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Will we like Viking, if Seabourn and Crystal are our preferred Lines?


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I may be wrong, but the question of  not dressing up, especially on formal nights ( why called 'gala' if not to play down the term 'formal') would not even be considered on a "luxury" cruise line. We will continue to dress up on these formal nights if only to pay homage to those bygone days. I am finding it harder and harder each year to fit into my tux, so please excuse  my over-extended stomach and my unbuttoned jacket when you see me. We were on the RCL Allure this summer and on formal night we saw this couple our age sitting at one of the venues. He in his dapper tuxedo and she in her lovely gown, we passed by them. I stopped my wife and said I must go back and tell him he looked so dashing sitting there in his formal wear that I felt I was rubbing elbows with James Bond. Though I would never go so far as to iron  or have my shoe laces ironed, which I read recently of the "Royals".( I do not remember  if Veblen  ever wrote of ironing shoe laces in his "Theory of the Leisure Class".)  As much as I love Geoffrey Hughes portrayal of "Onslow" in "Keeping Up Appearances" and live with that everyday, the opportunity on one or two nights to fantasize my being in the presence and dressed up like other like minded dreamers is a thrill." Que es la vida?" Calderon de la Ba

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  • Teacher42
  • July 13
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We love to hear those fortunate ones that have never met a cruise they did not like. Your so lucky. We experienced a time aboard the Regent Sea some years ago, when a fire broke out aboard ship. The ship stopped dead in its tracks. Crew were racing down to the pool to fill buckets of water and race back to the fire.  No electricity, no air conditioning, panic began to set in amongst the passengers. Passengers were fighting over lounge chairs to sleep out on deck.  The ship set out an SOS and the passengers quieted down when they saw a freighter come to our rescue.  Word passed around to be prepared to abandon ship if necessary. The freighter stayed along side us until the ship was able to get things under control and power was restored. The freighter's leaving was then a reassuring sign to all of us. To this day I always carry a small flash light to find our way to and from our cabin.Also we learned to always count the number of steps from our cabin to the nearest exit. Do not count on the emergency lighting to work. This incident changed my opinion of my fellow man, I became the misanthrope I now claim to be. No women and children first with this group, just every man for himself. It was one of the most unpalatable experiences of our lives. The cruise line gave everyone a voucher for a free weeks cruise any time in the future. The following day the injured crew member, all bandage up from his burns was introduced and given a standing ovation at the pool deck for saving the ship.

 
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Had an electrical fire on the floor right below our cabin.  We were on bottom passenger floor.  Wife reported it.  Ship alarm, etc.  Fortunately, it was readily controlled and the cruise continued on.  Next day while we were on excursions they washed our carpets and had huge fans evacuate the cabin air.  Room was perfect getting ready for dinner.  Thankful.

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18 hours ago, Teacher42 said:

I may be wrong, but the question of  not dressing up, especially on formal nights ( why called 'gala' if not to play down the term 'formal') would not even be considered on a "luxury" cruise line. We will continue to dress up on these formal nights if only to pay homage to those bygone days. I am finding it harder and harder each year to fit into my tux, so please excuse  my over-extended stomach and my unbuttoned jacket when you see me. We were on the RCL Allure this summer and on formal night we saw this couple our age sitting at one of the venues. He in his dapper tuxedo and she in her lovely gown, we passed by them. I stopped my wife and said I must go back and tell him he looked so dashing sitting there in his formal wear that I felt I was rubbing elbows with James Bond. Though I would never go so far as to iron  or have my shoe laces ironed, which I read recently of the "Royals".( I do not remember  if Veblen  ever wrote of ironing shoe laces in his "Theory of the Leisure Class".)  As much as I love Geoffrey Hughes portrayal of "Onslow" in "Keeping Up Appearances" and live with that everyday, the opportunity on one or two nights to fantasize my being in the presence and dressed up like other like minded dreamers is a thrill." Que es la vida?" Calderon de la Ba

i was interested to see if you are from the UK bearing in mind the mention of Keeping up Appearances. Didn't find out but saw this exact post on the MSC board.  

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Mrs M, We live in south Florida within an hour drive from both main cruise ports. We no longer desire to fly to Hong Kong, Singapore or Australia to pick up a cruise ship. We get dropped off at the port and return to the same port..home sweet home in a hour. I copy and pasted  both these last posts I made on different boards . They seemed apropos. I am new at this and it was my very first attempt at copy and pasting anything. We posted our reviews on June RCL Allure OS suite to our July Celebrity Equinox S1 aft suite. Presently we plan to review our MSC RS suite on the Divina. We booked NCL Breakaway H6 aft,Celebrity Equinox CS suite, and Celebrity Edge S1 with a 165sq ft balcony, and RCL Symphony GS. As you can see we are not loyal to any one line or ship...yet.  We heard from a friend that traveled on Viking Ocean and liked it so we thought we would read from you CC fellow travelers your impressions. Yes we love  "Are You Being Served" and miss "Benny Hill".

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On 12/14/2018 at 3:25 PM, Teacher42 said:
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  • Teacher42
  • July 13
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  • 79 posts

We love to hear those fortunate ones that have never met a cruise they did not like. Your so lucky. We experienced a time aboard the Regent Sea some years ago, when a fire broke out aboard ship. The ship stopped dead in its tracks. Crew were racing down to the pool to fill buckets of water and race back to the fire.  No electricity, no air conditioning, panic began to set in amongst the passengers. Passengers were fighting over lounge chairs to sleep out on deck.  The ship set out an SOS and the passengers quieted down when they saw a freighter come to our rescue.  Word passed around to be prepared to abandon ship if necessary. The freighter stayed along side us until the ship was able to get things under control and power was restored. The freighter's leaving was then a reassuring sign to all of us. To this day I always carry a small flash light to find our way to and from our cabin.Also we learned to always count the number of steps from our cabin to the nearest exit. Do not count on the emergency lighting to work. This incident changed my opinion of my fellow man, I became the misanthrope I now claim to be. No women and children first with this group, just every man for himself. It was one of the most unpalatable experiences of our lives. The cruise line gave everyone a voucher for a free weeks cruise any time in the future. The following day the injured crew member, all bandage up from his burns was introduced and given a standing ovation at the pool deck for saving the ship.

 
  • As a somewhat regular Regent cruiser, I don't recall hearing about this incident. Was this RSSC or a  ship from another company named "the regent sea" and could you elaborate? I most certainly find the free future cruise angle interesting.

 

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On 12/7/2018 at 3:51 PM, Mrs Miggins said:

 

<Just back from a Scenic River Cruise - bit of a disaster - some not their fault because of low water levels, but it was their recovery from the situation which was poor.  Viking River did much better according to friends onboard at the same time.

However we will give Scenic another try next year to visit the Bordeaux region.>

 

We did Scenic to Bordeaux and it was a disappointment overall.  Other than the excellent wines in the region, the ports were unattractive, with the exception of Bordeaux itself.  We spent several days there on two occasions and love the city.

Food, service and entertainment were all a big miss on Scenic and we much prefer AMA and Uniworld and would not cruise with Scenic again.  We have done 18 river cruises and Scenic is at the bottom our list and this itinerary our least favorite by far.

 

 

 

Edited by caviargal
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Dear Fiz, The cruise line was called Regency Cruises, the Sun , the Star and the Sea in 1988. We were three couples at the time and we joked that the following year when we would use the voucher for our free cruise we would likely be the only 6 cruisers at the repeaters party, being held in a vacant elevator with a bottle of warm  'Cold Duck' and 6 straws. "Those were the days". In 1992 we experienced a great cruise on French Pacquet's Ocean Pearl 14 day China from Beijing to Hong Kong.  Just days before the trip ended, while the passengers were on tour, the ship had a  fire while refueling and the Chinese refuelers put the fire out with sea water, damaging the ships engines. Logistics were such that Pacquet in their wisdom decided to finish the cruise by air. We were flown to Tsingtao, our Chinese hosts evicted a new hotel , The Haitian Hotel, pronounced High Tee N, of all its Chinese guests. We were given a rare tour of the famous brewery with all you can drink at the end of the tour. Next day we were all flown to Shanghai , tours , hotel and after dinner entertainment. Following day we were flown to Hong Kong one day before our scheduled flights back home. We were told to all line up in the hotel outside a conference room to be greeted by Pacquet's American VP, who apologized to each of us and had handed each of us a waiting check for all our money back and a refund included to all those who made any purchases on board and those were told to keep all their purchases, including an envelope entitling each of us 2  half price future vouchers.

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On 12/16/2018 at 11:52 AM, Teacher42 said:

Dear Fiz, The cruise line was called Regency Cruises, the Sun , the Star and the Sea in 1988. W...

 

Thanks for clearing that up.  Didn't think it was Regent Seven Seas, or Radisson SS, as it was.  In fact, RSSC didn't even exist in 1988, I think.

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On 12/21/2018 at 11:09 AM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Thanks for clearing that up.  Didn't think it was Regent Seven Seas, or Radisson SS, as it was.  In fact, RSSC didn't even exist in 1988, I think.

Affirmative, they started as Radisson Seven Seas Cruises in the early 90's

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We are booked on VO in Feb. and Crystal in April, our first time on both.  If the experience so far is any indication of the onboard experience, this will be a one and done with VO.

 

Pricing was fairly comparable and so far the experience pre-cruise has been very different.  VO has been annoying and frustrating to deal with.  They made multiple mistakes with flights; misinformation from call center that was totally inconsistent no matter who we spoke with; no excursions available on the days we want them within hours of them being opened.

Crystal has been far more professional and accommodating.

 

Our last ocean cruise was with Ponant and Oceania previous to that.   We preferred Oceania to Ponant, even though Ponant is considered luxury and Oceania Premium/Upper Premium. 

 

We have been more focused on river cruising than ocean, as we enjoy the personalized service and small ship experience.  On the river, AMA and Uniworld are our favorites of the 6 lines we have cruised with, 18 overall river cruises.

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  • 9 months later...
On 2/10/2018 at 10:53 AM, Travelingnonni99 said:
Haworth said:
I posted previously about baseball caps in the speciality restaurants and that caused some debate, I have to add that a couple of men were also dressed for working in the garden/washing the car, it would not normally bother me but they did stick out like sore thumbs.

On our Viking trip we saw tight short shorts and blur jeans in the MDR during dinner. I will add that Crystal has gone to open dinning and as more specialty restaurants. We are are taking our first Seaborne this summer so I can't compare with Viking. I do not like the Viking system of allowing some cabins to book restaurants and tours before others. On our Viking cruise last Fall we had to get up and make our reservations at 12:00am, in order to get what we wanted, my sister in-law over slept and did not get her first choices. We have not even made our final payment but we have all our ships tours and restaurant reservations done. We also tour on our own but, sometimes like to take a ships tour.

For sure, life is completely ruined if one doesn’t get one’s first choice. 

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We have been on RSSC ( all their ships), Seabourn  and HAL for ocean cruises and Uniworld and Tauck for river cruises. When our son was young we went on NCL and RCCL. We really love Regent and Seabourn was also nice ( love the caviar). We are cruising with friends in Jan on the Viking Jupiter . I really like the looks of the ship. However, I find the cost Is certainly no bargain when compared to Regent once the room is upgraded to Penthouse Veranda ( equal to the lowest category in Regent and Seabourn) and purchase the drink package, part of the fair in both Regent and Seabourn. The air fare was certainly no bargain and higher than I could have booked on my own.  This may be because Regent includes Business tickets in the fare and many Seabourn clients book Business class tickets so the the volume allows for lower prices. I no longer book flights as if there is a problem you’re on your own and we really can’t deal with traveling coach internationally. Additionally, our TA reports that dealing with Viking has been a problem. Regent and Seabourn are apparently much more accommodating to deal with. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/14/2018 at 5:25 PM, Teacher42 said:

We experienced a time aboard the Regent Sea some years ago, when a fire broke out aboard ship. The ship stopped dead in its tracks. Crew were racing down to the pool to fill buckets of water and race back to the fire.  No electricity, no air conditioning, panic began to set in amongst the passengers. Passengers were fighting over lounge chairs to sleep out on deck.  [...]

 

What caused the fire? 

 

I am more fire paranoid than the average person.I travel with 2 portable smoke hoods, 1 in airplane carry-on, 1 in suitcase.  If lucky it would give me 5 extra minutes in smoke before passing out.

Edited by SempreMare
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On 12/14/2018 at 9:38 PM, Mrs Miggins said:

I think the last post must be a joke.  There were none of the things listed at the end of this post on our past Viking cruises and we are expecting a lovely cruise on a beautiful ship with some great, well travelled,  fellow guests over New Year. 

 

 

Each to their own, but I would not wish to be on a mega ship, no matter what cabin or suite I slept in.  I have been on RCCL, Princess, Celebrity etc. when we travelled with children, but would not go back to them now. We have always enjoyed our cruises, but now find we need a little more sophistication.  

 

On reflection I guess the post was just to stimulate a reaction and yes I fell for it.

Well said, Mrs Miggins - no doubt you have more than a cunning plan!  Keep up the pie shop.  

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On 2/11/2018 at 7:51 AM, Cyber Kat said:

CyberKat:

Thank you for your sensitivity. 

 

I have never seen a passenger on Viking or any other cruise line for that matter dressed like someone in a “homeless shelter.” That insult was painted with a very broad brush and actually used in more than one thread. It was mean and rude. I will keep my umbrage, thank you.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

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On 9/23/2019 at 1:24 PM, Tommy Glynn said:

For sure, life is completely ruined if one doesn’t get one’s first choice. 

 

@Tommy Glynn,   Whose reply do you think is more helpful to someone like me new to Viking? 

 

1) @Travelingnonni99's description of her experience which could help set my expectations on a Viking cruise around booking excursions?  Her first hand experience compared to other cruise lines? 

 

2) Your put down? 

 

Could you demonstrate your reading comprehension and quote what made you believe @Travelingnonni99 implied that her life was completely ruined or at significantly impacted in any way? 

 

What made you feel the need to reply with such sarcasm? 

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3 hours ago, SempreMare said:

 

@Tommy Glynn,   Whose reply do you think is more helpful to someone like me new to Viking? 

 

1) @Travelingnonni99's description of her experience which could help set my expectations on a Viking cruise around booking excursions?  Her first hand experience compared to other cruise lines? 

 

2) Your put down? 

 

Could you demonstrate your reading comprehension and quote what made you believe @Travelingnonni99 implied that her life was completely ruined or at significantly impacted in any way? 

 

What made you feel the need to reply with such sarcasm? 

 

Well said!!

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On 2/3/2018 at 9:43 PM, Fpacifico said:

Any drink under 15, then you get discount over 25. Lol, cosmo and margarita are included. When you first get on board, you show room card. But they learn very quickly who has the package

Any drink under $15...except Champagne. On my first trip with Viking, I had a couple glasses of Champagne that were $14 each and they were not included as part of the Silver Spirits Package.

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