Just off of Octantis

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Viking was amazing and, in many ways, went above and beyond what we anticipated on this expedition cruise. We booked Viking Air and at the last-minute Viking called asking us to leave one day earlier due to concerns about air travel issues and wanting to make sure we made it on time.  This meant that we had to take whatever seats were available, but worth it to us to be able to insure we would get there on time.  We were not able to sit together on one flight, another we were seated on orange crates in the very back of the plane across from the bathroom, but we did not have any delays and our luggage arrived.  Unfortunately, this was not the case for some other nice folks who experienced cancelled flights and spent the entire week without their luggage. I must say they were incredibly good sports and had wonderful attitudes. (You know who you are and are probably reading this…so know we were impressed with the way you adapted!)

 

In Toronto Viking provided an amazing hotel for us, dinner and breakfast with Viking reps to help us know what we were supposed to do.  Be prepared if you are flying through Toronto, it is living up to it’s reputation right now.

 

Boarding in Thunder Bay was simple and very quick.  Check in was in a hotel, and then we were transported down a little dirt road and right on to the ship.  After a quick safety briefing, we went straight to our room and then to lunch. 

 

Room:  We were in a Jr Suite.  It had plenty of room and storage space was abundant…we didn’t come close to using all the storage.  The L shaped couch was surprisingly comfortable. The bathroom was very nice, double sinks and the shower was great. We were in 4000 which is just a few steps away from the Explorers Lounge. Two of us (that we know of) went to our rooms to find we had been given wrong room numbers when we booked the cruise. Those numbers were on our luggage and all our paperwork. It was a bit of a rude awakening walking into our room to find the room didn’t look like what we booked!

 

Food:  On cruises other than Viking, food has not been the high point of the cruise for us.  Viking Ocean food we would say has been quite good.  Octantis food is a whole different story.  The food is AMAZING!  The glass fridge with all the beef, does exist!  Seriously, the beef is cooked to perfection, and you can basically get anything and everything you can imagine.  Seafood was abundant and good, and the sushi bar, incredible, not to mention lobster every day. The guys at the bakery aim to please and love to chat as you admire their beautiful creations. What other cruise line has bread raising and baking right there in front of you! Deserts were better than I remember on other Viking cruises.  The “Cold Stone” next to the gelato was not ice cream, but gelato. People seemed to love it. So Octantis food in our opinion gets an A+.

 

Entertainment: There were two duos, one sang together in the Explorers Lounge, the other duo played classical music in the Living Room.  The classical duo were our favorites. 

 

Excursions: This is where Viking needs to make some significant changes. I think the consensus was that Viking is venturing into new expedition cruises and therefore we needed to offer them grace as it appeared they are still trying to get excursions figured out.  We heard many people mention the disappointment they felt in not getting excursions they wanted, but they were all kind about it understanding this is all new.  Since we were in a Jr Suite, we mostly got the excursions we wanted when they were posted, but when we got on board it all changed.  First, the Sub excursion information we received from Viking was inaccurate.  We were assured over and over that Subs were booked onboard, yet suddenly without any notification one showed up in Excursions prior to us leaving.  It was already totally booked. When we contacted Viking again, we were told they did not know how that got on there and it was not accurate, booking would take place after boarding.  That information was not correct, there was no ability to book onboard, and all openings were filled.  There were some frustrated people! 

 

Secondly, when we opened our excursion tickets when we got to our room, they had been changed.  Some excursions were not there and others the times had been moved to another time slot.  For example, my husband had signed up for the afternoon kayak.  He reserved the 2:30 time for specific reasons. They changed him to the 8 AM time, which really messed things up for us.  He tried to get it changed back to what he had reservations for, and they would not do it.  He went down to talk with them and could see all his original reservations on their computer, but then another place where they changed them.  So, the issue is…you really do not know what excursions you will actually get, and what times you will get.  That makes planning impossible. Viking needs to get excursions figured out and more organized.

Another excursion issue was totally not Vikings fault.  Some of the excursions were a first and done through an outside group, so Viking would not know how they were actually going to go.  We were the first cruise to go into Houghton MI so everything was new to Viking there.  The waterfall hike many of us were excited about doing, was not a waterfall hike! It was a 3.5-hour excursion and 3.00 hours were spent on a bus listening to this and that. We stopped at the ‘waterfall’ (underwhelming) for 10 minutes, which was more of a restroom stop. There was no hike involved, it was beside the road. We were rushed back on to the bus and taken to a monastery where the monks had a bakery. We did stop at a little bakery (never saw a monastery) where there were monks selling baked goods.  Some of us walked around to the back and looked through the windows to watch the baking going on, but it wasn’t monks baking, it was employees.  They gave us each a free cookie, and it was a delicious cookie which was nice.  But again, the whole thing was a bit overstated. We were there for a short time and loaded back on the bus.  I’m sure there was someone on the bus that enjoyed the excursion…but the only feedback we heard wasn’t good.

 

One of the kayak excursions done by another company, not Viking, had some concerning issues.  They were taken a distance away in a van and had to walk across a road and down a gravel road, and some people did not have shoes on as they were to be getting in a kayak, not going for a hike on a gravel road. The kayak my husband was in was broken and he still has a bruise on his back from the broken part. When they were loading up to head back to the ship, the guide lost a lens out of her glasses.  She could not see so took her glasses off to drive them back, which we later wondered if she was driving legally. She could not find where to return them even though they kept telling her where to turn. They ended up having her stop and walked to the tender. 

Again….the excursions Viking did to my knowledge were good, and the other companies are a learning curve for Viking right now as everything is new. No hard feelings towards Viking here…but this is an area that needs to be reevaluated.

 

Spaces: There were 360 out of 365 onboard.  The ship felt empty! There was always ample seating in the Living Room and Explorers Lounge. The World Café had seating that went on forever. The only place that got congested a bit was where people were serving their food, and sometimes when they were waiting for their cooked to order steak and lobster. We did not find any of the congestion problematic at all.  The food is so spread out if one area is busy, you just go to another area and come back.

 

FYI…the Living Room bar does not open for coffee until 10 AM, which is different than Viking Ocean.  It would have been nice to get a latte there a little earlier in the morning.  The generous helping of wasabi peas after dinner may have made up for that, however. 

Service: As always, the service is amazing.  I cruise Viking because they call me Madame. One thing I noticed was that officers were always walking around and talking with everyone. The financial officer stopped and had a nice chat with us, and I came home and tried the baked feta he encouraged me to make when I got home. He is Greek, and he knows what he’s talking about, it was delish.

 

It’s a little sad being home now.  I walk through my house in the morning, and no one says, “Good morning Madame!” 

 

Feel free to ask any questions.

[Mitina]

19 minutes ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

The glass fridge with all the beef, does exist! 

I just checked the ship's video and saw it.  You select your cut?

Edited August 16, 2022 by Mitina

[molymoo]

So glad your trip went well and you enjoyed the Octantis.  We would love to experience the expedition ships but for us it would be a trip to Antarctica, and that may not be possible ... I'm not getting any younger!  The Great Lakes trips might be fun but as a mid-westerner who has visited most of the great lakes and surrounding regions, I would find it difficult to spend what it costs on Viking for something I could essentially do in my car with $1000.00 and a long weekend!  😉

[mtnestr2011]

Thank you for sharing your experience! We’re on the Milwaukee to Toronto trip end of September, and I expected the ship itself would be the highlight of the trip more than the excursions. I’m sure Viking is taking a close look at customer feedback on their new product. I was tempted to book another expedition trip next year but will wait to see just how much we enjoy our trip. 

[Azulann]

Thank you for your great detailed review . The expedition ship sounds wonderful. Hope Viking get the excursion booking and guide down without all the glitches in the future cruises.  

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Mitina--They don't actually take your meat from the glass fridge, they have trays of the cuts already prepared so they just grab what they need.  You can ask them for what cut you want and how you would like it cooked.  

 

Molymoo--I totally understand that doing the Great Lakes would not be very exciting.  It really wasn't a destination we were excited about, it was the chance to be back on a ship and be able to mostly be in the US during these times that are still a bit uncertain.  

 

Mtnestr2011--We too have been tempted to book one of the other Great Lakes cruises, but think we'll skip on that for now.  It really is all about being back on the boat! We are NOT Antarctica people, so we won't be doing that.  

 

[molymoo]

11 hours ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

Molymoo--I totally understand that doing the Great Lakes would not be very exciting.  It really wasn't a destination we were excited about, it was the chance to be back on a ship and be able to mostly be in the US during these times that are still a bit uncertain.  

Totally get it!  We are really excited about our upcoming Panama cruise ... it leaves the country but the flights are both domestic!  Whoo Hoo!

[Twitchly]

22 hours ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

We were not able to sit together on one flight, another we were seated on orange crates in the very back of the plane across from the bathroom …

What??? You’re kidding, right?

 

Just checking because back in the ‘80s I did know someone who discovered his assigned seat had been removed, so he ended up sitting on the floor where it was supposed to be. But that was in China and a long time ago. 

[Jim Avery]

Sort of like flying Mark Air to Dutch Harbor.  Lots of cargo netting and jump seat spaces...🤢

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

😆😆😆...yes, just kidding no orange crates!  But it was quite uncomfortable. It was a small plane two across with the back row squished against the walls with the bathroom within arms reach.  My husband being over 6'2" basically had his knees at his chin.  We did not have assigned seats because I'm sure we were the last two seats available. But we got there! 

[Sleep7]

👋Hi Sunflower &The Scientist!

Thank you so much for your detailed and balanced review.. I found it so interesting!

Would love to do a Great Lakes cruise one day.😃

[aerial306]

I'm sorry your visit to the Houghton area ended up being a bummer. I live up here and I've been interested in what other cruisers think of our area. You got to see Jampot bakery and Jacob's Falls. The monastery is literally like a few hundred feet up from the bakery on the left side of the road, sad that no guides told you.

Come try us out again when you can take a longer stay and explore on your own time! ❤️

 Picture of the Octantis taken from the parking lot at Michigan Tech on August 10th.