Live from Italy, the Adriatic, and Venice 3/10/2023

[jc522]

My second Viking ocean cruise.

 

The ship is very nice.

The stateroom is very nice.

Staff throughout the ship are very good.

The onboard band is bad.

The food is mediocre.

We only had 1/2 day in Naples so excursions were very limited. We hired a private driver to Amalfi, but there really wasn't enough time.

They blew off Messina due to high winds (supposedly). So far, no compensation for the at-sea day.

Since we didn't stop in Messina they couldn't pick up entertainers as planned. Instead, the entertainment director is doing her Vegas show from 30 years ago.

They did add some excursions to day 2 in Chioggia/Venice. Is it worth a 3 hour round trip to Venice for 2 hours in the city? No.

 

More later.....

 

 

Edited March 14, 2023 by jc522

[CCWineLover]

3 minutes ago, jc522 said:

My second Viking ocean cruise.

 

The onboard band is bad.

The food is mediocre.

We only had 1/2 day in Naples so excursions were very limited.

They blew off Messina due to high winds (supposedly). So far no compensation for the at-sea day.

Since we didn't stop in Messina they couldn't pick up the entertainers as planned, and the entertainment director is doing her Vegas show from 30 years ago.

They did add some excursions to day 2 in Chioggia.

More later.....

 

 

Guess it's time to pack it in and start drinking!  🙂

 

[jc522]

6 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Guess it's time to pack it in and start drinking!  🙂

 

Or stop cruising.

 

It just doesn't get any better! 🙂

[longterm]

We did the exact cruise a year ago; had a wonderful time. But then again, we expected to, and we did.

 

We chose the Pompeii excursion in Naples, and it didn't disappoint; I wish we could've had more time in Naples so that we could've seen the Amalfi coast, but we're going to do that another time.

 

When our Sunday excursion in Venice was canceled because St. Mark's doesn't allow excursions on Sundays (didn't Viking know this beforehand?), we, and about 8 others who had booked the same excursion, were instead picked up in vaporettos, given a private tour of the Doge's Palace plus another hour or more through the city, then returned to the ship again in private vaporettos. 

 

Meals were very good; we always like the Restaurant, and had many great meals there and in Manfredi's (we don't care much for Chef's Table). Had breakfast every morning in our stateroom and enjoyed it thoroughly.

 

Other than that wrinkle, which Viking resolved very well, we had an incredible trip from start to finish; granted, this was a year ago, but we would gladly do the same cruise again. 

 

As to the music, well... I've been a professional musician for more than 50 years, have toured all over the world, played with world-class musicians, performed with at least 20 symphonies all over the US--so I will agree that the musicians on-board are mediocre and often annoying to my ears--but I'm jaded, a bit of a music snob, and listen more intently than the average person.

[SJD117]

2 hours ago, jc522 said:

 

They blew off Messina due to high winds (supposedly). So far, no compensation for the at-sea day.

 

I'm sure the Viking captain -- a very experienced mariner -- exercised his or her best professional judgment in deciding not to stop at Messina due to wind conditions.

 

We've been on five Viking ocean cruises and have missed a total of five ports, for a perfect average of one missed port per cruise. That didn't bother us at all. In each case, we trusted the captain's professional judgment that it was unsafe to stop at a particular port.

[jc522]

3 hours ago, jc522 said:

My second Viking ocean cruise.

 

The ship is very nice.

The stateroom is very nice.

Staff throughout the ship are very good.

The onboard band is bad.

The food is mediocre.

We only had 1/2 day in Naples so excursions were very limited. We hired a private driver to Amalfi, but there really wasn't enough time.

They blew off Messina due to high winds (supposedly). So far, no compensation for the at-sea day.

Since we didn't stop in Messina they couldn't pick up entertainers as planned. Instead, the entertainment director is doing her Vegas show from 30 years ago.

They did add some excursions to day 2 in Chioggia/Venice. Is it worth a 3 hour round trip to Venice for 2 hours in the city? No.

 

More later.....

 

 

In addition:

 

Yesterday I tried the worst crab legs I've ever tasted.

 

Today I spoke to the IT/Technology officer. He installed Starlink 10 days ago. Quick connections, lots of bandwidth and streaming is now available.

Edited March 14, 2023 by jc522

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, jc522 said:

Today I spoke to the IT/Technology officer. He installed Starlink 10 days ago. Quick connections, lots of bandwidth and streaming is now available.

 

What ship are you on?

[-Lew-]

2 hours ago, jc522 said:

Today I spoke to the IT/Technology officer. He installed Starlink 10 days ago. Quick connections, lots of bandwidth and streaming is now available.

 

Excellent news!!  We'll be sailing on the Sky in October and November...looking forward to giving Starlink a try.

[jc522]

1 hour ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

 

What ship are you on?

Sky

[OneSixtyToOne]

Just now, jc522 said:

Sky

 

Excellent news. We will be on the Sky in April.

[PGI GUY]

We are on this cruise now. The food is not up to Vikings usual standards and we have been on 5 previous Viking cruises. We feel that the executive chef is in over his head and the upper management seems like it is playing catch up at every turn. This cruise has been disappointing from day one.

 

 

[philw1776]

Going to be back on the Sky (sailed on Sky previously) in September. Please fill out all forms with constructive criticism in detail. We thank you for helping make needed improvements.

[springtravel]

5 hours ago, PGI GUY said:

We are on this cruise now. The food is not up to Vikings usual standards and we have been on 5 previous Viking cruises. We feel that the executive chef is in over his head and the upper management seems like it is playing catch up at every turn. This cruise has been disappointing from day one.

That is sad to hear.  We will be on the Sky in less than 3 weeks, and doubt they will get these issues fixed in that short time.  This is our first Viking cruise and hope it won't be our last.  

[jc522]

9 hours ago, PGI GUY said:

We are on this cruise now. The food is not up to Vikings usual standards and we have been on 5 previous Viking cruises. We feel that the executive chef is in over his head and the upper management seems like it is playing catch up at every turn. This cruise has been disappointing from day one.

 

 

Wow. Glad I'm not the only one. What did you think of Lobster Night? I love lobster, but couldn't eat this stuff. Not sure how to describe it. It tasted muddy, not at all sweet. No amount of butter, lemon or anything else covered the bad flavor. Actually, it was bad on the Viking cruise we did last December, too.

Edited March 15, 2023 by jc522

[-Lew-]

28 minutes ago, jc522 said:

I love lobster, but couldn't eat this stuff. Not sure how to describe it. It tasted muddy, not at all sweet.

 

On 60+ cruises we've never had lobster we would classify as good.  We were on Regent Splendor this winter for 32 days and although it was the best we have had at sea, the lobster was still not as good as we enjoy shoreside at home.  Shipboard lobster is frozen per the food and beverage officer and can't be revived and prepared to where it is really good.

 

By the way, we enjoyed some excellent, freshly grilled Caribbean lobster onboard a catamaran excursion in Antigua this winter.  It was an excellent excursion with lunch that we have signed up for again in February 2024.

[jc522]

1 hour ago, -Lew- said:

 

On 60+ cruises we've never had lobster we would classify as good.  We were on Regent Splendor this winter for 32 days and although it was the best we have had at sea, the lobster was still not as good as we enjoy shoreside at home.  Shipboard lobster is frozen per the food and beverage officer and can't be revived and prepared to where it is really good.

 

By the way, we enjoyed some excellent, freshly grilled Caribbean lobster onboard a catamaran excursion in Antigua this winter.  It was an excellent excursion with lunch that we have signed up for again in February 2024.

I have had much better food on Azamara and others, including some pretty decent lobster. The problem isn’t limited to some bad lobster. At the price Viking charges for a cruise, there is no excuse for what they are serving in The Restaurant or the World Cafe. 

[Azulann]

Who is the resident Historian on your cruise?

Who is the Cruise director? General manger? 

 Who is the head chef? 

[LibertyBella]

Weather conditions can always impact the quality of a cruise.  There is a reason the terms "high season" and "low season" were created. 

 

If traveling in Europe in March, cold weather is always a possibility. We are leaving for a Viking river cruise in less than two weeks, and still debating about taking our lightweight Winter jackets.

 

I prefer the Mediterranean in the warmer Summer months. (I am also a sun worshipper!)

 

Since Viking is advertised as the "thinking person's" cruise, I would not expect the highest quality entertainment, but I consider all ship activities and entertainment bonus experiences above and beyond my port visits.

 

P.S. I would never spend less than three days in Venice.  It is just that kind of city!

Edited March 16, 2023 by LibertyBella
Add sentence

[Hockeyump]

Perhaps the broken tiles are a trip hazard and so H&S requires it to be rectified quickly? 

[jc522]

3 hours ago, Hockeyump said:

Perhaps the broken tiles are a trip hazard and so H&S requires it to be rectified quickly? 

No.

[jc522]

15 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

Weather conditions can always impact the quality of a cruise.  There is a reason the terms "high season" and "low season" were created. 

 

If traveling in Europe in March, cold weather is always a possibility. We are leaving for a Viking river cruise in less than two weeks, and still debating about taking our lightweight Winter jackets.

 

I prefer the Mediterranean in the warmer Summer months. (I am also a sun worshipper!)

 

Since Viking is advertised as the "thinking person's" cruise, I would not expect the highest quality entertainment, but I consider all ship activities and entertainment bonus experiences above and beyond my port visits.

 

P.S. I would never spend less than three days in Venice.  It is just that kind of city!

 

Since Viking is advertised as the "thinking person's" cruise, I would not expect the highest quality entertainment,

At these prices I would expect high quality entertainment, just less of it.

 

I would never spend less than three days in Venice. 

We intended to spend 3 days in Venice and then discovered that it takes a 2:40 round trip from Chioggia on an uncomfortable water taxi each time. We did that trip today, won't ever do it again.

Edited March 16, 2023 by jc522

[jc522]

17 hours ago, Azulann said:

Who is the resident Historian on your cruise?

Who is the Cruise director? General manger? 

 Who is the head chef? 

I'm on vacation. Talking to Viking's managers to beg for some compensation or to help them improve their product does not fit into my vacation plans. If they suck, they lose this customer. If they lose enough of them maybe they will make some corrections. Maybe not. It's not my problem. I'm just letting others know what to expect.

Edited March 16, 2023 by jc522

[SJD117]

15 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

P.S. I would never spend less than three days in Venice.  It is just that kind of city!

Agreed. We’re spending three days in Venice before our Chioggia-Athens cruise begins next month. Our stay will overlap Good Friday and Easter Sunday, so it should be a busy and exciting time!

 

The embarkation in Chioggia is an inconvenience, but a minor one. We’ve known about it for a long time due to multiple CC threads and an advisory that Viking sent us. For the transfer from our B&B to the ship, we debated taking the No. 80 local bus to Chioggia, but decided instead to spring for a land taxi.

 

Our arrival in Venice will be another interesting experience. We’ve been to the city just once before, in 1995, and that was by train. This trip, we fly in and take a water taxi from the Venice airport direct to our B&B. Over the last 50+ years, I’ve flown into and out of hundreds of cities, foreign and domestic; to my best recollection, the only city that required water transport from the airport was Ketchikan, Alaska. Who knew that Ketchikan and Venice had something in common?

[philw1776]

I think that Viking et. al. need to realize that Venice as a mid-cruise port, especially for multiple days, is no longer a viable idea due to access problems. Cruises could start or end there (Chioggia) with pre and post cruise extensions offered but the prospect of long hauls to/from docks to/from Venice multiple days does not excite this customer

[Selion]

@jc522 Venice aside, I hope you enjoy the rest of the ports.  My phone just reminded me that last year, this exact week, we were on this same itinerary on the Sky.