Tips for New Viking Ocean Cruisers

[LostFan#1]

11 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Debbie, give up. Stick with information submitted after the "Restart" in 2021. (In other words, start here on page 45, post 1115.)

 

• First, it is overwhelming to start with page one.
• Second, a lot has changed since Viking launched Oceans in 2015. Reading the old stuff is just plain confusing.
• Third, what is most important is current information. Circle back later if you are interested in the history.

 

Also,to fill in gaps, read the most current threads on the following topics; the information is fresher and reflects the reality of cruising in the post-pandemic:

• drinks package (even if you don't drink or aren't considering it)
• laundry
• tipping
• anything that pertains to your next Viking Ocean cruise

 

BTW, some of what you read in this forum applies to how things work on the River cruises. There are certain things that are the same whether you are on an ocean-liner, an expedition ship or a riverboat.

 

 

 

LOL. Right. If I remember correctly, I beat you over the head on that issue. 😁

Haha, yes, you did, but I needed it! Thank you for directing me to the "Viking Hints" re-start page and suggesting other topics to follow for Viking-specific info. 

 

Debbie

 

 

[Mickey111]

4 hours ago, deec said:

Melatonin is NOT a controlled substance. no worries

It is in the U.K. so you wouldn’t be able to buy it there

[Mickey111]

21 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

 

On our trip last January, it was 8:00 AM.

 

thank you we cruise into Montreal in September and need to book a flight out so do you think a 12.50 flight is achievable?

[SantaFe1]

9 minutes ago, Mickey111 said:

thank you we cruise into Montreal in September and need to book a flight out so do you think a 12.50 flight is achievable?

Check to see what time you get into port.  But Yes, probably that would be fine,  On your Viking invoice it usually will tell you if there are flight time restrictions, like “do not book flights before 7 am.”  

Edited March 30, 2023 by SantaFe1

[Mickey111]

43 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

Check to see what time you get into port.  But Yes, probably that would be fine,  On your Viking invoice it usually will tell you if there are flight time restrictions, like “do not book flights before 7 am.”  

Thank you

[MELSMOM47]

On 8/11/2022 at 2:10 AM, MamaFej said:

Onboard now. 
The pistachio raisin rolls have been removed from the menu. 
 

So disappointed!!!!!

I’ve never had them but I was so looking forward to having one. Anything great replace them?

[MELSMOM47]

On 9/18/2021 at 2:29 PM, Squawkman said:

They also have Splenda in the Restaurant and manfredi’s. 

What other choices are there? Blue? Pink? Raw? I’ve read that most of the milk is the ultra pasteurized stuff that comes in shelf stable cartons. 😬 Sure hope there is real cream or half and half. 

[LindaS272]

There is. Don’t believe half the stuff you read on CC. 

[Peregrina651]

There is half and half. 

[MELSMOM47]

On 10/24/2021 at 4:19 PM, deec said:

IMO the living room on Viking has the best coffee on the ship but I am pretty sure it is not french press.  We bring our own insulated mugs so can take the coffee to another venue for breakfast.

 

 

Is this included? Do they have cream or half and half?

[dd57]

All coffee including lattes, cappuchinos, espressos, are complimentary as long as there is no alcohol involved.  So Irish coffee, etc., has a cost.

 

The same Living room wonderful coffee is used for the cappuchinos and lattes there.  Yumm. 

[Peregrina651]

14 minutes ago, dd57 said:

All coffee including lattes, cappuchinos, espressos, are complimentary as long as there is no alcohol involved.  So Irish coffee, etc., has a cost.

 

The same Living room wonderful coffee is used for the cappuchinos and lattes there.  Yumm. 

 

The coffee maker in the LivingRoom Bar is a commercial grade espresso machine, just like the espresso makers that have been pumping out the coffee in the cafes of Spain, France and Italy since long before Mr. Coffee got into the coffee brewing business.  Each cup is freshly brewed while you wait.  Beans are ground in very small batches.  No pods as in the machines in the World Cafe.  

 

[MamaFej]

5 hours ago, MELSMOM47 said:

I’ve never had them but I was so looking forward to having one. Anything great replace them?

Crew did not mention a replacement. However, I very much enjoyed the raspberry danish. 
 

Hopefully, the pistachio raisin rolls have made or will make a return. I cruised in August 2022. 

[MELSMOM47]

8 hours ago, MamaFej said:

Crew did not mention a replacement. However, I very much enjoyed the raspberry danish. 
 

Hopefully, the pistachio raisin rolls have made or will make a return. I cruised in August 2022. 

I’m hoping for a cardamom bun 😋

[LostFan#1]

We have a late Feb. 2024 booking on the Northern Lights cruise and was shocked to realize our final payment would be due barely 3 weeks after making the initial deposit. Thank you to those who have posted here that those with existing and paid-in-full bookings could get final payment date extended. So, I signed onto the Live Chat this morning, and within five minutes, the due date was extended 4 1/2 months. Thank you to all who contribute to this forum!

 

 

 

 

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, LostFan#1 said:

We have a late Feb. 2024 booking on the Northern Lights cruise and was shocked to realize our final payment would be due barely 3 weeks after making the initial deposit. Thank you to those who have posted here that those with existing and paid-in-full bookings could get final payment date extended. So, I signed onto the Live Chat this morning, and within five minutes, the due date was extended 4 1/2 months. Thank you to all who contribute to this forum!

 

 

 

 

Excellent!  Another great example of how exchanging information on Cruise Critic helps people out.

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, LostFan#1 said:

Thank you to those who have posted here that those with existing and paid-in-full bookings could get final payment date extended.

 

You lucked out! Normally, this has to be done at the time of booking, before you make your initial deposit.

[LostFan#1]

Thanks for clearing that up, Peregrina, for others new to Viking booking policies. I must have tapped into a compassionate agent this am! We could pay for the cruise in 2 weeks, of course, but am happy for some interest to accrue in the next 4 months.

 

Debbie

[Turtles06]

Greetings!  My wife and I are veteran cruisers considering our first cruise on Viking Ocean.  I've read through this helpful thread from the posts beginning after the re-start, and thank the "Viking experts" for all the information you have provided.  I have a couple of questions that I did not see addressed above:

 

1.  We don't cruise for the entertainment, but especially on a 17-night cruise (which is what we're considering), good entertainment is a plus.  Most of Viking's cruises are port-intensive; the one we are looking at is RT from LA to Hawaii, so there are many sea days in a row going to and coming from the islands.  We love sea days, but I'm wondering whether the evening entertainment on such an itinerary would be different from the more typical port-intensive cruise (since guest performers could not come and go; or perhaps that does not happen on Viking at all). 

 

2.  The evening dress code says "no jeans" (except in the World Cafe).  Does this just mean blue jeans?  Our standard dinner cruise (and land travel) wear is typically nice, clean black jeans with a nice sweater, blouse, or other top.  Is this acceptable for women on Viking? 

 

Any information, thoughts, and advice would be much appreciated!  Thank you!

[SantaFe1]

We are on the LA to Hawaii cruise next February.  One the reasons we choose it, besides getting out of here during winter, was the sea days, which we enjoy.  But when the ship doesn’t dock and can’t bring on new entertainers for the star theater, you will usually just have the standard Viking entertainers (vocalists) and the Viking band.  We don’t enjoy the entertainment in the star theater, and generally gravitate to the explorers lounge or Atrium, where they have guitar and/or piano and classical duet.  
 

The dress code for the restaurants is a topic of much controversy.  By jeans, Viking supposedly means jeans of any color.  I always take a pair of black dress pants and my husband takes khakis or navy dress pants.  But on our last cruise, we saw that rule flagrantly ignored.  I would pack something besides black jeans just to be safe.  

[Peregrina651]

No black jeans.  We tried one night, not intentionally but someone had put both pairs of dockers into the laundry at once. We weren't even thinking about it when we headed down to dinner.  We ate in the buffet that night.  The staff pulled DH aside and quietly asked him to return to the cabin to change.  DH explained the situation and we left.  No big deal.  Politely handled.  Apologies on all sides. 

 

 

 

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

Greetings!  My wife and I are veteran cruisers considering our first cruise on Viking Ocean.  I've read through this helpful thread from the posts beginning after the re-start, and thank the "Viking experts" for all the information you have provided.  I have a couple of questions that I did not see addressed above:

 

1.  We don't cruise for the entertainment, but especially on a 17-night cruise (which is what we're considering), good entertainment is a plus.  Most of Viking's cruises are port-intensive; the one we are looking at is RT from LA to Hawaii, so there are many sea days in a row going to and coming from the islands.  We love sea days, but I'm wondering whether the evening entertainment on such an itinerary would be different from the more typical port-intensive cruise (since guest performers could not come and go; or perhaps that does not happen on Viking at all). 

 

2.  The evening dress code says "no jeans" (except in the World Cafe).  Does this just mean blue jeans?  Our standard dinner cruise (and land travel) wear is typically nice, clean black jeans with a nice sweater, blouse, or other top.  Is this acceptable for women on Viking? 

 

Any information, thoughts, and advice would be much appreciated!  Thank you!

 

Based on our experience on ocean passages

 

1). For the Hawaiian Sojourn, I believe Viking is allowing 6-days for the ocean passage. In addition to the regular shows from the resident singers, they will probably have 2 guest entertainers, who will perform 2 separate shows each. The guest entertainers may change in Hawaii, as I rarely see them remaining onboard for 17 days.

 

2). Enforcement of the dress code resides with the Restaurant Manager and the host, however Viking's intent is No Jeans period. We have seen the host respectfully request pax return to the cabin to change, or use the World Cafe. 

[SantaFe1]

But, as I said, less than one month ago, we had people in jeans at all venues every night.  I even asked about it twice, and sort of got a runaround answer.  I will say that that cruise was not the usual demographic.  I would say that fully half the pax were under 60, where usually I would guess 80% of pax over 60.  
 

I do believe Heidi13 is correct, though, when he ways they will have a few acts waiting in the wings for our five days over and five days back.  And then probably new acts brought aboard in Hawaii.  That would be fun.  And with lots of sea days, Viking provides many other activities and special surprises beyond just the evening entertainment.  

[zalusky]

3 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

No black jeans.  We tried one night, not intentionally but someone had put both pairs of dockers into the laundry at once. We weren't even thinking about it when we headed down to dinner.  We ate in the buffet that night.  The staff pulled DH aside and quietly asked him to return to the cabin to change.  DH explained the situation and we left.  No big deal.  Politely handled.  Apologies on all sides. 

 

 

 

Do they bounce you if you have poly stretch pants that look like jeans but aren’t:

 

 

[JeriGail]

14 hours ago, zalusky said:

Do they bounce you if you have poly stretch pants that look like jeans but aren’t:

 

 

Who knows what they'd say, but I call those trousers.