Disappointment with Viking re: Amsterdam docking

[rothbury]

To listen to some of you complain about Viking every day....I suppose if it rained on your river cruise you'd blame that on Viking, too?

[Hydrokitty]

To listen to some of you complain about Viking every day....I suppose if it rained on your river cruise you'd blame that on Viking, too?

 

 

Only if they tried to tell me it was rose petals not rain. Problem isn't what happens on a Viking cruise, it's how they deal with it that's the problem.

[Hydrokitty]

Hydokitty: The only port Lattelady was complaining about was Amsterdam and that is one of the ports that you were not docked within walking distance of city center. Where the boats dock has nothing to do with the price or quality of a cruise but on numbers of boats coming into the docking areas. Perhaps customer service from Viking is lacking when compared to Vantage, but I am sure Vantage will fare no better than Viking on docking locations.

 

Biker, I don't disagree with this at all....most of the complaints about Viking tend not to be about things they can't control, but how they deal with the things that happen that they can't control.

[Hydrokitty]

biker,

 

I do think that something is going on with Viking in Amsterdam so that they're the only river cruise company docking the Westpoort area of Amsterdam. If you go to marinetraffic.com and look at Amsterdam, you'll see that all the other river cruise boats are docked somewhere near the Centraal Station, whereas the Viking boats are all docked in the Westpoort area. It's been that way for several weeks now.

 

FuelScience

 

Now that is very interesting and you have to wonder why Viking appears to have moved to the bottom of the list when it comes to docking....maybe they have too many ships in the same port at the same time?

[LoneStarCruisinCouple]

This was our first river cruise and my first trip to the mainland of Europe. It was definitely a major disappointment though we didn't let it ruin our trip at all. But it seemed to be a problem for quite a few passengers. I was so hoping when we came back to Amsterdam toward the end of the cruise that we would get to dock in town. I truly believe it would have been a different experience to have been able to do so. Overall, we've decided that when we take another it will hopefully be full of stops that we can just walk off/walk on. We spend way too much time on coaches. Overall though, it was a great trip. Not sold on Viking yet though.

 

Good Girl Like your last comment. Would highly recommend Scenic Cruises next time. More for your Money as to Perks and a a substantial savings. Like $10,000.

Doing Jewels of Europe 15 Days and for same cabin Explorer Suite verses Royal Panorama Suite Same Time of Year that Big Of a difference plus Viking wanted full Payment 16 Months Prior verses 90 days.

LoneStarCruisinCouple

[MaxBuck]

Not intended to dismiss the concerns voiced by the OP, but personally I have enjoyed seeing the industrial dock areas on river cruises. It's interesting to me to observe commerce, including how warehousing operations differ from country to country.

 

But I'm an engineer who works in manufacturing industries, so my point of view is no doubt idiosyncratic. And I wouldn't want to dock for three days watching gravel being transported by front-end loaders!

[CPT Trips]

Now that is very interesting and you have to wonder why Viking appears to have moved to the bottom of the list when it comes to docking....maybe they have too many ships in the same port at the same time?

 

There is a part of me that thinks the number of years that a specific vessel has been calling at the port enters into the equation. Vantage and GCCL seem to get preferred parking - older line, older ships???

[JVilleGal]

Thinking there are X spots available and XXX boats... Some kind of pecking order, price, lottery or rotation? Any or all is likely the answer and still allow for the Port Authorities to adjust as needed.

[Hydrokitty]

Not intended to dismiss the concerns voiced by the OP, but personally I have enjoyed seeing the industrial dock areas on river cruises. It's interesting to me to observe commerce, including how warehousing operations differ from country to country.

 

But I'm an engineer who works in manufacturing industries, so my point of view is no doubt idiosyncratic. And I wouldn't want to dock for three days watching gravel being transported by front-end loaders!

 

Max: I knew you were an engineer the second I finished reading your first sentence!!! How did I know? I married one!!! :D

[Hydrokitty]

There is a part of me that thinks the number of years that a specific vessel has been calling at the port enters into the equation. Vantage and GCCL seem to get preferred parking - older line, older ships???

 

I have no idea, but I don't think Vantage and GCT are older than Viking, are they? I would say Viking is the biggest fleet. I wonder if the companies enter into contracts with the municipal port authority and the ones who pay the most get the most? I really have no idea how it works except that I know the harbor/dock master is in charge and the docks are usually owned by the town/city where they're located.

[CPT Trips]

Both Grand Circle and Vantage are older businesses than Viking. But my comment was more directed towards Viking's rapid, recent fleet expansion. A lot of their ships are newer to the ports then the ships of other lines, Viking just added ships rather than replacing and that might work against them in the pecking order.

[Viking Cruises]

I'm not sure how many ships have been affected by this but I've seen some complaints on TripAdvisor, so I decided to make a post. Several Viking ships have recently been docked in industrial ports outside of Amsterdam. We were put in Suezhaven and I've seen someone else say they were put in Coenhaven. I can only speak of the experience in Suezhaven.

 

We were right next to warehouses with frontloaders moving cocoa beans (photo attached). It was just extremely disappointing and we certainly didn't have the same experience as the Viking ships docked in the City Center.

 

Actual issues:

1. We booked our hotel so that we could walk to the center docks.

2. We had not booked transfers after the cruise as we planned to walk to the train station. (We had packed pretty lightly).

3. We couldn't get on/off at our leisure to explore the city as they advertise.

4. The view and smell were bad.

 

Viking response:

1. They did allow us to get on the shuttle running from our hotel (Movenpick) to the ship with people who had previously arranged transfers, so that was good.

2. After a long discussion with the concierge, they booked a taxi for us at the end of the cruise to take us to the train station. Two other people in the same predicament joined us.

3. They provided a few shuttles to run back and forth to the city. We waited over an hour to get back to the ship from the city because one of the shuttles was caught up in traffic.

4. There was nothing they could do with the view/smell.

 

We understand that the docking is out of their control, but I think that due to the high season of tulips, they were using as many ships as possible (and probably the other lines were as well) and the docks in town were overloaded. According to one of our shuttle drivers, he had never had to drive to our dock before.

 

Our concern is that while we overall had a nice trip, this severely impacted our Amsterdam stay which was 1/3 of our trip. And Viking didn't seem to care. That is the part that bothers me the most. They never once apologized. They only acted like it was beyond their control. That may be, but they had ships docking in the middle of town whose passengers were enjoying a much better experience than we were sitting outside of town in a smelly, ugly dock. And we paid the same amount.

 

I sent a message to Viking about 5 days ago through their website with my concerns. The website promises a response in 2 business days but I have not received one. We are holding off on booking a summer 2016 cruise while we await a response. This is our first Viking trip and may be our last. We aren't tied to them. If and how they respond will determine how we go forward. Honestly, if the staff had acted like it was problem or maybe offered an additional optional excursion or something like that to acknowledge the issue, we would have left with warm and fuzzy feelings and wouldn't be posting this now.

[/img]

 

Dear lattelady,

Please contact us at tellus@vikingcruises.com so that we may put you in touch with a member of our Customer Relations Team to discuss your experience in further detail. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience and understanding.

Best,

Viking Cruises

[lattelady]

Thank you, Viking Cruises. Have done so!

[MaxBuck]

Max: I knew you were an engineer the second I finished reading your first sentence!!! How did I know? I married one!!! :D

You poor thing. :)

 

A little engineering humor. How do you tell the extrovert in the group of engineers?

 

He's the one who looks at your shoes rather than his own when talking to you.

Edited May 11, 2015 by MaxBuck

[Hydrokitty]

You poor thing. :)

 

A little engineering humor. How do you tell the extrovert in the group of engineers?

 

He's the one who looks at your shoes rather than his own when talking to you.

 

LOL.....and how can you tell his Wife? She's the one standing at the bar and rolling her eyes!!

[FuelScience]

Max: I knew you were an engineer the second I finished reading your first sentence!!! How did I know? I married one!!! :D

 

Kitty, there are a few of us here. On our last cruise through Holland and Belgium, I was the one that got excited when we cruised by all the refineries and chemical plants around Rotterdam!!

 

FuelScience

[Hydrokitty]

Kitty, there are a few of us here. On our last cruise through Holland and Belgium, I was the one that got excited when we cruised by all the refineries and chemical plants around Rotterdam!!

 

FuelScience

 

DH was either on deck or on our french balcony for EACH and EVERY lock...for our 50th he took me on a cruise from San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale, I was so excited.....and then I realized why.....the Panama Canal!!!! It was so romantic....we did full transit not once but TWICE....once on Celebrity and once on a smaller charter boat. It was fascinating. But I wouldn't trade him for anything!!:D

[notamermaid]

That makes me feel much better about the fact that I took photos of the underside of the bridges in Budapest!

 

Kitty, there are a few of us here. On our last cruise through Holland and Belgium, I was the one that got excited when we cruised by all the refineries and chemical plants around Rotterdam!!

 

FuelScience

 

I live near an industrial area on the Rhine and love looking at the rusty old cranes. I have two magnets of bridges and one of the 3/4-finished Eiffel tower stuck to my freezer!

 

In Vienna we were right outside of town, near a magnificent old lock. We took the tram into town (wow!) and I saw the facade of a building (not a romantic one) that had fascinated me for years. I just did not expect to see it on my way into town (big surprise, wow!) Needless to say I did not mind being outside of Vienna town centre. :D

 

If somebody gave me the choice of a free day-trip to Amsterdam or Rotterdam, I would go to Rotterdam!

 

Regarding the Viking berths in Amsterdam, I am surprised as well, as they have their own berths in many of the best spots in the touristy towns along the Rhine.

 

notamermaid

Edited May 12, 2015 by notamermaid
Additional information

[Hydrokitty]

That makes me feel much better about the fact that I took photos of the underside of the bridges in Budapest!

 

LOL.....I have many pictures of the underside of bridges in Budapest and along the Rhine and Danube.....DH is a bridge expert and he lives and breathes them....so why did he choose someone who holds her breath while going over a bridge? :D

[lattelady]

I emailed Viking at the address given in the comment somewhere above. Have received no response, not even a 'thank you for your email' after 48+ hours. Also still haven't received a response to what I sent through the contact page of their website almost 2 weeks ago.

[JVilleGal]

I emailed Viking at the address given in the comment somewhere above. Have received no response, not even a 'thank you for your email' after 48+ hours. Also still haven't received a response to what I sent through the contact page of their website almost 2 weeks ago.

 

 

Post this on their FB page and see if that doesn't get attention.... They address those things fast because they don't like this stuff on their FB wall.

[lattelady]

I emailed Viking at the address given in the comment somewhere above. Have received no response, not even a 'thank you for your email' after 48+ hours. Also still haven't received a response to what I sent through the contact page of their website almost 2 weeks ago.

 

Perhaps by coincidence, I just received an email saying that would call me within three business days. So that's good.

[eyeu]

I was told there were basically three docking areas....one fairly close to the city...the other further down across a bridge and the third aways out. Also, the companies are in a lottery as to where the ship can dock...ships do not own the docks, the city does and they are at the mercy of the lottery as to where they dock.

[KathyK13]

Did the OP see any other boats docked in the area, Viking or another cruise line? With so many new boats being built lately, it will be interesting to see if more will be docked in inconvenient locations. I would much rather be rafted in a convenient location than all alone far away from the city!

[lattelady]

Did the OP see any other boats docked in the area, Viking or another cruise line? With so many new boats being built lately, it will be interesting to see if more will be docked in inconvenient locations. I would much rather be rafted in a convenient location than all alone far away from the city!

 

I remember another ship came in very briefly...maybe just a couple of hours. Other than that it was just us. And the front loaders, cranes, etc. :)