LIVE from the Viking Sea - Sept. 16 Venice to Athens along the Adriatic Sea

We will be flying out tomorrow to begin our pre-cruise in Venice, Italy. This will be my first time visiting most of the ports. Ellie has been in Venice (well I have been to the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas) and both of us have been to Santorini and Athens, but the places in between are all new for us. This is also our first time on Viking Ocean; so we will have lots to talk about.

To let you know a little about what you can expect, I will be describing the ups and downs of our trip, including posting photos. My purpose is to give some perspective of the ship, the service, the itinerary, etc., particularly for people who may be thinking of taking this cruise. I do this for almost every cruise we take. We have been on over 25 ocean cruises and a half dozen river cruises.

I will not be looking for every minor thing that goes wrong, nor am I a cheerleader for the cruise line. Remember these are my views (with some input from Ellie). Some things that are important to me, may not be as important to you (and vice versa). If you have a specific question or comment, please jump in. I will be happy to try and answer or find out what I don't know.

We are truly excited about this cruise, both the ship and the itinerary. We understand that the weather the next few days may not be the best, but we try not to let those things interfere with our experience. (In fact, as we live in California, we are marveled by this thing called rain). I have sailed through hurricanes and we come prepared for "most inconveniences".

I must say I am not looking forward to the long flight, but we were lucky enough to purchase upgrades to Business Class for a reasonable price. If you have never looked into the "name your price" bidding that some airlines offer, you might want to consider it.

Well that is about it for now. My next post will be in Venice after we check into our hotel.

Looking forward to your posts, Art.

Becki

I read your post on a Crystal NW blogger thread, that you would be doing a Viking Ocean cruise.

i look forward to your thoughts and experiences on this voyage.

Thank you for the Live report from the Sea. We are doing same itinerary and ship in under three months. Interested in your experiences with the upcoming excursions. Any must does or any avoid at all costs. Thanks in advance.

Well we have arrived in Venice. It was definitely an experience getting here.

Let's start with the good and it was very, very good. As I said in my last post, we were able to upgrade to Business Class on Lufthansa Airlines, using their "Name your price" tool. The total price was much cheaper than purchasing the Business Class ticket outright. However, you are taking a big risk in that the price and availability are determined by supply and demand and you won't find out until the very end. So if you have points or can afford it, that might be a better option...but ours worked out wonderfully.

Lufthansa's Business Class is excellent...and we got all the perks including the Star Alliance club. The service, food, entertainment and comfort on the plane is outstanding.

Now let's contrast that with our experience in Frankfurt where we transferred to another Lufthansa flight to Venice. The airport is old, the signage is not great and the distances between the gates was ENORMOUS. Add to that the fact that we had take a bus trip from the C to A terminal in an unairconditioned bus which seemed longer than some flights. To get to the bus, we had to walk down a long flight of stairs carrying our hand luggage only to find that we had to carry our luggage up the stairs to the plane as they didn't have access from the terminal. Remember this is Frankfurt, a major city and hub in Germany, not a small village in the middle of nowhere). Although they announced there were two stairways and which one passengers should take based on their seat assignments, apparently no one was listening as people from the back stairway were seated in the front of the plane and vice versa. TOTAL CHAOS.

The problems did not stop there. When we disembarked in Venice our experience in getting to the hotel was like it was from an Abbot and Costello movie. Now I thought I had done my research on getting from the airport to the hotel. But apparently I did a poor job or....

First we took a land taxi to a place where the driver said we had to walk about 300 yards to then take a water taxi across the canal. The hotel, The Hilton Molina Stuckey, is on an island (or as the taxi driver called it (a highland). Remember we are going on a cruise so we each had I large bag as well as our carry-on. When we reached the place where our driver said we had to pick up the water taxi, the ticket person said we were are at the wrong place. We should just go to the next umbrella where they had FREE public shuttles. Each one we went to said it was the next one and we were dragging our luggage from one stop to the next. Finally we get to the the free shuttle stop where they tell us the shuttle does not start until 7:40 at night. I then called the hotel where they told me to take a line #2 (yes we did have to pay). This whole time we could see the hotel across the canal just a few hundred yards away. I was almost ready to swim.

Finally we arrived across the canal only to find it was a long walk to the hotel. What a nightmare!

The only good news was that the hotel has upgraded us to a suite.

There you are: from home to hotel in a little less than 20 hours. UGH!!!

Looking forward to your review we are on the December 4, Athens to Venice cruise. We have been to Athens, Santorini, and Venice--but none of the other stops and it will also be our first cruise on Viking Ocean.

We will be staying at the unglamorous, but easy to get to, ca'Doge in Piazzalle Roma which is the transportation hub in Venice. It is suppose to be a short walk from the People Mover to the hotel. (We had stayed there almost 10 years ago, but we needed car parking and did not want to put it in one of the big lots and deal with hauling our luggage around.)

Oh, Art & Ellie,

What an ordeal! But I hope your long trip ended well with your upgrade and your suite was lovely and that the worst of your travels are behind you. :)

Becki

I love the Hilton Molino Stucky, but you do have to deal with the fact that it is on a separate island from Venice proper. We take a water taxi from the airport direct to the hotel landing (for 100 Euro), or you can take the Alilaguna boat from the airport to the nearby landing (much cheaper, but it takes about an hour and a half).

I love the Hilton Molino Stucky, but you do have to deal with the fact that it is on a separate island from Venice proper. We take a water taxi from the airport direct to the hotel landing (for 100 Euro), or you can take the Alilaguna boat from the airport to the nearby landing (much cheaper, but it takes about an hour and a half).

After going through what we did today, it would definitely have been worth it. This should be MUST reading for anyone staying on the island and should be on the Hilton's website.

Thank you Host Jazzbeau.

I just want to focus on one issue in this post - cost. I have always said it is so much cheaper to visit Europe on a cruise. Today we proved it.

The most costly parts of visiting Europe are the food and accommodations, all of which are included with a cruise, whether it is a river or ocean cruise. However, husbands I forgot about the one that can be even more expensive - the purchases.

Yes, we went to Murano and this was the best I could do so we didn't exceed our entire vacation budget the first day.

Here is a link to our visit to Murano:

I will be posting more photos on my flicker account throughout my daily reports, but since we had a very busy day today, I wanted to at least post this one group of photos.

the piece is beautiful....hope you packed some bubble wrap......

Did they give you the horse with your purchase? We rec'd a horse with our purchase of a beautiful piece last year.

Your photos are wonderful..

Becki

Thrilled you're doing this review. We are planning on a similar cruise in a couple of months. Thank you for making the effort

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We just boarded the ship a couple of hours ago.

This time I will start with the negatives --- since there are so few of them. It was raining in Venice and apparently it knocked out the internet connection for check-in. It took a little longer than I suspect is usual. - That's it ...all the negatives.

Now for the positives ---As we got on the ship they directed us to the World Cafe. What a wonderful buffet. The layout and the food were top notch. This is very different cruise line to cruise line. Some give you a full lunch like Viking; others barely give you a snack.

At 1:40 PM, 20 minutes ahead of schedule, they made an announcement that all rooms were ready. We are thrilled with our room. We are in a Penthouse Veranda. There is so much drawer space; something many cruise ships do not have. We also loved the lighting. You can actually see. With many older ships (and hotel rooms) the lighting is so poor you have to strain to see, especially when reading or writing. Our cabin attendant came to introduce himself just minutes after we arrived. He spent lots of time showing us all the features and asking if we wanted anything special. It wasn't more than 15 minutes later that our bags were delivered.

This was all superior service - things I would expect from 5 or 6 star cruise line, but not always delivered.

I finished unpacking and went down to guest services to check if all our reservations had been made properly. After reading all the comments on Cruise Critic, I felt this was absolutely necessary. The good news - everything was done perfectly except for one dinner reservation at Manfredi's. That was quickly corrected.

By the time I returned to the cabin, Ellie had finished unpacking and we began a tour of the ship from top to bottom.

I will be posting photos from around the ship, but for right now let me just say we are very pleased. Ellie's comment was that the ship compares favorably with 5 and 6 star ships we have been on.

I'm anxiously waiting for the next installment and traveling along with you two for this trip. We've done 7 (soon to be 8) river cruises with Viking but have not yet taken one of their ocean cruises, this may just be the push we need. Thanks for taking the time to post and the photos were nice, loved the one of the canal. Have a wonderful travel experience.

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Hellow Art, thanks for takeing the time to wright your trip report. I have followed you before and enjoy your posts. I just booked a trip on Viking Oceans however I really didn't know what to expect. Your insight will be of great value.

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Wow - I remember one time how we dragged our luggage through London one night to the hotel that was supposedly close by ... never again! Look forward to hearing your report on the cruise - have fun ...

As we prepare to sail out of Venice I wanted to post a few photos from my "Highlights of Venice" album:

Included you will find photos of Saint Mark's Square including the Basilica di San Marcos, Doge's Palace, the busy crowds along the pier, some of the interesting statues and finally a rainbow over Venice from the ship.

Tomorrow we visit our first port Koper, Slovenia (home country of Melania Trump, wife of Donald.) - just a little tidbit.

Art, so glad you're doing this. We left the ship yesterday and are missing it already. One more day in Venice and then home tomorrow.

I can understand some of the frustration with the Hilton's location. While a beautiful properly, (no upgrade for us!) the transfer back and forth to Venice proper can take an hour out of a day - which can be a pain when your stay is short.

There were a bunch of very nice people on board doing the BtB and I'll be following along to see the rest of their journey though your eyes.

Great ship! We've rated this cruise our best ever.

Good sailing, Bill

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Thank you all for your input.

Today was a full day. We were in Koper, Slovenia, had the Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle, a preview of the Entertainment and ate at the Chef's Table.

Meet & Mingle - I must begin this post by saying I have NEVER been to a Meet and Mingle get together where so many of the crew attended. Viking really goes all out and treats this event with unbelievable support. We have seen cruise lines who virtually did nothing; others who put on "staged" events and a few where the ship's staff do only token appearances. The captain, the hotel manager, the cruise director, the asst. cruise director, the restaurant supervisor, plus staff from guest services, future bookings (and more) were all there. There was food, drink and lots of space. We were very impressed.

Entertainment - This is another WOW. The entertainment staff put on a preview of what we will be seeing over the cruise. Their talent level is quite astounding. We are certainly looking forward to going to the shows. In addition we "found" the pianist as we were going down to dinner. His name is Andras and he is well worth making a special trip to see. We have heard that the guitarist is also worth hearing and we will make a special effort to hear him play.

Koper - Koper is a charming city. We took an independent tour today run by a company that is highly rated on Trip Advisor. Although the weather did not cooperate, we turned lemons into lemonade as the rain came down in torrents while we were in the city of Piran. We happened upon a restaurant that was right on the water. Between the rain, high tide and the winds, the waves were blowing right over the rocks along the waterfront. It put on a real show. Of course we had to move from outside, to a table just under the canopy, to a table further inside as the wind drove the rain sideways into the restaurant. Fortunately it stopped in time to walk back to the bus... I did get some great video.

Chef's Table - All we can say is it is not right for us. The presentation was beautiful, but the very slow (or deliberate if you will) service, and the combination of tastes, while interesting, did not appeal to us. We loved our first night in the main dining room and will happily return except for one night where we will try their Italian restaurant. Please remember that this is only our perspective, plus we do not drink wine; so the wine parings were not of interest.

Sorry I did not get the opportunity to take photos of the ship today. We are just loving our cabin and the ship itself. We especially love the drawers in the bathroom. What a novel idea! We were sure to let the staff know that at the Meet & Mingle party.

Thank you all for your input.

 

Today was a full day. We were in Koper, Slovenia, had the Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle, a preview of the Entertainment and ate at the Chef's Table.

 

Meet & Mingle - I must begin this post by saying I have NEVER been to a Meet and Mingle get together where so many of the crew attended. Viking really goes all out and treats this event with unbelievable support. We have seen cruise lines who virtually did nothing; others who put on "staged" events and a few where the ship's staff do only token appearances. The captain, the hotel manager, the cruise director, the asst. cruise director, the restaurant supervisor, plus staff from guest services, future bookings (and more) were all there. There was food, drink and lots of space. We were very impressed.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. We were on the Sea mid August & the Meet & Mingle turn-up of crew was amazing and they generally seemed interested! I think you'll find all the crew so so friendly

Have you tried the thalassotherapy pool yet? Do you have the Beverage package or do you go a la carte (we do not drink wine - or beer - either) ...

Have you tried the thalassotherapy pool yet? Do you have the Beverage package or do you go a la carte (we do not drink wine - or beer - either) ...

I can't see that the beverage package is worth it just for soft drinks. At $3.75 a glass for soft drinks, you would have to drink 8 or so per day (per person) every day from the bar in order to break even. Soft drinks are already included with meals and, except in V class cabins, you are given 6 cans of soda per day in your mini-bar. Water (sparkling or still), coffee and tea are always free--even from the bars. Consider also, the amount of time that you will be off the ship touring, etc.

Have you tried the thalassotherapy pool yet? Do you have the Beverage package or do you go a la carte (we do not drink wine - or beer - either) ...

Ellie has tried it and found it to be delightful. The temperature is just right and she loves the bubbles. She said this is the first time she has seen one of these therapeutic pools since Celebrity.

No we do not have the beverage package. Since we don't drink wine or liquor, it doesn't make sense for us.

I went around the ship today and took pictures of the ship. We really love the decor and the cabins were designed with such thoughtfulness. I have started uploading the photos, but will probably have to reduce the pixels as it really takes a long time uploading them.

Here is the link, but they probably won't all be up for awhile.

Your pictures show the openness and lightness of the interior. I am so looking forward to sailing on a ship where the water and sky are easily visible.

As a Celebrity cruiser, I look forward to the Thass pool in the spa area, but also the outside pool areas.