CCWineLover

Excellent summary! In our 6 post COVID Viking Ocean cruises, we found that most of the time, dining reservations at Chef's Table and Manfredi's ahead of the cruise were nearly impossible to get. Don't be discouraged. Viking opens up a huge number of reservations the first day of the cruise, so immediately upon boarding, install the Viking Voyager app and get the reservations you want. And even then, in the back half of the trip, all those people who made reservations initially have cancelled them and tables usually go begging. Also Be aware that the World Cafe offers basically the exact same food/menu as the Restaurant. Enjoy eating on the Viking Ship! Don't forget the excellent room service as well!

In general with Viking our experience is as follows: When it is cold outside (we were Norway Midnight Sun and the Med in Dec in 30's/40's), the dining rooms were quite pleasant. Often no sweater required, although we always bring them to dining rooms and Star Theatre as in general for us, Viking rooms are always too cold. When it is warm/hot outside (we've been in places in the 90's), the rooms are VERY cold - over A/C'ed. If it is cold outside, and the rooms are cold, if they have the roof over the pool closed, the Pool Grill is a great place to have lunch as it is then usually nice and toasty out there. This seems to be normal pattern at least for USA buildings, hotels, offices, etc.

Sam here Clay. Our TA said same thing and still Viking did it. He was dumbfounded, and did say it’s been happening a lot with Viking. And I believe we have the same parent Travel Agency - one Viking wouldn’t really like to upset.

Viking Shipboard credits are different from Travel Agent on board credits - be aware. The OP asked about TA OBC. With these you typically will see them when you get on board. The exception is lately there have been instances for us (and with others) of the Travel Agent sending the OBC's to Viking a bit early. Then if you had purchased Excursions when they came available with your own money (Checking, Credit Card, etc), Viking now has a policy to immediately use those TA OBC's they received. They apply the OBC amount against the excursions and issue you a refund back to your form of payment for those excursions. You don't have a choice in the matter. In your example, if you bought excursions ahead of time totally $800, then you would get a refund back of $600. You could always wait to book excursions until you are on the ship, but this is not advisable. You can always go ahead a book the free included excursions. That way you might get the times you want. If you are reluctant to fork out money ahead of time to buy any optional excursions, then of course you can wait until onboard, but your pickings may be limited. If you are worried about using the OBC's when you are onboard, there are plenty of choices. We usually always apply them to the Gratuities, and possibly the Silver Spirits package, the spa, or the ship store. Never an issue.

Might be but we always see people coming in and taking pictures at the spa. Didn't know it was not allowed or I might have said something to them. In any case, people's attitude these days is don't ask permission, ask forgiveness. Lots of bold people on Viking cruises!

So sad you are mad and just gave up. they are SO good in the insurance industry. You cannot do better. Give them a call immediately! And leave a message!!!!!

We are on the Classic Panama cruise in December. I do suggest that you visit the excursion desk on the ship when you board and ask them specifically about whether there are any excursion groups designed for those less mobile. For this particular cruise they might have. I've already examined all the excursions in our MyVikingJourney. There appear to be some that are just bus rides and some that look like some more difficult walking and standing that might not work as well. But confirming with Viking will be your best bet! They will be very helpful. You may even try giving them a call ahead of time. Hoping you enjoy the cruise!

Wow! We are impressed!! I've now learned the art of rolling my clothes up - amazing how much space it saves! As well as having shirts and pants than aren't thick cottin (like jeans and heavy cotton shirts) - ones that don't need ironing and dry quickly! Our last cruise we flew to London like you. Only issue is that with all the horrible baggage situations, everyone is aware and so too many people didn't check luggage - it was a competitive battle for bins!!

Lorna - Same here. They had slower groups on our River Cruise in May. However, I don't recall ever seeing separate slow group tours on the Ocean trips we've had this year. Perhaps it varies cruise by cruise itinerary. I do think it is a good idea however, since so many times, we've had those with mobility issues not really understanding their position and insisting the entire group slow down for them. It is a tough situation for the guides to deal with. Separating into 2 groups - a fast and a slow group - on Viking's part would really help everyone enjoy the excursions.

Michelle - we'd had only the slider in PV rooms (by choice). Then our last cruise, Midnight Sun, in July, they gave us a last minute (literally as we were checking in) from DV2 to PV1. PV1 had the door and window, so we got to try it. It was just fine! Again, the PV rooms alternate as you move down the ship - 2 Slider Rooms, then 2 Door Rooms, and son on. Here is the list I've posted before. Viking Ocean - PV Rooms with Sliders.pdf

Yes we like the shu mai - as long as they are fresh and hot. If they've been sitting there, they get a big soggy and cool. I try to take them when I see them bringing out a new tray! Irony is, first time I discovered them was when someone near me took the was paper off and tossed it, thus exposing them to my view. (I don't think they were supposed to get rid of the paper cover though).

Excursions have been reduced post Covid because like everywhere in this world resources are now scarce. Viking scrambles to find tour operators but many have lost staff. It is just the Covid fallout here (again!). if they could find operators Viking would certainly do so. It also explains why some area are worse than others (lack of people). So many moved on to other professions during Covid and of course like the USA, many have simply chosen not to work anymore. I think it will be a long time, if ever, before the far reaching effects of Covid are gone..

We so like the CHef's Table !! As a person above said, food onboard is all personal opinion. Thank goodness for so many varieties! It isn't just the food at CT - it is the atmosphere. To us, we like the Manfredi's food but the atmosphere is way to loud and noisy to even carry on a conversation - and quite hectic with waiters running around. For us CT is so much more calm, with time to talk and hear your seatmates, have amazing discussions with the waiters, who aren't always in a hurry like Manfred's and the Restaurant. That being said, I do believe the food quality at CT has deteriorated post-COVID. I put this to the staffing issues with so many crew getting COVID from the passengers since the masks went away. It doesn't seem the same as it used to be. I am hopeful they will improve and also revamp the menu choices. We so enjoy having the set menu (i.e. no ordering), but it is getting a bit tiring. Last cruise, the Asian Panorama was quite good, but some other others lacked something. Still the atmosphere is what we like. I know others prefer Manfred's , so there is no "right answer" - it is personal taste!! Let's just hope they keep both! But improve them.

Have been an Alaska Air frequent flyer for 30 years up and down the west coast. Alaska does not have wide body planes. However, I beg to differ slightly, and it may be just semantics. Alaska Air has moderately nice first class seats on their 737's and A320's - certainly at least as good as UA and DL and AA. When you travel business class on a code share, if you have an Alaska leg, it is in their first class (which is more like business class without flat beds, on other airlines). I've done this many times and have one coming up back from Iceland, where it is bus class from KEF-SEA on IcelandAir and then first class on Alaska Air SEA-SFO - and it's sold as business class tickets. I personally would choose Alaska over Delta, but that is mostly because of what I perceive as superior service (and I flew Delta often to DFW).

Interesting notes on the types of people (a decently large group) that either cannot (allergic) or will not eat cilantro ..... According to a 2012 study published in the journal Flavour, the aversion was determined to be most common among East Asians (21 percent), followed by Caucasians (17 percent), those of African descent (14 percent), South Asians (7 percent), Hispanics (4 percent) and Middle Eastern study subjects (3 percent). Scientists were able to pin down most cilantro haters as people with a shared group of olfactory-receptor genes, called OR6A2, that pick up on the smell of aldehyde chemicals. Aldehyde chemicals are found in both cilantro and soap. Uh, yummy? I had indeed heard we can't help ourselves - the dislike is in our genes. Believe me I wish I could eat it, it would make things simpler, since it seems to be found everywhere nowadays.

KLM does this as well (but it is also a code share with Delta). We did Viking Air and KLM Economy Comfort to Europe with a stop in Amsterdam, non-stop from SFO. We sat in the Economy Comfort Seats SFO-AMS on the big plane and then the Premium Economy (more leg room, front of plane) on the short 737 flight (with no first class or economy comfort). And yes - we did priority check in at SFO and also on the return flight (thank goodness!).

Just read your follow - on post. I think you did quite well. We paid $4400 (before gas inflation), as we returned on BA Business via Basel. All in all we were quite happy with the results. I am usually not prone to Viking Air, but even though we might have gotten a couple hundred cheaper on our own, we viewed the premium like a COVID insurance. (This was back when testing was mandatory to go and return).

oskldunker - In late April this year, we flew using Viking Air Plus, business class from SFO to get to Bergen (BGO) for our Fjords and Shores cruise on Viking Jupiter. Our TA worked with Viking to get us Business Class on the SAS A330 flight SFO-CPH (Copenhagen), connecting to CPH-BGO on SAS as well. It worked quite well. We were on SK936 leaving SFO at 4:25 PM. We had a long (and safe) layover in CPH. Had use of the very nice SAS lounge. Then a short flight 5:00-6:20 CPH-BGO. We stayed at the very nice Thon Rosenkrantz Bergen (on our own dime), got a great night's sleep and boarded the ship the next day at 11:00 AM. The long flight had 1-2-1 seating and lie flat seats. This may or may not be available for you as airlines have had many changes. Also, it was a couple hundred more than horrible connections (short) via BA and LHR or LH and FRA. Although at the time they all were non-stop to Europe (no US East Coast).

I can't remember where I got this from, but this is a useful chart that shows F (Fore) and A (Aft) for bed facing in each room on Viking Ocean Ships. Bed directions fore and aft-Viking Ships.pdf

Try Frank’s AsadoAdventure. Don’t know if he’s still operating but we had an incredible time in 2020 BC (before Covid). Google him.

I hope that you recover quickly and get healthy soon! Interesting, they must have different policies on different ships. We were on Venus in late July and the trays were definitely pink wrapped. And they were not picked up right away. Every morning we'd head out early for breakfast or to see the approach to a port, and there were always many pink wrapped trays in the halls, same as the late night before, and at the same rooms. Seemed like about 10 on the 6th floor alone (both sides). They were picked up finally by the time we returned (7:30 ?). We all got to talking about those pink wrapped trays - saying at least they picked a nice bright happy color like pink and not a danger color like red 🙂 People also quarantined in their rooms and were not split apart. We again had a woman sitting next to us at Manfredi's (well, near) who was eating alone since her husband was still positive and she was negative so she could go out and mingle but he couldn't. Half to admit, I personally didn't like that policy. We tried to avoid those people.

We did the walk from the Ocean and then River "terminal" area on the sidewalk to Centraal Station last April 28. It was wide open and an easy walk on the sidewalk. We entered midway down on the river side (northside), and then up the escalators. Would be easy to roll bags. Here's a shot I took approaching the Station along the river side.

We’ve had similar issues with cilantro, which these days seems to everywhere. So we’ve learned not to go to Mexican night at Chefs Table. 😉

Twichly - I would still do it on your own. Take the tube to the historic Hampstead station. One of, if the the deepest tube stations in London; used for bomb shelter in WWII. Marathoners train by running up the many many stairs (there are lifts as well!). Hampstead is a really quaint, nice town in itself. Lots of pubs and outdoor eateries. We walked only the southern end of the Heath (which is larger than NYC Central Park), but didn't make it to Highgate Cemetery. Would definitely do it!!

I concur regarding London. We were just there in July ahead of the Midnight Sun cruise. Spent a week in unusually hot weather. London Walks is fabulous! We did prebook a day ahead and did several of them. Hampstead and the Heath was likely one of the best we've ever taken. London Walks has quite a number of very interesting specialized tours on every day of the week. Another interesting visit, if you like gardens, is to Kew Gardens, just SW (near Wimbeldon) and on the tube line. Absolutely beautiful place to wander about.