On Board Now- Dining does not uphold standard of River Cruise

I very much want to share positive experiences but feel it is constructive to evaluate my dining experiences so far. I am on Day 3 of the Homelands.

Background: I had a fabulous time on our river cruise 2 years ago and especially enjoyed the personal service in the dining room, the quality of the food and the attention to detail for my special dietary needs (gluten free for Celiac ).

The Ship is outstanding in it's structure. She is beautiful and functional. The staff has been helpful and cheerful. The shore excursions came through as booked.

The Dining: This is the main reason I selected Viking Ocean for this journey because it was so positive on the river. I started off talking to the Asst Mgr in the Dining Room when we boarded about my gluten free needs. He was in the World Cafe and told me that most things were "gluten free". I always double check since I get a serious reaction to gluten. I asked him to point out what was gluten free and he started by pointing out the couscous, Wrong- it is made from wheat. He then pointed out the roast and the BBQ ribs. I asked if the BBQ sauce was gluten free and he said - Yes. I then asked the cook behind the counter who was standing there and he said the BBQ sauce has gluten in it. Needless to say, I lost confidence in the Asst Mgr.

On to The Restaurant- I met with the woman in charge of special diets (Jovana) and she was very attentive and seemed very knowledgeable. On the other cruise lines I have been on (including Viking River), you had the opportunity to meet with a chef/cook to review the options for your dinner a day ahead or the morning before. They were able to tell which items could be prepared gluten free and yet still retain their characteristic flavor. The system here is that you mark what you want on a menu, turn it in and they 'will do the best they can'. You do not have the opportunity to speak with someone who knows. Which will often mean the entree -for example- Chicken Kiev will not be breaded and pan fried and No Sauce- so you end up with a dry piece of baked chicken. I expected better from Viking.

Our experience in The Restaurant last night made it seem like this was their first cruise. It took 1 hour and a half for dinner to be served. The waitstaff was hustling around but the service was not there. I explained to the waiter that I need gluten free food - no problem. He served the bread basket of regular bread. 10 minutes goes by- I flagged him down and asked if they have gluten free bread to offer. He said 'Yes' - but it did not seem to register. So I said - so 'where is it?' So he brought it.

If they don't have it to offer- fine but if they do have it, they should just bring it. Back to Viking River, I did not have to ask. The service on the River was so much better. Maybe it is just because of the size of the ship.

Reality check.

Forget about my special diet needs- the others in our group had less than stellar food experiences. Eggs Benedict not hot, side of rice was dried out and crusty on the top (sitting under heat lamp for hours?). These were in The Restaurant not the World Cafe where food should be fresh and hot.

Our one meal in Manfreddi's was excellent.

Today is Day 3, we will see how it goes.

Sounds like slow service and kitchen backup in the Restaurant dinning room. Hope they fix the problems quickly.

What Viking ship are you on ? Are there lots of new crew members?

I am on the Viking Sea.

The regular food issues : The dinner frustrations I think was a back up in the kitchen. The waitstaff was hustling. The breakfast frustrations I think was new waitstaff. He couldn't seem to take an order unless you ordered a pre-set menu i.e. "American Breakfast" or "English Beeakfast". I tried to create my own breakfast combo and he had a hard time entering it into their ordering gizmo (looks like an iPhone). I ended up getting 2 full breakfasts. He must be new.

The other off putting issue that we have encountered 2 days in a row was trying to be seated for breakfast. We allowed 1 hour before excursion time for breakfast and like to eat in The Restaurant with table service. On both days, the hostess started by saying that breakfast will take a LONG time and we may want to consider going to the buffet. I asked "how long is LONG?" She would say the kitchen is very busy. Other guests turned away and went to the buffet but Both times we took our chances and were done with breakfast within the hour. The dining room did not look busy to us. They may have meant well but it was off putting and we felt unwelcome.

Dinner service tonight was better. We had a different waiter and we felt better taken care of. I must say that I miss the River Cruise waitstaff where they really got to know you and your preferences. I guess that is the difference between 200 passengers and 800 passengers.

Dear Celiac Cruiser,

Thank you for sharing a constructive, real-time review of your onboard experience. Although we are happy to hear that you are enjoying the ship and shore excursions, we regret that the food and dining service has fallen below expectations previously set by our river cruises.

It is important to us that we do our best to turn this around for you. While onboard, please keep in contact with Guest Services about your experience, and about how they can arrange to prepare the best food within your dietary restrictions. Should you continue to experience the same concerns as your cruise progresses, please send a note to Tellus@vikingcruises.com.

Celiac Cruiser, we appreciate the opportunity respond to your comments, and wish you an excellent time for the remainder of your cruise.

Warm regards,

Viking Cruises

Thank you Viking Cruises for your attention to this matter. I have notified Guest Services and hope the dining experience improves.

In the small ship category of the Cruise Critic analysis of member reviews, the Viking Star, and Viking Sea were voted second, and third, respectively.

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/cruiserschoice_index.cfm?Category=Dining&sort=small

In the small ship category of the Cruise Critic analysis of member reviews, the Viking Star, and Viking Sea were voted second, and third, respectively.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/cruiserschoice_index.cfm?Category=Dining&sort=small

It was even better: first and second! But this review isn't about the quality of the food in general, it's about how well they accommodated special needs requests.

Our friend is allergic to Shell Fish........they were VERY careful with his food choices. Waitstaff in the MDR and speciality restaurants always knew about his allergy. We were on the SKY. Chef at Kitchen Table always had another option for him when we ate there and there was a seafood course.

I have to give credit to the responsiveness of Viking Ocean. I have been contacted by several of the Dining management on board so that they can understand the criticisms that I have and to try to make the dining experience better. Already they have made available gluten free pastries at breakfast, gluten free pasta at lunch and the best change they made I didn't even ask for- and that is to include a notation on the sign for each dish in the World Cafe that notes 'gluten free' when applicable. Thank you Viking! Now I don't have to keep bothering the cooks to ask what is gluten free.

If you are listening Viking, a small notation on The Restaurant menu with a 'G' next to gluten free items would make life easier for the waitstaff so they are not constantly pestered as to what is gluten free.

It is commendable that Viking cares about customer service and follows through. They are a quality company.

Deec,

I am glad your friend had a good experience with avoiding his shellfish allergy. The Viking Sky should be commended for their attention to detail.

I felt equally protected on our Viking River Cruise.

IMO, I think it is far easier to avoid shellfish than gluten since gluten can be hiding in mayonnaise, soy sauce, any number of sauces and even cooking oil. Even yesterday in Helsinki, the tour bus operator oferred a sample of local licorice. I love licorice but upon reading the label found it contained wheat (gluten). It is a constant puzzle to decider sources of hidden gluten and with Celiac even these minute amount can cause a bad reaction.

CeliacCruiser...I think you are very brave to cruise at all. Personally I would NOT be able trust that everyone would pay close attention to detail no matter how good intentioned. Those that suffer from celiac disease can have significant problems when they ingest even small amounts. Then there are people who avoid glutten for a variety of reasons and can be a pain in the neck!!! I saw a lady verbally abuse a waitstaff person for not having glutten free rolls ( this was not on Viking) and then have pie and ice cream for dessert!

I an also Celiac. I was on the Viking Star for the transatlantic..I had a menu every morning for that night's dinner. Had a wonderful waiter that was with me the entire cruise and he took care of my special needs where ever I was. (Hi eric) so I was very happy with Viking Ocean. I did expect it would be as great as the river cruise and after the first missteps, everything went smoothly thanks to Eric.

On the Sky each night that we were going to the Restaurant the restaurant manager had many papers all lined up with cabin numbers on them for special requests...and when the folks checked in the papers went with them.

I agree "that special waiter" makes all the difference. I had asked for a waiter who knew about the gluten free foods and was told "they all do". We all know some are better than others. It took 3 days until I happened upon Philip who is now is "my waiter". That was the missing link between river and ocean- the personal service from a waiter who gets to know you.

I feel well taken care of now and the quality of the food and service in general has improved.

I see that all the food signs in the World Cafe now note 'gluten free' when applicable and I am told that when the restaurant menus are reprinted at the home office, they will have a notation by the gluten free choices (like they do for vegetarian and heart healthy). Thank you Viking.

I a very impressed on how Viking responded and handled this. They seem to care about their customers unlike Celebrity and Royal.

We are very excited on our first Viking cruise coming in October.

If the cruise turns out as expected we will be changng our future cruises from Celebrity to Viking.

I have read a lot of cruises reviews over the years and Viking to us appears to have the highest percentage of their customers that love the Viking cruise experience.

I agree "that special waiter" makes all the difference. I had asked for a waiter who knew about the gluten free foods and was told "they all do". We all know some are better than others. It took 3 days until I happened upon Philip who is now is "my waiter". That was the missing link between river and ocean- the personal service from a waiter who gets to know you.

I feel well taken care of now and the quality of the food and service in general has improved.

You never go wrong with someone named Philip. They are all handsome, intelligent and well, humble.

My wife is a celiac diagnosed 20 to 25 years ago. We have done a lot of international travel in the ensuing years. We have been on at least 10 river cruises between Uniworld and Viking, and a similar number of ocean cruises between Celebrity, Princess, NCL, and Holland America. She has never been "glutenized" on board a ship. We make sure the cruise line knows about her gluten free requirements ahead of time, then talk to the maitre'd upon embarkation, and, if necessary, ask a lot of questions at meals. (If our table companions are put off by our questions they should experience at least one bout of being "glutenized" and they will understand the issue.) We are expecting a similarly good experience on our upcoming Viking Sky Into the Midnight Sun itinerary. On a recent Celebrity cruise we were pleased to see that on the restaurant menus gluten free selections were marked "GF" which saved a lot of questions. It also avoided having to make your meal choice the day before. We hope more cruise lines take the bait. When we eat on shore we carry our gluten free restaurant cards in the native language with similar success at avoiding being "glutenized."

You never go wrong with someone named Philip. They are all handsome, intelligent and well, humble.

And don't forget extremely modest

You never go wrong with someone named Philip. They are all handsome, intelligent and well, humble.

And their favourite song is:

CeliacCruiser...I think you are very brave to cruise at all. Personally I would NOT be able trust that everyone would pay close attention to detail no matter how good intentioned. Those that suffer from celiac disease can have significant problems when they ingest even small amounts. Then there are people who avoid glutten for a variety of reasons and can be a pain in the neck!!! I saw a lady verbally abuse a waitstaff person for not having glutten free rolls ( this was not on Viking) and then have pie and ice cream for dessert!

I hear you Deec.

Yesterday I was on an excursion to Berlin which included lunch. 2 of us were "gluten free". The lunch did not have any gluten free options so I did not eat. (I am extremely sensitive to gluten and would rather be hungry than suffer an attack. Hunger is only until the next meal. A gluten attack lasts days.). Anyway, the other 'gluten free' lady ate everything - breaded pork cutlet, meatballs, apple pie. I can see why it is confusing and frustrating for others.

Anyway, the other 'gluten free' lady ate everything - breaded pork cutlet, meatballs, apple pie. I can see why it is confusing and frustrating for others.

My stepdaughter went through a phase a couple of years ago... so annoying to have to painstakingly plan GF meals only to have her eat cookies, cake, etc. as if the gluten in sweets didn't count :rolleyes: However, my husband has an aunt who is celiac and it's no joke!

I'm a vegetarian and often find in our travels (and even just living abroad) that there isn't anything for me to eat in some situations. I've also been served soup that was clearly (based on my reaction to it) made with a meat-based stock (even after asking) which made me very ill. I've been a vegetarian for 27 years, so it's more than a phase, and I really do become ill if I eat any type of meat product.

People with flexible dietary preferences make it difficult for those who have dietary requirements. I hope you're having a great cruise!

Thanks ExpatBride,

Yes, the cruise is fabulous. We are having a great time.