duquephart Posted August 18, 2022 #101 Share Posted August 18, 2022 2 hours ago, Vineyard View said: It all comes down to how it pencils out for your style. Whatever works best for each couple. It works best for many not to purchase SSP. The decision comes down to If you like the included wines or if you would prefer options? Additionally how many cocktails/wine you enjoy on vacation? Viking pours are very reasonable to pay for, totally agree. And there are some good offerings in liquors in those reasonable offerings. At $19.95/pp it is a very fair cost for a cruise line. We prefer choices in wines and would end up paying more, because those included often do not work for us. So for us, SSP saves us money. We save money, is my point. I too would love to see the payment in advance be more flexible as it was at one time. I would be pleasantly surprised if that occurred. Not holding my breath. Fair cost perhaps. Comparing to other lines is not really appropriate. Hitting it hard enough to beat the cost of the package at Viking prices may be viewed as a triumph by some. If you want to spend your vacation in a alcohol induced haze why not go with Carnival, Princess, etc.? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted August 18, 2022 #102 Share Posted August 18, 2022 2 hours ago, Selion said: Missing the point. Other cruise lines make the hours in ports readily available on their websites. Viking doesn't. How we book the cruise is not the conversation. Nope, not missing the point. The point was that Viking don't publish ETA/ETD's, which for me isn't an issue, as I make preliminary bookings. For me, this works better than researching websites. Might not work for you, but it does for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selion Posted August 18, 2022 #103 Share Posted August 18, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Heidi13 said: Nope, not missing the point. The point was that Viking don't publish ETA/ETD's, which for me isn't an issue, as I make preliminary bookings. For me, this works better than researching websites. Might not work for you, but it does for me Right... And I thought the spirit of this thread is to discuss changes we, the customers, would like Viking to make. Kind of a wish list, if you will. Since you don't use the websites for your cruise planning, why does it bother you that some of us want to see the port times listed on the website? Actually, don't answer that. We've strayed off-topic too far already. I'm gonna drop this topic and see what else we can add on to the wish list. Edited August 18, 2022 by Selion 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friendlyfifer Posted August 18, 2022 Author #104 Share Posted August 18, 2022 Many thanks to you all for running with this topic. There are a number of areas where change would be appreciated by us, the loyal Viking passengers. Hopefully, Viking will be reading our suggestions and will make changes where possible and in time. No one has backed me up with my suggestion for liquid hand wash rather than bars of soap. There must be a mountain of half used bars at the end of every cruise. What happens to them? With this in mind, I would appreciate it if Viking could quantify the environmental /damage cost per passenger of each cruise. The cruise line and the passengers could then work to reduce this figure so that our impact on this fragile earth is diminished. Keep the suggestions coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare uktog Posted August 18, 2022 #105 Share Posted August 18, 2022 More nut free cakes and deserts would be a big plus Agree better information on port arrival and departure times 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare wine-wine-wine Posted August 18, 2022 #106 Share Posted August 18, 2022 At least some cruise lines (Crystal back in the day) send leftover soap bars to a place that melts, purifies and reforms then as I recall they are donated to those in need. That said it would be less trouble to just use pumps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyB Posted August 18, 2022 #107 Share Posted August 18, 2022 Viking is perfect. There is no need for any changes. Mr. Hagen- Does that qualify me for a free cruise? 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LindaS272 Posted August 18, 2022 #108 Share Posted August 18, 2022 38 minutes ago, MikeyB said: Viking is perfect. There is no need for any changes. Mr. Hagen- Does that qualify me for a free cruise? No. You just get to be the co-moderator on the Viking FB board with Steve R. 🤣 2 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcpvwill Posted August 18, 2022 #109 Share Posted August 18, 2022 2 hours ago, wine-wine-wine said: At least some cruise lines (Crystal back in the day) send leftover soap bars to a place that melts, purifies and reforms then as I recall they are donated to those in need. That said it would be less trouble to just use pumps. Conscious of wasting resources, I always take home any toiletries from our stateroom that are opened. I assume those unopened will be reissued. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Miggins Posted August 18, 2022 #110 Share Posted August 18, 2022 On our recent Scenic river cruise there were full size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hand wash and hand/body crème. Plus a bar of soap. So much nicer than those travel size bottles as well as being better for the environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJLobster Posted August 18, 2022 #111 Share Posted August 18, 2022 18 hours ago, gincolo said: Maybe you already know this, but one way to get this info is to find a ship on the cruisemapper website and select “all itineraries”, for instance https://www.cruisemapper.com/ships/Viking-Jupiter-1980?tab=itinerary#itinerary Also, in the calendar section of my viking journey, the arrival and departure times are marked with a line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haqdeluxe Posted August 18, 2022 #112 Share Posted August 18, 2022 2 hours ago, LindaS272 said: No. You just get to be the co-moderator on the Viking FB board with Steve R. 🤣 If he isn't getting swaged I don't know who is. Just say'n! 😋 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CILCIANRQTS Posted August 18, 2022 #113 Share Posted August 18, 2022 23 minutes ago, Haqdeluxe said: If he isn't getting swaged I don't know who is. Just say'n! 😋 Makes for very objective reviews, I’m sure. 😉😎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGHOC Posted August 18, 2022 #114 Share Posted August 18, 2022 30 minutes ago, CILCIANRQTS said: Makes for very objective reviews, I’m sure. 😉😎 I don't use FB but this seems ridiculously unfair. Perhaps someone should set up 'The Non-biased Viking Discussion Group' on FB, let folk really have their say. Need to make sure that the person managing is not getting back handers though! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw1776 Posted August 18, 2022 #115 Share Posted August 18, 2022 I posted a very acerbic complaint about Viking home office booking in that group a couple years ago and had no problems. Since then I've read many other threads posted that were critical, and several quite unreasonably so in my opinion. The blanket statement that criticism is forbidden there is inaccurate. Threads can get closed to further comments if people keep attacking each other just like here on CC. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Miggins Posted August 18, 2022 #116 Share Posted August 18, 2022 I quite enjoy that page and have also seen some critical postings. Steve seems to post some really useful tips and reviews. On this board there are various views ranging from the cheer leaders to those who are very acerbic. Often makes interesting reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGHOC Posted August 18, 2022 #117 Share Posted August 18, 2022 Oh well, if it's balanced that's good! Comments repeatedly made here suggest it's not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CILCIANRQTS Posted August 18, 2022 #118 Share Posted August 18, 2022 2 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said: I quite enjoy that page and have also seen some critical postings. Steve seems to post some really useful tips and reviews. On this board there are various views ranging from the cheer leaders to those who are very acerbic. Often makes interesting reading. They don’t put you in the Owner’s Suite and set up parties for 35 - during COVID - when I give a balanced review!! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FlyerTalker Posted August 19, 2022 #119 Share Posted August 19, 2022 On 8/17/2022 at 2:46 PM, beach bunnie said: I would like to be able to search cruises by ship. We like to book B2B cruises. Can't find an easy way to do this on Viking's site. I've been advised that Viking does NOT want folks to focus on the particulars of any ship, but rather wants them to be interchangeable cogs. Look at Viking brochures and the cruise "schedule" that you can get onboard -- minimal to non-existent mention of what ship is doing any particular cruise. Because they don't want you to view all ships as equivalents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FlyerTalker Posted August 19, 2022 #120 Share Posted August 19, 2022 1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said: Because they don't want you to view all ships as equivalents. Should have been "they DO want you". (Too late to edit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Miggins Posted August 19, 2022 #121 Share Posted August 19, 2022 8 hours ago, CILCIANRQTS said: They don’t put you in the Owner’s Suite and set up parties for 35 - during COVID - when I give a balanced review!! I understand. However other 'paid' reviews have been highlighted on here. Nevertheless there is still useful factual information about Viking and the ports visited. We must all use our 'sensible heads' when reading anything on any sort of media, including this board. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Avery Posted August 19, 2022 #122 Share Posted August 19, 2022 On 8/17/2022 at 5:22 PM, duquephart said: Fair cost perhaps. Comparing to other lines is not really appropriate. Hitting it hard enough to beat the cost of the package at Viking prices may be viewed as a triumph by some. If you want to spend your vacation in a alcohol induced haze why not go with Carnival, Princess, etc.? Have tried both Carnival and Princess. And a few others. Viking best suits our style. Whilst spending our vacation in a alcohol induced haze we prefer a bit of quiet with the occasional chamber music. 😜 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted August 19, 2022 #123 Share Posted August 19, 2022 On 8/17/2022 at 2:46 PM, beach bunnie said: I would like to be able to search cruises by ship. We like to book B2B cruises. Can't find an easy way to do this on Viking's site. Although not readily available on the Viking website, CharTrav, one of our regular posters on the Viking Board, maintains an exceptional Excel spreadsheet of the entire Viking schedule. Her spreadsheet is updated as the schedule changes, or Viking add new cruises. You can easily query by specific ship, with minimal Excel skills. Here is a link to her spreadsheet thread. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2651194-viking-ocean-combined-cruise-schedule/page/13/#comment-63611193 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelhelly Posted August 19, 2022 #124 Share Posted August 19, 2022 I wish Viking would allow to get the Silver Package for just one passenger per stateroom when a medical reason is in play. You'd think they would have a way to accept medical exemptions. I'd love to get it for my husband on the next cruise. $20 per day for an 17 day cruise sound great, $40 per person per day, not so much. I like to get the packages just because I can't help to add up cost in my head and this is for my personal sanity. But I can't justify this on a cruise where drinks are included with food. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pushka Posted August 19, 2022 #125 Share Posted August 19, 2022 (edited) On 8/18/2022 at 3:51 AM, Heidi13 said: Personally, I find the Viking model way easier for my research. Takes a few minutes to make a dummy booking and Viking send you the Pax Statement that has everything list on 1 to 3 pages. Way easier than researching on some cruise line websites. If I want to book, I let the option lapse and have my TA call them to commence the negotiations prior to a booking. I wish we could do dummy bookings in Australia but the only option for us is to click on the cruise we want and then send an enquiry to the Australian office. Who lately have been taking a week to reply. Covid staffing stuff. It gets a little worrying when you are after a particular category and you can see the terminology change from availability, then limited etc while you wait for an answer. I detest liquid soap and we always take or buy a large soap block whenever we travel. Edited August 19, 2022 by Pushka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now