sleepybobo

It's been a while since the last time I was on this forum, even longer since my last sailing with Viking.  Can someone remind me where to make reservation for Manfredi's? Is it at the World Cafe?

Thanks for all the above inputs.  I haven't been looking into this almost a year after my original post.  Life gets in the way.

I'm still thinking about Alaska, but in 2021, instead of 2020.  I don't think Viking has the 2021 Alaska itineraries available yet.  

Missymssy - how do you like your Alaska cruise on Orion?

I’m planning a cruise to Alaska in 2020. I sailed with Viking to the Adriatic Sea last year and loved it. I’ve booked a sailing to the Baltic Sea with Viking again next year.

I have a sticker shock when I see the price of Viking’s Alaska itinerary. It seems to be more more expensive than other cruise lines.

I don’t mind paying more for better experience. In reality, I got good value for what I paid for my Viking cruise last year.

However, Viking’s itineraries in the America’s (Alaska, north eastern US/Canada, the Caribbean’s) just seem so much more expensive than say Celebrity’s.

Also, Viking seems to be new player in the Americas. Any thoughts?

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I’d like to book a 8-day cruise departing in September 2018. There’s no itinerary that fits my search criteria.

I can’t take more than 1 week off from work in September. But I still want to have a short getaway.

Will there be any new itinerary be added in the coming months?

Or, are all 2018 sailings finalized already. If so, I may need to look into another cruise line.

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I had a strawberry and banana smoothie at the Mamsen’s in the morning. Not sure if it’s made with fresh fruit though.

If memory serves, there’s smoothie in the World Cafe. Flavor changed daily.

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Yes, seems inconsistent as I just read mine & posted the exact words which are different.

I don't have problems with them evolving their policies.

I DO have a problem when I'm charged at onboard booking over $1,000 more for a newly announced but not yet posted on the internet cruise than the actual price when it's finally posted on the internet later that month. Unconscionable.

I agree with you. It’s not fair business practice to charge people more for a not-yet-posted itinerary. In your case, you really should get compensated with the price difference.

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You are completely correct. It is 4 months, not 6 as I'd posted previously.

 

My booking on board paper reads, "Flexibility to change any itinerary or date up to 4 months before departure."

It seems Viking’s onboard booking policy is quite inconsistent. On my booking doc, it’s said a change fee of $100 per person would be charged before 120 days prior to departure.

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I was on the Sun October 17 to 25. The Infinity pool at the back of Deck 7 felt cool (I don't know the exact temperature) when the outside temperature was in the upper 70's. I am 6' 1" tall and I could stand at the shallow end and keep my chin dry. At the far rear I could barely stand and stay above water when on the tips of my toes. If I was guessing, I would say that the shallow end was 5 feet and the deep end was 5' 9".

 

The main pool was also cool but not uncomfortable. I could stand in it, but the water was up to my chin.

 

The pool in the Spa was probably about 4 feet deep. One day the water was warm (like a very modest hot tub) but on another day it was cool. That was OK when part of the cycle of hot tub, sauna, water bucket shower, snow grotto, etc.

Interesting! I sailed on the Sun from Oct 4 to Oct 11. I found the water temperature of the main pool to be a bit too warm. I had to get out of the pool to cool down after 5 laps. I’m about 5 feet 7. At the deeper side of the pool, the water was up to my forehead. I couldn’t stand even if I tip-toed. I think it must be at least 5 feet 6 inches deep.

Didn’t try infinity pool.

I can stand comfortably in the thermal pool at the spa. Water temperature was lukewarm.

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With more new ships joining the Viking Ocean fleet in the coming years, I’m truly hopeful that more new itineraries will be created to attract past guests.

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My favorites are:

Nordic Spa: I didn’t expect to enjoy the spa so much. The snow grotto and thermal pool are so much fun. Make sure you wear a pair of sandals when going into the snow grotto.

Main pool: Blessed with wonderful weather during our sailing, the retractable roof was not closed during most day time making it very nice to relax by the pool.

Explorer Lounge: It’s a perfect place to hang out after dinner. I love the elegant and cozy ambience. If you go there in late afternoon, you can get the delicious Success Cake and Norwegian waffles from the Mamsen’s.

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We did Empires of the Mediterranean, and also missed out on Istanbul and Ephesus, and hope things settle down there (for the Turks as well as the tourists.) Maybe include Rhodes and Crete, something in southern Italy, then Sicily?

We did a similar itinerary (Venice, the Adriatic and Athens) last month and loved it. This sailing misses on Slovenia and Santorini though. I’d have booked Empires of the Mediterranean, but the sailing dates don’t work with my calendar.

I am definitely interested in Turkey with some Greek Islands and southern Italy.

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This is a fun thread.

I’m hopping for another alternative eastern Med route going to Istanbul when the situation in Turkey becomes more stable, along some Greek Islands (Santorini and Mykonos in particular) departing from Venice or Athens without repeating too many of the same ports on Empires of the Med sailing.

I second Peregrina651’s suggestion of western Med itinerary going down to Morocco.

Hawaii island-hopping.

Spain and Portugal. Viking has a similar itinerary (Iberian Explorer) now. My personal preference would be substituting Portsmouth and Tilbury with Lisbon and Porto.

Hope Viking is reading this and turn some of our suggestions into reality. [emoji3]

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Be careful booking onboard.

While on Viking Homelands in June, I booked onboard for the Med Odyssey cruise October 2018. The cruise was just released so it was not listed on the Viking website at the time. So we asked the Viking sales rep onboard if our deal (round #s) for our same PV3 cabin which we liked at $6800 per person was going to be the June standard price. With a $400 onboard discount we paid $6400 each. I know that booking with a TA I might get onboard credit almost as much but felt secure booking eye to eye with Viking and we were happy at $400 off list.

Turns out that the PV3 list price posted online throughout the summer June-Sept (before Oct price increase when almost fully booked) was $6250. So, pretty much everyone else going on the cruise paid less than we did. We paid more than PV1 guests.

I contacted Viking and after weeks back & forth and all they'll do is give us a $200 (per person) onboard credit. They offered a cabin upgrade but it does not interest us as we like our PV3 cabin as is.

I am NOT happy about their on board pricing game. I've booked half a dozen cruises with Viking and this was not satisfactory.

My complaint is with Viking corporate, not the people onboard Viking Ocean who were excellent.

I booked Russia and the Baltic Seas in April 2019 while onboard. I asked the cruise consultant what happens if the cruise price drops. She said I could cancel and rebook. But she said cruise price usually goes up, not down.

The V1 on the sailing I was on (Venice, the Adriatic and Athens) increased to $3,174 in Oct 2018 from $2,699 in October 2017.

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I didn’t feel rush dinning at Manfredi’s. We spent about an hour and a half there.

On average, our dinner was about two hours long while onbroad. Some may say the service is slow at the Restaurant. But I quite like the slower pace so we can relax after a long day.

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I wrote to the TellUs crew and inquired about the past guests benefits post the termination of Explorer Society.

This is how they replied:

With regards to priority notice, your current subscription to our email mailing list is the best way to ensure you receive advance notice on offers, notifications, and last-minute discounts for past guests as soon as they are made available. Moreover, you’re always welcome to call our Viking Travel Experts at 1-877-705-7631 for specific inquiries, or simply email us at the same address, where we’re more than happy to assist you.

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Not trying to defend Viking here, but given the limited number of nights (especially shorter cruise), it may not be feasible to let everyone to have a guaranteed reservation at a specialty restaurant? I've never been on an Oceania before, so not sure how dinning reservation is done on Oceania.

During my sailing on the Sun as V1 guest, I was able to dine at the Manfredi's once at 9pm in the last night. I met folks who couldn't get reservation at Manfredi's at all. So, I guess it really depends on some degree of luck (checking with the waiter outside of the World Cafe at a moment when there's an opening or cancellation).

By the way, in my sailing, the head waiter at the Manfredi's was pretty adamant that all reservations be made at the desk outside of the World Cafe. When we checked with him during dinner time about any open table, he said he didn't have access to the reservation system.

I haven't written to Viking yet. Am about to. If the Explorer Society program has ended, Viking should update the website.

I'll ask whether past guests receive advance notification of new itineraries and last-minute discounts ahead of the general public.

I still haven’t received my Explorer Society card. But I got off the Sun less than 3 weeks ago.

I’ll write to Viking and let you guys know when I hear back from them.

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Okay, I'm totally confused (and I'm no techno-geek, unfortunately). I tried to contact Viking via the Tellus@Viking.com, but got nowhere. Is this an email address??? I tried sending an email, but Yahoo said they were unable to deliver my message to that address. Help!!!

The email address should be tellus@vikingcruises.com

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Thanks CharTrav and Peregrina651. The little goodies from Viking is nice. Look forward to seeing what I'll get for my next trip. :)

I'm wondering if past guests get notified of new itineraries and last-minutes discount ahead of the general public. Given how fast the V level cabins are sold out, I'd love to know whenever there's new sailings.

Are past guests of Viking automatically members of the Explorer Society? What are the benefits?

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This could wind up being very disappointing for those of us in Category V cabins, as we can't make any reservations until we're on the ship. We'll be sure to put that high on our to do list when we board.

We were in the V1 category on the Sun from Venice to Athens. I tried to book a reservation for the special restaurants on Day 1 after check-in. Manfredi’s was already fully booked for the entire sailing. The Chef’s Table was still available. I was told to check every day to see if there’s any cancellations. I checked almost everyday and finally was able to make a reservation for Manfredi’s at 9pm on last day of the sailing. I was glad that we could try the specialist restaurant and did find Manfredi’s to be a cut above the Restaurant. But, frankly, we don’t feel the ability to make reservations for the specialty restaurants prior to embarkation justify the upgrade to DV category.

We found we enjoyed dinning at the Restaurant a lot. The Chilean sea bass and scallops we had in the first night was probably our favorite. We also liked the sashimi, crab legs and sushi at the Cafe.

We booked V1 for our next sailing and will play by the ear. We hope to dine at the Manfredi’s at least once. If not, I don’t feel we would feel terribly disappointed.

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So, I read from another thread that I can transfer a booking made while onboard to a TA and get OBC from the TA subsequently; even after getting onboard and past guest discounts from Viking?

Like everyone else, I'm trying to get the best possible deal. If by moving my booking to a TA, I could gain additional OBC, I'm definitely interested in working with a TA.

Hi. We're just waking up to our first full day aboard Viking Sun. Last evening we had a fortuitous opportunity to talk with our Cruise Coordinator. She told us that booking onboard for a future cruise carried with it a $200 -$500 discount on the future cruise as well as a $100 shipboard credit on the cruise we're currently on. We'll be looking into this and I'll clarify more details. And, I'll share her name as she's been very helpful (embarrassed but it's after 3am, I'm in bed, and jet lag has overtaken my brain). We are so enjoying our first Ocean cruise after many wonderful river cruises with Viking.

I booked a 11-day sailing to Russia and the Baltic Sea while on Viking Sun earlier this month. Like you said, total discount per person was $500 ($300 onboard booking discount and $200 past guest discount.) Also got a $100 OBC for the cruise we were on.

I sailed on my first Viking cruise two weeks ago on the Sun's maiden voyage from Venice to Athens and LOVED IT. I had one of the best vacations in my life.

Before this sailing, I'd been on two cruises before. One on Celebrity Millennium to Alaska and the other on Holland America Koningsdam to Norway. There's no comparison. Viking Sun is the best in all areas from stateroom comfort, dinning and activities.

Viking's sticker price may look high. IMO, Viking does provide the best value for what I paid for. As mentioned in the "Tell Me Why" thread, Viking doesn't nickel-and-dime. I love how I don't need to be mindful of number of glasses of wine I order during dinners. I love free access to sauna, steam room and the very cool snow grotto. I love that there is no cover charge to the specialty restaurants. All guests are treated the same. Although I'm not a big fan of the included excursions (I prefer self-guided tour than following a guide,) the optional one are very reasonably priced.

My total cost for Viking Sun this year came up lower than the total I paid for Holland America last year (may be comparing apples to oranges. one sailed to Norweigian fjords and the other sailed to the Adriatic Sea. but both were 7-night sailings.) My experience on Viking Sun far surpassed that of Holland America.

Viking is my cruise line of choice going forward.