Food on Viking Embla is horrible

[Roz]

Rhonpat,

 

Thank you for posting your first hand impressions and experience.

 

Roz

[Shmoo here]

Just read this thread with interest as my sister and I were on this very cruise, although our cruise ended in Budapest. I have been on over 20 ocean cruises like Princess, RCI, Carnival, Disney, NCI, Holland America and thought the food on Viking was similar. Some nights were hits some nights just ok. I have never been on a real expensive line like Reagent or Oceana so their food might be superior. Menu I think caters to the American palate which suited my less adventurous sister. They did have a few regional dishes and one night they had a German buffet which was very good. Overall I would give Vikings food a 6-7, but were satisfied that we had a variety of foods to choose from, plus salmon, chicken, or ribeye if we didn't like the nights selection. I really liked their ships and thought they looked nicer than some of the other ships on the rivers. One advantage is they have many ships at their disposal and they can transfer you to another ship with the exact same layout if they can't get under a bridge. That didn't happen to us but at least they have that capability which is reassuring. I wouldn't hesitate to travel with them again. Just find an itinerary you like and go for it!

 

I guess you weren't one of the 35 other cruisers who felt the food was absolutely terrible, as reported by goldenrod.

 

Thanks for your "other side of the picture" review.

[CoralReef]

I will say that I find it difficult to believe that the food was "garbage" for the whole 23 days - 3 meals a day, with 2 venues to eat at. And I would find it difficult to believe for any cruise line - river or ocean. Seriously - every meal that bad? JMO on the subject.

 

Kat, all I can say is that, unlike the OP, you were INCREDIBLY lucky never to be offered a pastrami sandwich with dressing on both sides . How horrible that would have been for you. :')

 

Thank you for this excellent post, and for your trip report, which I enjoyed.

[SuiteTraveler]

There have been some things the chef on goldenrod's cruise did that I find very strange. Pretty much every chef knows that you don't send out a menu with items on it that are not available as to do so is to basically insure you will have lots of angry customers. If lobster and scallops were not delivered by the distributor, I would have removed those menu items and printed new menus that didn't mention them. If it was not possible to print new menus before dinner service, then I would have had the waitstaff tell the menu of the evening to the customers rather than present them menus that contained food that I couldn't serve. But what I don't know is what Viking allows their chefs to do. Perhaps he is not allowed to change the menu - which is a major problem when the distributor fails him. In that situation, the chef should get off the ship and go buy something he can prepare as an alternative. This is where being a large cruise line could be a hinderance, as the chef might not be allowed to do that due to budget constraints.

[HokiePoq]

Amen to this! Live every day like it will be your last! I firmly believe that finding the positive rather than the negative makes you happier! I choose happy every time!

 

Thanks, CyberKat for your longer post on Viking. Our first river cruise (on Viking) is in about a month.

And thanks to the person who warned about the scrum....would never have expected this.

[TravelerThom]

There have been some things the chef on goldenrod's cruise did that I find very strange...

WHY do you believe this? These are things ALLEGED to have happened as reported by an individual who by his own admission promised not to disclose information that he then turned around and disclosed. IMO the OP's credibility is extremely low and anything and everything he has reported is questionable until proved.

[Host Jazzbeau]

WHY do you believe this? These are things ALLEGED to have happened as reported by an individual who by his own admission promised not to disclose information that he then turned around and disclosed. IMO the OP's credibility is extremely low and anything and everything he has reported is questionable until proved.

 

OP stated that he did NOT sign anything about non-disclosure. I have seen several threads that allege or speculate that he did, but please point us to the post on which you are relying with his "own admission."

[Squigmond]

post # 217 and post #334. 217 made the promise and 334 broke the promise.

[TravelerThom]

OP stated that he did NOT sign anything about non-disclosure. I have seen several threads that allege or speculate that he did, but please point us to the post on which you are relying with his "own admission."

In the post you quoted I did not say that he signed anything. If you read post #217 the OP said "We were given other perks which I promised not to disclose,..." I think my previous post correctly states the facts.

[rhonpat]

If my memory is correct, I recall that nights menu listed as "surf and turf" with no detail of what was included. The other main selection was swordfish, which is what everyone at my table had. It was very good. Since no one ordered the surf/turf, no one bothered to ask the waiter what it included. Perhaps that is what the waiter stated it would be. If that was the case I would have been disappointed too. But that is speculation only....

[Host Jazzbeau]

Had a good conversation yesterday at 3 pm with Viking rep, one option we were offered was to leave the ship in Budapest and receive about 1/3 of our total cost back, the big problem with that is we would then be responsible for making air arrangements to fly back to Phoenix, Since we used Viking Air flying Business Class round trip losing our return flights and trying to book new Business class flights would cost more then the refund we were offered. We were given other perks which I promised not to disclose, so we shall complete the trip to Bucharest where we are staying an extra 3 days in a first class hotel suite and say farewell to Viking River cruises! Case closed!

 

No what's really a shame is that I wish I was exaggerating, Viking is the one that took My money and compensated us by giving us a $200 obc and a one week drink package, and believe me when we get home, I'll be posting on Trip Advisor, Yelp and more!

 

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have quoted above the full text of the "smoking guns." TravelerThom's post #431 correctly states the facts -- my apologies to you. But other posts have thrown around the phrase "non-disclosure agreement" -- which these posts do not back up. OP apparently made an oral promise, which he apparently broke -- and my guess is that he would say his promise was based on Viking's promises that things would get better and that they broke that promise. BTW, my personal opinion on this is that it is extremely unlikely that this cruise was as bad as OP paints it. As many have pointed out, he failed to do his homework and went thinking that he would get the equivalent of what nearly $1,000 a day buys you on an ocean cruise [river cruises are more expensive, we all know that] -- and he expected that river cruising is much more like ocean cruising in other ways than it ever is [again that homework thing]. It seems that he does not plan to ever sail on Viking again -- and that's for the best, as I doubt that they would ever let him book again [and rightly so -- most cruise lines have such a policy]. But as Cruise Critic regulars know, one-cruise rants are not uncommon -- here is a current one complaining about Princess in very much the same terms as this thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2493666

[edit: this thread was recently removed at OP's request; she couldn't stand the heat, so she had the kitchen razed]

Edited May 1, 2017 by Host Jazzbeau

[RDC1]

Just read this thread with interest as my sister and I were on this very cruise, although our cruise ended in Budapest. I have been on over 20 ocean cruises like Princess, RCI, Carnival, Disney, NCI, Holland America and thought the food on Viking was similar. Some nights were hits some nights just ok. I have never been on a real expensive line like Reagent or Oceana so their food might be superior. Menu I think caters to the American palate which suited my less adventurous sister. They did have a few regional dishes and one night they had a German buffet which was very good. Overall I would give Vikings food a 6-7, but were satisfied that we had a variety of foods to choose from, plus salmon, chicken, or ribeye if we didn't like the nights selection. I really liked their ships and thought they looked nicer than some of the other ships on the rivers. One advantage is they have many ships at their disposal and they can transfer you to another ship with the exact same layout if they can't get under a bridge. That didn't happen to us but at least they have that capability which is reassuring. I wouldn't hesitate to travel with them again. Just find an itinerary you like and go for it!

 

When I sailed on Viking last year I had a similar view. Quality similar to Princess or Celebrity MD, with fewer options. About what one would expect from the size of a river boat.

[SuiteTraveler]

WHY do you believe this? These are things ALLEGED to have happened as reported by an individual who by his own admission promised not to disclose information that he then turned around and disclosed. IMO the OP's credibility is extremely low and anything and everything he has reported is questionable until proved.

 

I don't think his credibility is low at all. If you go out on the internet and read all the reviews of Viking on various sites, goldenrod's comments on food actually agree with those of many other reviewers.

[Mark_T]

I don't think his credibility is low at all. If you go out on the internet and read all the reviews of Viking on various sites, goldenrod's comments on food actually agree with those of many other reviewers.

 

If you go looking for negative reviews of pretty much anything you'll find them on the net.

 

The lack of credibility of the poster in this case, has mostly caused by his own posts, and then confirmed by posts from another guest on the same cruise for the first leg.

 

If you go into a cruise on Viking with your expectations set at 'Regent' levels you are going to be disappointed.

 

If you are expecting to find shrimp cocktails on the menu and American mustard to go with your German sausage you are also likely to be disappointed.

 

Similarly if you pay the high prices for a suite and expect that to somehow translate into a better MDR experience you are going to be disappointed.

 

Viking has many thousands of happy repeat customers each year. They know what they are getting and return time after time, most of them, like the happy customers on many other cruise lines, will never take the time to post reviews, that is mostly the province of those who have a complaint.

[Mark_T]

If my memory is correct, I recall that nights menu listed as "surf and turf" with no detail of what was included. The other main selection was swordfish, which is what everyone at my table had. It was very good. Since no one ordered the surf/turf, no one bothered to ask the waiter what it included. Perhaps that is what the waiter stated it would be. If that was the case I would have been disappointed too. But that is speculation only....

 

Thanks for taking the time to post, it is appreciated, and gives some much needed perspective to balance out the alternative picture painted in this thread.

 

Glad you and your sister enjoyed the cruise.

[SuiteTraveler]

If my memory is correct, I recall that nights menu listed as "surf and turf" with no detail of what was included. The other main selection was swordfish, which is what everyone at my table had. It was very good. Since no one ordered the surf/turf, no one bothered to ask the waiter what it included. Perhaps that is what the waiter stated it would be. If that was the case I would have been disappointed too. But that is speculation only....

 

All Viking menu items for lunch and dinner with the exception of the 3 Always Available entrees include a brief second line description. Take a look at the menus in this thread to see what I mean:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2085470&page=6

[SuiteTraveler]

If you go looking for negative reviews of pretty much anything you'll find them on the net.

 

 

Actually, I was NOT looking for negative reviews of Viking, I was trying to find recent copies of their menus and stumbled upon a lot of negative reviews and a smaller number of positive reviews. Based on the few menus I have seen, Viking appears to be going to a very Americanized menu which is, IMO, at odds with how they advertise their product.

[TravelerThom]

I don't think his credibility is low at all. If you go out on the internet and read all the reviews of Viking on various sites, goldenrod's comments on food actually agree with those of many other reviewers.

I was not on this cruise (thank God), but find rhonpat's rating of Viking food at 6-7 to fall within Viking's normal range. I would not quibble with the OP's rating of 5. BUT sorry a 5 does not rate 3 weeks of complaints that "Food on this tub is total garbage!" (and also calling it "crap" and "horrible" and "lousy" - yes all those words have been used). I have a hard time taking any of his comments seriously after those tantrums. I also find it difficult to believe that the OP actually asked over 50 people to rate the food, and they all said "5". IMO the OP is so desperate to paint Viking in a bad light that he will post whatever alternate facts come into his head. You can believe him if you want, but I don't think I'm the only one who questions what he says.

[Kingofcool1947]

Why are we continuing to waste our breath on this thread? Let's let it go and get buried. Continuing just furthers the OP motives!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Are you the Moderator? Just wondering.

[Kingofcool1947]

Actually, I was NOT looking for negative reviews of Viking, I was trying to find recent copies of their menus and stumbled upon a lot of negative reviews and a smaller number of positive reviews. Based on the few menus I have seen, Viking appears to be going to a very Americanized menu which is, IMO, at odds with how they advertise their product.

 

It would be helpful if you annotated the thread #'s to look at rather that have to scroll through all of them.

[JVilleGal]

Are you the Moderator? Just wondering.

 

 

Just a member questioning WHY we continue on. This is exactly what the OP wanted to do.... create 500 posts or 1000 posts to complain about a River Cruise he didn't research fully and had unrealistic expectations. I am not a Viking fan, but this guys complaints are pretty hard to swallow!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[JVilleGal]

It would be helpful if you annotated the thread #'s to look at rather that have to scroll through all of them.

 

 

We read them all and to fully understand you really should too.... JMHO

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Kingofcool1947]

We read them all and to fully understand you really should too.... JMHO

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thanks! And thanks!

[E@syPe@zy]

Just a member questioning WHY we continue on. This is exactly what the OP wanted to do.... create 500 posts or 1000 posts to complain about a River Cruise he didn't research fully and had unrealistic expectations. I am not a Viking fan, but this guys complaints are pretty hard to swallow!

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Nobody is making you read this thread. I for one have found it to be very informative. And I really don't think the OP was trying to create 500-1000 posts. When you post...you add to the count....so why not just quit responding if you are concerned about the # of posts.

I think the length of the cruise had a lot to do with the OP's level of dislike of the food. A lot of us can put up with sub standard meals, if we know it's only going to be for a week. But 3 weeks+ is more than I would care to have to deal with. Another issue is if you don't like what the Viking chef is preparing and you have to eat either chicken, salmon, or steak over and over, that would get old really fast. I also think that the fact that he was celebrating his 50th anniversary aboard the Viking and it was a let down had something to do with his disappointment.

Of course that's just my 2 cents.

[JVilleGal]

Nobody is making you read this thread. I for one have found it to be very informative. And I really don't think the OP was trying to create 500-1000 posts. When you post...you add to the count....so why not just quit responding if you are concerned about the # of posts.

I think the length of the cruise had a lot to do with the OP's level of dislike of the food. A lot of us can put up with sub standard meals, if we know it's only going to be for a week. But 3 weeks+ is more than I would care to have to deal with. Another issue is if you don't like what the Viking chef is preparing and you have to eat either chicken, salmon, or steak over and over, that would get old really fast. I also think that the fact that he was celebrating his 50th anniversary aboard the Viking and it was a let down had something to do with his disappointment.

Of course that's just my 2 cents.

Exactly what is your problem? I completely agree with you.... you stated your opinion and I stated mine and they are darn near identical so now exactly what did I do wrong in answering another poster ??? That answer was not meant for you but meant for the person I quoted. Thanks for reading