Changes Needed?

[dd57]

I was pointing it out for others reading this thread.  

 

I  agree that having the detail online would make things so much easier.

[PRH]

Regarding excursion descriptions, I’m not sure any one writing these descriptions has actually be3n on the excursions.  There are many “generic” phrases in these descriptions which are misleading.  I’ve gone down to guest services after some excursions to compare the descriptions to the reality.  It is too bad there are not excursions which specifically cater to those who are physically challenged by steps and terrain.  I’ve been on excursions where the group was held up and lost out on parts of the excursion due to those who could not manage.  On the other hand, I’ve been disappointed by excursions saying they were “difficult” only to find out there was minimal exertion or terrain challenges. I wish Viking would update excursion descriptions based on passenger and crew feedback rather than keep th3 same potentially misleading information.

[philw1776]

Also excursions change over time (as expected) but Viking website descriptions fail to keep up.
Oslo: "You will also visit the Viking Ship Museum, featuring the best-preserved Viking ships in the world along with many artifacts that were in use more than 1,200 years ago."   Closed for upgrades. Known for ages.

Budapest: "Cross Chain Bridge to Buda, where you walk along Castle Hill to Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias "
Numerous references to Chain bridge closed for years for repairs.
The list is long.

[Vineyard View]

11 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

"You can order alcohol of all varieties at any time of day with the package!"

You can do likewise without the package. Why is that so many here think the package opens some special door for them? 

Of course one can do that. Why wouldn’t you be able to?  My point is that you can order at anytime without additional charges, whereas if you do not have the package, you will be charged for alcohol of any type outside of the wine/beer included at lunch and dinner. 

[duquephart]

16 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

Of course one can do that. Why wouldn’t you be able to?  My point is that you can order at anytime without additional charges, whereas if you do not have the package, you will be charged for alcohol of any type outside of the wine/beer included at lunch and dinner. 

 

Either way you are paying for it. That's the point. Paying upfront might be more convenient.

[Jim Avery]

Actually the server asks for your room number either way.  Until he learns it and stops asking.  So at the point of use there is no difference.  You can buy on the "special" wine list with or without the package.  The only difference is the billing.  And imho Viking charges a reasonable price for a good pour. 🥃

[Heidi13]

15 hours ago, SantaFe1 said:

I have been holding back on this.  But what I would really like is a better description of the easy, moderate, demanding designation of the shore ex.  I have worried about some of the difficult shore ex only to find them easy.  I almost didn’t book them.  The descriptions are too generic.  I mean I did the many, many steps to the Christ the Redeemer statute in Rio.  It was hard, but do-able.  So, i think sometimes they mark these things too hard! 

 

I have also held back, as I believe Viking can really up their game with the shore-ex descriptions. When they were newly formed, I can accept the generic descriptions, but Viking Ocean has been operational now for over 7-years, so long past the time for them to expand these details. They should consider descriptions similar to many of the Princess shore-ex, where they include the length of walk on each portion of the tour, the type of surface and the number of stairs climbed or descended.

 

Easy, Moderate and demanding are interpreted differently by pax with different fitness levels and physical limitations, either through illness or injury. Most of us have a reasonable knowledge of our abilities and more importantly limitations, so if Viking provide the details, we can make informed decisions.

 

An excellent example is one of our shore-ex in Tahiti, which was designated "Moderate". It was a 4x4 Land Rover type vehicle, where we sat in benches in the back. It left the main road and headed inland. We made a number of stops, climbed down and could check out the area. They provided good steps to get in/out of the vehicle and minimal walking was required at each stop. This should have been designated easy, with the proviso it wasn't suitable for those with bad backs.

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, TERRIER1 said:

That's a lot of work if you are in the reviewing phase of choosing an itinerary on various cruise lines. I really don't inderstand why a potential customer has to go through that. 

 

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.

[NanciEA]

I agree with almost all of the suggestions in this post. I am surprised no one as mentioned the topic of "final payment date". Paying sometimes over a year in advance is my biggest issue with Viking. For a recent booking with Viking they were asking for final payment 13 months out. I ask for something more reasonable (In my opinion.) and they had to put me on hold for awhile while they "asked a manager". I did get 8 months out, but only after I told them (and they looked it up) that I have two other cruise coming up in 2023 which are completely paid for. The agent acted like he was really doing me a really big favor.

[duquephart]

41 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Actually the server asks for your room number either way.  Until he learns it and stops asking.  So at the point of use there is no difference.  You can buy on the "special" wine list with or without the package.  The only difference is the billing.  And imho Viking charges a reasonable price for a good pour. 🥃

 

In any of the 3 restaurants they've got your number going in. On our most recent cruise there was never any mention of a wine list - you had to ask and/or stop them them from pouring what they brought with them. I think the option should be presented up front as part of the initial greet. Maybe they shy away from the appearence of upselling?

[CCWineLover]

7 minutes ago, NanciEA said:

I agree with almost all of the suggestions in this post. I am surprised no one as mentioned the topic of "final payment date". Paying sometimes over a year in advance is my biggest issue with Viking. For a recent booking with Viking they were asking for final payment 13 months out. I ask for something more reasonable (In my opinion.) and they had to put me on hold for awhile while they "asked a manager". I did get 8 months out, but only after I told them (and they looked it up) that I have two other cruise coming up in 2023 which are completely paid for. The agent acted like he was really doing me a really big favor.

Odd…. We’ve booked many cruises in the past year with cruises already on the books.  Our TA sends us the invoice and we always get payment 6 months out - no asking, no negotiating.  I thought it was automatic if you had cruises upcoming.

 

no mention on here likely because so many get 6 months payment, and also because this is one thing I doubt Viking will change as long as the customers keep pouring in.  Supply and demand.  At least they do reward loyalty.

[SailorPaulH]

40 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

In any of the 3 restaurants they've got your number going in. On our most recent cruise there was never any mention of a wine list - you had to ask and/or stop them them from pouring what they brought with them. I think the option should be presented up front as part of the initial greet. Maybe they shy away from the appearence of upselling?

Once you get on board, are you able to see the wine list and drinks list for that cruise? If I see something I want to try I would be OK asking for it. The package is not for us, as my wife hardly drinks and I can't see myself drinking enough for the both of us to make it 'worthwhile' - so I am assuming you can charge a drink to your room and square up at end of cruise? Same would apply to shop purchases or expenses incurred in the spa, yes?

[philw1776]

8 minutes ago, SailorPaulH said:

Once you get on board, are you able to see the wine list and drinks list for that cruise? If I see something I want to try I would be OK asking for it. The package is not for us, as my wife hardly drinks and I can't see myself drinking enough for the both of us to make it 'worthwhile' - so I am assuming you can charge a drink to your room and square up at end of cruise? Same would apply to shop purchases or expenses incurred in the spa, yes?

Yes to all.

[duquephart]

6 minutes ago, SailorPaulH said:

Once you get on board, are you able to see the wine list and drinks list for that cruise? If I see something I want to try I would be OK asking for it. The package is not for us, as my wife hardly drinks and I can't see myself drinking enough for the both of us to make it 'worthwhile' - so I am assuming you can charge a drink to your room and square up at end of cruise? Same would apply to shop purchases or expenses incurred in the spa, yes?

 

I have no problem asking for what I want. Room number worked well for anything. The package did not pencil out for us either. We got whatever we wanted whenever we wanted it and wound up with less than $150 in bar/restaurant charges. Now my wife has a stunning amber pendant and a pair of emerald earrings instead of a husband with a puked out liver.

[TERRIER1]

1 hour ago, 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 don't understand how that would be more efficient. I just go on line to my booking agency and select the cruises and lines I am interested in and the port times are available except for Viking. I don't want to make a dummy booking to obtain that information.

[lackcreativity]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

Odd…. We’ve booked many cruises in the past year with cruises already on the books.  Our TA sends us the invoice and we always get payment 6 months out - no asking, no negotiating.  I thought it was automatic if you had cruises upcoming.

 

Perhaps your travel agent has done the requesting of six month final payment date on your behalf. I have frequently had to ask the agent for the six month date when booking. Only sometimes do they offer that since we already have another one booked, we are eligible for that perk.

Edited August 17, 2022 by lackcreativity

[Jjg34219]

9 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

Perhaps your travel agent has done the requesting of six month final payment date on your behalf. I have frequently had to ask the agent for the six month date when booking. Only sometimes do they offer that since we already have another one booked, we are eligible for that perk.

We got 6 months final payment automatically as we already had another cruise booked. And we just did Orion/Alaska and booking while onboard gave us 6 months final payment too…could NOT pass up 25 $ deposits in addition to the 800 savings!

[Heidi13]

45 minutes ago, TERRIER1 said:

I don't understand how that would be more efficient. I just go on line to my booking agency and select the cruises and lines I am interested in and the port times are available except for Viking. I don't want to make a dummy booking to obtain that information.

 

Different strokes for different folks, especially since I won't use an online TA.

[CILCIANRQTS]

On 8/16/2022 at 2:31 PM, molymoo said:

 

The whole concept of Mamsens is that of a Scandinavian deli ... featuring the recipes of Mamsen (the Hagen family matriarch).  They even duplicated the dishes that she used for serving her creations.  Love a good Macaron but they aren't Scandinavian.  

The current menu will get a LOT more boring over time if they choose the “but we’ve always done it that way” approach. I see nothing wrong with subbing other Scandinavian delicacies and just saying the outlet is named after the family matriarch.

[Heidi13]

27 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

Perhaps your travel agent has done the requesting of six month final payment date on your behalf. I have frequently had to ask the agent for the six month date when booking. Only sometimes do they offer that since we already have another one booked, we are eligible for that perk.

 

Thats exactly how we book. We provide our TA with our preferred and minimum outcomes that will convince us to book, and she does the negotiations. One cruise, it took her a month of calling repeatedly to get an agent who would meet our minimum expectations.

[beach bunnie]

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.

[Selion]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Different strokes for different folks, especially since I won't use an online TA.

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.

[Vineyard View]

5 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

Either way you are paying for it. That's the point. Paying upfront might be more convenient.

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. 

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Vineyard View

[gincolo]

42 minutes ago, 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.

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

Edited August 17, 2022 by gincolo

[beach bunnie]

4 minutes 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

Thank you.  I've used vacations to go but never cruise mapper.  I just think it would be easier to be able to use Viking's site to search Viking's cruises.