Caribbean reviews ..

[helenandfrank]

Assume others are seeing the same thing I am seeing - a number of disappointed travellers posting disappointing Caribbean reviews for Viking Ocean. We have been on Viking Homelands (loved it) and are booked to do Bergen to Iceland in 2019 and hope to fit in Empires of the Med in late 2018 / early 2019 - so the disappointing Caribbean specific reviews don't bother us too much, but it does seem to be an emerging issue. Is it simply a matter of Viking not being experienced in the Caribbean and therefore making some rookie errors, or are they expanding too fast and taking on too many inexperienced crew members, or something else ?? I am just interested in view/s of other CC Members who may wish to share their thoughts. Cheers, Frank

[Azulann]

Viking's second season in the Caribbean started on Oct 27 and wil end on March 28. Close to the half way point today.

The changes of ports and excursions do to the hurricane damage this fall has been a challenge.

Some folks do not do well with abrupt change in plans or expect more for their "free air fare" bookings.

Others reviews are all about ship and food as usual.d Overall, I think the reviews are very postive and helpful for me in preparing for my first Viking cruise.

I find the reviews of the Cuban sailings very informative and would love to do this sailings in the future.

Look forward to the reviews of the sailings that go up the Amazon River.

 

I am not an cruise island hopping person for the beach days , it is not my main focus.

I am much more interested in the history of the places and ,in particular, the Spanish colonial influence in this beautiful area.

Looking forward to visiting San Juan for three days and then a stop on St Maarten, before retracing Columbus voyage back to Spain with a couple of exotic ports along the way. :)

[CILCIANRQTS]

We were on the Sky in Central America and Panama Canal in November.

While the ship, service and crew were very enjoyable, they do have some staff training issues, particularly in the World Cafe.

The biggest issue w the quality of the excursions. It's a bit harder to craft a cultural experience in third world countries, and many excursions we're drive an hour, quickly view a city or ruins for 45 minutes to an hour, then bus you back to the ship. And no, "shopping time" does NOT qualify as a cultural experience.

[Cyber Kat]

We did our first Viking cruise last year - the Rhine Getaway. We loved it. We were looking at a few upscale lines to cruise the Caribbean. We have done Cruises to the Northern most ports and the Bahamas on mainstream lines, so we have some varied cruise experience.

 

To be honest, I’m not sure what I’m expecting from our upcoming West Indies Explorer. I generally approach anything new with high hopes and low expectations. So that’s the way I’m approaching this trip.

 

I don’t expect it to be like the river cruise even though it’s Viking. It’s not Europe. It’s the Caribbean. On our river cruise, I expected days filled with wonderful architecture and history at every turn. For the Caribbean, I’m expecting gorgeous blue water, tropical breezes and wonderful island scenery with maybe a bit of history and colonial architecture thrown in. Some lovely beaches are on my list as well.

 

I’m not paying much attention to the Viking promise of cultural wonders or a thinking persons cruise. I’m in the Caribbean - I don’t want to think [emoji12]

 

I want to relax and not rush around. We will probably take a mix of included and optional tours as a way to see the scenery and take photos, but I don’t plan to pack our days full like they were on the river cruise.

 

I do intend to enjoy the beautiful ship - and they are beautiful, and eat good food, and mingle with my fellow cruisers, and just have a fun relaxing time. If other great happenings occur - BONUS!

 

We are on the last cruise before the season ends, so you will have to wait for my report. In the meantime I’m following all of yours and adjusting my expectations. I do not think I will be disappointed.

 

 

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[Azulann]

Cyber Kat,

I look forward to your review of both your cruise and your stay at El Convento.

We will be staying there in San Juan and then boarding the Viking Sea when you get off.

[jabrown40]

Cyber kat and I are on the same page. If you live anywhere north of the Mason - Dixon line, the Caribbean cruises are a chance to get out of the cold, away from plowing your driveway once again and drink something other than hot beverages! We’ve been fortunate to go there a few cruises, and After a while, the similarities between the islands begin to outweigh the differences. For me, a Caribbean cruise is a chance to forget about work for a while, try to unwind and relax with a good book (or four) and enjoy the view. It’s actually difficult to slow down, and not feel like you should do something all day at each port. Sure, there may be some ruins, or colonial buildings, but a totally different experience than European cities. I look for something warm to do every year after the holidays, and I just prefer to cruise, compared to all-inclusives on land, whether they are in the Caribbean or Mexico. By the time we get home, we usually have just a little bit more cold to endure, with a few days of warm teasers Thrown in to let us know that spring is just around the corner.

 

 

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[jabrown40]

Oh, did I mention it’s currently snowing here? ⛄️

 

 

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