ISHCruising

On 12/28/2021 at 11:53 AM, Selion said:

Did they pay with a credit card?  Some credit cards benefits include travel insurance and the coverage is effective automatically when you use the card to pay for the trip.

Thanks, I’ll inquire about this!  

On 12/27/2021 at 7:29 PM, SM77 said:

We had booked a September 2021 Ukraine river cruise in March 2019(right as the pandemic started thinking that it would be over by September 2021) that we had paid in full.  Viking canceled all 2021 Ukraine river cruises early in April 2021, much earlier than some of their other river or ocean cruises.  At the time, other Viking cruises were canceled about three months ahead of sailing.  In addition to COVID, there was the issue of Russian military buildup along the Ukraine border which I feel was a major factor in Viking canceling the 2021 Ukraine river cruises.  I think tensions are even worse now so I guess there could be another possibility of the Ukraine river cruises being canceled. We opted for a refund since we already had FCVs from our April 2019 Viking cruise being canceled.  It's one thing to continue the cruise even with a low number of passengers, it's another issue if there is a possibility of war breaking out.  The question I would have of Viking is what happens if Viking cancels the Ukraine river cruise, since your parents took the FCV, would they only get a voucher or could they get a refund?  That is a question that I would ask Tellus@Vikingcruises.com. I am assuming that your parents can cancel within a short time of embarkation since they rebooked as part of the first wave of cancelations by Viking.  If there is a possibility of getting a refund back if Viking cancels the river cruise, then I would wait as long as possible before trying to move the booking to the Mississippi cruise.  

 

As a side note after reading the Viking Cruise Critic boards and the challenges many have experienced with regards to FCVs and the continued challenges with traveling internationally, we have not used our FCVs from the April 2019 canceled Viking cruise which are due to expire this April 2022.  We decided just to opt for the refund & forgo the additional 25%.  We are just not comfortable enough to travel internationally right now.  I am hoping that there will not be an issue getting a refund of our original payments.

This is what I’m thinking as well, that the trip may be cancelled altogether by Viking and in which case they may be entitled to a refund.  Best of luck in receiving your refund, I think you made the best decision.  

On 12/27/2021 at 2:01 PM, KBs mum said:

Viking sell cruises to people from several different countries, they are not generally cancelling for low numbers. 

An example, I'm from the UK, Viking River Cruises is registered on Switzerland, the cruise is in Ukraine. The US state department is not relevant to any of us. Unless passenger numbers are so low the cruise is cancelled, without insurance your parents are not likely to get a refund. 

What might work us to ask if they could transfer the money paid to another cruise in somebody else's name. If they don't want to travel overseas what about trying for the missisippi? 

The UK government actually does have travel advisories for its citizens to the Ukraine as well (https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ukraine ). Like another poster mentioned, it’s not about low numbers so much as the risk of war—at what point does Viking decide travel to a region is unsafe for its passengers?

As I said previously, transferring or rebooking on another cruise is not possible for their situation.  

Thank you all for taking the time to respond.  They did not purchase travel insurance.  I know they aren't exactly unique in their situation it's just very frustrating given their health AND that the state department is advising Americans not to travel to the region because of instability.  Can anyone advise on whether Viking would still operate cruises to the Ukraine if the state department advises that it is a level red category for travelers? 

Posting on behalf of my parents:

My parents booked a Viking cruise in 2018 for a 2020 sailing.  Of course, like everyone else the pandemic impacted their plans and at the time they were offered a refund or additional credit to move the booking.  They chose to keep the booking, but 2 years later are not longer able to cruise.  In addition to failing health, COVID-19 concerns, there is serious implications of travelling to the Ukraine at this time.  Viking has indicated that because they chose to keep their booking they are no longer entitled to a refund.  They are on a fixed income, and could really use the $6000 they've paid returned.  Does anyone have any advice on how they might be able to be refunded?  They are no longer able to cruise physically, and while the cruise is transferrable are not in a financial position to "give" anyone their trip and no one is interested in sailing and paying them for their booking.

Thanks

When we boarded we were informed the ship was oversold "beyond CDC required capacity", I'm not sure how that was remedied?  I assume some people (at least one person on the related FB group) tested positive so was unable to travel.  I wonder if carnival is now overselling with the idea that some may not meet the travel requirements?     

Regardless, we never waited more than 15 minutes for a table, and were only denied entering one show which was "full"--it definitely did not feel crowded!

My biggest complaint was all the black soot that covered the Serenity deck--staff did seem to be trying hard to remedy the situation.

I can't quite figure out if our experience was unique, or if we just have different standards when it comes to fine dining.  We are lucky to live in an area with many fine dining options, and we were expecting a similar level of service and food quality to what we get at home.  We are not "picky" eaters, and personally I didn't find anything on the menu to be outside of most people's comfort zones.  But please don't feed me well done steak and $5 wine and tell me I'm enjoying the meal of a "lifetime" 😂

22 hours ago, tw67 said:

Oh no!  I am so sorry!  When I did it, pre covid, it was such an excellent experience.  But I did it on Horizon, so it had an area built for it.  What ship were you on?  

We were on the Legend

Well, I was very underwhelmed by the Chef's Table experience.  

It was held in the nightclub, where several amuse bouche type plates were offered.  Using a cocktail fork awkwardly and leaning over onto small cocktail tables wasn't exactly the experience I was expecting.  Not receiving new utensils between savory and sweet was also a bit bizarre.  No napkins were offered either, making this whole first part of the experience awkward.  The mushroom and olive sponge was the texture of sand, and not the soft sand at HMC, but gritty coarse sand.  It also had the flavor profile of sand.

We then moved to the table (a real table, thankfully!), and food did not improve.  Service was pleasant and seemed to be appropriately matched for the experience, but the food was really unimpressive.  I think what stood out is that nothing tasted FRESH.  Not one single vegetable was presented (save for the bizarre "whisk" made out of spring onions for the bouillon cube wafer soup--ICK!).  The beef dish was served EXTRA WELL DONE and the consistency of jerky.  We were offered Eco Domani pinot grigio and informed it was "the finest wine in Italy", which was laughable since it sells for about $5/bottle at the local gas station.  

We had fun laughing at all the ridiculousness and awfulness of the meal, but otherwise hope to forget that we spent $150 on what was definitely the worst meal on the ship.  

I'm just going to make her hum while holding her nose.  🤪

1 hour ago, Elaine5715 said:

Yes, it is worth it IF you are open to creative dishes. You have a choice of white and red wines with dinner.  No CHEERS needed.  No galley tours

Thanks, yes, adventurous and no allergies or fussy eaters 🙂 Thanks for clarifying the wine!  That actually makes it a nice value.  Just booked!

Some very basic questions like:

1.  Is it worth it?  We've been very satisfied with the quality of MDR, but were thinking of doing this as a special treat!  

2.  It mentions cocktails--we do not have the Cheers package, so would drinks be included in the dinner?

3.  One of the big attractions is the tour of the galley.  Someone mentioned that they were not operating tours in October, does anyone know if those have resumed?

Thanks!

We have done two Carnival cruises: 1 with, and the next one without.

Firstly, I would not say we regretted the Cheers package.  But like a goldfish, you will grow to the size of your bowl 🙂 I think it's human nature to want to get your monies worth, and therefore you will, whether you typically drink milkshakes or drink at breakfast or not!  I will say, we experienced VERY long waits at the coffee bar, and if you're on a time schedule for port days, this can be frustrating.  I don't like to wait in lines on vacation 🙂

Our second cruise we brought on the allowable wine, had wine with every dinner, and a couple cocktails/beer poolside.  We also took advantage of the promotions including happy hour at the red frog bar (the fish bowls were like $5).  We didn't pinch pennies, ordered what we liked at the Alchemy, moderately priced wine and came well under the Cheers package.  

Just a plug to get him to apply for naturalization.  My husband was a legal resident/green card holder for 10 years, and just received his citizenship.  It will make things more straight forward when you travel.  He can also then apply for an American passport and you won't need to worry about any travel restrictions (well, except for Cuba...stupid embargo!).  

Thanks for the reply and explanation!  When we did our private excursion in 2019 Lighthouse Beach was not at all developed (unsure if that work has started?), so it was spectacular.

I don't mind taking a boat to snorkel, but the reviews of whether that is worth the money seems up for debate.  I would just hate spending the money to not see any decent coral or fish.  

Probably a long shot, but I was told the same when visiting Princess Cay, and we ended up finding a FANTASTIC private excursion in Princess Cay which was the highlight of our cruise!  

Are there any private operators in Little San Salvador aka Half Moon Cay?

If not, how accessible is the island if we wanted to hike somewhere and explore?  Also, is there good snorkeling accessible off a beach away from the masses (we scuba dive so will be packing our own gear to snorkel)?

Thanks!

One of the best private tours we ever did was on Princess Cay aka the island of Eleuthera.  They took us on drive for about 30 minutes to Lighthouse Beach.  We have absolute peace and serenity, and enjoyed fresh caught fish and rum punch.  Less than what people paid to rent beach loungers.

We hired a fishing charter in Roatan who was unable to pick us up right at the docks (the walk beyond the carnival gate was a little sketchy admittedly!), but our captain did drop us off right at the boat dock.  We felt like we were in a James Bond movie pulling up next to the cruise ship!  Again, a fraction of the price of most Carnival Sponsored excursions .

Does anyone have some advice?

I quickly booked on the Legend for a balcony room with a low price.  The prices have since increased significantly.  I would like to upgrade the room, but am now being quoted the difference NOW vs. when I booked.  Nearly $600 to move from an obstructed view to a regular balcony!  

I'm totally prepared to suck it up, but am kicking myself I didn't pay closer attention when booking!

I had a similar situation, hurriedly booked a balcony room not paying attention that it was an obstructed view.  The price was too good to be true!  I checked the next day and prices had nearly tripled the rate I paid.  I called to see if I could pay for an upgrade but instead of paying the original price difference of balcony rooms (something like $25/day) I need to pay the entire difference of the CURRENT rate ($125/day difference).  I'm happy to pay, but for that price i'll stare at some dingy knowing I got a smoking deal on the room itself lol!

Water temps was around 77 degrees when we were there last week.  We swam in the ocean and some scuba diving.  Water is cool and refreshing if you're having a beach day and want to get in for 10-20 minutes.  Any more and you'll need a wet suit which would be provided for any excursion with prolonged time in the water.  

We were quoted about $40 to love beach one way.  Be warned, there are no taxis waiting at Love Beach, so you will want to pre-arrange a taxi to meet you there, or have a number ready to call when you want to be picked up.  We ended up paying about $200 and had a personal driver for the day, he took us to several beaches and gave us a full tour of the city including the caves, well worth the money.

It was totally empty the night we went, I would see no reason to make reservations.  That said, we found the service to be far worse than the MDR.  Food was delicious, but waiters weren't friendly at all--in fact they were downright rude and argumentative.  We would have gone a second night but the service put us off.

OK thanks everyone. Just made the purchase.  But just to clarify with Joebucks said, it's pretty clear they are referring to more than just the bottle:

Just about to order a bottle of Titos to save a bit of money on alcohol consumption.  Upon checkout on the website it says that I cannot consume the alcohol outside of the room.  I was planning to bring a couple of Yetis and enjoy the drinks by the pool or a serenity deck--is this not possible?  Starting to feel like it's simply not worth it and I should just order drinks from the bar.  Knowing just how strict Carnival is with alcohol, is this a rule they follow hard?  Will they stop us from bringing drinks out of the room?

This is on the Pride if that makes a difference.

You must be flying internationally to purchase from the Duty Free store.  I think your best bet is to go to the gas station or even a grocery store while in Florida (both are permitted to sell beer/wine).