We're Done With The L/A Office

[Vineyard View]

11 hours ago, PasadenaDave said:

We sailed on HAL after Viking.  We asked ourselves why did we sail on a big ship?  That to us says it all.

HAL has three different sizes of ships. Too bad they sold off their smallest, but there are two still with just under 1500 pax. 

[SempreMare]

Andy, I'm sorry you've had to deal with this predicament with Viking.

 

On the good, it's exciting to hear you exploring new cruise lines, given how you think through things   I hope you'll update your blog with all the interesting detail.   

 

My only other cruise line was my first cruise with HAL on the Westerdam, Seward to Vancouver, and I loved it.  It struck me as a "handsome" ship.  I feel the Neptune Suite provides a better room layout and much better value than a Penthouse Junior Suite, especially if it's in close proximity to the Neptune Lounge.  Most of all, I LOVED the Neptune layout where the desk directly looked out on the BIG window and the changing scenery. I could write, eat breakfast, whatever, and watch the beautiful changing coast go buy directly through that window.  The "magic shelves" in the closet were genius. (Shelves that pivot down or up depending on whether you need shelves or clothes hanging space.) 

 

The main downside for me is they allow kids, and I really enjoyed the all-adult experience. 

[greatver]

I am a four star HAL Mariner who has given up on them since they sold all their smaller ships. Sailing on my first Viking cruise in November on the Sky. Have high hopes!

[SempreMare]

7 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

HAL has three different sizes of ships. Too bad they sold off their smallest, but there are two still with just under 1500 pax. 

@Vineyard View
When you say there are two ships, do you mean two classes of ships or two ships?

[Vineyard View]

5 hours ago, SempreMare said:

@Vineyard View
When you say there are two ships, do you mean two classes of ships or two ships?

2 ships under 1500 pax

4 ships under 2000 pax

2 ships approx 2100 pax 

3 ships under 2700 pax

[philw1776]

As to small ships Silversea has 600 pax ships. Very nice ships but a bit ornate with less windows.

Bathrooms are huge with tub & shower.

Butlers, which to me can be annoying if you get one who insists on helping

Younger more active demographic; not all Americanos

Great food but a couple pricey specialty restaurants; not a problem because included ones are great

Annoying requirement of dinner jacket

 

[janetcbl]

Just my two cents worth…when we were younger we traveled with Lindblad/National Geographic in small ships for great physical adventures. For years we belonged to a British hiking group and after a month with them, took Cunard back to the states to recuperate enough to go back to work the day after we landed. (We had no room for formal wear, so hid” in our cabin on  formal nights.) We did one TA cruise on one of the mega ships ( an extended family trip) where everything was regulated by how many trips you had taken with the cruise line and the price of your cabin (It was a miserable experience.) Everyone has different preferences, to each his own….we prefer Viking.

[SempreMare]

@Heidi13, you might be interested in Captain Albert’s blog

CaptainAlbert.com

Edited May 26, 2023 by SempreMare

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, SempreMare said:

@Heidi13, you might be interested in Captain Albert’s blog

CaptainAlbert.com

 

Thanks, I've read a few of his posts in the past, back when I did a similar job prior to retirement,  but it hasn't been part of my regular reading lately. Thanks for the reminder, I'll check it out more frequently.

 

[DGHOC]

Any response or resolution from Torstein Hagen's office Andy?

[Clay Clayton]

On 5/14/2023 at 2:05 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

Although we no longer own property in UK, yes, I still have family over there, so could use their address to book directly with the UK office. This is something we have considered, as we have previously used UK travel agents to book cruises in UK.

 

The risk is currency fluctuation and the UK/Canadian exchange rate has fluctuated extensively these past few years. Since we tend to book up to 2-years in advance, ensuring we get a midship lower deck cabin for DW, this is a risk I must consider. If Viking don't address the issue for Canadians, we may consider the option of booking directly with UK.

 

Affirmative, I am drafting a communication detailing our issues, which will be sent to the Corporate Office.

Say it ain’t so!  I do hope you’ll (and suspect you will) come back and tell us the results of this immunization with Corporate. 
 

If it’s HAL you’re considering, we enjoyed our 23 days onboard last October (Alaska B2B with Hawaii roundtrip Vancouver) mostly due ti their entertainment options (which isn’t usually important to us) but found the food just tolerable-usually served lukewarm no matter what the correct temperature was supposed to be. Also, little variety offered in the buffet. 

[Twitchly]

On 5/14/2023 at 9:17 AM, photopro2 said:

 

It seems clear to me that those involved in the on shore side of the business are doing a very great disservice to the personable and professional crew members who provide customers with such an excellent experience on the ships. This is not something that is sustainable for Viking in the longer term. 

This. We have often felt that Viking Onboard and Viking Onshore are two completely different companies. Viking Onshore has been an unpleasant obstacle course one has to tolerate in order to reach the lovely Viking Onboard. I don’t know any TA who says they enjoy dealing with Viking Onshore.
 

You’re right; it’s a tremendous disservice to the wonderful onboard folks who work so hard and do such a great job. And it’s not sustainable in the long term; there’s a lot of competition out there.

[Heidi13]

9 hours ago, DGHOC said:

Any response or resolution from Torstein Hagen's office Andy?

 

Other than confirmation of receipt and that it will be escalated, nothing yet.

[DGHOC]

Fingers crossed!

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Say it ain’t so!  I do hope you’ll (and suspect you will) come back and tell us the results of this immunization with Corporate. 
 

If it’s HAL you’re considering, we enjoyed our 23 days onboard last October (Alaska B2B with Hawaii roundtrip Vancouver) mostly due ti their entertainment options (which isn’t usually important to us) but found the food just tolerable-usually served lukewarm no matter what the correct temperature was supposed to be. Also, little variety offered in the buffet. 

 

Thanks Clay. Affirmative, just booked the 133-day Pole to Pole with HAL, which encompasses 3 longer Viking cruises we were planning. Based on my research, that confirms my expectations, but as I mentioned in a previous post, we are adjusting our expectations accordingly.

 

The onboard experience will be a significant downgrade from Viking, but the booking process was seamless. Final payment 4-months before and full refund of all monies paid until 4-months before departure. Therefore, no financial risk and no need for trip cancellation insurance until making final payment. 

[Heidi13]

40 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

This. We have often felt that Viking Onboard and Viking Onshore are two completely different companies. Viking Onshore has been an unpleasant obstacle course one has to tolerate in order to reach the lovely Viking Onboard. I don’t know any TA who says they enjoy dealing with Viking Onshore.
 

You’re right; it’s a tremendous disservice to the wonderful onboard folks who work so hard and do such a great job. And it’s not sustainable in the long term; there’s a lot of competition out there.

 

Our TA voices a similar opinion, Viking L/A Office is by far the worst cruise line they deal with. We are not her only pax that have moved on due to the booking process.

[deec]

do the other cruise lines suffer from the same mixed experiences with onshore operations?

[Clay Clayton]

5 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Thanks Clay. Affirmative, just booked the 133-day Pole to Pole with HAL, which encompasses 3 longer Viking cruises we were planning. Based on my research, that confirms my expectations, but as I mentioned in a previous post, we are adjusting our expectations accordingly.

 

The onboard experience will be a significant downgrade from Viking, but the booking process was seamless. Final payment 4-months before and full refund of all monies paid until 4-months before departure. Therefore, no financial risk and no need for trip cancellation insurance until making final payment. 

If you like Indian food, I highly recommend you request a copy of tomorrow’s Indian menu in the MDR and if it’s to your liking, order it. That was the only time onboard we were served food at the proper temperature and it was tasty to boot!😀.  The group of 12 Indians (who are now Vancouver residents) at the table next to ours  turned us on to it and agreed that generally speaking it was authentic and well prepared. We also enjoyed the burgers and dogs at the “Dive In” though not as good as on Viking but being able to order on the app was great!

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

If you like Indian food, I highly recommend you request a copy of tomorrow’s Indian menu in the MDR and if it’s to your liking, order it. That was the only time onboard we were served food at the proper temperature and it was tasty to boot!😀.  The group of 12 Indians (who are now Vancouver residents) at the table next to ours  turned us on to it and agreed that generally speaking it was authentic and well prepared. We also enjoyed the burgers and dogs at the “Dive In” though not as good as on Viking but being able to order on the app was great!

 

 

Thanks Clay - This was going to be one of the questions I asked on the HAL Board. Do they supply Indian food upon request, similar to what we did on both Princess & Viking.

 

Most of my deep sea ships, both pax & cargo had mostly Indian galley staff, so we had some brilliant curries onboard. The cooks could be seen every morning out on deck grinding the herbs and spices.

[SempreMare]

One Room Service tip I found true for both Viking and HAL:    

 

--> Order double the protein. 

 

Ex:  HAL room service: 

the chicken salad sandwich + fries had excellent everything, but only maybe 1 teaspoon of a truly delicious chicken salad inside a very fresh bun, lettuce, tomato.  It was a cruel joke when to someone really hungry!   (BTW The fries really were excellent. Clearly they knew the chef trick to double-fry the fries at low-then-high temps to make crispy exterior-moist interior french fries.) 

 

Ex: Viking room service:

served a scant amount of turkey on an otherwise very good club salad.  Definitely  <  1 oz / 27 grams.    However, since Viking room service doesn't "close", I could simply call for another serving of turkey.

 

The problem with HAL room service was - I was so taken in by the Alaska coastal scenery and picture taking that I'd frequently skipped MDR dinner and ordered "late" in the dinner room service window.  So if there were problems, it was too late to fix it.

 

Oh!  ALSO, heads up:  If their advertised closure time was 9:00 pm,  HAL room service would sometimes say it was too late to order if I called at 8:40 pm.   Multiple nights on that Alaska cruise I recall trying to sleep with my tummy growling.  

Edited May 26, 2023 by SempreMare

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

. Do they supply Indian food upon request, similar to what we did on both Princess & Viking.

 

Most of my deep sea ships, both pax & cargo had mostly Indian galley staff, so we had some brilliant curries onboard. The cooks could be seen every morning out on deck grinding the herbs and spices.

Andy -

We love Indian food.  How were you able to get it on Viking Ocean cruises?   Did you talk with the head chef?  one of the staff?   Did you get it via room service or in MDR?

Kent

[CurlerRob]

8 hours ago, deec said:

do the other cruise lines suffer from the same mixed experiences with onshore operations?

 

For a November/22 cruise, we found that Oceania suffered from extremely poor communications prior to embarkation. Mixed messages, outright errors and extremely slow to keep up with unfolding events (this was when a number of countries were relaxing their Covid protocols and being current mattered).

 

Once on board, ops were quite good. 🍺🥌

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Andy -

We love Indian food.  How were you able to get it on Viking Ocean cruises?   Did you talk with the head chef?  one of the staff?   Did you get it via room service or in MDR?

Kent

 

Kent,

 

On Viking, another chap arranged curry nights, which were served family style in a closed off section of the MDR. I believe the last one had about 90 attendees. He arranged it with the Executive Chef through the GM. On the 2023 WC, had we not cancelled, I would have met with the GM to arrange and provide a plan where the numbers were managed carefully.

 

Back in 2015 on our Princess WC, I arranged a curry dinner for our table of 8. I arranged it with our section's A/Hd Waiter.

[Vineyard View]

12 hours ago, deec said:

do the other cruise lines suffer from the same mixed experiences with onshore operations?

We have been in Venice this week prior to our Seabourn embarkation today. I have to say that leading up to this journey their customer service has been excellent. We booked through our TA and she was able to secure exactly what we requested in the beginning. Since then I have called their customer service a few times with questions and they have been delightful to work with - no hesitation to assist me or requirement to go through my TA. We will now see how the onboard experience is. 

[duquephart]

Has Viking gotten what we used to call "too big for their britches?"