lattelady

I'm not sure how many ships have been affected by this but I've seen some complaints on TripAdvisor, so I decided to make a post. Several Viking ships have recently been docked in industrial ports outside of Amsterdam. We were put in Suezhaven and I've seen someone else say they were put in Coenhaven. I can only speak of the experience in Suezhaven.

We were right next to warehouses with frontloaders moving cocoa beans (photo attached). It was just extremely disappointing and we certainly didn't have the same experience as the Viking ships docked in the City Center.

Actual issues:

1. We booked our hotel so that we could walk to the center docks.

2. We had not booked transfers after the cruise as we planned to walk to the train station. (We had packed pretty lightly).

3. We couldn't get on/off at our leisure to explore the city as they advertise.

4. The view and smell were bad.

Viking response:

1. They did allow us to get on the shuttle running from our hotel (Movenpick) to the ship with people who had previously arranged transfers, so that was good.

2. After a long discussion with the concierge, they booked a taxi for us at the end of the cruise to take us to the train station. Two other people in the same predicament joined us.

3. They provided a few shuttles to run back and forth to the city. We waited over an hour to get back to the ship from the city because one of the shuttles was caught up in traffic.

4. There was nothing they could do with the view/smell.

We understand that the docking is out of their control, but I think that due to the high season of tulips, they were using as many ships as possible (and probably the other lines were as well) and the docks in town were overloaded. According to one of our shuttle drivers, he had never had to drive to our dock before.

Our concern is that while we overall had a nice trip, this severely impacted our Amsterdam stay which was 1/3 of our trip. And Viking didn't seem to care. That is the part that bothers me the most. They never once apologized. They only acted like it was beyond their control. That may be, but they had ships docking in the middle of town whose passengers were enjoying a much better experience than we were sitting outside of town in a smelly, ugly dock. And we paid the same amount.

I sent a message to Viking about 5 days ago through their website with my concerns. The website promises a response in 2 business days but I have not received one. We are holding off on booking a summer 2016 cruise while we await a response. This is our first Viking trip and may be our last. We aren't tied to them. If and how they respond will determine how we go forward. Honestly, if the staff had acted like it was problem or maybe offered an additional optional excursion or something like that to acknowledge the issue, we would have left with warm and fuzzy feelings and wouldn't be posting this now.

Our documents from Viking came with nice leather luggage tags. They also had itinerary books that you will probably want to take with you. I'm all for paperless, but I appreciated the books and tag covers. No idea if those would still be mailed.

We just finished this sailing with the Ingvi. Our experience was dampened by having to dock outside of the city of Amsterdam in an industrial area. Had to do this at the beginning of the cruise and the end of the cruise, so 3 out of 9 nights. It wasn't Viking's fault but it was a major disappointment to many on the ship. This also caused logistical problems as we expected to embark and disembark in town. But the biggest disappointing was not being in the City Center. It's not the same to take a shuttle for 30 minutes each way.

Compared to other river sailings, this one was more industrial and requires more coach rides to get to destinations (from what I understand.. It was my first). Still, the only thing that kept it from being a 10 was the Amsterdam dock issue. The Keukenhof Gardens were the highlight of the trip.

We are currently on this sailings on the Viking Ingvi. Our first river sailing. Hasn't started off too well but hopefully things will get better. They have us docked outside of Amsterdam in an industrial area with front loaders driving by full of cocoa beans. Not too scenic. Then during our first night there were electrical issues several times that awakened us (emergency lights would come on and then when the electricity came back on the tv would light up and go through a reboot process) a few times. Consequently, I'm starting this trip with some major jet lag. Anyway, the thing that bothers me the most is the attitude of the reception host. He seems put out to assist me in a purchase. Service industries should realize that employees attitudes go a far way to smooth things over or to add to discontent. My rant, hopefully, for the trip. Determined to have a good time. A nap this afternoon will help. Thanks for listening. :)

We recently booked a JS guarantee on an upcoming sailing. I did it over the phone because I had held the reservation and the price had gone up overnight. We already had a outside ocean view guarantee that we were upgrading from. It had already been assigned. Anyway, while on the phone with C&A upgrading to the JS guarantee, the computer assigned our room. We got an aft JS! My favorite spot on a ship. So happy and can't wait.

Does anyone know if suite guests can eat breakfast in a specialty restraint. I know on the EOS we ate in Portofino. Never been on the liberty.

As a suite guest, we had breakfast in Chops on the Nav last fall.

We are on a river cruise next week with a stop in Belgium. You might check the river cruising section as I've seen some discussion there regarding Bruges and Ghent.

We were on an Amazon River and Lesser Antilles cruise when Operation Desert Storm broke out in January, 1991. We should have missed our port at Trinidad/Tobago due to political unrest. We felt threatened by locals shouting "Death to Bush" to us and later that day two people were killed. We understood that no other ships docked there for a while.

Been on the hump on the Nav twice. So convenient to stairs and elevator, yet quiet. And it is easy to find if you are walking down the corridor from the front of the ship. Just look for the hump!

We only had one day of menus in our suite last time but all of them were available in the CL.

We used VIV Tours and had an excellent experience. This is the review I left on TripAdvisor:

We highly recommend this excursion. The hour van ride out to the site was educational and entertaining. Kareem is not only knowledgeable about the area and his country, but he just seems to be a happy person. He was fun to be around. His passion for his country was a plus. A good guide makes all the difference. We noticed other groups trudging through the forest with very quiet guides. Later, I heard some people saying they wished they'd been in our group. I'm sure it was also because we didn't have to carry our tubes! VIV has them waiting up by the river. We only had to carry them for a couple of minutes (instead of 30) but it was enough for us to realize that it was a very good thing not to have to carry them!

Another difference we noticed was that our group didn't get out when we came out of the caves like the other groups were doing. We went an additional distance down the river (about a mile, I think). That part of the experience was also enjoyable and relaxing. Just basic river rafting.

Visited April 2014

Bamagirl,

Roll Tide to that good customer service! Have a great time!

May I ask what is the email address for the suite concierge on Serenade of the Seas?

Thanks!

Debra

SR_Concierge@rccl.com

Alan was the concierge on the 2/7 sailing.

Will be in the 2BR on the Serenade tomorrow! Woot! Perfect for my son and I. That said, I understand that it is a bit smaller than the one on the Navigator which I sailed in with my sister last year. Both times we booked these online. They don't show up right away but at some point if they are still available, they get added to online inventory. In fact, my sis and I picked up the one on the Nav at an outstanding price.

One of the photos above showed a very nice bathroom. The finishes on the RFS on the Nav were just standard cabin finishes. I would have expected the bathroom shown above to be in a GS. I can't wait to see what the SOS holds for us!

PS - We did have soot on the Nav. Our steward brought us the big pool towels to cover up the chairs.

Bahamas question if you don't mind...will be there next week. I have something that I MUST do via online. Really need to do it the day after we are in Nassau but it is a Sea Day and I don't want to risk a wifi outage. So I will do it on Nassau day. I plan to do it onboard (and it really won't take very long) but if I have connection issues I will look for something near the port as I will need to take my laptop with me.

So, any suggestions for a spot with wifi near the ship?

I know this isn't what you asked, but since I am also quite prone to motion sickness I want to pass along to try Bonine (they give out the generic on board). Start it the day before sail. I actually haven't had a problem either mid-ship or completely aft. Hope you don't either!

I've also had the RFS on both Brilliance and Jewel, sister ships to Serenade and this suite will feel much smaller then the one you sailed in on NOS. What you will really love and see a huge difference in is the view off that balcony!. :D Also a bit smaller then Voyager class balcony but no steel structure in your view at all!!

This cabin will be a corner aft. Can't wait to see the view!

My sister and I sailed in the RFS on the NOS last fall, just the two of us. A special rate popped up for it about two weeks before departure. We paid less than we had paid for a JS the time before. It was worth every penny (at that reduced price). As mentioned, the interior is the finished the same as a regular cabin but it was so nice to have the extra room and extra bathroom. What a treat. So spoiled now.

Best perks were the suite perks, though. Spoiled there now too. Makes me want to sail in suites all the time, or at least until I get D+ status and get to continue the use of that Concierge Lounge. (Which will probably be the year after never). Also really enjoyed breakfast (to order) in the side restaurant of the Windjammer (was it Chops?).

Had some soot, but our steward brought some extra towels for us. Also loved the ability to order MDR food for room service.

Sailing in two weeks on the Serenade with one of my sons. We will be in the RFS. Again, excited about the two bedrooms and two bathrooms. However, if it were my hubs and I, we would of course rather spend that money on a Grand Suite. That is on the wish list for someday.

I usually buy unlimited but am fortunate that my company pays for it. Not so fortunate because I usually need to process payroll while I'm on board. Not sure why that always seems to happen. I'll be sailing in a couple of weeks and I'm a bit concerned because payroll day is a sea day. It has always been on a port day before so I had that back up if the wifi went down. But so far, I haven't had that problem. But yes, it is very slow.

We sailed on the Nav three times this year. The first time was in Feb when she was quite clean and sparkly from her refurb. Sailed again two months later and I could tell the difference. My thoughts were just about how hard it must be to keep the ship in tip-top condition between the weather elements and the sheer number of passengers. When we returned in the fall, the condition seemed unchanged from our April trip. I'm assuming that is the "normal condition". We certainly never encountered the issues that the OP did. We have one more trip booked on her before the Liberty arrives. We are quite fond of the Nav!

$2300 for two for a Royal Family Suite - 7 nights on the Nav.

Had an aft on the Nav that we loved. Large balcony with a great, non-windy view. Yes, the walk was long but don't mind that. Only negative was the soot on the chairs. Our steward left us extra pool towels to help with that.

Will have a corner aft on the Serenade in Feb. Looking forward to it!

I tried the package for cruising but I was never able to connect to Cellular At Sea. AT&T removed it when I returned and didn't charge me. Since then (which was just last Feb), I've done unlimited internet and have been able to imessage without a problem. It's more expensive, but I needed to remote in to work once or twice anyway.

I am trying to check the price of my cruise to see if there is a price drop. On RCCI website is states a certain amount that is "owed". Is this the number I use to check?

Are you doing a mock booking? Your actual booking price won't drop automatically.

I did book the RFS on the Nav on the 9-7-2014 sailing for 2. We saw it about two weeks before the sailing. I'm sailing on the 2-7-2015 Serenade and have already been able to book the family suite for 2. It came online about two weeks ago...much further in advance than the Nav. I'll be with my son on this sailing and am excited beyond words for the separate bathrooms. ;)