CCWineLover

Yes, I was able to get a nice Salmon in place of the lamb one time, and a friend got a nice NY steak in place of the fish(Halibut?) one time. Sorry for the confusion!

I thought I remembered to take pictures of the Wine List when we were on the Orion Panama Canal cruise last April. I found them and put them into a pdf file. This will give folks another wine list to look at (understanding that wines and prices change). 2022 Apr Viking Orion Wine List 8 pages.pdf

We have seen 50/50 in terms of whether Viking Air is cheaper or more expensive than we get on our own. As the previous poster noted, you give up a lot of control to use Viking Air. So for us as long as doing it on our own isn't too much more expensive, we'll go that route and consider the expense as worth it to give us control over seats, upgrades, etc. and not have to pay AirPlus and Deviation fees. It all depends. We also often look at cruises where Viking Air is "expensive" and the cruise price will be cheaper. The cruises where they advertise "free" or very inexpensive air will often have the cruise price itself be higher than normal (on a per day basis). Something else to keep in mind. So we'll definitely do our own air with a cruise that charges a lot for Viking air since that means we get the cruise itself probably cheaper than usual.

Good point Clay. We've also seen this happen a couple times, where the "published" schedule of menu days when we got on board, got changed during the cruise. The real take-away is that you won't really know for sure - so just go and enjoy and adjust plans if you don't like a menu. A word of note - if there is an item you don't like (such as the main course), you can ask them and they will substitute another item for you no problem. Such as a steak for fish or salmon for lamb or whatever.

One of the wine stewards on a recent Viking cruise last year told us about the app "Vivino". You can use the app to "scan" the bottle and it brings all the into into the app, including pricing, ratings, etc. and you can save and make notes on it. That was really helpful! https://www.vivino.com/app "Vivino automatically tracks and organizes the wines you scan and rate, creating a fun chart to showcase your wine experiences."

Right! Just ask the folks in Alaska. I happened to be in Juneau on business and got to see first hand what it is like when the thousands/hordes of passengers flood the streets. And the relief when they go back on board.

Don't worry - you will get what you desire when onboard. Since COVID Viking has set aside from 50-70 % of the tables for booking on-board. We are also early diners and have never had an issue getting any reservations before 7:30 when we arrive onboard. Also, just keep checking if you do have issues, as people cancel - a Viking rep told me that often 50% of the prebooked reservations get cancelled by people when they are onboard.

Regarding OBC's and discounts for booking onboard: We always check and make an appointment early. We don't always buy. In our experience, the amount of booking discounts definitely vary - on a sliding scale of length of cruise booked, and also that scale varies depending on supply and demand. (so you cannot just say a 14 day cruise gets $xxx discount). The OBC also varies in the same way. Have seen widely varied amounts. The advantage of booking early is that the OBC's you get have to be used up by end of cruise (or when you leave the ship if you have B2B's). Booking early gives you time to spend it before losing it. We also do our research and know what we wish to look for. It speeds things up. The advantage for us if we really want to book a cruise is that the Consultant has real-time access to rooms available. We've been known to write a few rooms down on paper and quickly have one of us run out there and take a look at them (to see how they feel, near stairs, movement, etc). Can't do that on a phone. Then we get home and transfer the booking to our Travel Agent. I also like the idea mentioned that Viking Ocean do like Viking River and offer vouchers for sale to use on future cruises.

Will be difficult to know ahead of time. They don't have a set schedule of which menus are in which order, much less which of the many menus will be served on your specific itinerary. It definitely varies. There is another thread where people discussed all the various menus that they had seen on Viking (seems like there were over 20 of them). Some have posted menus of the more common CT meals, like Xiang, Mexican, Route des Indies, Asian Panorama, Californian, and more. Suggest you do a forum search for Chef's Table menus. You will know what you have when you get on board and can see which ones you wish to try out. Occasionally they do post some sample menus a few weeks ahead of your cruise, on MyVikingJourney. Suggest reading this thread:

Thank you for this post! When we travel next month on our December cruise, I will make certain to take pictures of the wine list. From my own memories from all the previous cruises we've had, and we do enjoy our wine, I seem to remember that there were some changes in pricing and in wines served. This is likely due to the various contracts Viking maintains or changes with various distributors, as well as regions that the cruise travels. I can verify that the SSP has remained the same though - as we just got it to use up some SBC's that expire upon boarding. $19.99/day per person (actually since you have to purchase for a stateroom it really is $39.98/day for the stateroom).

Oh so sorry to hear. Frank was the greatest!

Never heard of someone choosing their cruise line based on what wine was available. Now I have! Seriously, you can bring your own wine onboard for free, if it is that important to you. We have not always been fans of the wines they provide, but we always find a couple to try out and enjoy. It makes the task of trying out new wines interesting! But we always bring some of our own onboard as well. On our S.American cruise we brought a very good Connemara wine we bought in Chile onboard and had the Restaurant sommelier open it. He knew it and told us he wished Viking could stock it. 🙂

Oh - I totally agree with you! I hope Viking does not fall into the marketing traps of the others but it is looking like it. In any case - we still enjoy them and regardless of their "words", will still take Viking cruises. Those who complain about their marketing can always take their money elsewhere (and leave more rooms open to us!)

We spent 4 full days in Buenos Aires after our South America cruise in Jan 2020 (and after several days wine tasting in Mendoza and hiking around Iguazu Falls). We stayed at the Hilton which was a decent location. I highly recommend doing an Asado Adventure. We did Frank's Asado Adventure. It was a very unique time - as he takes you shopping for the food and then you help him put it all together! https://www.asadoadventure.com/our-tours Wish we'd had time for the beer tour also! We took several "free" walking tours as well that were outstanding. And we explored on our own several different areas of Buenos Aires. Took a tour of Teatra Colon, the opera house. Only wish there had been a performance when we were there. And of course, the food in this great city is amazing!! So much to do, 4 days was not enough. We'll be back someday!

I agree that from the Viking response, it would appear you could stay onboard. However, I personally would not believe that response. We had asked the same question and were told we all had to leave the ship in the morning (and we could go to the Sheraton to wait). There was no alternative (this was Dec 2021). Perhaps they changed the policy? Perhaps the Viking person who wrote the response is not fully informed? I would seek a 2nd opinion from other Viking personnel or have your Travel Agent do it.

I was on that TA with TayanaLorna. If you can't find it, let me know. I have all the dailies. It was the first 2 weeks of December from Barcelona to San Juan. 2021. We were blessed with wonderful weather, some great lecturers, and fun-filled days at sea!

Yes, agree. Sometimes it is 9:00 AM even. When we left San Juan, it was 9:00. They pretty much got everyone out and onwards. They do indeed need to get the ship ready for the incoming passengers, many of whom get there at 11:00 AM. I truly doubt you'll ever get to stay til 1 or 2. In San Juan, Viking had a room at the Sheraton that people could go to hang out with refreshments, etc. Other cities have had that as well (Buenos Aires).

Well there you go. We tried this once at Explorer's, and bartender said we had to go to a restaurant else he would have to charge us. Guess another of Viking's inconsistencies of policy.

In my experience, the included beer/wine is not available at the bars. Also, although not publicized, included also allows for sparkling wine as well as beer/wine. Official Lunch and Dinner hours at World Cafe, Chef's Table, Manfredi's, The Restaurant, and the Pool Grill. (Not sure about Mamsen's at lunch). The Pool Grill hours are only the lunch hours, not the extended food hours (I know, I tried!) and that is usually 11 or 12 to 2. Actual hours do vary especially if there are ports and excursions going on. (i.e. World Cafe is not always beginning at 12:00). We always get a full glass of wine "to go" as we leave the World Cafe from a meal. Have not done that at Manfredi's, Chef's Table, or the Restaurant.

Seemed to me the small charge was $30 w/o SSP for the regular tastings. For premium tastings (like our Ol World Wines and some Spirits) was $30 for SSP and $50 or 60 without.

I hope you really truly are not "forcibly disembarked" and "ejected from the ship" ! 🙂 Interesting choice of words.

Too funny Lorna ! I do remember that early morning in the laundry!! Seriously though, we have seen recently too many in the WC with swimsuits (wet) and/or pajamas grabbing food and sitting down to eat. The one comment might be appropriate - people got used to dressing down while working at home and it is now just part of their mode of operation 🙂

Joe - well stated. I think you put it quite well - and better than I could. I do also think that pent up demand to travel has exasperated the existing conditions Post-COVID - and thus want to remain hopeful that over the years, the "new" behavior will subside. Trying to be positive.

Lots of talk on other threads about observed behavior patterns (such as reserving lounge chairs, etc). We had a number of cruises pre-COVID and thought the Viking passengers were on the whole quiet well-behaved, courteous, and respectful. Our observations are that after COVID, this has definitely changed. Whether there is a new crowd of people now traveling on Viking, or whether just many have changed after COVID is hard to tell. What used to be inappropriate, now seems to be accepted. On the past couple cruises, for example, we noticed quite a number of people who now sit in the Explorer's Lounge and put their bare feet on the food/drink tables. Never saw that before. And there are other examples (such as more occurances of larger loud groups in the restaurants, wearing wet swim suits to lunch at the WC and to Wintergarden tea , an more). Curious if others have felt the same . . Here's a shot I took while sitting in the comfy chairs at Explorers Lounge near the piano of what is more and more typical. . . 🙂

Very similar to River. They upgraded the head set quality in the post-COVID times, which was good.