Viking vs Regent? Really?

[Travelcat2]

On another thread Mr. Rumor posted his opinion on this subject. It sounded as if he thinks that Viking River Cruises could be competition to Regent.

 

IMO, once the hoopla is over, Viking will end up to be more competition to Oceania than Regent. Not impressed with suite size or ship size. Wine and beer only included. No idea of the quality of wine or alcohol available on the package. There is only one included excursion for the ports that I checked and they were walking tours. We were excited about Viking for about 5 minutes.

 

Any comments?

[I&J Cruisers]

Haven't been on any river cruises but I've researched them. Viking is not one of the best. Why would their venture into ocean cruising be any better.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[nana541]

On another thread Mr. Rumor posted his opinion on this subject. It sounded as if he thinks that Viking River Cruises could be competition to Regent.

 

 

 

IMO, once the hoopla is over, Viking will end up to be more competition to Oceania than Regent. Not impressed with suite size or ship size. Wine and beer only included. No idea of the quality of wine or alcohol available on the package. There is only one included excursion for the ports that I checked and they were walking tours. We were excited about Viking for about 5 minutes.

 

 

 

Any comments?

 

 

Hi Jackie....I about spit out my coffee when I saw your Thread, and I echo the "Viking, Really???" ! I have been researching river cruises for the last 2 yrs (have one booked too) and after all that research the one thing I know for sure without ever setting foot on a Viking ship is that Regent will never have to worry about being compared to Viking!

 

I think I'm pretty safe in saying that on the rivers of Europe Viking is the Mass Market provider of river cruise cabins. Nice ships that are packed to the gills with as many cabins as they can possibly cram into one of their "Long Boats" and still fit thru the locks. There are many satisfied Viking river cruisers and I won't say I would never sail with them but unless circumstances were really right, Viking would never be my first choice. #1 reason 200 passengers vs 140 to 160.

 

Ok back to my coffee :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Travelcat2]

Guess I shouldn't post so late at night (and on my Kindle). Mr. Rumor was talking about Viking "Ocean" cruises. They have three new ships coming out. Check out their website. From my perspective, it looked really good until I checked deeper into the cruises. Not criticizing them by any means -- new ships -- included wine and beer -- low level excursions included, etc. They just will not be competition to Regent in my opinion. Here is the link http://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/

Edited June 2, 2014 by Travelcat2

[TedC]

I checked Viking cruises out but I think I'll stick with Regent IF they are affordable.

[nana541]

TC - I knew you were talking about Vikings venture into ocean cruising. I just knew that based in their river cruise operation and how it worked on the rivers of Europe I was not likely to be attracted to their "crossover" ocean product!

 

Then of course there is the issue of Viking requiring payment in full almost immediately after booking, even if the sailing is 12+ or more away!

 

Just my two cents ;)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Travelcat2]

I didn't realize that they required payment so soon. Just looked at the overview of amenities and they remind me very much of Oceania........ priority embarkation, number of times you can make reservations in a specialty restaurant, etc. I remember that priority embarkation for upper suites was one of the reasons I almost left Regent. The two amenities that were impressive was dry cleaning and laundry in the upper suites. That is better than Silversea and better than Regent's Platinum level. As we all know, there is much more to a luxury product than just amenities.

 

The prices are really good at the moment and they probably will get some Oceania and some Regent customers to try it out. In the long run, it still looks more like a upper premium product rather than a luxury one. Time will tell.

[wripro]

Personally, I don't understand why anyone would care if someone else compares one line to another. If it makes them happy to do so, let them!

[Travelcat2]

Personally, I don't understand why anyone would care if someone else compares one line to another. If it makes them happy to do so, let them!

 

I care because I'm interested in learning if Regent customers are tempted to try these new ships? Guess I'm just a curious person.

[TedC]

I LIKE comparisons - I can always learn something - they are very helpful for all!

[Patti22]

I just finished watching the Viking video of the Star. Looks like a very nice ship with large public spaces (928 passengers), nice suites and restaurants. We would need to wait for her debut and learn about ambiance, crew, food, included items, etc. Only time will tell.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'm definitely taking a wait and see attitude. Surprised they don't even debut the first ship until 2015--sure is a lot of hype! And I doubt very much if I would want to pay for a cruise in full a couple of years out--there'd have to be some powerful incentive to do so.

[LipBalmAddict]

My husband and I just returned from our 1st Viking river cruise, having sailed twice previously with Regent (as per signature).

 

We were very impressed with Viking, and we are sailing again with them to Myanmar later this year. We are also interested in their China cruise. But we travel for destinations, and we feel that those particular destinations are best visited via a river cruise (for us).

 

During our recent river cruise, I attended a presentation about the upcoming Viking Ocean cruises and I also flicked through the Ocean cruise catalog. None of the itineraries appealed to me, but if any of them did, I would consider Viking because I think they do a great job of exploring the destinations visited.

Edited June 2, 2014 by LipBalmAddict

[Sunprince]

TC - I knew you were talking about Vikings venture into ocean cruising. I just knew that based in their river cruise operation and how it worked on the rivers of Europe I was not likely to be attracted to their "crossover" ocean product!

 

Then of course there is the issue of Viking requiring payment in full almost immediately after booking, even if the sailing is 12+ or more away!

 

Just my two cents ;)

 

 

Here are the Terms and Conditions from the Viking Website. Last line does say payment terms may be different for promotions, but normal terms is payment 90 days prior to sailing

 

PAYMENT POLICY

A deposit for cruise/land of $500 per person is required to secure a confirmed reservation. When more than one cruise is booked, deposit and payment policies apply per cruise. The final balance is due no later than 90 days prior to sailing. All reservations are subject to cancellation if payments are not received by the due date. Air seats are limited; airfares are subject to change and are not guaranteed until full payment of air is received. Upon full payment by the participant(s) of the amount specified as the Full Fare (see Invoice), Viking Cruises agrees to arrange for the provision of the services as described herein and as modified by supplementary materials. Upon either booking the cruise, receipt of your deposit or full payment or upon the issuance of the Passenger Ticket Contract directly or by a travel agent or upon receipt of a confirmation letter or final Invoice from us, both the Passenger and the Carrier will be fully bound by all of the terms and conditions of the Passenger Ticket Contract. Promotions and special offers may have different payment terms – please refer to promotion or special offers.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

... Last line does say payment terms may be different for promotions, but normal terms is payment 90 days prior to sailing

...

 

Yes, I am assuming that these rules about paying up front far in advance have to do with promo discounts. I know they do this on their river cruises too, which is a turn-off for me.

[Carol From California]

We booked one of the Viking ocean cruises for 2015. We actually booked it when they first announced they were building the ship over a year ago. The particular itinerary we booked has been sold out for months.

 

We just went on our first Viking river cruise (China) and it was a fantastic trip overall.

 

We have cruised with Regent a few times and will probably cruise with them again. We are also going on our first Viking river cruise in Europe this August.

[nana541]

 

 

 

Yes, I am assuming that these rules about paying up front far in advance have to do with promo discounts. I know they do this on their river cruises too, which is a turn-off for me.

 

 

I believe this is exactly the deal! I do not like that kind of "arm twisting".

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[RachelG]

I had signed up for a cruise on the new Viking ocean ship when the info first came out last year. However, we cancelled when we learned final payment would be due January 1 2014 ( this past January) for a cruise in June 2015 when the ship hadn't even been built yet. A year and a half in advance is just ridiculous.

[jhp]

I have done only cursory research into this new ocean line, and doubt that it will meet the standards of the old Royal Viking Line, which must have been pretty special.

 

I would love to hear xrvlcruiser's comments; Peggy, what are your expectations, since you have so many experiences on the "old" line of ocean cruising ships?

[Keith1010]

TC, I think that anytime you have a cruise line such as Viking that it does provide competition for business even from the luxury lines. You have people who might try it out because it is new or because they want to spend a little less money than on a luxury line based on their budget. The same is true of river cruises which are taking some business away from traditional cruise lines including luxury lines.

 

At the same time it is an opportunity as sometimes a new line brings people to the cruising fold who ultimately become future cruises on other lines. The same applies to river cruises that are actually bringing new cruisers to the fold who have never cruised before.

 

I am reminded that even Carnival Cruise lines has made the entire cruise industry successful because of all of the advertising they did in the early years (The Love Boat TV Series in the USA featuring a Princess ship also deserves a lot of credit) and they also bring new people to the fold who at their stages of their lives can't afford a luxury line but years later do.

 

If Viking provides a premium or above cruise experience yes they will be competition to all of the luxury lines, including Regent, But, as a consumer, that is all good. Isn't it?

 

Keith

Edited June 3, 2014 by Keith1010

[DeepFreeze63]

We've loved our 5 Regent cruises; 2 more booked. We also loved our two Viking river cruises to Holland and Russia (one of our top ten vacations ever). Ocean and river cruises are different experiences. I've scanned Vikings info on their venture into ocean cruises and decided that we would enjoy Regent more. However, I wish Viking Ocean well as I like competition in what I am purchasing.

[Host Dan]

I think its a bit premature to start a thread comparing Regent with Viking Ocean cruises, don't you think??

[Travelcat2]

Yeah -- think you're right. All we have to go on is their website.

[wripro]

I have done only cursory research into this new ocean line, and doubt that it will meet the standards of the old Royal Viking Line, which must have been pretty special.

 

I would love to hear xrvlcruiser's comments; Peggy, what are your expectations, since you have so many experiences on the "old" line of ocean cruising ships?

 

Viking has nothing to do with Royal Viking. Very little today probably compares to Royal Viking.

[xrvlcruiser]

At this point, I have no plans to sail on Viking - I'm enjoying the names of the ships though.

 

One RVL perk I enjoy still is meeting people - both passengers and crew - on other lines who are ex-RVL people. Nice to talk about old times and to find out about old friends.

 

Peggy