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Viking Sun World Cruise ongoing review/comments


Jim Avery
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Jim,

Here are some additional photos that we took during the trip. I just hope I don’t duplicate any .

 

 

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Mr. Jim Avery:

 

I have enjoyed reading your outstanding reporting on your WC on Viking Sun. During one of your upcoming sea days could you obtain and print the three menus from the alternative dining venue, Chefs Table. I hope that you continue to have a memorable and safe journey.

 

Joel Barry

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Mr. Jim Avery:

 

I have enjoyed reading your outstanding reporting on your WC on Viking Sun. During one of your upcoming sea days could you obtain and print the three menus from the alternative dining venue, Chefs Table. I hope that you continue to have a memorable and safe journey.

 

Joel Barry

 

Not to step on Jim’s toes but there are more than three menus at Chef’s Table, more like 6, maybe 7. Plus the occasional guest chef.

 

We always enjoy it as there are wine pairings with each course. It is amuse bouche, first course, intermezzo(usually a granita) main and dessert. Portions small but ample and if you beg or they like you, you can get more.

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Not to step on Jim’s toes but there are more than three menus at Chef’s Table, more like 6, maybe 7. Plus the occasional guest chef.

 

We always enjoy it as there are wine pairings with each course. It is amuse bouche, first course, intermezzo(usually a granita) main and dessert. Portions small but ample and if you beg or they like you, you can get more.

 

Not at all, please jump in anytime. I am not the best person to do this anyway as I find the Chefs Table offerings a bit too cute for my tastes. And I seem to only be able to post thumbnail pictures, too small to read menus.😎

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Not at all, please jump in anytime. I am not the best person to do this anyway as I find the Chefs Table offerings a bit too cute for my tastes. And I seem to only be able to post thumbnail pictures, too small to read menus.

 

Perhaps this request would merit a thread of its own. I bet quite a few cruise critic members would be interested in seeing these, and it could also increase the possible number of people willing and able to post them.

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Not at all, please jump in anytime. I am not the best person to do this anyway as I find the Chefs Table offerings a bit too cute for my tastes. And I seem to only be able to post thumbnail pictures, too small to read menus.

 

You can post full sized photos by uploading them to a third-party site (like Shutterfly), and then using the insertimage.gif command in the compose window to insert them into your message. Once you upload the images, all you need is the URL for the image, aka "image address" or "Image location" to then paste into the dialog box when you click on the insertimage.gif. E-mail me after Easter if you want more info or help. Or better yet, as Tom.in.nc for help.

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Unbelievable. I would have a major hissy fit if my very expensive world cruise was “a learning experience” for Viking. Unless and until they had several world cruises under their belt I would look at other cruise lines with more experience in world cruises.

 

 

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Thank you for your opinion, we do appreciate it, but we also are exploring the world and sometimes things go wrong . Viking to their credit, after learning of our problems made every effort to keep us safe and comfortable ASAP. I know they’ve learned from this adventure . I’m sure it won’t happen again.

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Am a bit behind so will get back on track with our Bangkok stop. As is, unfortunately, the pattern, we docked in a huge container port at Laem Chabang. A complimentary shuttle service was set up to Pattaya, a beach town reminiscent of Cozumel with massages. Lots of massage parlors. We went in with a couple that lived here 45 years ago! Changed a bit but they were great fun in directing us to a hole in the wall place for Thai food. The real deal. Now we live in Arizona, have lots and lots of Mexican food, grow our own Jalapeños and put Tabasco on darn near everything so we know spicy, right? Wrong! I think my friends tried to kill me...... Great flavors for a few seconds then hold on tight..... Whew! And that was considered "medium". That's going to take some practice. But we had a fun outing and went back "home" fairly early as the next day into Bangkok was to be long. As we arose before sunrise to board yet another bus we were optimistic, having booked the extra cost ($199 p/p) "Bangkok in depth". Only 23 on our bus so a good start. After a 2.5 hour ride we arrived in BK and went to yet another temple. Beautiful place with the large reclining Buddha but very crowded. Little did we know we aint seen crowded yet. Then to the Mandarin Oriental for a nice buffet meal of not so fiery Thai food. After lunch we boarded a boat on the river for a short boat ride to the Grand Palace, home of the Emerald Buddha. This is where the wheels fell off.... The palace had been closed in the morning for some official event. None of the excursions booked for the morning cancelled so we were in a mob scene (estimated by one source at over 50,000 people) of pushing, shoving, people. At this point it became obvious we were not going into the palace so fought (literally) our way to the exit. We had heard of Chinese tourists behavior in Australia, Bali, and others but when we were in China we felt safe and welcomed. Well...... This day there were large mobs of Chinese very aggressively pushing as a mob. We were very happy to exit such a place. Cancelling this stop and a bit of free time in Chinatown would have made such a difference. And, final insult , was that the "included tour" folks did the exact same tour. The only difference for our $199 p/p seemed to be a different restaurant. Pretty pricey buffet. So after such a wonderful experience, I picked up some sort of crud in my sinuses that made us miss the Koh Samui Elephant encounter the next day. As others have said, in four months Life Happens. No real sickness, just sinus and cough. Dr. says not contagious and provided meds so life goes on. A welcome sea day today with two days in Singapore on the horizon. Excited to see Singapore and we have cancelled all Viking shorex replacing with do our own thing. The only downside is we are losing a number of favorite crew heading home for R & R. :cool:

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Well. Come and switch places on the floor next to me and the other WC travelers! Some stuff does happen but this is unprofessional! This whole problem could have been eliminated if our guide checked and confirmed our fights instead of laying by the pool . I will give Viking all the great comments and praise but not this time . They screwed up again !

 

 

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Have been there and done that and understand your position. Guide should have been more helpful. Was it Viking employee? If so their bad otherwise it sounds like they did what they could long distance. Sorry you had such a bad experience.

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Have been there and done that and understand your position. Guide should have been more helpful. Was it Viking employee? If so their bad otherwise it sounds like they did what they could long distance. Sorry you had such a bad experience.

 

 

 

Viking resolved the issues and Viking make everything Ok . It was a trying time for everyone involved including myself . The guide and Viking needed time to solve the issue and things worked out for the best. I think everyone learned a great deal from this event .

 

 

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Sailing away from Singapore on a lovely afternoon. Singapore has been on my wish list ever since childhood. Never made it here during my seagoing career but am amazed at the huge amount of shipping in and around the Singapore area. Last time I saw so many anchored ships was at the Panama Canal entries. Anyway, Singapore exceeded expectations. What a clean and beautiful city after visiting so many cities with heavy pollution and very visible derelict areas. First day we were on our first Kitchen Table excursion and it couldn't have been better. Chef Eric and a great Singaporean guide took us to the Chinatown market where we had sugar cane water with lemon. Refreshing and very different. Then through the market to buy veggies mostly. Chef said the fish did not meet his standards so ok by us. After the shopping Chef Eric wanted to take us for a glass of wine and Lois mentioned wanting to see the Sky Gardens on top of the Marina Bay Beach Resort so that's where he took us. This iconic structure is emphasized in every travel video about Singapore and we had a great time having drinks and snacks high above the city. A marvelous start to the visit. This was our first Kitchen Table so we did not realize we had a private (9 persons) dinner hosted by and prepared by Chef Eric in the private Kitchen Table area on one deck. To put it simply, there was just too much to take in. The food and preparation was outstanding and the paired wines were perfect. Hope we can get on the list for another one of these. And I am not a "foodie" but the experience was over the top. Thanks Chef Eric and Wayan. After a long sleep, we finally managed to head in to town around 10:30 this morning. Just missing the shuttle we took a cab ($10 US) to Chinatown again as we didn't get to see all we wanted the day before. As is our norm, we followed our nose to whatever looked interesting. Eventually it resulted in a few gifts, some jewelry, and my t-shirt. Then there was dim sum and Tiger beer. Again, a successful mission. I hope Eaches has some pictures from the "garden in the sky". Singapore is on the "re do" list for sure. Not sure where we are going tomorrow but we have a long time before more sea days. Who knew how much "work" this trip would be?:eek::cool:

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G’day Jim. I am continuing to follow all posts and am not surprised you enjoyed Hong Kong and Singapore as they are wonderful places to visit. Distance issues with Bangkok and other places have makes it more difficult to enjoy on short stopovers. And Eaches, yes please - more photos. Cheers to all from me. Regards, Frank

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G’day Jim. I am continuing to follow all posts and am not surprised you enjoyed Hong Kong and Singapore as they are wonderful places to visit. Distance issues with Bangkok and other places have makes it more difficult to enjoy on short stopovers. And Eaches, yes please - more photos. Cheers to all from me. Regards, Frank

 

 

 

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I agree in principle with Jim, who said he is cancelling all Viking shore excursions, but we have kept a few, just because I don't think there is much to do in KL in such a short time and it takes more than 45 minutes to get there. Same in Phuket. I'm rethinking the four Indian ports and the rest of the trip. Depends upon how close we dock. My wife and I have been to Singapore around 20 times so we just took the MRT into town the first day for some shopping and noodles, then came back and changed for a string quartet concert at the Esplanade where there is also an excellent hawker centre, appropriately named Glutton's Bay!

 

The second day, we went to Gardens by the Bay and the Maxwell Hawker Centre. Not much to post in the picture department and I have not yet learned Eaches' tricks.

 

We were on another cruise and did Kitchen Table but were leaning against it this trip as they don't really let you cook anything or even have much input in the market. Ours was in Bordeaux but most of the other participants didn't like some of what looked really good in the market. It was still fun, but for $200, I can get a better meal. Anyway, when I inquired early in the cruise (around 1959, I think) I was told they were already sold out.

 

I'm a bit worried about Petra as it was one of our must do things and Jordan isn't as easily accessed as a lot of the other places. I guess I'll at least look online and see what is out there as we have some time to decide. Of course if I do cancel, that's $698 back in the onboard credit bank so I'd have to buy quite a bit of wine.

 

I know the credits are found money but I'd hate to leave anything on the table!

 

From reading and talking with people, the excursions, especially included, are not at all fulfilling. Of the ones we have taken from Viking, the two in Cuba were fine, as was the Panama Canal Locks Expansion. Central America were two out of three OK. I felt French Polynesia was pretty much a dud. Australia and New Zealand were just OK except for the two koala ones which were great. Komodo, Shanghai acrobats and Elephant Encounter were really good, save for people falling down in Komodo.

 

I admit part of it, perhaps a lot, is that, other than one cruise a couple of years ago, we have always traveled on our own, with me doing 98% of the planning, so I don't play well with others.

 

Given the length of the cruise, the distance from many of the ports to the attractions, and the short time we are allotted, it isn't easy to get much done. We were on our own in LA, Sydney, Bali, Manila, Shanghai(except for acrobats), Hong Kong and Saigon and those were our best times so far.

 

The onboard experience has been quite good. We have talked to a lot of our fellow passengers and many of the crew and there are so many interesting stories and shared experiences. It has been fun interacting with the guest entertainers and some of the lecturers and resident musicians and historians.

 

The food is pretty good, all things considered and there is certainly plenty to drink!

 

I think Viking is a good company and they do try to fix things that are perceived to have gone wrong. In any kind of travel, there are unforeseen circumstances that crop up and we should be able to be flexible.

 

We have been to India once and had a private car to Mumbai, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, so I am looking forward to the three new places, especially the food in Goa! Petra and the Suez Canal were a couple of places we always wanted to go so I'm still hoping for good things, and the Mediterranean ports should be interesting as well.

 

The cruise has been a major investment in time as well as money, neither of which I'd be inclined to do in the future, but I wouldn't rule out a shorter cruise to non-bucket list places. Anyway, tomorrow in KL may not be special(I hear they won't let us run across the bridge on the Petronas towers) but the next day is orangutans!

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Just wanted to chip in with my thanks to Jim for starting this thread. It’s such a compact way to hear about the trip from several cruisers. I’m especially pleased that Wagnerite seems to be having such a good time.;)

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SOME INFORMATION ABOUT KUALA LUMPUR (....well, sort of).

 

 

Just some information about "KL" (Kuala Lumpur).

 

*Local Currency is the Malaysian Ringgit

 

*Like Singapore, you will find that in KL, the locals are of different ethnic origins - Malays , Chinese, and Indians.

 

*If you are not interested in going on the coach excursion, you might ask about taking the train from your dock at Port Kelang (Pelabuhan Kelang) to Kuala Lumpur Central Station (KL Sentral). Malaysia has one of the world's CHEAPEST public transport, it's so cheap it sounds ridiculous.

 

*The train fare is only RM6.40 ( about USD 1.70) . They also have a very good transit system and that is even cheaper. They are all air-conditioned and they run a reasonably efficient service. However, still give yourself plenty of time to get back before the ship leaves. (God forbid, if you miss the ship, you could still fly from KL to Penang, the next sotp. There are lots and lots of flights between either of the two airports in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, about 1 hour flying time. And the air fares are again, one of the world's lowest!)

 

* Malaysians are very proud of their cuisine, but some of their foods are "acquired tastes". They like food so much that the locals would say that in Malaysia, they only eat one meal a day - it starts at 7 in the morning and ends at 12 midnight ! Of course, this is a bit of an exaggeration, they are proud of it!

 

*In case you get lost and need to ask for directions, just know that most people speak "Malaysian English", it's English with a local accent with some Chinese and Malay thrown in for good measure. You will usually be able to make out what they are saying (but not always) and they are usually very friendly and eager to help. There are quite a number too who also speak "International" English, as Malaysia has sent millions of students to study the US, the UK , Australia and NZ. Practically every family in the country has at least one relative, if not more, who has studied abroad.

 

*Malaysians of all ages seem to be addicted to smart phones.

 

* Air condition is almost every where. Malaysia is amongst the top ten largest nations which export air conditioners. Some air conditioners are so efficient, especially in shopping malls, you 'd think they have installed a freezer instead of an airconditioning system by mistake!

 

* Malaysian children are often encouraged by their parents to learn to play the piano, and usually, it is classical music which they learnt to play. Having said that, the majority do not seem to have an appreciation of classical music, they just played that for their parents!

 

*As in any foreign country, watch out for pickpockets and the likes.

 

*Like Singapore, KL is also very, very hot. So be aware of that too.

 

*Tucked between the skyscrappers, KL has retained many old buildings built during the colonial times . In Singapore, during the 60's the govt then were so fervent in trying to be "modern", that they pulled down so many old buildings and replaced them with ones that do not have so much character.

 

* Interesting places to visit - the old moorish buidlings eg the old Post Office, and the old KL railway station (this is NOT the new KL central/"sentral" station). Also worth a visit is the Petronas Twin Towers , and you can take a lift to up to get a panoramic view of the city below.

 

*Things in Malaysia are better valued compared to Singapore, and prices are much lower.

 

*The most useful word to use in Malaysia is "TERIMA KASIH" (Thank you). Literrally, it means, I have received your heart. That is why when you did something nice to a Malay and when he said "Terima Kasih", he would use one hand to touch his own heart. The ethnic Indian Malaysians or Chinese Malaysians, however, do not do that (ie they do not touch their hearts when they say thank you).

 

*Talking about neighbouring Singapore being more expensive compared to Malaysia, there is a story which depicted how rich and well-off many Singaporeans are. It mentioned about a group of Singaporean tourists to Australian and who went into a department store. And after that, they have been nicknamed by the store staff as "The Birds". Why, because each time they came into the store and looked at the prices of the goods on sale, they just said "Cheap, cheap" (sounds like Cheep , cheep, made by the birds???!!! Geddit? )

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