Viking ocean cruises vs Seabourn?

Bad food, even just mediocre food, would ruin the cruise for me. I'd rather stay at home.

Absolutely!

Cyber kat, I thought Az was ok, food in the speciality restaurants where we dined was very good, the cocktails were very bad, and the lunches were ok. In all reasonable for what is a premium, not luxury brand. We felt our suite was small and bathroom quite poor too.

Cyber kat, I thought Az was ok, food in the speciality restaurants where we dined was very good, the cocktails were very bad, and the lunches were ok. In all reasonable for what is a premium, not luxury brand. We felt our suite was small and bathroom quite poor too.

I agree, food in specialty restaurants were very good on Azamara and we had one meal at the main restaurant which was good, but tables are very close together which isn’t my favorite, fortunately the folks next to us were awesome. Our cocktails were always good...we had the best drink package and so the same type of gin and bourbon that we use at home, we got on board. Our butler was phenomenal. A Turkish guy ...he was the best butler we have ever had and we normally do Silversea. We had breakfast in the room each morning and it was quite good. Lunch we just did in the buffet...it was fine. Our suite was fantastic! We had a Club Concierge Suite...it was fantastic....we could have stayed in that room for a round the world sailing...it was so comfortable. So if you can afford, it, do it....its great and very pretty as well!

Tarwood, we had the second from top club ocean suite, but the bathroom was very poor. Much prefer my penthouse spa suite on SB.

I had a thought about something else this thread might find interesting. When we boarded Viking Sun, one of the first things I noticed after a few days was the piped in music everywhere. I mean everywhere other than your cabin. Obviously the crew chose the music as it was typically nothing the passenger mix would have been familiar with and was mostly in other languages. And loud. Too loud in many venues to read. I posted about it in my ongoing World Cruise thread and, lo and behold, in a few days the General Manager called me and asked for a meeting. Viking monitors CC very closely and reacts quickly. After stating my case the GM agreed with me and there were several designated music free zones after that and the music on the Pool Deck greatly reduced in volume along with the occasional Buffett songs and some Reggae. Greatly appreciated response, not just me but many passengers had noted the "music". Is Seabourn afflicted by the current trend of needing piped in music in all venues at all times?? Not only ships, seems to be in any public spaces. I think it started in malls and spread to other venues. I prefer the sounds of a ship at sea and conversation with fellow passengers over any type of piped in music. Unless they let me choose. Rolling Stones, Who, etc........:eek::cool:

I had a thought about something else this thread might find interesting. When we boarded Viking Sun, one of the first things I noticed after a few days was the piped in music everywhere. I mean everywhere other than your cabin. Obviously the crew chose the music as it was typically nothing the passenger mix would have been familiar with and was mostly in other languages. And loud. Too loud in many venues to read. I posted about it in my ongoing World Cruise thread and, lo and behold, in a few days the General Manager called me and asked for a meeting. Viking monitors CC very closely and reacts quickly. After stating my case the GM agreed with me and there were several designated music free zones after that and the music on the Pool Deck greatly reduced in volume along with the occasional Buffett songs and some Reggae. Greatly appreciated response, not just me but many passengers had noted the "music". Is Seabourn afflicted by the current trend of needing piped in music in all venues at all times?? Not only ships, seems to be in any public spaces. I think it started in malls and spread to other venues. I prefer the sounds of a ship at sea and conversation with fellow passengers over any type of piped in music. Unless they let me choose. Rolling Stones, Who, etc........:eek::cool:

This is likely a dealbreaker for me (I let the provisional booking that I had on Sky lapse yesterday).

Not yet an issue on Seabourn . It's bad enough sometimes on the pool deck, please don't let them get any ideas about piping it in elsewhere!

There was rarely any music on the pool deck when it was present it was at a low volume level. The loudest music I heard was from the band in the club or the pianists in the Observation bar. Of course the cacophony of power tools and demolition and construction work being done may have covered any music.

I looked at some of the reviews for Viking on these boards. Wow. The passenger responses to people who have issues :eek:

I looked at some of the reviews for Viking on these boards. Wow. The passenger responses to people who have issues :eek:

Yes, there are some rabid fanboys and fangirls. I prefer to think they all have issues at some level and at some time. What gets my attention is how quickly issues are addressed by the lines. One amazing thing, imho, is that the inaugural World Cruise was fully sold out for the full trip. No segments offered or sold. Not sure I have seen that before. And they supposedly have signed up for an additional 10 ships! Total of 16! Will they take all this capacity from other lines? Or will Viking start offering screaming deals? Will be interesting to see how they manage. Not the least is continued good crew manning and training.

Cyber kat, I thought Az was ok, food in the speciality restaurants where we dined was very good, the cocktails were very bad, and the lunches were ok. In all reasonable for what is a premium, not luxury brand. We felt our suite was small and bathroom quite poor too.

Wondering how you can have a bad cocktail [emoji12]. Are these the included cocktails? They do seem a rather odd mix and there seems to be a bit of a kerfuffle going on over on their board about some changes to the included list. We have OBC so we will just get the upgrade package and not worry about it.

Just looking at the photos the room does look small and Im sure I’m going to miss Viking’s lovely bathroom with the big glass enclosed shower.

I’m looking forward to the itinerary on this cruise rather than the ship, but we do have 4 sea days, so I hope it’s nice. We are sailing from NYC and have 3 days/2 nights in Charleston, SC (I’ve never been, but it seems an interesting city) and 2.5 days/2 nights docked in Hamilton, Bermuda (not Dockyard). We love Bermuda and don’t usually cruise there, nor do we visit in April, so this will be a treat.

Still have not found a solid definition of “luxury.” I don’t need a butler, so that doesn’t fit into my definition. I like space, not crowding, nor lines for everything. Viking fits that fine.

I don’t mind a noisy atmosphere if I’m in a fun party mood (which I often am, but when I think of luxury something more subdued and refined comes to mind. Viking ticked that box. We loved the classical trio in the atrium.

We were supremely happy with our Penthouse Veranda and booked the exact same cabin for our next Viking Ocean. Could I conceive of more luxurious surroundings? Perhaps, but as I said, we loved that room. The bed was comfy. We had lots of storage, and the bathroom with the heated floors was quite lovely.

I do think lounging in a deep tub filled with bubbles and fragrant hot water luxurious, but probably, because I don’t do it that often. It’s not something I’m likely to do on a cruise. I won’t be asking Jeeves to draw me a bath, [emoji13] so the shower is fine.

I like having tea. I drink tea quite regularly, but the whole tea service notion ticks another luxury box, if it’s done right. I thought Viking’s tea was splendid. Loved the scones.

I thought their dinner service and the food were excellent. There were one or two things that were not as spectacular, but I think that will happen anywhere.

So I’m still chasing this elusive “luxury” beast. I would like to try Seabourn or Regent. I’m leaning towards Regent. While we love Viking, I don’t like to commit totally to one company. I don’t honestly understand that commitment some seem to make. It’s not a marriage [emoji38]

And I still don’t understand why some exclude Viking from the luxury category. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a luxury line. I guess I really don’t need someone else’s definition of the word when my own will do nicely!

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I looked at some of the reviews for Viking on these boards. Wow. The passenger responses to people who have issues :eek:

I think it depends on what people consider “issues.” I belong to a number of Viking groups in other places that must remain nameless and the things people blame the cruise line for often border on the ridiculous.

One person’s flight was delayed. She wanted Viking to fix the issue - which was a problem with the weather. Another had his seats changed on the flight at the last minute. I have had that happen quite often even when I’m not going on a cruise.

Many issues could be avoided with a little research and reading through the cruise lines website. This applies to most cruises not just those on Viking. Many people create their own problems.

We love Viking. I guess you could say I’m a fan, but they don’t get everything right. I don’t expect them to. I do expect them to fix things, and for the most part they do.

I think every line has a small, but vocal group who go with blind loyalty, but the majority know that even the best lines don’t get things right. Check out the thread on the SilverSea board about their customer service ball drop.

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Cyberkat, Az was the only cruiseline ever to make a drink taste like petrol. Far tooo much alcohol badly mixed ratios of everything else is how a cocktail can be bad. And this happened every time I ordered something. Horrible.

In terms of ratings luxury/premium, viking may be luxury to you, but put simply, officially it isn't classed as such.

Some very strong anti Viking comments on this board, how many of those posters have actually sailed with Viking Ocean?

Our next two cruises are with Viking and we have 100 plus nights on Seabourn,

Different strokes for different folks.

Some very strong anti Viking comments on this board, how many of those posters have actually sailed with Viking Ocean?

 

Our next two cruises are with Viking and we have 100 plus nights on Seabourn,

 

Different strokes for different folks.

How right you are. We thought Viking was extremely good but are next on Seabourn Sojourn. I am sure we will have mostly good to report about both. We have good friends that just love the Behemoth of the Seas... Say there is nothing to do on Seabourn or SeaDream:eek:. Talk about your different strokes. But we go our way and they go theirs. Still good friends. :cool:

What do you consider anti Viking?

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Wondering how you can have a bad cocktail [emoji12]. Are these the included cocktails? They do seem a rather odd mix and there seems to be a bit of a kerfuffle going on over on their board about some changes to the included list. We have OBC so we will just get the upgrade package and not worry about it.

 

Just looking at the photos the room does look small and Im sure I’m going to miss Viking’s lovely bathroom with the big glass enclosed shower.

 

I’m looking forward to the itinerary on this cruise rather than the ship, but we do have 4 sea days, so I hope it’s nice. We are sailing from NYC and have 3 days/2 nights in Charleston, SC (I’ve never been, but it seems an interesting city) and 2.5 days/2 nights docked in Hamilton, Bermuda (not Dockyard). We love Bermuda and don’t usually cruise there, nor do we visit in April, so this will be a treat.

 

Still have not found a solid definition of “luxury.” I don’t need a butler, so that doesn’t fit into my definition. I like space, not crowding, nor lines for everything. Viking fits that fine.

 

I don’t mind a noisy atmosphere if I’m in a fun party mood (which I often am, but when I think of luxury something more subdued and refined comes to mind. Viking ticked that box. We loved the classical trio in the atrium.

 

We were supremely happy with our Penthouse Veranda and booked the exact same cabin for our next Viking Ocean. Could I conceive of more luxurious surroundings? Perhaps, but as I said, we loved that room. The bed was comfy. We had lots of storage, and the bathroom with the heated floors was quite lovely.

 

I do think lounging in a deep tub filled with bubbles and fragrant hot water luxurious, but probably, because I don’t do it that often. It’s not something I’m likely to do on a cruise. I won’t be asking Jeeves to draw me a bath, [emoji13] so the shower is fine.

 

I like having tea. I drink tea quite regularly, but the whole tea service notion ticks another luxury box, if it’s done right. I thought Viking’s tea was splendid. Loved the scones.

 

I thought their dinner service and the food were excellent. There were one or two things that were not as spectacular, but I think that will happen anywhere.

 

So I’m still chasing this elusive “luxury” beast. I would like to try Seabourn or Regent. I’m leaning towards Regent. While we love Viking, I don’t like to commit totally to one company. I don’t honestly understand that commitment some seem to make. It’s not a marriage [emoji38]

 

And I still don’t understand why some exclude Viking from the luxury category. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a luxury line. I guess I really don’t need someone else’s definition of the word when my own will do nicely!

 

 

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Well said.

For me luxury has to do with the service first and the trappings second. I like being treated as a honoured guest, not just a passenger.

Part of that for me is that the fare is all inclusive. I can’t be arsed with worrying about drinks packages or being up sold on services. I also can’t be bothered worrying about the perks of cabin classes or loyalty programs. Fair enough one might get a bigger cabin if one wants more space, but that shouldn’t entail perks of any other kind. Such things ruin the ambience of the ship.

Well said.

 

For me luxury has to do with the service first and the trappings second. I like being treated as a honoured guest, not just a passenger.

 

Part of that for me is that the fare is all inclusive. I can’t be arsed with worrying about drinks packages or being up sold on services. I also can’t be bothered worrying about the perks of cabin classes or loyalty programs. Fair enough one might get a bigger cabin if one wants more space, but that shouldn’t entail perks of any other kind. Such things ruin the ambience of the ship.

That kind of fits with my definition. I do really appreciate extraordinary service. I think that does take the experience up quite a few notches.

I also completely agree with the perks of cabin class and loyalty programs. Everyone should get the same level of service, the same quality shipboard experience. If you pay for a better room, you get a better room.

I’m not so much bothered by upgrade drink packages as long as there is no hard sell. Some people drink and some don’t, so I can see paying more to have a greater variety or better quality.

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Thanks all to those who responded to our original post. It made for interesting and quite humorous reading to look at the "differences" and "similarities" between the two lines.:D

It's nice to try something else occasionally if only to see what there is in the market. So, what we have drawn from this is we have a collective "ideal"...

smallish ship

Seabourn suites

intuitive service

good food

free wifi

covered pool area for colder climes

some included excursions

possibly no children or casinos (not a deal breaker)

included drinks package

good cocktail repertoire

great itinerary

value for money

There were quite a few points mentioned in favour of Viking experiences that did appeal. We may give it a try at some stage. We have tried Azamara and that was terrific for the 35 days we did. It's nice to know if a special comes up you have a feel for the offering and can weigh the pros and cons.

However, I don't think we quite solved the Mercedes v Honda v BMW v Audi problem - nor will we :')

Wondering how you can have a bad cocktail [emoji12]. Are these the included cocktails? They do seem a rather odd mix and there seems to be a bit of a kerfuffle going on over on their board about some changes to the included list. We have OBC so we will just get the upgrade package and not worry about it.

 

Just looking at the photos the room does look small and Im sure I’m going to miss Viking’s lovely bathroom with the big glass enclosed shower.

 

I’m looking forward to the itinerary on this cruise rather than the ship, but we do have 4 sea days, so I hope it’s nice. We are sailing from NYC and have 3 days/2 nights in Charleston, SC (I’ve never been, but it seems an interesting city) and 2.5 days/2 nights docked in Hamilton, Bermuda (not Dockyard). We love Bermuda and don’t usually cruise there, nor do we visit in April, so this will be a treat.

 

Still have not found a solid definition of “luxury.” I don’t need a butler, so that doesn’t fit into my definition. I like space, not crowding, nor lines for everything. Viking fits that fine.

 

I don’t mind a noisy atmosphere if I’m in a fun party mood (which I often am, but when I think of luxury something more subdued and refined comes to mind. Viking ticked that box. We loved the classical trio in the atrium.

 

We were supremely happy with our Penthouse Veranda and booked the exact same cabin for our next Viking Ocean. Could I conceive of more luxurious surroundings? Perhaps, but as I said, we loved that room. The bed was comfy. We had lots of storage, and the bathroom with the heated floors was quite lovely.

 

I do think lounging in a deep tub filled with bubbles and fragrant hot water luxurious, but probably, because I don’t do it that often. It’s not something I’m likely to do on a cruise. I won’t be asking Jeeves to draw me a bath, [emoji13] so the shower is fine.

 

I like having tea. I drink tea quite regularly, but the whole tea service notion ticks another luxury box, if it’s done right. I thought Viking’s tea was splendid. Loved the scones.

 

I thought their dinner service and the food were excellent. There were one or two things that were not as spectacular, but I think that will happen anywhere.

 

So I’m still chasing this elusive “luxury” beast. I would like to try Seabourn or Regent. I’m leaning towards Regent. While we love Viking, I don’t like to commit totally to one company. I don’t honestly understand that commitment some seem to make. It’s not a marriage [emoji38]

 

And I still don’t understand why some exclude Viking from the luxury category. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a luxury line. I guess I really don’t need someone else’s definition of the word when my own will do nicely!

 

 

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Fantastic response ! Well said! As much as we like our Silversea , Azamara and soon Seabourn...we also love our Celebrity....sometimes I wonder if the folks who are so completely adamant about the difference between luxury and ultra luxury really stems from just an ego thing...We have had amazing cruises on non ultra luxury...its a shame some take the stance of looking down their nose to anything below what they perceive to be the pinnacle of luxury...

We are looking seriously at Viking cruises and we have sailed all the luxury lines. Years ago we had great sailing on the now old Celebrity Galaxy to Alaska. We have heard excellent reports on Viking Ocean ship...the only downside for us is we love a casino, but heck we can save our money and enjoy the ship and meeting other people for entertainment and new friends.

I have cruised all the luxury lines. Also Windstar, Oceania and Azamara. I also have 25 cruises on Celebrity. Looking forward to my 2020 booking on Celebrity Edge as I think it will be a smashing change. I love all of these lines for different reasons. So lucky to have these great choices.

I have cruised all the luxury lines. Also Windstar, Oceania and Azamara. I also have 25 cruises on Celebrity. Looking forward to my 2020 booking on Celebrity Edge as I think it will be a smashing change. I love all of these lines for different reasons. So lucky to have these great choices.

Great attitude! Now that’s what I like to see on here! Someone with an open mind to new and different experiences! That’s what Travel is all about, exploring different places people and things and enjoying them for what they are....

While our first Seabourn cruise won't be until 2019, I'd like to jump in to reinforce Cyber Kat's (and others) positive reviews on Viking Ocean. We were blown away by the onboard experience of our recent Viking transatlantic ... after having sailed previously with Crystal and once on Regent (Explorer). I've written at length about our impressions on other boards (Viking and Ocean), so won't repeat them here.

While on board, we booked our next Viking cruise - on a long sold-out itinerary (nearly 2 years in advance!) - when a spot suddenly opened up. The basic veranda cabin will cost us as much as our Seabourn cruise in 2019, and much more than our previous Crystal cruises. I don't know where Viking Ocean draws its customers from, but they definitely have a passionate following.

While our first Seabourn cruise won't be until 2019, I'd like to jump in to reinforce Cyber Kat's (and others) positive reviews on Viking Ocean. We were blown away by the onboard experience of our recent Viking transatlantic ... after having sailed previously with Crystal and once on Regent (Explorer). I've written at length about our impressions on other boards (Viking and Ocean), so won't repeat them here.

 

While on board, we booked our next Viking cruise - on a long sold-out itinerary (nearly 2 years in advance!) - when a spot suddenly opened up. The basic veranda cabin will cost us as much as our Seabourn cruise in 2019, and much more than our previous Crystal cruises. I don't know where Viking Ocean draws its customers from, but they definitely have a passionate following.

We have sailed Seabourn before and are heading for the Sojourn in a couple of weeks so do like Seabourn a lot. Having said that, we share your enthusiasm for Viking Oceans. On Viking Sun we had a fantastic crew. Loved the decor and layout of the ship, and were very happy with the food choices. It is almost silly to look at Viking's website. Almost everything seems to sell out way in advance. We are more of the look around at the 6 months mark and book around 90 days out. Someone is always cancelling for some reason. Like you we wish Viking well and hope they can maintain the quality with the very ambitious expansion. :cool:

Currently onboard Sojourn in Alaska. Having a great trip so far. Will try to answer theOP’s original question when we get home. So far more similarities than differences. Off to Skagway. 😎