gr'aunt

Yikes! I did not write down where I found it and those notes are long gone. But I’m sure it was via a “search” on CruiseCritic. Sorry I can’t help you…

Thank you so much Pasadena Dave, for taking the time to respond. That was very kind of you. Small World: My husband grew up in Brea. His family moved there when he was in elementary school, in 1959. His mom lived there till she died in in 2012, and his sister still lives there. (We lived there for the first three years after we married, but we live closer to SJCapistrano now). Last night I found a detailed review (including menus) of Orion. It was written shortly after the first sailing. The writer had a bias, I’m sure- (“comped” trip?)-but I felt she did a fair job. After reading it, I could tell there were familiarities /similarities to Oceania. But the Oceania I knew has changed. It used to be owned by Frank Del Rio when we sailed. Now it’s part of the Norwegian Cruiseline conglomeration. That’s where Viking wins…the founder who had the vision STILL holds the majority shares. I called Viking today to ask some specific questions and was lucky to reach someone who was attentive, knowledgeable and answered my questions, and then had questions of her own…which resulted in me feeling more confident that we’ve made the right choice for “us”. We’re not big drinkers and will be satisfied with an occasional beer. The stocked booze in the mini fridge can go to someone nice we might meet on board who would appreciate it LOL! Wishing you pleasant memories of your recent cruise in 2024… Gr’aunt (Cody and Taylor’s “GREAT” aunt Debra)

Pasadena Dave: I'm a "southern neighbor" in Orange County, but I lived in Glendale until I was 5 (so I once was a closer neighbor, if that matters! LOL). I am enjoying reading your day-by-day cruise report. We have never sailed on Viking. I just booked this same cruise for next December 13th (Auckland to Sydney). I have read every word you wrote and took notes too! Before I stumbled onto this, I also read every page of the well-documented-but-ill-fated Dec 22, 2022 Orion cruise, written by Katlew. I noticed you commented a few times there as well. I was very nervous about going forward after reading about the "hull snails" and how everyone on board basically ended up with a port-less cruise. I have 2 1/2 days to cancel without penalty for this booking I just made. Ugh. Any talk of "snails on the hull" during your cruise? I noticed that you booked your own hotel pre-cruise, took taxis when needed, and also withdrew cash from ATM's. Sounds like you did a fair number of excursions on your own too. My concern right now is if my expected return on investment (PV1 stateroom, Viking business class air, pre-and-post Viking-chosen hotel stays...for approximately $41k total, for two...cha ching $$$) will be worth it...or if we will find out after it's too late that a port (or all of them) is/are closed due to "fill in the blank". I've only cruised on Oceania in the past (3x), but it's been awhile. (Twelve years actually). I used to be adept at making our own plane reservations, planning private excursions via roll call with other passengers, using the ATM's in Europe, even taking a taxi in Turkey when the private driver failed to show up to take us to the airport. (We were nervous but we survived). I'm admittedly rusty and worn down after a much-researched Spain-to-Portugal Regent cruise was cancelled in 2020 (Covid closed the world that day), the day before we were to fly out of LAX. We have not attempted to book a cruise since. But things seem to be recovering since the ravages of Covid and I'm ready to get back in the game. I hope you can expand on this blog when your cruise is over and you are in the mood to reminisce with more details about the good, the bad, and the hopefully not-ugly. I would love to hear any insider "tips" (what's on the menu's in the restaurants? your favorite dishes? what do you wish you would have brought with you but left at home? what class of stateroom were you in and do you wish you would have bumped up...or down...? best side of the ship for days at sea?...etc etc) for those of us who have yet to cruise with Viking. Thank you!

I cancelled the cruise I booked on Insignia for the Fall of 2024. I have never experienced the uncomfortable situation of seeing or hearing a paying customer, with or without mobility issues, being PUBLICLY criticized for their choice of footwear or attire on any of my previous “O” cruises. And I’m talking jeans in the dining room in the Eastern Mediterranean and a lady wearing what was perhaps a prom dress in the hot/humid Caribbean…which was garish and ridiculously funny…but no one said a word.( Lots of dropped jaws and stifled laughs though). I’m one of those “lucky” ones who was very athletic in my younger days and who is now paying the price with foot problems. I feel that lady’s pain (literally). I wear the kind of shoes my podiatrist recommends in order to avoid surgery. Skechers and Hoka have what I need. They’re not cheap either. I probably have 30 pair in every color, WITH rubber soles (gasp!) and they’re ALL I wear. If the jerk…I mean O employee…or anyone else for that matter, had approached me with their haughty attitude, I would have dared them to remove my shoes right there on the spot. I guarantee that I would have made a BIGGER scene than the employee did. I can’t believe anyone reading this thread thinks what happened to this woman is okay under ANY circumstance.

Thank you for your honest review. We have sailed O three times…with a large (many years) gap between our last O cruise and the one we just booked for next October, on Insignia. Circumstances of life made it difficult to cruise for awhile, and in fact, when we were finally ready to start again (on a 1st-time-on-Regent cruise), it was cancelled when the world closed during Covid restrictions. I have some concerns about sailing on O again. Your review is making my concerns more urgent as I have until tomorrow to cancel without penalty. We sailed with O for the first time one year after they began. We were hooked. Two more “longer” cruises on O were great as well, but some kinks started emerging…specifically an “adventure” all-day excursion on Sardinia was cancelled the night before it was supposed to happen, which was my husbands birthday. (No time to do anything else because all other excursions were sold out). Strike one. Last week we decided to plan another cruise for 2024. I went straight to O based upon our past, mostly-good, experiences. The first thing I noticed was…things have changed. The website, to me, was not as “user-friendly” as it was before. The end result was lots of back and forth phone calls because their website wouldn’t let me update our current CORRECT information. Eventually the problem was solved after a couple of days and I was able to book the cruise. Then I went straight to Cruise Critic and started reading reviews (for the same itinerary) for the last two years. A few people commented that their “$800 excursion credit”…the same hook we were offered…was partially wasted because excursions were cancelled once on board, and could not be used for anything else. Hmmm. I started re-living the disappointment from the past. We are not big drinkers so we don’t care about “drink” packages. We care about seeing the places we’re visiting. So cancelling a much-anticipated shore excursion is a deal-breaker. And now reading this review has me wondering if we are making a mistake. We have been on two of the small “original” ships and a bigger ship. They each have their own charm. But aging infrastructure is not one of them! I have about 36 hours to decide if we’re going to pull the plug. I’m waiting for a return phone call from a travel agent to see if there’s a better fit for us out there…