lil dot

A letter addressed to me and my husband from Torstein Hagen (Chairman, Viking Cruises) inviting us for a personal “thank you” on May 18 at 8:30 was in our cabin when we returned on May 18 at 4:30 PM. We cancelled our Manfredi's dinner reservation and attended. It started 11 minutes late. My take on it was that if this was an event that had been on the master calendar for several weeks (i.e. Torstein knew he was going to be on the ship and wanted to get the 50-day passengers together to thank them for being on the maiden voyage), it was poorly executed since I really didn’t feel like it was any kind of a thank you event. And if it was thrown together at the last minute due to the dinner fiasco that happened the night before, it failed on that front, too. Here’s why, in my opinion:

Torstein was talking for at least 2-3 minutes before he even introduced himself. He also appeared to have had several “G & Ts” (his words) prior to the event and had one in his hand on stage. (The rest of us were only offered glasses of champagne. I don’t drink alcohol and had to find my own water.) He did apologize three times for the fiasco of the night before and explained that there was only space for 340 guests off-site and the invitation letters went to too many people and so that’s why Cruise Director Paul Reynolds told the entire room Sunday night that only the VIPs could attend. On Sunday night I thought it would have been very nice if Torstein, CEO Jeff Dash or the Owner’s Representative would have disinvited the group while giving this explanation rather than Paul Reynolds.

Torstein shared several rambling stories. One was about the fact that he just realized a couple of weeks ago that he needed a suit for the Christening so he bought a Brioni suit in Barcelona but the belt didn’t work when he put it on in Bergen. I guess the point of this story was that he doesn’t plan in advance in his personal life.

He also talked about how he likes poached salmon with cold cucumber salad like his mom used to make and was amazed that the ship’s chef was serving it with hot cucumber salad. He met with the chef and thought everything was understood but two days later Torstein was served salmon with hot cucumber salad. I guess this story was to show that even Torstein can’t break through the communication barriers that are on the ship.

He also talked about how the purpose of having an off-site dinner for the 340 guests was so that they wouldn’t infringe on the paying passengers’ onboard dining experience and that was why there was an off-site dinner (and not that it was going to be a special dinner). However, during the same story he talked about how a wife of a VIP mistakenly wasn’t on the invitation list for this “special” off-site dinner. So, I’m not sure if the off-site dinner was special or not, but I sure think it was. I'm thinking that the 340 off-site guests weren’t eating off the menu from The Restaurant which was from the normal 14-day cycle with three regional additions (starter of steamed king crab [available most nights in World Café], main course of poached salmon and dessert of Strawberry Symphony [which was very tasty]). By the way, most port nights in The Restaurant there are three Regional Specialties added to The Restaurant’s 14-day cycle menu. After being on the ship since April 11, my husband and I really do know these menus since we are on the third iteration of them.

Then Torstein said he was happy with the ship, its square leather trash cans, the shampoo container with big letters on it and the great internet. That’s when a man said “No, it’s been bad since Gibraltar” and other passengers started chiming in with how slow it’s been. Torstein said he had no idea about this and Jeff Dash (CEO) seemed to say he didn’t know about it either but as more passengers started bringing up the issue, Jeff Dash said that a different provider was being used and he was looking into the problem. Meanwhile, Torstein seemed totally surprised that there were internet problems since it was fine when he got off the ship in Barcelona. (And it was fine then.) So, I guess the point of this is that Torstein’s own team is either not informing him of issues or he doesn’t ask for status reports.

A passenger got up and said that the crew was wonderful and another passenger commented about the excellent food. And another passenger thanked Torstein for his vision.

At some point a passenger got up and said that in his opinion a major problem to-date has been with the communication or lack thereof. He said that there seems to be disinformation or no information or changing information (depending on whom you ask). I totally agree.

A passenger asked how he could get his bill fixed that had been wrong since Day 3 and still showed a $7,000 balance due to being double charged for shore excursions. Torstein giggled and responded not to pay it. The passenger appeared to be frustrated (I would have been) and said that Torstein already had his credit card info. Torstein then started talking about a dirty window and how Karl Eckl cleaned it and told the man to talk to Karl since he can do anything. The man didn’t know who Karl was and Torstein pointed to the back of the room. The man then asked how to get to meet with Karl and Torstein basically said that Karl would get it fixed. Personally, I think Karl should implement the proper processes to prevent this type of billing mess. I had to spend the first five days of the cruise dealing with a similar billing problem until I was told Karl would fix it. The Hotel General Manager should not be the only person capable of fixing billing errors.

After that a violinist (not from the ship) and accompanying pianist played some songs.

I didn’t feel like it was any kind of thank you. It was just handled weirdly.

By the way, at least two couples received their letters regarding this May 18 8:30 PM “thank you” event today (May 19)… (Another example of Viking's communication problems.)

Great summary! Spot on. Thank you from one of your fellow 50 Day Crazies !!!

UPDATE... My husband and I attended an apology gathering at the Star Theater the night before last where the owner of Viking, Tors, apologized for the celebration fiasco. After his apology many in the Star Theater, responded with positive remarks about how great everything is, while others expressed concern regarding the WiFi, and billing issues, etc.

Yesterday my husband and I were able to meet with the General Manager of the ship, Karl Eckl and the Pursor, Anyka regarding our on board account and its many issues. Karl expressed his personal apology for not only the celebration issue, but also the accounting issues. Never once was he defensive, and his sincerity was much appreciated. He listened and took notes. He understands that the biggest issue regarding the celebration was the embarrassment and humiliation we all felt that evening. He knows that the error cannot be retracted, he has taken full responsibility, and will live with his own humiliation over the issue for a long time. Karl, my husband and I agreed that on a future cruise with Viking, Karl and his crew, we hope to have a glass of wine together and look back on this time positively.

Another issue that was discussed with Karl and Anyka was our disappointment with many of the excursions and Karl assured us that Viking is addressing ours and others' excursion input and concerns. He was unaware that for some reason the Viking staff has not been accompanying many of the excursions on the last two legs of this trip. He agrees, a Viking employee's feedback would be invaluable for addressing the positive and negative input for each excursion. Karl is looking into this.

As far as our bill, Anyka worked with us patiently and our issue is being resolved as of this writing.

The ship is beautiful, the crew is awesome, entertainment and lectures have been very good, the spa is unbelievable, food is very good, restaurants are also good with one exception, the Chef's Table. The concept and venue for this restaurant needs to be reworked. The menu does not change and is course specific without substitutions for a determined length of time (only changes every nine days). Many of the passengers, including us, choose to bypass this venue and there are open tables there many evenings.

Overall, this trip continues to be a trip of our lifetime and one we will look back on with wonderful memories. We have met many amazing friends, visited amazing places, and experienced many new cultures. We look forward to someday sailing again with Viking either be it on the ocean or a river.

1. Before embarrassingly leaving the Star theater last night, I confronted Paul Reynolds, the cruise director, and the mysterious man who has been on board since day one and appears to be Tors right hand guy. Paul was apologetic but appeared to be doing as told. The other guy listened for a second, we were interrupted, he walked away, I stood my ground and he had to go past me to leave, and then said to me, "You have to understand, there is nothing I can do".

I felt insulted, embarrassed, appalled, humiliated, etc. and I am not alone.

2. Today I would just like to get off this ship and go home. I'm done.

3. Our bill has been incorrect Since Day 2 of the 50 days. It is now Day 38 and my bill still says we owe over $7000. Prior to embarking, we prepaid everything. All our prepaids continue to be ignored by Viking accounting as well as credit for Viking tour cancellations and a mysterious computer cancellation of tours we had orginally booked and were cancelled by the computer.

Vikings computer system and electronics have been messed up since boarding. I'm trying to work through the bill with the head of excursions, but so far no resolution or improvement. A stress I hope I don't need nor does anyone else and there are several others with this same problem.

4. The crew mates are awesome! At least that is a positive.

5. I'll try to get my attitude in order, but tears are right nearby, I'm so disappointed and devastated.

6. As a marketing and sales person, the last thing I ever wanted to do was insult and demean my most valued customers. 125 valued customer's stories after this maiden voyage will taint what started out being an awesome adventure and is ending in a sad tale.