Cahpek

I started this thread and I agree with Cyber Kat and Nippie Sweetie. It is a fine balance on sea days and hopefully Viking will increase the number of activities without considering a casino, watch sales or other equally vile options.

Like you, we are pleased too that Viking does not have a casino nor do watch sales and as you put it, other equally "vile" options.

However, while Viking does many things which is great, it is so poor in its entertainment -

they are probably WAY, WAY BEHIND all the other cruise lines we have sailed with, and that tells you how bad it is! Where is the Viking "imagination" when it comes to entertainment? It's glaringly missing! That is really quite inexcusable for a talented management team who seem to be able to do so much so quickly and so well in their other departments. Hopefully, they will read these comments and make serious improvements in time to come.

For the two of us, this was a second cruise up the Amazon - our first was with Oceania 11 years ago. So I did know what to expect and had done my homewirk on the Viking experience and, like others on this same cruise, I found Viking to be lacking in all the areas mentioned above by Shoalwater.

 

Like Shoalwater, we also prefer the small ships like Pacific Princess, Oceania, and Azamara and felt Viking would be a similar experience. We may cruise them again in the future but will give them time to fix their problems.

We have sailed with Azamara, Oceania, and Viking , although we have not been on the cruises to the Amazon.

We hope this "hiccup" (to the Amazon) is just what it is, and that it is not a sign of Viking trying to grow to fast too soon without enough time to get things totally right (is there more to come? hope not.) Their ocean fleet is growing at a much faster rate than any of its comtemporaries/other luxury ocean cruise lines.

When the first reports about these Viking 'tumblers' came out, further queries indicated they are really stemless wine glasses. I love my Riedel stemless wine glasses -- never use stemmed glasses any more [and never spill wine when talking with my hands :D]

If tumblers are really wine glasses and if they made no difference, why did the waitress at the Chef's Table mentioned that if we ordered the additional priced wines, she would serve in stem wine glasses? It shows that Viking does see that there is a difference in the different glasses, does it not? Otherwise, they would serve all wines in the tumblers.

Besides, in The Restaurant, all wines including the included wines are served in stem wine glasses. So why not the Chef's Table?

You can always request for a stemmed wine glass instead of the “tumbler”. I always do - no problem.

 

 

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We wish we could, like you did.

We asked the waitress and she indicated that wine glasses would be offered only for wines which you have to pay extra for. She was quite clear about that. We did not wish to cause to scene. What else would you do in our case?

DAY 6 & DAY 7

 

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I had my share of “shock” when I had a mouthful of the spicytuna tataki. It tasted so awful that I nearly fell off my chair! For me, itreminded me of food essence, but of washing up liquid perfume.

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I had meant to say above: I had my share of “shock” when I had a mouthful of the spicytuna tataki. It tasted so awful that I nearly fell off my chair! For me, it did not remind me of fragrance of foode, but of washing up liquid perfume. It really seemed so strange. Guess it is an acquired taste, and I have not acquired that taste, probably never will.

DAY 6 & DAY 7

As we were not docking in Palma de Mallorca on Day 6 till noon, we thought we would have a lie in. We realised that cruising , no matter how enjoyable it can be, could bequite tiring – spending hours packing, thenhaving to fly many hours to get tothe ship, getting up early in time to get the excursion tours, rushing to therestaurants, then going to exercise like mad to try burn up the caloriesconsumed, going to the laundry, checkingthe maps for next visits, and again spending more hours flying back etc, etc.It would be nice to have a proper rest when we get home, said us, rather cheekily!

In Palma de Mallorca, we took the free Viking shuttle buswhich dropped us off near the La Seu Cathedral – guess if anyone who knowsnothing about Palma de Mallorca, they will know the picture of the Cathedral.As we had been here just a few weeks ago for 10 days, we did not go with the free excursion as itwould be doing the same thing we had done over again. We just went to El CorteIngles and C&A and did some windowshopping ( we bought nothing, as there was hardly any bargains even postChristmas!). Some friends of ours, who took the Scenic Mallorca excursion saidthey enjoyed it thoroughly. They went to Valldemossa, which we have beenbefore, and that is one of the loveliest and best kept villages on Earth !!!!

In the evening, we went to the first of our two bookings atthe Chef’s Table. Their menu reminded usof molecular gastronomy - carrot andcardamom cream for starters, then spicy tuna, followed by ginger & terragongranitea, a beef tenderloin with 4spices for main course, and a tarte tatin for dessert.

Trouble was, the waitress gave us the impression that as it was a “high class” restaurant, we are supposed to know nothing. It just felt a bit pretentious. She even tried to explain what an Apple Tarte Tatin is. The menu was supposed to be wine pairing, but at least one ofthe wines was those “free” wines offered in the buffet and other restaurants.The wines were not served in wine glasses (even The Restaurant serves wine in wine glasses) , just tumblers glasses , that is unless you are willing to pay a hefty sum for “better wines” (my “wine connoisseur” partner looked that thelist of their better wines, and felt it was not worth it). What was more, theyear of the wines were missing in the menu, including the list in the “better”wines . If they are trying to cater to someone who appreciates wines, by notputting in the year, that is quite something.

I had my share of “shock” when I had a mouthful of the spicytuna tataki. It tasted so awful that I nearly fell off my chair! For me, itreminded me of food essence, but of washing up liquid perfume.

The tarte tatin it tasted a bit “austere”. It might taste better if it came with some accompanying cream ,custard or ice-cream, but there was none.

And lastly, the dessert wine mentioned in the menu was different from what was served. It was not mentioned at the beginning of the meal ; we only noticed when the wine was served. The waitress never mentioned that it was different from that in the menu until we asked her -perhaps a bit unprofessional, we had thought.

It was quite unfortunate as we had looked forward to goingto this restaurant. We had always been impressed with specialty restaurants oncruise lines, but felt the Chef’s Table was an exception. So much so, we CANCELLEDour next evening’s reservation with them.

Of course, as mentioned before, food (and restaurants) are subjective.

The evening entertainment at the Theatre were the duo – the Virtuosos,who performed a few nights ago. Idecided to give it a miss, as I did not enjoy their show before, so I thought I would not enjoy them that evening.

As we went to bed, the sea was a bit choppy. I felt the cupboard door vibrating, and the shipwas not as calm as before. My bed was also vibrating a bit , it reminded me of lying on one of those Japanese electric massage chairs! But a lot more comfortable, of course. Lol.

DAY 7. On our last day before disembarkation,at breakfast, the captain announced that due to strong winds, we had to waitfor further news to see if we could dock at Valencia. Fortunately, we weregiven the clearance to dock, although a bit later than schedule. We took thefree excursion, a 3 hour Valencia City Tour. Even though we had plenty of time,the guide did not arrange for us to stop at the famous, stunningly beautiful and futuristic City of Arts and Science. Hejust got the driver to drive around it for a couple of minutes, and the rest ofthe time seems to be spent in the vicinty of the old town. It was like taking us on a tour of Paris with having no more than a couple of minutes glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. Felt let down. He took usinto a cathedral, and for church lovers, they would probably enjoy it, but forthe rest of us, we felt he could have made the tour be more balanced betweenold Valencia and the modern Valencia.

Tonight, everything on the ship seems to be turning down.The menus in the restaurants was not so interesting. Even in the buffet, thenightly crabs, langoustines, king prawns and the sushi has not appeared. Theroast chicken was dry, whereas, a few nights ago, they were succulentThere wasno show in the Theatre.

We joked with our cruising friends what were they going tohave for dinner when they get home tomorrow. “Probably lettuce leaves” was thereply. We laughed.

It is rather interesting how one’s impression of a cruisechanges from the first day to the last. We may try later, after settling down back home, to give a more roundedreport of the entire cruise. Just wondered if anyone would bother to read it(maybe no one! Gulp!!)

Hopefully, if others do the same, we can “exchange notes”and learn from each other this way.

Am on the Viking Star for a few days now and was trying to look for that "scent" especially when going on the lifts, could not detect it at all.

Are we on the right ship???!!!

DAY 5, CHRISTMAS DAY 25th DEC.

Another early morning rise. The wake up call rang at 6.30am as we have to assemble at 8.00am for the included Panoramic Cagliari tour. The ship was already in port at 7.00am, very close to the city.

We were soon on our buses and before we knew it, going up around the streets of the city. Although the forecast for the weather was 16 degrees C/ 61 degrees F, and the sun was out, it felt more chilly than anticipated. Cagliari is such an attractive city with so much charm and character. Although it is part of Italy, it does not look like or feel like an Italian city. It is certainly cleaner looking and more attractive and more interesting than our last stop Trapani. The palm trees dotted around the city and its environs certainly help make it look so nice. It is one place we would like to visit again, perhaps not on a cruise, so we could stay for a few days.

The Viking free tour today was great - it took us on a bus up a hill to the Bonaire (?) cathedral, then to the top of mountain viewpoint which gave us a panoramic view of the city on one side, and on the other side was an equally breath-taking view of the salt lakes and the beach. Of course, the winter sun shining onto the buildings in the city created the lights and shadows that enhanced the beauty of the scenery. The bus to us down and drove past the salt lakes and back into the city. We ended up at the old town but on a raised hillly part of the city. We got down the bus and the guide took us on a walking tour visiting several attractions . It was an easy walk because we were walking downhill, not uphill, so we took advantage of gravity! During the walks, we noticed the "Cagliarians" (if that is why residents of the town are called) have lovely dogs. Trouble is, those dogs seem to be notorious in doing their doggie toileting in the public greens and after their "relief" ,they would use their doggie paws and dug the lawn to cover what it did. We love dogs but if we have a dog like one those ones, we would not have much of a garden left!

Back on the ship, lunch at the World Cafe was alright although it included last evening's leftover turkey! It was quite busy by then (1.30pm ish ) as everyone had been back onto the ship because the departure time was 1.00pm.

When we first arrived, probably as part of the Deluxe Verandah deal, we had two bottles of wine waiting for us when we first arrived a few days ago. They were both the same kind of wine. When my partner opened one bottles, it had an "unpleasant nose" and it gave no pleasure to drink (this was probably kept for too long). However, we mentioned to the ship staff and they changed them for something more acceptable without an issue.

From yesterday, we have adopted a new "trick" on how to get through dinner more quickly, given how long it could be by dining in The Restaurant especially when it gets busy. We would try and go to The Restaurant early-ish, just after when it opens at 6pm, order the starter and main course, BUT leave the dessert. We found that if we have to wait for desserts, at that time, the tables would be filling up and it gets busy and we would have to wait for a long time for it to come. So, instead of doing that, we have our desserts in the World Cafe buffet. Simples.

We also went to check our booking for the specialty restaurants and change some dates for the evenings at the Chef's Table. Experienced Viking cruisers would know that the menu at the Chef's Table changes every three days. It is a meal that offers wine pairing. We wanted as much as possible to try the restaurant when the menus will be offering Continental fare rather than Asian fayre, as drinking wine with the former would be more enjoyable to us (even though we like Asian foods too, but on other occasions.)

There is a song and dance show with the Viking Singers. Not too sure whether we would like to go.

Tomorrow, at least, we won't arrive in Palma de Mallorca till 12noon, so we will not have to wake up early for another early excursion. Horray!

Merry Christmas Everybody!

The Xmas eve dinner offerings sound delicious.

 

Thanks for your continued, balanced reporting.

Thank you very much for all these info so we know what to expect. we will be sailing Jan 18

Our pleasure. And a Merry Christmas to you.

DAY 4, DEC 24th - X'MAS EVE....EVENING.

Dinner at the Restaurant - they had a nice menu, which included smoked fish with cavair, soft shelled crab in light batter, Chateaubriand, Lobster Thermidor, etc. Partly because we went fairly early, around 6.10pm, the first two courses were served relatively fast. Then, as the crowds came in and the tables became filled up, we waited so long for the desserts, about 30 mins and since it did not come, we decided to leave and get some desserts in the buffet restaurant instead.

Indeed, at the World Cafe dessert offered included a couple with Christmas theme, eg Yule Log Cake and Christmas Pudding. However, the pudding was served COLD and without custard. In good spirits, the server joked perhaps it is from the Baltic! No, I said, it could be Norwegian Christmas pudding from the freezing Artic! We both laughed. That's what I like about Viking staff, many of them have a good sense of humour!

CHRISTMAS SHOW. I had thought those folks that had mentioned that entertainment is not one of Viking's strengths were wrong, but I am afraid I am beginning to feel that they are indeed correct. Apart from the first day, and arguably the third day entertainment, the res were below expectation. This evening's Christmas show felt like a school production with adults. It was a kind of home-made show with Viking staff. Before that, at the back screen, it showed greetings from about 14-15 different Viking staff on how they feel over Christmas. That was fine, until it repeated itself again. And again. On the third time, it felt like we were tortured for doing something we did not know what. Then , the staff singers came, and that sent me to sleep on a show (again). To be fair, the Filipino couple who sang was quite nice, but some of the others, left a lot to be desired. Some of them seem just to enjoy their own voices by thinking singing as loud as they could would improve their singing. IF ANYTHING THAT WOULD PUT US OFF SAILING WITH VIKING ON A CHRISTMAS CRUISE, THIS SHOW WAS IT. Instead of feeling inspired over Christmas, after the show, we felt rather DEFLATED !!!! (Not everyone would agree with us, of course, but like food, Christmas shows can be subjective).

We ended the evening listening to Classic FM in the cabin TV, at least,there was nice Christmas music. However, the transmission was regularly interrupted.

Nevermind, c'est la vie! We still look forward to visiting Cagliari on CHRISTMAS DAY tomorrow.

LESSON OF THE DAY FOR US: If we like good Christmas entertainment on a cruise next Christmas, it won't be on a Viking ship. (unless they improve the quality of their entertainment).

DAY 4, DEC 24th - X'MAS EVE. IN TRAPANI ; ARRIVED 8.00AMBACK ON BOARD 4.30PM

Breakfast this morning seemed to be a great improvement on previous days. The scrambled eggs was still most and not dry and overcooked, the sausages tasted succulent, they had American style crispy bacon (hooray) and they even had the wonderful Scandinavian bread which we found at Mamsen's for their toast (maybe the bread was there every morning, we just did not know it was there!). What was more, there was no "scrum" to find a table at the World Cafe restaurant.

My partner went for his Marsala tasting wine tour. It was a pleasant surprise in one way, but not in the other. The group was taken in a coach which went through the beautiful countryside outside Trapani, passing through the salt-pans and wind-mill. Then, they arrived in Marsala, a town of 80,000. It appeared much smaller than Trapani, which is strange because Trapani has only 10,000 more inhabitants with a population of 90,000 ,not that much more. The tour group got some time to visit the town before going to taste the Marsala - and this was the one part that was a bit of a let down. They were not taken to a winery but to a marsala wine shop in town. They were only given very small samples of 3-4 Marsala in small paper cups (like you find in Airport Duty Free shops giving out whiskey or wine samples) and that was it. However, fortunately, this was compensated with another pleasant surprise. After the Marsala sampling, they were taken to a gorgeous house set in an elegant estate complete with lovely gardens. Eventhough it is winter, there were still some plants in flower, including the "Bird of Paradise" (Kniphoffier). They met the hosts who owned the property. Then, they were led to a wonderful dining room, with a table completely laid out in style . In the dining room, there were waiters/waitresses ready to attend to the guest visitors. There was even a menu on what they would be served that afternoon. When they sat down, they were offered tastings of different wines, this time in proper glasses, with accompanying cheese. The wine portions were generous, and they could have a refill if they wished. Then, there was a substantially filled baguette, followed by a tasty parfait of some sort. This was much more than what a normal excursion would do, so a "pat on the back" for Viking for offering this excursion!

For me, I was planning to take the free walking tour at 1.15pm, but when I got out of the ship to wait for the group, I met an English couple who had been on an earlier similar tour. They said that there was not much in the tour and they did not show them very much. With that in mind, I decided not to go with the tour. I walked around Trapani for a bit, but there was not much to see. It felt a bit like a "dumbed down" version of Cadiz, and not quite so nice.

Tonight, there will be a Christmas theme show, "The Night Before Christmas" which will be shown twice, at 6.30pm , and at 9.15pm. (I hope it will be good. In any case, I will have to make sure I won't fall asleep this time like I did during last night's show! ) Not sureyet what they have in the menu in the Restaurant, but as it is Christmas eve, it is hopefully going to be nice. (I remembered several years back when we were in Benidorm, and at the hotel, we were served a Spanish Christmas lunch. Each one of the guests were served a huge piece of "Roast Goat" , not roast lamb. It was so huge each portion was enough to serve a dozen people. Unfortunetly, it was tough and smelt awful !!!! It was "memorable" but for the wrong reasons!)

What I like about Viking is we seem to discover new things the longer we are on the cruise. Two days ago, I discovered that in Mamsen's they had the "Success Cake" (a kind of meringue cake filled with some ultra rich creamy filling and topped with almonds). It was so good that I have eaten so much of that , probably too much, now I think I will not want to see it for another ten years (so I say)! . However, I discovered that Mamsens has another cake equally as good, if not better. They have a kind of frangipane tart Prince's Cake (or in Norwegian , Fyrstekake, but as it is Norwegian, I won't even try to pronounce it as I won't wish to cause offence to gentle souls!). It is so good that I have even went onto the internet and found the recipe. I won't DARE think about calories because it won't surprise me if they (those tempting cakes) are a zillion calories; even if they are, I won't care, I am on a holiday- and it is Christmas after all - two very good excuses!

To get themselves in a Christmas mood, saw the staff in the Explorer's desk, one was wearing a Santa hat, and another a reindeer head gear! What a shame we do not have a huge Christmas tree in the main hall on the Viking Star, that would have been the icing on the cake. Nevermind, life is not perfect.

Yesterday, I visited the sauna, but have not used it yet. It was completely desserted when I was there. I wonder if the sauna , like many hotels we have been, may seem like a very good idea, but in pratice, very few people actually use it. And if they do use it, they do it only once in a while. I could be mistaken of course but I bet the restaurants are many times more popular than the saunas!!!!

We mentioned that the man called the Assistant Cruising Director, actually, it was possibly not her Assistant, but the Cruising Director herself.

 

Just at the end of the evening show (it was the Clarinet and Piano duo called the "Virtuosos", curiously not the "Virtuosi" as the latter name would be more correct), the CD came on stage, and she did not even mentioned about her mistake and apologise. It was everything was just fine. Not that impressed with her.

 

Going back to the musical duo, they have been on Viking 2 or 3 times before. Their style in playing not too well known compositions apart from the American Rhapsody seemed to be appreciated by the audience although they were not my cup for tea. My partner liked it, but I had trouble not falling asleep (my partner had to me several times to keep me awake, I have to confess! Gulp!!!)

About this show and trying not to fall asleep, my partner had to JAB me in the ribs several times to wake me up! I promised I did not SNORE in the theatre though! Lol.

DAY 3 of VIKING SEA DEC 21st Cruise (today is Dec 23rd).

 

 

After lunch, we went to our cabin (we prefer to call it that , rather than a "Stateroom", the latter sounded a bit too posh and pretentious) and switched on the TV. When we switched onto the Viking Dailiy channel, we were surprised to hear the Cruise Director mentioned that the all-aboard time today in Naples is 5.30pm. In the Viking Daily newsletter, it is stated that the Back on Board time is going to be 4.30pm. We thought we did not hear that right, and we repeated the broadcast and sure enough, she said 4.30pm.

 

We called the Explorers Desk (Viking's name for Reception) but they seem rather cool about it . We were concerned because we did not want any passenger to be left in Naples while the ship sailed away! One of us went downstairs to speak to someone at the Explorer's Desk. The man there called the Assistant Cruising Director, but she seemed a bit off-handed about it. She just indicated something about passengers should know the correct time because it was stated in the Viking Daily and on the board before they leave the ship. When she was asked should the broadcast not be changed or an announcement made to highlight the mistake, but she said that could not be done.

 

It is hoped that the Captain is aware of this, and that people in the Cruising Director department are not trying to hide their mistakes! What is more important, it is hoped that every passsenger will get back on board and no one is caught by listening to what the Cruising Director mistakenly announced.

We mentioned that the man called the Assistant Cruising Director, actually, it was possibly not her Assistant, but the Cruising Director herself.

Just at the end of the evening show (it was the Clarinet and Piano duo called the "Virtuosos", curiously not the "Virtuosi" as the latter name would be more correct), the CD came on stage, and she did not even mentioned about her mistake and apologise. It was everything was just fine. Not that impressed with her.

Going back to the musical duo, they have been on Viking 2 or 3 times before. Their style in playing not too well known compositions apart from the American Rhapsody seemed to be appreciated by the audience although they were not my cup for tea. My partner liked it, but I had trouble not falling asleep (my partner had to me several times to keep me awake, I have to confess! Gulp!!!)

Some of you may not know, but: 1) There are a few differences between the 2 buffet areas at World Cafe. For example, if you want pizza, you need to be on one side. 2) Occasionally Viking will offer a special "lunch" or "dinner" at the World Cafe. If the weather's good, that will be set up outside in the area between the bar and the infinity pool/dining tables. So take a peek outside if something like that is announced.

We know. There was supposed to be a Seafood Sailaway dinner outside the World Cafe on Day 2 leaving Civitavecchia, but as the weather was (apparently) too windy, the seafood has to be taken into the World Cafe. At least, that was what one of the chefs mentioned.

Yes, agree, not impressed at all with the included excursion but it was a means to an end, took us into town.

 

 

Noisy place, had to take my hearing aids out, it was all too much!😅

 

Good cafes for coffee and a bun ,€2, amazing.

 

 

I'll photograph the new excursions soon and post them on here if I can find out how.

Can you tell me how do you post photographs on here? I was trying to that before but have not found the way to do so.

DAY 3 of VIKING SEA DEC 21st Cruise (today is Dec 23rd).

Woke up at late at 7.50am. We had to rush as our included tour of Naples was to assemble at 8.45am.

Went to the World Cafe to try and grab a quick breakfast. That was when one of my "Believes" inViking being unique has been broken.

I had thought on Viking in their buffet restaurant, there would never be a time when there was not enough tables to sit down. (Other cruise ships, maybe, but Viking Ocean? Never !!!) This morning was one of those times when the table "scrum" happened.

It was so busy that after getting breakfast, no free table was found to sit, so had to take it back to the room and eat, or we would have to eat standing in the restaurant!

The weather today in Naples is really nice, and sunny , and the temp. is 56 degrees Centigrade.

We had quite a long walk to get to the bus to get our excursion. No fault of Viking, it's just that the cruise terminal exit was quite far from where we exited the ship. The terminal was actually quite impressive looking - it looked more like an majestic old railway station than a cruise terminal.

We were sent to board one of the buses for the Naples Highlights excursion (details above).. The excursion dropped passengers half way through the tour in the city centre. We had the option of being picked up later or walked back. After talking some pictures, and walking around a bit, we walked back.

Lunch at the World Cafe was busy, but there was no problems finding a table. What makes cuisine about a ship to be "good" or "very good" is not that "everything" tastes perfect, but almost everyday, there is something good and which stands out. You are almost on a "Foodie's Journey of Discovery" to find out what lovely concoctions the chefs have made to (pleasantly) surprise the passengers! Also, generally, the food is more than acceptable. Viking certainly has that.Today, what was nice and tasty and somewhat special was their clear Mediterranean Soup with chicken, vegetables and noodles. It was quite funny, because on one side of the buffet, the notice described it as "Mexican" soup, but the identical dish which was displayed on the other side of the buffet restaurant , it was shown as a "Mediterranean" soup! No matter what the name or origin the soup came from, I had double helpings! The roast beef joint was tender on one side of the restaurant, but the other side of the restaurant, somehow, the beef joint was fatty and a bit chewey. For dessert, amongst other goodies, blancmage was served - it did not taste like the blacmange we made at home, it tasted rich, creamy and so much, much better. Yum. I liked their Baba au Rhum, but my partner found there was no much rum in it.

Another pleasant surprise we found was that the included/free wine with meals, so far, they are more than acceptable. My partner, who is a bit of a self-proclamed wine connoisseur (that means he has a collection of fine wine at home, he visits France on wine trips, and he was the chair of a wine society in a Gentleman's club, he has done a workshop on wine tasting and he is a member of the Jurard of St. Emillion - that means he wore a funny hat in a photo I had seen which was taken in some French wine ceremony. What's mkore he has quite a good nose for wine, which I do not! ), he found the wine to be more than acceptable. We had read that the included wines at meals were not usually very good - well, so far, those comments were NOT RIGHT. We liked the wine offered.

After lunch, we went to our cabin (we prefer to call it that , rather than a "Stateroom", the latter sounded a bit too posh and pretentious) and switched on the TV. When we switched onto the Viking Dailiy channel, we were surprised to hear the Cruise Director mentioned that the all-aboard time today in Naples is 5.30pm. In the Viking Daily newsletter, it is stated that the Back on Board time is going to be 4.30pm. We thought we did not hear that right, and we repeated the broadcast and sure enough, she said 4.30pm.

We called the Explorers Desk (Viking's name for Reception) but they seem rather cool about it . We were concerned because we did not want any passenger to be left in Naples while the ship sailed away! One of us went downstairs to speak to someone at the Explorer's Desk. The man there called the Assistant Cruising Director, but she seemed a bit off-handed about it. She just indicated something about passengers should know the correct time because it was stated in the Viking Daily and on the board before they leave the ship. When she was asked should the broadcast not be changed or an announcement made to highlight the mistake, but she said that could not be done.

It is hoped that the Captain is aware of this, and that people in the Cruising Director department are not trying to hide their mistakes! What is more important, it is hoped that every passsenger will get back on board and no one is caught by listening to what the Cruising Director mistakenly announced.

I agree with all of the comments above.

 

Just to add, for information, that we did the inclusive tours in Rome and Naples.

 

Rome - we did the inclusive coach tour then when we stopped at the Vatican we told the tour guide that we were leaving and would make our own way back. This was about 11.15am. We had to be back on the ship at 5pm. We then had a leisurely walk around the Vatican city, pantheon, colesseum, trevi fountain etc and easily made our way to the railway station for the 15.12 train back to Citivecchetiva. Take note that the platform is as far away as you can get so don't leave it to the last minute. I booked the ticket on my phone through trainline.eu. Paid with paypal and got an electronic ticket on my phone €5. Got a taxi from the railway station to the ship €5. Arrived at the ship 16.45. Perfect.

 

Naples - again did the inclusive coach tour which was only short, then again informed the guide that we would make our own way back. Walked for over half an hour to reach the "magnificent" Christmas market (not worth the hike) then meandered back to the ship. I recommend the tour because Naples is on the side of a hill. Use the included tour as it drops you up the hill then it's an easy walk back down to the cruise terminal taking in the shops and the cafes and the atmosphere on the way.

 

Ps the cars and scooters are mad, be careful.

 

Lorna

Good to hear your feedback .

I was talking to an American passenger on this cruise just a moment ago and she too was disappointed with the free/included excursion (Naples Highlights). She was on coach no. 11. After the group was dropped in the city centre, and were informed that they would be picked up later, they waited to be picked up and no one came.

Fortunately, the ship was only a few minutes from where they were left off . Even so, walking back was not too easy as there was construction here and there near the castle, and there was no proper walkway. Cars and motorcycles were rushing around the corner and one had to try to avoid being hit by them.

Needless to say, this American lady, she was not impressed by the excursion.

I posted this in the rollcall board for our sailing (1-4-18) but just a suggestion- since Viking has not offered any excursions in the substitute ports, I am trying to organize a small group tour (i find these are usually better and less expensive anyhow).

Are you sure Viking Ocean cruises is not offering any excursions in the substitute ports, for your sailing Jan 4, 2018? We are on the Dec 21, 2017 cruise, the first cruise where the 2 ports of La Goulette and Algiers are cancelled.

On this cruise, VIKING EXCURSIONS ARE CERTAINLY AVAILABLE IN THE SUBSTITUTE PORTS ! This included Free excursions. We do not mean to be rude, but there is a possibility whoever gave you that information may be incorrect.

We have even sent a report on our first two days of this cruise:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2576451

And on that link, we even listed the excursions offered by Viking in Naples. In fact, we have already been on this excursion and have come back!

We would suggest you double check your information before putting it on here. If the arrangements for your Viking Sea Jan 4th cruise is similar to ours for Dec 21st, then, excursions are offered for both the two substitute ports.

I appreciate your observations. What did you think of the tour Naples?

 

 

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Just came back from the free/included "Naples Highlights" excursion.

Compared to yesterday's excursion to Rome, the Rome free/included excursion was miles better.

For the Naples Highlights excursion, the first part was quite nice, with a coach ride up the hilly area overlooking Naples Bay. There were to very short stops, the first one was a view overlooking a derelict factory which was not very inspiring. Then, we were taken to the centre of the city, and was dropped there to be on our own. More than half of the tour was a unguided and almost do-it-yourself. All the guide suggested was for us to go try some local foods in Naples. So, all in all, it was not much of an excursion and certainly nothing to write home about. The ship is docked very close to the city centre, so we just walked back. Really, Viking needs to improve offering of the Naples Highlights tour, especially when this tour was supposed to replace the excursion either in Tunis or in Algiers. In our view, this excursion was a POOR COMPENSATION. We would not recommend this excursion to anyone going on further cruises. It felt rather perfunctory in its offering. Not so good.

We doing the B2B starting when you dock in Barcelona.

 

Lots of questions. Where did you dock in Naples? Can you give us an idea of some of the tours that are being offered in Naples? Anything that we might not have thought of that we should pack? When is the Meet and Mingle scheduled for?

 

Looking forward to the rest of your report as the days go by.

 

Thanks in advance.

We are docking at Pier 6/7 in Naples at 8am. Back on board: 4.30pm .

Available excursions:

1) Naples Highlights (Included/Free) (3 1/2 hrs)

2) Villages & Vistas of the Amalfi Coast (8 hours)

3) Sorrento & Pompeii (7 hours)

4) Pompeii: City of Beauty & Ruin (4 hours)

5) Ancient Herculaneum (3 1/2 hours)

6) Pizza & Piazzas (4 1/2hours)

We forgot to mention (above) that although the breakfast in the World Cafe was not quite up to expectations (it was by no means "bad"), the lunch at the World Cafe today was excellent. It was even better than lunch there yesterday. Their desserts were comparable to their rival Ocenia, and that's saying a lot, because we have high regards for cuisine at Oceania's. Even the choice of ice-creams today (okay, "gelato") seems to have a better selection today. And tonight, they had caviar on offer in the buffet. And if you go to the Restaurant (main dining room), they have broiled lobsters on menu. What more can you ask? We do agree that taste for food is very subjective, and no cruise ship or cruise line is perfect, but we are beginning to appreciate this cruise ship. Give us two weeks, we might fall in love with it. Time will tell !!!!

Various Viking Star cruises, have already cancelled their stops at La Goulette (for Tunis) and Algiers. We understand that apart from the Dec. 21st cruise, the Jan 4th and Jan. 18th cruises , all with the same name "Southern Mediterranean Discovery" , have been cancelled.

This has been quite extensively been discussed especially in this linked thread https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2574444 . When that thread was first put on, only the Dec 21st cruise was affected. Since then, the later cruises were affected too.

THE ORIGINAL ROUTE WAS:

Civitavecchia - Trapani - LaGoulette (Tunis) - Cagliari - Algiers - Valencia - Barcelona

REVISED ROUTE:

Civitavecchia -Naples - Trapani - Cagliari - Palma de Mallorca - Valencia - Barcelona

It is up to Viking to decide whether the Feb 1st, Feb 15th and Mar 1st cruises may be affected.

VIKING STAR DEC 21st CRUISE - OUR EXPERIENCE SO FAR.

We are on the the Dec. 21st cruise on the Viking Star, the first of the cruises affected by the amended itinerary, and this is our experience. We hope Viking cruisers on the following Southern Med Discovery cruises who will also be affected on their Jan 4th and Jan 18th cruises may find this helpful.

FIRST DAY

We were met at Rome's Fiumicino Airport. Unless most other cruise lines, instead of meeting us at the arrival hall, Viking staff met us in the Baggage Claim section. They advised to look for our suitcases, and then, hand them over to them and they will take over to take it to the ship. All the passengers assembled at the Baggage Claim Hall and we were guided to a waiting bus outside. We were out of the airport in just about 35 - 40 mins. On previous cruises with other cruise lines, we had to wait sometimes an hour or even longer before we get to the bus for it to leave the airport. That was quite impressive.

When we got on the ship in Civitavecchia, one of the first things we did was to queue up at the shore excursions desks to arrange and book for new excursions at Naples and Palma de Mallorca. There was quite a long queue , but as there were three desks opened, it was not long to wait.

We also spoke to some of the passengers on board. Most of them we spoke to found out (about the amended schedule) around last Thursday or Friday, Dec 14th or Dec 15th. One couple from the US found that out on Thurs when the wife checked to confirm that everything was well with the visit to Algeira and Tunisia , and found the schedule has changed. She called her TA but her TA did not know then. However, she received an email from Viking the following day. They mentioned that although they were disappointed with the cancelled stops, they were pleased that one of the replacement stops was going to be Naples.

There was a couple who were travelling on a B2B from Barcelona to Civitavecchia, and then on Dec 21st from Civitavecchia back to Barcelona. According to the husband of the couple, they only found that out 3 days before they arrived in Civitavecchia. Coming from Barcelona, they also had their stopover in Marseille cancelled because of strong winds, so for this B2B cruise, they would lose at least 3 stops.

Under the circumstances, Viking appeared to handle the situation relatively well. What could have been improved, however, was the information on the Viking website.

Excursions for the replacement stops, at Naples and Palma de Mallorca has been arranged when we went on board, so we could book them without much hassle.

However, the stopover at Tripani is going to be 1 hour shorter than the original schedule. Also, the stop at the second replacement port, at Palma de Mallorca is only from 12noon till 4pm....ONLY FOUR HOURS!!!

THE ACCOMMODATION AND DECOR

The ship is beautiful. As others have mentioned on Cruise Critic, one always seem not to feel overly crowded.

As expected, staff on Viking and the accommodation was of a very high standard in a modern sort of way. We had to get used to some of the workings in the room, eg the lighting, but that was not really an issue. The cabin could do with more clothes hooks as the only two is in the shower room, and none in the main cabin. I did not mind, but my partner seems to miss that.

They had some Christmas decorations, but unlike another Viking ship (was it the Viking Sun, it had pictures on one of the threads on CruiseCritic ) which we has two big christmas in the foyer, on the Viking Star, we did not have them, which was a little disappointing. We had thought being a Scandinavian ship, it would have been "natural" to have at least one huge Christmas tree. (To be fair, it had some small ones dotted in a few parts of the ship but there was no Christmas decoration that we would go "wow" with!)

As it was our first experience with Viking Ocean, when we had read before that entertainment was not one its strong points, we were pleasantly surprised that the standard of the evening show, a group of two Italian men and two ladies, sang some classical music as well as Christmas numbers. They also had the audience to participate to sing "Volare". Before they finished, they sang "Arrivederci Roma" to get us into the mood that we were in Italy, and that the following day, we would be visiting Rome. It was lovely. We thoroughly enoyed it, and the standard was very high.

SECOND DAY

This morning, the second day of the cruise, we went on the included tour with a snapshot visit to central Rome and Vatican city. The weather was nice, the sun was out and it was not too cold, so that probably helped in making the visit more enjoyable.

It was a very early start, to assemble at 7.30am, so we had to have breakfast early. Although breakfast buffet at the World Cafe was nice, it was not as good as we had anticipated. The choice was not really very extensive . The bacon was not crisp (as we use find on many American ships, perhaps as Viking is not American,this is probably why). The fruit selection did not include exotic items like mangos (like their rival Oceania sometimes offer). Their bread choice at breakfast, was not so good (however, we discovered that the bread at Mamsens was delicious and you could have their bread in the buffet, if you wish). The scrambled eggs were dry, but when asked to cook some more and make it "runny", the cook came out with something just as "rubbery". When requested for a fried egg to be cooked with yolk well-cooked, it was runny. There was also a queue and others had quite a while to wait .

Some folks had mentioned that the bread at Oceania Cruises is better than on Viking. To a certain extend, it is true. In their World Cafe buffet, the bread did not seem very appealing and somewhat "dry". However, if you ask for the Scandinavian style bread from Mamsens, the ones they used to make their sandwiches, they are wonderful !

We did the drill. It was quite easy. Informed that we should wait at 5.30pm. An announcement came on the spot, and was informed that when we here the alarm at 5.45 we were to assemble at our allocated assembly points. All these were done quite easily

The Restaurant (main dining room), the service was slow compared to other cruise lines (we have been on 12 previous cruises with other lines including their "rivals" Azamara and Oceania). It took about 30 mins before the started came, and nearly another 30 mins for the main course to come. However, staff were nice and friendly. Perhaps Viking could improve their system on taking meal orders and serving them.

This evening, there was the show introducing the senior staff including the Captain. It was nice that the senior staff have a sense of humour , and brought this "human touch" which seems to be quite pervasive throughout the ship.

Although like many people, we are disappointed with missing the two stops, we are still pleased that we have chosen to cruise with Viking.

Tomorrow, we look forward Naples, and to our three and half hour included tour.

We hope that other passengers on later Southern Mediterranean Discovery cruises (Jan 4th and Jan 18th), eventhough they are affected by the amended schedule, will enjoy the cruise as much as we are right now.

PS: The internet on the Viking Star is not the fastest in the world, but it is free, so one has to be grateful ! (At least, I can make my current report to you on Cruise Critic!!!)

Anyone who has met their GM Dominique would disagree with your statement. There are others too, but do agree that their Captains are "Cold Fish" when it comes to passenger engagement. O's preference seems to be is that the CD is their viewable point person. However an approachable GM can be an asset when there are cruise issues that need correcting.

Earlier, I did indicate that with regards to the issue of "cold/.aloof" senior staff, the was an exception, and that he was was a French hotel manager (GM). That person was Dominique. He frequently stood around and greeted passengers and asked if everything was alright. Trouble was he was the ONLY GM who seemed to have done that on the various Oceania cruises I have been on. The other GMs on Oceania seemed rather ignored passengers as if they are too important to acknowledge those "lowly" passengers , these men (they all seemed to be men, not seen a female Hotel Manager/GM so far) could take a leaf out of Dominique. By the way, I appreciated Dominique's friendly attitude so much that once, I approached him and thanked him for that. I even indicated to Dominique that I wished more GMs on Oceania were more like him - he is like a breath of fresh air when Oceania GMs/Hotel Managers are concerned !

You and some others may only be talking about a courteous recognition. But, we all know that there are some cruisers (maybe fewer on the premium and luxury lines) who relish "seeing and being seen with" ship's officers.

 

 

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It's not that we "relish seeing and being seen with" ship's officers.

It's just that sometimes , on a luxury liner, just like in a good class hotel, you would be expected the senior management staff to greet guests in passing, as a friendly gesture (likewise, as a guest, you would be expected to be friendly to staff too in return). You would not expect to be "seeing and being seen with " them - in fact, I find that term to be rather insulting especially when most of us are not like that. It's just a case of everyone having mutual recognition and friendliness towards one another.

That is where Azamara wins hands down. Most Oceania captains and hotel directors/managers seem to avoid guests if they can, whereas on Azamara, they do not do that.

One wonders why Oceania do not encourage their senior staff to do that , be more friendly, ie more like their junior staff - that way, they will be able to attract some keen Azamara guests to them. After all, they are competitors, aren't they? At the moment, some guests seem to "stick with" Azamara for their friendliness and "personal touch", which seems to be so alien to most Oceania senior managers (captains and hotel directors). It is not on just one cruise, but it seems to be quite pervasive throughout most of the company.

What is worse, what happens , as the senior managers on Oceania do not lead by example, that their junior staff begin to behave like their seniors, how would passengers then feel? Would these guests feel it is still alright for the junior staff to behave like their seniors on Oceania?