Viking Sea Update - engine issues - and general info

[PRH]

Not sure it applies, but we went to the folk show in a palace last week in St. Petersburg and it was outstanding. Sparkling wine and nibbles included.

 

 

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[Vikingfan#1]

Not sure it applies, but we went to the folk show in a palace last week in St. Petersburg and it was outstanding. Sparkling wine and nibbles included.

 

 

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Thanks. Was the excursion thru Viking?

[Celiac Cruiser]

A couple more tips:

-When planning meals in Specialty restaurants keep in mind Lobster night in The Restaurant is the 2nd night and the next to the last night of the cruise for Homelands.

-launderette is handy. 3 washers & dryers per floor. 2 ironing boards Don't wait until 'at sea' day, it gets busy. Important: on the SEA, soap does not automatically dispense. You need to push a button on the wall separate from the machine. You will see if if you look. Half of the folks I met in the laundry did not realize this and 'washed' with no soap.

-in the World Cafe, realize that the 2 sides are not identical. I think it is just the Cold section that differs. Like today for lunch, one side had cold snow crab legs and other chilled seafood while the other side just had salads. At dinner, one side of the Cold section has Sushi, the other side has salads.

- Room service comes pretty quickly. I ordered twice (fruit plate once and coffee & croissants once). Each time arrived around 10 minutes later.

- Don't forget to check out the Explorers Lounge at the front of the ship. It is kind of hidden away but has quality piano or guitar live music. Love it!

- the classical music on Deck 1 is really nice as well.

- I have not been impressed with the singer/dancer troupe. We tried their shows twice and left each time before it was over. Had a very amateur feel. Just not our 'cup of tea'.

 

That's about it for now. Happy Packing!

 

BTW, we have had great weather so far. Sunshine and 60's / 70's. And to think it was snowing at these places a week ago.

[Vikingfan#1]

A couple more tips:

-When planning meals in Specialty restaurants keep in mind Lobster night in The Restaurant is the 2nd night and the next to the last night of the cruise for Homelands.

-launderette is handy. 3 washers & dryers per floor. 2 ironing boards Don't wait until 'at sea' day, it gets busy. Important: on the SEA, soap does not automatically dispense. You need to push a button on the wall separate from the machine. You will see if if you look. Half of the folks I met in the laundry did not realize this and 'washed' with no soap.

-in the World Cafe, realize that the 2 sides are not identical. I think it is just the Cold section that differs. Like today for lunch, one side had cold snow crab legs and other chilled seafood while the other side just had salads. At dinner, one side of the Cold section has Sushi, the other side has salads.

- Room service comes pretty quickly. I ordered twice (fruit plate once and coffee & croissants once). Each time arrived around 10 minutes later.

- Don't forget to check out the Explorers Lounge at the front of the ship. It is kind of hidden away but has quality piano or guitar live music. Love it!

- the classical music on Deck 1 is really nice as well.

- I have not been impressed with the singer/dancer troupe. We tried their shows twice and left each time before it was over. Had a very amateur feel. Just not our 'cup of tea'.

 

That's about it for now. Happy Packing!

 

BTW, we have had great weather so far. Sunshine and 60's / 70's. And to think it was snowing at these places a week ago.

 

You are a fountain of good info.! Thanks!!! I hope I'll be as fortunate as you to have sun and no rain!

[Cyber Kat]

Thank you so much for the Ship Tips :) We are sailing on the Viking Sea next March - I hope they get this engine business straightened out. Seems to be an ongoing issue!

 

We are doing the West Indies Explorer - now I have to find out when Lobster Night is for that itinerary :)

 

I do have other questions you might be able to answer. Does the door key also work like the Sign & Sail card on mainstream cruises - in other words, you need it to pay for purchases on the ship - or do you just give them the room number like on the river cruises. Wondering whether I need my lanyard :D

 

If you are charging something and leave a card in the slot, does the bathroom floor get really hot? Not something we would want on a Caribbean cruise :)

 

Are there any other shelves in the closet or just the one over the hanging rack? I used the shelves a lot on our river cruise!

[English Voyager]

Not sure it applies, but we went to the folk show in a palace last week in St. Petersburg and it was outstanding. Sparkling wine and nibbles included.

 

 

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This was the reason for my request for feedback.

 

Judging by the videos on YouTube there is more than one venue for a Folk Show in St. Petersburg.

 

One, restricted by the size of the stage, held in the Nikolaevsky Palace:

 

 

 

Then there is a very large scale one held in a theatre, which, according to the video, Viking visited in 2015:

 

[Celiac Cruiser]

You don't need your room card except to get in and out of your room and when going ashore. If you order something, they just ask your room number.

 

The bathroom floor gets HOT ( very warm) and turns the bathroom into a mini oven. With our cooler temps, it is fine but I almost had them turn it off. I don't know if it can be turned down.

 

Shelves: you will have several in various places. Each Nightstand has a drawer and shelf. Bathroom has 2 drawers and 2 shelves. Next to bathroom door is a row of 3 drawers and 1 shelf plus another shelf if you don't have a coffee maker. Note that desk under mirror has a large pop up mirror with a makeup compartment underneath. All in all, more space than the river cruise.

[Cyber Kat]

You don't need your room card except to get in and out of your room and when going ashore. If you order something, they just ask your room number.

 

The bathroom floor gets HOT ( very warm) and turns the bathroom into a mini oven. With our cooler temps, it is fine but I almost had them turn it off. I don't know if it can be turned down.

 

Shelves: you will have several in various places. Each Nightstand has a drawer and shelf. Bathroom has 2 drawers and 2 shelves. Next to bathroom door is a row of 3 drawers and 1 shelf plus another shelf if you don't have a coffee maker. Note that desk under mirror has a large pop up mirror with a makeup compartment underneath. All in all, more space than the river cruise.

 

Great - thanks! I hope they turn that bathroom floor heater down in the Caribbean! I don't mind a little warm, but I certainly won't need "oven" warm :D

[Orchid1010]

A couple more tips:

-When planning meals in Specialty restaurants keep in mind Lobster night in The Restaurant is the 2nd night and the next to the last night of the cruise for Homelands.

-launderette is handy. 3 washers & dryers per floor. 2 ironing boards Don't wait until 'at sea' day, it gets busy. Important: on the SEA, soap does not automatically dispense. You need to push a button on the wall separate from the machine. You will see if if you look. Half of the folks I met in the laundry did not realize this and 'washed' with no soap.

-in the World Cafe, realize that the 2 sides are not identical. I think it is just the Cold section that differs. Like today for lunch, one side had cold snow crab legs and other chilled seafood while the other side just had salads. At dinner, one side of the Cold section has Sushi, the other side has salads.

- Room service comes pretty quickly. I ordered twice (fruit plate once and coffee & croissants once). Each time arrived around 10 minutes later.

- Don't forget to check out the Explorers Lounge at the front of the ship. It is kind of hidden away but has quality piano or guitar live music. Love it!

- the classical music on Deck 1 is really nice as well.

- I have not been impressed with the singer/dancer troupe. We tried their shows twice and left each time before it was over. Had a very amateur feel. Just not our 'cup of tea'.

 

That's about it for now. Happy Packing!

 

BTW, we have had great weather so far. Sunshine and 60's / 70's. And to think it was snowing at these places a week ago.

 

 

Thanks for all of your helpful information. A quick question: we are on the Homelands cruise the end of July. Is there a way to find out menu choices in the main dining room now before I book our specialty restaurant reservations?

[Celiac Cruiser]

I do not think so. They must vary the menu depending on availability of the ingredients. It seems pretty easy to switch nights. Each time we have dined in the specialty restaurants, there have been empty tables.

[PRH]

We went to the folk show in the palace. Excellent show with outstanding singers and dancers. It is a smaller and more intimate venue. We did not go with Viking but there were certainly ship tour groups there as they were collected in buses and vans.

 

 

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[Celiac Cruiser]

This may be well known but 'What's Ap' is the way to communicate between cell phones on the ship. The What's Ap messages are like texts and you get a chime when a new message comes through. It is visible right on your home screen. It is handy when you want to change a meeting place or time.

Before you leave home, download the What'sAp App. Make sure your traveling companions do the same.

Once you put your phone into airplane mode, go to settings and switch on WiFi. It works through the WiFi.

 

Ship update, we could not dock in Ronne, Bornholm, Denmark due to high winds and strong currents. We are currently headed to the East side of the island where the moorage is more protected from the winds. Will have to use a tender to go ashore. Life is an adventure!

[BruceLovesSailing]

For those in the Apple ecosystem, iMessages also communicates using the ship's wifi while in airplane mode. We used this method on the Sea and it worked quite well.

 

 

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[Vikingfan#1]

We went to the folk show in the palace. Excellent show with outstanding singers and dancers. It is a smaller and more intimate venue. We did not go with Viking but there were certainly ship tour groups there as they were collected in buses and vans.

 

 

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Did you attend the folk show with Alla Tours? We are touring with Alla and are considering the show. I've watched some videos on MTV and there appear to be different shows. The one I liked had a band dressed in uniform and singers/dancers. One had a stage with white columns and didn't look as good. I hate to waste time and money if the show isn't really good. Of course, Alla says all the shows are good!

[Peregrina651]

Thanks for all of your helpful information. A quick question: we are on the Homelands cruise the end of July. Is there a way to find out menu choices in the main dining room now before I book our specialty restaurant reservations?

 

I've been on two cruises now and I get the impression that dining is on it's own calendar and that the only thing that is tied to the itinerary are the local specialties that are served each night (usually one appetizer and one entree). So, people may report lobster on night 2 on a given itinerary but it might be different on another sailing of the same itinerary.

 

 

So,make your reservation for the specialty restaurants and then when you board go to the reservation desk and discuss menus and make whatever changes you want. Also, remember that the menu in The Chef's Table changes every third night, so make sure you have at least two night between any two reservations.

[Peregrina651]

We went to the folk show in the palace. Excellent show with outstanding singers and dancers. It is a smaller and more intimate venue. We did not go with Viking but there were certainly ship tour groups there as they were collected in buses and vans.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums[/quote/

 

Did you attend the folk show with Alla Tours? We are touring with Alla and are considering the show. I've watched some videos on MTV and there appear to be different shows. The one I liked had a band dressed in uniform and singers/dancers. One had a stage with white columns and didn't look as good. I hate to waste time and money if the show isn't really good. Of course, Alla says all the shows are good!

 

We toured with Alla 10 years ago and saw the show at the place with the column (Nicholevsky Palace) and thought it was fabulous. The dancers were obviously classically trained dancers, the program presented song and dance from a variety of regions. Don't let the venue itself dissuade you; the program was top-notch.

[Vikingfan#1]

 

We toured with Alla 10 years ago and saw the show at the place with the column (Nicholevsky Palace) and thought it was fabulous. The dancers were obviously classically trained dancers, the program presented song and dance from a variety of regions. Don't let the venue itself dissuade you; the program was top-notch.

 

Thank you!

[PRH]

We went with Alla. The accapella quartet was amazing, the dancers incredible--I could believe they were classically trained. That was last week so this is current information.

 

 

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[Vikingfan#1]

We went with Alla. The accapella quartet was amazing, the dancers incredible--I could believe they were classically trained. That was last week so this is current information.

 

 

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Thank you for responding! Which tour did you do with Alla? I was torn between the grand tour and Faberge one.

[PRH]

We did the grand tour. Lots of walking. Unfortunately the weather was challenging--wind and cold with some snow. We rushed through the gardens because it was too darn cold.

 

 

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[Orchid1010]

I've been on two cruises now and I get the impression that dining is on it's own calendar and that the only thing that is tied to the itinerary are the local specialties that are served each night (usually one appetizer and one entree). So, people may report lobster on night 2 on a given itinerary but it might be different on another sailing of the same itinerary.

 

 

So,make your reservation for the specialty restaurants and then when you board go to the reservation desk and discuss menus and make whatever changes you want. Also, remember that the menu in The Chef's Table changes every third night, so make sure you have at least two night between any two reservations.

 

Thanks so much for your helpful information :)

[cruzzzinma]

We are doing the West Indies Explorer - now I have to find out when Lobster Night is for that itinerary :)

 

 

2nd night last Feb.

[Vikingfan#1]

We did the grand tour. Lots of walking. Unfortunately the weather was challenging--wind and cold with some snow. We rushed through the gardens because it was too darn cold.

 

 

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That's a shame! Do you recommend anything to do or not do?:cool:

[Cyber Kat]

2nd night last Feb.

 

 

Great thanks! I have a thing about lobster [emoji7]. We're doing a CanadaNE cruise in September and I have all the places to get a lobster roll noted [emoji16]

 

 

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[philw1776]

Although I'm a native New Englander I choose not to eat members of the bug family. My wife loves bug rolls, etc.