V1& 2 cabins on Viking Star

[DianeLikesToTravel]

I'm reserved on the early September sailing out of Venice. I don't remember if I'm in V1 or V2, but it's the less expensive of the two. I'm traveling in a group of four people -- two people are in a penthouse category and I am sharing my cabin. Since the four of us want to dine together, I'm wondering how they will treat us since two of my friends have the option to book dining early. Will they make us dine separately or will they make my friends wait until we board as I can't book a restaurant until we sail. This is awkward at best.

 

Re excursions, they are offering a wide selection and I think many people will not want the included excursions. I plan to either take the included excursions or we will handle our land portions independently, especially when the four of us want to do the same things. I talked to a Viking rep a while back and inquired about the included excursions and was told that no one would be turned away.

 

I haven't done much cruising and I find traveling independently much less complicated. This will probably be a wonderful experience, but not sure it's worth it yet.

 

I think I saw a post on this thread about staying in cabin 3084. That's the same cabin we are assigned. If I'm in it first, I'll do my best to keep it in pristine condition.

[roothy123]

Hi Diane. I have used a dining/reservation priority system similar to Viking Ocean's before, and always booked a low-priority cabin. The cruise line only took reservations for the specialty restaurants (had completely open seating for meals) but did also limit the number of reservations according to cabins like Viking does. I never had any problems getting decent times/days. I'm not saying it won't be a problem on Viking, but just offering my experience on a different but similar cruise line. I don't, however, know how Viking handles booking four people traveling together in different cabin classes. There are some active folks on here who are on earlier cruises and can probably provide more info. Also, there's a lot more info now on myvikingjourney.com once you sign in and look around. Assume you know about that, but if not, take a look. Good stuff.

 

We're on a late September cruise out of Venice. We also plan to do what you might do - take most of the included tours but go off on my own (or with spouse) for the rest of the day. Someone on here or another Cruise Critic thread in the ports section shared the times and prices for her spring cruise and it looks like there are multiple times for tours that are expected to be popular (the included tours, for example). It was good to see a few tours in the afternoon, as most cruise lines only book morning tours. I think I still have that info and can dig it out if you want it. It gives an idea of what might be offered for those of us cruising in September. I also have a lot of info on independent touring - IF by independent you mean using trams, buses, metro, etc. We sometimes arrange a private tour (and the Roll Call for your cruise may be helpful for that) but more often we just plan our days independently. I can't say if Viking's excursions will all be available when your booking time rolls around, but with my favorite cruise line with the few I booked and from what I heard, booking excursions was never, ever a problem. (I didn't book a lot of them, but when I did, I rarely booked more than a day or two in advance, and they were able to take me.) Of course, Viking's are cheaper, and there are booking windows, so who knows how it will go for them.

 

I think people in regular veranda cabins can now book excursions 60 days pre-cruise, but check myvikingjourney to make sure I remember that correctly. They tell you the number of days until you can book. Others on here will probably chime in as well....if not, start a new post and more people will see it.

[Roz326]

Wow interesting reading! As most of this is 'old' news now that it's 2016, I'm looking for some updates from more recent cruises. We are currently considering a September 4, 2018 cruise on the Star entitled "In the Wake of the Vikings", Bergen to Montreal. Have things settle down on the ship now that the maiden voyage is over? Any updates on the ship or this itinerary in particular are greatly appreciated.

 

See ya on board!

Edited May 24, 2016 by Roz326
No need to quote previous response.

[CharTrav]

Roz - don't know why I'm reading this but there are a lot of informative recent threads underway elsewhere. Check around. Yes things have settled down. Search on keys like 2016 or Viking Homelands or Empires. Or some very active posters: id4elizabeth, kyoh, colo cruiser, ruthy123, and solent richard. All have good recent posts.

[Roz326]

Thanks much CharTray. I appreciate the information.

[Mrs Clooney]

Hi. I have a long cruise booked in 2023 ... first time ever , I’ve booked the cheapest cabin - it’s a balcony which is bigger than the other cruise lines we’ve sailed with- don’t drink much - so didn’t need one with all the bells and whistles. 
I too am concerned now about being able to get a meal at a decent time - and even get on an included excursion 🤷‍♀️  What if they are all booked out. We won’t know until we board - then abit late to book an excursion with an outside company. Any comments from recent travellers??? 

[Heidi13]

47 minutes ago, Mrs Clooney said:

Hi. I have a long cruise booked in 2023 ... first time ever , I’ve booked the cheapest cabin - it’s a balcony which is bigger than the other cruise lines we’ve sailed with- don’t drink much - so didn’t need one with all the bells and whistles. 
I too am concerned now about being able to get a meal at a decent time - and even get on an included excursion 🤷‍♀️  What if they are all booked out. We won’t know until we board - then abit late to book an excursion with an outside company. Any comments from recent travellers??? 

 

With the included shore-ex, you are guaranteed a seat on the bus, or joining a walking tour. You can change tours, or book new tours on board, up to a couple of days before the port. The cut-off time for booking and cancellations is printed in the Viking daily.

 

However, in our experience, the buses were never filled to capacity, as with most shore-ex we took had about 35 in a full size bus. Therefore, even on the pier they can generally accommodate you on an included tour.

 

With optional shore-ex, even if the website shows sold out, the Shore-ex staff on the ship often receive cancellations and can possibly order additional tours.

 

Which long cruise are you considering - the World Cruise or Sydney/Vancouver

 

On Viking, all cabins have balconies and we also found the DV cabin about 50% bigger than a comparible cabin on Princess.

[Clay Clayton]

14 hours ago, Mrs Clooney said:

Hi. I have a long cruise booked in 2023 ... first time ever , I’ve booked the cheapest cabin - it’s a balcony which is bigger than the other cruise lines we’ve sailed with- don’t drink much - so didn’t need one with all the bells and whistles. 
I too am concerned now about being able to get a meal at a decent time - and even get on an included excursion 🤷‍♀️  What if they are all booked out. We won’t know until we board - then abit late to book an excursion with an outside company. Any comments from recent travellers??? 

We have always booked relatively last minute and never had any issues about dining or included excursion reservations. I HIGHLY recommend downloading the Viking app before you board and then once aboard the ship log on.  This will let you check menus and decide which nights you want dinner reservations where-without having to wait in line to make them. 
 

A suggestion for additional (useable) space in the cabin is to move the little cocktail table into the corner between the balcony and bed wall and then arrange the two chairs so that rather both being side by side against the bed wall one is moved to the balcony wall. This frees up space in the middle of the room. That’s what’s shown in the first picture. The second one is how the room is set up when you board. 

 

[Mrs Clooney]

On 2/25/2021 at 3:21 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

With the included shore-ex, you are guaranteed a seat on the bus, or joining a walking tour. You can change tours, or book new tours on board, up to a couple of days before the port. The cut-off time for booking and cancellations is printed in the Viking daily.

 

However, in our experience, the buses were never filled to capacity, as with most shore-ex we took had about 35 in a full size bus. Therefore, even on the pier they can generally accommodate you on an included tour.

 

With optional shore-ex, even if the website shows sold out, the Shore-ex staff on the ship often receive cancellations and can possibly order additional tours.

 

Which long cruise are you considering - the World Cruise or Sydney/Vancouver

 

On Viking, all cabins have balconies and we also found the DV cabin about 50% bigger than a comparible cabin on Princess.

Thanks. We are doing 29 days ( that’s long for us) London to Stockholm. ( Norway mostly) 

have asked these questions at other places ( sorry I got no notification of your answer until now) .. it seems There has been comments about the lack of storage in the Veranda and deluxe Veranda cabins. But I’m sure will be okay.We Will have no trouble getting on excursions, and no trouble with the restaurant situation - so we have been told . We’ve been advised that if you’re walking past one of the specialty restaurants and it’s not full, you can just ask if they can take you in. Most people say that the Viking staff of been very accommodating in these restaurants.

thanks for your reply. 

[Heidi13]

15 hours ago, Mrs Clooney said:

Thanks. We are doing 29 days ( that’s long for us) London to Stockholm. ( Norway mostly) 

have asked these questions at other places ( sorry I got no notification of your answer until now) .. it seems There has been comments about the lack of storage in the Veranda and deluxe Veranda cabins. But I’m sure will be okay.We Will have no trouble getting on excursions, and no trouble with the restaurant situation - so we have been told . We’ve been advised that if you’re walking past one of the specialty restaurants and it’s not full, you can just ask if they can take you in. Most people say that the Viking staff of been very accommodating in these restaurants.

thanks for your reply. 

 

All ships starting with Viking Sun have an additional 3 drawers in the closet for additional storage. Since we never drink coffee, we requested they remove the coffee maker before boarding. The Star is also supposedly getting the additional drawers before the World Cruise and since Sky is scheduled for a World Cruise, I assume she will also get them.

 

Our experience was on a World Cruise and yes, most nights we could turn up at the host/hostess desk and were seated fairly quickly in one of the alternative restaurants.

 

We also booked the London to Stockholm on Viking Neptune, right after the World Cruise.