Viking worth 2X the price?

OK, it has come down to these two options. Viking Homeland tour is 2X the price of a similar itinerary on Princess, their Baltic Heritage tour.

Viking Homelands tour pros: Cabin more deluxe, smaller, new ship. Fewer people to deal with. Easier access to ports. Better itinerary, slightly, with fewer "at sea" days. Excursions are included, although they are pretty basic, and we'll likely book some extra anyway,

Viking cons: $$$$, travel to ports from US will be more complicated as it leaves from Bergen, ends in Stockholm.

Princess pros: Half the cost. Still gets us to the bigger ports; St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen, where we can arrange our own excursions. Round trip from Southampton, so air travel much easier.

Cabin comfortable but not new; Sapphire got refurbished 6 years ago.

Will pay for more extras that are included with Viking, but still, difference in cost is considerable.

Princess cons: More people, 4 days at sea vs. 2 with Viking, will pay for more "extras" like use of the spa, etc.

WWYD?

Only one at sea day on Viking, not two. Are you sure of your facts in the comparison? How similar? Post links for each cruise & folks can comment more intelligently.

Viking homies cruise...

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/baltic/viking-homelands/index.html?return=true

Fundamental problem arises in different persons' aversion to higher cost vs getting closer to what they really want. Unanswerable.

OK, it has come down to these two options. Viking Homeland tour is 2X the price of a similar itinerary on Princess, their Baltic Heritage tour.

 

Viking Homelands tour pros: Cabin more deluxe, smaller, new ship. Fewer people to deal with. Easier access to ports. Better itinerary, slightly, with fewer "at sea" days. Excursions are included, although they are pretty basic, and we'll likely book some extra anyway,

 

Viking cons: $$$$, travel to ports from US will be more complicated as it leaves from Bergen, ends in Stockholm.

 

Princess pros: Half the cost. Still gets us to the bigger ports; St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen, where we can arrange our own excursions. Round trip from Southampton, so air travel much easier.

Cabin comfortable but not new; Sapphire got refurbished 6 years ago.

Will pay for more extras that are included with Viking, but still, difference in cost is considerable.

 

Princess cons: More people, 4 days at sea vs. 2 with Viking, will pay for more "extras" like use of the spa, etc.

 

WWYD?

Check out this thread: Tell Me Why

OK, it has come down to these two options. Viking Homeland tour is 2X the price of a similar itinerary on Princess, their Baltic Heritage tour.

 

Viking Homelands tour pros: Cabin more deluxe, smaller, new ship. Fewer people to deal with. Easier access to ports. Better itinerary, slightly, with fewer "at sea" days. Excursions are included, although they are pretty basic, and we'll likely book some extra anyway,

 

Viking cons: $$$$, travel to ports from US will be more complicated as it leaves from Bergen, ends in Stockholm.

 

Princess pros: Half the cost. Still gets us to the bigger ports; St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen, where we can arrange our own excursions. Round trip from Southampton, so air travel much easier.

Cabin comfortable but not new; Sapphire got refurbished 6 years ago.

Will pay for more extras that are included with Viking, but still, difference in cost is considerable.

 

Princess cons: More people, 4 days at sea vs. 2 with Viking, will pay for more "extras" like use of the spa, etc.

 

WWYD?

I did and chose Viking. My reason for the trip was Norway.(3 ports) St Petersburg and Berlin were nice inclusions and the research on the other ports really helped bring the cruise into perspective.

The "Tell me why..." will certainly feature a lot of pros. Never having been on a cruise I wanted to be comfortable and guided along the way, if needed.

I don't get the air thing. If you're coming from the states you need to do what it takes to get to the ports. There is basically no difference in price(unless one line is offering a special--and be careful of thse as they may not be that special) I did much better on my own. I made 2 stops, coming from Texas to and from the ports. Neither port was difficult to reach. A lot of the problems people have w/ Viking Air are not a problem if you book your own and can save money.

Viking is pretty inclusive. it is about 40% more than Princess but when you factor in the variables and what it would take to make that cruise into Viking comparable the cost is not really that mch different.

Viking is a destination line so it does all it can to bring that to you. If you want to just get of the ship and stroll with no plans, why are you on this cruise? Especially if money is a factor. It does not have all the bells and whistles of let's say RCI but what it doesn't have are all pluses to me(large crowds, children, casinos and grand production shows) I'm not making this cruise to stay on the ship.

So for me, Viking was the only real choice. Perspective and antisipation will cause individual preferences to vary.

OK, it has come down to these two options. Viking Homeland tour is 2X the price of a similar itinerary on Princess, their Baltic Heritage tour.

 

Viking Homelands tour pros: Cabin more deluxe, smaller, new ship. Fewer people to deal with. Easier access to ports. Better itinerary, slightly, with fewer "at sea" days. Excursions are included, although they are pretty basic, and we'll likely book some extra anyway,

 

Viking cons: $$$$, travel to ports from US will be more complicated as it leaves from Bergen, ends in Stockholm.

 

Princess pros: Half the cost. Still gets us to the bigger ports; St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen, where we can arrange our own excursions. Round trip from Southampton, so air travel much easier.

Cabin comfortable but not new; Sapphire got refurbished 6 years ago.

Will pay for more extras that are included with Viking, but still, difference in cost is considerable.

 

Princess cons: More people, 4 days at sea vs. 2 with Viking, will pay for more "extras" like use of the spa, etc.

 

WWYD?

After 6 cruises on Princess with the last being in 2012, even for the higher cost we'd choose Viking over Princess. That being said, we sail with Seabourn, Silversea, and Regent and even at the higher cost, would choose any of them over Princess. Food, service, atmosphere, and experience are all better on Viking, Seabourn, Silversea and Regent.

On Viking there is no fee for Specialty restaurants, shore excursions are included though they do have excursions that you pay for.

I sailed on my first Viking cruise two weeks ago on the Sun's maiden voyage from Venice to Athens and LOVED IT. I had one of the best vacations in my life.

Before this sailing, I'd been on two cruises before. One on Celebrity Millennium to Alaska and the other on Holland America Koningsdam to Norway. There's no comparison. Viking Sun is the best in all areas from stateroom comfort, dinning and activities.

Viking's sticker price may look high. IMO, Viking does provide the best value for what I paid for. As mentioned in the "Tell Me Why" thread, Viking doesn't nickel-and-dime. I love how I don't need to be mindful of number of glasses of wine I order during dinners. I love free access to sauna, steam room and the very cool snow grotto. I love that there is no cover charge to the specialty restaurants. All guests are treated the same. Although I'm not a big fan of the included excursions (I prefer self-guided tour than following a guide,) the optional one are very reasonably priced.

My total cost for Viking Sun this year came up lower than the total I paid for Holland America last year (may be comparing apples to oranges. one sailed to Norweigian fjords and the other sailed to the Adriatic Sea. but both were 7-night sailings.) My experience on Viking Sun far surpassed that of Holland America.

Viking is my cruise line of choice going forward.

two comments

1. Once you sail 'small ship' it is very hard to go back to BIG ship IMO/IME. No lines no crowds. NONE what so ever makes the best suite on a mega ship only compare ... not beat. I have gone back to BIG after small, but always lament what I MISS about the small ..... we take the BIG for $$ and convenience

2. Have you priced Disney for similar?????? V' is cheap in comparison!

OK, it has come down to these two options. Viking Homeland tour is 2X the price of a similar itinerary on Princess, their Baltic Heritage tour.

 

Another pro for Viking is that you can book the cheapest cabin on the ship and it is still an outside cabin with a balcony. You may be the last in the pecking order for advance booking of tours and you won't have daily complimentary replenishment of the mini-bar (unless you buy the drinks package) but once you are on the ship, it doesn't matter if you are in an Explorer Suite or a Veranda, all passengers receive the same level of service. There are no areas of the ship that are reserved for certain cabin levels.

If I'm not mistaken, Viking's passenger/space ratio is one of the best in the industry. Right up there with Crystal. That's a huge plus for me.

JMARKS, I do not see a cruise history, so I do not know which ocean cruise lines, if any, you have sailed on before.

WWID - Ask an experienced travel agent (ideally one a friend knows who will give you good answers regardless of the possible commission. Also read any Viking or Princess board topics that apply to your wants and needs. If time and money permits (and if you have not sailed on Viking, or Princess, or both) First, take a short inexpensive trip on the one you have not tried. A year or two ago, we took a 5 day California coast Crystal cruise

mostly to try out Crystal. We are doing the same on Viking late this year.

Do you want any pre-cruise or post cruise European days? Have you studied the exact ship deck plans? What is your desired mix of group shore excursions versus do it yourself of the ship town visits?

Hope at least some of this helps.

two comments

 

1. Once you sail 'small ship' it is very hard to go back to BIG ship IMO/IME. No lines no crowds. NONE what so ever makes the best suite on a mega ship only compare ... not beat. I have gone back to BIG after small, but always lament what I MISS about the small ..... we take the BIG for $$ and convenience

 

2. Have you priced Disney for similar?????? V' is cheap in comparison!

I did compare to Disney. It was somewhat hard because they don't sail the exact Viking Homelands itinerary so I figured in a B2B with Disney. If I remember correctly, Disney was a bit higher. We chose Viking and it was the best decision we made.

Dauntless said this earlier in the thread and I can't agree more. " but what it doesn't have are all pluses to me(large crowds, children, casinos and grand production shows)

After sailing on Viking, I cannot fathom cruising in Europe on any other line other than Viking.

We loved the Viking tour because the itinerary included cruising the Norwegian fjords. The Viking Homelands tour is perfect on the Viking line due to its Scandinavian heritage and the décor of its ships. We enjoyed the cultural enrichment activities, too.

We loved the Viking tour because the itinerary included cruising the Norwegian fjords. The Viking Homelands tour is perfect on the Viking line due to its Scandinavian heritage and the décor of its ships. We enjoyed the cultural enrichment activities, too.

Agree completely. Loved Norway (1st time) and everything about the Homelands cruise. Ship, staff, ports & tours.

Is Viking worth 2X the price? There are many things where the price varies by 2X or more in which the "end result" might be considered by some to be the same. In either business class or coach, you get where you are going. In either a Four Seasons or some very modest hotel, you get a bed in the same city. When I am on one of the Viking ships, I find that I am enjoying my vacation. When I am on a much larger ship with casinos, children, art auctions, photographers, crowded environments, continual upselling, parties at the pool, shopping malls, etc., I am not. For me, it is the less expensive ships that are not worth the money.

Is Viking worth 2X the price? There are many things where the price varies by 2X or more in which the "end result" might be considered by some to be the same. In either business class or coach, you get where you are going. In either a Four Seasons or some very modest hotel, you get a bed in the same city. When I am on one of the Viking ships, I find that I am enjoying my vacation. When I am on a much larger ship with casinos, children, art auctions, photographers, crowded environments, continual upselling, parties at the pool, shopping malls, etc., I am not. For me, it is the less expensive ships that are not worth the money.

(y)(y)

One might also add, whether you are in a PS or V cabin, you are still on a Viking ship.;) In any case, I like the way you put it.