huntersyaya

We're in a v..no problem getting reservations once we boarded. Food at manfredi's was really good last night. I had swordfish. Dh had veal ...both were good. We did not tip ...did not see anyone else tipping. After dinner we sat in atrium with couple who had just eaten at Captain's table...they enjoyed it, too. Trying room service this morning as we are getting off the ship early to do flam railroad on our own.

Everyone seems very pleased on the ship. We have cruised on Princess and celebrity in the past. This is the nicest of the 3. The ship is really, really nice!!

We went directly to the restaurants...you really can't go wrong. Even the World Cafe is very good. Some of the biggest shrimp I have ever seen!

We boarded in Bergen yesterday and so far, exceeds our expectations. Allowed to board ship at 11am regardless of cabin level. Wonderful food at lunch and dinner . Able to make reservations immediately for Manfredis and the five course wine pairing restaurant...forgot it's name! No reservations needed for The Restaurant. Snacks in pool grill all afternoon. Gelato is awesome..six or so different favors. Have already tried three...all great. Bergen is beautiful. Cabins are so nice and bathroom is the best ever. SERIOUSLY!!!

Again teefine, thank you do much! I understand what your point was in starting this thread and I really appreciate it. Life is way too short....attitude is half the battle. Not saying people haven't had legitimate gripes but come on- surf's up.....let's all have fun on the STAR!!!! We leave in 9 days and I CAN'T wait!!!!

Also on board! Loving it ! St Petersburg here we come!!

Such good news! We are on the 7/11 homelands and can't wait. I felt like I would be satisfied if all I did was eat Gelato for 15 days....well actually I do expect a little more out of this trip than that but I really did feel like they would get the kinks worked out after the first couple of months. We are really excited about the trip!!!

I agree 100% Elizabeth! I hope some of our complaints ( and praise) from the maiden voyage have been heard and the issues addressed making cruising on The Star a great experience

That's when we board the Star...Several years ago we did our first river cruise with Viking. They were four couples in our group. Another couple picked Viking, picked the Danube and pick a brand new longship..the Helvetia. I made the mistake of reading cruise critic reviews of Viking, river cruises, and the Danube prior to going but post-booking. I would have NEVER given Viking a try based on what I read and I have noticed that several people have cancelled their Star cruise based on what they have read. All 8 of us had a WONDERFUL time on our first Viking River cruise. My husband and I had so much fun that when they offered us $500 credit each because our showers backed up on the last day of the cruise, we turned around and booked the Rhine for the next summer and again, had a great time which is why we booked the Star for this trip...I take all praise and criticism with a grain of salt but can't imagine that we are going to have a terrible time on a brand new ship seeing parts of the world we've never seen before with people we love. There are so many people in this world that will NEVER get to go on any cruise in their entire lifetime. I am thankful for every trip I have ever taken. Bon Voyage to one and all!!!

Actually it happened yesterday. ONLY 49 days!

 

Wet and soggy in Stockholm today. Wandered around Gamal Stan for 3 hours until totally soaked. Saw 2 churches and very wet, wet marathoners struggling on through the rain (today is the Swedish National Marathon). Unfortunately for them, there were not many spectators cheering them on.

 

We're at the Hilton Slussen and although it's a great jumping off point for disembarking or embarking the ship, the rooms are small and dark. Not up to usual Hilton standards IMO, and as a Diamond member, I've stayed in a ton of Hiltons. The location can't be beat though. Close to the ship and an easy stroll to Gamal Stan.

 

See, I can't keep from posting. Hard to stop this habit!

We are staying at the Sheraton...is it close to the Hilton and the ship? We disembark in Stockholm on July 25.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I imagine you have spent most of your life looking for the beautiful. My other guess is that the hundreds of people who have been on the Star have enjoyed it like you and the ones who had complaints are the ones voicing them here. I am not implying that people haven't had something to complain about BUT I can't believe anyone has cancelled a cruise because of something they read here. For us, to find a cruise that did both the Fjords and the other normal Scandinavian-Russia loop was what sold us. The gelato is another BIG selling point. Can't wait. My husband says if it is cold, we will get some and then go sit in front of the fireplace and love every bite. Again, I really appreciate your taking the time to fully describe your time on the Star. Very kind of you!

Mollymoo- we are on the same cruise as you....looking forward to a great trip!!

we have cruised Celebrity and Princess but feel the difference is going to be in the size of the Viking ship and the number of people on it. Our river cruises with Viking and their attention to detail throughout our cruises have been first rate. Hope we all find it to be the same on their ocean product!

Vineyard View-try palvus

We have done two river cruises with Viking and loved both of them so we are expecting to have the same experience on the Star. We are doing the Homelands cruise starting in Bergen July 11. The ship looks beautiful and I can't imagine that the entire thing won't be wonderful. We really liked the interary, too. I am sure the product will improve as they work out some kinks . We were invited to go with a group of friends on our first Viking river cruise and after we had booked, I started reading a lot on Cruise Critic. I thought we had made a major mistake based on some of the stuff I was reading. I could not have been happier with the way either of our two river cruises went. It seems like people tend to post things when they are unhappy as opposed to when they are happy. I would not worry about all the chatter and think you were lucky to get a cancellation. Enjoy your trip and please come back and let us know how it was! We will be boarding about 6 weeks after you! I think Flam is on all the itenaries except for the one when they are christening the ship so you should be fine.

Wow, really disappointed to miss Flam... We board in Bergen so we won't have the down day in port, but I feel your pain. We have booked an Oslo pre-extension with Viking, so are double disappointed to be routed back to Oslo, especially at the loss of Flam. Will they sail up through the fjords? I have emailed my Viking rep today and have requested a response. Trying not to let these changes taint my excitement for the whole trip.

We have booked a 2 day tour with Alla Tours for St Petersburg, no need for a Visa. $265.00 it is pretty inclusive. Right now we have the comfort tour, but will change to the Grand Tour option when she has others that show interest.

Their reviews on Tripadvisor have been very good and they answer back to email very quickly. Because we are in a veranda room, we can not book excursions until we board, and I was concerned about availability and options for St Petersburg.

Will post when I hear back from Viking.

 

 

 

 

D & J

For those of you who are not going to Flam, why don't you just skip the christening and take a train or boat/train combination and do Flam on your own? I think it is fairly easy to do.....

We leave Bergen on July 10th or 11th heading towards Stockholm. We are in SPB around the 21st (I think) and would love to get together a private tour with Alla. Is that when you are there?

Thanks CMAASFAMILY....there is nothing worse than having someone try to spoil my trip once they have decided to change theirs. Your response to tipsy girl perfectly expressed my sentiments. Hope you have a wonderful trip and I fully expect to have one, too> Bon Voyage!!!

I called Viking directly and they could not have been more helpful. There have been NO changes to our itenary. We are booked on the Viking Homelands leaving Bergen on 7/11 and arriving in Stockholm on 7/25.

You have posted on the Viking Ocean forum NOT the Viking River. My husband and I have been on two Viking River cruises and had WONDERFUL experiences on both. I am sorry yours has not been the same. We always book our own flights because I am a control freak and would rather pay a little more and get exactly what I want so I have never had any issues like you are experiencing. I hope your cruise will make up for the flight problems and I bet that it will. We have met wonderful people, shared excellent food, and been on wonderful excursions on both of our two river cruises. The staffs could not have been any more professional or caring. Karl was our chef on the Danube River and I would book another cruise just to get to travel with him. The food was delicious but HE was fabulous. He even let me go on a shopping trip with him in Vienna on my birthday and I, along with a few fellow travellers, picked the cheeses we had for dinner that special night. It was such fun. I will never forget that birthday!

I had read a lot on Cruise Critic before taking our first river cruise and I was not convinced that Viking was the company we should have used based on some of the things I read BUT, after the first trip, we immediately booked the Rhine for the next summer. I am not saying that other companies don't offer excellent trips, I have just never used another company. I do know that people are much more prone to write reviews when something goes wrong than when something goes right . Again, I hope you have a wonderful cruise and tell us all about it when you return! Safe travels

We all are at least six months out from our trips. Many times people don't even book a cruise more than 6 months out. I seriously believe we will all be fed and be fed well on our cruise. If you want a coffee pot and your cabin doesn't have one, bring your own. We have done that for years. If you are worried about excursions, book a private guide. Chances are you will be able to book one now and change the exact time later (closer to the actual sailing date). For sure in Berlin and Russia, we have full days in port and we can schedule easily for those places. 90% of everything we worry about never happens. I just don't think Viking is going to launch an entire new product without putting major thought and planning behind it! When we are all cruising through the Norwegians fjords or up the River Thames and looking at all the beauty which surrounds us on a BRAND NEW beautiful ship, we are going to be so glad we made the trip . Happy sailing to everyone!!

We did on the Danube in Neurenberg....they just ordered a cab for us and it was much cheaper than doing the transfer. They were happy to do this for us!

You won't find many who have cruised both these lines, since Uniworld is considered to be in the top luxury group while Viking is near the bottom. People are more likely to cross-shop Uniworld with Tauck, AMA and Avalon.

I am a CPA and my husband is a dentist. We have been on two Viking cruises...the Danube in 2012 and the Rhine in 2013. We enjoyed the first trip so much, we booked the second one and we enjoyed it so much we're booked on the Viking Star Ocean liner. We had read things about Viking on cruise critic and would probably not have booked our first cruise with them but another couple asked us to go with them and four other friends. The eight of us had a wonderful trip! The cabins, the food, the service were wonderful! If what we have experienced on Viking is " near the bottom" then I would love to experience what is the top. On my birthday, our chef took me with him on a shopping trip and I got to select the cheeses the ship would enjoy that night for dinner. Maybe all the cruise lines do that...I wouldn't know because like you, I have only cruised with one line and that is Viking. I would never try to compare Viking with other lines because I have not cruised with them but I have no problem vouching for the Viking experiences we have had. I don't think my friends and I are " near the bottom" of river cruise passengers and that is what was implied by the statement you made...we are neither easily impressed nor easily fooled.

It is a real disservice to offer opinions on a product you have never used.

We did the Budapest to Neuremberg Danube cruise with Viking two summers ago. there was an option to go to Prague either pre or post cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip. We went in May and had no water problems and the weather was wonderful. We were on a new longship and it was lovely. Karl was our chef and he was superb. The entire staff was very good. No complaints out of us.....and we were with 3 other couples who were also well-pleased. It seems like people get attached to one line and then continue to cruise with them. If you can find a line that waves the single supplement, that would weigh heavily into my decision because I really don't think there is that much difference in the major lines. If you go expecting to have a good time, you probably will!

We were on the Helvetia last summer....it was not one of the new longships( we were on one of those the previous summer). We had no problems at all with the older ship.

If you are on one of the older ships (and by that I mean, not a long-boat) instead a ship that is 4 or 5 yrs old like the Helvetia.....the windows are not high windows at all but more like half of a full length window starting about a foot below the ceiling and going down about 4 feet so you have a nice view. We did the Rhine last May and the Aquarium level was all that was available.....We did not mind it at all and we had no noise from anything. I am with everyone else - the best views are from the lounge, the library, the Aquavit lounge if it is a longship and the sundeck. You won't be in your cabin much at all.

Thank you all for the great information.

I think the hop on hop off buses have two day tickets. Whenever we go to a big city in Europe on our arrival day we buy a two -day ticket because they are almost the same price as a one-day....,we always ride at least one route on the hop on hop off BUT we never hop off. We just ride and get our bearings. We are usually a little bit tired and this is just a no brainer....easy way to see a lot and hear a lot. The next day, we have an idea of what we really want to see and then we will ride the Hop on and hop off where we want to. We also might incorporate the tube to get us to an area of interest if we are spending too much time waiting on the Hop On. It's a matter of preference but if we just start wandering on our first day when we are tired, we don't accomplish much!

Enjoy your trip! London is a wonderful city with lots to see!

We were only there for an hour or two BUT it was pretty cold that day and windy so it was long enough! We saw the Unesco site and went in one of the windmills and had time to do souvenier shops. They had hot chocolate waiting for us when we got back....you could walk just a few hundred feet and be at the windmills. An hour or so before we arrived in Kinderdjik, we saw a huge replica of Noah's Ark on the river- I don't mean that it was floating....it was some type of permanent thing. It was a pleasant surprise. You will have a great trip!