sherrar

Hi Tandempam,

We are doing the Viking Mekong trip in March. There doesn't seem to be many posts about it on CC. I was just wondering how you got on on your trip?

Any tips - good or bad.

What did you do about Cambodia Visa - at the border?

Thanks 

Richard

We booked whilst still on the last cruise.  Got a bunch off, some OBC for the cruise we were on and then when we transferred to our TA go another £800 off.  All in all I was quite happy.

Also in the UK - out of interest did you book through a Travel Agent or direct with Viking?

We are booked on Magnificent Mekong in March 2020 and if the price is right we will want to upgrade.  Hopefully get emirates as well - just had an horrendous experience with BA (19 hour delay!!!). 

Just off Orion and visited Torshaven just a few times. They didn't seem to have a printed drinks menu but had an iPad with all the different drinks on that you could scroll through. I can't be 100% sure but I think that when I looked for port on the iPad the choices seemed to change - not on a regular basis - probably on an availability basis. Gave me the opportunity to try a few different ones - Only a few you understand!!!!

Just off Orion. She is a beautiful ship - so full of quiet areas you begin to wonder just where the other 928 passengers are. I would say the decor is fairly minimalist which fits in well with the Nordic theme. We have only been on larger ships before (minimum 1800) so although the ship is smaller in size it doesn't really detract from anything. You are never that far from anywhere you want to go - you don't need to put your hiking gear on like we have felt before.

The food is great, the drinks are fairly free flowing despite what I had read before I went.

The big, big plus point is the staff - nothing is too much for them - they don't know the meaning of the word NO!. They know your names within a couple of days. They ask for your room number a couple of times and then seem to remember it. They use a small hand held device (mobile phone size) that seems to have everything they need to know about you. On the second night, I declined to see the desert menu and said I knew what I wanted - sure enough the waitress said "Creme Brulee?" - took me a while to figure out how she did it but I was very impressed.

Anything else you want to know feel free to ask.

So sorry you had a bad experience. It seems that the airport side of things is one area Viking needs to up it's game. We are just off the Orion and our flight from LHR was delayed by 19 hours. When we eventually arrived at the airport there were no Viking people there and when they did eventually arrive they had a 35 seater coach!! for over 50 of us. Then a small mini coach. 2/3 couples were put in taxis (Have you seem the taxis in Mumbai!!!!).

Having said all that, once we were on the ship I can't praise the crew, the food, the drinks, the ship itself highly enough. The start did not spoil our holiday.

Just off the Orion. Went to the Chef's Table 3 times and found the food very nice. A bit unusual but quite tasty. The wine pairing worked fine - we were on the Beverage Package so had the premium wines which I think enhanced the meal. You can pay $25 if you haven't got the package but if you consider it would have cost us $75 to upgrade, the package takes on a whole new level of value for money.

Agreed, I think we only really knew about the Dome through CC

Nolan Dean is the cruise director.

We haven't been to any of the evening shows in the theatre - they never seem to fit in with our dinner timing. Not a criticism of Viking, just that we prefer to take our time over eating. We were told that the harmonica player was worth seeing. Luckily he will be on again during our time on board.

The various artists dotted around the ship at various time are very good musicians. Classical duo, pianist and guitarist all provide nice unobtrusive background music.

Apologies, missed the question about the planetarium - we haven't actually done it yet - booked for Saturday. There are actually 3 'shows' - space, mars and the Arctic. You have to book a slot at guest services and are given a ticket for your chosen slot.

The dome is on the upper level of the explorer lounge poking through onto the open deck above. First time on Viking Ocean therefore can't say how much space is actually lost, but there seems to be room for one level of chairs and small tables around the front of the done and the window (with enough room to walk behind). There is also a small lounge type area to the left with probably a dozen lounge chairs. Hope this helps.

Just back from the included excursion in Sri Lanka. Interesting coach tour of Colombo with a couple of stops. Independence Square had a Viking tent with drinks and small sweet snacks. Buddhist temple was fascinating. So much is donated to the temples - they had a couple of vintage Rolls Royce, a mercedes, lots of furniture and other valuable items. Not that the value matters at all.

Had a lovely meal at Manfredi's last night - the signature rib eye was cooked to perfection and the sommelier did a great job pairing a very presentable Italian red wide.

Comments about the technology in use on the ship are spoiling it for me - I want to believe the staff are magical!! They are certainly first class.

I attended two lectures this morning - both were very interesting and delivered very proffesionlly by people who obviously knew their subjects.

I have gleaned so much information from CC over the years that I thought it only right to post a few words about our first cruise with Viking Ocean aboard Orion. We have only been onboard for 3 days now so these are first impressions.

Our journey from Manchester to Mumbai with BA was a nightmare as was the transfer from the airport to the ship. However, I don't want to spoil my holiday by looking back on this, suffice it to say that we received apologies from BA and Viking.

Viking Orion is a really beautiful ship. Having only sailed on 2000+ passenger ships we are beginning to wonder if we have the ship almost to ourselves. There are so many quiet places to sit, plenty of room round the pools and no loud music.

The first night, although very tired, we ate in the restaurant. Rather than having to think what I wanted, I went for the destination suggestion - 3 courses based on local cuisine. Glad I did, each course was not something I would have necessarily picked but they were all gorgeous and I was glad I tried something different. I did change the desert for creme caramel - my favourite.

The second night, we again ate in The Restaurant and again I went for the suggestion. Again great - when it came to desert I declined to see the menu saying that I knew what I wanted - the waitress (a different one from last night) replied "yes, the creme caramel) - how did she do that?

ALL of the staff that we have come into contact with are wonderful - nothing is too much trouble, there is no such word as No.

Breakfast in the World Cafe on the first morning and in Mamsends on the second were both very tasty.

We have the SSBP and have only been asked for our room number once in each venue - they seem to remember even from one visit to another.

We spent a very pleasant couple of hours in the Torshavn nightclub - music not too loud, only about 20 people in there but all of on the dance floor by the end of the evening.

We have done included excursions in Mumbai and Goa that were interesting. You have to remember where we are and that the quality of the transport available is not necessarily what we are used to. Both guides were very knowledgeable.

First impressions that I think we are going to be spoiled by the Viking experience and won't be able to go back to the bigger ships. Already planning our next Viking cruise.

If anybody has any questions - feel free to ask and I will do my best to find an answer.

Thanks photopro2 - We are not great drinkers but do like a tipple on holiday. One of the reasons for taking the SSBP is so we don't have to think about it.

I have just been reading some old viking Daily's that someone put a link to - admittedly they were from 2016.

On the first one it states that the Beverage Package does not include full bottles (which I was aware of), but also that it does not include drinks in Torshavn. Can anybody comment on this? I can't remember seeing it before.

Thanks

We are in the UK and do use a TA. Payment is 10 weeks out. I suppose it is what it is - In the US do you have to pay for 'other' types of holidays more than 10 weeks out or is it just a Viking anomaly?

We are doing Mumbai to Bangkok in September and I wanted a pair of good stout shoes that allowed my feet to breath a bit. Ended up with a pair of Karrimor from JD. They are so comfortable I have been wearing them on my daily walks and will probably get another pair for our trip.

Hi Parsley Cruises

We paid our final balance to the TA last Tuesday - 29th May. Flights not on MVJ yet but I will keep checking and let you know.

Huge thanks for that, but I’m going to ring Viking today just to check.

Silly point: we’ve been with the British Airways Executive Club for years and we’re used to using their app on our phones. Pleased to say that all the flight details are there and correct included seat numbers. Hope nothing gets changed. Thanks again , and hope you have a great time.

And you - let us know how you get on with Viking. We fly on 7th September - what's your flight date?

Parsley Cruises

We are in almost exactly the same situation as you. Booked for September this year and I knew which flights I wanted (BA due to timings). As soon as flights were out I got my TA to talk to Viking and they got us just what we wanted including upgrade to PE - soon after I received a Viking Air Itinerary confirmation with flights and times etc which showed PE. I then went onto BA website and booked the seats. Soon after I received another confirmation, this time including seat numbers.

However, like you there are no flight details on MVJ yet - I put this down to the fact that we have only just paid the final balance (yesterday). We are fortunate in the UK that we only have to pay the balance about 3 months out unlike the USA who seem to pay 12-18 months out. I am assuming they won't confirm flights on MVJ until the balance is paid.

I am waiting until I have the final confirmation invoice from Viking before panicking that nothing is on MVJ. Fingers crossed.

Hope this helps

Have to admit that meeting and dining with different people is one of the reasons we enjoy cruising so much. I always try to remember that we were born with one mouth and two ears, therefore listen more than you speak! Love to hear about other peoples travels and experiences.

Please don't think of the advanced reservations that we are permitted to make as "guaranteed" reservations. Viking does not use that terminology. Even though we are entitled to so many advanced reservations, there is nothing that says we are guaranteed to get them.

I beg to differ - from the Viking Website for a DV stateroom

"1 guaranteed priority reservation at each alternative restaurant: 60 days prior to departure"

Great, thanks for the link. I will take a copy of the instructions with me on the Orion in September.

Can you book river cruises when on an Ocean cruise and are the discounts the same? Also how does it differ for UK guests - we wouldn't even consider paying the balance six months before - more like 12 weeks.

We are thinking of booking the China tour for 2019 and may wait until our Ocean cruise in September this year if the savings are worth it.

Thanks

Thanks to all on the WC. We are on the Orion in September (Mumbai to Bangkok) so am really interested in what you are doing at the moment.

Keep it up!!

Joyce, I too was confused about the mini-bar replenishment and the Silver Package. I wrote to Viking yesterday and had a reply saying that the Package doesn't alter the mini-bar replenishment process. I also had a reply from Viking UK saying the same thing. They admitted there was some confusion around it and apologised.

We are in a DV and will only get soft drink replenishment.

HTH