jonthomas

I agree with the above. I rushed to book cruises when they first came out, now I see almost everything is still available. That worries me. As for shortened port stays, we are presently on a Viking cruise, using up covid credits. While waiting for this Viking cruise, we sailed on 3 O cruises. There is absolutely no comparison in any areas. I don't understand how O is not # ONE in all categories. Back to shortened port times, on this Viking cruise, there are 2 ports, a transatlantic cruise. When we booked it, the two ports, st Martin and madeira were full day. It has been shortened to half a day in st Martin and in Madeira today we had to be on a shuttle no later than 11:45 AM....outrageous.... The only conclusion I can come to is that V is not having to pay for a full day of port charges. We have 6, O cruises going forward and hope that O stays strong. I have been Os champion for the last 10 days on this V cruise. Everyone I talked to, has not sailed on O, perhaps some will now broaden their horizons.

Our priorities are to keep food as the highest priority, next to that is to maintain high quality lecturers and thirdly is to keep the wonderful incentives to participate in as many activities as possible. That is what is bringing us back to Oceania. We are in the last 2 days of being on a Viking ship our last with Viking. We are using up covid credits. While waiting for this V cruise, we have done 3 O cruises and just hope the same quality we recently enjoyed on the Riviera in the Carib, continues. This decision is not based on the types of entertainment options are or would be available in the future.

Viking star has ample outdoor seating. You missed the point. You are not outdoors if the roof covers the entire area and it is hot and stifling. Many were not bothered by this as they preferred to stay in their cabin. That is fine, it is their choice. It is not our choice, yet. The roof was open again today in fact there was a great rockn' and rollin' party....all on deck yelled for more. Complimentary drinks for all. It went a long way to mend the disappointment in having to be back on the shuttle bus no later than 11:45 AM, in a port as beautiful as Madeira. Now we have 2 days to reach Barcellona and fly home.

We are not new to V. Would not make that kind of decision based on one cruise. We have done 3 and have also done 3 with Oceania, in the past 12 months. So this is a very well informed decision. Yes we will be fine.

I think you would have preferred that I had lied....what's the point in that.. If I had tried other lines and had found them lacking, I would be a V diehard. If you have tried other upscale lines and you prefer V, then you are a knowledgeable consumer making a choice, but if you are simply being blindly defensive, then that has no credibility in my book.

We are not likely to be back to Viking...just too many better options out there....

I will look into it...the small display just by the bar? They have almond croissants there , breakfast only....same muffins every day....in fact same everything every day....

Beautiful sailaway from madeira....not a cloud in the sky....

Beautiful day in Madeira.... But all have to be on the last shuttle bus by 11:45.... Same for our other port in st Martin.... That was not what the itinerary said when we booked it more than a year ago.... Yeah, I know things change... But to only have a hour and a half, with things opening around 10.....outrageous... And what could possibly be the reason for such short stays in Port? I know the answer to that but wonder what V diehards will come up with. To the poster that insists it is windy on the ship, captain says there is NO wind, roof will stay open.....yeah!!!

Seems like it's the times we live in.....everyone has rights...no matter how crazy or how it affects others....

Wrong on both counts....no wind all day, roof open...it was wonderful... The pipes are being replaced in multiple locations on the ship, that is why water has been shut off for a while and toilets were not operational....since the ship is not full, they are using this time for maintenance.....

Hey but the roof is open, I didn't have to waste my time with multiple levels today...progress....

We are on a Viking ship right now there are several dogs, maybe as many as 12....they are fed in the buffets, walked on decks, brought to entertainment areas, sitting on all furniture all are comfort animals or support. Are cats, gerbils, monkeys next? On a line that does not accept anyone under 18, this is madness...

Things just got a whole lot worse...toilets will not be operational on several decks, stateroom attendants cannot predict length of time, have advised us to use public washrooms for the duration.... Those that have labeled me as a complainer would probably say, this isn't true, just my imagination.

you would have the powdered stuff from the machine on this cruise....in the buffet. We asked for real orange juice and were told this is the only type of orange juice that is served from the machine on this ship. It is a powder that is mixed with water. Can't speak for other V ships or other sailings. Can only speak for this one. Met some nice people who are also making this cruise their last on V..... Amazing how you get labeled a complainer the minute your view is different than someone else's.... The wifi is wonderful. 4 more days to go

Yes it is amazing how you can be on the same cruise and view it so differently... We just did 3 cruises on Oceania and it puts V to shame....yes food is very subjective but I have mentioned some facts that you can't dispute.....powdered orange juice, no decaf tea, Ice-cream that has no cream, so it's just water....these are not subjective.... Nor is the fact that you touch all the utensils in the buffet to serve yourself...on O you are served .. For V to go from testing every day to touching food in the buffet is extreme....yes some skip the utensils.... I have only mentioned a few items that make V look like a very substandard cruise line... We have never done the river cruises with V so I can't comment on that... But Ocean I would recommend to no one.

We're just told that they keep it open in the Carib and the Med but keep it closed for Atlantic...that's a huge part of the ship that is not usable, there is no ventilation, no windows that open...so with the roof closed it is stifling... If that information is known to passengers prior to booking a ship like this, some of us may make a different choice.

We only like Italian ..there are way too many of the other kind....

Beautiful day on the ship today....roof closed....just went to guest relations to have it open....third time this week I have had to do that....same excuse, safety concern....today flat sea, no movement, clear sky, no wind to felt....stifling with roof closed...

My bad, we are on the star. The information came from guest relations. We have gone down twice to complain about the roof being closed. EACH time told it is for safety issues...when asked what safety issues, we were told that wind or motion can cause the roof to come off the rails, that the newer ships have fixed this problem. When mentioned that there is no wind and little motion, 2 hours later, the roof was opened. Will see what tomorrow brings.

We went because we were using up covid credits, since the last Viking cruise in 2020, we have done 3 O, cruises. Also I don't remember V being this bad.

On the older V ships, the roof is kept closed unless you make a fuss like we did. On the newer ones, they have a better mechanism and are willing to open it more frequently.

If only this, I would agree with you but when orange juice is powder not real, so many of the food choices are not up to what we are used to, so little of quality to do all day, while we have experienced the opposite on Oceania, it's a no Brainer.

We are on a Viking ship right now, horrible food almost all of the time and everywhere. We did 3 O cruises in the past 12 months, now that we have had a taste of Viking, we can't wait to get on an O ship again. I did find that there were too many theme nights on O, and we said so on our questionnaire...please do the same. But there was always a good green salad and pizza that I could count on.

Agreed but I mentioned some very basic things that Viking is not handling well... We gave done 3 cruises in the past 12 months on O, all of them enjoyable and all of them had real OJ.