitors around, it would be difficult to take pictures of the tower and church buildings without getting pictures of the heads of tourists in them.

As for Lucca, it was not a nice day - cold and wet. What was more, the tour guide had flu or bad cold or whatever, and she could not speak properly (she sounded and looked a bit like death warmed up, poor lady) but just coughing frequently. We were so worried to get her cold/flu/whatever. She dropped us in Lucca but she did not tell us to visit the Duomo di San Martino, which fortunately the guide book advised us to go to. The museum which was the birth place of Verdi was quite interesting, I must say - and at least, it was dry , warm and cosy! If you need to use the bathroom, they are free and very clean as well (If you use the public toilets, there is a small charge).

There was supposed to be a walk around wall, a bit like in Dubrovnik, but as it was such a cold and wet day, we did not go. My travelling partner said, if it it was a nice day, Lucca would have been nice. For me, I was not impressed with the town and would never want to go visit that place again in a hurry. Could not see what was so "scenic" about Lucca. I did *not* think that was one of the most beautiful towns in Italy, and would not recommend anyone to go there. It is a waste of time . At least, that is my opinion.

Since so many people do this, I wonder why people book the DV cabins. No more space and only a few perks that mount up to quiet an increase in price...but that's me.

We have come to the conclusion that it is more worthwhile going on V cabin rather than DV cabins. For several hundred dollars extra per person for an average cruise, in our view, the so-called perks are not worth paying so much for. The worst perk is the Coffee Machine - we tried the coffee and it wasn't even very nice. After that, the Coffee Machine was as good as being redundant to us.

Sorry to hear you missed St Tropez due to bad weather, even though it doesn't float my boat! Hope the weather is better for you in Monaco.

I don't know if the HOHO bus runs in the winter, but if it does there is a stop in the port just outside where the ships berth. You could do this on a rainy day. We got off the bus in the Casino Square and had drinks in the Cafe de Paris and then got back on the bus.

It is really a waste of money using the Hop On Hop Off Bus in Manaco . Monacois so small (0.75 square miles) and besides, the local bus service is so CHEAP and efficient, you can get around at only 2Euros per trip. The HOHO bus, if we are correct ,costs over 20 Euros, about ten times more expensive.

Of course, if you wish to pay the extra money to HOHO, that is entirely your prerogative.

Look at the slight ripple in the aft balcony on deck three.

 

 

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Yes, we see it alright. That's quite interesting.

By the way, how do you manage to send pics to the board on CruiseCritic.com ?

We tried to look for instructions to do so but could not find it anywhere.

We pack lightly as well but we use the ship's laundry for everything except undies. Even so, our laundry/ dry cleaning bill for our most recent trip was under $50--just a bit larger than our bar bill.

Isn't there a laundry on almost each deck for you to use for free (including free detergent)?

If you used that, you would have saved the $50 and maybe use it for more drinks! Lol.

Thanks, Gnoelj. We've used the under-the-bed storage on other lines and will probably do so on this cruise also. You're right, the slippers and robes will save us a little packing room. It also looks like there are a couple of shallow drawers in the bathroom as well. Maybe some free space will be available there.

Yes, there are two shallow drawers in the bathroom (shower room and toilet actually, as there is no bath tub as such so it is not strictly a "bathroom"). Under each drawer, there is a compartment to put some extra stuff as well.

Something you probably may not see in your DV 360-view is that the lighting in the Viking is probably one of the best lighting on any cruise ship we have been on. They have lights for almost anything and they even have a "low light" so that you will be able to see when you get up from bed to the bathroom/toilet in the middle of the night. The reading lights might need a bit of "fumbling" to find out how they operate (there are no instructions), but once you know how to do it, they are really quite cool.

One word about if you are going to the sauna, although you would not need to bring along your own slippers as they provide them there, unlike a "typical" sauna in Scandinavia, you are not allowed to go into the sauna in your birthday suit! For example, for men, they have to wear something like a pair of swimming trunks to keep your "decency". So, don't forget to pack something like that along. Check with Viking about what gear is suitable.

Thanks, everyone, for confirming that the outlets are present on the Viking Sea. It’s weird that some of the videos I’ve seen (including the DV 360-degree view on the company’s web site) don’t show them there.

 

Regarding the storage space, that seems like it could be an issue. At first I thought drawer space would be sufficient in the DV until I realized the “drawer” right below the coffee maker was actually the safe. We will make due, I’m sure, but it seems tight. I saw someone in another thread who said they use a cloth/plastic cubby organizer that hangs from the closet rod. I may check into that.

Tim

Another tip. After getting on board and having emptied your suitcase, to get more space, you could perhaps slide your suitcases and other bags UNDER THE BEDS. We have quite big suitcases and even they fit, so we think most suitcases would fit. That would give you quite a bit of extra space in the cupboard. We learnt that "trick" from a female cabin steward on one of our cruises with Oceania and now we use that on other ships we cruise as well.

If you still do not have enough space, you could perhaps leave some of the stuff inside your suitcases and then slide them under the bed.

You will also find in Viking cabins (verandah and DVs), under the side tables, and under the side table drawers, there are storage compartments which are very deep. You can put lots of things in there too. However, make sure you do not leave anything behind in there when you leave because it can be a bit difficult to see what you have left at the back!

Don't know if you know that as Viking provide disposable slippers, you woud not need to pack your own slippers. They also have umbrellas in the cabins, but they tend to be rather huge. In the saunas, they have slippers particularly for that use, so you do not have to bring any special slippers for that either.

Dear Deirdre/ dln929,

Thanks for keeping us updated with the news and pic. (with so many Cruise Critic members worldwide, we probably get more up-to-date on-the-spot news than anyone else!)

And safe journey to Marseilles.

We know about the rocky seas on the Med on the Viking Star. Just pretend you are a bit drunk and dancing and that just about describes the feeling (for us anyway).

Gosh, and we were on the Viking Star in Barcelona just about a fortnight ago! Never would imagine something like that would happen. Hope everyone is alright.

Won't blame the captain of the Viking Star if he is angry. He tries always to be so careful, and whenever there was some wind at some ports, he was so cautious and sometimes tend to avoid them (quite rightly so). And now this other ship knocked into his beloved ship. It is a bit like someone who is proud of his lovely car, kept it pristine, kept it parked safely and then another car knocked into it !

Let's not demonise the pianist. He didn't handle the sale well but the recipient, equally, was not able to respond appropriately. We should move on from this.

What do you mean by "demonise the pianist"? You make it sound as if the pianist is the victim, when in fact he is the perpetrator! The real victims are the poor guests he pressed his CD against, and then asked for money (at an inflated price - 35 Euros) taking advantage of the fact some may be too embarrassed to turn him down - not everyone is strong enough to say no . And he probably knows that.

It is not just that he did not handle this well, he should not have done it that way in the first place. Many people would perhaps feel what he did seems somewhat "underhanded". That was what seemed WRONG about his actions.

We do not know what Viking's policy is but we realise some cruise lines allow their staff to sell their wares. However, when they do, these CDs sales are done properly "above board" and they are usually displayed at the shops on the ship - with the price clearly marked - for anyone interested to purchase them. An official receipt would be given for each purchase. So likewise, if Viking allows these sales, they should be done that way.

It would be helpful too if we know eactly what Viking's policy is - whether they allow their staff to peddle their wares informally on board or not*

* We hope Viking do not condone this sort of informal peddling - if they do, what is there to stop other staff doing so? Imagine the cabin steward trying to peddle his "home-made" coconut toilet brushes to guests, pressing it to them, and then asking it for an inflated price of 35 Euros each which they can pay later !!! That is why Viking should be more firm on that kind of practices to protect its image.

I wouldn’t be at all happy if this happened at a wedding.

 

Sigh. We are not disagreeing. I wouldn't be happy if it happened at a wedding or it happened on Viking. But would you criticize your wedding hosts because they did not know that the bartender was doing this? The point is simply that while the pianist was doing something that they were not supposed to do, it would be incorrect to blame Viking or to generalize.

 

With respect, we do not get you. Who is blaming Viking or generalizing? Nobody. We just stated what had happened by someone who presumably "happened" to be working for Viking (or one of its agents, etc), and it took place on a Viking cruise inside a Viking ship. Surely, if that is the case, one is allowed to mention that, isn't one?

 

It's like if you see some Gypsy women in London approaching you and pressing their dried flower sprigs against your chest and then asking you for money, you would not blame them on London, would you? So, no, we won't blame Viking.

 

The main reason we put this on CruiseCritic, is for future passengers to be aware that this could happen to anyone on any ship, including non-Viking ones.

 

Who knows, even if Viking would not employ this pianist in future, what is there to stop him from ending up in ships of other cruise lines, plonking his keyboards and then pressing his CDs to other passengers ("victims"?), after which he would unexpectedly ask for his 35 Euros? So, it is always helpful for cruise guests to be on the "look-out" wherever they are, so that they will not be caught unawares and not know what to do.

 

We believe that guy (pianist) is from Eastern Europe and he is quite big and portly, so that if you encounter him again on any cruise ship, it's up to you, but you might consider keeping your distance. (NB: Just because that guy may happen to be from Eastern Europe, most definitely NOT all Eastern Europeans are like that, in fact, most others we met were usually very nice and friendly!).

I have to agree that these links (I clicked on them) do not show any high levels of dissatisfaction with either Viking Ship - in fact they show the opposite for overall reviews.....they dont really correlate with this specific cruise, which is what this specific thread is about.

Yes, Viking does read these threads, and in doing so (as well as onboard feedback) are learning that this specific cruise had really big issues. Point in fact, Viking reached out to me last night via email as well as phone. We did not connect live, but will later today.....so they are listening.....and responding. I rather doubt that many other cruise lines would take that extra step.....so we will see where all this goes.....but I am pretty sure they now know this itinerary needs serious help.....and I appreciate their individual effort.

The links show in the reviews that there are still some very good things about Viking - probably more good than bad . That is not to say that those issues which showed they are lacking are not any less important.

Glad to read your reassurance that Viking is reading these threads, and that they have reached out to you. That is a good sign. You are right to say many cruise lines would not take that extra step.

Viking Ocean is basically a good cruise line, so we should all support them and give them a chance to succeed - especially if you know they are trying hard and responding to client's views and wishes.

Next to look out for is that they are not just taking in the information and views of guests on issues they are not satisfied with, but doing something about . Some of those problems may not be able to be able to be solved overnight, so we may have to be a bit patient. That is why we will wait a few months before deciding to book any future cruises with Viking. And probably very unlikely book on any routings/regions that are completely new to them, not until after they have time to iron any "teething" issues out.

Hi, We just booked a cruise to the Caribbean that leaves on February 5. It is now less than a month out. Will we receive our travel documents on time ? Sorry I cant seem to get rid of the dated countdown clock.

It depends on whether you booked your cruise through your T/A or directly via Viking. Whichever way you book, you will get it in good time. If we remember correctly, we got it around 3 weeks before our cruise.

The travel documents from Viking Ocean are quite impressive, and they also come in a kind of high quality felt-like zip bag which gives it a sense of "luxury".

This is one of the things that Viking Ocean does very well, and kudos to them for that.

Why are you posting this again? You posted it on a thread below on Dec 27.

Did you ever go back to the guest relations and ask what is the policy for performers on Viking ships selling their CD?

When on Celebrity, many entertainers do have CD to sell,but never a hard sell or misunderstood. I have bought some of them . I have used them as background music to my slide show of my trip on my apple computer.

BTW, can you buy things on board with Euros?

I thought ships use USD as the currency on board, but I could be wrong.

We posted it again because it was "hidden" in another thread with many other discussions, and possibly, most people (except perhaps yourself!) might have missed it. We would not want other unexpecting passengers to have to experience that as my partner did. It was not pleasant feeling that someone was trying to take advantage of you unawares - and that was a Viking employee.

One would hope to expect that Viking staff on board usually try to make you feel good, as most do, and not feel bad.

We know on other cruise lines, entertainers have CDs to sell, but they announced it clearly, and they even have them displayed in one of the shops on the ship with the price tag. Those CDs were not pressed into your hands when you least expected, and then, asked you for the payment when you did not ask to buy it in the first place. You had to pick to CDs up yourself and knowingly buy it. That is the difference between these entertainers and the Viking Star pianist.

Isn't scrupulous behaviour expected of all ship's performers? What would you feel if you were placed in that position as my partner was? Would you be happy?

Dear Shoalwater. Thank you for taking the time to post your comments. I am in agreement with some of the others in this thread - I don't need to be 'entertained' at night, which is one of the many reasons Viking suits me. In the evenings I am happy to sit and chat to fellow travellers, to watch the world go by, and / or have a glass of wine in the lounge. Broadway productions etc would be wasted on me. I would be interested to read some of the reviews you have completed after your many Princess cruises - it seems to me you might be a glass half empty kind of guy. No disrespect intended - but rather than wanting to change Viking into what you want it to be, why don't you just stick with Princess if they give you what you want and let people like me enjoy Viking for what it gives us. Whatever you choose to do, I wish you safe travels.

In the next 5 years, Viking is going to almost double its size to ten ships. That means it needs to fill more cabins with more guests than ever before.

There may be some like you who do not need to be entertained at night, but for Viking to fill those cabins, they will need to attract many others including those who want a better level of entertainment than being provided now. Viking Ocean cannot just depend on existing guests who enjoy doing "nothing" and/or do not wish to have better entertainment on board.

Just because you do not seem to want better entertainment , you should not prevent others like Shoalwater who wish to have top rate entertainment on Viking to have a chance to do so, should you? It is not right. No, folks like Shoalwater do not necessarily need to "stick with" Princess, they want to be cruising with Viking but they want Viking to improve its entertainment quality ( and if management is smart, they will do that.). Is that too much to ask? Viking has been able to make so many of its items to be top rate, we are sure they (Viking Ocean management ) can, if they try to, they will improve and have top rate entertainment which would be the envy of others (which they do not have at the moment). These entertainment does not necessarily have to imitate other cruise lines, they could be imaginative yet tasteful.

For those guests who enjoy doing "nothing" or very little, they can still stay in the lounges or in their cabins, or wherever they want to,just as they do now. No one is stopping them. All Shoalwater, and others like us as well, ask of Viking Ocean management is to provide better entertainment for their future cruises for those of us who wish to continue cruising with Viking to provide that "service".

Instead of trying to "chase out" present Viking customers who wish better entertainment to other cruise lines (and thus losing Viking vital future business), it would benefit the cruise line more if they up their game and provide top rate entertainment instead of mediocre ones, so these customers continue staying with Viking for their future cruises.

For me, I would love to have sea days with nothing to do [emoji41]. There was an old movie called Houseboat with Sophia Loren and Cary Grant. Sophia Loren’s character used an Italian expression “Dolce far niente.” - how sweet to do nothing, she translated.

 

That’s my motto, How sweet to do nothing. Every cruise needs Dolce Far Niente days [emoji16]

 

Our upcoming cruise is port intensive, so I may have to make my own [emoji7]

 

Like many I’m attracted to Viking because they don’t have all the folderol of other lines.

 

 

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The thing is, on other cruise lines, you have a choice. If you choose to do nothing, that's your prerogative. If you wish to be entertained at sea days, they have quite a number of things for you to do as well.

On Viking, the latter CHOICE is MISSING !

On board activities and quality of entertainment is Viking's WEAKEST SPOT, in our view.

That is not to say Viking does not have any strong points, they do - their food is generally excellent (except perhaps for Chef's Table, but that is another story!), the staff are helpful, the accommodation is good, and their ships are lovely.

Why oh why do Viking management not look into improving the quality of its entertainment and on-board activities simply beats us. They have achieved so much, and compared to getting new routes and new ships , improving their entertainment quality would be so achievable . And if they do, they would very strong in beating all their other competitors. Viking should try to attract both people like CyberKat who enjoys doing nothing, as well as those who enjoy on-board activities and entertainment.. This is especially the case if they are getting up to 10 ships to fill, they cannot just attraction a portion of potential customers (those who love to do nothing on sea days).

We are thinking of booking the above cruise. With so many days at sea, does anyone know what activities are laid on during the day by Viking? We don't need to be kept constantly busy but a range of activities would keep us from getting bored.

We would avoid that if we were you. From our experience with Viking Ocean, their on-board activities and entertainment is probably the weakest of all the cruise lines we have been on. From our view Viking Ocean is NO STRONG ON ITS ENTERTAINMENT and ON-BOARD ACTIVITIES. Even their theatre musical /dance shows are poor compared to other cruise lines, their Christmas show reminded us of some high school amateur production. And their "Las Vegas Strip" (or something to that tune) was repeated TWICE on a 14 day cruise!

That is why, for any future cruises, we will only go for their port intensive itinerary ones (with included excursions), and will not take any Viking Ocean cruises with many sea days. Not unless they improve their on-board activities and entertainment, to be at least on par with other cruise lines.

Hello. I have a question regarding the Deluxe Veranda on Viking Sea. I get the feeling that the accommodations are not identical on all the VO ships. Does the Deluxe Veranda on Viking Sea have electrical outlets and USB ports at the bedside tables? I’ve seen some reviews mention this, but the 360-degree view on the cruise line’s web site doesn’t show them. Also, does the lamp on the desk have USB ports in the base?

 

Thanks,

Tim

Not sure about USB ports, but it has both Continental and American outlets at bedside. If you use a laptop, which often has wifi , you would not need a USB port. It connects to the ship's wifi quite easily.

By the way, whether you are in a "Deluxe" Verandah, or "standard" Verandah, they are basically the same cabin. The only difference is you get your fridge refilled daily with soft drinks (standard verandah gets soft drinks in fridge only when you first embark), earlier specialty restaurant and included excursion bookings online, and an expensive coffee machine using pods cluttering up precious little space (and which we used only once on a 14 day cruise, and the coffee was not even very good! ). All the so-called "extras" for a few hundreds dollars more per person. What is so "Deluxe " about that? Is it any wonder the standard verandah cabins often get sold out first? We were in a Deluxe cabin on last cruise, but for any future cruises with Viking, we will NOT be going on Deluxe cabins but book for the standard cabin - we felt that it was not worth paying the extra for. We have learnt our lesson. If you haven't booked your Deluxe Verandah cabin, think about it again and weigh up to see if the standard Verandah may offer you a better valued option.

Oceania best ship is Riviera.

Out of 5

 

Cabins

Viking - 5

Oceania - 5

 

Food

V - 5

O - 5+

 

Public rooms

V - 5

O - 4.5

 

Open decks

V - 5

O - 2

 

Spa

V - 4

O - 3

 

Pools

V - 4

O - 3

 

Fitness

V - 4

O - 4.5

 

Overall

Viking 4.5*+

Oceania 4*

 

Princess varies from 3* (Royal, Regal) to near 4.5* (Sapphire).

Interesting to read your rating.

What you did not rate is the on-board entertainment. For that, we think Oceania (especially their larger "O" class ships) get 4.5 ,and Viking Ocean gets 2. For our Christmas Cruise on the Viking Star, the Christmas show was so poor, it was almost like some high school amateur production, giving that show a "2" would be more than generous , in our view. Of course, others may disagree, but the WEAKEST POINT with Viking is its Entertainment. For us, Viking's entertainment standard is so weak, it is even below those mid-range/mass market cruise lines eg Holland America, Princess and even P&O!

Often, on Viking, we just go to bed early because there is so little that is interesting to do at night. (On some non-Viking cruises, we remembered that we had to rush from one show or event to another at sea days. Not with Viking Ocean). Of course, given the fact we have to get up early to "catch" the early bird included excursions on Viking encouraged us to sleep early too.

As for activities, Viking Ocean may have the free sauna which is an advantage and on Oceania, you have to pay for it, that puts Oceania behind Viking. However, Oceania have more interesting on board activities, including free art classes. We would be prepared to cruise with Oceania even it it has many sea days in its itinerary. For Viking, we would only go on cruises with a port intensive itinerary - we feel that there will be rather too limited recreation to keep us interested on a Viking cruise if we are kept at sea all day

For us, overall, we would rate Oceania and Viking as being "neck and neck" at 4.5 each. If only Viking Ocean pulls up its socks and improve on the on-board entertainment and activities, then, it would get 4.75 points.

Alas, we realise that, all this point giving is so very subjective!