Which World Cruise do you recommend?

[islandwoman]

4 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 I am just a middle income single person who saved for 30 yrs to take that journey and I'll never be able to afford it again.

Can you tell me what it is about Oceania that made it so much better for you to do once in a lifetime, than to take two world cruises on a less expensive line?

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I still like Holland America..

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, islandwoman said:

Can you tell me what it is about Oceania that made it so much better for you to do once in a lifetime, than to take two world cruises on a less expensive line?

 

Having completed 2 World Cruises and booked, then had to cancel a 3rd, I'll suggest you need to consider more than the base fare.

 

Our Princess WC (less expensive Line) was about 1/2 the base fare of the Viking WC (more expensive Line). However, once both cruises were over, the actual cost per day was virtually the same. I note this is highly dependant on cruising style and some pax may not want/need the extras included in the more expensive Line.

 

Oceania and Viking are fairly comparable in standards, as those were the 2 Lines we shortlisted after dumping Princess after 40 years. Some of the key differences for us:

 

 - Number of pax and the available space is vastly superior on Viking and I assume also Oceania. Nowhere on the ship was crowded and they had quiet areas all over the ship to sit and read. On Princess, the ship had more than double the pax and always felt crowded, with queues for everything.

 

 - World Cruise and Segments, on Princess, to fill the ship they had 2 separate World Cruises, 4 segments and a series of coastal voyages. On departure Sydney < 500 pax of 2,200 were on the same WC. A couple hundred departing Sydney were only aboard 1-night disembarking in Melbourne and another couple hundred got off in Freemantle. Throughout the entire voyage, we got the impression it was a series of B2B2B.... cruises, not a World Cruise. On Viking, we also had 4 segments, but at least 50% of the pax were on for the entire cruise. Viking did a vastly superior job of creating a WC atmosphere. Note: subsequent Viking WC's have no segments. When paying the premium for a WC, it is important that the atmosphere is appropriate and it isn't a series of B2B's

 

 - Two of the key human necessities are a roof over our heads and food on the table. On WC's lasting up to 6-months these are important considerations.

 

 - Cabins, we booked m'ship balcony cabins on a lower deck on both ships. The Viking cabin was 50% bigger and had a better layout. The Viking bathroom was bigger, so it could be used by both of us and the shower was huge. On Princess the bathrooms are tiny. The Viking balcony was also vastly superior. The Viking cabin stewards ( yes plural) were way more attentive than Princess. On Princess the single steward could bid for more cabins, so to increase their tips, with our single steward handling about 20 cabins. On Viking, out primary steward had about 10 - 12 cabins and had an assistant he shared with another cabin steward. The Viking cabin service was significantly better, especially since they had more time.

 

 - Ship design, the Viking ships are very well designed and their fleet is maintained well. I only recall minor issues on the Viking cruise and the cabin steward noted most of them and requested work orders to fix before we even knew about an issue. With Princess, the ship resembled a Greek Tramp Ship, the hull was in poor condition, the balcony doors in many cabins leaked, with no repairs made. When it rained the cabin stewards had to place towels in the tracks to save the cabin getting wet. The ship had plumbing leaks everywhere and they didn't use buckets on most of them, They placed an extra square of old carpet letting the leaks drop into the floor. Lots of alleyways smelled damp. We had a number of electrical power interruptions, including the entire aft section of the ship one day.

 

- Food, clearly very subjective and highly dependant on the Executive Chef. On Princess the food quality was the worst we had ever experienced with the Line, having noticed it gradually decreasing for over 30 years. Meals were well presented, but generally served below optimum temperature and the meats were low quality. I recall Lamb chops one night and every table sent them back. Needed a chainsaw to cut them. Menus on Princess were repeated every cruise and were just your basic Princess menus. On Viking, the menu never repeated, although some dishes were repeated, an entire menu was not repeated. Viking did a vastly superior job of including local options on the menu under the "Destinations" section. The meals on Viking were as well presented as Princess and are actually cooked to order, rather than being mass produced per mega ships. The quality of products on Viking was vastly superior. The Viking buffet has vastly superior option to Princess. Oceania is known for the best cuisine at sea, so may even be a step up from Viking.

 

 - Since Viking, and I assume Oceania, deal with an older demographic on all their cruises, they are well prepared to deal with an older demographic for a number of months. All the entertainment on Viking was well done, not glitzy broadway shows, but excellent vocals and audio/visuals. The lectures are again excellent and relevant to the age group. On Princess the entertainment was rubbish and they still promoted the usual wacky pool games, marriage shows, etc.

 

 - On board experience, when on an extended cruise, I am on holiday, wanting to relax during sea days and make the most of every opportunity in port. I'm not interested in photographers sticking cameras in my face, shops expanding into alleyways peddling inches of junk and receiving reams of promotional material in the cabin. On Princess the daily adverts received went straight in the bin. I'm also not interested in having better quality meal items in the MDR at an extra cost. These are common on many mega ship Lines, but not Premium/Luxury Lines. By the time we left the Princess Cruise, the constant bombardment with upsell was annoying, whereas on Viking you are left alone to enjoy the cruise.

 

 - Another key factor is Viking consider the Pax as responsible adults. They have no restrictions for bringing drinks aboard and will even serve your own brought aboard wine in the MDR, with no service charge. Same in the bars, with the only cost being mixers. On Princess and most mega ship Lines they even restrict bringing water aboard, never mind alcohol.

 

 - When heading ashore, Viking provide unlimited bottles of water for each pax, at no charge. Mega ship Lines charge a fortune for a bottle of water. Viking also provide filtered still or sparkling water in the cabins daily.

 

 - Although I have been retired for 12 years, I spent many years in the industry, so knowing something of a Lines operating procedures, especially Bridge & Engineering, is of interest. When we dumped Princess and researched a new cruise line, this was one of my criteria. Having researched Bridge procedures across the cruise industry extensively, I eliminated one of the cruise lines based in mainland Europe that does WC's. Their procedures may have change now, but I still wouldn't sail with them.

 

Overall, our 2 completed WC's on a mega ship and smaller ship cost virtually the same per day, but the overall standards on the smaller, higher base fare cruise was vastly superior.

[islandwoman]

2 hours ago, Gail &amp; Marty sailing away said:

I still like Holland America..

Is there somewhere in this thread where you've posted your reasons?  If yes, please remind me where to look.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Just now, islandwoman said:

Is there somewhere in this thread where you've posted your reasons?  If yes, please remind me where to look.

I have done 5 on Holland American. And have 2024 & 2025 Booked 

[islandwoman]

Heidi13,  Thank you for your detailed explanation about why you preferred the Viking World Cruise to that of Princess.  It was especially interesting to me because I too am a former Princess cruiser - 393 days on 30 Princess cruises.  DH and I quit Princess shortly after they sold their last small ship.  Also, many of the downsides that you mentioned have annoyed us as well.

But still, we were considering Princess for a World Cruise because it is the only one I can find that has a World Cruise during the North American summer (We don't want to miss ski season) and because it is one of the few lines that actually goes all the way around the world. To me it isn't a World Cruise unless it starts and stops at the same longitude.  After reading your post, we will be less likely to choose Princess.

[islandwoman]

27 minutes ago, Gail &amp; Marty sailing away said:

I have done 5 on Holland American. And have 2024 & 2025 Booked 

What is it that makes you want to sail Holland America's World Cruise over and over?

[BVILady]

42 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Having completed 2 World Cruises and booked, then had to cancel a 3rd, I'll suggest you need to consider more than the base fare.

 

Our Princess WC (less expensive Line) was about 1/2 the base fare of the Viking WC (more expensive Line). However, once both cruises were over, the actual cost per day was virtually the same. I note this is highly dependant on cruising style and some pax may not want/need the extras included in the more expensive Line.

 

Oceania and Viking are fairly comparable in standards, as those were the 2 Lines we shortlisted after dumping Princess after 40 years. Some of the key differences for us:

 

 - Number of pax and the available space is vastly superior on Viking and I assume also Oceania. Nowhere on the ship was crowded and they had quiet areas all over the ship to sit and read. On Princess, the ship had more than double the pax and always felt crowded, with queues for everything.

 

 - World Cruise and Segments, on Princess, to fill the ship they had 2 separate World Cruises, 4 segments and a series of coastal voyages. On departure Sydney < 500 pax of 2,200 were on the same WC. A couple hundred departing Sydney were only aboard 1-night disembarking in Melbourne and another couple hundred got off in Freemantle. Throughout the entire voyage, we got the impression it was a series of B2B2B.... cruises, not a World Cruise. On Viking, we also had 4 segments, but at least 50% of the pax were on for the entire cruise. Viking did a vastly superior job of creating a WC atmosphere. Note: subsequent Viking WC's have no segments. When paying the premium for a WC, it is important that the atmosphere is appropriate and it isn't a series of B2B's

 

 - Two of the key human necessities are a roof over our heads and food on the table. On WC's lasting up to 6-months these are important considerations.

 

 - Cabins, we booked m'ship balcony cabins on a lower deck on both ships. The Viking cabin was 50% bigger and had a better layout. The Viking bathroom was bigger, so it could be used by both of us and the shower was huge. On Princess the bathrooms are tiny. The Viking balcony was also vastly superior. The Viking cabin stewards ( yes plural) were way more attentive than Princess. On Princess the single steward could bid for more cabins, so to increase their tips, with our single steward handling about 20 cabins. On Viking, out primary steward had about 10 - 12 cabins and had an assistant he shared with another cabin steward. The Viking cabin service was significantly better, especially since they had more time.

 

 - Ship design, the Viking ships are very well designed and their fleet is maintained well. I only recall minor issues on the Viking cruise and the cabin steward noted most of them and requested work orders to fix before we even knew about an issue. With Princess, the ship resembled a Greek Tramp Ship, the hull was in poor condition, the balcony doors in many cabins leaked, with no repairs made. When it rained the cabin stewards had to place towels in the tracks to save the cabin getting wet. The ship had plumbing leaks everywhere and they didn't use buckets on most of them, They placed an extra square of old carpet letting the leaks drop into the floor. Lots of alleyways smelled damp. We had a number of electrical power interruptions, including the entire aft section of the ship one day.

 

- Food, clearly very subjective and highly dependant on the Executive Chef. On Princess the food quality was the worst we had ever experienced with the Line, having noticed it gradually decreasing for over 30 years. Meals were well presented, but generally served below optimum temperature and the meats were low quality. I recall Lamb chops one night and every table sent them back. Needed a chainsaw to cut them. Menus on Princess were repeated every cruise and were just your basic Princess menus. On Viking, the menu never repeated, although some dishes were repeated, an entire menu was not repeated. Viking did a vastly superior job of including local options on the menu under the "Destinations" section. The meals on Viking were as well presented as Princess and are actually cooked to order, rather than being mass produced per mega ships. The quality of products on Viking was vastly superior. The Viking buffet has vastly superior option to Princess. Oceania is known for the best cuisine at sea, so may even be a step up from Viking.

 

 - Since Viking, and I assume Oceania, deal with an older demographic on all their cruises, they are well prepared to deal with an older demographic for a number of months. All the entertainment on Viking was well done, not glitzy broadway shows, but excellent vocals and audio/visuals. The lectures are again excellent and relevant to the age group. On Princess the entertainment was rubbish and they still promoted the usual wacky pool games, marriage shows, etc.

 

 - On board experience, when on an extended cruise, I am on holiday, wanting to relax during sea days and make the most of every opportunity in port. I'm not interested in photographers sticking cameras in my face, shops expanding into alleyways peddling inches of junk and receiving reams of promotional material in the cabin. On Princess the daily adverts received went straight in the bin. I'm also not interested in having better quality meal items in the MDR at an extra cost. These are common on many mega ship Lines, but not Premium/Luxury Lines. By the time we left the Princess Cruise, the constant bombardment with upsell was annoying, whereas on Viking you are left alone to enjoy the cruise.

 

 - Another key factor is Viking consider the Pax as responsible adults. They have no restrictions for bringing drinks aboard and will even serve your own brought aboard wine in the MDR, with no service charge. Same in the bars, with the only cost being mixers. On Princess and most mega ship Lines they even restrict bringing water aboard, never mind alcohol.

 

 - When heading ashore, Viking provide unlimited bottles of water for each pax, at no charge. Mega ship Lines charge a fortune for a bottle of water. Viking also provide filtered still or sparkling water in the cabins daily.

 

 - Although I have been retired for 12 years, I spent many years in the industry, so knowing something of a Lines operating procedures, especially Bridge & Engineering, is of interest. When we dumped Princess and researched a new cruise line, this was one of my criteria. Having researched Bridge procedures across the cruise industry extensively, I eliminated one of the cruise lines based in mainland Europe that does WC's. Their procedures may have change now, but I still wouldn't sail with them.

 

Overall, our 2 completed WC's on a mega ship and smaller ship cost virtually the same per day, but the overall standards on the smaller, higher base fare cruise was vastly superior.

Cabin-Stewards, I had 2 - a main-steward and his helper, 

Why would I want to bring drinks with me onboard, when I supposedly have unlimited supply of top-shelf drinks. And if spending a few Dollars for a bottle of water will bankrupt me, I should have stayed home. For budget-conscious people they can always fill up their bottles at the bufffet.

Costa Deliziosa is well maintained, I didn't see any rust-spots or anything else bad anywhere - and I am living in the tropics and had managed a hotel here for 35 years, so I do walk around with open eyes. 

Costa World Cruise had 3 segments as far as I read, but I did not notice that, because I did see the same people the entire cruise. The 2024 apparently did not have any segments, they only opened the booking of segments a few month ago I see on facebook. But then people say they cannot find the segment they were considering.

Food, I am not a gourmet but I have all my life have eaten in upscale restaurants and I had no problems with the food on Costa - ok I have always loved Italian food, being European. 

I am always booked into a LUXURY interior cabin, so I do spend lot's of time in the public places and I was perfectly happy with the view and had no problem with any noise. 

I am cruising solo, so my cabin had plenty of space for me on my own, no complaints there. Naturally I would have loved to have a luxury suite, but not for the price. 

Bridge procedure - I have no idea what that means and since I don't know what that means I also have not noticed it having a negative effect on my cruise. 

Basically I am not convinced that whatever you are claiming to be the a plus for booking a luxury cruise line is not worth the difference in price to me. 

I just do not understand how you come up with the endprice being the same to what you spend on Viking and what I would have spend on Costa. As I had mentioned already previously, I did everything I wanted to do - 2 overland-excursions and any excursion I wanted, had any drink I wanted to and plenty of cappuccinos, had shipped one suitcase home, had insurance and actually did include my 1 flight and my hotel prior the cruise in my calculations and my total was $ 40.000 - against the price Viking had quoted me, which was over $ 100.000 and did not include the excursions I would have booked, because looking at it, I did not like the ones included in Viking fare. 

Just my cheopo 2 cents.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

6 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

What is it that makes you want to sail Holland America's World Cruise over and over?

The Crew.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, islandwoman said:

Heidi13,  Thank you for your detailed explanation about why you preferred the Viking World Cruise to that of Princess.  It was especially interesting to me because I too am a former Princess cruiser - 393 days on 30 Princess cruises.  DH and I quit Princess shortly after they sold their last small ship.  Also, many of the downsides that you mentioned have annoyed us as well.

But still, we were considering Princess for a World Cruise because it is the only one I can find that has a World Cruise during the North American summer (We don't want to miss ski season) and because it is one of the few lines that actually goes all the way around the world. To me it isn't a World Cruise unless it starts and stops at the same longitude.  After reading your post, we will be less likely to choose Princess.

 

Although we don't ski, the timing of the Sydney WC just worked better for us than the option out of L/A. Big mistake.

[At7Seas]

13 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

Everyone's different; Oceania met all my criteria and was an experience I'll never forget. And that was important to me because I am just a middle income single person who saved for 30 yrs to take that journey and I'll never be able to afford it again. But my pictures and memories are precious since this was a once in a lifetime experience for me. 

 

Sure, everybody is different. And I have no doubt that Oceania offers principally a good product, whether it fits to everybody has been questioned initially by islandwoman already when starting this discussion from her point of view. For you it was obviously exactly a good cruise. I absolute believe that your memories and pictures are precious to you, so are the highlights of my journeys. I was simply advocating spending reasonably regarding a quote that was four times higher. I don’t think a lot of people really needn’t care what they are doing financially - and saying this I also think that everybody who actually does or did a world cruise is already quite privileged.

[At7Seas]

1 hour ago, BVILady said:

I just do not understand how you come up with the endprice being the same to what you spend on Viking and what I would have spend on Costa.

 

This discussion we had earlier and it only worked out with a Princess cruise under very specific circumstances. One of the needed circumstances was an included business class flight with Viking that regarding the price mentioned earlier must have been intercontinental. For our cruise on the Deliziosa a business class flight was available from Vancouver to Venice and retour for about that mentioned amount. I just booked the international trains from Venice back home and the price was 115.40 € in the best available seat. Already by this simple fact the so cheap Viking story doesn’t work out for me. I only can agree with your statement regarding the included Viking excursions I saw. Even on our cruise I won’t be on all of the 15 included excursions, because I want to do something I like better. Two of the included excursions I already did not too long ago and don’t want to repeat so soon. BVILady, I am completely with you regarding food on Costa, there is regarding the quality no need to buy any other food aboard. I just decided for variation in style to visit the more experimental restaurant that offers dinners designed by Bruno Barbieri, Hélène Darroze and Ángel León and the sushi restaurant. This definitely doesn’t ruin the grand total, nor do the extra water bottles I ordered for taking on excursions. For me a huge cabin is not really important. I sleep there, I use the bathroom and store my belongings. It just must be a quiet location. As my lounge I use public spaces, there the flow of cappuccini is better as well. And the Deliziosa is very well maintained. I come out of the constructions and real estate sector, people always complained “do you really have to see everything?” Yes! BVILady, in the end you simply stated that you knew spending US$ 60,000 better than in a perhaps slightly better cruise on Viking, you booked the next world cruise the following year and still have much left for other spendings.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, BVILady said:

 

Bridge procedure - I have no idea what that means and since I don't know what that means I also have not noticed it having a negative effect on my cruise.

Bridge & Engineering procedures and culture have a huge impact on the overall safety of the operation. Many cruise lines boast that "Safety is their # 1 priority." Having worked in the industry, I am well aware that some cruise lines do actually operate with safety as the # 1 priority, others only if it doesn't cost money. Viking certainly operate with safety as the # 1 priority, regardless of cost.

 

The pax on Costa Concordia were certainly impacted by that cruise line's procedures and Bridge culture.

1 hour ago, BVILady said:

Basically I am not convinced that whatever you are claiming to be the a plus for booking a luxury cruise line is not worth the difference in price to me.

That is entirely your prerogative and why so many different options of various quality are available in this industry.

 

1 hour ago, BVILady said:

I just do not understand how you come up with the endprice being the same to what you spend on Viking and what I would have spend on Costa.

Surely you aren't insinuating that I am making false statements. I have a Scottish heritage so am very well versed in managing money and have performed the Treasurer function for many non-profits, maintaining the chart of accounts. I am more than capable of developing an Excel spreadsheet to compare the total costs of 2 separate cruises.

 

That both cruises were identical daily costs is Factual. However, as I noted other pax may not experience similar results, as cruising styles vary.

1 hour ago, BVILady said:

As I had mentioned already previously, I did everything I wanted to do - 2 overland-excursions and any excursion I wanted, had any drink I wanted to and plenty of cappuccinos, had shipped one suitcase home, had insurance and actually did include my 1 flight and my hotel prior the cruise in my calculations and my total was $ 40.000 - against the price Viking had quoted me, which was over $ 100.000 and did not include the excursions I would have booked, because looking at it, I did not like the ones included in Viking fare. 

Just my cheopo 2 cents.

The Costa model clearly works for you and that is great. Personally, the Costa model, culture and standards do not work for us, so even if it was considerably cheaper, we would not book with that cruise line.

 

We booked on Viking due to a poor experience on Princess, which sadly is consistent with most, if not all, mainstream cruise lines. Mainstream cruise line standards have been dropping steadily for the past 20 - 25 yrs.

 

When booking the Viking cruise, we never expected the daily cost to be the same as Princess, so was very pleasantly surprised to note the actually daily cost was no more than Princess.

 

Our outlook is also different, in that we are happy to pay for what we perceive as quality. We spent many years skimping and struggling to survive, but are now more comfortable. Personally, we prefer a single quality and comfortable experience over two cheaper experiences.

[At7Seas]

16 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

I am well aware that some cruise lines do actually operate with safety as the # 1 priority, others only if it doesn't cost money. ... The pax on Costa Concordia were certainly impacted by that cruise line's procedures and Bridge culture.

 

Bad example! Sailing illegally so close to the islands rocky coast had not the slightest bit to do with the costs of safety. It was simply a captain showing off. And it changed Costa significantly.

[islandwoman]

27 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

When booking the Viking cruise, we never expected the daily cost to be the same as Princess, so was very pleasantly surprised to note the actually daily cost was no more than Princess.

 

How do you figure that the daily cost of Viking was the same as the daily cost of Princess?

[islandwoman]

2 hours ago, Gail &amp; Marty sailing away said:

The Crew.

We are seriously considering a World Cruise on Holland America after we stop skiing. (At this time HAL's World Cruises only sail from North America in our winter.)  Can you give me more examples of why you like it so much that you sailed several times? 

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, islandwoman said:

How do you figure that the daily cost of Viking was the same as the daily cost of Princess?

 

On completion of the Princess cruise, I created a spreadsheet that captured all costs associated with the entire holiday from departing the house to returning. Since this cruise was R/T Sydney, we incurred two International flights, whereas the Viking cruise was 1 International + 1 Domestic flight, in business. Viking also provided about $11,000 in OBC (per couple), so that covered almost the entire cost of the optional shore-ex and minor incidentals onboard. At the end of the cruise, you have no bill to settle.

 

I have flown long-haul flights around the World many times in my younger\ days joining and leaving ships. At that time, I thought nothing of being stuck in an economy seat for 24+ hrs (Sydney to London) or 18 hrs (London to Narita). Now in our 60's, long economy flights are no longer of any interest, so we only fly First or Business, for flights over 3 - 4 hrs.

 

After the Viking cruise, I again captured all costs on a spreadsheet and was surprised at the fairly small differential. Since the Princess cruise was > 2 weeks shorter, I converted each cruise cost to per day, with the total daily cost being within pennies.

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, islandwoman said:

We are seriously considering a World Cruise on Holland America after we stop skiing. (At this time HAL's World Cruises only sail from North America in our winter.)  Can you give me more examples of why you like it so much that you sailed several times? 

 

May I suggest reading the HAL WC Roll Call for 2023 and finding the URL of some of the travel bloggers from last year's cruise. I kept a number of them, but unfortunately cleaned out the bookmarks a few months ago. A number of the regulars were not overly happy with the post COVID changes.

 

We have friends in Ontario that sailed in both 2020 and 2023 and were not overly complimentary with the changes. I read this also in a number of the blogs.

 

I find daily travel blogs of pax onboard to be a valuable aid to getting a feel for the cruise.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

3 hours ago, islandwoman said:

We are seriously considering a World Cruise on Holland America after we stop skiing. (At this time HAL's World Cruises only sail from North America in our winter.)  Can you give me more examples of why you like it so much that you sailed several times? 

We have been on 4 other lines, and only Holland American crew is mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines.

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, At7Seas said:

 

Bad example! Sailing illegally so close to the islands rocky coast had not the slightest bit to do with the costs of safety. It was simply a captain showing off. And it changed Costa significantly.

 

Don't believe everything you read in the media.

 

Without getting into details, which are not public knowledge, I can assure you this was a classic example of poor operational safety and operational "Culture". Show-boating was a symptom, it was NOT the "Root Cause'"

 

Yes, I expect Costa have changed significantly, which is the classic proof that, "Every company pays for safety at some point." Some do it early, incorporating human factors, risk analysis, closed-loop communications, etc into their revised and enhanced Bridge & Engineering Resource Management procedures. Another key factor in both the airline and marine industries is changing the culture in the Cockpit and Bridge.

 

When I went to sea, nobody dared question the Captain, who did all the handling. If the Captain was going to run the ship aground, it would take a very brave officer to point this out before the grounding. The airline industry had a similar culture, with the classic example being the 1977 Tenerife Airport disaster. Airlines had a head start with changing the culture, but quality cruise/ferry operators started changing over 20 yrs ago, well before the Concordia incident. I am also very well aware that procedures can be changed quickly, but "Culture" can take many years, or even generations, to effectively change.

 

With almost 30 yrs as Master I have seen a huge change in the culture in the three companies I worked for, two of which are now Carnival Brands. Both those companies started the transformation 10 yrs before the Concordia incident and I also implemented similar standards on my Po/Pax, and then developed company wide procedures that were implemented by 2012. 

 

 

 

 

[islandwoman]

47 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

On completion of the Princess cruise, I created a spreadsheet that captured all costs associated with the entire holiday from departing the house to returning. Since this cruise was R/T Sydney, we incurred two International flights, whereas the Viking cruise was 1 International + 1 Domestic flight, in business. Viking also provided about $11,000 in OBC (per couple), so that covered almost the entire cost of the optional shore-ex and minor incidentals onboard. At the end of the cruise, you have no bill to settle.

 

I have flown long-haul flights around the World many times in my younger\ days joining and leaving ships. At that time, I thought nothing of being stuck in an economy seat for 24+ hrs (Sydney to London) or 18 hrs (London to Narita). Now in our 60's, long economy flights are no longer of any interest, so we only fly First or Business, for flights over 3 - 4 hrs.

 

After the Viking cruise, I again captured all costs on a spreadsheet and was surprised at the fairly small differential. Since the Princess cruise was > 2 weeks shorter, I converted each cruise cost to per day, with the total daily cost being within pennies.

So if I read this correctly, Viking's OBC and the cost of flights accounted for the small differential in the two (Princess and Viking) World Cruise daily costs?

[islandwoman]

48 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

May I suggest reading the HAL WC Roll Call for 2023 and finding the URL of some of the travel bloggers from last year's cruise. I kept a number of them, but unfortunately cleaned out the bookmarks a few months ago. A number of the regulars were not overly happy with the post COVID changes.

 

We have friends in Ontario that sailed in both 2020 and 2023 and were not overly complimentary with the changes. I read this also in a number of the blogs.

 

I find daily travel blogs of pax onboard to be a valuable aid to getting a feel for the cruise.

I have not been happy with post pandemic changes in a number of companies.  It seems that many representatives have suddenly and inexplicably become incompetent.

[Heidi13]

1 minute ago, islandwoman said:

I have not been happy with post pandemic changes in a number of companies.  It seems that many representatives have suddenly and inexplicably become incompetent.

 

This has also been our experience and why we no longer will sail with Viking. I had separate issues on 2 cruises, which were raised to the management level. Sadly, they were no better than the supervisors, using lies and an avoidance strategy. The shipboard experience is amazing, but we will never deal with their US Office again.

 

Onboard, the reduction in standards has been caused by financial challenges and crew availability. Even though Viking paid their crew more than other cruise lines and also got them home quickly in 2020, by sailing to UK ports, many of the crew did not return after the pandemic.

 

Coupled with a significant increase in tonnage, they required large quantities of new crew, whereas pre-pandemic their crew return rate was about 95%. The new crew need trained and also existing crews are promoted to supervisory positions before fully developing their skills sets. Other cruise lines may not have the same tonnage increases, but they probably have higher percentages of non-returning crew.

[At7Seas]

8 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Don't believe everything you read in the media.

 

I shouldn’t believe the media or the Italian courts that got to the same conclusion again and again in all decisions taken during long trials? I should believe you that an accident with dozens of fatalities couldn’t happen with a Viking ship because of their safety culture? An accident as the one when the Viking Sigyn, while turning, overran the Hableány, which sunk in no time? The trial is still ongoing, but at least the port authorities declared the manoeuvre had not their permission and the captain declared not having seen the other ship. But I should not believe the media and the 28 dead tourists are still alive.

[At7Seas]

8 hours ago, islandwoman said:

So if I read this correctly, Viking's OBC and the cost of flights accounted for the small differential in the two (Princess and Viking) World Cruise daily costs?

 

Allow me a word about OBC. No single item on a cruise is for free. You pay for it the one or other way. Giving such an amount OBC as for example Viking does makes the fare significantly more expensive. It is no free money, but money you already gave to Viking. And you will spend it, because otherwise it is lost. Just one example. The majority of my excursions I booked individually, in most cases not just by financial reasons. This would be largely prohibited if I would still have a massive OBC waiting to be spent. I doubt that I would have more profit from this massive OBC than Viking.