Mich3554

Northern Lights cruise has Norwegian cooking.  There are 4 sea days, class offered 2 of them.  

On 1/22/2024 at 11:54 PM, CCWineLover said:

Michelle -

I agree with you - eating later is better for us as well.

 

Interesting - in our past three cruises, they had not set the dates or menus for the cooking classes when we had boarded.  So there was nothing on the app or TV.  Going to Guest Services, we were able to be put on the list to be contacted by Viking when they finalized the classes.  It worked out fine.  This was on all three cruises (including last month).

Just got on the Venus and the cooking classes were available under the excursions (they have changed the menu…..not for the better IMO.  No need to go to guest services, I just reserved a spot on the TV.  

9 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Michelle -

I agree with you - eating later is better for us as well.

 

Interesting - in our past three cruises, they had not set the dates or menus for the cooking classes when we had boarded.  So there was nothing on the app or TV.  Going to Guest Services, we were able to be put on the list to be contacted by Viking when they finalized the classes.  It worked out fine.  This was on all three cruises (including last month).

We have 2 sea days when we leave Bergen.  I’ll have to check out the TV to see when they show up.  

3 hours ago, nini said:

Why are Americans required to pay in full a year ahead? I know... because they can. However, it sure turns off a huge part of the market- I know of many who will not book because of that. If the full payment is across the board, then more Americans would book and then the company could demand higher fares (not so good for all).

 

I have yet to pay anything other than 6 months in advance on any cruise.  Our first cruise, we took a trans Atlantic and booked it 3 months before sailing.  We booked another on board, and since then have not paid any more than 6 months ahead.  

38 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

I agree with all you said!  And the galley tours we've done are also fantastic!   Gives you a new appreciation for what it takes to serve all these meals to people!

Another fun thing we've done is to do the $69 cooking classes - done on sea days usually 9:30 or 10:00 to 1:30 or 2:00 and features different regional lunches (like Mexican, Californian, Italian, French, etc).  Need to book like an excursion at the Guest Services Desk.  Limit is 12.

 

Funny thing about The Restaurant.   We've also noticed lately the Long Lines ahead of opening.  Before COVID one never saw that and after COVID either, until about 9 months ago, and each cruise we are on seems to get worse.  People would line up at 5:30 for 6:00 dinner!!  What's even stranger, is they would line up for Manfredi's way early too - so much so that it stretched into the Attrium bar area (and Manfredi's you'd have a reservation so no fear of not getting a spot!).  Guess everyone these days is just anxious to get on with dinner!

 

Strangely, the same early bird behavior seems to occur at World Cafe as well.  Before you'd get there at 6 PM and be one of the first.  Our last cruise at 6 PM there'd be maybe 20 people already sitting down at tables waiting to get up and get their food!!  

I have found it faster to book these excursions on the TV instead of haunting guest services for when they drop.  You can find them listed in EXCURSIONS on sea days.  

Never really noticed the restaurant lines, but we get on the Venus the day after tomorrow so will take note.  It might be that we do not go anywhere near any restaurants when they open.  Our sweet spot seems to be in the 7-7:30 range.  

I called Viking with another question about the cruise about a week before we left.  They told me we had been assigned a cabin then.  

Yes, we docked there twice on the Neptune this past May/June..  There was construction going on though and we did not dock in the same location each time.  I do know that one time there was one much larger cruise ship docked next to us.  

I got a phone call yesterday letting me know that the WC dropped.  Routing is the same as the past couple of years, I had hoped it would be different. 
 

We have a cabin tentatively booked.  No decision yet.  

We did a private excursion on an ATV. In Isafjordur when we went.  The first time we did Viking’s excursion, and the guide was excellent.  He took us to the top of the mountain, where there was supposed to be a spectacular view (or there was when he went up 2 hours earlier).  In May, we hit rain, slept and snow on the way to the top, and it was totally socked in with fog.  

The private excursion, he took us waaay off the beaten track.  Our 4 hour excursion was twice the time and half the cost, same guide.  We had utterly spectacular weather.  

We leave for Bergen tomorrow for this cruise.  Hopefully we will be able to get out to the highway tomorrow morning to go to the airport.  I have yet to be seasick, even on the trip out to the Great Barrier Reef last year when over half the ship was seasick.  (I realized I just jinxed myself here!).

1 hour ago, sandshark said:

We will board the Viking Saturn a week from today in Istanbul.  We fly to Istanbul tomorrow.  But I don’t know the address or pier number where we will board the ship.  This information was not included in the envelope with the luggage tags.  Nor can I find it on the invoice or the My Viking Journey site.  Where can I find the embarkation port address? 
 

Berths are clearly marked at Galataport.  Once you get to the port, there are signs directing you to Viking.  It’s a huge facility, but very, very well marked.

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

With potato???  As far as I am concerned, it can't be called aioli without both garlic and olive oil. It's false advertising.  

 

"Aioli is a garlic and olive oil sauce that originated in the Mediterranean. The exact origins of the sauce are disputed, said to be either from the south of France or eastern Spain regions. The name 'aioli' itself is a compound of the words 'garlic and oil' in Catalan and Provencal languages."  (found on chefin.com.au)

 

Yes, I know.  We had this app on the World Cruise, and I was talking to the chef about it.  He was the one that told me it had a potato base.  There is likely olive oil in it, and there is definitely garlic (which is why I wanted the recipe).  IMO it was much better than other aiolis I have had, I wanted to take a bath in that stuff, it was so good.  Now I’m kicking myself I didn’t get the recipe at the time!  

2 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Sounds great -- was the aioli on the side???

 

As for the rest of the suggestions, thank you all!   I've started to keep a list in anticipation our first Oceans adventure since December, 2021. I'm looking forward to some change of menu.

 

@Clay Clayton -- great idea for a new thread! Thank you!                                      

Actually the garlic aioli (not sure if you can call it an aioli) is not oil based, but potato based.  On the world cruise, I talked to the chef about it and he told me to come back and he’d give me the recipe.  I forgot.  But I do know it was posato based, not an oil emulsion.  Soooo good.

Lobster risotto and the strip steak in Manfredi’s.  Almond croissants in the Living Room.  There was a scallop appetizer on the WC we had that I could have eaten the whole meal of it was so good.  World Cafe makes a very good fried chicken, I normally don’t eat chicken fried, but I was all over this.  They also do a good Mac and cheese.

I look at booking a cruise not unlike booking an airfare.  Prices go up, prices go down.  When I find a price I’m ok with, I book it and rarely look back.  But I just did for the next few cruises we have booked.  
We leave in a week for Northern Lights.  There is about a $200 difference between booking and now.  After that, we leave from Bangkok to Vancouver.  That cruise is now $8000 pp more than what we booked.  Next year, the Australia circumnavigation is also $8000 pp than what we booked it.  

You’d never know that there is a laundry room there if you didn’t see the sign for it.  I’d stay in one of these rooms.

12 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

All the times I've been in Barcelona with Viking, all pre-pandemic, the pick up point was on the esplanade in front of the World Trade Center.  So, my question is whether Viking has switched pickup point permanently or are they alternating between the two locations? Maybe folks who have been there in 2023 can tell us their experiences. 

 

@Mich3554 is the statue you are referring to the Colon statue?

 

When we went in 2021 and in 2023, it was the same spot.  
 

I don’t remember the statue, sorry.  The bus we were on just pointed out the shuttle drop off point.  Since one trip we were on our way to Monserrat, another a seaside town, I didn’t pay too much attention to it.  We had been to Barcelona pre covid in 2019, but there was a 

Catalan demonstration going on so no day in Barcelona.  Viking docked there long enough to drop off passengers to take to the airport.  

Barcelona, the shuttle drop off/pick up is at the statue at the top of Ramblas.

35 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Rather than using social media to track crew members, I suggest chatting with crew members and getting to know about them and their family, then trading contact details. I still am in contact with crew members from the 2020 WC, which includes crew that never returned to the ships.

 

At least prior to COVID, the Viking crews knew their work schedules 2 - 3 contracts ahead - name of ship, joining/leaving dates and joining/leaving ports. Therefore, if you take the time in getting to know the crew, they may share information on whether they will return to the ships, specifically Viking, and advise which ship they will be on, and the dates. 

 

To use this method, a last name and nationality will also help.

 

 

They still know where they are going after their current contract ends….at least the next 2 contracts.  

People can only book beforehand how many reservations they are allowed.  So someone in a PS cannot book Manfredi’s every night of a 14 night cruise, even if it was available.  
 

I do not get advanced reservations at any of the restaurants.  We always eat where we want to eat, when we want to eat.  Hell, I have a hard time planning dinner this week, I have no idea what I’ll want to eat 3 months from now!  Usually, I’ll look at the menus in the morning and decide where i want to eat that day.  

My only suggestion is to avoid the ATV excursion in Svelbard.  It was a disappointment in that we took the road out of town a couple miles, turned around and came back.  The ATV excursion we took in Isafjordur was much, much better.  That one, he took us to the top of a mountain, and despite the fact it rained, sleeted and snowed all the way up, and the view was totally socked in by fog, it was much better.

On 1/5/2024 at 10:25 AM, FoggyEthan said:

What is it like on board when transiting? Are there restrictions on where you're allowed to be? Are all the services shut down, like food and drink, spa, pools?

If you are staying on board when others are getting off, you can pretty much do what you want.  We usually use this time to do laundry, and go to breakfast later than usual to allow those that need to get off the time without us in the muck of things.  We just try to stay out of the way.  After others have departed, we then go out and do.  In Bergen, we went out for a late lunch, to do some shopping and to find an ATM for local cash (most of the cruise was in Norway).  
 

12 minutes ago, WanderingBrit said:

Thanks - I must have misunderstood the need for advance information to be complete before making final payment.

It needs to be complete, but that doesn’t mean that your number can’t change.  I had to renew my passport before the WC.  All the info was entered into my record.  When I renewed my passport, I went in and changed the number.  

We missed all the ports in Greenland due to ice in June.  However, the weather in Iceland and Canada was spectacular.  
 

It was weird that we were there.while there was almost 24 hours of daylight, but despite losing several ports, it was a fantastic trip.

I think it has far more to do when you come for dinner.  I have noticed a few times when we are dining with friends and dinner seems to go on much longer that the dining room clears out more on one side than the other.  I think towards the end of the night, they direct diners to the starboard side, and start clearing out the port side to set up for breakfast the next morning.  We have walked out of a 7 pm dinner close to 9:30, being the last people on the port side, but dining is still finishing up on Starboard.  
That being said, we tend to eat around 7:30 and have gotten seated everywhere.