Non-native English speakers welcome on Viking?

Well, based on our experience aboard, I'll give Mr. Torstein Hagen the benefit of the doubt since English is not his first language, the quote might not be entirely accurate, and at any given moment any of us can speak with less than ideal eloquence, but he might want to consider keeping a Viking PR staffer at his side next time. :) Actually wouldn't hurt to have Viking pop in here with an "all nationalities are welcome" message (even Turks, Brazilians, folks from Hong Kong, and those of a different "ambiance")

Well, based on our experience aboard, I'll give Mr. Torstein Hagen the benefit of the doubt since English is not his first language, the quote might not be entirely accurate, and at any given moment any of us can speak with less than ideal eloquence, but he might want to consider keeping a Viking PR staffer at his side next time. :) Actually wouldn't hurt to have Viking pop in here with an "all nationalities are welcome" message (even Turks, Brazilians, folks from Hong Kong, and those of a different "ambiance")

He didn't say only English speakers were allowed, just that he markets to English speakers. A BIG difference. Correct me if I'm wrong.

The staff on Viking is so diverse, if you don't meet a passenger from your home country then you're sure to meet a staff member from your home country. Yes, English is the language that is used for most everything, but I found that most countries already understand English as a second language which I loved because you meet so many wonderful people from all over the world.

Wow, those statements by Mr. Hagen ARE a bit unusual. However, I doubt you'll find anyone on the ship who will say or do anything close to make you angry or uncomfortable. We cruised in Norway in June with one German passenger, with a German passport, and like you, she spoke excellent English. She was living in New Jersey, not Germany, so maybe her American husband booked the cruise here in the U.S. In any case, I doubt anyone cared that a German citizen was on board. I lived in Germany (Bonn) for four years when I was a kid and I actually got brave and spoke to her in German a few times. There were also a few people on the cruise from Great Britain, although for the most part, the cruise was filled with Americans, so I guess Mr. Hagen's marketing plan is working! Who knows, maybe Mr. Hagen just felt it was necessary to make sure people understood that his target audience was English speaking people, not Norwegians, given that he's Norwegian, the ships are flagged in Norway, and the cruise line is called "Viking." Also, I know some cruise lines like Celebrity market to absolutely everyone, but Celebrity also offers the daily programs in different languages, as well as a limited number of tours in languages other than English. Maybe Mr. Hagen didn't feel he could do that, and wanted to keep things simple, at least for a while. Also, I have read that there are some rules and regulations that require different treatment of Americans versus Europeans, which complicates the booking process. He might have considered that, too.

I never totally trust email to get through, and I've read on here that occasionally no response is received when someone emails Viking. So far I haven't experienced that with the few emails I've sent. You might want to resend the email, or just call them instead. For some reason, I've had more than a few email non-delivery problems, so I don't trust it completely.

Personally, I think you should give Viking a try. I doubt very much you'd feel any discomfort or be treated any differently than anybody else. While there may not be any Germans on the cruise, I think you'll enjoy it. However, if you're turned off by Mr. Hagen's comments, I would try Oceania. They usually have at least some Europeans on board - more so than Viking, if the 2 Viking and numerous Oceania cruises are any indication. Both are great cruise lines.

Thank you very much to everyone here who commented on my initial post and who encouraged us to disregard Mr. Hagen's "unconventional" marketing speech!

Just wanted to let you know that this finally convinced us to give it a try and we recently booked the 17 days "Komodo & the Australian Coast" itinerary on November 30th, 2018. So if anyone of you happens to be on the same cruise and you can spot the four persons on the ship walking around in Bavarian Lederhosen and Dirndl to spice up the "ambiance" a little (just kidding), please feel free to say hi! ;-)

Thank you very much to everyone here who commented on my initial post and who encouraged us to disregard Mr. Hagen's "unconventional" marketing speech!

 

Just wanted to let you know that this finally convinced us to give it a try and we recently booked the 17 days "Komodo & the Australian Coast" itinerary on November 30th, 2018. So if anyone of you happens to be on the same cruise and you can spot the four persons on the ship walking around in Bavarian Lederhosen and Dirndl to spice up the "ambiance" a little (just kidding), please feel free to say hi! ;-)

Ach du lieber!

Thank you very much to everyone here who commented on my initial post and who encouraged us to disregard Mr. Hagen's "unconventional" marketing speech!

 

Just wanted to let you know that this finally convinced us to give it a try and we recently booked the 17 days "Komodo & the Australian Coast" itinerary on November 30th, 2018. So if anyone of you happens to be on the same cruise and you can spot the four persons on the ship walking around in Bavarian Lederhosen and Dirndl to spice up the "ambiance" a little (just kidding), please feel free to say hi! ;-)

About the Lederhosen or about spicing up the ambiance?

In any case, glad that we convinced you to ignore the marketing speech and take the plunge.

I certainly can understand your concern over his very poorly worded comments. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, if for no other reason than it would otherwise be an incredibly stupid thing for a CEO to say, he is trying to describe the ambience and marketing appeal rather than just the language spoken.

This too confused me " We market to North Americans," thinking he perhaps did not mean to include Mexico in that. After looking up North America in Wikipedia I learned some new things. The problem though is how to refer to us; Americans and Canadians perhaps.

All that aside I am sure you will be welcomed aboard the same as all passengers and your fellow passengers will be as welcoming as the posters here on this board have been. Based on Viking Oceans excellent reputation I think you will have a great cruise. Enjoy.

Viking, both River and Ocean, is heavily marketed in the U K. They sponsor various drama series on the TV, plus magazine and newspaper advertisements.

Travel is meant to broaden the mind, so a mix of nationalities is great. However it does help if the main language is English. On Star Clippers many announcements were made in four languages, so they went on a bit. In fact many of the other Europeans on board spoke excellent English and so translations were often unnecessary.

I have been on one cruise from Southampton in the UK and the large majority onboard were British. This was my least favourite cruise.

I would have thought that those from The U S and Canada would welcome the opportunity to speak to Europeans if they are visiting Europe. I certainly enjoy talking to them.

My friend is currently on Viking on the cruise from San Juan which departed on November 16th. It's her second Viking cruise but like many from the UK she doesn't look like a on cruise critic at all.

Viking, both River and Ocean, is heavily marketed in the U K. They sponsor various drama series on the TV, plus magazine and newspaper advertisements.

Travel is meant to broaden the mind, so a mix of nationalities is great. However it does help if the main language is English. On Star Clippers many announcements were made in four languages, so they went on a bit. In fact many of the other Europeans on board spoke excellent English and so translations were often unnecessary.

 

I have been on one cruise from Southampton in the UK and the large majority onboard were British. This was my least favourite cruise.

I would have thought that those from The U S and Canada would welcome the opportunity to speak to Europeans if they are visiting Europe. I certainly enjoy talking to them.

 

My friend is currently on Viking on the cruise from San Juan which departed on November 16th. It's her second Viking cruise but like many from the UK she doesn't look like a on cruise critic at all.

Sorry, I don't understand why you didn't like your cruise. Too many Europeans? Too many Americans?

I have enjoyed all our many cruises. My least favourite was on Independence of the Seas from Southampton in its first season sailing from the UK. RCCL were trying too hard too please us Brits by playing the Beatles and Rule Britannia at every opportunity . There was a lot of flag waving and "cool Britannia'. Just too much. Our fellow cruisers were fine, but I can talk to people from the UK in my local supermarket. I like the opportunity to meet people from all over the world.

I remember fondly a dinner on the Royal Clipper with a couple that owned a ranch in Texas and bred Brahman Bulls. Now you don't get too many of those around here !

Sorry my point about cruise critic was that there are relatively few of us from the UK who post or even know about it. My friend currently on Viking had never even heard of it.

 

 

Sorry my point about cruise critic was that there are relatively few of us from the UK who post or even know about it. My friend currently on Viking had never even heard of it.

Not just UK. I think that, regardless of country, one would find that under 10% of people on most cruises in the English speaking market (which is all CC covers) -- and even less on river cruises -- know anything about Cruise Critic. Just look at roll call and Meet and Mingle participation.

Sorry, I don't understand why you didn't like your cruise. Too many Europeans? Too many Americans?

It is of course ironic that although I am definitely an English speaker from England I am not making myself clear. I promise to try harder.

My point is that I think a mix of nationalities is best.

It is of course ironic that although I am definitely an English speaker from England I am not making myself clear. I promise to try harder.

 

My point is that I think a mix of nationalities is best.

No need to apologize. It happens all the time on the internet. (or so I've heard)