CCWineLover

Squawkman - we’ll finally meet. We had booked this Sept 26 Canada/NE cruise a bit ago and now want to cancel and rebook like you did. Good deal. TA said it isn’t permitted, so given you were successful I will try calling Viking directly.

Yes thanks Clay! With the demand surge there may be no more deals, just “sales” like free air and $25 deposits and free SSP. We like the ones where the actual cruise itself price drops significantly since we always do our own air.

There is nothing published about the wine tastings. There are actually other tastings too (of hard liquor and such). They have usually had one regular wine tasting (free for SSP and a charge for non-SSP) and a premium wine tasting (fee). These have been limited to 20 people and they serve cheese and you sit at Manfredi's tables, and are usually on a sea day at 2 PM. You must signup when you get on board. We have not been to the liquor tastings but saw they were often in the evening. Again - I have seen nothing ever published on these tastings. I learned about it from other Cruise Critic people. You just go to the guest services desk immediately upon boarding and ask about the available tastings. Here is a picture from one of the ones we attended.

The assigned time refers ONLY to when you get into your room. Usually DV's can be assured of getting into their cabin at 2 PM (PV's at 1 PM). However, this is NOT the time you can check in and come aboard. In all our cruises, we have found that we can get onboard around 11 AM with no problem (and there are usually about 50-60 passengers already checked in). This gives us a chance to immediately get on the Voyager App and do dining reservations, plus schedule wine tastings, cooking classes, and more (things that could only be done when onboard) - and before the masses get on. This past trip (a couple weeks ago), we actually boarded about 10:40 AM, had our safety drill and were in the Atrium area by 11:00 AM. This also gives you a chance to have a wonderful lunch courtesy of Viking! (We often do the Pool Grill or the World Cafe).

Likewise - I am quite surprised at this "sudden" change in policy. Perhaps it is the "new" Cruise Director bringing their past experiences to Viking from the Mega Ships. We also have several cruises scheduled. If Viking were to make this a permanent policy, we would like bow out.

Not our job to convince you. Only you know the kinds of things you like when cruising. Many threads exist here that very well detail the kinds of aspects to cruising that Viking represents. Read those and if they fit your style, then you have your answer. We at Cruise Critic are not here to make an argument for or against your own personal choice.

Then you will NOT want to be on the Jupiter or the Orion. We also enjoy the 8th floor of Explorer's Lounge and it just isn't the same with that big thing in the middle - that is indeed misused. If you want, give it a try - my guess is you will be underwhelmed, as it really isn't a planetarium. And the Viking ships don't need this planetarium to have a good astronomer on board to give talks and outdoor viewing of the heavens (we've had some good ones on ships other than Jupiter or Orion). My advice - don't make your final decision of whether to take Jupiter/Orion ships based on the fact they have this situation. Sometimes there is no other alternative (i.e. Trade Routes, South America).

You might take a look at Viking. They have several Canal cruise. We are on on now. Delightful!!

Smoothies included. On the Star now. They are available at the World cafe at the fruit counter. No waiter needed. Also available every morning at Explorers Bar. yes non alch beer and red/white wine available as well.

Yes you can.

Hi Dee - we board on Wednesday in FLL on the Viking Star. Have my real drinks lined up and ready to go! May not even wait for sunset 🙂

Anne - is your Canal trip a birthday cruise for you? If so, Happy Birthday!

In my experience it totally depends on the Viking Itinerary. We've been on a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale and it was indeed a much higher median age than any of the other 10 Viking cruises we've had. I had heard that cruises into/out of Florida tend to attract an older crowd with Viking, which is understandably. We were on the highly active Into the Midnight Sun cruise last summer in Norway - much younger and more active crowd! As well as the Rome to Barcelona Mediterranean cruise. That being said, we are boarding the Star in a couple days for Panama Canal for the holidays, so our expectations are set low 🙂

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Thanks! We only have a small deposit down in cash. No Vouchers involved or even planned to be involved. No other discounts to lose. We are doing the Eastern Seaboard on Mars Sep 26 MTL-FLL. Will give it a try. Worst they can say is no.

Does anyone have experience recently, on cancelling a cruise booked that's on the promo list, and >120 days away, and then rebooking using the promo code? I seem to recall someone saying that Viking is now prohibiting this technique (via software) that I've used in the past.

I hear you Joe. I spoke to Guest Services last week on this exact issue (they called me the day after I send an email to tellus@...). Apparently there have been so many people angry and upset over this that we've gotten their attention. (We'll see if something is done). I only 1/2 believe this, but he told me explicitly that Viking is going to change the COVID policies they made, of which this is one of them. Sometime in early 2023. Specifically, they reduced drastically the number of pre-board reservations that could be made for 2 people due to COVID crowding concerns. We'd heard of this before. He claimed it was 70 % tables kept open until boarding. I again stated they needed to do something now since Viking states that people can indeed get them but they can't. He said they recognize this now and will be going back to the pre-COVID policies. Again, I will believe it when I see it. He stated that now the issue is that all the suites are booking every reservation possible - and not to worry, they cancel a lot of them. So the 30 % gets used up very fast. I again said that isn't the point. I'm not worried about getting a table when I arrive, just would like them to do something. I suggested they cut down the number of reservations that PS rooms get (6?) in the meantime. Won't happen. So let's see if they really do change back to the way it was pre-COVID.

I can't speak for the River Cruises, which seems to be your experience. I do know that many things are different on Viking between River and Ocean. We did a Viking River last May, but we did not get the River drinks package since we were so busy with excursions and also had our own wine we brought onboard in Amsterdam. On Ocean, we usually bring a bottle on board for a special occasion. If we have many sea days, like we have in our upcoming Panama Canal cruise in a couple weeks, we'll get the Silver Spirits package. We enjoy not having to worry what time it is to have a drink, and especially at 5 PM or even at 9 PM after dinner at the Atrium Bar! I also agree that the wines are a bit better on the Premium Package. We also do drink beer and are not cocktail drinkers, so sometimes not having SSP isn't that bad. I've noticed the heavy cocktail drinkers get the SSP a lot, since only beer and wine (and sparkling wine) comes free with meals. And only 1 red and 1 white per meal (rotates), but pretty much any beer you want.

Thanks, Turles06! What tour did you take? Did they pick up at hotels? Some I see pick up at bus stops or downtown Museum. We'll likely not drive - would feel more comfortable to let someone else do that. There are so many tour groups available that it is hard to choose and evaluate.

Yes! Not only that, even if you don't finish them all in a given day, take the remaining out of the fridge and you can start stockpiling them!

This is likely one of the very most common topics that has been discussed on Viking threads over the years. Do a search as well and you'll find even more information. In reality it comes down to personal taste, habits, or budget so to speak!

Depends on the excursion. For some, part of the excursion isn't just the walking or museum, it might be the beautiful ride through the countryside. On our excursion to Florence, for example, the ride was quite beautiful through the Tuscan countryside! They have to state the times as departure time and arrival time to the ship, else everyone would be totally messed up.

We did that exact excursion. It was probably one of the best excursions we've done on our Viking Cruises! You'd love it. We had a DV room and (this was before COVID) had no problem getting it. You might "plan" for both Plan A and Plan B and see if you can get the Excursion from Eidfjord at your DV 67 day mark.

Excellent question. I would rather you contact Viking directly to get their answer as that is what will count. That being said, in the past we had friends who didn't board til late in the evening the day before actual Bergen Departure. We boarded in the afternoon. I'm not sure of your itinerary, but you are going to really be tired . . . if you fly from the Midwest to Bergen, do an afternoon walk, try to sleep, and then the tour to Flam is an all-day one that is long. You are definitely cramming a lot in. Hope you aren't wiped out by the time you get on board!

Likewise, Lorna! Glad they were able to make Casablanca, since the just recent Jupiter Southern Crossing people had it cancelled in November.