Really need help with cabin selection

[MalibooNewYork]

We are taking our first ocean cruise ever with Viking. I know absolutely nothing about ocean cruising and cabin selection in particular. We are looking at Deck 5 towards the bow but I thought it was always better to be as low as possible and towards the center. But, the lifts are in the center and we don't want to be near them.

Please share any insight or thoughts you have. Thank you.

I should have added that our cruise is in the Mediterranean.

Edited February 19, 2021 by MalibooNewYork

[friendlyfifer]

4 minutes ago, MalibooNewYork said:

We are taking our first ocean cruise ever with Viking. I know absolutely nothing about ocean cruising and cabin selection in particular. We are looking at Deck 5 towards the bow but I thought it was always better to be as low as possible and towards the center. But, the lifts are in the center and we don't want to be near them.

Please share any insight or thoughts you have. Thank you.

If you are expecting rough seas then you are best to be both low down and in the centre of the ship. Decks 4 and 5 would be good for this. Veranda and Deluxe Veranda cabins are both the same size. If you can book a Penthouse Veranda cabin then you would, I’m sure, enjoy the extra space. The veranda is a little larger, there is additional furniture and it is easier to access the wardrobe as it is not at the side of the bed. 
Whichever cabin you choose you will enjoy your cruise with Viking.

[TayanaLorna]

56 minutes ago, MalibooNewYork said:

We are taking our first ocean cruise ever with Viking. I know absolutely nothing about ocean cruising and cabin selection in particular. We are looking at Deck 5 towards the bow but I thought it was always better to be as low as possible and towards the center. But, the lifts are in the center and we don't want to be near them.

Please share any insight or thoughts you have. Thank you.

I should have added that our cruise is in the Mediterranean.

Our first Ocean cruise was with Viking and we loved it.  We have been in 6072 and 4030 on itineraries with seas and rough weather and had no problem.  The Med could have rough weather but the potential is not as great as sailing the Pacific Ocean off Chile or crossing the North Sea. 

 

The PV cabins are great for extra space but we did an 18 day itinerary in a DV with clothing needed for 3 seasons and did not have a storage problem.  In a PV cabin we didn't even use all the drawers available but liked the extra counter space and having a sofa.  We were in cabin #4030 right by the forward lifts.  It was not noisy at all and those lifts are less crowded then the aft ones.  That is now our cabin area of choice no matter which deck.  If you have cabins above and below you, it should be quiet.  I would avoid cabins on deck 3 above Torshavn, the nightclub, or the Star Theatre as well as above the Tenders if there are many ports with tendering to shore.  A cabin across from any of the laundry rooms could have a lot of hallway activity but sure would be convenient.  But i doubt it would be noisy as we find the cabin doors and walls to be fairly sound proofed.

 

Keep in mind that V and DV cabins on the Star, Sea or Sky do not have the 3 drawers inside the closet that are now on the newer ships.  So if you are a heavy packer you might not have enough drawer space.  But you can request as many hangers as you need and will have a bigger closet space.

[Frenchberet]

Many people probably have preferred cabins and/or one they think if as “their” cabin.  Ours is 5027.  We’ve done 3 cruises (different ships) in this cabin and are booked on #4 in 2022.  It’s near the elevators and steps but we’ve haven’t had any issues with noise or traffic.  Love Viking ❤️ Hope you enjoy your cruise!

[Mich3554]

TBH, I would have no problem being near an elevator if you are concerned about noise.  Once your cabin door closes, you don’t hear anything.

We have been in cabins 4110 (more towards aft), 5049 (midship) and 5089 (more aft).  The cruise we were in 5089 was around South America, the cruise that rocked the most.  I don’t remember the rocking too much in our cabin, more when we were in World Cafe that day.

[Heidi13]

The first thing to consider in cabin selection is your personal preferences:

• Does anyone have motion sickness - if yes, then a lower deck and closer to midships, will experience less movement
• Noise - fwd cabins have a higher potential for noise - anchor banging, anchor chain being let go, bow thruster operation, bow slamming in heavy weather. Especially at high speed, aft cabins have the potential for prop vibration, and when docking, stern thruster operation, etc
• Preference for proximity to services/lounges - Explorer's, MDR, laundry, etc
• Bed direction - some prefer the head of the bed facing fwd, so if an issue you should check

 

Once you have a preferred area, check what is above, below, on both sides and then proximity to laundry, stairwells, lifts, access doors, etc. DW is highly susceptible to motion, so our priority is lower deck and midships.

 

Deck # 3 doesn't have any cabins of interest to us, as midships is the Atrium and fwd of that has Torshavn below. Therefore, we look at Deck 4. Midships has the lifeboats, but if properly secured, they should not create noise. However, we do hear noise about an hour before anchoring. Above and either side is cabins. Our preferred cabin is about 1/2 between the stairwells/lifts and a few cabins from the laundry. We did not experience any noise from the alleyway

[Clay Clayton]

14 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

 

Deck # 3 doesn't have any cabins of interest to us, as midships is the Atrium and fwd of that has Torshavn below. Therefore, we look at Deck 4.

Surprised you don’t want to be above Torshavn-FOMO and all that!😂

[Heidi13]

3 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Surprised you don’t want to be above Torshavn-FOMO and all that!😂

 

Based on Jim's rumour, we are in there each night till late, so the late night noise isn't a problem. But, the afternoon practice interupts the nap.😀

[MalibooNewYork]

I really can't thank the kind cruisers that responded to my desperate plea for help. There is so much to learn but I am in good hands.

Good to know that the lifts can't be heard in the cabin. I had a horrendous night in a hotel some years back. My room was across from the elevator that clanked literally all night long. I never got to sleep.

Thank you once more.

[eylarson]

Never heard anything from the elevators or people using them.  

 

[Squawkman]

3 hours ago, eylarson said:

Never heard anything from the elevators or people using them.  

 

Neither did we - nor did we hear people using the laundry room.

[RummyB]

Has anyone stayed in the DV1 aft cabins on the Sky?  I usually love the aft cabins but this is a much smaller ship.  Thanks.

[dizzlepop]

28 minutes ago, RummyB said:

Has anyone stayed in the DV1 aft cabins on the Sky?  I usually love the aft cabins but this is a much smaller ship.  Thanks.

Haven't done so, but we're booked in a DV1 aft on the Jupiter for 10/22. I've had an aft cabin once and so loved it, chose this cruise date based on getting that placement! Here's hoping it's worth it!

[aungrl]

15 hours ago, RummyB said:

Has anyone stayed in the DV1 aft cabins on the Sky?  I usually love the aft cabins but this is a much smaller ship.  Thanks.

Have stayed in an aft cabin on the Sky, although not a DV1, so a little higher up on the ship.  Encountered some rough seas a couple of times on that particular itinerary, and the motion wasn't bad at all - very tolerable.

[red4u2]

There looks to be a few ( about six each side) potentially good DV1 cabins on Port and Starboard sides of the ships diagrams on level 3,  they appear to be forward of Torshavn and the Atrium and are showing to be above the shops and near the elevator's as long as you don't go to far forward and end up over the cinemas or the lounge. 

They seem to be a sweet spot for entry level cabins, does anyone have any experience with these cabins?

Thank you in advance!!

[Heidi13]

5 hours ago, red4u2 said:

There looks to be a few ( about six each side) potentially good DV1 cabins on Port and Starboard sides of the ships diagrams on level 3,  they appear to be forward of Torshavn and the Atrium and are showing to be above the shops and near the elevator's as long as you don't go to far forward and end up over the cinemas or the lounge. 

They seem to be a sweet spot for entry level cabins, does anyone have any experience with these cabins?

Thank you in advance!!

 

The only DV1 cabins on Deck 3 that I am aware of is the 2 cabins right aft between the 2 suites.

 

Fwd of the Atrium is DV6 then V1 cabins. I believe the cabin on Dk 3 between Torshavn and Star Theatre are the DV6's around the stairwell and lifts.

[red4u2]

9 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

The only DV1 cabins on Deck 3 that I am aware of is the 2 cabins right aft between the 2 suites.

 

Fwd of the Atrium is DV6 then V1 cabins. I believe the cabin on Dk 3 between Torshavn and Star Theatre are the DV6's around the stairwell and lifts.

My apologies, they are DV6 that I was referring to.

[red4u2]

14 hours ago, red4u2 said:

There looks to be a few ( about six each side) potentially good DV6 cabins on Port and Starboard sides of the ships diagrams on level 3,  they appear to be forward of Torshavn and the Atrium and are showing to be above the shops and near the elevator's as long as you don't go to far forward and end up over the cinemas or the lounge. 

They seem to be a sweet spot for entry level cabins, does anyone have any experience with these cabins?

Thank you in advance!!

oops!  just when I thought i had everything correct in my post!  haha sorry,   I meant the DV 6 cabins in that area!   thank you!     corrected post.

[Redtravel]

Cruising rule is midship and low for less motion.  Older ships are less stabile.   Viking has modern Ships with good stabilizers.  Cabins are all well designed.  Pick any location that pleases you. Whatever cabin you book, it will be good.  I would not hesitate booking any cabin on a Viking ship.  
my personal choices are :   I like a cabin that is on a deck that is between 2 decks of cabins.  Never book a cabin under a nightclub, restaurant, or pool deck.  The noise from above can be annoying.  Viking ships avoid much of that.  Older ships don’t have sound proofing.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Cruising rule is midship and low for less motion.  Older ships are less stabile.   Viking has modern Ships with good stabilizers. 

 

The stability of ships and the sea-keeping ability actually has nothing to do with age, it is purely a factor of both design and how the ship is loaded, at any given time. Many of us believe the older steam ships had better sea-keeping abilities than any modern tonnage, QM2 excepted. Jim has made many crossings on Cunarders and I have on the P&O ships that would have the Viking ships almost hove-to, but we were capable of maintaining almost 20 kts.

 

The distribution of weights affect the ship's Metacentric Height (GM), which dictates the type of transverse movement experienced. Cruise ships tend to favour a lower GM, which produces a slower, gentler rolling motion, but the ship goes further over. A higher GM reduces roll, but the ship snaps back faster, producing a very uncomfortable experience. The GM is managed daily with distribution of weights, basically the contents of the tanks.

 

Stabaliser technology has improved over the years and Viking ships have some of the latest technology. However, stabalisers only work on transverse (rolling) and are highly dependent on the ship's speed. Therefore, when the ship has to reduce speed in a seaway, the stabalisers are less effective and have to move more. Stabalisers have no effect on pitching, which is managed by the Captain adjusting course and speed in a seaway.

 

On the 20 WC, we experienced a number of TRS and a frontal system and while we were safe and in capable hands, it required weather courses and speed reductions. Between Hobart and Sydney, we adjusted courses and the speed was down to about 8 kts. On SS Oriana, we could easily have maintained 20 kts and the old Cunarders than Jim experienced would probably have a similar experience.

[Clay Clayton]

Andy

Your mini dissertation raised at least one question for me. During our 2018 transatlantic on Sky from San Juan to Madeira we experienced large swells (coming from the north while we headed east) spaced out at quite a distance that created a significant roll of the ship. Based on your essay, I wonder why the stabilizers didn’t make it more comfortable. After about the third day most of us were used to it but it was still very bothersome.  Below is a link to a video I posted at the time on my blog. It attempted to show the movement from the bottom of a swell to the top. 
 

https://videopress.com/v/uW8pf8Jx

 

 

[Heidi13]

5 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Andy

Your mini dissertation raised at least one question for me. During our 2018 transatlantic on Sky from San Juan to Madeira we experienced large swells (coming from the north while we headed east) spaced out at quite a distance that created a significant roll of the ship. Based on your essay, I wonder why the stabilizers didn’t make it more comfortable. After about the third day most of us were used to it but it was still very bothersome.  Below is a link to a video I posted at the time on my blog. It attempted to show the movement from the bottom of a swell to the top. 
 

https://videopress.com/v/uW8pf8Jx

 

 

 

Clay - the current conditions were fairly smooth, as you had minimal sea state from wind, but you had a fairly long and steep swell from the port beam.

 

Hard to judge the ship's speed, as provided the fins are working, speed is plays a significant component in their effectivemess. When the speed is slower the fins have to move further to provide the same level of dampening.

 

The front face of the swell was also rather steep, so that causes the ship to roll quickly.

 

To reduce rolling, they could have increased speed and/or altered course to take the swell away from the beam. However, a course alteration would introduce more pitching.

 

In summary, the slow gradual rolling on the film is typical of a cruise ship with a low/moderate GM. Way better than some ships I sailed on with a large GM, which resembled a bucking bronco.

[Clay Clayton]

Thanks!  You’re right it was relatively smooth except for the continuous swells.  I lived it at night when it rocked me to sleep. But We all got tired of hearing but used to walking “low and wide” as the Captain requested. 😂