CCWineLover

Not only that, Dee, for us the Chef's Table not only had great service, but . . because it is a much quieter, more relaxed atmosphere than Manfredi's and The Restaurant, we actually had many opportunities to talk with the wait staff. Some great discussions, and it is where I learned about the wine app Vivino. The staff is so rushed at the other 2 restaurants, it is not only harder to talk with them but harder to hear them if you do! They bend over backwards for you in CT. Always remember the time the couple sitting in front of us were having a discussion with the waiter. They were new to Viking and new to Chef's Table and obviously had NO clue as to the type and style of CT. They like the nice, quiet, intimate setting, but didn't want any of the menu being served. They insisted on having a Big Steak and Potatoes! The staff didn't argue (but did educated them for future references), but instead went over to The Restaurant, got them that meal and brought it back! Now that's something!

We should save your post and tell people to look at it - every few days it seems we get posts from people who complain bitterly that they can't get any advanced reservations and are so unhappy. This will give them hope!

Same with us, Michelle! Likely Fall 2024 and yes, hopefully the Opera House is having shows. Remember when we were there in Buenos Aires in Jan 2020, all you could do was take the tour. (which was still good). Perhaps we'll see you in a couple!

Good eye! We want to take this sometime. We've cancelled twice (once COVID and once because Africa and Brazil are still closed to Viking and those would be highlights to us, as well as still having do do COVID morning test tube testing). We will likely try again for this in 2024 (March or November) if things improve a little in South America.

Good luck! Some recent poster said Viking Consultant had told them on board that Viking is in the process of creating brand new itineraries for 2025, given that so many people have taken so many of the "traditional" itineraries. They thought this might be done within 8-10 months, which doesn't help you however. Are you wedded to the Mediterranean? There are some interesting itineraries that aren't there. I always just search putting in a year (like 2024) and seeing all the cruises available. I've found some interesting new Transatlantics that way. Also, are you able to use the vouchers on a river cruise? There are a number of unique river cruises out there.

Have done 10 Ocean Cruises. It usually changes every 3 days, but it can be 2 or 4 occasionally. When you book, you will not know what the menus are on any given day. The ship doesn't even know. We learned that they plan out the menus one month ahead of time, and even then, they can change slightly, although once the cruise starts, they usually stay what they are published. We generally learn the menus and the schedule when we board. We then make reservations or change ones to the days we wish. There are a large number of possible menus that have been served, but it seems that lately there are some common ones that seem to appear on every ship (Asian Panorama, Mexican, Routes des Indes, Xiang, etc.). Do a forum search on Viking Ocean threads for menus. You'll see quite a number of moderately recent posts with all kinds of information. Many have even taken pictures of their menus. On MyVikingJourney you can see sample menus (not necessarily ones that you might get but possibly). There is one or more menus with seared Ahi (Tuna). Please note that even if there is something you will not eat, don't avoid the CT just because of that. Viking is more than happy to substitute something for you. I for example, don't care for lamb, so they always give me a nice NY Steak or a Salmon steak instead. I'm sure you'll find many items on the menus that you DO like so enjoy!

We watch the Viking Today show while getting ready 🙂 On vacation, I try to stay away from anything depressing (which is the News these days!). I know I know, ostrich with head in the sand. 🙂

Great to hear! When we see you on the upcoming Panama Canal trip in December, we'll have to pick your brain further, as we are going Jan 2024. Kent

Andy - it was your blog posts that inspired us to take the leap beyond 2 week Viking cruises and we booked this 32 day Hawaii/French Polynesia cruise for Jan-Feb 2024! Looking forward to doing something different!

Read the many many posts on this thread about why that is so, and what you need to do when you get onboard. No problem.

I hear you. We've traveled Viking many times before and after COVID shutdown. I never saw this (closing out of excursions before DV gets to reserve) before COVID - and after COVID, I'm seeing it nearly all the time. I can only think that it is because of the difficulty in finding tour operators that Viking contracts with - and again, this does vary by location. Hopefully this will improve in the future.

Andy - I was about to answer the OP, but you have put it much better than I could have! It does amaze me how after COVID, there are passengers who say they'll never use Viking again. (But often they seem to keep coming back on the CruiseCritic forums). Passengers have sadly become more demanding and more entitled than before COVID. As you say, more room then for us, if they do keep to their promise of never using Viking again!

On our B2B, we asked, but no they do not give any price reductions. This seems pretty standard with Viking. This was US booking so maybe it makes a different for UK.

On our upcoming cruise, I will pay attention to what is offered. When on a cruise, we rarely spend any time watching TV channels. Too much else to enjoy on the ship and we can watch TV at home. OK - well we do watch the taped and live Viking shows (Star Theatre shows, lectures, port talks, etc) after dinner since they're all usually so crowded to do live and you have to get there really early (our last experience this summer).

Just a note - we had our Travel Agent get with Viking to see about applying the EHT22 promo code to our booking (the code that Clay posted a bit ago) - Thanksgiving sale. Sadly, even though we did book between Nov 1 and Nov 30, because we did it Nov 3, we thought we'd qualify. Unfortunately since the code had not been published when we booked, it cannot be put on now. In addition, we cannot cancel and rebook (paying $100 penalty for the 2023 cruise) because part of the payment is a voucher, and we would lose the value of the voucher doing that. Interesting. Viking never ceases to amaze me with the intricacy of all the booking rules! It is what it is!

Absolutely correct! As we have done in several times. Board about 11 AM, drop bags off, get the room card, do the safety briefing and then leave the ship again to go wander about!

Agree, Linda! Well put. Me thinks this thread has run its course.

CDNPolar - I agree. On our several VOC's, it seemed for men a large majority wore collared polo shirts with slacks (not jeans) to the Restaurants (not World Cafe). Observed ones with/without branding. Mostly sports team logos. We did have one couple ahead of us in check-in line at CT who had shorts, sandals, and Logo Tshirt. (This was a warm weather cruise). They were politely asked if they would find something else.

The main reason is: to get the waiver for pre-existing conditions, and/or to get "on the books" with insurance ahead of a birthday (prices rise on your birthdays). See previous poster regarding Steve at The TripInsuranceStore - where I learned all I know about trip insurance. All you need to do is insure the initial deposit coverage within the specified time (10-21 days usually, after first deposit). That locks in the pre-existing condition waiver. That protects you for very little cost the whole time before your cruise. Note - we learned than even though we are relatively healthy, a simple thing like changing the amount or frequency of a simple blood pressure pill, for example, is considered a pre-existing condition being changed. Big! I would also never buy Viking Tripmate. Steve educated me on the value of having insurance policies that 1. cover vouchers and 2. can be transferred to another cruise (something Tripmate doesn't do). And since you have your own "better" insurance, which most of this crowd do not have, then you have yourself covered. So again, why someone would buy insurance ahead of time is also because 3. they don't have insurance already through their work.

Might be a different problem. We have several (5) cruises booked. We get the Viking promotional offers via email all the time, including the ones reference above.

Yes thank you SO much KnoxClone for taking all the time to share with us so much information. Obviously of interest to those of us who follow on identical cruises! (We leave on Dec 21). Makes me glad that we are staying in South Florida for a week visiting friends before flying home. No Viking Air for us. Your comments on the various excursions were very helpful, as that has been the big unknown!

Yes. My wife got the non-alcoholic beer and said it was very good. She tried the non-alcoholic wine but said it wasn't as good.

From Australia Cruise News . . . https://cruisepassenger.com.au/news/worried-about-covid-on-ships-heres-how-the-experts-say-you-should-handle-it/ https://cruisepassenger.com.au/news/all-carnival-brands-reinstate-mask-policy-amid-covid-mayhem/

Thanks, Clay! Good news there. But some bad news on the previous article. Shows that it isn't always a guarantee for going there. Two People Die In Quark Expeditions Zodiac Accident In Antarctica https://cruisepassenger.com.au/news/two-people-die-in-quark-expeditions-zodiac-accident-in-antarctica/

Hi Maria - yes, I forgot that there are some huge mega ships involved with us. However, we're still really looking forward to meeting you both and to this hopefully wonderful Christmas/New Years cruise! And yes, much better than sitting at a resort! Happy Thanksgiving and see you for the December holidays! Kent