TA on the Star - activities

While ronbe65 has done a beautiful job of showing you the Star on the TA cruise from San Juan to Barcelona that was just completed (Viking Star: Big Steps of a Small Ship,) I'd like to share some of the activities that took place during our sea days.

We boarded in San Juan on February 25. We went in a day early and stayed at the Sheraton. It is within easy walking distance of the dock. The absolute smartest thing that we did was post on Roll Call that we'd be at the happy hour at 5pm at the Sheraton if anyone else would like to come. We ended up with 13 people! It was great to meet the people we'd been corresponding with. We also had a great time together on the ship. More about that later.

From San Juan we went to St. Maarten. I was perplexed about why we bothered going there since we departed at 2pm. Later in the cruise I learned that the purpose was to give late arriving passengers a chance to catch up with the ship as well as any lost/missing luggage that might not have made it to San Juan. Then it made sense!

Then we headed out for six consecutive sea days. I had multiple books with me to read and figured I'd be doing a lot of that. Absolutely not. There were five lecturers aboard and there were daily lectures at both 10:30 and 2:30. Some were interesting and others not so great but you quickly learned which speakers were interesting to you. If you missed a lecture, you could always catch it later in the cruise on the tv in your room.

At noon each day there was trivia in the Explorers Lounge. It became so popular and so crowded that it eventually moved to the theater. Viking could do a little bit better in the way of prizes (my team won on the first day and we got a dish of berries from nearby Mamsens! The next day it was cheese and the next day a waffle. The prizes didn't come until we moved to the theater.) It was a lot of fun. I never expected it to be and have never participated before. And I wouldn't have participated this time if the people from CC that I met in San Juan hadn't invited me.

Our Meet and Mingle was well attended by thirty people. I made nametags with the "handles" that we use on CC and then people wrote in their names. It was held in the upper level of the Explorers Lounge and drinks and appetizers were wonderful. Many crew members attended the event.

There were also tours of both the bridge and the galley. These are very limited in numbers of people attending. If you are interested sign up as soon as you get on the ship. We missed both of these when we did Viking Homeland last year. With six sea days, I think they could have run each tour more than twice. I especially loved seeing the galley and my husband was fascinated with the bridge.

We had some OBC to use and I signed up for a cooking class. This was offered twice and was not well publicized. For $59, it was a steal. There were ten of us in the class at the Kitchen Table (behind the Chef's Table.) The room could have held twelve participants. It's a beautiful space and we began with dessert first - tiramisu. Everybody had a part to play. Then we moved on to chopping/cutting/preparing the ingredients for the next two dishes. (If I knew how, I would post photos of this step.) We each had a cutting board at our seats. The chef demonstrated any little special techniques to the group for each ingredient we'd be preparing from dicing an onion to mincing garlic and preparing mushrooms and herbs. Then we were ready to made a duck/mushroom risotto and veal saltimbocca. After it was all completed, the ten participants had a beautiful lunch eating the fruits of our labor. We even wore and kept Viking Oceans aprons.

There were movies every evening by the pool area. There are also many movies available on the tv in the rooms. There are books all over the ship if you forgot to bring your own. At night, the astronomer aboard would be available on the top deck to point out stars and constellations. The marine biologist was always in the Explorers Lounge during the day looking for whales, dolphins and sea birds. All of the speakers were always available for conversation when you encountered them on the ship.

Unlike ronbe65, we enjoyed the entertainment each evening. It is not highly professional but the dancers and singers did an okay job. I didn't care for the magician but others thought he was great. In preparation for the Abba show, they offered some dance lessons so we could join with the dancers at the "grand finale." It was a blast.

There were many groups playing cards and games. We suggested to Viking that it would be nice if they'd post a meeting time for people interested in different types of card games. They eventually did this later in the cruise for bridge players. Hopefully they will take this into consideration for future TA cruises. It was also suggested that other games should be available - dominoes (only double sixes were available,) mahjong tiles, board games, etc.

Considering that this was the first eastbound crossing for Viking, I think they did a great job of keeping people occupied. The weather was much warmer for the entire crossing than I had anticipated and I was wishing I'd packed a pair of shorts. I think the crossings in the future are later in the spring so it might REALLY be warm.

If I can answer any questions for those of you signed up for future Viking TA cruises, I'll be happy to respond. And I know that many of the people from our roll call will help me out.

Thank you very much KyHo for the post. We will be making our first TA on The Sea this time next year and knowing what to expect is really helpful. Where did you sign up for the bridge and galley tours?

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The Explorers Desk on the main deck can handle this for you. There are two areas - one for booking shore excursions and the other for handling any other problems.

And I forgot to mention that each day there was a crossword puzzle and Sudoku puzzle available in that area for anyone who wanted. That was a pleasant surprise.

Thank you so much for filling in the various activities avaliable during the six sea days.

I know I will not be bored at all. Lots of diversity for all guests.

Thanks again for this post . Another couple of questions. Which day was your M&M? Also was the captain's reception the first night you sailed and do you recall a special menu in the MDR that evening?

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The M&M was held on the first sea day. If you don't get your invitation by the second night of the cruise, stop by the Explorers Deck to check. We didn't get ours but since we'd already met people from our Roll Call in San Juan, they let us know. The night of the Captain's Reception there was lobster in the main dining room. We didn't know that there would be something special and we missed it!

Thanks for that additional detail. Sorry you missed out on the lobster, we did last time too which is why we are looking at which night it is likely to be!

So as I understand it the captain's reception was on day 1 after you left San Juan and the M&M was on day 3, at the end of the first full day at sea. Is that correct?

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Dinner was day 2, after we left St. Maarten (at 2pm.)

Understood, thanks.

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We will be on our first TA on Viking Sea next March. Did they have bridge teachers and bridge parties on board? I've been on other TA cruises with bridge events.

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Thank you KyOh, we have booked the Far East & Alaska cruise April 2019. I was a little nervous about the sea days and what to do, since we have not sailed with Viking before. You have put my mind at ease. We will be sailing with Viking this November 24 for the cruise to Cuba. Did you book your hotel (Sheraton) on your own or using Viking. We usually book with points our hotel. I ask this because so many people showed up for Happy Hour. What a great idea you had.

Thanks for that additional detail. Sorry you missed out on the lobster, we did last time too which is why we are looking at which night it is likely to be!

I get the impression the kitchen is on a different schedule than than the rest of the ship, that it has an x many day rotation of menus and that it sticks to that schedule regardless of the coming and going of the passengers. So lobster night and Captain's dinner aren't necessarily tied to one another.

I know that the Chef's Table runs on a strict 3 day rotation and that day one of the cruise is not necessarily day one of the rotation. I saw this on our last trip.

Travellingnonni99 - I think you'll have a wonderful time!! We booked the hotel on our own but since San Juan is so small, people on the Roll Call came no matter what hotel they were staying in.

Cowboy - There was a meeting time for people to meet others who wanted to play bridge during the cruise. There were no instruction given by Viking staff.

Viking is sounding more and more like another cruise line - but that's OK, it's a good line to copy!

Anyway, I'm curious about the timing of lectures. I know you mentioned they were, for your cruise anyway, at 10:30 and 2:30 or something like that. Were those general lectures, I assume, covering various topics and like many related to aspects of the Caribbean? Were there any lectures by guest lecturers or Viking staff that were focused specifically on the destinations you would be visiting? If so, were they held during the day, or is anything held before dinner or after dinner on days the ship is in port?

KyOh - how was the Meet and Mingle arranged, was this for people on the roll call? Love your idea for the name tags.

KyOh - how was the Meet and Mingle arranged, was this for people on the roll call? Love your idea for the name tags.

You have to sign up for the Meet and Mingle in order to get an invitation delivered to your cabin. Follow the Meet and Mingle link at the top of this page to sign up, which must be done at least two weeks before sailing. Anyone who is a member of Cruise Critic plus the people sailing with them are welcome to attend; you do not have to be an active member of a roll call to qualify. For instance, when I signed up for our M&M, I signed up three other people --my husband and the couple we sailed with. The sign up requires that you give the full name of each person so that invitations can be delivered to your cabin; screen names are not shared with Viking. The M&M time and date are not announced in the daily schedule.

You have to sign up for the Meet and Mingle in order to get an invitation delivered to your cabin. Follow the Meet and Mingle link at the top of this page to sign up, which must be done at least two weeks before sailing. Anyone who is a member of Cruise Critic plus the people sailing with them are welcome to attend; you do not have to be an active member of a roll call to qualify. For instance, when I signed up for our M&M, I signed up three other people --my husband and the couple we sailed with. The sign up requires that you give the full name of each person so that invitations can be delivered to your cabin; screen names are not shared with Viking. The M&M time and date are not announced in the daily schedule.

Thank you Peregrina651, I have followed your instructions and I will encourage others to sign up as well. Thanks again:)

You have to sign up for the Meet and Mingle in order to get an invitation delivered to your cabin. Follow the Meet and Mingle link at the top of this page to sign up, which must be done at least two weeks before sailing. Anyone who is a member of Cruise Critic plus the people sailing with them are welcome to attend; you do not have to be an active member of a roll call to qualify. For instance, when I signed up for our M&M, I signed up three other people --my husband and the couple we sailed with. The sign up requires that you give the full name of each person so that invitations can be delivered to your cabin; screen names are not shared with Viking. The M&M time and date are not announced in the daily schedule.

I had signed up for the M&M. Is there a way to view the M&M and see who is coming?

I had signed up for the M&M. Is there a way to view the M&M and see who is coming?

Yes, when I signed up there was a highlighted spot that said see who has registered. Click there and you can see who is registered. Viking wants a a certain number of people to sign up. They do not tell you the numbers but, will email you when the list hits the number people needed.

Is the menu posted outside of the MDR every day so that if they are serving lobster you will know ahead of time? Just curious.

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Is the menu posted outside of the MDR every day so that if they are serving lobster you will know ahead of time? Just curious.

 

 

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Yes, and I think you count on it the nights the captain address the ship.

Yes, when I signed up there was a highlighted spot that said see who has registered. Click there and you can see who is registered. Viking wants a a certain number of people to sign up. They do not tell you the numbers but, will email you when the list hits the number people needed.

The magic number is one. Only one person needs to sign up for the m&m to take place.

If you don't see the number one in that sentence then write to Community@cruisecritic.com and adk them to fix it. If they dont put a number in there then the list of names might not get sent to Viking and there won't be an m&m. Keep nagging until they fix it because this should not be happening any more.