MrMarvin

TY...Customer Relations was contacted immediately upon our return home.

I received a letter for February 2024 that Stavanger is being replaced with Amsterdam and Bodo is being replaced with a sea day. The itinerary change is also reflected on My Viking Journey; but it is not yet changed on the Viking website.

We sailed September 10-17 (St Louis to St Paul w/pre & post stay) On disembarkation day, we were scheduled for a Panoramic Twin Cities excursion w/hotel transfer (as part of the $699pp post stay package) The tour was scheduled 8:30 to Noon and we were to tour St Paul & Minneapolis. During the tour, the guide announced that the driver was contacted by Viking and asked to return to the ship to transport other passengers so our tour would be cut short. We did not get to Minneapolis and were dropped at the hotel at 10:45am. The hotel was not expecting our group of 26 until Noon and the people at the Viking desk were in the midst of getting all the pre-stay people checked out and onto buses to go to the ship. (to add salt to the wound, 2 empty buses sat at the hotel for over an hour as all of the pre-stay hotel guests went to the boat on 1 bus) While we were on the tour, the guide said he was in no rush as his afternoon tour had been canceled. This was our first "hint" that the optional tour we booked (and re-confirmed with the shore excursion manager on board on Thursday) to the Minneapolis Institute of Art & Sculpture Garden 1:00-5:00 pm ($69 each originally paid from my checking account/which was refunded - then paid with Shipboard Credit) was canceled. The representatives at the Viking Desk at the Hotel St Paul had no information on an optional afternoon tour so we were told to assume it was canceled. Viking charged this tour to our SBC so the amount we had left at the end of the cruise did not cover all the gratuities and my credit card was charged the balance due on gratuities. This charge needs to be refunded because the SBC for the canceled tour would have covered the gratuities. At no time during the cruise was the on-board information on the TV or the Viking Voyager app (on our phone) accurate or up-to date which made it nearly impossible to keep track of SBC or excursions (every single one was altered) Embarkation Day - Viking asked us to do comfort check-in on-line before we departed. Yet, everyone stood in the same LONG line to get to the check-in. Despite having our boarding pass in hand, photo uploaded, and credit card registered, the employee checking us in redid the entire process. We visited guest services at least 3x on embarkation day -- Explorer Suite 300 had no hairdryer, no batteries in the safe, vanity lights not working, heated floor not working, anti-fog mirrors not working, bathroom outlet was replaced 2x during our cruise. It was finally determined that there was an electrical issue in the bathroom that could not be fixed without ripping up our bathroom floor. There was ONE small drawer in the bathroom for storage. There was no place in the shower to put shampoo, soap, etc....not a shelf, or cut-out, or even a caddy hanging around the shower head. We had to request towels, do not disturb sign, room service menu, glasses for beverages (and when the glasses weren't changed, we had to request clean glasses daily) The curtains in the LR area were not installed properly on the rods and it was almost impossible to open/close them in order to have a view out the front of the ship. The table on our balcony was extremely wobbly (enough that a beverage was not safe on the table top) The first time we tried room service for breakfast (bc we had an early excursion) we chose the 7:30-7:45am delivery. At 8am we called guest services (everything goes thru guest services - it's the only extension on the phone) and breakfast came shortly thereafter (with a few items missing) The forward elevator was out of service except for day 5 when they took a part from one of the 2 mid-ship elevators to see if that's what was wrong with the forward elevator. Whenever you ordered a cocktail from the beverage menu in the bar, the bartenders (who were wonderful - there were only 2) had to check the ingredients to make sure they had everything to make the cocktail. No Aquavit, no lemonade, no diet coke after day 4, and most of the wines in the Silver Spirits package were unavailable. One evening, the Food/Beverage manager brought me the wine menu and told me he had personally marked the available wines. I made a selection and he returned to tell me, he made a mistake, it wasn't available. For the most part, the staff is severely undertrained and they are struggling to do their best. When we ate in the restaurant, at every dinner, something was forgotten (a soup, a side, etc...) When we ate upstairs at the Cafe (buffet) it was difficult to get their attention so we could get water, coffee, beverage.... Outside of the restaurant, there was an electronic board with the dinner menu posted. EVERY night, the menu we were given once seated did NOT match the posted menu on the board. So if we made our decision to eat in the restaurant (sit-down) based on the posted menu, instead of the upstairs buffet, we were often disappointed. Friday night we went to dinner at 7pm (restaurant hours were 6-8:30) and they were already out of the soup. Excursions/Time in Port: Mon 9/12 - Burlington IA - port canceled/excursion refunded to SBC Tues 9/13 - Quad Cities (8am-12:30) our morning excursion was changed to 9am and reduced from 3.5 hours to 2.25 hours/our afternoon excursion was canceled and refunded to SBC Wed 9/14 Dubuque IA (8am-12:30) - our original all-day excursion was canceled ( refunded to SBC and balance refunded to my checking account) We made new selections that were charged to our SBC Thurs 9/15 - La Crosse WI (12:30-4:30pm) we were originally scheduled to be there in the morning, so our excursion was changed 3x from 9am, then 12:30, finally 1:00pm. The excursion was shortened from 3 hours to 2 hours. *even though 4:30 was back on board time; they had a special performer from 3:30-4:15/ we missed it* Fri 9/16 - Red Wing MN (1-7pm) we were originally scheduled to be there in the morning, so our morning excursion was canceled. The optional tour we had selected for the afternoon was changed from $99 pp to "included." The money was refunded to my checking account. * they told us we would arrive at 1pm; but the boat docked at 9am - it was good that we could get off and explore on our own before our afternoon tour; but ultimately there was no need to cancel the morning excursions.* Based on the the very short durations in port &constantly changing port times; it is clear that Viking isn't prepared to navigate the Mississippi. We had 230 guests on our sailing (386 is total capacity). When they sail at full capacity, the common areas are going to be overcrowded. As it was, it was a challenge to find a seat in the Living Room for programs, in the Cafe for breakfast/lunch and one evening we had to wait for a dinner table (even a sharing table) It is obvious there are "workers" on board; we saw them every day in the cafe eating breakfast and at dinner either upstairs at the buffet or in the restaurant. Overrall, a very disappointing trip. Viking did not live up to their reputation. In hindsight, I wish they had canceled us until the boat is finished and they figure out how to navigate the Mississippi.

Same letter received for February 2024