"Hard" Viking beds and availability of toppers

[Catlover54]

I have never been on Viking, but have seen posts commenting about hard beds. Due to various musuloskeletal problems, I cannot sleep on hard beds (pain). 

I assume all the ships have the same beds?

 

I found a couple posts that said a softening topper might be available, but have not found anyone who commented on if the topper came and how it was (i.e., was it soft enough to make a difference, and solved the problem, or was too thin).

 

Is there anyone who has sailed Viking who uses toppers, and if so, how did they work, and was the process to get them cumbersome?  I know there can be subjectivity in replies, and denial (e.g., on one luxury line, when I commented about my finding the suite sofa to be hard for me,  my comment was dismissed by one of the cheerleaders as factually wrong, "the sofa is fine.").

 

We are all different in our likes/dislikes of furniture (the healthy don't care one way or the other), so any comments about people who struggled with the hard beds, and their solutions, would be appreciated.

I stayed at a top hotel in Capetown my TA had recommended and could not sleep, due a hard (but expensive) bed.  DH and I went to a camping store and bought an inflatable air mattress, to save the stay, but they do take up a lot of room in a suitcase and I'd rather not haul them if Viking has good toppers.

 

 

[Selion]

We liked Viking's firm bed, but we asked for a topper to cover the gap between the mattresses.  The topper didn't really affect the firmness.  Perhaps they have a different type of topper available?

 

Edit: Just tell your room steward that you would like to have a mattress topper, and they'll put it on the bed for you.

Edited October 20, 2022 by Selion

[deec]

I have asked for an extra duvet to be put under my mattress ...softer but not a "topper"

[Jazmyn49]

A couple doing many world cruises on a different line brings their own topper from home.  They must use a compression bag but it seems to work for them.

[Catlover54]

49 minutes ago, Selion said:

We liked Viking's firm bed, but we asked for a topper to cover the gap between the mattresses.  The topper didn't really affect the firmness.  Perhaps they have a different type of topper available?

 

Edit: Just tell your room steward that you would like to have a mattress topper, and they'll put it on the bed for you.

 

If the "topper" you got did not affect the firmness, it would not be of use to us, 

But perhaps  there are different kinds of topper options (e.g., some lines have egg-crate foam equivalents, others a very thick pad as opposed to just a little filler for the mattress gap) . . .

 

An extra duvet don't work (collapses, have tried it . . .DH also has a picture of me propped up on 10 pillows, which also didn't work because they compressed  -- like Princess and the Pea, LOL).

We can check 2-3 bags per person on business class flights without extra cost, but we usually don't like to travel with more bags than we can, in a pinch, drag and somehow carry when airport elevators are broken and/or there are no carts and of course there is almost never help for hire. So we limit it to 3 bags between both of us.  On a warm weather cruise, I suppose we could go down to 2 bags for our usual needed stuff, and have 1 bag just with a single topper for each side of the bed (as suggested in post #4, compressed).

 

And we still have the inflatable camping mattresses (despite us no longer camping) . . . They are smaller, but narrower 🙂

 

 

[Twitchly]

I have not used a topper on a Viking bed; I didn’t think to ask for one, unfortunately. I am one of the people who find their beds too hard; my husband and I both woke up stiff and achy most mornings from the bed in our cabin on Viking Mars. Checking into our hotel in Norway afterward was a relief on that score. 
 

I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone who got a true topper from Viking, just an extra duvet or two. Bringing your own topper might give you peace of mind.

Edited October 20, 2022 by Twitchly

[KBs mum]

We've found they vary, they are all somewhere from medium to firm. The bases aren't sprung, perhaps another mattress (stack of two) might help? The beds are fairly low so you should still be able to get in/out without problems

[travelbug11]

I asked for a topper on the table Jupiter and got one. I could have used another one but the bed would have been too high to get into

[Moonlion]

1 hour ago, Jazmyn49 said:

A couple doing many world cruises on a different line brings their own topper from home.  They must use a compression bag but it seems to work for them.

This may be your best solution.  Amazon has compression bags for camping gear, sleeping bags, other bulky items, etc. The XL or XXL sizes may work for an egg crate mattress topper.  They come with a vacuum pump and compress down to a fairly small size that should fit in a suitcase.

[Catlover54]

Thanks to everyone who is responding, all of this is very useful!

 

If anyone is now on board any Viking ship and has a "topper", like travelbug11 got, perhaps they could post a picture?

 

Bad sleep leads to daytime fatigue, and interference with enjoyment of a trip.  I know my weak spots, so I am planning ahead (just like DH and I also travel with a small pharmacy and various gadgets that could come in handy  -- I have a long list, including special earplugs that almost totally block most sound, including that of loudly snoring neighbors who likely have undiagnosed sleep apnea) 🙂

[Susan I]

We were on the Viking Sea recently and I asked our cabin steward if there was anything he could do to make my side of the bed softer.  When we returned from dinner, I found the bed turned down and the steward had added an eggcrate foam topper to my side of the bed.  This made the bed much more comfortable for me.  

[Catlover54]

12 minutes ago, Susan I said:

We were on the Viking Sea recently and I asked our cabin steward if there was anything he could do to make my side of the bed softer.  When we returned from dinner, I found the bed turned down and the steward had added an eggcrate foam topper to my side of the bed.  This made the bed much more comfortable for me.  

 

An eggcrate foam topper would be perfect, excellent!

On another line that has hard beds, my TA asks in advance for a topper, and that works, (but I know they have them available).  But I wasn't sure they have them on Viking, (couldn't get an answer from reps), so knowing they do (at least you did) is helpful in planning. 

There are some lines where I loved the beds and all the cushy furniture (e.g., Oceania), but disliked too many  other things, so am reluctant to go back. 

[mhb1757]

I have asked for a topper several times. They always are happy to put an egg crate on the bed. I just ask the cabin steward and they always bring it promptly. I’ve done this on both river and ocean. It certainly helps but honestly the beds are still firm. But the egg crate takes the edge off. 

[Twitchly]

Good to hear about the egg crates. Sure wish we’d thought to say something to our steward!

[Topflitemolitor2]

On our recent cruise, I asked our steward for a mattress topper and after trying it, told him it was still pretty firm, so he put another one on and that did help, but have to admit it was still not like my memory foam at home!!

[dizzlepop]

FYI you can reach out to Viking before you sail and request the egg crate for your bed; they'll have it in place when you get there. (Call or chat works.)

[rmalbers]

I saw those comments also, I thought it was fine.  Try before you worry about it. 

[shorton]

I just contacted Viking via chat to see if we could get an egg crate topper for our Rome to Istanbul cruise next week on Venus. I was told the ship does not have egg crate toppers, but that each bed has a mattress topper already (and no plastic sheets. Not sure why that was mentioned). 

[BabsinTX]

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On 10/20/2022 at 4:19 PM, Catlover54 said:

Thanks to everyone who is responding, all of this is very useful!

 

If anyone is now on board any Viking ship and has a "topper", like travelbug11 got, perhaps they could post a picture?

 

Bad sleep leads to daytime fatigue, and interference with enjoyment of a trip.  I know my weak spots, so I am planning ahead (just like DH and I also travel with a small pharmacy and various gadgets that could come in handy  -- I have a long list, including special earplugs that almost totally block most sound, including that of loudly snoring neighbors who likely have undiagnosed sleep apnea) 🙂

I find the beds hard too.  After two nights on Viking Star I asked for some toppers.  Here are photos. (I've never posted photos before, hope I didn't mess them up.) On top is the original mattress pad.  Then a thin down duvet/mattress pad.  Last but not least, a memory foam topper, I'd say around 1.5 inches thick, give or take.

 

In your case, I suggest you ask for these before the cruise or the first day.

[Neptune2022]

Are the king size beds on Viking ocean ships made up of 2 twin size mattresses pushed together?    We are hoping for a king size mattress with no gaps to roll into.

[deec]

 pushed together