Back from my first Viking cruise: reflections

[Iloveketo]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

We have gotten them on every one of our 11 Viking Ocean cruises pre and post COVID.

It isn't very obvious as the steward would put it with the Viking Dailey on the coffee table.  One could easily miss seeing it.

We did one pre-COVID and 5 post cruises. I’m a real neat freak, so I’m surprised I don’t remember getting one. Especially, since clutter annoys me. Like when we get an extra breakfast menu. I will have to make a point to see if we get one on our cruise next week. Interesting…

[Mich3554]

3 hours ago, Iloveketo said:

Ok, so since we have never made a comment, complaint or voiced a concern that is why we have never seen one, except at the end of a cruise. That makes sense! Thanks!

We have received 2 so far on the World Cruise.

[THR]

Have our first cruise (on Viking, and ever), Into the Midnight Sun, in June. Thread is making me a little apprehensive but a lot of the YouTube videos I’ve watched still make me think we will enjoy it. 

[DGHOC]

It makes me sad to read your post THR. Please remember that the reviews you're reading here are very subjective. No company can please everyone all of the time. In any collective there will be a myriad of desires and expectations, some wholly unrealistic.

 

Yes they may not have your preferred brand of whiskey, bourbon, cognac etc but goodness me that will not end the world. If you have a problem with a dish in the restaurant, ask for it to be changed. If unhappy with anything, do ask to speak to the responsible manager. I feel sure you will find the Viking team will want to make you happy, to correct anything that is causing their guests a problem.

 

As far as fellow passengers behaving badly, well let's face it, you'll get that anywhere. We have all of us been brought up differently. It's a fact of life that some folk are bad mannered and lack sensibility, we see that in the way they conduct themselves in their everyday lives but that doesn't mean that everyone puts their feet up on the tables, or gets drunk holding up the bar all day or barks rudely at the waiting staff because their every living desire is not being served to them from a silver platter. We see varying levels of behaviour wherever we go. Goodness me, just read this forum!

 

The Viking experience is that of understated elegance, a clean Scandanavian style. There's no bling, no karaoke, no holiday camp party games, no umbrellas in your drinks. Their literature very clearly states this. The service is excellent with a real desire to please, to make you happy. We've loved our experiences with them. Of course, an ossobuco may be a little dry but rather than speed on to CC to complain loudly, ask the waiter to replace it with something else. This can happen in the very best of restaurants in Paris, NY or London. Stuff happens!

 

Just go, relax and enjoy. I feel sure you'll have a fabulous time! 

[THR]

Thank you for your post; it is very kind and reassuring. 
 

We are very much looking forward to it and will provide our feedback once we have travelled. 

[Clay Clayton]

On 2/26/2023 at 9:28 PM, Iloveketo said:

[Clay Clayton]

4 hours ago, THR said:

Thank you for your post; it is very kind and reassuring. 
 

We are very much looking forward to it and will provide our feedback once we have travelled. 

DGHOC gives the best advice at least from our experience. If something isn’t as you like it-food, temperature, service be sure and speak to someone (kindly of course) and most of the time Viking staff will bend over backwards to make it right or at least better.  
 

As my Daddy used to say, “they can’t say yes if you don’t ask”

[JM0115]

5 hours ago, DGHOC said:

The Viking experience is that of understated elegance, a clean Scandanavian style. There's no bling, no karaoke, no holiday camp party games, no umbrellas in your drinks. Their literature very clearly states this. The service is excellent with a real desire to please, to make you happy. We've loved our experiences with them. Of course, an ossobuco may be a little dry but rather than speed on to CC to complain loudly, ask the waiter to replace it with something else. This can happen in the very best of restaurants in Paris, NY or London. Stuff happens!

 

Just go, relax and enjoy. I feel sure you'll have a fabulous time! 

Agree 100% with your summary of the Viking experience. 

 

I also believe as things ramp up after the pandemic that some issues people have had will go away. It's been hard on the cruise industry between supply and staffing issues.

[Vineyard View]

I sincerely believe that you will thoroughly enjoy your Viking experience! We love Viking. Nothing is perfect. All the lines are having some issues post Covid. If the itinerary that we are looking for presents itself, we will absolutely sail them again. We may even jump on one of their tried and true routes next year even if it’s not exactly what we are looking for, as we know Viking will not disappoint. We are trying someone different based on itinerary,  rather than lack of enjoyment of Viking. We will find out if that is a mistake or if they just become another option. But Viking will always remain an option. 
 

What DGHOC states is so well written and spot on. 

[CCWineLover]

9 hours ago, DGHOC said:

It makes me sad to read your post THR. Please remember that the reviews you're reading here are very subjective. No company can please everyone all of the time. In any collective there will be a myriad of desires and expectations, some wholly unrealistic.

 

Yes they may not have your preferred brand of whiskey, bourbon, cognac etc but goodness me that will not end the world. If you have a problem with a dish in the restaurant, ask for it to be changed. If unhappy with anything, do ask to speak to the responsible manager. I feel sure you will find the Viking team will want to make you happy, to correct anything that is causing their guests a problem.

 

As far as fellow passengers behaving badly, well let's face it, you'll get that anywhere. We have all of us been brought up differently. It's a fact of life that some folk are bad mannered and lack sensibility, we see that in the way they conduct themselves in their everyday lives but that doesn't mean that everyone puts their feet up on the tables, or gets drunk holding up the bar all day or barks rudely at the waiting staff because their every living desire is not being served to them from a silver platter. We see varying levels of behaviour wherever we go. Goodness me, just read this forum!

 

The Viking experience is that of understated elegance, a clean Scandanavian style. There's no bling, no karaoke, no holiday camp party games, no umbrellas in your drinks. Their literature very clearly states this. The service is excellent with a real desire to please, to make you happy. We've loved our experiences with them. Of course, an ossobuco may be a little dry but rather than speed on to CC to complain loudly, ask the waiter to replace it with something else. This can happen in the very best of restaurants in Paris, NY or London. Stuff happens!

 

Just go, relax and enjoy. I feel sure you'll have a fabulous time! 

Absolutely well-written!

Totally agree with you.  You have to realize that these days, many folks have high expectations and indeed rush to FB or Cruise Critic to rant and complain.  For every 10 of them, there are literally thousands of cruisers who have had a wonderful time, enjoyed their trips immensely, had the right expectations, and went with the flow.

 

Your post should be required reading 🙂  for new Viking cruise passengers.  (If you've traveled on Viking before, you've already established your opinions).

[SJD117]

3 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Absolutely well-written!

Totally agree with you.  You have to realize that these days, many folks have high expectations and indeed rush to FB or Cruise Critic to rant and complain.  For every 10 of them, there are literally thousands of cruisers who have had a wonderful time, enjoyed their trips immensely, had the right expectations, and went with the flow.

 

Your post should be required reading 🙂  for new Viking cruise passengers.  (If you've traveled on Viking before, you've already established your opinions).

As long as we're all navel-gazing, let's make some other comparisons. On average, are Viking passengers more likely than other passengers to manipulate their worry beads and clutch their pearls, all while expressing angst about whether the cruise experience measures up to what it was like before Covid? And are Viking passengers more likely than other passengers to fret about whether that experience is rightfully "luxury," "premium," or some other marketing niche?

 

Show of hands, please!   😀

[rbslos18]

16 hours ago, THR said:

Have our first cruise (on Viking, and ever), Into the Midnight Sun, in June. Thread is making me a little apprehensive but a lot of the YouTube videos I’ve watched still make me think we will enjoy it. 

Everyone will have different experiences based on their needs and perceptions. We started cruising with Viking after 35+ cruises on four different lines including an ultra-luxury line which didn’t suit us. We cruise to get away and be together, relax, have good healthy food and to just be as invisible as we choose.
 

Our first Viking cruise was outstanding. It wasn’t perfect (neither am I!) but it was a subtle, classy experience. We found the staff that cruise to be well-trained and willing to go above and beyond to please passengers. The food we had was excellent. We are pescatarians (no shellfish or dairy etc) and even the Chef visited our table twice to make sure our dietary needs were respected. The musicians were very talented and we are pretty discerning about music. The lectures were fine,  but that may be a reflection of my interests. They were very well attended.
 

We love Viking’s understated elegance. The ships are beautiful and very well built. Within a couple of days, staff knew our names and always greeted us. Their training is clearly outstanding. Yes, Viking isn’t perfect as the OP suggests and this Board shows. But for us after one cruise, Viking is largely a class act. We have booked four more Viking cruises.
 

 

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

@J80crew-  Thank you for your honest review. I'm sorry your Viking Ocean experience wasn't to your liking. As much of a Viking cheerleader that I am, I have to agree with you. 

 

I sailed aboard the Neptune trans-Atlantic in December. It was my seventh Viking Ocean cruise. When I first sailed Viking, I thought they were the best cruise line since Sitmar. This Neptune crossing was the first time I stepped off a Viking ship slightly disappointed & underwhelmed. The impression was that Viking is resting on their laurels. On previous cruises the bar was set very high by the precision attention to detail. There were a few food, service, & crew member issues. 

Edited March 2, 2023 by Myrtle Ave. Mayhem

[bookbabe]

On 2/28/2023 at 2:00 PM, Iloveketo said:

Just curious… was this the West Indies Explorer cruise?

Not the OP, but yes, that was West Indies Explorer (I was on it too).

[Iloveketo]

3 hours ago, bookbabe said:

Not the OP, but yes, that was West Indies Explorer (I was on it too).

I wondered, because since that is a port intensive cruise the lectures aren’t as numerous. In January of 2021 we did that cruise and it was mainly the ship historian and port talks.  Then 3 days later we got on the Orion for a 33 day cruise to French Polynesia. So many fabulous lecturers, such variety, anything from theater, to archeology, to a woman from the Smithsonian talking about repatriation of antiquities, to a marine biologist, to a geologist, to you name it.  It was INCREDIBLE! I think the difference has to do with how many sea days there are. 

Edited March 2, 2023 by Iloveketo
Typo

[kirtihk]

11 hours ago, Myrtle Ave. Mayhem said:

@J80crew-  Thank you for your honest review. I'm sorry your Viking Ocean experience wasn't to your liking. As much of a Viking cheerleader that I am, I have to agree with you. 

 

I sailed aboard the Neptune trans-Atlantic in December. It was my seventh Viking Ocean cruise. When I first sailed Viking, I thought they were the best cruise line since Sitmar. This Neptune crossing was the first time I stepped off a Viking ship slightly disappointed & underwhelmed. The impression was that Viking is resting on their laurels. On previous cruises the bar was set very high by the precision attention to detail. There were a few food, service, & crew member issues. 

It sounds overall like on any other cruise line these days dealing with Virus-the-Shmirus "leftover" product.  We cruised on Dec 20 - Jan 5 on Regent, and without details I might make exact the same statement (with the exception of "disappointed and underwhelmed", because EVERYTHING is in our mind only, and, as long as we keep manipulating it to stay positive, nothing may destroy our attitude toward surroundings and circumstances in our life).

[KBs mum]

35 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

It sounds overall like on any other cruise line these days dealing with Virus-the-Shmirus "leftover" product.  We cruised on Dec 20 - Jan 5 on Regent, and without details I might make exact the same statement (with the exception of "disappointed and underwhelmed", because EVERYTHING is in our mind only, and, as long as we keep manipulating it to stay positive, nothing may destroy our attitude toward surroundings and circumstances in our life).

If the product specifications and description haven't changed, then it is reasonable to expect the product to be unchanged. Covid is a reason that should, by now, have been worked around for operational planning. 

It's accepting lower standards without feedback/complaint that lets suppliers get away with it, particularly as prices have increased. 

 

 As an example, I had conversation with another guest who couldn't understand that we were underwhelmed by the food (admittedly subjective) as apparently ''everything is good on vacation nothing can be bad' Absurd principle, if  something isn't very good, then it isnt. Allowances can be made for extreme circumstances when deciding if a complaint is warranted, but whatever it was does not magically become good. 

It is possible to be generally happy with something, but think one aspect of it underwhelming, and to mention that aspect as a negative

[OneSixtyToOne]

14 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

If the product specifications and description haven't changed, then it is reasonable to expect the product to be unchanged. Covid is a reason that should, by now, have been worked around for operational planning. 

It's accepting lower standards without feedback/complaint that lets suppliers get away with it, particularly as prices have increased. 

The entire hospitality industry is re-evaluating everything they do post-COVID to cut cost, and as is apt to happen, see what they can get away with.
 

I just read that the many hotels and casinos in Las Vegas are considering eliminating buffets for good. They question their value in attracting and keeping customers. The only reason that they lasted this long is inertia. Nobody wanted to change it out of fear of losing business or just because “we’ve always done it this way.”
 

COVID was a reset for the entire industry and has allowed them to determine what makes sense financially. Is Viking really going to lose business because the steaks at Manfredi’s are thinner? I doubt you’ll ever see it the way it was before COVID.

 

Also there are still major supply chain issues. Bottles and cans are in short supply so, for example, some liquor companies have decided to only bottle their best sellers and not bother with mini bottles.

Edited March 2, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[KBs mum]

1 minute ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

The entire hospitality industry is re-evaluating everything they do post-COVID to cut cost, and as apt to happen, see what they can get away with.
 

I just read that the many hotels and casinos in Las Vegas are considering eliminating buffets for good. They question their value in attracting and keeping customers. The only reason that they lasted this long is inertia. Nobody wanted to change it out of fear of losing business or just because “we’ve always done it this way.”
 

COVID was a reset for the entire industry and has allowed them to determine what makes sense financially. Is Viking really going to lose business because the steaks at Manfredi’s are thinner? I doubt you’ll ever see it the way it was before COVID.

Vegas is not a good example of quality anything. It's a fun place to visit once. We stayed in the Bellagio, listed as 5 star, barely 3 star service, rooms nothing special. View of mountains good. 

 

I've stayed in quite a few hotels of  various 'star ratings' during and after covid. They managed to maintain previous quality. As have the few airlines we've flown with recently. Generally airlines seem to have reset upwards with improved cabins. 

 

Blaming covid is lazy, the lower standards we observed on our recent cruise were a result of lack of attention to detail, and perhaps hoping guests wouldn't notice or know any better. The people that seemed happiest were new to Viking from the megaships. 

 

All products should be continually assessed and evolve over time. If customers don't use a feature then it is sensible to eliminate or reduce it. in the steak example, if lots of plates return to the kitchen with some of the steak uneaten, if no quality complaints, portion size can be reduced to cut costs without detriment to customers 

[kirtihk]

26 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

Vegas is not a good example of quality anything. It's a fun place to visit once. We stayed in the Bellagio, listed as 5 star, barely 3 star service, rooms nothing special. View of mountains good. 

 

I've stayed in quite a few hotels of  various 'star ratings' during and after covid. They managed to maintain previous quality. As have the few airlines we've flown with recently. Generally airlines seem to have reset upwards with improved cabins. 

 

Blaming covid is lazy, the lower standards we observed on our recent cruise were a result of lack of attention to detail, and perhaps hoping guests wouldn't notice or know any better. The people that seemed happiest were new to Viking from the megaships. 

 

All products should be continually assessed and evolve over time. If customers don't use a feature then it is sensible to eliminate or reduce it. in the steak example, if lots of plates return to the kitchen with some of the steak uneaten, if no quality complaints, portion size can be reduced to cut costs without detriment to customers 

and why is that?  Why is "lack of attention to detail" occurring, all of a sudden, just now (within last 1.5 years or so) across entire hospitality business?  It would extremely low probability of coincidence in timing.  Yes to "hoping guests wouldn't notice or know any better", but again why just these post-Shmirus/Shmovid days?

 

PS. I always refer to the "March 2020" event with the "Shm" notation in order to stay away from negativity, because words have energy!

Edited March 2, 2023 by kirtihk

[KBs mum]

10 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

and why is that?  Why is "lack of attention to detail" occurring, all of a sudden, just now (within last 1.5 years or so) across entire hospitality business?  It would extremely low probability of coincidence in timing.  Yes to "hoping guests wouldn't notice or know any better", but again why just these post-Shmirus/Shmovid days?

 

PS. I always refer to the "March 2020" event with the "Shm" notation in order to stay away from negativity, because words have energy!

Lack of attention to detail has allways existed in some companies. I avoid them unless the price reflects this. 

 

A lot of the hospitality industry has maintained pre covid standards, particularly at the mid to high end price points that Viking inhabits. Viking are teetering at the top of a side to mediocrity. 

 

What is a ''Shm'' notation? Being a science trained pragmatic atheist I don't consider words to have negative or any other energy.

('Shm' is similar to a UK slang term for a type of hallucinogenic fungi popular with flower power hippy types 😁)

[Iloveketo]

3 hours ago, Iloveketo said:

I wondered, because since that is a port intensive cruise the lectures aren’t as numerous. In January of 2021 we did that cruise and it was mainly the ship historian and port talks.  Then 3 days later we got on the Orion for a 33 day cruise to French Polynesia. So many fabulous lecturers, such variety, anything from theater, to archeology, to a woman from the Smithsonian talking about repatriation of antiquities, to a marine biologist, to a geologist, to you name it.  It was INCREDIBLE! I think the difference has to do with how many sea days there are. 

It should have read December of 2021! Nobody was cruising in January of 2021 as far as I remember. January of 2022, 3 days after disembarking from the West Indies cruise we embarked on the Orion for a 33 day cruise to French Polynesia. 
I’m surprised nobody questioned me on this. Lol

[rudychance]

I would LOVE to hear about your French Polynesian cruise and was thinking about writing you a PM 😃. We're ( casually because of house and pets) looking at this 33 day itinerary on Neptune in 2024.  It would be more than twice as long as any cruise we've been on since our 3 and 4 day cruising in the 80's !

[kirtihk]

1 hour ago, KBs mum said:

Lack of attention to detail has allways existed in some companies. I avoid them unless the price reflects this. 

 

A lot of the hospitality industry has maintained pre covid standards, particularly at the mid to high end price points that Viking inhabits. Viking are teetering at the top of a side to mediocrity. 

 

What is a ''Shm'' notation? Being a science trained pragmatic atheist I don't consider words to have negative or any other energy.

('Shm' is similar to a UK slang term for a type of hallucinogenic fungi popular with flower power hippy types 😁)

"Shm" - is Yiddish slang - beginning of many words starts with or replaced with "Shm" to diminish a magnitude of a sense.  I inherited it to use in English, too (as in illusion - shmillusion; cat - shmet; doctor - shmoctor).

[kirtihk]

45 minutes ago, Iloveketo said:

It should have read December of 2021! Nobody was cruising in January of 2021 as far as I remember. January of 2022, 3 days after disembarking from the West Indies cruise we embarked on the Orion for a 33 day cruise to French Polynesia. 
I’m surprised nobody questioned me on this. Lol

and we cruised ("nowhere cruise") to French Polynesia on March 8 - 25, 2020 from Eastern Island on Ponant Le Soleal - pre-Shmandemic cruise.