CDNPolar

I think that you might find some "similarities" between ships, but if you have a ship that is currently only sailing in the APAC region, and another around South America, they are restocking locally and in many cases picking up more local wines. Not every wine that Viking may want to stock would be available in every region and part of the world. When you watch the restocking of the ship in any port, there are pallets and pallets of wine and beers being brought on board and these choices are up to the Beverage Manager on the ship and they are coming from local suppliers. I guarantee you Viking is not flying wine stocks around the world so that the wine menu is the same ship to ship. Viking print all this material - menus etc., - on the ship, so a wine menu change is easy.

You have to consult your travel doctor, but, I have been on the Panama Viking cruise, and been to Roatan twice in the past. Vaccination not required. Where you are going on the cruise and the excursions you are going to take, you are not in the high risk areas. I would also think, that if this were a REQUIRED shot for the cruise, Viking would let you know that or 90% of people would show up without it. We travel to many parts of the world where this kind of threat is there, but when you get into the travel advisory web sites and sites like the CDC, you find that it is mostly in rural areas, and away from cities and for people that are going for extended stays. Often the country is highlighted as a risk, but not specifically where you are travelling to. Argentina for instance, parts of the country are a risk, but if you are just travelling to Buenos Aires, you are not at risk. Not that you will ever be 100% without risk, but... Personally, my opinion, you have nothing to worry about.

Also, you don't have to lose anything... if you are before penalty, you can move that deposit to any other cruise in the future and not lose anything. The end result is you won't go on the booked cruise for whatever reason, but you don't have to lose anything. We have moved deposits or just the dates of cruises many times in the past.

We have asked for a bottle of SS included wine before on Ocean, because we are easily going to drink that and more, and were told it was only available to us by the glass.

Everything is available to everyone regardless of SS. If you don't have SS you pay for it. BUT, everything on the list is not available to SS - bottles are not included in SS, and anything over a certain price per ounce or drink. But - everything is available to everyone - you just have to pay for it one way or another.

True... this has always been the case... but now we will drink the included wines and beers with meals and pay for a wine of choice in the evening rather than buy the SS package. I think one of the cruises that we just recently booked it worked out to $80 per day for both of us - perhaps more - I know I was shocked at the cost when in the past it was $15 or $18 per day pp. We would not drink that much to get value from it.

With no offence intended, I find this an interesting question? In fact if you go on a land tour - that is organized - it does not give you more privacy, it puts you in the middle of a small group every minute of the day. We have and will do this as this is a choice. Our recent Nile cruise we were a ship of 70 people broken into 3 groups that traveled everyday together on the excursions. We chatted with people but did not come off that trip with any ongoing contacts or connections. We go to shopping malls and are surrounded by hundreds of people but don't target people to talk to and make friends with. We go on cruises - Viking specifically - because we enjoy unpacking once and visiting many destinations that we would never fly to directly. We also enjoy the fact that we know the level of "luxury" we will have with our cabin and we love this. We enjoy cruising for the service and - again Viking - for the resident historians and the learning that comes from this type of cruising. We go on cruises for the food and knowing that everything that we need is included. We cruise to get a taste for certain destinations that again, we would never fly to directly, but then may decide that yes, we want to go back there to dig into the destination more... I think that everyone cruises for different reasons, but our primary reason is not to meet others. That does not make us monsters or outcasts, it is just not our primary focus. We have met many people over the years cruising... a few we have kept in partial touch with via email, and one couple we have traveled with many times since meeting them. For us, if it happens, it happens. We however don't get up each day and spend our days networking around the ship.... Hope that answers your question.

I don't care, gay, straight, or somewhere on a fluid spectrum, if you are snobbish or angry or whatever, then I just discount you and move on. I don't feel that anyone needs to, or must be nice with me and especially because of both of us are gay. My husband and I likely come across in poor light because we will "interact" if you approach us but we are not necessarily warm and fuzzy about it. It has nothing to do with you, and it has everything to do with us, in that we are not overtly social people in this kind of scenario. We just like to do our thing and we are not on a cruise to make lifelong friends - although we have done that before... We have never made gay friends on a cruise, but we have met some nice solo travelling women and a straight couple from the USA. We are good with chatting on excursions and maybe sharing a dinner table together, but that is the extent. We have seen lots of gay couples on our cruises, but we never signal them out and approach and we have never been singled out and approached either. Just and opinion and observation.

I have all the Viking Daily for Empires of the Med, but they are from 2017, so don't know if anything would be the same. As far as a "seafood night" that is not a standard necessarily that falls on a particular night. The Restaurant (non-specialty) usually has a lobster night? The Specialty restaurants - Manfredies is the same menu throughout the cruise, and the other one the Chef's Table the menu is unique every three days. Neither of these really have "special nights".

Here is the full answer: As per your request, kindly find the answers to your questions below:- Can these be applied to already existing reservations for future cruises? Onboard Vouchers can only be redeemed on a booking that was made after the voucher was purchased, booking date must be after the voucher issue date. These vouchers cannot be redeemed on a booking that was booked prior to the voucher purchase.- If they can be applied, and we decide to move to a different itinerary, can we move the voucher to the new itinerary? If you are revising a reservation, the voucher will roll over to the new itinerary.- How many vouchers can we apply to each future cruise? Only one voucher per guest may be applied to the reservationAdditionally, please find other vouchers terms below:- Guests may purchase up to ten onboard voucher certificates while onboard.- Onboard vouchers are issued per individual guest name but are transferable and may be gifted.- Onboard vouchers have no expiration date.- Onboard vouchers are non refundable.

Ok, finally a written answer from Viking. $100 vouchers purchased on a River Cruise that have a $200 value when applied can only be used on a cruise that the booking date is after the purchase date of the cruise. So, whether paid for or not, you cannot apply to a booking you already have. They must have changed the rules, because we have our own proof of a booking done before ever taking a river cruise, and we bought the vouchers and applied them to the already booked cruise. We can verify all that by dates on the booking invoice, and the dates on the vouchers. I have three advance bookings with Viking now. There is not enough incentive for me to give Viking even $100 of my money to wait until I am ready to book the 4th cruise. I could be dead by then.

Yes - 6pm generally for World Cafe, but if you have a 7 or 7:30 dining reservation, you can have your appetizer in the WC with some wine and then head to the dining room. All good. We have seen others doing this.

Not sure how you could abuse it because no matter how many vouchers you purchase on a River Cruise, you can only apply ONE voucher per person on any future cruise. It is not like I can spend $1,000.00 on vouchers and get added value of $1,000.00 on a cruise. The max you can do is apply 2 vouchers which means I spent $200 which gave me $400 off the cruise.

With the increase in cost of the SS package, where we have always purchased this before, we probably won't any longer. We are wine lovers and we have preferred the expanded selection of the wines provided by the SS package, but now think that we will drink the included at meals and then buy one or two glasses in the evening off the expanded list. At this stage, we would never spend in an evening what the cost of the SS package is per day for the two of us. We don't care about spirits and cocktails... we are just about the wine. (And... we have found with friends that did not buy the SS package, that sometimes in the dining room at night, there can be some loose rules about the wines that are poured, and they are not always pouring just the included wines.) The above is not always the case, but has happened.

Yes, but... these vouchers that are being purchased on River Ships have "rules" that say they can only be applied to a new booking and not a booking that is already in the Viking system. This is what we are discussing here. We have in the past applied these vouchers to an existing - not fully paid - Viking voyage. Now we are being told that we cannot do this and they can only be applied to a new booking at the time of first booking the voyage.

Jim - with all due respect, this is information directly from the CDC site. Unless Viking and other cruise ships have infected tap water used for washing food and our drinking water, then the virus is being passed by individuals on the ship and the transmission method is very clear... This could be passengers and crew. As long as I can remember there have been 'gastric' outbreaks on cruise ships but you will also find that cruise ships are not the primary venue where this virus is spread. Personally, for me, the only way to protect myself and my husband is to wash hands, and then wash hands again after serving ourselves at a buffet before eating... and to continue the practices that we learned during Covid which is hands and fingers never go to mouth, nose, eyes, unless washed first. This to me is a key part of avoiding this and we are now not as diligent in defending ourselves against a virus like this because we have let down our guard. Many of us traveled on cruise ships during Covid where awareness was high and there was no norovirus, but all of a sudden now, it is picking up again? Why? My personal opinion is that our defenses are down and we are not taking care of ourselves and others anymore... https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/about/transmission.html You can get norovirus by: Having direct contact with someone with norovirus, such as by caring for them, sharing food or eating utensils with them, or eating food handled by them. Eating food or drinking liquids that are contaminated with norovirus. Touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus and then putting your unwashed fingers in your mouth. You are most contagious: When you have symptoms of norovirus illness, especially vomiting. During the first few days after you feel better. However, studies have shown that you can still spread norovirus for two weeks or more after you feel better. Norovirus spreads through contaminated food This can happen when: A person with norovirus touches food with their bare hands. Food is placed on a counter or surface that has poop or vomit particles on it. Tiny drops of vomit from a person with norovirus spray through the air and land on the food. Food is grown with contaminated water, such as oysters, or fruit and vegetables are watered with contaminated water in the field. For more information about norovirus and food, see Common Settings of Norovirus Outbreaks. Norovirus spreads through contaminated water Recreational or drinking water can get contaminated with norovirus: At the source such as when a septic tank leaks into a well. When a person with norovirus vomits or poops in the water. When water isn’t treated properly, such as with not enough chlorine. For more information, see Healthy Water. Norovirus spreads through sick people and contaminated surfaces This can happen when: A person with norovirus touches surfaces with their bare hands. Food, water, or objects that are contaminated with norovirus are placed on surfaces. Tiny drops of vomit from a person with norovirus spray through the air, landing on surfaces or entering another person’s mouth. A person with norovirus has diarrhea that splatters onto surfaces.

Yes. I do that but many don’t. The fact is that three years of Covid taught us nothing. We are not considerate of ourselves and others.

Let's not underestimate how many cruise. ship guests do not wash their hands leaving the bathroom and are responsible for spreading this. Let't not assume that this is the staff. All you have to do is google statistics for the number of average people that don't wash their hands. I have been in a Viking ship public bathroom many times that someone leaves without washing their hands.... now I have the virus on my fingers after washing my hands because I touched the handle to get out.

Here is a video.... Even though he says that bathing suits are required in the sauna - nobody is policing that.

You are NOT supposed to take pictures in the spa area... some do, but technically, it is not allowed. These are just off of Google but you can also find Viking videos that showcase the spa. Are you thinking of taking a Viking Cruise? We have been on six now and we have three booked in the future.

The Viking Spa is set up this way: Men's change room has Men only sauna and cold plunge pool. Nice relaxation area and nice change rooms and showers. Not huge... 2 showers only. Never that busy. The open wet area is coed. Large hot jetted pool - perhaps 18 X 24 feet Steam room Snow Grotto Ice water Bucket shower regular shower lounge chairs So the only "private" non coed is the mens locker with the sauna and plunge pool

Our trip on the Nansen this past January...

I know - what a life.... I feel your "hate".... Haha

We were the most diligent of all on board I am sure. We did NOT eat anything that was not provided by the ship or the hotel. Odd thing is that we were the only 2 of 70 people that got sick... so where did it come from? We will never know. Our friends doctor felt it was the falafel and my doctor thought it was dairy related, but the day of the falafel on the ship, we all ate it. The night before me getting sick the only dairy was cheesecake for dessert, and everyone was served cheesecake. Again, I was the only one. It will remain a mystery.

I know right? We are big Viking fans. This was a Viking ship in the large Spa open room. We have never felt any negative attitude towards us, and I believe that this was just a passing comment that anyone would make in jest... but I should have been more forward and clarified for them how is the "bread winner" in the relationship. I am certain however that they did not think we heard them.