Basic Viking Evening Info Wanted

[hawkeye65]

We'll be on a Viking Grand European cruise in June. We've been on a number of ocean cruises, but this will be our first river cruise so we lack a lot of river cruising basic knowledge. I've been following this forum for a few weeks and read the FAQS on the Viking website and still am unsure of the evening routine. This is what I THINK happens. Please confirm or correct.

 

Prior to dinner we meet in a lounge and the cruise director tells us what happens the next day. Afterwards we go into the dining room for dinner. How long does dinner normally last? I'm sure the socializing over dinner extends the eat-and-run time. If we get a glass of wine in the lounge just prior to dinner is that considered part of the wine with dinner or goes on our tab? After dinner is there any other activity? Entertainment or socializing or does everyone head back to their cabins for a good night's sleep?

 

As I said, really really basic info that any veterans would already know.

 

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[alexkrn46]

Yes you have it right, dinner is very long and will be over around 9pm. They have a musician who will play music. Some nights they have. A glass blower, singers , games after supper.

[mhb1757]

If you get wine at the bar before dinner it goes on your tab. Usually once and sometimes twice a week they will have some kind of a reception before dinner and they will pass complimentary beverages at those. Dinner usually lasts 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Every evening there is something offered for entertainment after dinner. Some nights better than others, but honestly most nights we were tired from a long day of touring and heading back to the cabin for a movie and rest sounded better than the evening entertainment in the lounge!

[TravelerThom]

Typically your waiter (who is hoping for a good tip) will be generous in filling your wine glass. Many people walk out of dinner with a recently filled glass of wine that is included with dinner (no charge unless you order another in the bar).

[terry&mike]

Yes, agree, as you said. Our habit is to go to the lounge and get a cocktail, they have a full bar and usually have a drink of the day which is sometimes fun to try, hubby likes a scotch, yes, this goes on your tab, although you can purchase a Silver Spirits package which makes all drinks included, but I haven't found value here. We then enjoy our drinks, listen to a bit of piano music, listen to the program for tomorrow, usually the chef comes in and discusses the dinner selections. Oftentimes they talk about what the after dinner entertainment will be, or optional things that might be happening tomorrow.

Dinner usually takes 1.5-2 hours. A lot of this depends on us and who we are sitting with. We may just enjoy dinner, some talk, and be out in about 1.5 hours. We may be having a great time and the dinner and conversation, with the wine flowing, goes on for 2 hours - 2.25 hours.

The evening entertainment may be someone they have brought in from a port to discuss a topic connected to the area, or the time of year traditions, or it may be local musical entertainment, might just be piano, or dancing.

Unless the after dinner program is very interesting, we usually head back to our cabin and relax with TV, reading, etc and call it a night, as we are usually tired, and many times there is a morning walking tour scheduled in the next port.

I find the wine pouring at lunch and dinner to also be ample and generous.

[HokiePoq]

Really appreciate this thread, OP. Could one of the responders add what type of attire is expected at dinner?

We've been on many ocean cruises but going on our first river cruise (Viking) in June.

Thanks in advance.

[TravelerThom]

Really appreciate this thread, OP. Could one of the responders add what type of attire is expected at dinner? We've been on many ocean cruises but going on our first river cruise (Viking) in June.

Generally you can get in with any reasonable attire including shorts, but I will also list Viking's FAQ which request long pants. It's air-conditioned; I always wear long pants.

 

Thom

 

Is There A “Dress Code” On The Ship?

Dress during the day is casual including shorts (if the season is warm), trousers or jeans and comfortable shoes for walking tours. There are no “formal nights” and recommended evening dress is “elegant casual” such as a dress, skirt or slacks with a sweater or blouse for ladies; for gentlemen, trousers and a collared shirt. Ties and jackets are optional. We suggest you pack comfortable walking shoes, dressier shoes, a collapsible umbrella/lightweight rain gear; items you can layer like lightweight jackets/sweaters; sunglasses, a sun hat/visor, sunscreen; and toiletries including a travel-sized hand sanitizer. Depending on the season and destination, you may also want to add a warm coat, gloves and water-resistant footwear.

 

 

[Clay Clayton]

Agree with all the PPs, just wanted to add that we really enjoyed our dinner in the Aquavit Terrace one evening. We got very personal service - at some point the chef came up the stairs (they come directly from the kitchen) and checked in, noticed I really liked a sauce or something and next thing I knew, there was more of it on my table!

[milling73]

We were just on the Viking Baldur. We have found on river cruises, there is no set dinner attire, even at the Captain's dinner. Some will change to suit coat, dresses, to men in khakis / jeans and women in slacks & sweater or tunics / leggings. It really is your choice based on what you prefer -- if you like to dress up that is fine. If you packed more limited, that is fine too. Each night there was a wide-range of attire, and not everyone changed clothes for dinner.

 

Also there are 2 dinner options: the main dining room for the menu / much longer meal. Or the terrace dining for a smaller buffet (no menu). Those who ate there, definitely went casual. We ate there several nights and thoroughly enjoyed it.

[glmschlaglp]

If you dine on the Aquavit Terrace, it generally takes a lot less time than it does in the dining room. That was one of the reasons we chose to do that.

[mhb1757]

The Aquavit Terrace is not buffet at dinner, only at breakfast and lunch. But at dinner it is a great alternative to the dining room. It is quiet and low key. It has tables for 2 and 4 so you don't need to share if you aren't in the mood to socialize. The menu is pretty much the same as the dining room with a few less choices. Dinner can be much faster there than the dining room but you are welcome to take your time too.

Service has been excellent in all dining venues on Viking in our experience. And feel free to dress up or down at dinner. No one seemed concerned about what anyone else was wearing. We have always cruised in cooler weather so shorts have never been an issue.

[chlives60]

We have been on 4 Viking river cruises and as for dinner attire some nights most people don't change from what they wore on shore, jeans, capris, but for captain night I put a nice top and dress pants (black pants) but no real dress code, very casual, and you can ask the waiter to fill your glass and take it up to the lounge. On the Portugal cruise I loved the "green" verde wine and my husband liked the bitburg beer and we would ask for it at lunch, dinner and always got it. We found people we liked on each cruise and ended up sharing time with them, some we still vacation with. I think the lounge time is a great time to meet some very interesting people. Entertainment is low key, from dance contests, to local groups and the house piano player. days are very busy so come 11pm the lounge emptied out but he will stay and play till the last person leaves.

[MadcityTravelers]

We had a wonderful 1st time Viking River Cruise (Kara Amsterdam to Basel 3/26-4/02) and dinner was a great way to relax and re-group after a busy day ashore. By the 2nd night, we'd ended up with a friendly group of 2 other couples and had dinner with them for the rest of the cruise. We skipped most of the Cruise Director's presentation, as the daily newsletter was clear on the following day's activities. I, too, saw no value in the Silver Spirits Package, as the prices for drinks at the bar are very reasonable and the wine/beer flowed freely at lunch and dinner.

[CutieKakes]

As others have indicated...yes, if you have a glass of wine in the lounge before dinner, it goes on your tab. My husband and I didn't purchase the spirits package - we knew we wouldn't drink enough outside of meals that it would be worth it for us.

 

Dinner in the main dining room will last probably last around 2 hours - at least it did for us, we met some great people the first day and met up for dinner at the same table each night...so for us it lasted 2 hours! Ha! Afterwards, if there was an evening program, it really only lasted about 30-45 minutes and then the rest of the time we would socialize in the lounge (big chunk of people seemed to do this), or go back to our room. A few times, if we weren't sailing that night, we would walk into the town where we were docked after dinner. The lounge bar on our ship seemed to stay open until everyone left (didn't necessarily close down at 11pm).

 

I can only go by our own experience, but on our river cruise most folks appeared to change for dinner. Women wore slacks and various tops (some women in dresses/skirts) and the men wore slacks or khakis with button down shirts (no neckties, but I spotted a few men wearing sportcoats/blazers). I didn't notice anyone in jeans at dinner in the main dining room, but Viking is pretty casual overall, it's not something my husband and I would personally wear for dinner, but I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem. I would call what folks wore on our cruise business casual/dressy casual.

Edited April 10, 2017 by CutieKakes

[goldenrod]

We are currently on the Viking Embla Amsterdam to Bucharest we are in day 7. We have done 36 ocean cruises, this is our first river cruise, we have decided it's much to structured for us! We like anytime dining this 7 pm dinner every night is bad you get back to the ship from an all day tour and you don't have any time to relax and some drinks, cause dinner is at seven! You have no other options no room service you miss dinner your next meal is breakfast period! We're in a suite but hardly any storage space. This will be our first and last River cruise and the food has also been lousy!

 

 

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[beanpittsburgh]

To each their own. We are just the opposite - we will never take another ocean cruise. Too boring with days at sea, expensive drinks, and too much food.

[TravelerThom]

When I was in school the joke was that the food was inedible and there wasn't enough of it. I have never found that true on any of the 20 some river cruises I have taken, but some people can be determined to have a bad experience after not having done research.

[mhb1757]

We are currently on the Viking Embla Amsterdam to Bucharest we are in day 7. We have done 36 ocean cruises, this is our first river cruise, we have decided it's much to structured for us! We like anytime dining this 7 pm dinner every night is bad you get back to the ship from an all day tour and you don't have any time to relax and some drinks, cause dinner is at seven! You have no other options no room service you miss dinner your next meal is breakfast period! We're in a suite but hardly any storage space. This will be our first and last River cruise and the food has also been lousy!

 

 

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If you don't want to eat at 7, then go to the Aquavit Terrace. You can go there later which will give you time to relax a bit after your day and then have dinner there. Although it seems you are pretty determined to be unhappy and I'd hate to mess that up for you. ;);)

[acwmom]

We are currently on the Viking Embla Amsterdam to Bucharest we are in day 7. We have done 36 ocean cruises, this is our first river cruise, we have decided it's much to structured for us! We like anytime dining this 7 pm dinner every night is bad you get back to the ship from an all day tour and you don't have any time to relax and some drinks, cause dinner is at seven! You have no other options no room service you miss dinner your next meal is breakfast period! We're in a suite but hardly any storage space. This will be our first and last River cruise and the food has also been lousy!

 

 

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With Uniworld, you can dine when you want. One night, we were enjoying some evening sailing, on the top deck, and wanted to experience going through one of the locks. Neither the couple we were conversing with, or ourselves, were ready for dinner, and we ended up not entering the dining room until 8:30.....no problem! And, a suite on Uniworld gets you butler service, and room service. We had fish and chips one day for lunch, and it was incredible!

 

Robin

[Mark_T]

With Uniworld, you can dine when you want. One night, we were enjoying some evening sailing, on the top deck, and wanted to experience going through one of the locks. Neither the couple we were conversing with, or ourselves, were ready for dinner, and we ended up not entering the dining room until 8:30.....no problem! And, a suite on Uniworld gets you butler service, and room service. We had fish and chips one day for lunch, and it was incredible!

 

... but the ship would still be on a river and it would seem likely that would be enough to render even the best that Uniworld have to offer completely unacceptable to this poster...

 

We will learn little about Viking Embla and much about the poster over the next few days I suspect...

[hawkeye65]

I'm the OP and I'm back with a related question. I don't have much of a head for alcohol. A pre-dinner drink in the lounge then free-flowing wine in the dining room will not end well for me. I can't be the only one who won't be having a pre-dinner alcoholic drink. If you're not drinking booze, is there something else everyone else is having? To complicate matters, I don't like sodas. Will I be the only one with empty hands? Any advice?

 

 

 

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[Cyber Kat]

I don't know what everyone else was having - quite frankly I wasn't paying attention. I usually had a glass of wine and stopped when I didn't want more with dinner. They don't force you to drink more than you care to.

 

There's coffee and tea available 24/7 and I would think since they have orange juice available at breakfast and iced tea at lunch those would be available as well. There's also spring water - still and sparkling. Not sure what else you had in mind.

 

 

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[TravelerThom]

.... I can't be the only one who won't be having a pre-dinner alcoholic drink. If you're not drinking booze, is there something else everyone else is having? To complicate matters, I don't like sodas. Will I be the only one with empty hands? Any advice?

I often have empty hands at the pre-dinner port talk. Sometimes I get a cup of herbal tea. Lots of people will have cocktails, but it is not a frat party where everyone is encouraging you to get drunk. There will be waitresses coming around asking if you want a drink, but a simple "no thank you" works - no pressure, no dirty looks. This is not like a regular bar where you are expected to buy or move on. Tipping is at the end of the cruise and not usually by the drink, so the staff incentive is to have you happy rather than push drinks. No worries.

[Floridiana]

If the ship is anywhere near Germany or Austria, they will/should have sparkling fruit juice = apple, rhubarb, red or black currant juice mixed with sparkling mineral water.

[hawkeye65]

If the ship is anywhere near Germany or Austria, they will/should have sparkling fruit juice = apple, rhubarb, red or black currant juice mixed with sparkling mineral water.

I like this idea. In the U.S. it's called a fruit spritzer. I'll ask.

 

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