Viking Star after almost 1 week

I wanted to take a few moments to post our thoughts on our experience to date with our cruise thus far. We boarded in Barcelona. Embarkation was easier than any other cruise we have taken, with maybe Rivers being a tie!

I came onto this trip a bit worried after many posts that I had been reading from home, and in fact, stepped back from CC as a result.

My husband and I have both had extremely positive experience this first week. Of course the ship is beautiful as has been reported. Our stateroom, Penthouse Balcony, has plenty of space for the 29 days we will be on board. We also have plenty of storage.

Our service in our room has been outstanding. Whatever we have requested has been delivered right away. Ice buckets, extra water, extra glasses, replacing certain drinks with repeating the same in the mini-bar daily with our preferences......in every way we have been very happy. No complaints whatsoever.

Manifredi's - fun, great food and service. No complaints. Very busy

Chef's Table - very quiet and fewer passengers. Food was okay. Not outstanding. Maybe next menu will be more to our liking. Others loved it, so it is truly personal choice as the service and presentation leave nothing unattended.

The Restaurant - very good food. We have enjoyed lunch and dinners without any problems. Good service. Better than other lines we have cruised on without a doubt.

World Cafe - what a pleasant surprise this is. While most buffets on any cruise line (well, buffets in general) are of very lower quality in our taste of preference (HAL, Princess, etc) this is very fresh, often times cooked to order of a great variety.

Wine/Beer - you can enjoy some very good wines on this ship. And you will not be left wanting more. Your choice when you have had enough.

Spa - just walked through today - beautiful. Will check it out in person tomorrow.

Staff in general could not try harder, be nicer, or more efficient. We are genuinely impressed with Viking. There is a friendliness that permeates all we have encountered. Bravo Viking on your hiring.

Excursions - we have only taken a few - and while yesterday in Lisbon should have been classified as 'moderate' for the benefit of the passengers - others were well represented in their descriptions.

So all in all, the purpose of my posting this message, where upon I will resume our vacation - we are really glad that we are on board Viking I hope to alleviate some of the concerns out there. Maybe we are just fortunate, but I don't think that is the whole of it.

I would suggest that 98+% of the passengers are feeling just as we are. We are not encountering people who are not happy with this trip. Everyone - with very few exceptions - are genuinely excited to be part of this experience. So all of you reading with anticipation of your upcoming trip - stop worrying if you are.......

...we are really glad that we are on board Viking I hope to alleviate some of the concerns out there...

Mission accomplished, VV! Thanks so much for sharing your experience.

So relieved to hear how well it is going thus far!! :)

Whatever we have requested has been delivered right away. Ice buckets, extra water, extra glasses, replacing certain drinks with repeating the same in the mini-bar daily with our preferences.....

Can you give us your minibar attendant? ;) We still haven't figured out the right way to communicate our basic preferences. Leaving notes, cash tips, meeting with the head bartender, etc. - it's all been tried.

On a positive note, though, our cabin door was fixed today after 25 days of not being able to close it without slamming it HARD. Our neighbors should appreciate it, too!

In reading people's posts, you always have to keep in mind that they represent a small part of the people who are on any given cruise at any different point in time. With Viking Oceans, that is particularly true, since the number of posts at this point is really small compared to what they will likely be in a few months or certainly in a few years. Everyone's perception, cruising experience, background and priorities are different, after all.

Thanks for taking the time to provide YOUR experience. Now go back to enjoying your cruise! By the way, what's the current menu in Chef's Table? I haven't been following every post on here, but last I heard, it was Indian-themed.

Thank you for taking the time to post your experience thus far, VV. Like you, I stepped away from CC posts to give the Star and her crew time to settle in and work out the kinks, and by the sounds of it, that's exactly what they are doing. I am so appreciative of those adventurous souls on board this past month, who provided feedback along the way, and to Viking for taking action. Really looking forward to September!

This being my first cruise (other than small live-aboard scuba boats), I wonder if I will be spoiled for life - particularly being in an ES1 cabin. :D

Hello VV! I have been waiting patiently to hear from you and so glad you are enjoying this fabulous experience. Can't wait for the week to go fast enough to join you.

This being my first cruise (other than small live-aboard scuba boats), I wonder if I will be spoiled for life - particularly being in an ES1 cabin. :D

You just might be spoiled for life. It happened to us. Not counting our first cruise on the now-defunct Premier Cruise Line (pathetic), we jumped into cruising head-on by trying a fabulous line that is not the cheapest, but perhaps is the best - at least in terms of what WE want (port-intensive, smaller ports, small ship, great food and service, etc.) We have tried two other lines since then but after you've found the best, it's hard to settle for anything else! Prepare to be spoiled - and welcome to the wonderful world of cruising! For us, it has become addictive.

Vineyard View,

I appreciated your posts pre cruise and love that you took time to post about your first week on the Viking Star. Your positive observations are noted.

I look forward to your trip review when you are back at home.

Salud!:)

We want to thank everyone who is taking the time to write comments here...about the things they like and also about any problems they have encountered. Since this is a maiden season I think the critical, but constructive comments, are the most helpful in getting bumps on the road straightened out.

We know how difficult it is to get good wifi access on ships and it is obviously a time-consuming exercise to post here and kudos to those who have done so.

I think Viking is listening and is trying to fix the problems which will be of great benefit to subsequent cruisers.

I wanted to take a few moments to post our thoughts on our experience to date with our cruise thus far. We boarded in Barcelona. Embarkation was easier than any other cruise we have taken, with maybe Rivers being a tie!

I came onto this trip a bit worried after many posts that I had been reading from home, and in fact, stepped back from CC as a result.

My husband and I have both had extremely positive experience this first week. Of course the ship is beautiful as has been reported. Our stateroom, Penthouse Balcony, has plenty of space for the 29 days we will be on board. We also have plenty of storage.

Our service in our room has been outstanding. Whatever we have requested has been delivered right away. Ice buckets, extra water, extra glasses, replacing certain drinks with repeating the same in the mini-bar daily with our preferences......in every way we have been very happy. No complaints whatsoever.

Manifredi's - fun, great food and service. No complaints. Very busy

Chef's Table - very quiet and fewer passengers. Food was okay. Not outstanding. Maybe next menu will be more to our liking. Others loved it, so it is truly personal choice as the service and presentation leave nothing unattended.

The Restaurant - very good food. We have enjoyed lunch and dinners without any problems. Good service. Better than other lines we have cruised on without a doubt.

World Cafe - what a pleasant surprise this is. While most buffets on any cruise line (well, buffets in general) are of very lower quality in our taste of preference (HAL, Princess, etc) this is very fresh, often times cooked to order of a great variety.

Wine/Beer - you can enjoy some very good wines on this ship. And you will not be left wanting more. Your choice when you have had enough.

Spa - just walked through today - beautiful. Will check it out in person tomorrow.

Staff in general could not try harder, be nicer, or more efficient. We are genuinely impressed with Viking. There is a friendliness that permeates all we have encountered. Bravo Viking on your hiring.

Excursions - we have only taken a few - and while yesterday in Lisbon should have been classified as 'moderate' for the benefit of the passengers - others were well represented in their descriptions.

 

So all in all, the purpose of my posting this message, where upon I will resume our vacation - we are really glad that we are on board Viking I hope to alleviate some of the concerns out there. Maybe we are just fortunate, but I don't think that is the whole of it.

I would suggest that 98+% of the passengers are feeling just as we are. We are not encountering people who are not happy with this trip. Everyone - with very few exceptions - are genuinely excited to be part of this experience. So all of you reading with anticipation of your upcoming trip - stop worrying if you are.......

So glad to hear your experience so far is wonderful!!!!

We will be booking in 2017. I know it seems far away, but we wanted some positive feed back. We have been with HAL forever and are booked again on a 24 day Eurodam this October. Did a Mediteranean cruise in 2013 24 days on the Nieuw Amsterdam and loved it. We see our money better spent with VIKING and look forward to more positive feed back from this CC board.

Thanks

Denise:)

Love reading something positive. I'm so happy that you took the time to write. Unfortunately more people post to complain than praise.

Love reading something positive. I'm so happy that you took the time to write. Unfortunately more people post to complain than praise.

There seem to be a few comments objecting to negative reviews of the ship (and the above is just one example).

I think we should bear in mind that this site is called "cruise critic" and like all reviews we expect to see positive and negative comments. Trip advisor is a very similar type of website and surely everyone who uses these sites is used to seeing a whole range of comments, not just the positive.

Those here are not, we hope, posting pollyana reviews to boost the Viking image -for if that were the case there would be no point in reading the comments - especially from those who have never been on the ship.

Rather the most meaningful comments have been from those actually on board the ship and giving us the benefit of all their experiences. good and bad.

I think everyone was fully aware it is a maiden voyage on a new ship and of course no one expected perfection. The point that has been made by several of those passengers, all apparently very seasoned travellers, is that things have fallen way below their expectations and that Viking management is not coping with the problems...many of which (for example a number of serious glitches with their website) should have been fixed well before the first passengers were allowed on board.

If people dont want to read about those problems then I suggest they stop accessing particular threads ...or skip over posts that don't interest them...or else start some "smiley" threads for those who prefer to read only the positive.

Speaking for myself I want to read all of the comments...positive and negative and I really do appreciate that posters have taken so much time to post their comments here. They may not benefit directly but if Viking is listening there is much to be gleaned that will benefit all passengers on future cruises.

The OP enjoyed her trip and that is wonderful news. I, for one, think it's great she took the time to write something positive. Whether some want to accept it or not, there are passengers that enjoyed the Viking cruise. I could twist your thought that if you don't want to read something positive then skip over it. Cassandra, please don't turn this a negative thread.

I would like to clarify that my statement was not directed at anyone or any company. I meant in general that most people tend to complain and not praise.

OP, please accept my apologies that this turned into a debate. That was not my intentions. I am truly happy you enjoyed your trip!

...... Cassandra, please don't turn this a negative thread.

That was certainly not my intention. A couple of people (here and on another thread) have said they don't like reading critical comments and I was simply saying that I for one don't want to shoot the messengers.

If there are problems in the maiden season this is a good place to air them so that they can be remedied - and if problems persist at least future passengers can make arrangements to work around some of the problems e.g. organize excursions independently and not opt for as many Viking included tours if the logistical issues remain unresolved.

There are plenty of very positive reviews/videos of the ship - and I emailed one to a group of friends who are sailing on the Star next year. They also read cruise critic reviews and are waiting to hear if some of the issues identified here are resolved.

My sense is that this is one of the few places where there are genuine critical comments from people who have been on the ship. Almost all of the material that people will read in the media is overwhelmingly positive and contains a lot of Viking promotional material. The reactions on the Viking facebook page have also been positive.

We have just returned from 5+ weeks (29 on the Star) and with the body-clock struggle we are going through, can't imagine those who were on for 50 days! Ha!!

So I want to circle back around on this post that I began after our first week and provide feedback on what WE experienced (and no worries Jimmy C, Cassandra seems to love to call my posts Pollyanne when I m not complaining, so be it).

I stand with my original statement - 98+% of those on board loved their vacation. Am I saying it was without glitches? No, I am not - nor has any vacation on any cruise line or independent travel. So that said:

We found the crew to be outstanding. They absolutely take pride in their work, and in whatever they can assist you with. We had no issues with our room stewards - they were excellent. Throughout the cruise. They took very good care of us and whatever we requested. The servers in the restaurants were also so hard working, friendly, and Did their best to make our experience positive. Of course there were some who just naturally were better than others, as is found wherever you dine in the world, but the large majority were very good.

The bartenders and servers were great, and they made sure that your glasses of whatever you were drinking were refilled, or if you were ordering drinks from the menu, they kept checking in with you.

The Restaurant - we ate dinner here quite often because we really enjoyed the atmosphere, the wait staff, And the food. We also really enjoyed Manifredi's ALOT. Excellent food, and their wine list was very reasonably priced if you decided to order some good Italian wine. The Chef's Table - seemed to be a place people really liked, or really didn't like. We thought it was okay, but not great. We also expected a better wine pairing/quality. The World Market - the best fresh pasta! Honestly, we were impressed with this venue.

The excursions - because DH and I tend to DIY or hire private tours when we cruise, we are not as impacted as many people who do depend on them - which I do get is a large percentage. So that said, we did not utilize this department as much - however, aside from the concert in St Michael's cave in Gibralter (which was amazing), we generally felt that there is room for improvement with this department. For instance, if you want any time in Gdansk, set it up on your own because you will only get 2 hrs there during an 11 hr port call, and that is the only way to get into Gdansk because their shuttle does not go there. Again, I don't have a lot of input here, but from the few we did partake in, we were not impressed.

St. Petersburg- we hired TJ Travel for an 8 person two day delux tour. EXCELLENT!!!! Great choice, great guide and driver, lunches....it was an amazing long two days!!

Spa - super nice to be able to enjoy the wonderful amenities without booking a service. We did enjoy a massage for our anniversary- but we really appreciated being able to drop in whenever we felt like it during their hours of 8-8.

Pools & Aquivat terrace - they keep the pool water really warm (too warm for some), but given that you are able to swim regardless of weather temps! The atmosphere at both pools is very different from each other, and offer different relaxation environments.

So....the 2% who weren't happy? I am going to address my experiences and observations around that on a separate thread.

We loved our time on Viking Star. Her Captain and crew are top drawer. The ship is beautiful, and totally enjoyable to sail on. So for those of you booked, feel free to look forward to a great vacation. my intention is to be objective and fair in this review.....

Thanks for coming back to post. You must be really beat after so many days away from home - but have to admit I'm a little jealous. Wish I could go away more often.

I read with surprise your comment on the "World Market." Is that the buffet/served foods/grill with the open (or closed) seating? Not that many people talk about it, so I guess I had forgotten the name of it. We love eating outside, and my husband loves the informality of it, so we plan to go there a bit.

I agree on Gdansk. It's a lovely city, but since none of the cruise ships seem to offer shuttles there, some people just stay in Gdynia and miss Gdansk. I ended up getting up early, taking the ship's (not Viking, 2 years ago on another line) shuttle from the port, walking to the train station and taking a funky commuter train to Gdansk Old Town. It was a wonderful day. I didn't have time to see all of the historic areas (on cruises, that can be typical - never enough time!) but I did enjoy the beautiful, rebuilt city, plus took a boat ride up to Westerplatte. Before researching it, I really didn't have a clue I would enjoy that port as much as I did. Of course, St. Petersburg was incredible too, and I agree that using one of the great tour companies there is quite worthwhile. Viking's excursions are affordable (especially compared to some other cruise lines' excursions) but in some places, it's definitely best to book something else.

Anyway, thanks for the follow up, plus the additional information. I'm inching my way towards my own trip on Star. Seems like it will never come!

The World Market is the buffet where some of the food is cooked to order. You can eat outside on the terrace or the informal indoor restaurant. It was surprisingly very good - I normally avoid buffets! You will have a great time. Rest assured.

World Cafe...not World Market! My mistake. Sorry about that! Brain is too darn tired still.

Thank you so much for coming back and filing in your cruise journey.

I appreciate your detailed review and loved you included the spa area. I think I will enjoy it very much.

I am really glad that you are looking forward to your trips on the Star....knowing up front that if excursions are extra important in some ports, and that you might want to research options - I hope is helpful. As I said, we tend to DIY and most of the ports allow you to do that directly from the ship.

I forgot to mention - we opted not to ride 6+ hours in a bus to go to Berlin. Instead we just explored Warnemunde - which you just walk into. It is a seaside get away used by a lot of Germans for vacation. It was pretty cool. Beautiful beach, tons or restaurants, a great little harbor, more shopping than I expected. There were very few cruise line (another ship was in port as well) people in town, and those that we ran into or talked with after enjoyed it as well. Plus, getting back to an almost empty ship after wasn't bad either!

We will keep watch on future itineraries, and if the right one is there, we will sail Viking Oceans again, just as we would sail Rivers again.

I'm not Ann, but loved reading about your experience in Warnemunde. We did go to Berlin, though in a car and bus, and enjoyed it quite a bit. However, when we came back I walked around Warnemunde as the sun was about to go down on the beach there and it wonderful. I love evenings in ports as you see more natives than you do during the day. I loved my evening in Cadiz as well, after a visit to Seville.

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VV... perhaps a better description of the World Cafe is more of a food court than a buffet... with multiple food stations (plates at each) and the kitchen in the center to serve each area very timely.

Certainly not a typical buffet, but an informal partial self serve location, often serving the same food being served by the wait staff in The Restaurant from the lunch or dinner menu.

A unique and very successful venue in my opinion.

The food was consistently very good throughout the ship... though some of the signature Norwegian fare was an acquired taste.

That was such a better description of the World Cafe! Thank you for that help....it is spot on!