Twitchly

I just want to say I deeply appreciate the “live from” posts here. We seem to be doing mostly land tours lately (Holy Lands last spring, Nova Scotia and PEI this coming June), which I’m greatly enjoying, but cruising is a special world unto itself. Thank you for letting me live vicariously until our next Viking cruise!

This was exactly our experience when sailing the previous September.

Our last cruise with Viking was the British Isles in September 2022. I recall the demographic being 60s, 70s. No walkers, wheelchairs, etc. It’s a port-heavy itinerary with multiple tenders, which may have put off the more senior crowd. People by and large dressed according to the Viking standard. So basically we didn’t see the infirmities or sloppiness described in this thread.

Are either of the current world cruises scheduled to go through the Red Sea?

Looking forward to the pithy commentary!

Loved that cruise. We’d do it again in a heartbeat. Yes, we had quite the swells in Biscay. No storms, sunny skies, but massive swells. Fortunately neither of us got seasick (I took ginger capsules). At one point we sat on the top deck and listened to the crashing of dishes from somewhere below. (Ship tilts waaaaay left — crash crash crash. Then waaaaaaay right — crash tinkle crash.) We felt bad for the staff but I have to admit we enjoyed the experience.

The beds are our least favorite feature. I like firm, but we found these on the granite side of hard and woke up achey each morning. Made me think of my stoic Norwegian great-grandfather, who thought nothing of pulling his own teeth. Next time we’ll definitely ask for a topper. Or four. No problem with the food, though I’d love to see more local cuisine.

When I sprained my knee during our cruise last year and was stuck on the couch, I was very grateful for the door/window configuration that made it easy for me to see outside with my leg propped up.

Safe travels, and thanks for sharing your fascinating trip with us!

Gorgeous! But wow, that weather.

Wow!! That’s almost hurricane strength! Impressive that the ship handled so well.

After we had to cancel our Holy Land cruise, we ended up doing a land trip instead (more than a year later). In retrospect I’m very glad it turned out that way. A couple of days there would not have been enough.

I’m finding it all fascinating. Thanks for doing this!

I don’t think we had to give a reason back then. Viking was still operating under pandemic rules, which have likely changed. We got vouchers that had to be used within a period of time.

No refund was offered. We got vouchers that had to be used within a couple of years. We used them for a cruise to the British Isles in 2022. No penalty, because the cruise itinerary changed substantially and also because Viking allowed people to cancel more easily during the pandemic. I don’t know how Viking handles these things now. A call to Viking or your TA might be helpful, or better still an email to tellus@vikingcruises.com so you can get their answer in writing.

We booked this cruise for January 2022. Israel was still shut down due to Covid when we booked it many months in advance. We didn’t get an update from Viking until just weeks before we were supposed to sail; Israel still remained closed, so Viking altered the cruise to focus more on Mediterranean islands and Greece. We elected to cancel the cruise and take a different one later. (And visit Israel ourselves on a land tour this past spring.) I imagine this situation will be similar.

We’ve had both slider and door/window. We liked both for different reasons. The slider was easier to open. It’s nice having one big expanse of glass. Biggest con: you can’t really enjoy the view from the couch. That bothered me. The door/window combo was much better for sitting on the couch and looking outside. That turned out to be a Godsend when I sprained my knee and had to spend a lot of time stuck on the sofa.

I’d just ask if we could be moved. That way the other table can continue to enjoy themselves and so can we.

More local music and cuisine. I’d love to be more immersed in the places we visit.

THIS.

There was a period there when I spent a lot of time with elderly parents and friends who couldn’t hear well, and I found myself bellowing in restaurants. I noticed the occasional glacial look from others but there was only so much I could do. Ironically, I find people with hearing loss often speak very quietly themselves, which makes my one-sided bellowing seem all the more idiotic.

1. Allow customers to pay in full for their cruise closer to the sail date. See other cruise lines for inspiration. 2. Mix up itineraries, regularly add new destinations. Keep it interesting. Those are the top 2 reasons I’ve heard for customers — current and potential — to book elsewhere.

What a worthy goal. I need to move there. Thanks so much for sharing your journey. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.

From what I’ve seen, their reviews are all over the map. So it’s likely they haven’t deteriorated since 2019; they’re just wildly inconsistent. That may be in part because, according to Wikipedia, they fly to more countries than any other commercial airline in the world.

That was very much not our experience. This past spring we flew Turkish Air to Tel Aviv, and then back from Amman, both times with stopovers in Istanbul. The flight out was dreadful. Uncomfortable seats, torn upholstery (I couldn’t put anything in the seat pocket because it had completely ripped out), filthy. The flight back, we were able to upgrade our seats and had a better experience. And all our flights were considerably delayed, more than two hours in one case. But the worst bit was dealing with their booking staff. I won’t go into all the gory details except to say their website is a malfunctioning mess and their staff was truly dreadful. We ended up having to file a dispute with our credit card company. TA has been around a very long time and is, I believe, one of the busiest airlines in the world. If you’re stuck with them, I strongly suggest upgrading your seat if possible. Their best reviews seem to come from folks who have done that. As for us, we hope never to use them again.