Kentishincanada

We took the Athens To Venice cruise in September. The only time we were served wine not in stemmed glasses was at Chef's Table and Pool Bar. Even the sparkling wine at various events i.e. embarkation, was in stemmed glassware. I should note that the tumblers in Chef's Table were Ridel type tumblers and quite elegant. The second time we dined in Chef's Table we took the upgraded wine package for $25 and were served in stemmed glasses. We found this to be an excellent alternative to the wine package as we were usually happy with the included wines. There was a wine one evening I did not enjoy but the wine I bought to substitute was very reasonable at approx. $7 a glass. Also we found that Viking's policy to allow purchased wine to be carried on to the ship was wonderful. We found interesting wines in Greece, Croatia and Montenegro to try on our veranda before dinner.

We were on The Sea in September. We did buy the $25 wine upgrade at The Chef's Table and it was excellent - among others a New Zealand Pinot Noir and a superb aquavit paired with the salmon course. We did try to upgrade at Manfredi but the $25 package was not on offer but premium wines were offered by the glass. We looked at the listing but there was nothing we preferred to the included wines that evening. Definitely worth the extra for Chef's Table as it is a tasting menu.

We used Milo and had a wonderful tour (popmilo@rocketmail.com). He drove us to Budva and Perast, but will tailor the tour to your wishes. We had a van for 6 - finding other couples through the roll call on CC.

Enjoy

Thank you for the video.

We were on the Sea in September. I can't say I noticed the depth of the pools, however I am fairly tall. Also from memory, the pool in the spa was warm - maybe there were some adjustments to the Sea.

We had some incredible food. The fruit buffet at breakfast was lovely. We didn't eat dinner in the buffet, except for an appetizer plate from the sushi buffet. The food in the MDR was excellent having lobster and Dover sole on the menu one evening. We ate at Chef's Table twice. The Scandinavian menu was exceptional and was as good as any tasting menu I have tried. I would like to have seen some spicier curries etc., but that is just a personal taste. My only criticism food wise would be that sides could have been served hotter: sometimes they were only warm.

I cannot really comment on the lack of evening entertainment as we were with friends and ate fairly late, so after the show and a dance at the nightclub, we were ready for bed.

We enjoyed our cruise and the ship was lovely.

I have no idea exactly what a 'Christening' actually involves but the Viking Sea will not be docked in Greenwich but there will be a short tender to shore. We have a home in Greenwich so would be interested to know if anything will be visible from the riverside and if so what are the timings. We will be onboard Istanbul to Venice in September 2016.

As we are close to Greenwich on 5 May, I wrote to Viking asking whether it would be possible to see the Christening. I did not expect to be allowed to board, but rather watch from afar before our cruise in September. They replied to say that this will not be possible for security reasons. Shame.