Hanoj

Err, it’s 2024. Perhaps you mean from casual to less than casual. Decorum and modesty seem to be modern casualties. 😉

What are your favorite ports you’ve visited while on any Viking cruise? I have three . . . so far. (1) St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2018, before the Viking Homelands itinerary was modified due to the present conflagration between Russia and Ukraine, we had an overnight with two full days in this port. Prior to our visit I was apprehensive because of the vilification of Russia and its citizens by the US government and media, even back then. But more so than any other place in the world I have visited, including mainland China in 1982, my visit to St. Petersburg revealed that pax, anywhere or everywhere (?), are remarkably similar in our aspirations. And that the real enigma precluding peace is nation states governments and special interests (multinational corporations in particular), seeking to divide and conquer the masses to control pax, that is, us. In hindsight, I wish I had obtained a visa to explore on our own. St. Petersburg was (is ?) a beautiful city and while we were only on included and optional Viking excursions, being there felt, surprisingly, remarkably safe. (2) Tallinn, Estonia. While on the same Viking Homelands cruise in 2018, this was my favorite port. Bordering Russia (and part of the former Soviet Union), we enjoyed the contrasting medieval and modern elements this port revealed. We spent most of our day exploring within its medieval walls. We enjoyed interactions with skilled artisans and savoring many delectables. We left and returned to the ship thrice, walking more than 13 miles. Upon retiring to our stateroom after dinner I noted 119 floors on my Fitbit; I was tempted, but didn’t get dressed to ascend one more flight of stairs. In hindsight, I would have, heading the admonition of Tom Reece to his son Commander James Reece (Jack Carr novels), “don’t let the old man in.” I was 56 at that time. (3) Venice, Italy. During the halcyon days of cruising, our 2019 Mediterranean Odyssey cruise embarked with an overnight in this magnificent port. We arose early in the morning after our overnight and walked to the embarking of a water taxi transiting the Grand Canal. This was magical. Afterward, we spent much of the day meandering the streets and lanes between the Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco before returning to the ship. The late afternoon sail away was breathtakingly beautiful. We haven’t sailed with Viking since 2019 (2020 & 2021 cruises were canceled) but are looking forward to our Cities of Antiquity itinerary from Rome to Athens embarking October 2024. Perhaps I will find my way to the Gleneagles Bar on Gozo, Malta to inquire of the “old sailor David Hilcot” (ref. Jack Carr’s newest novel Red Sky Morning). Following are a few photos from my favorite ports.

Viking markets cruises using days but charges gratuities based on nights. 9 x $17 = $153.

Hallelujah! A new dress code thread!

This week we received a Future Guest promotion letter in the mail. We have an October 2024 cruise and will likely wait until onboard before considering any additional bookings for two reasons. One, we haven’t sailed with Viking since 2019 (though we had 2020 and 2021that were cancelled) and want to evaluate the brand before committing to future cruises, though the $25 pp deposit is attractive as a placeholder. Two, our letter offer required PIF by October 31, 2024 for a 14 nights itinerary in 2025.

How about bringing a keg onboard? 🤣

I share the same concern, though I have only been contemplating booking with Regent. I was offering a plausible explanation for what may be a cultural shift in the way Regent conducts itself, at least regarding communication or lack thereof. I admit this is speculative. But if Regent doesn't explain the reason for these embarkation changes affecting these two cruises, I am less likely to consider sailing with Regent, especially since NCLH CFO Kempa has indicated there are "no sacred cows" across the three lines as management seeks to "eliminate waste from the business."

Same here. The best companies do not rely on contract terms with customers to disclaim responsibility for delivering services which fall below expectations; T&Cs have historically been used by the best companies to mitigate severe losses, especially when caused by circumstances beyond control of both customers and the service provider. And there have been many fine examples of the best companies going well beyond T&Cs to accommodate customers. I had hoped Regent is a best type of company. But there seems to be some doubt about this based on the accounts of events presented here. Is Regent joining the trend of using T&Cs to eschew responsibility contributing to customer dissatisfaction? If so, then now perhaps more than ever, the ancient "caveat emptor" applies.

Me too. Be awesome to arrange some sort of excursion to include a casual bike ride or other opportunity to meet Cav. He considers his Isle of Man residence his "real home." I'd shell out some real quid to do this. Yeah, I'm a dreamer.

Evidently “For your convenience” is contextual. In this case, guests being informed of the embarkation change a couple weeks beforehand is more convenient than the day of, or perhaps RSSC felt a “brand-new” terminal is more convenient. Very odd indeed. Off putting, too as I had begun to feel comfortable with the up charge compared to Oceania and Viking.

So, to sum up: as long as I don’t have my gravy with my jeans before entering the dining room, this should be acceptable. Thanks for all the input. 🫣

Is this type of disruption part of the “sacred cows” now being slaughtered that was announced by NCLH CFO Kempa at the end of May in a WSJ article about company management “maniacally focused on” deleveraging the balance sheet (debt creep during pandemic) by reducing costs and eliminating waste across all three lines? Apparently, RSSC is lowering its bar to deliver merely rivaled experience. So instead of “THE WAY CRUISING WAS MEANT TO BE” - from brochure - it is how cruising is now: guests are expendable. I haven’t sailed Regent, yet, but that was until reading this thread. I’ve been getting frequent brochures since first sailing on Oceania a year ago, and today’s mailing included a January 2025 itinerary with some appeal, enough so that I compared it with a similar cruise offering from Viking. But what is being described on this thread is not a luxury experience, and I won’t pay a premium when I can be mistreated for less on a competing cruise line. Henceforth, RSSC mailings will be deposited directly into the recycling bin.

Fashion trends are very fluid and change frequently. For example, men can now get shoes where the upper is a wing tip or oxford (in leather and suedes) but the bottom looks like a sneaker. They are lightweight and very comfortable and IMO are "elegant casual."

Another cruise done too soon. Thanks @OneSixtyToOne for the excellent commentary and wonderful photos!

Ah yes, exactly as I remember our Golden Circle extension tour with Viking in 2018. Same weather, different year. Great photos. Thanks for posting!

Don’t go so easy on him. How else do we get our cruise fix without cruising? 😉

Every time I read about cruising and the challenges those with mobility limitations face, I am grateful I don't presently experience such obstacles. My DW is quick to remind me about this when we are delayed by someone who is and I express gratitude for my good fortune and feel compassion for my fellow sojourner. The more I wear out my body (trying to do so less quickly than @Jim Avery😇), I realize a misstep could easily change my mobility. Last summer I nearly fell forward into a tender while stepping on. Always having been very agile and athletic, I foolishly refused assistance from the crew as the tender was bobbing up and down in the chop. I thought I had timed it perfectly. But the cadence changed just as I made my step and the crew grabbed a hold of me and broke my fall. Thankfully nothing more than my pride was injured. That incident taught me to accept help (beforehand) even when I don't think it is needed. More efficient this way, especially when tendering.

Riveting!

Ah darn. I was hoping Viking is the first to introduce time travel.😉

Here's a photo from our 2018 Viking extension to Reykjavik that give's all the information necessary about Iceland's weather. 66°North is an Iceland based clothing brand.

FEATURED OCEAN VOYAGES? (only river cruises are listed) Is Viking prescient and now finding a way to get around water level issues on Europe's rivers? 🤣

We have found this to be the case. And like more cruisers these days, we, too, look primarily to the itinerary and want access to destinations we can readily explore on our own. This is becoming more challenging due to port imposed restrictions and different lines approaching cost cutting in diverse ways. Thus, we no longer give loyalty to one line. Although we liked much about our Oceania cruise around the British Isles last August, we were disappointed with port time changes announced after the PIF date but before sailing. There were also further reductions to port times communicated once we embarked and we missed one port due to swells. I realize weather is an ever changing dynamic, but the NCL (Oceania and Regent in particular) brands seem to be more prone to itinerary changes than competing lines. And with one of their executives recently commenting that there are "no sacred cows" that won't be slaughtered (my inference) if necessary to drastically reduce costs, I am reluctant to book with Oceania or Regent. We embrace hopes our October 2024 Viking cruise (Rome to Athens) will be more than satisfactory, but we have also tempered these expectations. Depending on we how perceive our experience, we may look into land tours for future international travel.

Although Viking's dress code has remained virtually the same since our first sailing in 2017, I agree that adherence to it has devolved. There are numerous plausible explanations, including an apparent trend towards indifference in attire since the resumption of sailing after the shutdowns. I think the phenomenon is more acute with Viking since their aggressive fleet expansion policy entails marketing to a broader demography than when they had only a few ships sailing fewer itineraries with shorter seasons back in 2017. When Viking Ocean began I've read that a high percentage of their first time guests had previously sailed Viking River. I suspect this is still a large pool from which first time VO cruisers are targeted, but more new cruisers come from the mass market lines these days. And as @Berlin Bear wrote, "there’s no accounting for taste…"

Another benefit to the PV compared to the DV/V is earlier booking of shore excursions. Viking offers one included excursion per port (even if two days with an overnight). These are either a large coach bus tour or a walking tour, both with guides. Although I have not experience a Regent included excursions, from what I have read, Regent cruisers may find Viking's included excursions underwhelming. But if you sail with Viking, I recommend giving the included excursions a try as there is often time to do both an included and optional on the same day. PV guests are able to book excursions earlier than over 60% of pax (those in DV/V staterooms). For our upcoming Cities of Antiquity cruise in October 2024 we were able to book every excursion we wanted (combo of included and optional) at the times we preferred. Not one excursion was sold out when we booked on the first day available to us in a PV but several included and optional tours were sold out before the next window opened for the DV guests. I've read that Viking may be able to offer additional spaces for the sold outs as there are often cancellations, and there are protocols for addressing these limitations that I'm not familiar with since we have always gotten what we wanted as PV guests.

We have only used a PV when sailing with Viking and don't like the layout of the lower categories (closet along one side of the bed) as it has adequate storage to fully unpack our luggage (usually one each 27" trunk and one shared carryon), whereas a DV or V would be tight for us on a two week cruise. We also like the deck 4 & 5 locations (also available on deck 6 but we now avoid these since public spaces are on deck 7) for the PV staterooms. We have sailed Oceania Vista in a veranda stateroom (sized in between Viking PV and DV), which we found adequate for storage (especially due to the drawers/cabinets in bathroom) an feel it was better configured than Viking's DV/V (these staterooms are same sized - location and inclusions differ). I've been looking into Regent (with tissue in hand 🥲) and their smallest staterooms (on all but Navigator) are larger than a PV, so I suspect you may find a DV/V would feel cramped, though many of the Viking faithful prefer these smaller cabins. Great for me since the PV categories are often the last to sell out and I can wait until closer to embarkation to book and get around Viking's aggressive PIF requirements.