CDNPolar

This has been discussed on CC for ever about tipping on Viking. Some countries that Viking sells to include grats and some don't - like Canada and USA. We (CAN and USA) either pre-pay or are charged when we disembark to which we have full control if we pay what is charged (suggested) or we can increase, decrease, or remove completely. It has also been discussed how these tips/gratuities are distributed to the crew and this is a mystery. I have emailed Viking to get a phone call back and a very vague generic answer with giving me no more knowledge than I had before asking. Never would I assume that paying in advance would get us a "badge" on our profile once boarding the ship so that the crew would give us better service. Viking service, in our eyes, is one of the main reasons that we keep going back. Viking service in our eyes is amazing with or without the gratuity. Now some will come and say that this practice is a "bribe" but from our standpoint it is not. If a serving team in the dining room is exceptional, we ask for them night after night. We will pass a gratuity in cash to each member of the serving team. This is as a thank you, not a bribe. Notice that I say when we find they are exceptional we pass a tip... not before to get exceptional service, but when we experience great service we give something. On our last Viking Rver cruise, the very first night we loved the serving team of 3 where we sat in the dining room. This team on the second night automatically brought me a San Pellegrino water without asking. The second morning for breakfast the server brought decaf coffee without asking because they remembered from the first morning. These are the type of crew servers that we consider passing a gratuity to directly, but usually near the end of the cruise because we are not doing this as a bribe. These are the type of crew members that do go above and beyond because they just turned over a ship of 180 people and they remember my preference the second time they see me. To us this is exceeds expectations service.

We got upgraded during a cruise once because of horrible intolerable noise while sailing - creaking and squeaking - and the cabin was nice with extra floor space, but we just did not appreciate the space any more than what we had. We don't understand the desire to be on a higher deck than deck 3, and we have never suffered in booking shore excursions or dining reservations with the lowest category of cabin. This is also why we tend to book as soon as itineraries come out, often as much as 2 years in advance, to ensure that we can get the lowest category cabin.

I personally would not expect to see live coverage of anything on a cruise ship. We were on the Nansen a year or so ago, and I cannot remember what stations were available, but I am sure you will get recaps from the previous day on some sports channel. Satellite stations are very spotty depending on where you are.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! You might get better response to either post this in the Celebrity forum or search to see if there is a roll call for this cruise.

We will often use an included tour - if walking through the city - to get bearings on the city and surroundings and then we inform the tour guide and break off on our own. (Always tell the tour guide if you are leaving the tour.)

Pretty much the same in price. My price converted to Pounds is a bit less but we pay gratuities on top. Thanks for this.

I have never in 10 Viking Cruises had an envelope left in my cabin...? Not River, not Ocean.

Would be very surprised if any insurance covered this. too many variables including where is the next port. the cost to get you to the next port could be quite high.

Don't get mad at me for asking this, but does Viking really encourage this or is it American tipping culture coming to the surface? Are Viking just not addressing it because they don't want to appear that they are anti-tipping? I agree and know that tipping in many cultures outside of USA and Canada is just not expected, but Viking could also appear to be insensitive if they suggested we not tip.

Ok... here goes. West Indies to Iberia - Trans-atlantic from Barcelona to San Juan. October 16th, 2024 We are in a DV6-Deluxe Veranda Our pricing is in CDN: Cabin. $5,099.00 Air. $1,499.00 Total. $6,598.00 CDN per person No SSBP Gratuities NOT included If I pop this in a Google conversion I get 3813.65 GBP

Off topic, but when are you going to sell insurance to Canadians?

Yes, I did omit the wider seat, but many of them have - not sure what to call them - the dividers between the seats and the tray table is in this, and there is a small tray like table between the seats. My only concern with this is on two flights (Australia, and South Africa), on the longest portion I was alone with no one beside me and because of this divider, you cannot take advantage of the empty seat beside you in the same way. But you are right, they are wider, and the recline is deeper.

Probably better to post this in the Silversea forum. You will likely get more traction there.

Gotcha - thank you. I knew that Gratuities were included for UK guests, but never realized that it was common to have SSBP included too. It would be interesting to compare - with current exchange rates - the cost of the same cruise in Pounds vs. CDN dollar. For some of our upcoming cruises, because of the length, the SSBP is over $500 CDN per person. No way I will spend $1,000.00 more for wine and spirits. We would never drink that much.

I don't know if you have EVA Air as an option, but they are a great airline to the far East and their PE product is pretty good.

I think that you will find these PE cabins a bit different on each airline, but they offer: 1) More legroom 2) Generally a foot / leg rest, but NOT a lie flat seat 3) Higher service level I won't fly over 7 hours in Economy. I have flown 20 hours + to places like Australia and South Africa and several Japan and China trips. If Business is out of the question because I don't have the points or don't want to pay that much, then I go PE. For all these long haul trips I did PE and it was so so so so much better than economy. Some of these were work trips and I was on my own and I book an aisle seat on the left side which in PE is only two seats. Sometimes I have had an empty seat beside me. When we fly together in PE we book the window and aisle on the side because they are only 2 deep and that is enough for me to choose PE over economy.

We all must be diligent of what we read on any online platform today. I have witnessed quite a few first time cruisers get some good information here on CC, but of course it is subjective to the person providing the guidance. Your impression may be different than mine, and sometimes someone rushes to post an answer that may not be completely true.... But, how do you know if you need a filter if you don't know anything about what you are reading?

Off topic, but I cannot miss this statement? What do you mean withdrawn SSBP from the 2025 cruises?

You just reminded me that I have to try the onion rings at the Pool Grill. We have never eaten at the Pool Grill.

We have not been on Ocean for over a year, but have been on several River cruises and happy with the food. This is concerning to me with Ocean and out next is not until October. We have always enjoyed the food on Viking, and hope that this is not a spiral down...

I don't see why you cannot share Tripit information, it is not a TA site, it is really a trip planning app and site. I have used it for years, but have never sent excursions to it. I have found that some things get rejected if they are not 'standard' type itinerary content? I certainly have air, hotel before and after, cruise itinerary, but again, never sent excursions. Have to think how to do this... I think that I would create an event on the main website and add the excursion information? Oh, and I LOVE Tripit because most often it sends me the airline gate before the airport monitors have the gate listed, and I have never found it to be wrong. They notify of delays, cancellations, gate changes, etc. (The paid version)

As much as I get this, I suppose I cannot justify spending the extra on this level of cabin for the time we spend in the cabin. We have just adjusted to the lowest category of Cabin on Viking. I think it would be great on a World Cruise to have that extra space.

Yes, it is mass produced but we still enjoy it and feel that it is worth our cabin / cruise price. However, the best food I had on a Mass Market Line was no better in my opinion than Denny's, Perkins, or iHOP. All of these bottom of the barrel for me.

I understood your post, you did not understand my response. No worries. Sorry that you had the wrong end of the stick with Viking and gratuities. We were very well aware of how gratuities worked on Viking before our first cruise and there was nothing hidden to us. It was all very well communicated. I am sorry that you did not enjoy your Viking experience and wish you all the best with your Seabourn future cruises. Perhaps we will see you on a Seabourn cruise one day.

Well, someone must be using them because they have staff manning the phones and they answer very quickly. Perhaps they answer quickly because they have staff but no calls.... I am going to ask around of friends and see if anyone uses the Concierge.