On board The Star

[kathy9]

My first impressions..... The public spaces are beautiful, crew very friendly, the DV cabin is very nicely decorated. The bathroom is great, 2 nice drawers for storage, nice walk in shower and Freyja products. Nice large closet, not enough hangers and only 3 small drawers. Mini fridge not filled yet (almost 6 pm) saw cabin steward one time so far. Free WiFi works well (we are in port). Not eating at the Restrauant tonight because we are doing an evening excursion.

Kathy

[Vineyard View]

Thank you Kathy. Seems like the reviews are all very positive. I wonder if the ship will have extra hangers for clothing.....but is seems like check in and first impressions are going well!!

[kathy9]

Check in was a breeze, no photo for key card and no photos of boarding ship!

[sitraveler]

No problem getting extra hangers.

 

Slippers only 1size.

 

She sure is pretty.

[kathy9]

We got extra hangers also. Wifi/ computer issues continue. Had to write down names of everyone leaving ship on evening excursions. Still no TV. Still have not had mini fridge filled with soft drinks and snacks.....

Kathy

[kathy9]

Good Morning! Up bright and early as our excursion was scheduled for 7 am!!!!

Bed very comfortable. Shower very nice, though drainage is very slow. All you AZ people will love the large walk-in shower! Very nice to have the in-room coffee maker. Still no TV. No mention of CC get-together in the Viking Daily.

Kathy

[kathy9]

Back from our excursion ....it is noon still no TV and the mini fridge not yet stocked with soft drinks, water and snacks to be replenished daily!

Kathy

[CrusinSubMan]

Our mini in our PV room was stocked when we arrived.

[amyr]

I've been posting my reviews up in Carolyn's sticky and just realized that you were doing a 'live from'

 

Our cabin steward tells us that 300 TVs are now working, so that must be nearly all of them? We've been able to watch movies all along, but nothing else. Also, some woman who seems to be in charge of mini-bars just came and checked ours, so maybe you're next :)

 

See you at the sailaway par-tay!

[editor@cruisecritic]

Guys, did you hear about the change in venue? The ship would like to move our Meet and Greet to the Explorers Lounge -- can you pass the word if you run into anyone? Viking posted on both Roll Calls but not sure who's checking there....

 

Carolyn

 

I've been posting my reviews up in Carolyn's sticky and just realized that you were doing a 'live from'

 

Our cabin steward tells us that 300 TVs are now working, so that must be nearly all of them? We've been able to watch movies all along, but nothing else. Also, some woman who seems to be in charge of mini-bars just came and checked ours, so maybe you're next :)

 

See you at the sailaway par-tay!

[id4elizabeth]

OK - so this is the thread we all agreed to use today at our wonderful Meet & Greet. Thanks everyone for coming and making it such a great time!

 

Plugs near beds - In our cabin, the promised plugs next to each side of the bed, are actually behind and below the beds. They are not up beside the bed stands like they are on the river ships. I don't know if that's the same in everyone's cabin, but my guess is that it is. You have to physically move the beds (this isn' hard) to get to the plugs. Like the other plugs in the cabin, one side is European and the other is "American" 110. Someone asked about using a CPAP and I think it would work depending on how long the cord is on the CPAP. However, if it were me, I'd bring a standard household extension cord just in case. We're in a PS1 category cabin. Other's can chime in whether they can find the plugs behind and below their beds.

 

Another peculiarity, speaking of electricity, is that all the lights in our cabin are controlled by the same switch. You either have them all on or all off. So if one person wants to sleep and the other wants to read, it's a problem. There is however a desk lamp with a European end on it that we're thinking of moving to the other side of the cabin near the "seating area" so that it can be turned on and off independently of the overall cabin lights.

 

Off to dinner.

[id4elizabeth]

Of course WiFi was pretty good while we were docked in Istanbul, but we left Istanbul about 5 hours ago, and WiFi still seems to be good while sailing on the Sea of Mamara. It's pretty consistent wherever we've been on the ship - cabin as well as public areas. Good news so far - let's hope it stays that way!

[OneBag]

So much good news coming from maiden voyage pioneers! Thank you to everyone who has taken time out of their days to post info for us back home waiting our turn! I hope everyone on board has a fabulous day today.

 

When we booked our trip, for us it was mainly all about the ports/excursions. Now, with all the wonderful photos and descriptions of the ship, I'm glad every day is not a long day in port--I have a feeling the "worst" thing about our ruise is going to be that we can't be in two places at once!

[CrusinSubMan]

That was a great meet and greet. One thing that was said at the meet and greet was notable: that the prognosis for getting the IT system working on the ship is no longer soon as in perhaps today but instead hopefully in the next few days. So no information and no entertainment is available in the rooms. The TV basically does not work. I had the Chef's table write down our next four reservations there on a piece of paper.

 

BTW, the Chef's table first sitting (6:00 PM) was half empty (or half full depending on your perspective) tonight. So clearly there is not a shortage of reserved dining so far.

[TBS]

Thank you to all who are posting! We are on June 13 th sailing in a DV category. Trying to figure out where drawers are. Are they in the closet? We have sailed solstice class ships on Celebrity. For anyone who has been on these ships, do these staterooms have less storage space than they do? Also any thought as to why seating arrangement has two chairs instead of love seat. To me it looks awkward. Do they post what type of cuisine will be in chef's kitchen? We can book restaurants on Tuesday and having seen that the theme was Asian, not sure if that will appeal to our traveling companions.

Thanks again for all information. Really getting excited!

[Logistigr8r]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2015/04/12/viking-star-first-look/25669227/

 

I wouldn't say it's the first look, but it's some of the photos we've been looking for including staterooms, the explorers suite, and the REAL bathroom, and lots more.

 

Of course, John gets the prize for the first photos of staterooms and the REAL bathroom.

 

You guys onboard, enjoy your cruise! Thanks for posting all the useful info. We're all hooked on every detail. I'm becoming an addict:D But again, enjoy your cruise!!

[rlevin47]

Anyone in a Deluxe Veranda Staterooms or regular Veranda Staterooms have the same issue with the lighting. Hope all the lighting is not controlled by the same switch?? As id4elizabeth posted? This seems rather odd?

Is there some sort of night light in the bathroom? Do I need to bring my own?

[amyr]

OK - so this is the thread we all agreed to use today at our wonderful Meet & Greet. Thanks everyone for coming and making it such a great time!

 

Plugs near beds - In our cabin, the promised plugs next to each side of the bed, are actually behind and below the beds. They are not up beside the bed stands like they are on the river ships. I don't know if that's the same in everyone's cabin, but my guess is that it is. You have to physically move the beds (this isn' hard) to get to the plugs. Like the other plugs in the cabin, one side is European and the other is "American" 110. Someone asked about using a CPAP and I think it would work depending on how long the cord is on the CPAP. However, if it were me, I'd bring a standard household extension cord just in case. We're in a PS1 category cabin. Other's can chime in whether they can find the plugs behind and below their beds.

 

Another peculiarity, speaking of electricity, is that all the lights in our cabin are controlled by the same switch. You either have them all on or all off. So if one person wants to sleep and the other wants to read, it's a problem. There is however a desk lamp with a European end on it that we're thinking of moving to the other side of the cabin near the "seating area" so that it can be turned on and off independently of the overall cabin lights.

 

Off to dinner.

 

Elizabeth, I thought we'd agreed at the meeting to use the sticky Carolyn put at the top? All of these questions have already been answered in that thread I think. Our bed has two reading lights on their own separate from the main lights, and we also have tiny night lights in the headboard. They're really nice if one person wants to read.

[Logistigr8r]

Elizabeth, Thanks for your THIS is the thread note. There are so many threads, more popping up all the time, and even two referred to as "On Board" ...

 

Enjoy your cruise guys. There is an unquenchable thirst for knowledge here (not there).

Edited April 12, 2015 by Logistigr8r

[Logistigr8r]

http://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/All-in-the-family-Viking-ocean-ship-resembles-its-river-sisters

 

Smile, you're on candid camera. Photographer Tom Stieghorst, for Travel Weekly, caught some of you at the World Cafe!:)

[sitraveler]

There are 2 lamps in the headboard for reading. Just push the indent.

 

The published exchange rate is WRONG. t

 

Turkish Lira is 2.6' not 2.17. This makes no sense as they do not offer currency exchange.

[CrusinSubMan]

There are 2 lamps in the headboard for reading. Just push the indent.

 

The published exchange rate is WRONG. t

 

Turkish Lira is 2.6' not 2.17. This makes no sense as they do not offer currency exchange.

The exchange rate has been weeks old since we got on board. But I think they are listing one just to be helpful. But obviously when the rate is way off, it is just the opposite.

[CrusinSubMan]

....

 

Another peculiarity, speaking of electricity, is that all the lights in our cabin are controlled by the same switch. You either have them all on or all off. So if one person wants to sleep and the other wants to read, it's a problem. There is however a desk lamp with a European end on it that we're thinking of moving to the other side of the cabin near the "seating area" so that it can be turned on and off independently of the overall cabin lights.

 

Off to dinner.

 

This lighting thing is a design problem in V, DV, PV and PS. All four of these classes have all the lights on the master switch except for the little reading lights and the small lights above the bed. So if you want to use the desk lamp or if (in the PS) you want to pull the curtain so your mate can sleep, you have to sit in the dark or light up the entire space. One fix has been to move the desk lamp to a different outlet that is not not on the switch.

[kathy9]

Day 3 still no TV or movies in our room.

The mini fridge was finally stocked!

Wifi still very good though I can see land out the balcony door.

Very disappointed with our attempted meal at The Chef's Table last night. Be aware of you are a vegetarian ( like me) or have food allergies etc the menu is set and can not be changed to accommodate these issues. They hope to make this clear in the future when you are making reservations.

The CC get together was great.

Kathy

[howiefrommd]

Dont feel bad Kathy, my wife is a vegetarian and they served her a salad with shrimp and anchovies yesterday for lunch in the Restaurant. We sat there for a bit over an hour and watched several dozen people leave before the food came.

 

When they had the muster drill we had to go back to the restaurant. The time of the muster was 2:30, we had to stand around people while they were eating their lunch. The best part is that staff member was clueless on how to put on the life jacket. Thankfully there were guests there to help him.

 

We also do not have any TV. I am not a TV watcher, but I had no way to look up our dining reservations. The front desk (they call it something else) was significantly overwhelmed the times I stopped by there. Only two people working any time I tried and they had 5 cordless phones ringing non-stop on the desk. Once again thanks to a fellow passenger, they said I should just stop by the restaurants to get my reservation information. Yesterday when I got back to my room the phone rang and it was Mandredis re confirming my reservation for that night. Got down there by 6 PM and they told me they could not find my reservation. So we headed to the Restaurant and once we saw the line and heard the conversations we just went upstairs to The World Cafe (buffet). Which was fine.

 

Every new venture has kinks. The lack of visible management is noticeable. Getting a clear, consistent and correct answer is challenging. Beautiful ship, food is fine, ports are great, the only thing that should be real entertaining is turn around day in Venice.