Syd58

On 5/23/2024 at 4:17 PM, Redtravel said:

Simply more has its faults.  More people are booking tours to use their excursion credit money.  Tour groups are big. If you decide that you want to take more tours or switch tours, you may find that they are sold out.  Having taken 3 tours on my present cruise, they vary widely on apparent ability.  Descriptions don’t match the actual tour.  It is crazy how much they don’t match descriptions. The guest services destination people are clueless.  One tour, was mainly on a bus for almost 5 hours with no rest stop. No restroom on the bus. Next tour, skipped some of the photo stop venues.  Guide said that it wasn’t on his version of the tour. Yesterday we took a supposed moderate excursion that was very difficult for most guests.  Tour guide walked quickly. Many people couldn’t keep up.  The bus was parked far away from the venue.  It’s no wonder that many people were late returning to the bus.  
simply more has created too many people taking an excursion. Simply more wines are terrible. Would prefer “cruise only” return.   

SM is in line with Silverseas and Regent that include shore excursions in the price.

On 5/20/2024 at 10:25 AM, Vallesan said:

I agree. However, I really do think cruise lines are at fault and they should not offer accessible cabins ‘willy nilly. It would be so much fairer if the accessible cabins, of which there are so few,  were left free until at least final payment before offering them on general sale.

13 hours ago, alcpa1 said:

We were recently on Sirena. The cruise was booked prior to Simply More. We were traveling with two who needed accessible tours. On our 10 day sailing the only accessible tour was NCL's private island. This was a tender port and one in our party could not access the tender because of sea conditions.

Needless to say our friends were not thrilled.

Hopefully O will offer more options in the future. Until then they will not sail on O with Simply More. They are price conscious cruisers who rely on others to plan the length and breath of every cruise experience.

Strongly disagree that accessible cabins should not be available until final payment. Then you would be penalizing those with handicaps. The way you resolve this is to require documentation, like Seabourn does. 

On 1/17/2024 at 4:31 PM, Redtravel said:

When I read this thread, I contacted my TA. She said that Oceania cannot be booked without Simply More. Thought maybe I had missed a change in things.  We are on Vista now. Nice cruise. However, since we seldom drink and don’t do excursions in the Caribbean, we choose not to rebook as we have previously.  Add to that the price increases for same 10 night cruise in 2025 (50% more than this year), we are not rebooking.  Also, the onboard incentive isn’t as good as last time we booked onboard.  We are booked on a European cruise for spring 2024 with SM.  On that cruise we wanted excursions.  Next winter we will not be on Oceania.

I have found generally the earlier you book, the lower the price, possibly with the exception of last minute discounts. We have 2 2025 cruises that we booked in 2023 that have gone up significantly in price.

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Yes, you can still dine in the MDR...we have done this in lieu of Luminae on E class.

We did this one night. I ordered from the MDR, but ate in Luminae.  I agree the food was better than most of what we had in Luminae.

6 hours ago, jean87510 said:

We decided on this vacation we were going to be as casual as possible.  We have 1 reservation at the Lawn Club on Sunday but have only packed skorts, shorts, Keen hiking sandals...etc...no evening gowns or tuxes.  We agreed on 2 carry-ons and 1 big bag for the snorkeling stuff.  

 

Because of our dress attire, we are in OVC.  I seriously do not understand why people complain about the buffet.  Salads are great, cheeses, breads, pizza, ice cream, just overall a good variety.  Husband unfortunately has to work while onboard today but commented the internet is amazingly fast

 

We decided to make it an early night and currently relaxing in cabin while Husband finishes last emails, check on my 2 dogs who are being watched by my youngest 2, and then sit on the balcony to watch the Phillies.  It was about 90 degrees when we left.  

 

We did this cruise several weeks ago.  We tried a lot of food on the buffet; yes there is a wide variety, but it is just ok.

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Was the New Zealand SB the Wairau River?  I was served that with the crab cake sandwich, which I always order without the bread, on Millennium.  I am not a white wine fan but found it pleasant. 

 

I don't recall what it was.  Once I saw Emilio was on the list, I didn't look any further. I just know there was a NZ one since the sommelier said there was one

19 minutes ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

I just booked a suite for the Equinox was debating.  Can't you eat in the MDR also or at Blu?

You can eat in the MDR and Blu (if space is available). The menus are available in advance on the app so this helps in deciding. Our butler was very good in making our reservations.

1 hour ago, SusieAV8R said:

I think taste is subjective and may be impacted by age (some friends have said as they age that they need stronger flavors.)  That said, in April on Summit, I loved the lobster roll and shrimp po'boys..  (DH loves Maine lobster, so not a fan of the lobster roll.) 😄

Certainly, people have preferences regarding food.  With that said, if a lobster roll is bland with little taste, there's no sugarcoating that. 

14 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Would you mind expanding on the entertainment?

There was singing/dancing, a boyband, Broadway tunes, and acrobats.  The singers, dancers, and acrobats were all very good.  Really impressive..

7 hours ago, zitsky said:

 

I’ve been happy in Blu/Luminae/MDR.   It’s true I’m not really picky but I’ve been to Michelin restaurants all over the world.  Celebrity must be doing something right.  I know for sure they can make a banana split.

I thought the food in the Ascent 4 MDRs was better than most of the food in Luminae.

7 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Food is so subjective, I find it hard to even comment on..even food in your area where you live is very regional..everyone has the best something and they are sure of it. 🙂

I rated the food overall 3.5 out of 5, which is still above average.  It just wasn't as good as expected or it could have been.

6 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Never tried a ginger crab cake but give X kudos for introducing bold flavors as I feel their MDR crab cakes have too much filler.  We live near a restaurant that serves award-winning (non-traditional) crab cakes called Fishing with Dynamite in Manhattan Beach which has ruined us.  While they use a crust made with Ritz crackers and Worcester sauce, they don't use fillers at all with the idea being you can dip the crab in the sauce if you wish.  I grew up in New England and was never a fan of the Maine-style lobster rolls which are served with a mayo filler.  Always preferred the Connecticut-style lobster roll which is served with hot lobster dipped in butter and often some herbs and spices

Had the lobster roll one day for lunch at Luminae - it was subpar - bland.  Also, had the shrimp po-boy for lunch there one day. Bread was almost burned/hard and the few shrimp on it were too large for a po-boy -subpar. The best po-boys have a lot of smaller shrimp (I've had a lot of lobster rolls and shrimp po-boys, so I know what good ones taste like). 

6 hours ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

SB is what I like as well.  Also have the premium package, do you recall the options?

Emilio (which is good - we drink at home) and a New Zealand SB.

7 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Everyone's taste is different. I've always found the choices very good. My wife sometimes has issues with them. That's why I was asking.

 

Was that the Ginger Crab Cake? We've had that before and it was excellent. Makes me wonder if they were doing something different. Again, it's one shot one night on a cruise and if it's wrong, it's wrong.

 

We're on Summit in 11 days and I'm curious about our wine service. We had good wine service in November on Equinox, although we had to work harder for selections some nights. We had a lot of OBC and just bought a bottle a couple of times. But the sommelier was responsive. This time we paid for excursions in Alaska, so that bottle is our money...

We lived along the Gulf coast most of our adult lives - so we know what good crab cakes taste like - these were bland and had little flavor. It was a shame as they had a good amount of crabmeat. We like Sauvignon Blanc and there were only two on the premium list.  There was simply no excuse of having to wait 28 minutes to get a glass of wine.  The sommelier never did not come to our table at first, so the waiter finally ended up taking our drink order. We changed waiters after this experience and the level of service was outstanding.

45 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Thanks for the review. We are on Reflection in July in a Signature suite. I don’t see any reason for us to even dine in Luminae as specialty dining is included. 

 

Question of the day:  did you have a lounger on your Sunset Sky Suite?

There was not one upon arrival.  I asked the cabin steward if he could get us one. He said he would have to check with his supervisor. After checking, he got approval and brought us one, but complained about having to carry it down the stairs.

41 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Curious about this. Would you mind expanding a bit? What about it was good and what wasn't as good as expected?

We did not find the choice of entrees very appealing. The food was not seasoned particularly well. For example, one night we had a crab cake appetizer, which was bland.  The desserts weren't very good. The first night I had to wait 28 minutes for a glass of wine after ordering. Choice of wines was pretty limited.

22 minutes ago, Oville said:

 

What type of cabin?

Aft sky suite corner

Observations from recent Reflection cruise (Aft -Sunset Sky Suite):

Entertainment - Great, the best I've seen on any ship: 5 out of 5

Food - Mixed Bag: Luminae not as good as expected: 3.5 out of 5

Service: Mixed bag - butler excellent, although he had 21 suites on different levels; cabin steward, poor, always asking us if we wanted him to clean our room; Luminae, some excellent service, some poor:  3 out of 5

Room: very roomy, loved the huge wrap around deck, but room decor is dated:  3.5 out of 5

Ship: very nice decor, better than expected: 4 out of 5

Overall: 3.8 out of 5

Just returned from Reflection. There was not a longer on balcony, so I asked cabin steward if he could get us one.  He said he would have to call his supervisor.  His supervisor approved and he brought us one.

17 minutes ago, PasadenaDave said:

We strayed from Viking to a much larger ship for an itinerary which we liked.  We got Covid on the ship but even if we had not, we were disappointed concerning the numerous powered chairs stored in the hallways which would be an impediment to egress in an emergency.  There were times that the entry areas to dining rooms looked like assisted living places or theme parks with strollers at the entrance. 

 

We prefer the manner in which Viking treats everyone the same.

No cruise ship should allow wheelchairs and mobility scooters to be stored in hallways. Conversely, I see nothing wrong with these being parked out of the way near dining room entrances. 

12 hours ago, KBs mum said:

The ships are accessible once you are on them. As the boarding ramps are stairs, necessary because the angle would be too steep for a slope at a lot of the docks, and the tenders are not wheelchair accessible,  the lack of roll in showers in the lowest room categories is academic. 

Viking is set up as a cruise line for active people, their policies cover six types of river boats, three types of ocean, busses in a wide range of countries, and many airlines. Often accessibility is limited by factors that Viking have no control over. Given that, they have good accessibility. 

 

Viking is not for you, accept it and move on. A lot of people with disabilities travel with them without drama or problems

Not all boarding ramps are stairs, many are sloped.  As has been noted in prior posts, the discussion has been about accessibility issues on Viking Ocean (not river) cruises and potential things they could do to make their cruises more accessible.  This topic is not just about our situation; I strongly suspect there are many people without handicaps who would like to see Viking reassess some of its policies in this area. 

5 hours ago, rmalbers said:

I haven't really looked to close at it but: The other thing (besides size) I noticed is that the accessible cabins seem to be beside the open areas to the elevators and also on (or close) to the buffet, etc. deck/level.  Seems like a conscious design decision to me. The elevators on VO are not exactly huge and the hallways do seem more narrow than, at least, the larger cruise ships.

I doubt the hallways of Viking are that much smaller than Silverseas and Seabourn's small ships.  Viking could certainly take more accessibility issues into consideration in the design of its new ships if it chose to.

4 hours ago, Jjg34219 said:

We have only sailed Regent once, and it felt like a real “luxury” experience. We prefer Viking for the “not so luxury” experience if that makes sense.

It all depends on what you're use to and what you like.  I find Viking cabins pretty vanilla and plain looking compared to Silversea, Seabourn, and Regent.

Thanks for the thoughtful review.  Unlike Regent, I don't consider Viking a luxury line; therefore, the higher price pp on Regent is likely justified.

1 hour ago, KBs mum said:

All accommodation providers who have several levels of room have the accessible ones in a mid range. Normally the lowest level that is physically big enough to allow a wheelchair to fit around the furniture. Viking is only ADA compliant, so adaptations are minimal by most European standards, nothing to worry about missing out on for most. 

Disabilities vary, you complain about being forced to book a larger room, yet others, including myself could book the smallest with no major problems. 

Viking's policy about scooters is fairly standard for providers where scooters are not normally permitted. Permission does depend on itinerary and room type. They aren't going to give permission only for you to book a room or itinerary that is going to create problems. 

After 10+ years of Viking cruises, river and ocean, I still need to fill out the fitness to travel and wheelchair/scooter permission paperwork. Same as I need to for airlines, sleeper trains and some ferries. It is a routine part of travel.

 

You are taking this personally, when it isn't, Viking have arrived at their policy after years of experience, it is to prevent issues. It applies for all their ships, boats, land transport and airline bookings. Some itineraries include air or land segments where third party policies need to be taken into account. They are open about not being very suitable for those with mobility problems, the ADA rooms are there purely to comply with the letter of the law. The stepped ramps stop them actually being accessible as most would understand it. 

Their business model is aimed at older physically active people, and it works well for them, they won't change it while the ships are full. 

 

Ultimately you do have a choice of rooms to book. Book one with another company who's business model and infrastructure meet your needs. Same as we and many others  do

 

 

A number of Seabourn, Silversea, and Oceania's ships (especially the newer ones) do offer accessible veranda cabins without the need to upgrade to the penthouse level. How can Viking be ADA compliant when it is not a U.S.-based ship? The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) is an American act. There may be regulations in Norway or Switzerland that they follow.  Perhaps those regulations aren't as rigid as those of the ADA, I don't know. Seabourn, Silversea, Oceania, and Celebrity have policies that welcome people with disabilities who need accommodations. Note the first three of these have ocean-going ships about the same size or smaller than Viking.  Clearly, these lines are considering accessibility issues when they design new ships. Did you read the excerpts at the bottom of my last post? Requiring a passenger to complete a form is one thing; telling someone they have to book first, then complete the form and possibly lose some money (regardless of amount) is quite different. I do agree Viking's model is very clear. I also agree people have a choice.  I also know there are likely some people even without a disability who would prefer that Viking handle accessibility issues in a different way.