Viking Sea Jan 8th mini review.

[Lottie A]

We are mid way through our first Viking Sea cruise and I'm sitting in The Atrium drinking a Valencia cocktail and having a great time.

 

The transformer issue on the propeller was fixed as Viking promised and we departed Barcelona on time on Jan 8th.

 

 

The ship is beautiful with clean lines, Scandinavian decor and very comfortable. Our cabin is lovely, the beds very comfortable and the well fitted bathrooms are a joy after the tiny Azamara bathrooms we are used to. The only problem is the lack of drawer space in the cabin....two women sharing definitely need more storage space, but we knew that would be the case. It isn't a huge problem on a 7 night cruise, but certainly would be for a longer cruise. It didn't affect us thank goodness but I think more than 30 of the passengers cases were left behind at Heathrow and they don't have them yet. I would be going crazy! Unlikely that they will get them before the end of this cruise as well.

Our cabin steward is doing an efficient job of looking after us and our cabin.

 

The food is great and I particularly enjoyed the venison a few nights ago. Manfredi's Restaurant with the wonderful head waiter Angel, is our favourite dining experience. We are going again tonight and looking forward to it. For those who enjoy a few drinks I think the Silver Beverage Package is great value at $19.99 per day. I have asked the bar tender to make me a Valencia cocktail which is not on the drinks menu and he did a great job and it was included in the package.

 

The crew are very friendly, always smiling and seem very happy. Almost, but somehow not quite, as good as Azamara and that's high praise indeed. The Captain and officers are not as visible or customer focussed as on Azamara but they are very pleasant.

 

The weather has been quite good for Jan in The Med. Today has been the warmest day....we are in Ajaccio in Corsica. We had room service lunch on a sunny balcony today. We are very familiar with all the ports of call and do our own thing, apart from a paid ship tour to Aix en Provence.....what a lovely town and we will certainly be visiting there again and also our favourite Riviera port of Nice yesterday.

 

The ship is a little quiet for us at night. It is an older demographic in winter I think and everyone is up early to go on long tours. Consequently the ship is dead after about 10 pm. Tonight is a deck party,so I hope people may stay up longer.

 

The entertainment is a mixed bag....the show by the girl singers last night was fantastic but an earlier show had a mixture of Gilbert and Sullivan, Opera and Pop themes and the Gilbert and Sullivan segments were very weird and did not fit in at all. The cruise director is Heather Clancy. We approached her to ask why the evening shows were so early....you have to be in the theatre for 9pm to get a seat and that makes dining after 7pm a rush. We like to dine about 7:30pm/8pm. She said it was because the older passengers like to be in bed by 10:30 pm and no-one would go if the shows were later. There is no trivia, which I enjoy a lot on Azamara. No casino onboard and I do like a little flutter on the slots.

 

To end, we would certainly consider Viking Cruises for a winter Med cruise and I think it's an excellent value for money product but I don't think it will overtake Azamara as our favourite cruise line.

[Mrs Miggins]

Great to hear that you are enjoying yourself. Your reviews tallies very closely with our experience. Only difference I think would be that Torshaven was very busy after 10 each night on our cruise last Sept/Oct. I guess as you say the demographic might be different at this time of year.

Enjoy your remaining days on board !

Pam

[dln929]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I'm glad the weather is holding up for you and that you're finding it all relaxing. We're right behind you, boarding on the 29th and I'm so looking forward to it!

[Azulann]

Thanks for your mini review.

Good to know about the beverage package value.

Now, what is in a Valencia cocktail?

I remember eating at a wonderful sidewalk cafe in Ajaccio on my first cruise.

They had only one menu in English. We ordered a cheese/meat plate and white Corscia wine. The waitress would not sell us French wine! First time I ever ate fig jam on cheese and crackers. Yummy.

 

Enjoy the rest of your Viking cruise and sunny days.

[garycarla]

..Now, what is in a Valencia cocktail?....

 

Found this on google : http://cocktails.about.com/od/brandyrecipes/r/valencia_cocktail.htm

[garycarla]

....We approached her to ask why the evening shows were so early....you have to be in the theatre for 9pm to get a seat and that makes dining after 7pm a rush. We like to dine about 7:30pm/8pm. She said it was because the older passengers like to be in bed by 10:30 pm and no-one would go if the shows were later. ...

 

No casino onboard and I do like a little flutter on the slots.

...

 

I am actually surprised the show is that late knowing the general mix of clients.

 

As to casino, I have spent way too much time and donated enough in casinos in the past and actually looking forward to not having that distraction on this cruise - LOL!

 

Thanks for your "mini" review. We are hoping they have learned from the propulsion issues on the Sea such that the new Sky is already fixed.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Glad you're having a good time. Some questions:

• Does the ship seem more roomy than the Azamara R-ships? [We felt somewhat crowded on the Norwegian Fjords, since no one was using the top deck.]

• Doesn't the absence of art auctions make up for the lack of casino? [i know, Azamara gave Park West the boot shortly after we cruised -- but they didn't promise not to bring back some other dreadful replacement...]

• How are the "included" ship's excursions -- this is one apparent plus of Viking over Azamara.

[Lottie A]

Jazzbeau, the Viking ships are of course, larger than Azamara's R class ships but they don't feel at all crowded, except for The Winter Garden at afternoon tea time. You have to be there early in order to get a seat. Other than that, the ship has plenty of space. Our cruise is fully booked and nowhere feels crowded.

 

No the absence of art auctions does not make up for the lack of a casino....not for me anyway. I am not a huge gambler, I just donate a few dollars on the slot machines, but the casino is usually a lively and social place at night and this ship goes to bed at 10pm! There is a small nightclub called Torshavn but it's hardly a buzzing night venue. Most people are up at the crack of dawn as they all seem to be going on long day tours.

Last night we had a deck party with live music...it was great and we really enjoyed it....but it finished far too early for us at 10:45 pm.

 

We had a second dining experience at Manfredi's last night....simply excellent food. Tonight we are in The Chef's Table, the other speciality restaurant. This is a paired wine and food experience and we have the Silver Beverage Package so can have the upgraded wines.

 

We haven't taken any of the included excursions and they certainly wouldn't be a factor in us choosing a Viking cruise or another cruise line. They are mostly walking tours in a crocodile, following someone with a Viking flag. Anyone with any travel experience could do it alone and better. We have done two paid tours, a full day to Aix en Provence and a half day to Nice. Both were well organised and I thought they were good value. It puzzled us slightly as they were both supposed to be "on your own" tours but the guides onboard did offer the guests onboard the coach guided tours if they wanted. Of course, we opted to do our own thing and spent some enjoyable hours in Aix and Nice. We may have done some shopping! :D

 

I will certainly be back on Viking but as you know Jazzbeau, Azamara will always be my first love.

[Mrs Miggins]

Hi Lottie,

You havent mentioned the spa - it was a favourite place for us for an hour late afternoon. Azamara is still our favourite too - but it does depend on price and itinerary - looking forward to both Azamara in May and Viking over next New Year.

Pam

[Spursgirl]

Hi Lottie,

You havent mentioned the spa - it was a favourite place for us for an hour late afternoon. Azamara is still our favourite too - but it does depend on price and itinerary - looking forward to both Azamara in May and Viking over next New Year.

Pam

 

Hello Pam,

 

We haven't spent any time in the spa yet but we do agree with you about Azamara which remains our first choice. Some of the prices are now unrealistic and are making us consider other options.

 

We usually cruise in a verandah cabin. On Azamara as you know the bathroom is the size of a postage stamp and if I were to bring my cat with me I couldn't swing it :D here on Viking Sea the bathroom is heavenly in every respect.

 

Like Lottie my only real complaint is about the evening entertainment. Although the last two nights shows have been good, they are staged far too early and when they are over most guests retire for the night.

 

Whie we are both fairly lively we feel like real party animals on this ship.

 

Disappointingly there have been no shows in Torshaven, I know you highly recommended them.

 

Despite this we are having a lovely cruise - there are so many things to enjoy on board.

[beachmudhut]

Glad to hear you are enjoying Viking. We were on Viking Star at Xmas in the Caribbean and the shows were much later and they had entertainment in the "nightclub" on a number of nights.

 

We agree - Azamara would be first choice for us, but it comes down to itinerary and price.

 

Just wanted to mention - in case you haven't discovered it - instead of going for the overcrowded tea in the Wintergarden, try going in the opposite direction to Mamsens in the Explorers lounge. At tea time the gateaux, hot waffles piled up with syrup and fruit and the open sandwiches are to die for! They will get you a cup of tea to go with it! Not many folk realised it was there.

[H2Otstr]

Are there shuttles back and forth from the ship to the cities after the included tours are over if one chooses to stay in town or return to the ship for lunch?

[Fpacifico]

I'm confused, most of you folks are raving about Azamara over Viking but Viking has free internet, no charge for speciality restaurants, spa appears to be free for the most part, free laundry service, free room service, pick up and drop off at airport if you use Viking for airlines. Viking also has included tours at every port. I don't know but Viking seems pretty good. They also have a newer fleet

[beachmudhut]

I'm confused, most of you folks are raving about Azamara over Viking but Viking has free internet, no charge for speciality restaurants, spa appears to be free for the most part, free laundry service, free room service, pick up and drop off at airport if you use Viking for airlines. Viking also has included tours at every port. I don't know but Viking seems pretty good. They also have a newer fleet

 

Viking have some brilliant benefits - free internet is a huge bonus. Food is the best we have had on any cruise. They don't nickle and dime for everything. If you take your own wine there is no corkage fee. Bathrooms are more spacious and modern. So many good things.

 

Azamara has free laundry service, free room service, pick up and drop off, and a wider choice and better quality included drinks. Azamara serve good quality included wines served in a wine glass. Viking slurp poor quality wine into a glass tumbler - you only get a wine glass if you have paid for the extra drinks package! We asked for a wine glass and were refused!

 

The crew and officers on Azamara are like family and you get a warm fuzzy welcome feeling when you are on board. It has to be experienced to know why there are so many devotees.

 

Viking is a great ship and we would book again.

[Jay23]

No stemmed wine glasses on the dinner table? You are joking :D We had wine glasses on the River Cruise..

[beachmudhut]

No stemmed wine glasses on the dinner table? You are joking :D We had wine glasses on the River Cruise..

 

Stemmed glasses definitely not provided for the "free wine" on Viking Star.

[aquidneck1]

Wow, I guess that says a lot about what they think of their "free" wine.

[Mrs Miggins]

Stemmed glasses definitely not provided for the "free wine" on Viking Star.

 

This was not our experience. We had our included wine in proper wine glasses in all venues, apart I think, from the Pool Bar.

 

The included excursions on our Athens to Venice cruise were useful in places we had not visited before (Koper, Kotor, Zadar walking tours ) and also in Athens where we were taken to the Archeological Museum we had not visited before. We then used the ships shuttle to return at our convenience. In Santorini the included tour was a boat trip to Oia and a coach back to the main town where we spent more time at leisure. In Dubrovnik we did part of the walking tour, then again left and returned on the shuttle bus. In Katokolon the tour went to Olympia which we had not visited previously. In Corfu we used the included tour to go a viewpoint, then left the tour in Corfu Town.

On our next Viking cruise, because we have visited all ports on numerous occasions, then the included tours may not be of interest. Not sure yet as they havent all been posted.

 

It is possible to like several different cruise lines, We like Azamara, Viking and Star Clippers. I would not get back on one of the larger cruise ships.

[beachmudhut]

Agree with you Mrs Miggins, we have travelled on various cruise ships and have liked them all for different reasons.

 

We only participlated in a couple of included tours on VIking and they were very good. The two and a half hour walking tour of San Juan was brilliant.

 

I did wonder whether the wine glass issue was just Viking Star. We got into a conversation with quite a large group at San Juan airport and we were not the only ones to think it a bit weird not to have stemmed glasses.

[Spursgirl]

Glad to hear you are enjoying Viking. We were on Viking Star at Xmas in the Caribbean and the shows were much later and they had entertainment in the "nightclub" on a number of nights.

 

We agree - Azamara would be first choice for us, but it comes down to itinerary and price.

 

Just wanted to mention - in case you haven't discovered it - instead of going for the overcrowded tea in the Wintergarden, try going in the opposite direction to Mamsens in the Explorers lounge. At tea time the gateaux, hot waffles piled up with syrup and fruit and the open sandwiches are to die for! They will get you a cup of tea to go with it! Not many folk realised it was there.

 

And we were two people who didn't realise you could enjoy tea at Mamsens. Thanks to your post I went there today while my friend was shopping in town. You're right it was very good.

[Spursgirl]

I'm confused, most of you folks are raving about Azamara over Viking but Viking has free internet, no charge for speciality restaurants, spa appears to be free for the most part, free laundry service, free room service, pick up and drop off at airport if you use Viking for airlines. Viking also has included tours at every port. I don't know but Viking seems pretty good. They also have a newer fleet

 

Viking is a very good product and we are having a lovely cruise. I would certainly cruise with them again quite happily.

 

However Azamara remains my number one choice for many reasons but primarily for the ambience I have not found on any other cruise line. Think those who have sailed with Azamara will know what I mean. This is just my opinion but doesn't mean I can't enjoy other cruise brands too.

 

Re the free Internet, we are finding it very frustrating as it drops out so often. This is surprising considering we are in the Med

Edited January 13, 2017 by Spursgirl

[Lottie A]

I'm confused, most of you folks are raving about Azamara over Viking but Viking has free internet, no charge for speciality restaurants, spa appears to be free for the most part, free laundry service, free room service, pick up and drop off at airport if you use Viking for airlines. Viking also has included tours at every port. I don't know but Viking seems pretty good. They also have a newer fleet

 

As beachmudhut says,unless you have been on Azamara you cannot understand the special Azamara vibe....and it may not be important to you. It is important to us and despite Viking having newer ships and free internet, which incidentally keeps dropping the signal and is driving me mad, I still prefer Azamara. That's not to say I don't like Viking, or Silversea or Oceania because I do, but for different reasons. Azamara has free laundry at my loyalty level, free airport transfers and no, they don't do included tours but I don't use them anyway. We are independent travellers and like to do our own thing. I really do like Viking a lot ....but I LOVE Azamara. We are now thinking about cancelling our May Oceania cruise and booking Quest in April. :)

 

We haven't noticed about the wine glasses as we have the Silver Beverage package, but we will look around us tonight at The Chef's Table.

[AllisonJames]

Thank you for your review. We are going on the 12/28 Viking Star Mediterranean cruise with our young adult children after two Azamara Cruises as a couple, the value of Viking and the amenities was very appealing for the four of us and we are anxious to try the Viking Ocean experience. I am hoping that during the holidays the ship will be a bit more lively and there may be other young adults for our kids to meet.

[beachmudhut]

In the Caribbean on Viking Star the internet was faster than we get at home and didn't drop out at all.

 

I'm not sure about glasses in the Chef's Table. They do wine pairings and it may be they wouldn't have the nerve to serve it in a tumbler!! I was on meds at Xmas and couldn't drink but I did decide to have a few sips of wine at dinner on a few occasions. Mostly we dined on shared tables in the MDR and tumblers were always used. We had dinner in Chefs Table (the Chinese menu) but without the wine! I don't think our waiter had ever encountered that situation before! The meal was delicious.

 

Glad Spursgirl enjoyed tea at Mamsens.

 

We are joining Azamara in March for another Caribbean cruise.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[Lottie A]

Just to let people know that we did not depart Livorno for Civitavecchia as planned at 10 pm tonight. Guest Services say it was because the sea was rough after the high winds today. They say we will depart later in the day and assure me the ship is fully operational. I had to ring them, as no announcements have been made.

 

We will see what happens tomorrow!