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New behavior patterns on Viking Ocean since COVID?

CCWineLover

By CCWineLover,
in Viking Ocean

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KBs mum

KBs mum

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, Nidec said:

I have to hold my hand up to wearing jeans to all meals on my last Viking trip. I had packed a pair of navy blue chinos to wear at meals but when I unpacked my suitcase I had taken chino shorts instead of full length trousers by mistake. I explained this to the Viking restaurant manager and they accepted my jeans (which were a very expensive, brand new pair so at least looked fairly smart)

I have to add, I would have bought a pair of chinos on board but there were none available, very disappointed with the clothing choice on Viking Ocean ship tbh

KBs dad was obliged to wear tan wranglers after a similar packing snafu. With smart shoes and a dress shirt they weren't obviously jeans. 

I get the impression that the clothes in the shop are of the souvenir type. We aim to pack clothes that are comfortable for excursions and reasonably smart for evenings, with one actual smart outfit each

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KBs mum

KBs mum

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, longterm said:

I had a different experience; we arrived on board ship after flying overseas, had reservations that night at the Chef's Table at 6pm, but our luggage had yet to arrive in our stateroom. I'd flown in a t-shirt and jeans, so that's all the clothes I had at that point; we went to Chef's Table, where I explained that my luggage hadn't arrived yet. The maitre'd graciously led us to our table, and we had dinner. No problem at all.

The days of having to wear a dinner jacket into most restaurants are long gone; having dress requirements in the 2 specialty restaurants on Viking ships are a throwback to the old Queen Mary days, when tuxes were common attire at dinner. Having worn tuxes in my line of work hundreds of times (I toured with various recording artists and we played Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Reno, and Atlantic City a dozen weeks or more each year, and the band wore tuxes in casino gigs), it certainly wasn't something I enjoyed, just something I was required to wear.

 

I understand the restriction against shorts, flip-flops, and torn jeans, but I appreciated that Viking understood my predicament and made an exception in my case. 

Smart casual is hardly dressing for dinner, it's basically don't look scruffy. It's the same as I would wear to go to a nice pub or restaurant. 

 

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Mich3554

Mich3554

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, Nidec said:

Agree. we had some onboard credit which we struggled to spend. No swimwear, no polo or tee shirts. There were Viking jackets (not waterproof!) and zip-up cardigans, slippers, and very little else clothes-wise. We ended up buying bathrobes and whisky just to use up the OBC.

On the 54 day back to back we were on last year, at one time we had 4 figures of OBC in our account.  As the days wound down, after gratuities and our bar tab was done, we had about $800 left of non refundable OBC.  The store was incredibly depleted, but I managed to snag 2 down jackets and a few other things to get the balance down.  Thinking back, I should have snagged another of those blankets at the foot of the bed instead.  We also let Viking pay for our private transport from Valparaiso to our hotel in Santiago.  We left $12 in the account.  

I’m surprised that there were no waterproof Viking Helly Hansen jackets on your cruise.  I was considering them, but they were not in our sizes.   
ETA:  There was a gorgeous pair of emerald earrings in the jewelry shop I coveted.  DH pointed them out as he really liked them too.  The price on them was only $20k.  When I went shopping, I had visions of killing out OBC with those, and putting the $19,200 balance on the credit card.  I couldn’t do that, but was tempted!

Edited by Mich3554
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duquephart

duquephart

Posted
Posted
14 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

On the 54 day back to back we were on last year, at one time we had 4 figures of OBC in our account.  As the days wound down, after gratuities and our bar tab was done, we had about $800 left of non refundable OBC.  The store was incredibly depleted, but I managed to snag 2 down jackets and a few other things to get the balance down.  Thinking back, I should have snagged another of those blankets at the foot of the bed instead.  We also let Viking pay for our private transport from Valparaiso to our hotel in Santiago.  We left $12 in the account.  

I’m surprised that there were no waterproof Viking Helly Hansen jackets on your cruise.  I was considering them, but they were not in our sizes.   
ETA:  There was a gorgeous pair of emerald earrings in the jewelry shop I coveted.  DH pointed them out as he really liked them too.  The price on them was only $20k.  When I went shopping, I had visions of killing out OBC with those, and putting the $19,200 balance on the credit card.  I couldn’t do that, but was tempted!

 

I wonder about price of comparable elsewhere. Cruise ship jewelry stores are not your best bet.

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LindaS272 "Live from...." Rare

LindaS272

Posted
Posted
50 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

Thinking back, I should have snagged another of those blankets at the foot of the bed instead.

Yeah—then you could sell one to @DrKoob who’s looking for one for his wife for Christmas. I think he’s just a hop skip and a jump near you in Redmond.

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Mich3554

Mich3554

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Liz Masterson said:

I don’t understand why ships have all that space dedicated to very expensive jewelry. Is there a special tax deal or something? 
 

Some people do spend that kind of money.  I did see some sales, so something was made. The earrings really were gorgeous, and nothing like I have ever seen, but wasn’t going to do it.

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broker1217

broker1217

Posted
Posted

Don’t buy fine jewelry on a cruise ship unless it is branded and you know it’s value.

Inexpensive costume jewelry-sure.

Viking had some Georg Jensen on our last cruise and I bought a bracelet for less than US price and saved tax.

But $20k emeralds-nope.

Not unless the stones come with GIA certification. Are they oiled? Treated?

The jewelry was maybe slightly better than mall jewelry, but vastly over priced for the quality. Just my opinion.

if I am spending $20k, I want top quality with appropriate certification for gemstones.

Don’t even get me going on Diamonds International-lol.

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FetaCheese "Live from...." Rare

FetaCheese

Posted
Posted
20 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

I'm having difficulty understanding the correlation between Viking's current "Smart Casual" attire and the formal attire required on the old liners and cruise ships.

 

Formal attire wasn't a Cunard standard, as it was also a requirement on all P&O and British India ships, and it continued long after the Queen Mary retired in 1967. When I left P&O in the 1980's, on all except the first & last nights, evening attire was a tux or dark suit for gentlemen and gowns or long dresses for ladies. This wasn't a suggestion, it was a requirement. In addition, the officers were all dressed in Mess Kit from 18:00, if on decks and not working. Dinner was also traditional seating, with the dinner bells sounded throughout the pax accommodation.

 

Every cruise line has "Rig of the Day" standards, but the current Viking standard is certainly not a throwback to the formal attire and dinner experience I remember from the 1970's & 80's. If anything, Viking is the polar opposite of what I experienced when working on the ships.

Our 1st cruise was on Sun Line (Greek), Stella Oceanis, (1984).  I fondly remember those dinner bells.  At first I thought it must be a recording, due to the consistently same tempo, melody and sound quality.  I later was at the Purser's desk, when I witnessed the man playing the chimes on the instrument, over the PA system !

 

We were very disappointed when Sun Line went out of business.  They were a classy cruise line, excellent in every way.  Captain's Gala dinner even served real Black Sea caviar, with chilled vodka.  No extra charge. 

 

In my opinion, sadly, they did not not keep up with newer more innovative cruise lines.  And their very loyal pax were aging, and younger pax were not attracted to their style of cruise product.  Back then, we were always the youngest pax (in our 20's and 30's).  We totally enjoyed our fellow pax, with whom we made friends, and learned that older pax do enjoy being around younger people.  We also learned from their many life experiences. 

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longterm

longterm

Posted
Posted
17 hours ago, Mich3554 said:

Some people do spend that kind of money.  I did see some sales, so something was made. The earrings really were gorgeous, and nothing like I have ever seen, but wasn’t going to do it.

Cruise ships sell jewelry because profits are obscenely high. I have a friend who was the diamond buyer for one of the largest jewelry chains in the US; he used to shock me with the costs they paid for diamonds, compared with what they sold them for in the stores. 

No bargains to be found in jewelry stores on Viking cruise ships, that's for sure.

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eddieg07410

eddieg07410

Posted
Posted

Frankly, I believe this upturn in inconsiderate and rude behavior has nothing to do with covid, but has everything to do with wide social changes occurring throughout the world. The cruiwhich se ship is simply a microcosm of the greater social climate we live. Never in my 70 years of living have I seen such a "it's all about me attitude" as so pervasive. Common courtesy is just about nil. I feel grateful that I was able to live in kinder times and travel during a time when I looked forward to meeting new and diverse people. But I fear that those times are no longer with us. I'll leave it to the academicians to explain why, but I know future historians will not look kindly upon these times.

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kirtihk

kirtihk

Posted
Posted (edited)
23 minutes ago, eddieg07410 said:

Frankly, I believe this upturn in inconsiderate and rude behavior has nothing to do with covid, but has everything to do with wide social changes occurring throughout the world. The cruiwhich se ship is simply a microcosm of the greater social climate we live. Never in my 70 years of living have I seen such a "it's all about me attitude" as so pervasive. Common courtesy is just about nil. I feel grateful that I was able to live in kinder times and travel during a time when I looked forward to meeting new and diverse people. But I fear that those times are no longer with us. I'll leave it to the academicians to explain why, but I know future historians will not look kindly upon these times.

So true!  However, I still feel that way (looking forward to meeting new and diverse people).  I'm writing this time after time.  It simply takes more effort to locate them, because, unfortunately, it's dangerous (in many senses) these days to speak up a diverse opinion - I still do, because after living the exact first half of my life (31 years) in a "collectivism" country, I'm fed up of being controlled and hobbled by those who thing they "govern" us and preaching a "bright future" ahead of us.  Believe me, no one can judge what's going now in the world who didn't experience first-hand such an experiment!

 

Voyage, Voyage

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duquephart

duquephart

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Exactly

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1982/02/have-you-ever-tried-to-sell-a-diamond/304575/

 

Another great piece: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/diamond-de-beers-marketing-campaign

 

Basically, De Beers and their marketing turned an intrinsically almost valueless commodity into an item necessary for a successful marriage and fulfilling life.

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