UK Only Viking Venus Cruise

[Australia08]

Thanks, PColmer for your wonderful post.  Would love to hear additional feedback on the actual Welcome Back cruise experience.  Is anyone sailing right now who could chime in?

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, pcolmer said:

 

I've put together the following but I would want to emphasise that my wife & I were first-time Viking cruisers so don't have any previous Viking experience to compare against, and this was Viking's first cruise with their COVID protocols in place so the experience of subsequent cruisers is likely to be different as the protocols get eased.

 

COVID Protocols
There were several layers to testing and keeping everyone safe:

• Social distancing. Where necessary, some chairs/seats were marked with a "do not sit" sign. There was additional signage to show that certain seats could only be used by passengers from the same stateroom. Elevators and pools were capacity-restricted. Seating in excursion buses and coaches was also socially distanced.
• Masks in public areas, only to be removed if eating/drinking. Passengers were really good at complying with this, often being embarrassed or apologising if (for example) they went up to the buffet and had forgotten to put their mask back on.
• Temperature checks. Facial-recognition & temperature-checking camera systems at the World Cafe, the Restaurant and Guest Services. My wife & I did not need to remove our masks but some passengers did in order for the facial recognition to work.
• Sanitising. In addition to soap & water at the World Cafe, there were automated sanitisers ALL OVER THE PLACE! These were *really good* systems as well, dispensing a short burst of spray rather than sanitiser liquid which can often be hard to dry on your hands.
• PCR tests. OK, possibly the worst aspect in terms of generating 2ml of saliva each morning but it was in the comfort and privacy of your own stateroom and I would much rather go through this than be on a cruise ship that wasn't testing and therefore run the risk of the virus spreading.

It was made clear that the rules are likely to change over time. Certainly, on the last night in the Star Theatre, they did reduce the amount of social distancing (i.e. more seats could be used) but it wasn't entirely clear to me if that was going to be permanent for the next cruise or just because we were leaving the ship the next morning. It would be interesting to hear from subsequent cruisers to see if anything else has changed.

 

Entertainment & Enrichment
There wasn't a lot of non-enrichment going on - two movies, one trivia quiz. Everything else was lectures and port talks. I hope that this mix is adjusted on future cruises as, for me, the lecture topics didn't really appeal. We loved the three musical shows and Sofia (the piano player) is outstanding.

 

The stateroom TV has a wide selection of movies and some interesting music on demand. There was a lot of pre-recorded Viking material plus recordings of lectures/talks that took place during the cruise. Live TV was about 50% news channels and the rest was a mix of content but, without an EPG of any sort, it was almost impossible to find something of interest to watch. I realise that the simplicity of the remote control is something that the Chairman has pushed for but I'd love to see the capability/flexibility of connecting your own laptop/table to the TV for watching your own content.

 

Internet access was really good. It is made clear up front that it is not to be used for streaming but everything else I used it for worked absolutely fine. The fact that it is free to crew and guests alike is a big gold star for Viking.

 

Food
The quality of the food was great to excellent. The temperature of the food was excellent and side dishes like the steamed vegetables were cooked perfectly. Menu choices were varied and we rarely chose one of the "always available" menu items. What was an absolute bonus was chatting to the staff in the World Cafe about the room service menu and being told that we could order items from that and eat them in the Cafe. The room service menu has some *really* nice items - I can definitely recommend the apple pie!

 

The afternoon tea is a delightful experience and you can have coffee if you don't like tea 🙂

 

It was really nice being able to take a glass of wine away from the meal to finish at your own pace elsewhere, e.g. in the Star Theatre.

 

Staff/crew
I am blown away by the staff & crew of the Viking Venus. They are all happy (particularly the captain!) and eager to talk to you. Many ask your name and then remember you next time they see you, and the next time, and the next ... 🙂. Some, like Putu (who some may know from other cruises), go above and beyond by recommending custom options - Putu particularly loved coming up with ice cream combos 🙂

 

Excursions
Often the trickiest part to evaluate a cruise for because they are not operated by the cruise company itself. That said, they are *picked* by the cruise company so I do hold them somewhat responsible.

As first-time Viking cruisers, we wanted to try both included and optional excursions. We'd already been to Liverpool so picked the included excursion which was a coach ride around parts of Liverpool but it was really let down by the commentary. Our guide said at least 3 times that he was rusty because he hadn't done this for so long. The route picked was all over the place, again with commentary about how it was disrupted by roadworks. I couldn't help but feel that some homework should have been done to be less rusty and plan the route in advance.

 

For the remaining ports, we picked optional walking tours. Of the two we did (because the Isles of Scilly was skipped), we enjoyed the Lizard the best for the scenery and the commentary. The Jurassic excursion was, we felt, paced too quickly, leaving us with almost no opportunity to actually take in the scenery or stop for photos. To cap it off, we had time to ourselves at the end, with the guide recommending we went to the pub ... which didn't really feel like that was within the Viking excursion rules but hey ho!

 

I was a bit disappointed with the pricing of the optional excursions. $99 for a walking tour per person seemed quite high.

 

The Ship
Venus is, to a large degree, identical to her sister ships so there probably isn't a lot of comparison to make here. All I would say, as a first-time Viking cruiser, is that the atmosphere was calm and quiet. There were so many times when we'd be walking around and see absolutely nobody. It does leave me with a niggling concern as to what a full ship will feel like - do the pool areas get crammed? Does the spa pool area get too busy? I hope we find out next year 🙂
 

 

Thanks for the great summary of your cruise.

 

Even with a full ship, we rarely saw more than 1/2 dozen in any of the pools at one time. Probably the busiest I saw the main pool is the end of the WC when we only had 8 pax and we shared the pool with the crew. Spent a brilliant afternoon with about a dozen of the crew.

 

Never had any difficulty finding a lounger available at any of the pools. In the spa, don't recall ever seeing more than 4 other pax any time I visited.

 

With respect to the name "Putu". On Viking Sun we had a number of the Indonesian crew, especially those from Bali, with the name Putu, which they explained is often given to the first born.

[CCWineLover]

2 hours ago, pcolmer said:

 

I've put together the following but I would want to emphasise that my wife & I were first-time Viking cruisers so don't have any previous Viking experience to compare against, and this was Viking's first cruise with their COVID protocols in place so the experience of subsequent cruisers is likely to be different as the protocols get eased.

 

 

Thank you so much, pcolmer, for taking the time with your excellent review.  You are a very good writer, that is apparent.  Really appreciated.

 

We have done 4 Viking Ocean cruises so far and thoroughly have enjoyed them.  3 were port-intensive and 1 not so.   I have never seen any men wear dinner jackets in the evening, but have seen ties on occasion.  As for the pools and spas being empty, perhaps it depends on the itinerary or the clientel.  We observed them fairly empty on all cruises except our Caribbean cruise, when the pool and lounge area seem quite crowded most of the time with sunbathers and pool-users, as well as the spa.

Glad to hear as well that the food is still so good! 

IMHO, Viking is still top notch!

[FoggyEthan]

4 hours ago, pcolmer said:

 

I've put together the following but I would want to emphasise that my wife & I were first-time Viking cruisers so don't have any previous Viking experience to compare against, and this was Viking's first cruise with their COVID protocols in place so the experience of subsequent cruisers is likely to be different as the protocols get eased.

 

One thing I've been wondering: have the social distancing rules made it harder to meet other people on the cruise? Is there any sharing of tables at mealtimes? Can you sit near each other in lounges?

 

Thanks!!

-- Ethan

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

4 hours ago, Australia08 said:

Thanks, PColmer for your wonderful post.  Would love to hear additional feedback on the actual Welcome Back cruise experience.  Is anyone sailing right now who could chime in? 

Iceland welcome back cruising starts the end of June; don't know about Bermuda and the Med cruises. 

[bafinegan]

32 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Iceland welcome back cruising starts the end of June; don't know about Bermuda and the Med cruises. 

The first Bermuda cruise is June 15

[Hockeyump]

8 hours ago, arlowood said:

If you have access to Facebook there is a users group called "We Love Viking Cruises (UK)" where several passengers on the first cruise have reported what procedures were in place and also their impressions of the ship, food and the various excursions

This group is only available to UK residents.

[Azulann]

Good to see the first sailing of a Viking ship with passengers was uneventful with no COVID outbreak. Their protocol is working  in these first cruises. 

[TayanaLorna]

1 hour ago, Azulann said:

Good to see the first sailing of a Viking ship with passengers was uneventful with no COVID outbreak. Their protocol is working  in these first cruises. 

Saw Iceland's 7 day average of new Covid 19 cases is zero!

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Hi. I'm not on one of the U.K. cruises, and not a Brit. But I jumped on here to thank say thanks to the person who posted about how things are going with the Covid protocols on Viking.

I also wanted to say hi to Neil. Neil, you may not remember me, but you and your spouse shared a short tour in Kotor with my husband Howard and me. We went out to the little island.

I'm jealous you're going to Portsmouth. We were there on an Oceania cruise and found the beach area charming. And Portland Bill lighthouse is beautiful. I took a public bus there. Portsmouth port area is a bit weird, though...very restrictive because it's a military port area or something like that.  Anyway, enjoy your cruise.  We'll be going to Iceland in August, and Covid restrictions or not, I'm thrilled to be cruising again. And after a year of Covid and 4 years before that of a crazy mess in the DC area, we are really, really ready for a nice vacation.

Ruth

[NeilP57]

2 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

I also wanted to say hi to Neil. Neil, you may not remember me, but you and your spouse shared a short tour in Kotor with my husband Howard and me. We went out to the little island.

Hi Ruth, of course myself and Jeanette remember you both and our enjoyable private tour of Kotor back during that first season of the Viking  Star. (Oh for the days private tours) 
 

Interestingly, we decided against doing the UK cruise due to the restrictions on shore excursions but have chosen to do the Iceland cruise in early August and accept the same restrictions.  
 

From a UK Cruise perspective we decided instead of doing the cruise we would have a week on the Isles of Scilly instead and today is the day that the Viking Venus comes to the Islands.  
 

On the first cruise last week they were unable to run the tenders ashore due to high winds/seas but today the weather looks a lot better from where we are staying so hopefully everybody will be able to get off. We visited Tresco a couple of days ago and the beaches and the gardens (the included tour) were absolutely stunning. 
 

We have decided to avoid any flag waving Viking guides and ear plug wearing cruisers and are heading off to Bryher today which is one of the quieter islands. 
 

For those doing the St Mary’s trip, the walk past the Star Castle (where we are currently staying) around the headland they call The Garrison is also very beautiful. 
 

And finally Ruth, I know how you love your lighthouses, so you would love the Isles of Scilly. They are such dangerous islands for shipping that they are everywhere. Also just a few miles off shore is the famous  Bishop's Rock lighthouse. You may find this link interesting. 
https://www.visitislesofscilly.com/experience/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/lighthouses

 

Thanks for reaching out.

 

[kittycrews]

19 June sailing can sign up for embarcation on MVJ.

[jenna37]

1 hour ago, kittycrews said:

19 June sailing can sign up for embarcation on MVJ.

I have just had a quick look and cannot find an embarkation radial button. On which tab is is please?

[tabatha1]

18 minutes ago, jenna37 said:

I have just had a quick look and cannot find an embarkation radial button. On which tab is is please?

It’s under excursions -Portsmouth. Also 26 June booking slots available. 

[jenna37]

45 minutes ago, tabatha1 said:

It’s under excursions -Portsmouth. Also 26 June booking slots available. 

Thanks found it . Jeff

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

7 hours ago, NeilP57 said:

Hi Ruth, of course myself and Jeanette remember you both and our enjoyable private tour of Kotor back during that first season of the Viking  Star. (Oh for the days private tours) 
 

Interestingly, we decided against doing the UK cruise due to the restrictions on shore excursions but have chosen to do the Iceland cruise in early August and accept the same restrictions.  
 

From a UK Cruise perspective we decided instead of doing the cruise we would have a week on the Isles of Scilly instead and today is the day that the Viking Venus comes to the Islands.  
 

On the first cruise last week they were unable to run the tenders ashore due to high winds/seas but today the weather looks a lot better from where we are staying so hopefully everybody will be able to get off. We visited Tresco a couple of days ago and the beaches and the gardens (the included tour) were absolutely stunning. 
 

We have decided to avoid any flag waving Viking guides and ear plug wearing cruisers and are heading off to Bryher today which is one of the quieter islands. 
 

For those doing the St Mary’s trip, the walk past the Star Castle (where we are currently staying) around the headland they call The Garrison is also very beautiful. 
 

And finally Ruth, I know how you love your lighthouses, so you would love the Isles of Scilly. They are such dangerous islands for shipping that they are everywhere. Also just a few miles off shore is the famous  Bishop's Rock lighthouse. You may find this link interesting. 
https://www.visitislesofscilly.com/experience/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/lighthouses

 

Thanks for reaching out.

 

Wow.  Now I want to go to the Isles of Scilly. But I still have a long list of places I want to go, so likely won't get there.  Oh well, I can't complain.  I've been a lot of wonderful places, and seen over 500 lighthouses too.  You and Jeanette enjoy the Isles!

 

Ignore my comments about Portsmouth.  Obviously I was remembering Portland/Weymouth, a very different port from industrial Portsmouth!.

 

Guess you're not going to be on the same Iceland cruise in early August cruise as us.  (Are there special ones for UK cruisers?)  And yes, it's kind of killing me that I can't do my own thing in Iceland.  But the way I understand it, that's what Iceland wants and so that's what we'll do.

 

Ruth  

[Mrs Miggins]

Someone currently onboard and in the Scilly Isles today has posted on FB that they can explore the Tresco Gardens freely and they can return onboard any time between 4.30 and 6 pm.

[NeilP57]

1 hour ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Guess you're not going to be on the same Iceland cruise in early August cruise as us.  (Are there special ones for UK cruisers?

Ruth, we are the 31/7 departure, which one are you on?

 

 

[NeilP57]

Look what’s gone and parked right outside our hotel on the Isles of Scilly! It’s great news that they can explore the Tresco gardens freely. I just spoke to a couple of stragglers on the St Mary’s Garrison Walk optional tour and they said they have had a great time. 

 

 

[lisiamc]

On 5/24/2021 at 3:18 PM, arlowood said:

We're on the 5th June sailing of the UK Shores itinerary and I was able to complete the Comfort Check-In on May 15th ie 3 weeks ahead of our departure date. I'm not sure if it was available for completion before that date as I was only alerted to its existence the day before by a post on this thread.

I would keep checking in MyVikingJourney. It's in the Guest Information section as a separate tab.

I was able to complete our Comfort Check-in the other day, 30 days before our cruise. It might have been available earlier than that, but I hadn’t checked for a few days.  It was pretty painless, since we’d already put the passenger info in earlier.  Just a matter of uploading photos, really.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Neil, great picture!  The ship looks nice, and the weather as well!  We'll be on Jupiter 3 August - close to you, but different ship and date. Stick around in Reykavik and wave to us when we board!

44 minutes ago, NeilP57 said:

Look what’s gone and parked right outside our hotel on the Isles of Scilly! It’s great news that they can explore the Tresco gardens freely. I just spoke to a couple of stragglers on the St Mary’s Garrison Walk optional tour and they said they have had a great time. 

 

 

 

[LindaS272]

2 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Someone currently onboard and in the Scilly Isles today has posted on FB that they can explore the Tresco Gardens freely and they can return onboard any time between 4.30 and 6 pm.

Folk from an island country able to roam freely on another island outside of their Viking bubble island! I love it! This bodes well for Iceland and Malta down the track as things loosen up.

[jtwind]

On 5/31/2021 at 12:45 PM, Azulann said:

Good to see the first sailing of a Viking ship with passengers was uneventful with no COVID outbreak. Their protocol is working  in these first cruises. 

How do you know there were no cases?

[Clay Clayton]

56 minutes ago, jtwind said:

How do you know there were no cases?

On the site which cannot be named, A cruiser aboard the first UK cruise reported that no passengers or crew tested positive. 

[Azulann]

1 hour ago, jtwind said:

How do you know there were no cases?

Because  cruisers love ship gossip .

MSC ship which  sailed in Europe earlier hadsoem psotive  of Covid  on board and the world knew.