Views, pro and con, on the new Viking Mississippi River Cruises.

[Treasure Hunter]

The upper Mississippi was not offered alone when we booked two+ years ago. Perhaps it is now. Oh yes and the electricity went out in La Crosse so we couldn’t eat lunch ( bars came down and locked the food up) so we walked into town and had great Reuben sandwiches at a dive called the breakfast club. The elevators came on after lunch. 

[Treasure Hunter]

I have written a full review on cruise critic. The Field of Dreams excursion was wonderful . An original actor( ghost player) from the movie spoke with us at length. And you could play ball with him. Sign up early as the tour sold out. The tour of the Minneapolis Institute of Art ( extra cost also) was excellent. And Viking did provide golf carts for those who couldn’t make it up the steep levees on the southern part of the cruise. However the price $25,000 was not worth it. It is not a luxury cruise. The young affable CD ( he came from Disney) worked nonstop. He needed help.  There is no scenery in the south. . Except for the Vicksburg battlefield and the Steve Azar show in Greenville, there is nothing to see. The scenery on the upper Mississippi is beautiful . We had nothing to do on the ship and many days without a port stop. I read four books. I guess it was the lack of service and the buffet meals that really did us in. Also the lack of a professional resident  historian was a poor contrast to the American Cruiseline Lewis and Clark trip we took last year. That cruise had sit down service at every meal. 

[OnTheJourney]

Just came across this thread. Have to say it's not exactly very uplifting. We have NOLA to St. Paul booked for end of September, with extensions on both ends. Booked it before covid and are using the vouchers we got from the infamous   Viking Sky Northern Lights cruise that went astray off the coast of Norway.

 

So, we are hoping for a great adventure on this new ship. We're good with slow pace and time for reading though, so that might be in our favor. As has been said, there are many variables with river cruising that are not under any cruise line's control. Hoping to see some good reviews come along here! I'll follow along with interest.

Edited July 19, 2023 by OnTheJourney

[anthonyy7]

How is the internet onboard and the cell service along the Mississippi?

[Treasure Hunter]

Internet is poor ( in and out). Cell service non existent . Very scary if you have an emergency at home.

[odblnt]

On 7/24/2023 at 2:50 PM, Treasure Hunter said:

Internet is poor ( in and out). Cell service non existent . Very scary if you have an emergency at home.

Regarding the cell service, is this upper or lower Mississippi (or both)?

[Host Jazzbeau]

On 7/24/2023 at 8:50 PM, Treasure Hunter said:

Internet is poor ( in and out). Cell service non existent . Very scary if you have an emergency at home.

 

7 minutes ago, odblnt said:

Regarding the cell service, is this upper or lower Mississippi (or both)?

Also which carrier?  Or have other passengers reported that it applies generally?

[Treasure Hunter]

We have AT&T

[Treasure Hunter]

Both upper and lower

[Treasure Hunter]

I think the fact that there is no professional historian/lecturer on the ship or nights with zero entertainment ( long boring days with no ports and then hit with missing St Louis) except the trio ( actually very good and a duo ( if she played that screeching violin one more time…) . No rock and roll or up to date music. I love Sinatra and the American songbook too but give us a break. A little more variety could have been brought aboard with more thought. But it was the buffet for two out of three meals with lack of service that means that $25,000 does not get you a luxury vacation. Misrepresentation. 

[boblerm]

We were on the lower Mississippi, no issue with phone (Verizon) or internet. 

 

Top notch entertainment every night, and interesting lecturers. 

 

No days without being in port,no reason to be bored. 

 

I did have issues with the service as I have detailed earlier. 

[Coral]

5 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Also which carrier?  Or have other passengers reported that it applies generally?

I live in the Midwest and have driven quite a bit along the upper Mississippi River area. Verizon rules in this area. It doesn't surprise me that ATT (or even T-Mobile) would be poor here. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

25 minutes ago, Coral said:

I live in the Midwest and have driven quite a bit along the upper Mississippi River area. Verizon rules in this area. It doesn't surprise me that ATT (or even T-Mobile) would be poor here. 

That's why I asked – the three major carriers each have weak areas and it's hard to figure it out without being there ["can you hear me now?"]  I always swore by Verizon, but since I switched to T-Mobile I get much better service in Acadia National Park for our summer visits.

[Coral]

1 minute ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

That's why I asked – the three major carriers each have weak areas and it's hard to figure it out without being there ["can you hear me now?"]  I always swore by Verizon, but since I switched to T-Mobile I get much better service in Acadia National Park for our summer visits.

I have 2 cell phones. One is always on Verizon due to where I live. I put the other on T-Mobile this spring to try things out which happened to also overlap when I was in Alaska. T-Mobile was horrible there (it kept just saying SOS). I hear ATT is great there. I have to laugh at the T-Mobile map where I live. There is a huge black hole there. Yep - that is where I live.

 

It is too bad cell service has so many regional differences. I sort of wanted T-Mobile to work out for when I go to Europe.

[Host Jazzbeau]

9 minutes ago, Coral said:

It is too bad cell service has so many regional differences. I sort of wanted T-Mobile to work out for when I go to Europe.

It does work great in Europe.

[JazenW]

On 7/26/2023 at 10:31 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

It does work great in Europe.

And in the parts of Chile and Argentina we just visited.

[Host Jazzbeau]

14 minutes ago, JazenW said:

And in the parts of Chile and Argentina we just visited.

Yes, for us too. Hoping for same in NZ and Oz next year. 

[anthonyy7]

We recently sailed Red Wing to New Orleans on Viking (Oct 14-28).  First the Starlink Wifi was always a constant 150M download no matter where we were at or time of day.  Kudos to them for fast reliable Wifi.  I have 2 hotpots, ATT and Tmobile and used both heavily while in each port.  Both ATT and Tmobile worked fine while in port and a little bit after sail away depending if its a big metro area or not.  Not as fast as the ship Wifi but for work purposes I needed a secure connection.  I think I avg 5M-30M depending on the port.  In the end it all worked out beautifully since it was a working vacation with amazing scenery!  The room had a phone and you could make calls on that if you needed a voice line. 

[CPT Trips]

7 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Yes, for us too. Hoping for same in NZ and Oz next year. 

Recently returned (a month ago) t’s all good there mate. Except if you’re in the outback or the Southern Alps, then no carrier has service. 

Edited November 15, 2023 by CPT Trips

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

Recently returned (a month ago) t’s all good there mate. Except if you’re in the outback or the Southern Alps, then no carrier has service. 

Queenstown?  Otherwise we'll always be near the coast [except, you know, the Tasman crossing...]

[CPT Trips]

46 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Queenstown?  Otherwise we'll always be near the coast [except, you know, the Tasman crossing...]

We had no problems in and near town. On the way out to Milford Sound was another story. Just a preview for you. 

Edited November 15, 2023 by CPT Trips

[Coral]

On 7/26/2023 at 9:31 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

It does work great in Europe.

Yep - just don't get a decent signal where I live. Spend more time where I live.

[gsutiger2]

With American Queen going out of business, I expect Viking bookings to increase. Does it appear Viking is working out the Mississippi River kinks?

 

I'm blown away by the prices and what is offered in return (booking for family members).

[Roz]

8 hours ago, gsutiger2 said:

With American Queen going out of business, I expect Viking bookings to increase. Does it appear Viking is working out the Mississippi River kinks?

 

I'm blown away by the prices and what is offered in return (booking for family members).

Blown away in a good or bad way?

[OnTheJourney]

38 minutes ago, Roz said:

Blown away in a good or bad way?

Venturing to say probably bad. I did the cruise. Loved it (other than not getting to many of the ports) but, quite expensive.