CCWineLover

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.

Well long time, Joe! How are you and Bridget doing? Glad to see you posting and back to cruising again. We've done a few cruises since things opened up a year ago and have enjoyed it immensely and were simply lucky to still be safe and healthy. (Bermuda, Rome to Barcelona, Panama Canal, Uk/Norway). Funny - we took a river cruise in April/May and had the same experience with white asparagus. Seems the Germans absolutely love them. I agree, the service was fantastic on our Rhine River cruise. And so were the white asparagus! Kent

We shall do, Linda! Again, looks like we'll just miss you. We'll likely leave for home from KEF June 27/28. We're actually in Seattle into next week - was with Vashon friends Wed, Seattle hot day Thursday and today the temp really dropped! So is Saga class worth it for our trip home? Would be interested to hear what excursions you thought were worthwhile as well.

Hi Coljack - We do have a Roll Call already set up for the June 7 cruise on Saturn. Hope you take a look and will look forward to meeting you all!

Thanks, Andy, for this update. We are also on the June 7, 2023 Saturn New York to Iceland cruise. I have full confidence things will be just fine. No doubt previous ship delays were due to COVID and the downstream affects (supply chain, labor shortage issues, etc). We look forward to being on a new ship!

as far as Lisbon is concerned, to add one more possible nuance . . The airport is old and doesn't have enough gates for all the planes arriving and departing, so there are numerous planes (we saw possibly 30-60) that have to park out on the tarmac. Then they bring buses out to ferry passengers back to the terminal and bring passengers from the terminal to the plane by bus. (Have seen this at Heathrow as well). If that happens to you, it can easily add 30 minutes extra or more . . .

Confirm. On 10 Ocean cruises we've never seen any cream pods. Just non-flavored regular caf and decaf coffee pods. 9 of the cruises (including the one we just got off of) had decaff #10 pods and regular #4 pods (the exception had regular #6 pods). We like strong coffee (#8 and above) so we always bring several sleeves of Nespresso pods with us (and none make it home!). We don't use cream, but I would assume you'd have to bring your own pods or ask room service for cream. We don't do flavored coffee, but again you could bring your own flavored Nespresso pods.

Lisbon airport is a zoo. Was just there. I'd feel comfortable with a bit more time if you can do it. Especially if you have to go through any passport control. We had long lines there.

Lorna- yes they all are still in Tv. Lots put on there which is great! 3 cruises in 2022 and we’ve never gone to the Star Theater!! The hotbed of Covid! that along with washing our hands diligently after every visit to the food at World Cafe, I attribute to our remaining members of the no Covid club!

That's great. May I ask - exactly WHEN is your cruise and which itinerary?

Ask Viking. tellus@vikingcruises.com

Yes indeed - I can also confirm. We just recently did that. There is some slight construction going on but we have no issues at all. And there are escalators and lifts to go up once inside the station water side. It was an easy walk for us including dragging luggage.

Michelle and Lorna - We also did a river cruise end April/early May (Rhine River). They were still testing and pulled people out of dinner off the ship to quarantine. Scary. But personally I think it is more scary now with all the people selfishly coughing, hacking, and spreading their sicknesses everywhere. We did not like the dining arrangements on River Cruises. The Dining Room was always packed on our cruise so there was no place to sit "by yourself" at end of a large table. As such we sat in the Aquavit Lounge all the time - fortunately found 2 people from California who felt the way we did (being safe) and ate with them almost entirely. We started with 172 and ended with 154. Our lounge was moderately full during the day and packed at port talks and before dinner, as well as the after dinner bar crowd. Was just too much for us. Won't be going on a river cruise for a long time, if again. Just not enough places to spread out, but everyone has their own opinions. We so much have enjoyed the ocean ships instead during COVID. The last one, post masking, post testing, however, was probably more tense due to passenger behavior, but we were able to find lots of places away from people and be "safer" - avoided the Star Theatre like the plague, as well as the bars and The Restaurant. And stayed healthy.

Perhaps the confusion is this. Most of the time, past guest discount is $200 per person. Sometimes (not often) as a promotion, Viking throws out a $400 per person past guest discount. So you could see 2 different ones. We've mostly had the $200 but 2 times we got the $400 only because it happened to be featured that month (and we didn't even know it).

Linda - we also swear by the power on KN 95 masks. Used them constantly on our cruises. It has been much riskier once Viking said masks were not required as 90-95% immediately unmasked all the time. we also in the world cafe get our food to the table and immediately go wash our hands again. We would do this every time we got more food. Only saw one other coii you ple doing this. We’re appalled at the numbers of people that rushed in and never washed their hands. Selfish, stupid, oblivious? we also avoided places like Star Theatre which seemed a Covid hotbed.

True indeed. We are not going to change stupid and selfish people. It is just a fact that sadly our society that is cruising now is emblematic of society as a whole. It's all about me. And no doubt COVID exasperated that trend. We just have to face that cruisers for the most part are going to be this way and then make our own decisions on whether we want to be on a ship with them and/or if we can tolerate it enough by avoiding them, finding our own space, and enjoying the fabulous crew and the few others who think and behave the way we do. End of story.

I think we all agree on your statement. The comments more pertain to how many of us have a disbelief in the incredulous behavior of our fellow passengers in the past months. I never would have thought we'd have so many selfish people out cruising. It has certainly brought out the worst in people. Just amazed at how many. It is just a sad commentary, apparently, on our society these days..

Odd…. We’ve booked many cruises in the past year with cruises already on the books. Our TA sends us the invoice and we always get payment 6 months out - no asking, no negotiating. I thought it was automatic if you had cruises upcoming. no mention on here likely because so many get 6 months payment, and also because this is one thing I doubt Viking will change as long as the customers keep pouring in. Supply and demand. At least they do reward loyalty.

FolsomMike - I am so sorry to hear that you got sick from the Viking cruise. I truly feel for you. We were on the Viking Venus on the cruise just prior to yours, from Greenwich to Bergen, so we got off just as you got on! Loved Bergen! Sadly, I must say that I 100% agree with your assessment of what is going on regarding passengers on Viking these days. We masked and were trying to be careful but sadly, most did not. In fact, we also encountered passengers who reveled in not wearing masks, as well as many who were obviously seriously sick who were still on excursion buses, still hacking away at the World Cafe buffet, and more. We avoided the Star Theatre, and elevators, but it was difficult to be sure. We were indeed surprised by the total cavalier attitude of cruise passengers. I'm sure it is a case of COVID fatigue. We were certain we would get it, but we must be incredibly lucky or have good immune systems, as we returned and have stayed healthy. Probably everyone is going to get it anyway some day. Latest news was 82% of all Americans have or have had it. In any case - we now know that if you wish you cruise, you should know what it will be like - and then make your decisions based on that. We had taken many cruises on Viking post COVID when masks were required and quite frankly, we felt much better then than this previous cruise.

I have to agree with you. Living in another good California Wine Region (Paso Robles), we've developed an appreciation for some good wine, and also have become sometimes particular. As I said earlier, I think they need to revamp the SSP wine list with at least some different ones than the standards offered over the past several years (thinking of Coppola Zin for example). I do like your idea of having for purchase a couple different levels - and also think that would be welcome.

Totally agree with all of these suggestions! We've done 10 Ocean cruises now. We no longer go to the Star Theater performances. So much repetition. If for some reason we want to hear one or two ABBA songs, we just turn on the TV 🙂 Someone once said there had been 21 menus at Chef's Table. In all our cruises, we've only seen 7 of them, so they are definitely repeating over and over again. Some new menus would be great! Variety variety! Someone also told us the crew often has meals from their own culture. Perhaps they could do a Ethnic meal night in World Cafe or something so we can experience some of those different world foods! I'd also like to see a revamping of the Silver Spirits wine list. They've gotten stuck in a rut (likely due to contracts with wine distributors?), but having some new wines to try would be fun! Thank goodness they now put the shows, port talks, lectures on TV so if you miss them you can catch up. Speaking of port talks, these need a complete overhaul. We've never learned that much about a port and the majority of the talk seems to be details on excursions that everyone has already purchased. And the several people we've had as excursion managers have been so difficult to understand with their accents. We really appreciate and enjoy the new scheme of assigning bus numbers to people, based on when they check in, not assigned ahead of the cruise and printed on the excursion tickets. Seems to really help out, and allows those who want to travel with friends to do so by all checking in together.

That is why we were surprised. Only time we've encountered that in 10 Viking Ocean cruises over the past 4 years. Maybe it was just an oddly hungry crowd !!

Speaking of OBC's from TA's, has anyone else encountered this new procedure that seems to be occurring with Viking? The last 2 cruises, we booked some excursions ahead of time at 67 days out and paid for them. Roughly a month out, our TA sent the OBC's to Viking. Instead of keeping the OBC's in our "account" for us to choose what to spend them on, Viking immediately sent us cash back for the excursions purchased, deducting that from the OBC's. So we have no choice. I called and asked Viking and they told me that is a new procedure - when anything has been purchased ahead of the cruise by the passenger, OBC's will be immediately applied to those purchases (excursions, Silver Spirits packages, etc) and the passenger refunded. I had never seen this before but they insisted this is the new policy. Anyone else encounter this? It sounds suspicious. When I expressed my concern to Viking, they said, it doesn't really matter as it all comes out in the wash, so to speak.

On Viking, there are no inside rooms. All balconies.

Love your signature! FYI - we just got off a Viking Ocean Cruise. As usual they had plenty of the great pistachio raisin rolls. Have never seen a ship in 4 years and 10 cruises that didn't. So - maybe it's just your ship. Which ship and which itinerary are you?