The Sea liveish, 12/17-12/27. Merry Christmas.

[Heidi13]

13 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Sorry if it was an indiscretion - the vessel ownership is public information on the web (as was the charter fee - which itself is quite unusual for that sort of charter). Ah well, at least you get to live vicariously, and hopefully have or will get a tour at some point. Cheers! 🍺🥌

 

Rob - no worries, as that's how we found out who owns it, as DS can't tell us.

[photopro2]

Thanks for the thread Jim, you are certainly building the excitement for us as we will be on the same itinerary early next year.

 

If you have chance to speak to the beverage manager, Jasna could you ask if she will still be on the ship in February? We had the pleasure of her company on 2 previous cruises and would love to do so again. In any case I expect you are keeping her department busy 😁

 

Finally a very happy Christmas to you & yours 🎄

 

[Jim Avery]

And a beautiful yacht it is.  Too far away for pix...

[Jim Avery]

Docked in Castries, St. Lucia.  We are scheduled to go hang in the trees with hummingbirds or some such today.  Yesterday was a "sea day" which means get up early, go to the gym then go walkabout and see what's around.  On excursion days we get up early, eat a bit of brekkie then trek to the Star Theatre.  Why are we paying to get up early and trek about (or on a treadmill)?  I think I need an  intervention.  

As to shipboard the ship is in great shape, the Christmas decorations are beautiful and understated, the food is excellent and the fellow passengers are, well we all know the luck of the draw.  Haha. There are a few incidents of cost cutting compared to pre covid but I won't dwell on them.  To be expected I suppose. As to those who have asked about filling out all the forms for Barbados, so far there are none.  Already getting forms for disembarkation but not a peep about needing to do anything special for entry to Barbados.  Will report it as it comes.  Off to go tram ride with the monkeys.....😎

[BobCatter]

On 12/20/2022 at 6:12 AM, Jim Avery said:

 Sometime during the meal i overheard Jim (Older Sister's Hubby) mention Cruise Critic.  Darn if we weren't sitting next to Older Sister and spouse.  We had a great time chatting and are looking forward to continuing tales at one of the bars....🍹

 

I think my husband and I were sitting at the next table over. You guys were laughing so hard you were crying!

If that's you, you were wearing a Sun City Cruisers ballcap today at the Stone House in St Lucia.

[Jim Avery]

Sorry not us

[Jim Avery]

Tayana you asked for a Barbados update. Went ashore, came back aboard needing nothing but ships ID and photo I D. Guess my opinion of all the third party apps worked out. Service in the restaurants and bars is a bit off but I will get into that in detail later.

[basenji56]

7 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Tayana you asked for a Barbados update. Went ashore, came back aboard needing nothing but ships ID and photo I D. Guess my opinion of all the third party apps worked out. Service in the restaurants and bars is a bit off but I will get into that in detail later.

Thank you very much for that update.  I am sailing next week and was concerned about that supposed Barbados requirement.

 

[BobCatter]

4 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Tayana you asked for a Barbados update. Went ashore, came back aboard needing nothing but ships ID and photo I D. Guess my opinion of all the third party apps worked out. Service in the restaurants and bars is a bit off but I will get into that in detail later.

 

I noticed that as well. Not just us then....

[M.Travels]

12 hours ago, basenji56 said:

Thank you very much for that update.  I am sailing next week and was concerned about that supposed Barbados requirement.

 

Will let Jim give the official reply, but we were there yesterday and there was not a peep of an issue. We did not even have to wear our masks on the submarine excursion if we did not want to wear them, after Viking told us that would be required. The sub employees said the mask mandate had just been lifted. 

[Jim Avery]

Lovely Antigua and Barbuda today.  Home to Nelson's Dockyards and lots of other stuff.  One trip through here we took a helicopter over to view Montserrat.  The volcanic devastation is amazing.  Montserrat is slowly coming back but we will try other things today.  The ship is in great shape and our room staff has been amazing but as mentioned, the overall feel is understaffed.  Another example is we ordered room service last night.  Every now and then we want to take a "night off" and watch a movie.  We ordered at 5pm.  Two Caesar salads, a piece of cheesecake and a couple of drinks.  Took almost two hours and repeated phone calls.  It arrived just as we were heading out the door to the World Cafe.  So much for a relaxing evening "at home".  There have been numerous other examples but I will just put them all in a summary after the cruise.  Management seems absent.  Nothing so far that a few weeks with Sujith Mohan as General Manager wouldn't fix right up.

[BobCatter]

3 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Lovely Antigua and Barbuda today.  Home to Nelson's Dockyards and lots of other stuff.  One trip through here we took a helicopter over to view Montserrat.  The volcanic devastation is amazing.  Montserrat is slowly coming back but we will try other things today.  The ship is in great shape and our room staff has been amazing but as mentioned, the overall feel is understaffed.  Another example is we ordered room service last night.  Every now and then we want to take a "night off" and watch a movie.  We ordered at 5pm.  Two Caesar salads, a piece of cheesecake and a couple of drinks.  Took almost two hours and repeated phone calls.  It arrived just as we were heading out the door to the World Cafe.  So much for a relaxing evening "at home".  There have been numerous other examples but I will just put them all in a summary after the cruise.  Management seems absent.  Nothing so far that a few weeks with Sujith Mohan as General Manager wouldn't fix right up.

Completely agree about feeling understaffed.  Hopefully they can work through this. 

[Older Sister]

We just got back from our Antigua excursion, to Valley Church beach.  Took about 30 minutes to get there, but it was worth it . . . I really wanted to spend some time on a lovely beach and that’s what we got.   Recommend this excursion if you’re into beaches, we’d do it again.  
 

Allyn

[BobCatter]

9 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Lovely Antigua and Barbuda today.  Home to Nelson's Dockyards and lots of other stuff.  One trip through here we took a helicopter over to view Montserrat.  The volcanic devastation is amazing.  Montserrat is slowly coming back but we will try other things today.  The ship is in great shape and our room staff has been amazing but as mentioned, the overall feel is understaffed.  Another example is we ordered room service last night.  Every now and then we want to take a "night off" and watch a movie.  We ordered at 5pm.  Two Caesar salads, a piece of cheesecake and a couple of drinks.  Took almost two hours and repeated phone calls.  It arrived just as we were heading out the door to the World Cafe.  So much for a relaxing evening "at home".  There have been numerous other examples but I will just put them all in a summary after the cruise.  Management seems absent.  Nothing so far that a few weeks with Sujith Mohan as General Manager wouldn't fix right up.

Didn’t mean to quote that… 

 

how easy will it be to get a cab when we disembark in PR? Are they typically hanging out at the port or do I need to hook one ahead of time?

[FetaCheese]

Was on Sea, prior cruise TA.  Agree, seemed somewhat understaffed in a few areas.  Also, some staff appeared to be new.  Overall experience was still excellent.  Manfredis - 4 nights - was inconsistent, but very fine.

 

Met briefly with GM, Norbert Kovacs.  He said he is new on V, April 2022.  Cabin stewards did a fine job, but not overly personable.

 

Taxis were available at old port in San Juan. V airport transfer coaches -- very slow to board -- waited in line really long.  Only 1 agent checking manifest.

[M.Travels]

Norbert’s last day was the onboarding day for our cruise (last day for this contract, not with Viking … staff go home for about 2.5 months every ten months or so before starting a new assignment).

Norbert went home the morning of the captain’s reception, and we are under Helmut now. 

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

@Jim Avery- Just home from the Neptune TA & also noticed service issues & below par crew I haven't experienced on other Viking cruises. It will be interesting to read your final summary. Hope the rest of your cruise is enjoyable!

[BobCatter]

Did anyone else find the included tour on St Thomas pointless? I learned nothing, and had to stand around a souvenir shop for 40 minutes of our (supposedly) 2 hour tour. 

[BobCatter]

…

 

cant delete. Sorry. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by BobCatter

[Jim Avery]

Still in San Juan watching Viking Sea across the street.  When we woke on disembarkation day yesterday we were greeted with a text from Southwest.  Yep, just like thousands we are stranded.  Only needed a short flight from SJU to Orlando but not to be.  Got to spend the morning inline at the airport and were told the best Southwest could do is "maybe" get us out on the second of January.  So we went over to American and booked the last two available seats to Miami at a truly exorbitant price and are waiting till tomorrow evening to fly to Miami where, again at considerable expense, we are having a car drive us to Orlando so we might finally get in our own car and head West for Phoenix.  Did I mention that San Juan hotels are near capacity and around $500 a night with all taxes included is more or less "regular".  Makes the few issues on Viking seem easy.  

Anyway, we enjoyed our cruise.  Cabin service was great, food was great, ship in great shape.  Without a doubt they are either short staffed or very poorly managed.  Service in the bars/restaurants was not up to par.  Staff was friendly and for the most part working very hard just not enough help.  Just one example then I will shut up.  Aquavit.  Sailaway.  5pm.  Only one not very skilled bar person.  No help.  No servers.  Dirty dishes from lunch on tables.  I could go on but what's the point.  Viking needs to consider how thin the staff is getting and allow time for staff to develop alongside experienced crew.  

all the best to those onboard now.

Jim & Lois🍸

[Clay Clayton]

Sorry to hear of your flight issues-it’s a real mess.  I volunteer at the RDU airport and Southwest chartered buses to drive people from Raleigh to Atlanta and Nashville-too bad they didn’t charter a ship to get you back to the mainland. 
 

Hope your flight tomorrow goes smoothly and your ride to Orlando is waiting on you when you land. 
 

Sorry to hear about the service issues….🤞 they get that under control soon!

[BobCatter]

1 hour ago, Jim Avery said:

 Yep, just like thousands we are stranded.  Only needed a short flight from SJU to Orlando but not to be.  ...

 

Anyway, we enjoyed our cruise.  Cabin service was great, food was great, ship in great shape.  Without a doubt they are either short staffed or very poorly managed.  Service in the bars/restaurants was not up to par.  Staff was friendly and for the most part working very hard just not enough help.  Just one example then I will shut up.  Aquavit.  Sailaway.  5pm.  Only one not very skilled bar person.  No help.  No servers.  Dirty dishes from lunch on tables.  I could go on but what's the point.  Viking needs to consider how thin the staff is getting and allow time for staff to develop alongside experienced crew.  

all the best to those onboard now.

Jim & Lois🍸

 

SWA is melting down. So many people stranded across the country. Safe travels home, Jim. I'm curious as to what that means for passengers embarking in San Juan...  how many will miss the boat due to flight issues?

The service was very inconsistent at all the venues.  The Chef's Table we got our wine (with no description about the pairing) until AFTER the course was served.  In the World Cafe, we just would go to the bar and order drinks, and then get a table.  I took to ordering two iced teas at lunch because it was staff never returned...  Staff seemed very busy, but as you said either short-staffed or mis-managed.  Friendly but harried!

The ship itself was lovely - nice Christmas decorations, clean public spaces, room housekeeping was great as always.  We won't be back onboard Viking Ocean until the WC next year on Neptune. 

[PasadenaDave]

Jim Avery, sorry to hear about being stranded in San Juan.  The trouble with San Juan is that you can't drive there from Phoenix.

[Jim Avery]

51 minutes ago, PasadenaDave said:

Jim Avery, sorry to hear about being stranded in San Juan.  The trouble with San Juan is that you can't drive there from Phoenix.

Or we would be long gone.😎

[basenji56]

2 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Still in San Juan watching Viking Sea across the street.  When we woke on disembarkation day yesterday we were greeted with a text from Southwest.  Yep, just like thousands we are stranded.  Only needed a short flight from SJU to Orlando but not to be.  Got to spend the morning inline at the airport and were told the best Southwest could do is "maybe" get us out on the second of January.  So we went over to American and booked the last two available seats to Miami at a truly exorbitant price and are waiting till tomorrow evening to fly to Miami where, again at considerable expense, we are having a car drive us to Orlando so we might finally get in our own car and head West for Phoenix.  Did I mention that San Juan hotels are near capacity and around $500 a night with all taxes included is more or less "regular".  Makes the few issues on Viking seem easy.  

Anyway, we enjoyed our cruise.  Cabin service was great, food was great, ship in great shape.  Without a doubt they are either short staffed or very poorly managed.  Service in the bars/restaurants was not up to par.  Staff was friendly and for the most part working very hard just not enough help.  Just one example then I will shut up.  Aquavit.  Sailaway.  5pm.  Only one not very skilled bar person.  No help.  No servers.  Dirty dishes from lunch on tables.  I could go on but what's the point.  Viking needs to consider how thin the staff is getting and allow time for staff to develop alongside experienced crew.  

all the best to those onboard now.

Jim & Lois🍸

So these idiots expect people to wait in San Juan and pay for their own hotels and meals—for a full week?

 

or just sleep in the airport 

 

The problem is that Southworst, unlike many airlines, won’t rebook you on another airline 

 

so glad you were able to get out