First time cruiser on Viking Ocean...and a little concerned

[xiphoid76]

Hi there,

Maybe I am just over-reacting to these boards...but it seems that there are lots of complaints recently about Viking Ocean.  From the food being below par, to the staging, bedding, service, etc...

We are huge cruisers but have sailed mostly with Disney - 19 cruises with them.  10 on RCCL, 12 on Carnival, 2 on HAL and NCL.  We thought post-Covid that Disney was certainly lacking in their usual excellent service and care; and overall were looking at more luxurious lines.  Viking is consistently ranked number one it seems and they have a rabid following...so I thought until I read these boards 🙂  Has it changed a lot post-Covid?  Maybe that has just affected everyone in  the travel industry?  Or would I not even notice anything bad with Viking as I have nothing to compare them to as I haven't sailed with them pre-Covid?  

Just wondering now if we made a mistake in booking Viking and should we consider another luxury line?  We still have time to cancel.  Just a heads up on us - we are a couple in our 50's, no kids, don't really drink, not foodies at all (we would both eat off the kid's menu for all meals if possible).  Looking for a quiet cruise, with stellar service.  Want to be excited about Viking, but worried that the price we are paying will not be worth it...

[katlew]

I think one thing to remember is that people with complaints are often more likely to post than people who are happy. One thing to note, is I've noticed people who have complained recently about Viking have also booked another cruise with them. That says it all. 

Food is very subjective, I throw a big event every year & in the reviews for every person who loves the food another hated it. Viking has always offered lots of choices from the restaurant and buffet to make most people happy. We are foodies, but have traveled Viking with people who are probably more like you & everyone always found a meal they enjoyed. 

As for the beds, I don't remember anyone in our group ever complaining about the ones on Viking. That said, we love the beds in Scandinavia that are on the very firm side. The beds on our Viking ships never seemed different than the ones we had in many hotels. 

I think staffing is an issue for the travel industry as a whole. (It's an issue for most industries right now.) I don't think Viking is experiencing anything different than any other cruise line. I will say we have always found the service very good & expect the same this time. 

Based on what you said, I think Viking is a good fit for you. The boats tend to be on the quieter side. There are no big drunken parties by the pool, no casino, no kids running around, etc... We've often been the loud group playing a game of cards in the Explorer's Lounge before dinner. There are lots of quiet spots to sit and enjoy a view of the sea. 

 

[Jim Avery]

Agree with Katlew.  Your own words "quiet cruise with stellar service" is the norm on Viking.  But as in most things, when thousands give their opinions there are lots of differences.  Sure we have had  some dud meals.  Occasionally a new crew member is not quite up to speed.  Missing a port is completely unknowable until it happens and is mostly based on weather.  Like you we have sailed numerous other lines.  We too were looking for a "nicer" experience than we were then finding.  Viking fits the bill for us so far and we are eagerly awaiting the next one.  To be honest, for our first Viking cruise they had us at No Kids.  After lots of days onboard we have no desire to go elsewhere.  Your mileage may vary but most who move on from Viking miss things like a casino or big time shows.  Viking is a beautiful ship with excellent crew.  Welcome aboard.  🍸

[millybess]

Possibly you missed this thread that Andy started.

 

[Ceegeefl]

We went on our first Viking cruise in May and absolutely  loved it. We would find it very difficult to switch to another line now. 

Most of our meals were wonderful,service was very good and we even liked our beds!

We did a mix of included and paid excursions and enjoyed them all.

Our next Viking cruise is in June of next year and I wish it were sooner.

[Mich3554]

We spend 54 days on the Jupiter last fall/winter just when Omicron started taking hold.  We lost a lot of countries and ports due to countries closing borders at the last minute.  Viking did whatever they could to make things good for us.  
As we sailed with them pre Covid, we did not see an appreciable change in the service.  There were changes, but we just rolled with the changes as there was nothing Viking could do.  It’s not fair to blame Viking for things that are totally out of their control.
If you are going to look for problems, you’ll find them.  But why don’t you go onto your cruise with an open mind and not look for problems in the first place?

[deec]

We spent 42 days on the Jupiter after Mich3554 got off... started in Valpariso and ended in Amsterdam!  The biggest complaint we had was about the TERRIBLE  pre-cruise that Viking totally botched and Chile's covid restrictions played role in that too! Our Transatlantic crossing segment was changed significantly but again not really Viking's fault ... they tried their best to substitute.  We found the crew was wonderful..we certainly enjoyed the 1/2 full ship too!  The Excursion Staff was outstanding as they scrambled to find great things  for substitute excursions!  We had a wonderful experience!

[NavyCruiser]

We're also doing our first Viking ocean cruise in a few months.

But after 3 weeks onboard 2 Viking river cruises in Europe, we absolutely loved them.

Yes, there were issues with weather, low water levels, missing port towns from covid restrictions.  But those were beyond Viking's control, & Viking staff did a tremendous job in taking care of us cruisers through them all.  Viking also gave us 30% of our 2 wk cruise fare's, to apply toward this upcoming ocean cruise, just because a few countries won't allow them to dock during pandemic.  Extremely generous of Viking, since it was beyond their control.

Like OP, we've done 30+ ocean cruises on main line cruises (Carnival, Royal Carib, NCL) when we were cruising with our kids, but now has taken the newest cruise ships on Celebrity & Holland Amer, 6 & 2 months ago, without adult kids, & found them to be wonderful. Took a 30 person family reunion cruise on Royal Carib, & found it underwhelming with noticeable staff shortage.

So truly looking forward to our first upcoming Viking ocean cruise on the Venus in a months.  If it's anything like their river cruises, it should wonderful...

[CCWineLover]

As Jim said, eveyone has an opinion.

Just remember, probably near 100 % of the complainers will post and vent whereas there are thousands of people who had such a great time, but don't post that.

 

You will never know how Viking is until you try it out.  From your description, it sounds like Viking will fit the bill for you just fine!   Please go, enjoy, and remember also that every travel company post-COVID has its issues.  Just go look at the boards on the other cruise lines - they ALL have their masses of complainers - probably even more of them.  Nothing is perfect these days and you have to go with the flow (or else just not travel).

Cheers!  If you go, let us all know how it went!  We've done 10 Viking Ocean Cruises and look forward to several more soon.  Yes, we have had some various issues here and there, but overall I wouldn't go anywhere else!

[Peregrina651]

 

Mich3554 is right. A cruise is what we make it. If we spend our time looking for things that aren't just quite perfect, then we will be disappointed -- because nothing is ever perfect 100% of the time.

 

 

 

 

 

[Mich3554]

37 minutes ago, deec said:

We spent 42 days on the Jupiter after Mich3554 got off... started in Valpariso and ended in Amsterdam!  The biggest complaint we had was about the TERRIBLE  pre-cruise that Viking totally botched and Chile's covid restrictions played role in that too! Our Transatlantic crossing segment was changed significantly but again not really Viking's fault ... they tried their best to substitute.  We found the crew was wonderful..we certainly enjoyed the 1/2 full ship too!  The Excursion Staff was outstanding as they scrambled to find great things  for substitute excursions!  We had a wonderful experience!

Chile’s requirements were a nightmare.  I truly felt for the Viking staff in trying to jump through those hoops, because it was a total mess.  In the middle of it, Chile’s web site went down too.  It was a clusterf#$&, and despite Viking’s customer service, some were not able to get off on the first stop.  Just watching that staff deal with the madness made me appreciate them more.  

[Twitchly]

There were just two things we disliked about our recent Viking Ocean cruise: the hard beds and the medical clinic. To counteract that, others loved the hard beds, and I had a chat with another passenger who got excellent care from the clinic on our cruise. (She had a dislocated shoulder; I just had a sprained knee.)

 

We thought the food on Mars was an improvement over our previous cruise a few years ago on Sky, and the service was great. No long waits for food or wine that DrKoob encountered; no bad meals; very attentive staff throughout.

 

So much is subjective. So why not go and draw your own conclusions? My guess: if you don’t crave a party atmosphere, big shows, or the company of children, you’ll like Viking. If you like a calm, beautiful ship with generous staterooms; interesting talks; friendly fellow passengers of a certain age; and learning about new places, you’ll like Viking. But you’ll never know for sure unless you try it.

[Baron Barracuda]

Haven't done a VO sailing since cruising resumed but we did the Grand European on VR this summer and family have done several recent sailings on Royal and Norwegian.  Everyone noted inconsistencies from the large number of new, inexperienced crew.  In the past Viking had benefited from a low level of turnover but it's not surprising that during the long industry shutdown many veteran crew were forced to seek employment elsewhere.  Maybe at some point they will return but in the interim we'll need to be patient as their replacements settle in.  They all  appear to be hard working with a great attitude.

[SailorPaulH]

4 hours ago, xiphoid76 said:

 

Just wondering now if we made a mistake in booking Viking and should we consider another luxury line?  We still have time to cancel.  Just a heads up on us - we are a couple in our 50's, no kids, don't really drink, not foodies at all (we would both eat off the kid's menu for all meals if possible).  Looking for a quiet cruise, with stellar service.  Want to be excited about Viking, but worried that the price we are paying will not be worth it...

 

Hi - we just finished our first Viking Ocean cruise. We had a small number of negatives or disappointments on our cruise, but they were swept aside by the huge number of positives and spontaneous opportunities we encountered. And most of the few negatives we had were remedied easily enough if needed. The crew and staff were fantastic on our cruise, and in the end we had a memorable experience.

 

Would we book another VOC cruise? Well we already have another booked for 2024 (it was booked/rescheduled for 2024 before we even took our 2022 cruise), and we may book one for 2023 also (if we end up not going on a bike-packing/hiking vacation in the Faroe Islands).

 

It will be Viking for us going forward on ocean (and river).  

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, Mich3554 said:

Chile’s requirements were a nightmare.  I truly felt for the Viking staff in trying to jump through those hoops, because it was a total mess.  In the middle of it, Chile’s web site went down too.  It was a clusterf#$&, and despite Viking’s customer service, some were not able to get off on the first stop.  Just watching that staff deal with the madness made me appreciate them more.  

Has anyone been to Chile recently? We are thinking about booking the fjord expedition cruise next year. Any insight would be appreciated.

[Mich3554]

8 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Has anyone been to Chile recently? We are thinking about booking the fjord expedition cruise next year. Any insight would be appreciated.

It looks like Chile’s nightmare paperwork is no longer, BUT things change on a dime.  So what happens next year is always going to be a big question mark.  I would not not go due to Chile’s entry requirements (even the old ones).  Chile’s fjords are spectacular.

[deec]

I think the scenery from an Expedition Ship would be fantastic.  We loved the SA cruise which included a few fjords last winter even with all the covid restrictions on the regular sized Ocean ship.  On the trip we also saw a bit of the Norwegian Fjords ( we did b2b cruising) and I would have trouble deciding which was more breathtaking!

[OneSixtyToOne]

5 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

 I would not not go due to Chile’s entry requirements (even the old ones).

Care to elaborate?

[Mich3554]

8 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Care to elaborate?

Last winter, Chile’s entry paperwork was an absolute nightmare (as I posted earlier).  The website sucked, it regularly went down and even with a team of Viking staff helping passengers get ashore, some passengers still had to remain on the ship due to incomplete paperwork.  There were a lot of frustrated passengers and Viking staff.  
 

Even so, the scenery on that sailing was utterly spectacular.  

[Iloveketo]

5 hours ago, xiphoid76 said:

Hi there,

Maybe I am just over-reacting to these boards...but it seems that there are lots of complaints recently about Viking Ocean.  From the food being below par, to the staging, bedding, service, etc...

We are huge cruisers but have sailed mostly with Disney - 19 cruises with them.  10 on RCCL, 12 on Carnival, 2 on HAL and NCL.  We thought post-Covid that Disney was certainly lacking in their usual excellent service and care; and overall were looking at more luxurious lines.  Viking is consistently ranked number one it seems and they have a rabid following...so I thought until I read these boards 🙂  Has it changed a lot post-Covid?  Maybe that has just affected everyone in  the travel industry?  Or would I not even notice anything bad with Viking as I have nothing to compare them to as I haven't sailed with them pre-Covid?  

Just wondering now if we made a mistake in booking Viking and should we consider another luxury line?  We still have time to cancel.  Just a heads up on us - we are a couple in our 50's, no kids, don't really drink, not foodies at all (we would both eat off the kid's menu for all meals if possible).  Looking for a quiet cruise, with stellar service.  Want to be excited about Viking, but worried that the price we are paying will not be worth it...

Don’t cancel! I would be very surprised if you don’t love it. We have only done Viking so I don’t know if I should give advice. Watch some YouTube videos about Viking Ocean. I find them pretty accurate. 
Our first cruise ever was January of 2020 to the Caribbean. I was concerned with some of the people commenting on FB, so I quit the Viking FB sites and had a marvelous cruise. 
We booked another for February of 2021… ended up doing it in December (West Indies Explorer). Loved it!

Booked one embarking 3 days after disembarking the December one for a 33 day French Polynesian cruise. Loved it even with so many sea days. We were never bored!
During both theses cruises the itineraries changed somewhat, but Viking always did their very best to make the best of any situation!

 We enjoy the music in the living room and also during tea in the Wintergarden. Oh, and I shouldn’t forget the music in the Explorer’s lounge. We fall asleep too early for Torshaven. Lol

We love the spa, we love all the different dining options, we love the hot tubs and pools. 
Oops forgot that my husband went to medical for a ear problem in December and the again on the next cruise in January and he was very pleased with the medical staff. 
We did a Great Lakes Viking Expedition cruise in May. We prefer the slightly larger Viking ocean ship with just a little more music available. Also, we like having the main pool and the infinity pool rather than small pool on the Octantis. 
The service has been exceptional on all our cruises!
Anyway, we are leaving November 1st to do a Mediterranean cruise with Viking. January will be a Panama Canal and Caribbean, then Northern Lights in March and next September NYC to Montreal. 
No complaints from us! We love Viking! Hope to see you onboard a Viking ship someday. 😀

Edited October 5, 2022 by Iloveketo

[Triptkr]

We've been on two Viking Ocean cruises and have three more on the books...so that speaks volumes.   I would wager your onboard experience will be AWESOME!!!!

 

My frustration when it comes to Viking is the same as it has been since we booked our first cruise.  That being that their customer service via phone can not be depended upon to be accurate for most things.  You'll get three answers to the same question if you ask three different people on 1800Viking.   

 

Viking Ocean onboard is an awesome experience...calm atmosphere, welcoming and each employee goes out of their way for you.    Go and enjoy, just do your homework about questions that you have prior to boarding your ship.  CC is a good source.

[longterm]

We've started on Viking before the pandemic and have taken a couple since they opened back up (Italy, the Caribbean); in all cases, we've had excellent trips and exemplary service from Viking staff and crew.

 

Even when Venice decided to change its rules with docking, Viking worked out a way to get us into the city without much fuss; we made every port of call around Italy and along the Adriatic; we had some great excursions in the post extension in Athens. 

 

Food was consistently good on-board; my morning favorite of salmon eggs benedict was always spot on, espresso delivered without my even asking from a waiter we got to know--there just wasn't anything to criticize on any of our cruises.

 

I used to travel as a professional musician with well-known bands all through the 80s and 90s; we went all over the world, in and out of hotels every day, flying almost every day to the next dates. There was invariably that person in every group that found fault wherever we went; if a plane didn't leave on time, we'd be sure to hear about it; if a hotel didn't have our rooms ready when we arrived (even if we got there in the middle of the night), he'd complain. Usually, his voice would be the one we'd hear, rather than all the others who seemed to be quite content with things.

I quickly learned that when I left my home, I was no longer in charge and had to be willing to adjust to shifting winds; the more I kept that perspective, the happier I became. Fortunately, we've had almost no adjustments on Viking cruises, and have never regretted our trust in them.

[linda_22003]

22 hours ago, Mich3554 said:

Chile’s requirements were a nightmare.  I truly felt for the Viking staff in trying to jump through those hoops, because it was a total mess. 

We'll be there in December, and from what the US Embassy site says as of October 1, the requirements are no longer a problem.

[Maite88]

We’ve done two Viking Ocean Cruises and had a great time on both of them.  Service, second to none, the atmosphere, the stateroom facilities and the overall experience have been great in both cruises.  When it comes to food we’ve liked some things and not a fan of others but food taste is subjective.  We’ve also met some wonderful people from all over and enjoyed conversations with them.

 

Your cruise experience is what you make of it for the most part.  Go with an open mind and enjoy.

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

You could travel with the most exceptional luxury cruise line, and you will hear complaints! Everything that you mentioned you want in a cruise, is what Viking offers. Will there be inconsistencies from ship to ship, sailing to sailing, yes. You are sailing with a bunch of imperfect humans and it is quite possible something could not be as you expect, but that is the case in any situation. 

 

I have heard someone yelling at an officer because they expected Viking to do something Viking clearly states they cannot do. This person came on the cruise expecting that Viking would change their rules and provide the service they wanted, and it was totally unreasonable. You are going to read bad reviews from this individual as well as others who have unrealistic expectations. 

 

So much written is personal preference. Someone stated above that they did not enjoy expeditions as much as ocean. We loved expeditions even more than oceans! Everything is so subjective. It's like Goldilocks and the Three Bears.....bed's too soft, bed's too hard! 

 

Go on the cruise. Enjoy.