NEW to Viking - Dining

[agnesd]

When can you make dining reservations?  Are all cabin cats eligible for all restaurants?  How about reserving shore excursions?  I believe you can bring aboard your own booze. Is this just for carbon use etc?  Any tips would be helpful.  

 

[CILCIANRQTS]

Thank you for asking a non-Sky question!

The Viking website has lots of good info.

This link will answer reservation priority for dining and excursions, plus confirm that you can bring on booze and consume it anywhere.

Welcome to Viking!

 

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/frequently-asked-questions.html

[CILCIANRQTS]

Just noticed, to my surprise, that FAQ’s do not cover liquor policy.

Here’s another link.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2076

[just_dont]

21 minutes ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

Just noticed, to my surprise, that FAQ’s do not cover liquor policy.

Here’s another link.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2076

 

That's really interesting.  I was certain I'd seen it stated explicitly by Viking somewhere, but you're right, I don't see anything anywhere on Viking's website about allowing alcohol to be brought onboard.  Is this possibly a sign of a change (or pending change) in policies, or has it always been an informal, unstated policy?  Don't all the other lines explicitly state their policies regarding bringing drinks (with or without alcohol) onto the ship?

[Pushka]

I attended a Viking information session last week which was excellent. They gave away a nice pen and two luggage tags which I love.

 

It was stated specifically you can bring on your own alcohol and that it can be served anywhere on the ship without any cover charge. Reference was also made to River cruises that traverse through the beautiful wine regions of France, where people attend winery excursions. And a joke was made about one passenger who purchased a dozen bottles of good Australian red wine here to drink on the way to New Zealand. 

[Cyber Kat]

It will say on the MyVikingJourney site - set up an account If you haven’t already - what dates your cabin category opens for booking excursions and dining. I have to say that the MyVikingJourney is the best cruise website I’ve ever used. For each day and port, they give average weather and currency. So much information. 

 

Make a note of the date because some excursions book up fast.  Don’t worry overly much about the specialty restaurant reservations. If you find an open day and time that suits you, book it, but it’s fairly easy to get reservations onboard. People cancel and move their reservations around, so it’s not a problem. 

 

Which cruise are you booked on?  We love cruising with Viking.  It’s such a great experience. We have done 2 river cruises and our first ocean cruise last year. Now we have 2 more ocean cruises booked. 

[agnesd]

We are booked on the Montreal to New York cruise this September. We are a little nervous since we were on 8 Crystal Cruises, 4 Oceania, and 5 Tauck River Cruises.

we like Crystal the best  but no current  itinerary suits our time frame. I’m sure it will be great I’ve only heard good reviews.

Edited April 1, 2019 by agnesd

[Hockeyump]

We're on our first Viking Ocean cruise now and I was a bit cynical about all the positivity around Viking.  The reality is they are as good as everyone says and more.  Sure, a couple of niggles but they are so minor and only stand out because the standard is so high.

[orchestrapal]

6 hours ago, agnesd said:

We are booked on the Montreal to New York cruise this September. We are a little nervous since we were on 8 Crystal Cruises, 4 Oceania, and 5 Tauck River Cruises.

we like Crystal the best  but no current  itinerary suits our time frame. I’m sure it will be great I’ve only heard good reviews.

We too are Crystal and Oceania long time cruisers. Tried Viking b/b NYC Montreal and return last year. It is a good product devoid of some of the 5* atmosphere and service you are used to. The ships are modern and very clean. There are no flowers other than some green stuff around the ships as well as no butlers. The speakers were not anywhere near the quality of Crystal’s nor as frequent.

Food, of course, is subjective and is good but again no where as good or well presented as C and O’s nor is the number of selections. We ate most of our dinners at Manfredi's where they are anxious to provide special preparations and excellent service. As we don’t attend the evening entertainment other than the pre dinner pianist or string trios we cannot comment on it.

Don’t over expect and you will not be disappointed.

 

[CCWineLover]

On 3/28/2019 at 8:27 PM, Pushka said:

I attended a Viking information session last week which was excellent. They gave away a nice pen and two luggage tags which I love.

 

It was stated specifically you can bring on your own alcohol and that it can be served anywhere on the ship without any cover charge. Reference was also made to River cruises that traverse through the beautiful wine regions of France, where people attend winery excursions. And a joke was made about one passenger who purchased a dozen bottles of good Australian red wine here to drink on the way to New Zealand. 

 

Well Pushka - in my opinion, Australia has some VERY good red wines!!   So I might have done the same things 🙂

[CCWineLover]

16 hours ago, Hockeyump said:

We're on our first Viking Ocean cruise now and I was a bit cynical about all the positivity around Viking.  The reality is they are as good as everyone says and more.  Sure, a couple of niggles but they are so minor and only stand out because the standard is so high.

 

Which ship and cruise are you on?   Glad you are enjoying it and can confirm what many of us think about Viking!

[agnesd]

I really liked the Crystal sea days with lectures and classes on computers, art, trivia etc. I’m worried I guess because I love Crystal so much that I won’t keep an open eye. I don’t want to compare since each line has their own brand. 

[agnesd]

Is there any lunch venue that is table served?

[lextrvlr]

Having made this same inquiry, I am told that table service lunch is only available when the Restaurant is open and that the Restaurant is only open for lunch when the ship is at sea. Evidently only the cafeteria ("World Cafe") is open for lunch when in port.

As we will be first time Viking cruisers this summer, I'll leave it to those with first hand knowledge to correct me.

[orchestrapal]

2 hours ago, lextrvlr said:

Having made this same inquiry, I am told that table service lunch is only available when the Restaurant is open and that the Restaurant is only open for lunch when the ship is at sea. Evidently only the cafeteria ("World Cafe") is open for lunch when in port.

As we will be first time Viking cruisers this summer, I'll leave it to those with first hand knowledge to correct me.

 

You are correct. We dislike buffets on most ships but loved the World Cafe on Viking. The staff was wonderful and constantly refilled water, iced tea and wine and there were always clean available tables with a view. It also is much less loud than the restaurant in the evening.

[agnesd]

I think we will have to be open minded.  I think it will be ok. We are Crystal cruisers  and opened to new experiences. Maybe it will be wonderful!

 

 

[agnesd]

Looking for roll call. September 28 and couldn’t find it!

,

[CharTrav]

1 hour ago, agnesd said:

Looking for roll call. September 28 and couldn’t find it!

,

Look in the Roll Call forums organized by Viking ship.  If you don't find a Roll Call for your ship, cruise name and sail date, just start one -- https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/768-viking-ocean-roll-calls/.  For example -- these are the current roll calls for the Viking Sea -- https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/785-viking-sea-roll-calls/  

 

[Cyber Kat]

On 4/2/2019 at 10:59 PM, agnesd said:

Looking for roll call. September 28 and couldn’t find it!

,

 

We are on the Viking Sea September 26, seems you are right behind us. If you can’t find a roll call, you are welcome to hang out with us on ours. 

[LeRenardrouge]

On April 4, 2019 at 8:20 AM, Cyber Kat said:

 

We are on the Viking Sea September 26, seems you are right behind us. If you can’t find a roll call, you are welcome to hang out with us on ours. 

Sept 28 cruise is a "segment" of the World Cruise.

[CharTrav]

On 4/7/2019 at 3:40 PM, LeRenardrouge said:

Sept 28 cruise is a "segment" of the World Cruise.

I'm trying to help you find your roll call but just month-day isn't enough. What ship? What year? You say it's a segment of a World Cruise but the Sun is the only one that does those. And if that's the case I don't see how it could be a WC. The only one that does long "segmented" cruises and leaves in Sept (2019 or 2020) is Orion and those are segments of Orion's return from Alaska to Asia and then Australia. Not WC at all. None of the World Cruises start in September. So I'm confused. As I said, I'd like to help you find your roll call but need more data. Thanks!

Edited April 10, 2019 by CharTrav

[CharTrav]

On 4/7/2019 at 3:40 PM, LeRenardrouge said:

Sept 28 cruise is a "segment" of the World Cruise.

@agnesd Is this it? The Sun leaving September 28 2019, Eastern Seaboard Explorer. Here's the roll call - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2620112-viking-sun-sept-28-2019-eastern-seaboard-explorer/

Have fun!

 

My apologies @LeRenardrouge, I answered the wrong poster. Hopefully I've fixed it now. 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2019 by CharTrav

[CharTrav]

On 4/2/2019 at 10:59 PM, agnesd said:

Looking for roll call. September 28 and couldn’t find it!

,

Let me try again. I think I found it for you. 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2620112-viking-sun-sept-28-2019-eastern-seaboard-explorer/

Char 

[agnesd]

Thank you CharTrav for your efforts. I think we will have a great time.

[CharTrav]

34 minutes ago, agnesd said:

Thank you CharTrav for your efforts. I think we will have a great time.

Good!  And don't forget to sign up for the Meet & Mingle so you can meet face to face with the folks you "meet" on the roll call! Do you need the link for that too?

 

Here - https://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcall/entry_cl.cfm?ship=1192

 

And I take back what I wrote earlier saying this "couldn't" be a segment of a WC. Oops! It's part of the 245 day WC London to London that started August 31st and proceeding westward. 

Edited April 10, 2019 by CharTrav