Into the Midnight Sun June 5-19, 2016

I wrote a review of our experience on this Viking Sea cruise: Great Ship, Excursions Not So Much

Dear Hawmoth,

Thank you for sharing your review of Viking Sea!

Your praise of the crew, stateroom and ship is much appreciated. We are happy to hear you enjoyed your overall dining experience and that the crew enhanced your wedding anniversary celebration. Congratulations, by the way!

We’ve also made note of your constructive comments and regret to learn of your disappointment in both the Iceland pre-extension and the included tours. Your feedback has not gone unnoticed and we are interested in discussing the details of your experience further. If you wish to do the same, please reach out to us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

Thanks again for sharing, Hawmoth. We look forward to hearing from you!

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

Great review Hawkmoth! Your experience with shore excursions was about the same as ours.

We're doing Midnight Sun next year, so I enjoyed hearing about your cruise. Your itinerary is a little different from ours, but I was curious: What were your favorite ports, and which were your least favorite? You wouldn't happen to have anything that describes the excursions offered this year, would you? I'd love to get a preview of what's available, even if we just end up booking our own, as we often do.

Great review thanks. :)

Viking told me the docked in all ports. You said you tendered in Edinburgh. How was the tender? I am not fond of tenders and am considering this cruise for 2017.

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Viking told me the docked in all ports. You said you tendered in Edinburgh. How was the tender?

My review described our reaction to tending in Edinburgh. We didn't care for it. But tenders were used in another port too, and they worked better there.

Sometimes the port assigns ships in such a way that tenders become necessary, even if the line plans not to use them. Personally, I wouldn't pick a trip based on what might happen with tenders, even though I would also prefer not to use them if they could be avoided. I doubt that avoiding them altogether could be guaranteed anyway.

What were your favorite ports, and which were your least favorite?

We didn't pick this cruise for the ports. We went mainly for the scenery. We enjoyed the novel trip to the North Cape quite a lot, even though the port itself has little to offer. I can't say any of the ports stood out one way or another. We aren't ardent shoppers, but I'd say if that's your goal, you might find things a little sparse. But don't rely only on my impressions. I'm sure others will feel differently.

You wouldn't happen to have anything that describes the excursions offered this year, would you?

Sorry, no. But since the itinerary isn't the same next year, I doubt what we experienced would be a very good guide.

Does anyone have any reviews or opinions about the Viking Ocean cruise- Viking Homelands Stockholm to Bergen?

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There are many, many reviews of this cruise on CC. Just go to the review section and choose Viking Star or Sea and then look for that particular itinerary.

CC is basically two different communities. When you look at the reviews, you will notice that most reviewers have 0 posts on the boards. That's why I always ask folks on my River Cruising board to post their reviews there as well as in the reviews section -- we also have the ability to ask questions and make comments.

My review described our reaction to tending in Edinburgh. We didn't care for it. But tenders were used in another port too, and they worked better there.

 

Sometimes the port assigns ships in such a way that tenders become necessary, even if the line plans not to use them. Personally, I wouldn't pick a trip based on what might happen with tenders, even though I would also prefer not to use them if they could be avoided. I doubt that avoiding them altogether could be guaranteed anyway.

I'm just back from the June 19 sailing of 'Into the Midnight Sun'. I had a chance to speak with a Viking executive who was on board for almost the entire cruise. He explained that at Edinburgh's Leith port, the Viking ships are on the large size to fit through the lock and would be limited in arrival and departure times by tides. Given the choice of docking in Rosyth with its half hour ride into the center of town and tendering into Newhaven, which is just 10 minutes from the center, they chose to be closer to town. On our cruise, Edinburgh was the only port where we tendered. At Geiranger, we were the lucky ship that got to use the 'sea bridge' that day while the other ships in town that day were tendering. BTW, the exec did take note of our criticism of the tendering operation at Edinburgh, so hopefully there will be changes made next year.

For more information (including my run-down of the tours), check out the roll call for the 2016 sailings of Into the Midnight Sun.

CC is basically two different communities. When you look at the reviews, you will notice that most reviewers have 0 posts on the boards. That's why I always ask folks on my River Cruising board to post their reviews there as well as in the reviews section -- we also have the ability to ask questions and make comments.

Host JB, that is so true. I rarely read the reviews and do spend a lot of time in the forums.

Next year's itinerary shows Newhaven for Edinburgh. The port is newly constructed.

My review described our reaction to tending in Edinburgh. We didn't care for it. But tenders were used in another port too, and they worked better there.

Huh? Did we sleep through a day? We were on the June 19th sailing and the only tender was in Edinburgh. What other port are you referring to?

Of course tenders are not preferable, but we found it to be only a minor irritant. We did an independent tour in Edinburgh which started and ended later then most Viking tours so not being in the crush may have been a factor in our experience.

Tendering is a fact of life with ocean cruises, especially with a line like Viking that doesn't stick entirely to large ports with lots of long docks for cruise ships. When we were in Edinburgh on another line (with a ship around same size as Viking Sea) we were at South Queensferry, which is quite a ways farther from Edinburgh than Newhaven. First a short tender ride was needed, as there is no dock for cruise ships. Then a long bus or cab ride, a low cost long shuttle bus ride, or finding and trudging up long stairs and taking a train was needed to get in if you didn't take a ship's excursion. While river cruising is often not so difficult, things can be complicated on an ocean cruise. Actually, they can be a lot more complicated - like getting to Berlin from Warnemunde.

At least with tendering, there are people there to take your arm and guide you onto the tender boat, and the ride is usually fairly short. You can make things the best they can be by wearing good shoes, keeping your arms and hands free, taking anti-nausea meds if you think you might need them (although I would guess that's rare), going to get tender tickets (if needed) early and being ready to go (with others in your party) when you go to get tickets, and being patient. Anticipate an occasional big bump as the boat approaches the pier, and don't stand up until you're told it's OK to do so! The whole process can add time in getting ashore, but tendering is pretty common, and often can't be avoided. Even in places where there's a cruise dock, there may already be a ship using it or assigned to use it, and you must tender. That will be the case for us in a Canadian port on our cruise this year.

There are some places where all ships will have to anchor, and some places where some s will and some won't. Sometimes the ship is assigned to dock at a particular location and later on the assignment is changed to a different location or the ship will be asked to anchor. Occasionally the weather will turn really bad and the ship will have to bypass a port. Just about everything has happened to us on our cruises, but being open to change and new experiences helps make things go smoother. Being patient helps, too, as sometimes the crew needs to do a test run, or go out and bring immigration officials onboard, or find a good place to bring cruisers before things get rolling. If the ship and crew have tendered in that same place a million times, things may go smoother, but

then again, it may not!

For the June 17, 2017 cruise, the itinerary document I received from Viking shows we are currently scheduled to anchor/tender in Greenwich (which is much, much better than the alternatives in my mind), Edinburgh (glad to be going to Newhaven), Lofoten and Geiranger. I'm thinking Lerwick may turn out to be a tender day, too, as tendering there seems to be the norm. But who knows, maybe they've done something to their pier to change that. A few years ago the dock area was taken up by large accommodation barges for workers on the island.

Whatever you do, please, please do not rule out itineraries which require tendering or you'll miss some wonderful, lesser touristy places. Isn't an hour of stress and possible discomfort worth five hours of exploring a wonderful new place?

Huh? Did we sleep through a day? We were on the June 19th sailing and the only tender was in Edinburgh. What other port are you referring to?

We tendered in Geiranger too. But our cruise began on June 5 and ended June 19, when yours began. A French ship had the sea bridge described elsewhere in this thread when were were there. But there were enough tenders there, and the ride was brief. No complaints about that. Edinburgh was a problem mainly becuase there weren't enough tenders available to meet the demand created by the ship's own excursion schedule.

I agree that one shouldn't choose an itinerary solely based on whether tendering might be required.

First let me say, we loved the cruise enough to book two more. We loved the food and the ship. Our small stateroom was wonderful ... loved the heated mirror and bathroom floor.

The excursions have been discussed. They need some organization, but we were generally happy with what we saw and did. Coastal villages are clearly different from river towns and that is ok with me.

I do have an issue with what can appear to be bait and switch. Yes, in a way, it happened with the excursions where we signed up for one excursion time and were randomly assigned another without consultation. More important to me is the cruise I bought was different from the cruise we received. The advertising which attracted me to this cruise specified a full day in London/Greenwich. Harwich is not London or Greenwich. We never got close to London. The closest we got to Lofoton/Svolvaer was the lovely Trollfjord, but it was not what we bought relying on the brochure. And what elese do we have to go by but the brochures they send? And the newest brochures still specify these ports. I understand changes must be made at times, but when significant changes like these are made it would be wise to tell people and give an explanation for the changes.

Change the advertising when changes are made. I know it is expensive but truth in advertising matters. You can save some money by sending them out every other month rather than every 2 weeks to a month.:p

The closest we got to Lofoton/Svolvaer was the lovely Trollfjord, but it was not what we bought relying on the brochure.

I really don't know what's in Svolvaer, but since it's on the itinerary (from Lofoten) for my cruise next year, could you please clarify what you or others did that day? Did you cruise the Trollfjord, or were there optional excursions offered in Svolvaer itself? What's it like to spend a day in Lofoten/Svolvaer? Some people always want more fjord cruising and some people always want less; just trying to get a quick and dirty idea of what's there until I do some real research next year. I wish cruise lines would post their excursion offerings earlier and more widely, but I realize that can be a dangerous thing for them to do.

As for London, yes, I know what's there, and how hard it is to get there. We cruised from Southampton two years ago. That is definitely not London! We decided to go in a day early so we'd actually see a little something other than Heathrow.

Glad you loved the cruise. I'm hoping the next 11 months pass quickly; I'm ready to go now!

Enjoyed the review, thanks.

Dear quasimodo,

Welcome home! We are delighted to hear you that enjoyed your overall experience aboard Viking Sea and are excited to have the opportunity to welcome you aboard again in the future – at least twice more!

Your comments about the itinerary change have sparked our attention and we are interested in discussing your observations further. To assist us in better addressing your concerns, we kindly request that you provide your booking information to us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

quasimodo, we appreciate the opportunity to respond and thank you for the constructive suggestions you’ve provided.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

First let me say, we loved the cruise enough to book two more. We loved the food and the ship. Our small stateroom was wonderful ... loved the heated mirror and bathroom floor.

 

The excursions have been discussed. They need some organization, but we were generally happy with what we saw and did. Coastal villages are clearly different from river towns and that is ok with me.

 

I do have an issue with what can appear to be bait and switch. Yes, in a way, it happened with the excursions where we signed up for one excursion time and were randomly assigned another without consultation. More important to me is the cruise I bought was different from the cruise we received. The advertising which attracted me to this cruise specified a full day in London/Greenwich. Harwich is not London or Greenwich. We never got close to London. The closest we got to Lofoton/Svolvaer was the lovely Trollfjord, but it was not what we bought relying on the brochure. And what elese do we have to go by but the brochures they send? And the newest brochures still specify these ports. I understand changes must be made at times, but when significant changes like these are made it would be wise to tell people and give an explanation for the changes.

 

Change the advertising when changes are made. I know it is expensive but truth in advertising matters. You can save some money by sending them out every other month rather than every 2 weeks to a month.:p

First let me say, we loved the cruise enough to book two more. We loved the food and the ship. Our small stateroom was wonderful ... loved the heated mirror and bathroom floor.

 

The excursions have been discussed. They need some organization, but we were generally happy with what we saw and did. Coastal villages are clearly different from river towns and that is ok with me.

 

I do have an issue with what can appear to be bait and switch. Yes, in a way, it happened with the excursions where we signed up for one excursion time and were randomly assigned another without consultation. More important to me is the cruise I bought was different from the cruise we received. The advertising which attracted me to this cruise specified a full day in London/Greenwich. Harwich is not London or Greenwich. We never got close to London. The closest we got to Lofoton/Svolvaer was the lovely Trollfjord, but it was not what we bought relying on the brochure. And what elese do we have to go by but the brochures they send? And the newest brochures still specify these ports. I understand changes must be made at times, but when significant changes like these are made it would be wise to tell people and give an explanation for the changes.

 

Change the advertising when changes are made. I know it is expensive but truth in advertising matters. You can save some money by sending them out every other month rather than every 2 weeks to a month.:p

The newest brochures are correct and is what will be sailed in 2017--berth in Greenwich, overnight in London, stop in Lofoten.

When the 2016 Midnight Sun itinerary was announced in 2014, it was announced as you just sailed it. It sold out quickly (by December, 2014, although cabins did become available from time to time as people had to cancel and then when wholesalers released their stock). Later, when the 2017 Midnight Sun was announced, it was a different itinerary. Viking had finally secured berthing in Greenwich and was able to add an overnight in London. The itinerary was adjusted. Because the 2016 was already sold out, the 2017 itinerary (with more dates to sell) became the itinerary that was featured in the brochures and on the webpages--and the 2016 itinerary became a footnote on the 2017 page for the cabins that might become available. So, the newest brochures are correct, they will be sailing to Lofoten in 2017 but not to Alesund, Bronnoysund or Bodo.

I'm just sorry that you did not pick up on the difference in itinerary sooner so that you could have re-scheduled your cruise to 2017 for the itinerary that you would have preferred.

The newest brochures are correct and is what will be sailed in 2017--berth in Greenwich, overnight in London, stop in Lofoten.

 

When the 2016 Midnight Sun itinerary was announced in 2014, it was announced as you just sailed it. It sold out quickly (by December, 2014, although cabins did become available from time to time as people had to cancel and then when wholesalers released their stock). Later, when the 2017 Midnight Sun was announced, it was a different itinerary. Viking had finally secured berthing in Greenwich and was able to add an overnight in London. The itinerary was adjusted. Because the 2016 was already sold out, the 2017 itinerary (with more dates to sell) became the itinerary that was featured in the brochures and on the webpages--and the 2016 itinerary became a footnote on the 2017 page for the cabins that might become available. So, the newest brochures are correct, they will be sailing to Lofoten in 2017 but not to Alesund, Bronnoysund or Bodo.

 

I'm just sorry that you did not pick up on the difference in itinerary sooner so that you could have re-scheduled your cruise to 2017 for the itinerary that you would have preferred.

 

 

 

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Thanks for your response, and I'm sure you are right. I have a brochure for 2016 and 2017 and it list the ports as I state without specifying that the cruise would be different year to year ... I see no footnotes to that effect. But I am probably making too big a deal of it. I enjoyed the cruise immensely and we booked 2 more. thanks

Thanks for your response, and I'm sure you are right. I have a brochure for 2016 and 2017 and it list the ports as I state without specifying that the cruise would be different year to year ... I see no footnotes to that effect. But I am probably making too big a deal of it. I enjoyed the cruise immensely and we booked 2 more. thanks

Yeah, it was pretty awesome, wasn't it--and with the weather we had, you may have really lucked out sailing when we did versus 2017.

Nice to har about your cruise.

We have done Viking riverboats.

On the Ocean cruise did you dock or tender in the ports?

Also did they have the different level tours? Like gentle walkers?

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