Symmes99

I think people excited about this new ship would be the passengers from the Viking Sky Northern Lights cruise this past March (I was one). We received a letter from the Chairman inviting us to be his guest on the maiden voyage of the Viking Venus. So I've been keeping an eye out, but didn't expect such an early notice of the new ship's schedule, because construction started around the same time we were drifting off the coast of Norway and the shipyard schedule showed an April 2021 delivery date. But you are correct, there'll be nothing special about this ship that should garner extra attention. It's really the free cruise that has my attention - even if it's a shorter cruise than I'm used to taking. 

On the Viking web page for the Venus 1/26 cruise, you can book cabins in every category (although the cabin I had on the Sky in March does not show up in the list - not sure if that means anything). So the 1/26 cruise doesn't seem reserved for the Sky cruisers. That's fine with me - I'd rather sail from Venice to Barcelona, even if it's only 7 days. 

suzyloves2cruise - I never asked what you booked as a replacement. You had mentioned British isles. Is it the 14-night British Isle & Golf Voyage in July 2020? If so, that was another cruise we considered because we love Ireland and Scotland. And that would have been a great deal for us too. But the lure of India and Africa pulled us towards what we booked. 

What's really weird is this will be only our 2nd cruise with Azamara, and a similar situation happened with our first cruise. We booked an 11-night Canary Island cruise in early 2016. A week later, Azamara cancelled the cruise and said pick another one in the same cabin category, and gave $500 OBC for our "inconvenience". I felt a little guilty because the ink was barely dry on the booking confirmation. But only a little guilty - we selected a 17-night southeast Asia cruise as a replacement. To this day we count that as one of our top 3 trips, so I'm glad we made that selection. 

Azamara has been really great about compensation. 

We're also booked on the Quest cruise in November, from Lisbon to Rio. We really want to do that cruise, so I hope nothing happens like the last two times!

I traded my 11-night Cuba cruise for a 24-night Indian Ocean cruise, departing Mumbai on 12/28/19 and arriving in Cape Town on 1/21/20. I got the booking confirmation from Azamara, and just checked My Voyages and it’s there too. So I feel pretty good!

My TA called Azamara and, once she connected with the Cuba person, she was able to get the cruise I wanted plus the $1,000 OBC; the only thing that cost more were the higher taxes/fees for the replacement cruise. I still haven't received anything official in any email, but the Azamara Cuba person knew the details that your TA (and presumably others) received by email.  So this worked out very well - thanks so much for the heads up!

Thank you! I haven’t received a similar email yet, I’ll call my TA first thing tomorrow. I have a nice, long cruise in mind, I sure hope we can grab it. 

19 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

Our cruise isn't until 2020 but it's a 9nt Cuba Intensive cruise with all ports in Cuba except 1 day in Key West. It will be interesting how this all plays out.

 

UPDATE - Rebooked today. Azamara was very generous in their offer so we now have a 14 nt British Isles cruise with $1000 OBC. 

Our 11-night Cuba intensive isn’t until April 2020. Haven’t heard anything yet about rebooking. Did Azamara contact you? Did you get the same offer that the 2019 Cuba cruisers (except the TA) got? If so, that would be a nice deal, and I’ll start scouring the Azamara website for a replacement. 

We just returned from the Homelands cruise. We used Icelandair from IAD to Stockholm, then from Bergen to IAD on the return. Simple connection each way in Iceland (there was also a short stop in Norway on the return but we did not have to leave the plane). The tough part for us was the 4.5-hour drive home to Pittsburgh after landing at IAD at 7:00pm. We flew Business Class for $1,974 each person. Business Class is like the configuration you see on NY-to-LA flights: just big seats with a decent (but not lay-flat) recline). The longest flight segment is only 6 hours 20 minutes, so the seats were fine.

We just returned on Saturday from the Homelands cruise. My wife is celiac, and has soy and dairy aggergies too. And she doesn't like fish that much. Viking did a good job feeding her - mostly chichen and beef, but she did try fish too (liked the grouper, not the snapper). Our TA had notified Viking in advance, and I put it in the passenger Information Form. When we boarded, we met with Igor, a head waiter who was outside the Restaurant, and told him too. No problem - we got a copy of the dinner menu outside our cabin each morning, my wife would indicate which starters and entrees she wanted, and we'd deliver that to any head waiter we saw at breakfast (we did the buffet each morning). Igor was ok, but after a few days we started dealing with Tom, another head waiter in the Restaurant, and he was very, very good. We asked for his section each night. My wife had gluten free bread every morning and evening; she said it was ok. She also had gluten free pasta at dinner - it was ok in the dining room, good at Manfredi's.

Do you remember where you picked up the guide and where you got off? I figure you had to make arrangements with your private guide.

The first stop in Berlin on the Viking tour was Charlottenburg Palace. This is just outside I'd the city center. We stopped there to pick up the local guide who would then conduct the panoramic tour. We all got off the bus for a few minutes to take photos of the Palace. My wife and I did not get back on the bus. Instead, we grabbed a taxi and headed to a restaurant in the city center where we met our private guide. We had a quick lunch, then started our walking tour.

On the ship, the shore excursion staff said the bus would pick us up at Gendarmenmarkt. But once on the bus, the guide said there was a fashion show at Gendarmenmarkt that day so the pickup point was changed to the Museum of the Wall near the silly Checkpoint Charlie photo stop. Best to check once you are on your tour because the only person who seems to know for certain is the guide on the bus.

We did the included Berlin excursion two days ago. We left at 8:15, arrived just outside of city center at around 11:20 to pick up a local guide. My wife and I left the tour there and took a taxi to city center to meet our own guide we booked in advance for a walking tour. The Viking excursion continued from there for a 2-hour panoramic tour, followed by around 2 hours of free time. My wife and I rejoined the bus at 3:15, the designated end of free time. Others were late so we didn't leave for the ship until around 3:30. We were back on the ship at 7:00. The bus made a restroom stop each leg, and there was no traffic at all. So our 12 hour tour was really 10 hours 45 minutes. We wound up spending 3.5 hours with our private guide, less than expected but given the very hot day that was ok (and she charged by the hour). Had I known the duration in advance I would have just stayed with Viking and not bothered with a private guide. But Viking could not give the timeframes before the cruise and the shorex staff on board did not have it right either (they thought we'd have 5 or 5.5 hours total in Berlin). Nevertheless, we enjoyed our short visit to Berlin and are glad we made the long bus trip.

Gerry,

Thank you for taking time on your cruise to post your personal observation of the ship design.

"The ship is very nice. She smells new. Very Scandinavian, like she was furnished from a high- end IKEA. Not warm and homey, but cool and incredibly comfortable. On the inside, feels more like a hotel than a ship. But plenty of connection to the sea with large walls of glass, open decks, and of course balconies in all cabins. Very nice public spaces, with even more variety than usual because there is no casino so that space is put to other public use. Nice size - not big but feels spacious anyway. She's a winner. "

 

It is "connection to the sea" that is the main attraction for me about the Viking ship. I end up spending most of my ship time on the aft of the Celebrity ships I have sailed. So looking forward to a cruise on a Viking ship in 2017 for this very reason.

Have you used your balcony a lot?

What is the mix of the passengers?

I love meeting people from all over the world on my European cruises.

Thanks again for your informative post.

Azulann,

I've used the balcony for maybe an hour each day, to check weather and take in the action at the docks or simply to watch the sea. My wife and I spend a lot of time in the pool area, where there are comfortable lounge chairs facing the sea, almost like a balcony but without the breeze (which is her preference, and I'd rather be with her than alone on my balcony!).

Everyone I've met so far has been from the USA or Canada. I heard from someone (maybe a crew member, I can't recall) that Viking's sponsorship of the very popular "Downton Abbey" television show is responsible for so many Americans on board. I booked this trip long before I became addicted to that show, so that didn't sway me. But maybe it did others?

Gerry

I sent this to my TA after the first few days on board the 6/27 cruise, thought I'd share here:

The ship is very nice. She smells new. Very Scandinavian, like she was furnished from a high- end IKEA. Not warm and homey, but cool and incredibly comfortable. On the inside, feels more like a hotel than a ship. But plenty of connection to the sea with large walls of glass, open decks, and of course balconies in all cabins. Very nice public spaces, with even more variety than usual because there is no casino so that space is put to other public use. Nice size - not big but feels spacious anyway. She's a winner.

First night's dinner was excellent. I had linguini with clam sauce - I didn't expect a great dish but it was terrific. Wife had a perfectly done filet mignon. The head waiter was all over her diet issues (no gluten, dairy or soy). Supposed to get a menu for the next night delivered to our cabin over night, she makes her selections and returns to him before noon the next day. Didn't happen like that today so we will see how that works.

We slept in this morning by accident, missed breakfast upstairs so got room service (first time ever on a ship!). Came in 15 minutes and was pretty good.

Needed to cancel an extra-cost shore excursion in St. Petersburg that I had pre-booked for $79/person (realized we already did the same canal tour with Viking River a few years ago), missed the deadline for canceling by 5 minutes, but they let me cancel anyway. Nice!

Best muster drill ever. Assembled in the dining room, very orderly. No life jackets to drag around - you get those on deck if needed. Took a total of 15 minutes from the initial whistles to the end of the drill.

Cabin is smaller than I expected, but roomy enough. Could use a few more drawers. Great air con! Cooled cabin to 65 degrees. Had to ask for a top sheet on the bed, otherwise it's just the duvet. Great shower water pressure, and nice and hot too. One oddity: the map on the inside of the cabin door directed us to an aft stairway in the event of an emergency. There is no aft stairway! I showed this to a crew member, he made a note to correct this.

Gerry

Thank you all for your advice. I'll start looking at train schedules!

I have a question for those of you you have been to Berlin with Viking. I'm on the June 27th cruise and will be visiting Berlin on July 5th. I've arranged a private guide in Berlin, so all I need is the complimentary Viking transfer to and from Berlin. I've been trying (through my TA) to have Viking advise when and where they leave you for the "Berlin on Your Own" tour - I'd like to tell the guide where to meet us, and at what time. The Viking Star has completed two cruises that included Berlin on the itinerary and is now on its 3rd cruise with that itinerary (I'll be on the 4th). So the Berlin transfer has been done at least twice already, possibly a 3rd time. But Viking cannot provide any details to my TA. I can wait until I am on board and check with the Shore Excursion desk early in the cruise, then notify the guide. But if anyone has made the trip to Berlin with Viking, I'd appreciate any details you can share regarding the logistics.

Thanks,

Gerry

Cabin number : 7091 (V2)

Ship: Journey

Month/year sailed: February 2013

Choose again?: Yes

Balcony size: Normal

Any noise?: No, very quiet even though not far off the aft stairs and elevators

Bed direction?: our feet pointed forward when we were lying in bed

Finally able to get in; I'm using IE. I had no problem accessing the site Sunday or yesterday.

I've been trying since mid-morning with no luck, still down at my end as of 3:20 EST.

I asked my TA to book a V2 cabin on the 6/27/15 cruise. The price should have been $4,999 per person according to the VS website, but my reservation form showed a price of $5,149 per person. That price does not mach up with any price listed on the VS website; the next higher category is a V1 cabin, for $5,199 per person. So I asked my TA to check with Viking. Viking said "Good catch!" It appears that the computer programming has a flaw that will be addressed shortly. They fixed the price on my confirmation so it matches the V2 website price.

So, if you book something, double check the pricing (which you would probably do anyway but now you have something to look for). Also, I received a $300 per passenger past-passenger discount.

Other tidbits: the deposit is fully refundable through 12/31/13 with no cancellation charge applied. After that date, the full payment is refundable up to 121 days out, less a $100 per person cancellation charge.

Gerry

Deck - 11

Cabin # - 1527

Class – AQ

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – Balcony (did not like this location, prefer bed near bath)

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – Very quiet (beneath Persian Gardens)

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – No obstructions - clear view of ocean straight down - no overhang from above

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal

Was wind a problem? No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? N/A - Midship cabin

Any specific problems with this cabin? None

Any other comments? Just a few steps to Relaxation Lounge

Deck - 11

Cabin # - 1587

Class – AQ

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – Bath

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – Noise from above every morning at 6am from deck chairs being dragged about, lasted about 15 minutes each time

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – No obstructions straight out - view of tenders looking down - extended overhand above from pool deck

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal

Was wind a problem? No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? N/A - Midship cabin

Any specific problems with this cabin? None

Any other comments? Equidistant from forward and midship elevators