Can Oceania survive Viking Ocean?

[Floridiana]

20 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

 

 

I've research the Viking 2021 WC extensively, since we're booked on the Regent one, and wanted to compare.

 

 

Wendy, This is very helpful. We will now look at the Regent itinerary.

[babysteps]

6 hours ago, Shawnino said:

Zero interest from me in paying for included bus tours as Viking requires.

 

There is a time and place for bus tours.

The time is never.

The place is left for the reader to discern.

 

I hear you.  Why pay for something you might not use (or wouldn't otherwise use, except you have already paid for it).

 

I do think "never" can be a dangerous word.  At a wine event in Bordeaux we once were on a full sized bus that took us to Chateau Margaux for a tour and tasting...wouldn't want to have missed that!  For cruises, we rarely (but not never) take ship's tours .

[RJB]

8 hours ago, Shawnino said:

Zero interest from me in paying for included bus tours as Viking requires.

 

There is a time and place for bus tours.

The time is never.

The place is left for the reader to discern.

We have never been on Viking so can not compare their tours.   Until a few years ago we only took private tours, but have now been taking some of the O Life tours from Oceania and have found most to be pretty good to very good. Was quite happy with most of them. Would have never thought it could happen.  Just have to carefully pick and choose.  Try it and you may like it. 

[RJB]

8 hours ago, Shawnino said:

Zero interest from me in paying for included bus tours as Viking requires.

 

There is a time and place for bus tours.

The time is never.

The place is left for the reader to discern.

We have never been on Viking so can not compare their tours.   Until a few years ago we only took private tours, but have now been taking some of the O Life tours from Oceania and have found most to be pretty good to very good. Was quite happy with most of them. Would have never thought it could happen.  Just have to carefully pick and choose.  Try it and you may like it. 

[Shawnino]

Let me spray the board here:

 

To Flatbush Flyer: Agreed. We do tours in 8-pax vehicles all the time.

 

To Babysteps: was there no other route to Chateau Margaux? As Painter Smurf might say, Sacrebleu-green!

 

To RJB: I hear what you're saying, but most of these ports are one-shot-deals, so how do you pick carefully? Even when you pick carefully, it can go pear-shaped.

I'll give you an example: On our last cruise through Civitavecchia (for Rome) there was an 'Insider Vatican' tour offered by O. Amazing. $900 pp, well beyond my budget alas, but other pax did sign up...only to have it cancelled two days before for lack of interest. It did look incredibly cool and for that kind of dough I'm not sure if you kiss the Pope's ring or if he kisses yours, but there was just tons of behind-the-scenes stuff planned. Too much, I guess, as they didn't get the required uptake. Max 8, apparently min >2. They ended up scrambling and found something they didn't end up pleased with. 

When we book privately, our tour always happens and we are satisfied 90-95% of the time. (As it happens that day in Civitavecchia was our Worst. Tour. Ever. Mamma mia, what a disaster...)

[RJB]

1 hour ago, Shawnino said:

Let me spray the board here:

 

To Flatbush Flyer: Agreed. We do tours in 8-pax vehicles all the time.

 

To Babysteps: was there no other route to Chateau Margaux? As Painter Smurf might say, Sacrebleu-green!

 

To RJB: I hear what you're saying, but most of these ports are one-shot-deals, so how do you pick carefully? Even when you pick carefully, it can go pear-shaped.

I'll give you an example: On our last cruise through Civitavecchia (for Rome) there was an 'Insider Vatican' tour offered by O. Amazing. $900 pp, well beyond my budget alas, but other pax did sign up...only to have it cancelled two days before for lack of interest. It did look incredibly cool and for that kind of dough I'm not sure if you kiss the Pope's ring or if he kisses yours, but there was just tons of behind-the-scenes stuff planned. Too much, I guess, as they didn't get the required uptake. Max 8, apparently min >2. They ended up scrambling and found something they didn't end up pleased with. 

When we book privately, our tour always happens and we are satisfied 90-95% of the time. (As it happens that day in Civitavecchia was our Worst. Tour. Ever. Mamma mia, what a disaster...)

We never had a O tour cancelled so that's good.   Even on a 14 day trip we only get 8 O Life tours.  4 each.  Plenty of ports to do our private tours.  That's what I meant about picking carefully. Some ports there are really some good one's, even a few with lunch included.  Just saying is has worked for us. 

[GeezerCouple]

5 minutes ago, RJB said:

We never had a O tour cancelled so that's good.   Even on a 14 day trip we only get 8 O Life tours.  4 each.  Plenty of ports to do our private tours.  That's what I meant about picking carefully. Some ports there are really some good one's, even a few with lunch included.  Just saying is has worked for us. 

 

This is what we'll be doing in a couple of months.  There is a 14 day cruise, with no sea days, and we have 8 total O excursions, which only covers 4 days.  There were a few that seemed interesting, and those were far more than the $100 the credit would have been.  That leaves us plenty of time/places to do our own thing, including taking it easy a few days.

And in one case, DH will be doing something I probably would have trouble keeping up with (and I've been there before anyway), so having a group of fellow passengers to join will work very well.

 

So this will give us a nice taste of what some of the O tours are like.

The only other times we've done ship tours is when they have the entire vendor/location locked up, so it is "ship or not at all".  That's only happened a few times.  On one of those (not O), the part we *really* wanted turned out to be first and it was really terrific!  Definitely worth it!  Then we told the "leader" that we were bailing out, and we grabbed a taxi and spent the rest of the day on our own.  Worked very well, although that strategy might not always work if we find ourselves where there are no taxis.

 

GC

[LHT28]

I guess with the "Free" excursions   they get enough participants  but when you have to pay  for some of the tours  then getting the minimum participants could  be an issue  especially at $900 PP

Back before O Life  we did have a ship's tour cancelled  for lack of interest ..

it happens

[RJB]

4 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I guess with the "Free" excursions   they get enough participants  but when you have to pay  for some of the tours  then getting the minimum participants could  be an issue  especially at $900 PP

Back before O Life  we did have a ship's tour cancelled  for lack of interest ..

it happens

Yup.  900 PP is pretty heavy for one tour so i can see why they did not get enough people. 

[babysteps]

2 hours ago, Shawnino said:

To Babysteps: was there no other route to Chateau Margaux? As Painter Smurf might say, Sacrebleu-green!

We were at a wine conference and one day the format was, "go to your assigned bus; destination will be revealed after you are onboard and underway". You can certainly visit Chateau Margaux independently (iirc you can even wander the pathways without a reservation-but you probably won't get into anything that way), but we probably wouldn't have gotten one of their winemakers for the entire tour & tasting if we had made arrangements on our own...  Plus a bus full of wine geeks is not really a draw-back in my book.

 

So technically this was an "included" tour lol.  If I were really opposed to being on a bus, I suppose I could have rented my own car & arranged ahead of time for one of my bus mates call me & share our destination, but I guess I don't hate buses quite that much 

Edited February 13, 2019 by babysteps

[cruzersky2]

On 2/12/2019 at 9:16 AM, Floridiana said:

We are considering a world cruise and looked at various lines among them Viking (never been on ) and Oceania (been on). I compared the two itineraries port by port and sea day by sea day. The itineraries are almost identical in most parts of the world, but Oceania had more ports and less sea days in a row on identical stretches.

 

With Oceania, I know I like the food, but the cabins and bathrooms are smaller than on Viking. Viking's early booking incentives run out at the end of February which is before the date that HAL comes out with their world cruise and grand voyage programs for 2021. Although I did not particularly like my shorter HAL cruises, our recent Grand Voyage was excellent. That's why they are back in the running. The food was decent. Their crew and service were outstanding and the best we have ever had - even compared to Hapag Lloyd.

 

Included tours on Viking: Is it true that they are bus tours of the type panorama tour with 2 or 3 photo stops?

 

 

 

I have been on 4 VRCs. The "panorama tours" are usually in the big cities to give you an overview. Most of the included tours are to the sites you want to see, with preferred access, for example, The Forbidden City & Great Wall in China; Monet's Gardens & Normandy in France; all the Pyramids, temples, tombs & museum in Egypt; The Catherine Palace, Kremlin, Ballet, Hermitage in Russia. I have taken a few optionals like the dawn hot-air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings, and Abu SImbal because I REALLY  wanted to do them. Well worth it! I like Viking for river cruising, but I'm considering O for Alaska, and Med. for 2020. I think VO is overpriced, but still comparing.

 

Edited February 16, 2019 by cruzersky2
sp

[cruzersky2]

On 2/13/2019 at 12:41 PM, babysteps said:

 

I hear you.  Why pay for something you might not use (or wouldn't otherwise use, except you have already paid for it).

 

I do think "never" can be a dangerous word.  At a wine event in Bordeaux we once were on a full sized bus that took us to Chateau Margaux for a tour and tasting...wouldn't want to have missed that!  For cruises, we rarely (but not never) take ship's tours .

The rivers don't go everywhere! The bus is required to get you there & THEN you get off and visit the destination.

 

[ORV]

I see Virgin is going to have a tattoo parlor onboard. That really makes me want to book with them.

 

Maybe Oceania should do this, I see more and more tattoos on O all the time. 

[GeezerCouple]

34 minutes ago, ORV said:

I see Virgin is going to have a tattoo parlor onboard. That really makes me want to book with them.

 

Maybe Oceania should do this, I see more and more tattoos on O all the time. 

 

Yes, noting the Tattoo Parlor on Virgin made us eager to book, instantly.  *NOT*

 

Clearly, they have a different clientele in mind.

And that is FINE, especially as they are giving clues that we are probably not their target, nor they ours...

 

Sort of reminds me of Japanese onsen ryokans (hot springs inns).

The public baths areas (not the private "in room" baths, where they exist) typically forbid any tattoos. 

One participates in these nude, so there are rather few places for "hidden tats"...

Apparently *some* such places now have coverings to be applied if one has tattoos and still wishes to partake of the baths.

 

Quite the opposite approach, eh?

 

GC

 

[Shawnino]

I have been scared off those hot springs inns.

A good friend went to one 20 years ago or so, making her about 25 at the time. 

Her body is/was fine by Western standards, but, without being unkind, I would say unremarkable. 5'3", size 6 or 8, B-cup.

So she walks into the pool area, disrobes, and a gaggle of naked Japanese women surround her and give her a right proper gawking for what was likely two minutes but felt like an hour. They chattered away and of course my friend speaks no Japanese.

She can only surmise that they had never seen a white woman nude before, and they they wanted to examine that she had the same number of knees and bellybuttons as Japanese have. (Never mind a tattoo, my friend does not even have a birthmark.)

 

In my own case, I've been denied the role of Quasimodo in our Community Theatre because I'm so deformed it'd be deemed unrealistic. 

So I'll be passing the hot springs in Japan.

  

[GeezerCouple]

1 minute ago, Shawnino said:

I have been scared off those hot springs inns.

A good friend went to one 20 years ago or so, making her about 25 at the time. 

Her body is/was fine by Western standards, but, without being unkind, I would say unremarkable. 5'3", size 6 or 8, B-cup.

So she walks into the pool area, disrobes, and a gaggle of naked Japanese women surround her and give her a right proper gawking for what was likely two minutes but felt like an hour. They chattered away and of course my friend speaks no Japanese.

She can only surmise that they had never seen a white woman nude before, and they they wanted to examine that she had the same number of knees and bellybuttons as Japanese have. (Never mind a tattoo, my friend does not even have a birthmark.)

 

In my own case, I've been denied the role of Quasimodo in our Community Theatre because I'm so deformed it'd be deemed unrealistic. 

So I'll be passing the hot springs in Japan.

  

We passed on the public bath areas of our Inn.

There was a wonderful and private large hot springs bath just for our room, on a private balcony overlooking a beautiful valley.

The main problem was that when we were there, it was quite warm, so a "hot springs bath" wasn't quite what we needed, certainly not for very long, unfortunately.  However, there was also a nice shower area, with nice cool water!

We'd love to go back when it is cooler, but, given that the bath area is on an outdoor balcony, I'm not sure about "winter".

Elsewhere, DH did go into a winter season resort outdoor hot tub and pool, dashing through some snow., along with some of the children and grands...

I watched from the inside pool area 

GC

[ano]

On 2/11/2019 at 2:16 PM, keithm said:

Not really sure Oceania is a "brand" of Norwegian. Most people heard of Norwegian "buying" Oceania/Regent. From what I read, it was the holding co. that owns Oceania/Regent(Apollo mgt.)That actually bought out Norwegian. I just hope they continue to keep them separate.

Hmmm you might not think Oceania is a "brand" of Norwegian, but they certainly say they are...

Our Company..

[StanandJim]

7 hours ago, ano said:

Hmmm you might not think Oceania is a "brand" of Norwegian, but they certainly say they are...

Our Company..

So what?  Cunard has been owned by Carnival for nearly a quarter century now, and excepting that they both sell boat rides, the cruising experience could not possibly be more different.

An early maritime mentor of mine explained this very succinctly.  In the early 20th century, three or four classes of people were all carried on a single ship and were happy to be divided so.  Think Titanic, as the White Star Line used to say-

In the modern era, each of those  "classes" imagines itself as unique and egalitarian, therefore each demands a vessel unto itself.   

 

[cbb]

 OK--totally hijacking the thread for a moment (sorry)...

 

will we as long time O cruisers be happy with a Viking Nile River Cruise?  Our TA, knowing us & knowing of our desire to cruise this river suggested Viking.  The itinerary, for us, is better than Uniworld's.  Thanks....

 

[StanandJim]

I'm glad that you referenced UniWorld, because otherwise I would have recommended them here.

The Viking staff can be rigid and snippy.  We are not fans

[Mura]

We didn't find Viking staff to be rigid and snippy but our last river boat cruise with them was in February 2012 and we decided not to go back.  The staff was fine, but they were stretched to the limit.  Five servers for 150 people at dinner is not adequate.  Our first river boat cruise with them was in October 2003 and we thought the staffing was much better than.  We definitely didn't have the interminable dinners in 2003 that we had in 2012, and sailings were full -- in fact, both were on the same river boat.

 

Mura

[4Lakes Lady]

We love Oceania. That being said, we did a Viking River Cruise last May. The cabins were adequate.  The food was fine- nothing special. Some of the staff were wonderful. The included tours were average but the optional tours were better and reasonably priced. For Egypt I think the itinerary is most important so I wouldn’t hesitate to choose Viking.

[keithm]

11 hours ago, ano said:

Hmmm you might not think Oceania is a "brand" of Norwegian, but they certainly say they are...

Our Company..

They were bought out by Apollo Mgt. which owned Oceania & Regent prior to buying the remainder of NCL that they did not own. They used to own a large part of NCL. They then bought the rest of the co. in 2017. Everything was then merged under NCL holdings. The divisions do remain separate, unlike what's been happening at Carnival. There is very little brand distinction between Princess/HAL/Costa/Aida/P & O. Cunard has some distinction at least in the Grills. Seabourn has gone down hill in a big way due to their offices being managed by HAL staff.

[frankdp]

Another advantage for the three names that make up the Norwegian is that they can and do share employees.  

[Paulchili]

40 minutes ago, frankdp said:

Another advantage for the three names that make up the Norwegian is that they can and do share employees.  

Maybe that's an advantage for the company and employees but not so much for the customers.