DV1 vs PV3

[the_dylaness]

Hello,

Considering our first Viking Ocean cruise.

Having a hard time deciding between DV1 and PV3.

The price difference for a 7 night cruise is $200 pp.

I know it's hard to define "worth it"...

But what would you do?

[Harley57]

If it were me, I would take the PV3 based on the additional space in the cabin.   We took our first Viking cruise in January.  Originally booked a DV5 and took a last minute up sell to a PV1 for $199 pp.   As I’m sure you know, all DV cabins are the same size (270 sqft) and all PV cabins are the same size (338 sqft) but location varies.  We tend to spend a fair amount of time in our cabin and on the balcony reading and relaxing so I appreciated the slightly larger cabin.   But only you know how much time you will spend in the cabin and if the extra money is worth it.  Good luck!

[Heidi13]

The PV are larger cabins and also get to book reservations earlier. However, we book cabins based on location, going for midships on the lowest deck that has cabins below.

 

Therefore, for us, neither DV1 or PV3 meet our criteria, as our preference is DV4 or DV2.

[the_dylaness]

We also usually spend a reasonable amount of time in our cabin.  (I'm always curious about but also a little envious of the people who book insides and say "I'm only in there to sleep and shower! What do I need a bigger room for!?" I could save SO much money if that was me.)

 

Is booking reservations earlier something I need to worry about?  We were turned off recently from booking a Regent cruise (this is our replacement) because it seemed like there was a mad rush to book the included shore excursions, and if you weren't in a high level room (out of our price range) or a frequent guest, you might be stuck with something like "Van Tour of Diamonds International and Local Public Restrooms"  🙂  I did not realize there was competition for shore excursion and restaurant reservations on Viking...

 

shore excursions NOT included as I understand, so just people anxious to book the paid ones? I think I might be missing something.

 

[newcruiser1956]

7 minutes ago, the_dylaness said:

The cabins on the sky were very comfortable and we spent a lot of time in ours.  I was not into the entertainment on the ship.  They have a ton of great movies available on the TV,  so after a day of excursions it was food, hot tub and movies in bed  or room service.  We only did the included excursions,  (we arrived in Rome a few days early so did all the pay stuff then)  the free ones were fine.  You saw a lot, they explained a lot and we had time for shopping while there.  In Valencia they gave us about 4 hours to stay and shop and had shuttles running back and forth to the ship every 30 minutes.  You don't have to spend lots of  money for paid excursions if you don't want to.    Viking is a class act, wish I could afford to go on them again.

 

 

[Haworth]

1 hour ago, the_dylaness said:

 you might be stuck with something like "Van Tour of Diamonds International and Local Public Restrooms"  🙂 

 

Love it

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

We also usually spend a reasonable amount of time in our cabin.  (I'm always curious about but also a little envious of the people who book insides and say "I'm only in there to sleep and shower! What do I need a bigger room for!?" I could save SO much money if that was me.)

 

Is booking reservations earlier something I need to worry about?  We were turned off recently from booking a Regent cruise (this is our replacement) because it seemed like there was a mad rush to book the included shore excursions, and if you weren't in a high level room (out of our price range) or a frequent guest, you might be stuck with something like "Van Tour of Diamonds International and Local Public Restrooms"  🙂  I did not realize there was competition for shore excursion and restaurant reservations on Viking...

 

shore excursions NOT included as I understand, so just people anxious to book the paid ones? I think I might be missing something.

 

 

There is just one included tour per port; on very rare occasions, there will be a choice of 2. Everyone is entitled to a spot on the included tour. There are multiple departure times for the tours and the competition is for the "best" time slots (and everyone defines "best" differently). In other words, you'll get a seat but it might not be at the time you prefer.

 

 

[SrCruizer]

20 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

The PV are larger cabins and also get to book reservations earlier. However, we book cabins based on location, going for midships on the lowest deck that has cabins below.

 

Therefore, for us, neither DV1 or PV3 meet our criteria, as our preference is DV4 or DV2.

 

Heidi13 - We totally agree with you!  We've now been on 2 Viking Ocean cruises - DV2 on 5th deck amidships and PV3 (more expensive) on 4th deck forward.  Although the PV was larger, it seemed to have a lot more movement (Room 4010) in the seas.  DV4's looked good as well, although they seemed to be quite popular (perhaps because similar to DV2 but less expensive).

[SrCruizer]

9 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

There is just one included tour per port; on very rare occasions, there will be a choice of 2. Everyone is entitled to a spot on the included tour. There are multiple departure times for the tours and the competition is for the "best" time slots (and everyone defines "best" differently). In other words, you'll get a seat but it might not be at the time you prefer.

 

 

 

I would agree with Peregrina651, in my limited experience.  Yes, the higher class rooms get first choice of the popular times (which seem to be usually the 1st and 2nd time slots), but we always found at least one time slot available.  Don't forget, a single time slot might be for many many buses (not just a single bus) or many walking tour guides.

 

As an aside, there were a couple included tours on our last cruise where we kept checking while onboard and a desirable time slot became available as people cancelled.  So don't give up.  My theory is that people rush to book things, and then as the cruise goes on they either get tired, realize they were overambitious, or decide they don't like getting going early.

There's always hope!   Sort of like getting dinner reservations at Chef's Table and Manfredi's.  Our best luck was while on the ship during the 2nd half of the cruise - again perhaps for the same reasons (got overly ambitious, found they didn't really like either Manfredi's or Chef's table or whatever).

We never ever felt "shut out".

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, SrCruizer said:

 

Heidi13 - We totally agree with you!  We've now been on 2 Viking Ocean cruises - DV2 on 5th deck amidships and PV3 (more expensive) on 4th deck forward.  Although the PV was larger, it seemed to have a lot more movement (Room 4010) in the seas.  DV4's looked good as well, although they seemed to be quite popular (perhaps because similar to DV2 but less expensive).

 

I want Deck 4 because it is equidistant to the dining venues! And honestly, Deck 3 over the restaurant, not forward of the atrium or near the tenders, isn't bad either.

[Capt_BJ]

PV gets free booze in the mini bar ... DV just gets soft drinks ....

[the_dylaness]

This is all so interesting and helpful!

 

We were almost set on a PV3 but now we are reconsidering.  If we do the PV 3 we will probably skip the spirits package- surely beer and wine at lunch and dinner, plus mini bar goodies, plus anything we care to bring abroad is enough for us... I'm just a sucker for "fancy" cocktails.  

 

Now some on this board are tempting me to choose a DV and save some money.  Argh!  

 

Good to have so many choices!

[moatenote]

For our first two Viking Ocean cruises, we booked DV1 or 2 cabins, but we decided to splurge a wee bit on a PV3 for our third cruise and were very glad we did!  The additional space was very nice  and the closet was in the hall across from the bathroom instead of by the bed (which was a big problem when both of us needed to get stuff out of it).  All three of these were on Deck 5, which we like.  We don't mind walking anywhere on ship and don't consider that when choosing cabin location.  As far as booking tours, we didn't have problems getting what we wanted with either DV or PV  (of course, OCD me got up at 3:00 am Eastern time to make the reservations/pay for optionals)

[the_dylaness]

We have re-decided.

 

We will go with a midship DV4 (as recommended by so many on this board!)  We almost chose a DV6 but were concerned about proximity to atrium near the preferred aft stairwell and about goings on below our cabin in public spaces.

 

We will save about $800 choosing this room instead. We'll add the silver spirit package and still come out several hundred ahead.  We realized we cared a little more about the ability to go to the bar, order drinks, socialize, dance, etc. than the availability of it in a mini bar.  I don't know if it will come out ahead financially but it's not uncommon for us to have a couple of cocktails and even if we don't quite "break even" I think I just like the convenience factor.  We enjoy the "tabless" experiences we have had on Crystal, Seabourn, and SS, and this will make our Viking cruise that much more luxurious in our eyes.

 

Thanks to everyone for the great advice!

Edited March 13, 2019 by the_dylaness
grammar- pre caffeine!

[CCWineLover]

4 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

We have re-decided.

 

We will go with a midship DV4 (as recommended by so many on this board!)  We almost chose a DV6 but were concerned about proximity to atrium near the preferred aft stairwell and about goings on below our cabin in public spaces.

 

We will save about $800 choosing this room instead. We'll add the silver spirit package and still come out several hundred ahead.  We realized we cared a little more about the ability to go to the bar, order drinks, socialize, dance, etc. than the availability of it in a mini bar.  I don't know if it will come out ahead financially but it's not uncommon for us to have a couple of cocktails and even if we don't quite "break even" I think I just like the convenience factor.  We enjoy the "tabless" experiences we have had on Crystal, Seabourn, and SS, and this will make our Viking cruise that much more luxurious in our eyes.

 

Thanks to everyone for the great advice!

 

Excellent decision!   That's what we enjoy about Viking - there are many choices for everyone's different interests.

[Heidi13]

12 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

We have re-decided.

 

We will go with a midship DV4 (as recommended by so many on this board!)  We almost chose a DV6 but were concerned about proximity to atrium near the preferred aft stairwell and about goings on below our cabin in public spaces.

 

We will save about $800 choosing this room instead. We'll add the silver spirit package and still come out several hundred ahead.  We realized we cared a little more about the ability to go to the bar, order drinks, socialize, dance, etc. than the availability of it in a mini bar.  I don't know if it will come out ahead financially but it's not uncommon for us to have a couple of cocktails and even if we don't quite "break even" I think I just like the convenience factor.  We enjoy the "tabless" experiences we have had on Crystal, Seabourn, and SS, and this will make our Viking cruise that much more luxurious in our eyes.

 

Thanks to everyone for the great advice!

Congratulations, excellent decision.

[terrydtx]

We are booked on the Venice to Athens cruise on the Viking Sea next year. When we booked all of the DV cabins were sold out so it made our decision easy, a PV was our choice. The PV3 was also sold out so went for the PV1 which was only $100pp more than the PV2. This is also our first VO cruise.

[CCWineLover]

10 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We are booked on the Venice to Athens cruise on the Viking Sea next year. When we booked all of the DV cabins were sold out so it made our decision easy, a PV was our choice. The PV3 was also sold out so went for the PV1 which was only $100pp more than the PV2. This is also our first VO cruise.

 

You'll enjoy the PV1 for your first VO Cruise! 

Interesting, we've found that the PV3's often seem to book up quite quickly, compared to the other rooms.  There are not as many of them but they are popular - ever though they are forward in the ship.   Am surprised all the DV cabins were sold out - there are 90 something DV2's and probably as many DV4's.    Just got off the Viking SEA on a PV3 - loved the ship and the captain/staff as well. 

[zitsky]

I am on my first Viking Ocean cruise in September.  I picked a DV2 but sometimes I wish I had picked PV instead.  I like the PV layout more.  But I really like being in the middle of the deck in a DV cabin.  All I have to compare it to was a recent NCL cruise where we were on a middle deck and a middle cabin. We felt some motion but not much.  I'm not sure I would like a PV cabin on Viking, maybe too much motion?

[Vineyard View]

We were in PV3 for 29 days. They are deck 4 so maybe that minimizes some of the movement. We were feeling the ocean pretty good out of Gibraltar and in the North Sea, but everyone on entire ship did. We are once again booked in PV3 because we really like the extra room as well storage space. 

I think that it’s hard to go wrong in cabins on Viking. We would happily take a DV  as long as we get to go! 

[deec]

vineyard view,

great to "see" you on the boards again.  What have you booked?

[Vineyard View]

Good morning Dee!  Good to ‘see’ you again as well! 

We are taking the NYC-San Juan trip in October. We are looking forward to this one. Some of the Caribbean islands were the same as those were for the Amazon trip we were supposed to be on. Should be a pretty relaxing itinerary!  Will feel GREAT to be back on Viking again. 

We are taking a Road trip to Sedona next week for a week. Decided to keep it fairly easy on the travels this year after all that occurred in 2018. Hoping to go international again in 2020. 

Hope you and yours are doing well. I think you are on Rivers 

later this year?

Edited April 1, 2019 by Vineyard View