jiminyC_fan

Thank you very much jasardeax! 

Due to my husband emergency health problem on Friday I had to cancel a day before our land vacation to Mexico. It was scheduled for yesterday.   I was fully aware when I booked months ago that it would be a per person cancellation fee for the resort and for the airlines if I ever needed to cancel.   I am perfectly happy with the way things panned out for us.  I cannot fault anyone.  (well, I can be mad at my husband, just kidding)  For us, travel insurance will cover all fees that we are charged.  Viking is not alone in a cancellation fee per person.   I don't see it as gouging.

28 minutes ago, Dauntless said:

 

Though this is a little off topic but since you are currently on a ship, have you  heard about any meals at Pool Grill after 5:00?  Someone had posted about them doing steaks there on their cruise.

I love the idea of that.  We had some great lunches at the Pool Grill.

It is a shame for the Coast Guard, TSA and ALL employees that this shutdown is affecting.  I don't care if it is military or the janitors, all these people should be paid.  I feel for ALL of them equally.  They ALL have bills to pay.

Neighboring TVs were never a problem for us.  It's amazing how you never hear a sound out in the hallways either.  Other lines you hear loud talking, running etc.  My pet peeve is slamming of stateroom doors and that isn't even an issue on Viking.

2 hours ago, Richard2 said:

I suppose it is all a matter of what you are used to.  We recently began looking into taking the grandchildren on a Disney cruise, but found the multiple hierarchies (Castaway Club, concierge rooms, etc) distasteful. On Viking, when you step out of your room, everyone is traveling in the same class. 

Disney never used to have the tiers.  I am at the top for their "Club" benefits but with their exclusive areas on the ship for concierge I will no longer sail with them.  They have truly gone back to the Titanic days.  I love that Viking treats all of us the same once we are on the ship.  I certainly do understand and accept Vikings way of booking tours.  We all know it ahead of time and if we don't agree to it then maybe Viking isn't a good match.

We flew Viking Air Plus last cruise.  Our flights were changed a couple of times but I took it upon myself to work with the airline myself and cut out the middle man.  We always got what we wanted and it took little time to do it.

9 hours ago, orchestrapal said:

 

They could easily make the entire space Manfredi’s and keep many of those who can’t get that second and third reservation there very happy.

We found the Chef’s Table very regimented and stiff while Manfredi’s delightful, delicious and friendly. We were lucky to eat there many times and highly recommend it.

That would make us very unhappy.  We went to Manfredi's once and didn't particularly like it.  We went to Chefs Table 3 or 4 times and loved it.  We didn't feel the need to ask for seconds nor go to the World Cafe afterwards.  It just proves that food is highly subjective.  What one might like someone else may not.  Unfortunately those that are not happy are more willing to speak up than those that are happy therefore it is skewed as to who the majority really is.   Cruise Critic actually represents an extremely low percentage of Viking's actual cruisers.

26 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Sorry, you actually have no idea how far you are from the facts. Cabin preparations for the next cruise are what is visible to the passengers, but on turn-around days, the cabins are but the tip of the iceberg. Turn-around days are chaotic for all the officers and crew, especially the many of them that you don't see. All crew contribute, as multi-tasking is expected.

 

There is no law dictating when passengers must be off the ship, but cruise lines have metrics on when disembarkation should be complete, to ensure embarkation starts on time. The cruise line may also be limited by the availability of Customs, Immigration, Longshoremen, etc.

 

Having experienced many turn-around days, both as an Officer and laterally as a pax, I actually know what the crew experience, so suggest you might want to cut them a little slack.

Thank you.  Exactly what I was trying to get across.

May I suggest to grab a "proper served breakfast" at the hotel in Miami.  Sounds like a great way to start the new portion of your trip.

6 hours ago, Eloise4Ever said:

Thanks to all for your input. I am glad to hear there are no announcements on Viking but very disappointed that passengers must vacate their cabins by 8am. It’s 8:30 am on Celebrity which is plenty early  IMO. So far it’s a draw, Viking 1: Celebrity 1. I am, however, concerned that the only option for breakfast on disembarkation morning may be the buffet. Peregrina reports that the World Café serves a full breakfast and Peasmith that the buffet was so full on disembarkation day there were no seats available. I hope I have picked this up incorrectly and that somebody can confirm that the restaurant is open for a proper, served breakfast on the final morning. One of the joys of Celebrity is being able to sit down to a very relaxed breakfast in the main restaurant before we disembark. The waiters here are as kind and helpful on the last morning as they are at any other time. It is a wonderful oasis of calm before setting off for a day of travelling home. In the case of our Viking cruise, when we leave the ship we will be going to our hotel in Miami so we will be in no rush to leave the ship. What time is breakfast served until?

 

Naturally I understand that the ship is preparing for the next guests, however, that preparation relates mainly to the cabins. I see no reason why normal food service cannot be maintained for the number of days each passenger has paid for, including breakfast on departure morning. Also, I am flabbergasted that Viking expects their guests to believe that there is a "law" that states guests must leave the ship by 9:30 am!

 

I have spoken to a few staff members about what happens when everyone is off the ship.  There are other duties for the restaurant and bar staff while it is guest free.   Unfortunately, some guests only see what is on the surface and know nothing about what goes on behind the scenes.   I see it as part of the cruising experience and accept that it can't be leisurely even though that is ideally what we would all want it to be.  As for how the staff treats you, it is our experience that we were treated by Viking with utmost respect on the final day just like any other day.  

The reason that it feels like the staff is hurrying you off is so that they can turn the ship around and get the next set of cruisers on and in their rooms by their promised time.  I know how hard it is to leave but we all have to remember how excited we were to get on the ship at the beginning of our cruise and the next group feels the same.   I, for one, would not want their jobs that morning and cannot fault them.

I have never been one to expect a company/resort that is not US based to show US sports.   I might suggest to book travel when your favorite sports is not having major events.

Woo Hoo!  Congratulations.  Enjoy!

Definitely will take time to get used to it but glad it's back up and running.

Not everyone travels from the US. US centric much?

 

People from Australia generally travel for 5 weeks at a time to counter airfares and jet lag. Pretty impossible to carry five weeks of clean clothes, let alone carry five weeks of dirty clothes in luggage. Yuck.

 

Having a laundry onboard is great. Celebrity doesn’t which is frustrating. Last cruise we ended up with someone else’s underwear that blew into our cabin, and the cabin next door would leave things to dry after washing on their balcony and we would get their water run off.

 

So it isn’t a stupid fascination with laundry but a necessity.

I'm from the US and I agree with you. Who is fascinated with laundry, LOL? We travel 3-4 weeks at a time. I'm not hand washing and using my bathroom as a clothes line plus there are certain things that I am not sending out for laundry service. It really doesn't take that much time to run a load or two.

I just noticed this thread is from April 2018 so the OP probably already sailed.

So to actually answer your questions, the laundry is free to wash and dry. Soap is automatic but no dryer sheets. Yes, there is ironing boards and irons in each laundry room. Wait quite honestly just depends when you do it. We really never had a wait. Everyone was cordial and never left their laundry in the washers or dryers which was a real treat. Enjoy your cruise!

Hi, I am going to copy and paste from their website https://www.stockholmpass.com/.....

What is The Stockholm Pass and what does it include?

The Stockholm Pass is a sightseeing city card which allows visitors to experience everything Stockholm has to offer whilst saving both time and money. The Stockholm Pass includes free entry to over 60 top attractions, monuments and museums, including a wide range of boat and bus tours.

What's included:

• Free entry to over 60 of Stockholm’s most popular attractions
  

• Free bus tour and boat tours of Stockholm city, islands and canals
  

• Free guidebook to help plan your sightseeing adventure
  

• Optional Travelcard to get around Stockholm with ease
  

Montana, Viking is now using a train to Berlin. It was quite pleasant. I felt that we had enough time to see the important highlights. We chose the Historic Berlin which was an optional tour. I would definitely do it again. I was a bit hesitant about the bus ride but was happy they switched over to train.

I was worried about WIFI before our Homelands cruise because we need to stay in touch with family due to medical issues with our grandson. I was pleasantly surprised and never felt the need to leave our room for any computer needs. We were midship,deck 4.

Huge fan of meclizine. We take it whether or not we need it. We were on a Disney Panama Canal cruise and a hurricane changed it's path in the middle of the night so we ended up having to ride huge swells during the night and into the next day. The waves were covering our porthole. Many crew members and guests were sick. With zero warning people didn't have a chance to take anything in advance. Even people with the patch and ginger had trouble. We on the other hand had a blast. Like all medication it takes time to get in your system so we were ok from the get go because we take it whether or not it's needed. It does not make us sleepy. If you have any questions about the side affects take it at home just to see. That's what we did years ago.

HAL actually kept green apples in our stateroom and we didn't know why until we asked. Thought it was a great idea for others.

To us, the Coffee Machine is a DISADVANTAGE, and it was certainly NOT APPRECIATED.

 

1) REMOVE THE COFFEE MACHINE (BUT MAKE IT AVAILABLE ON REQUEST INSTEAD).

 

2) REPLACE CHEF'S TABLE WITH ANOTHER SPECIALTY RESTAURANT THAT HAS MENUS THAT DO NOT DIVIDE OPINIONS SO MUCH. (It's more likely we would avoid Chef's Table on our next cruise).

We are non coffee drinkers and we understand that many appreciate it, however. We don't see that Viking needs to change their way for us. I suspect there are more coffee drinkers than non. We simply asked for it to be removed. It was not a problem or hassle what so ever. It was gone instantly after asking for it's removal.

Personally, we loved Chef's Table and would not like to see it change or replaced. We didn't like Manfredi's but we would never want them to take it away just because it wasn't for us. We know others love it. We just knew not to book it again.

Check both Norled and Rodne online and choose the time that best fits your stay in Stavanger. Both are credible. Only difference between them and Viking is the cost and the waffles on shore.

Just curious. Why is Eastern a more desirable time over Pacific? Why not Mtn? Why not Central? I just know that I need to set an alarm, do what I have to do and then go back to bed. Just the price to pay to travel. I understand that it is something that I need to do and deal with it. It is only once per cruise.

With all the time zones that are affected I just don't think it is feasible. I see one group of people happy if it changes and then another group will be mad it changed. You just can't make everyone happy on this one.

We used Alla in SP and you will definitely enjoy it. We were sorry once we experienced Alla that we didn't opt for other ports using them.