Cruise lines similar to Viking but less expensive

[cruisemom42]

17 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

I would be very interested in reading the facts to substantiate your statement that Viking don't provide sufficient shore-ex to accommodate most of the pax. Since you didn't specify online booking pre-cruise, which post-COVID has issues, what percentage of pax at the end of the cruise did not get the specific shore-ex that they wanted?

 

Can't speak to overall numbers but it has come up in a number of reviews I have read over the past 2 years, with enough frequency for me to be pretty confident that it happens. The OP of this thread in fact stated that they were not able to get every shorex they wanted despite going up a category or two in booking for that purpose.

 

 

17 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

If I can join a tour on the dock on more than 1 occasion,  just prior to departure , how can Viking not be ensuring the supply is sufficient for most pax?

 

While this may be true, it is far from ideal for someone like me who likes to plan and research ahead. I want to know what I'm planning before I leave home so I can read about the places, research what else may be nearby but not mentioned in the tour descriptions, etc. 

 

17 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

My other consideration is if the cruise line doesn't provide shore-ex, it is incentive for pax to book cheaper, smaller group and more customisable private tours.

 

Sure, but if I am paying double already for one person -- since Viking rarely offers solo deals -- and one of the fare inclusions are tours, I'd just as soon use the included tours (when I can) rather than put out yet more money.

[Charles4515]

13 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

While this may be true, it is far from ideal for someone like me who likes to plan and research ahead. I want to know what I'm planning before I leave home so I can read about the places, research what else may be nearby but not mentioned in the tour descriptions, etc. 

I am the same and that is one of the reasons I probably would not book Viking. I believe Heidi13 posted on another thread that they only book ship excursions so that means no research needed but I am DIY and independent excursion type. Ship sponsored  excursions I have found are generaly disappointing. Oceania has an option for included excursions but I was able to book without them. .

 

I have not looked lately at Viking but when I looked in the past they wanted full payment when booking. So a year out full payment. If that still exists that would be another negative. 

[CPT Trips]

16 hours ago, BruceMuzz said:

I’m looking for a car like a Ferrari, but less expensive.

Maybe you can help me??

Sure, more than happy to assist you.

The ‘23 C8 Corvette Z06 fits the bill nicely at less than half the price of the least expensive Ferrari and a third the price of a Ferrari that might beat it on a track day. 

[jsn55]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

I would be very interested in reading the facts to substantiate your statement that Viking don't provide sufficient shore-ex to accommodate most of the pax. Since you didn't specify online booking pre-cruise, which post-COVID has issues, what percentage of pax at the end of the cruise did not get the specific shore-ex that they wanted?

 

Having spent 4 months on a Viking ship the shore-ex staff were not "Lazy" as they worked numerous late nights, ensuring the pax got the tours they wanted, even with multiple port changes. We met and got to know many of the pax over the 4 months and am not aware of any that couldn't get a specific tour, as it was full. Might not get your preferred time, but you could book an alternative time.

 

On all of our Viking tours, none of the buses or vans was booked to capacity, as they tend to leave seats available for last minute changes. These seats are filled by the onboard shore-ex staff and are also available to any pax who requests to join a tour on the dock. When booking multiple tours on any day, the system requires a minimum gap between tours. Due to the required gap, we have been unable to book an afternoon tour after an AM tour, but on return to the dock, have asked the shore-ex staff if spots are available for the PM tour. Always managed to get a seat.

 

If I can join a tour on the dock on more than 1 occasion,  just prior to departure , how can Viking not be ensuring the supply is sufficient for most pax?

 

My other consideration is if the cruise line doesn't provide shore-ex, it is incentive for pax to book cheaper, smaller group and more customisable private tours.

 

[jsn55]

Just now, jsn55 said:

 

Sorry, I was unclear that I was referring to a policy often mentioned in this thread that pax with the higher-cost accommodations had priority when choosing shore excursions.  I totally agree with you about how hard the ShoreX people work (at least on nearly every cruise I've taken) and how enjoyable the experience usually is.  I really admire ShoreX people; they work under tremendous pressure and they often have to deal with pax who love to complain about nothing.  

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Can't speak to overall numbers but it has come up in a number of reviews I have read over the past 2 years, with enough frequency for me to be pretty confident that it happens. The OP of this thread in fact stated that they were not able to get every shorex they wanted despite going up a category or two in booking for that purpose.

 

 

 

While this may be true, it is far from ideal for someone like me who likes to plan and research ahead. I want to know what I'm planning before I leave home so I can read about the places, research what else may be nearby but not mentioned in the tour descriptions, etc. 

 

 

Sure, but if I am paying double already for one person -- since Viking rarely offers solo deals -- and one of the fare inclusions are tours, I'd just as soon use the included tours (when I can) rather than put out yet more money.

 

The common complaint is pax being unable to book online tours pre-cruise, an issue which has increased post-COVID. However, at the end of the cruise, very few pax are unable to book a preferred shore-ex. While I haven't met any, I have no doubt they do exist, but the percentage of the total pax is tiny.

 

I also plan extensively, to the extent of creating a Word document for each port and printing a hard copy prior to departure. When I mentioned walking onto a tour on the dock these were additional tours of interest, but we would have been just as happy with wandering ashore.

 

Since Viking sell out many cruises a year in advance, they only offer reduced solo supplements on a handful of cruises, normally trans-Atlantics, or similar sea day intensive crossings. Every pax is guaranteed an "Included" tour in every port.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

I am the same and that is one of the reasons I probably would not book Viking. I believe Heidi13 posted on another thread that they only book ship excursions so that means no research needed but I am DIY and independent excursion type. Ship sponsored  excursions I have found are generaly disappointing. Oceania has an option for included excursions but I was able to book without them. .

 

I have not looked lately at Viking but when I looked in the past they wanted full payment when booking. So a year out full payment. If that still exists that would be another negative. 

 

Couldn't be further from the truth. I conduct a risk assessment for each port and book tours according to the risk. We have many preferred vendors around the World, but sadly since COVID, many have retired.

 

What I did say in a recent post is that booking shore-ex requires minimal research, but as a retired Navigator/Captain, I probably do more voyage planning than most.

[Heidi13]

40 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

Sorry, I was unclear that I was referring to a policy often mentioned in this thread that pax with the higher-cost accommodations had priority when choosing shore excursions.  I totally agree with you about how hard the ShoreX people work (at least on nearly every cruise I've taken) and how enjoyable the experience usually is.  I really admire ShoreX people; they work under tremendous pressure and they often have to deal with pax who love to complain about nothing.  

 

One of the few perks provided for repeat pax or higher grade cabins is an earlier window for booking shore-excursions and the 2 alternative restaurants. This is common knowledge and is included on the website for every cabin category.

 

If potential pax don't agree with this policy they have the opportunity to take their money to any of the other cruise lines that have perks they prefer. Personally, I couldn't care less and it would not entice us to book a higher grade cabin, as we book cabin based on location for DW.

 

As I noted in my previous reply, this issue is primarily on the ability to book shore-ex prior to the cruise, as once onboard most pax secure the shore-ex they prefer, regardless of cabin category, as once onboard every pax is equal regardless of cabin size.

[Croooser]

OP:

 

Sounds like you are happy with Viking and are probably headed back to Viking. Fair enough. At least you know that you like their offering - and that's much more important than anyone else's opinion.  But, just in case...

 

The only thing I might suggest with respect to Oceania is in terms of price comparisons - since you referenced price as a key consideration. Oceania makes it very difficult to understand the pricing options. You can book any Oceania cruise a few different ways, with each having a different price:

 

• Listed price for any given cruise/category which includes coach air and  "O Life"
• Cruise with O Life but without air
• Cruise with air but without O Life
• Cruise only with no O Life and no air

 

Note that that these options are not all displayed on the O website or marketing materials. Website will give you a quote without air if you want. The credit for not taking O Life option will be the $ amount of OBC that O Life option offers.

 

It is my understanding that Viking places limits on Travel Agent incentives offered to clients who book Viking. There are many people on the Oceania CC forum who always book with a TA who offers rebates on Oceania. We typically receive about 10% of the cruise only invoice on our bookings. Also, it is sometimes possible for a TA to also provide prepaid gratuities via their consortium.

 

Also, Oceania does not include wine and beer with lunch, but does allow you to bring alcohol onboard for private consumption or bring wine on with a corkage charge if used in restaurants.

 

All of these things can affect the price/person/day, depending on personal choices and are definitely not readily evident when comparing prices between lines. (I DID say that Oceania makes it difficult) 😝

 

We have been on Oceania 4 times and have 2 more booked. We now book cruise only, with no air and no O Life with a TA that rebates. FWIW, in 2023 we have  a 10 day Caribbean booked on Oceania Riviera in a B3 with an extended balcony for $324/pp/day net and a 16 day Panama Canal on Oceania Vista in a A1 extended balcony for $309/pp/day net (prepaid gratuities + rebate).

 

HTH

[navybankerteacher]

6 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

Sure, more than happy to assist you.

The ‘23 C8 Corvette Z06 fits the bill nicely at less than half the price of the least expensive Ferrari and a third the price of a Ferrari that might beat it on a track day. 

It is still a fat-ass Corvette - which hardly "fits the bill" -- beyond getting you to the local supermarket in roughly the same time.

[Steerpike58]

On 11/8/2022 at 9:46 AM, Heidi13 said:

 

I would be very interested in reading the facts to substantiate your statement that Viking don't provide sufficient shore-ex to accommodate most of the pax. Since you didn't specify online booking pre-cruise, which post-COVID has issues, what percentage of pax at the end of the cruise did not get the specific shore-ex that they wanted?

 

Having spent 4 months on a Viking ship the shore-ex staff were not "Lazy" as they worked numerous late nights, ensuring the pax got the tours they wanted, even with multiple port changes. We met and got to know many of the pax over the 4 months and am not aware of any that couldn't get a specific tour, as it was full. Might not get your preferred time, but you could book an alternative time.

 

On all of our Viking tours, none of the buses or vans was booked to capacity, as they tend to leave seats available for last minute changes. These seats are filled by the onboard shore-ex staff and are also available to any pax who requests to join a tour on the dock. When booking multiple tours on any day, the system requires a minimum gap between tours. Due to the required gap, we have been unable to book an afternoon tour after an AM tour, but on return to the dock, have asked the shore-ex staff if spots are available for the PM tour. Always managed to get a seat.

 

If I can join a tour on the dock on more than 1 occasion,  just prior to departure , how can Viking not be ensuring the supply is sufficient for most pax?

 

My other consideration is if the cruise line doesn't provide shore-ex, it is incentive for pax to book cheaper, smaller group and more customisable private tours.

 

OP here.  I'm going from memory now, but I seem to recall trying one more time to get on certain 'extra cost' excursions when we were on the ship (day 1 only), and not having any luck. However, once on the ship and discussing 'face to face' with the 'customer service' folks, we no longer had our computer or our notes in front of us, so it was not as easy to have a discussion about what options were and were not available in each port on the 14-day cruise. Each port had several 'extra cost' options, and from the comfort of our home, we had decided on what we wanted but when we failed to get them ahead of time, we kind-of lost track of our desired activities. We assumed (possibly wrongly) that if they weren't available the day before embarkation, they wouldn't be available after that. 

 

So it's your assertion that there's plenty of flexibility and more availability on the excursions once on-board? 

 

In retrospect, maybe we should have prepared a list of 'desired' extra-cost excursions, in priority order, and brought my laptop with me to the service desk.  

 

We certainly struggled to get any reservations at the two specialty restaurants. Neither were available ahead of time. Once on board, we did get two 'less than ideal' slots / days, and did change one of them later in the cruise to a slightly more desirable slot, but we still ended up at 'Chef's Table' on a day when lamb chops were the only main dish, and my partner does not enjoy red meat! 

 

We just booked (today!) a Viking river cruise next October (2023).  Several of the 'pre-' and 'post-' excursions were showing sold out already, which was a shock. We called Viking and were able to get both pre- and post- excursions through the live person, which was good. 

[Steerpike58]

On 11/7/2022 at 7:03 AM, Hlitner said:

Now you are speaking my language when you talk about awful coffee.  I like a full flavored stronger coffee and, most mornings at home, I start off with a large mug of a triple shot of expresso turned into cappuccino.  Yes, the coffee on HAL is truly awful (like flavored dish water) which always drove me to Explorations for something better.  But it is not just on HAL as the coffee is awful on most cruise lines.  There are a few exceptions such as on Seabourn where one can request a "French Press" of coffee (often down in their Colonnade lido) which is far superior than the normal coffee.  MSC actually has pretty good coffee in their Yacht Club restaurant (we have never dined in their regular MDRs) but this is not surprising when one considers that MSC serves many European customers (even with their Caribbean cruises) who generally prefer a stronger full flavored brew.

 

The worst coffee I have ever had (EVER) was when Princess used some kind of strange coffee syrup to fuel their huge Lido coffee urns.  That stuff was truly gross!  Eventually, Princess moved to better machines that are fueled by real coffee grounds.  But Princess has always made a big deal out of the fact that the coffee at their International Cafe (open 24/7) is "small batch" and among the best coffee at sea.  But this coffee does cost extra unless one has a coffee card or drink package.

 

Hank

At home, I have an espresso machine and make my own very strong latte's every morning. I was very pleased to see that Viking had several 'professional grade' espresso machines at various bars, and didn't charge extra for them.  I was able to get a latte very quickly on our first morning in the 'Atrium' area (by 'professional grade', I mean the serious machines you see in a good coffee shop, operated by a decent barista, churning out espressos continuously). 

 

Then in the 'World Cafe' (buffet), they had two of those 'automated' self-serve machines that grinds the beans, and produces the drink in a fully automated fashion, including steaming/frothing the milk.  This wasn't quite as good as the 'professional', human-operated machines at other locations, but - it was 'good enough' and very quick, so that became my 'go-to' machine every morning. I could press the button for 'latte' and then the button for 'espresso' to beef it up!  

 

My partner prefers 'regular coffee' (drip type) and said the Viking offering was 'weak'.  I suggested she 'augment' it with a shot of espresso, but she declined - her loss! 

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, Steerpike58 said:

 

OP here.  I'm going from memory now, but I seem to recall trying one more time to get on certain 'extra cost' excursions when we were on the ship (day 1 only), and not having any luck. However, once on the ship and discussing 'face to face' with the 'customer service' folks, we no longer had our computer or our notes in front of us, so it was not as easy to have a discussion about what options were and were not available in each port on the 14-day cruise. Each port had several 'extra cost' options, and from the comfort of our home, we had decided on what we wanted but when we failed to get them ahead of time, we kind-of lost track of our desired activities. We assumed (possibly wrongly) that if they weren't available the day before embarkation, they wouldn't be available after that. 

 

So it's your assertion that there's plenty of flexibility and more availability on the excursions once on-board? 

 

In retrospect, maybe we should have prepared a list of 'desired' extra-cost excursions, in priority order, and brought my laptop with me to the service desk.  

 

We certainly struggled to get any reservations at the two specialty restaurants. Neither were available ahead of time. Once on board, we did get two 'less than ideal' slots / days, and did change one of them later in the cruise to a slightly more desirable slot, but we still ended up at 'Chef's Table' on a day when lamb chops were the only main dish, and my partner does not enjoy red meat! 

 

We just booked (today!) a Viking river cruise next October (2023).  Several of the 'pre-' and 'post-' excursions were showing sold out already, which was a shock. We called Viking and were able to get both pre- and post- excursions through the live person, which was good. 

 

Once onboard Viking Ocean, you have a number of options for booking shore-ex. When availability is an issue, meeting face to face with the shore-ex staff at the Purser's Desk is the preferred option, as if any tours are full, you can register interest, so they know how many extra seats they can fill.

 

You can also book tours in the cabin using the TV. They have a shore-ex page, which lists the tours for each port. You can book directly on the TV and the tickets are delivered to the cabin in a few hours.

 

If you can't book tours online pre-cruise, yes I suggest bringing your laptop, or notes, as you will most likely get everything you want onboard. Note- we haven't cruised post COVID, so this experience is all pre-COVID.

[Steerpike58]

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Once onboard Viking Ocean, you have a number of options for booking shore-ex. When availability is an issue, meeting face to face with the shore-ex staff at the Purser's Desk is the preferred option, as if any tours are full, you can register interest, so they know how many extra seats they can fill.

 

You can also book tours in the cabin using the TV. They have a shore-ex page, which lists the tours for each port. You can book directly on the TV and the tickets are delivered to the cabin in a few hours.

 

If you can't book tours online pre-cruise, yes I suggest bringing your laptop, or notes, as you will most likely get everything you want onboard. Note- we haven't cruised post COVID, so this experience is all pre-COVID.

We were not aware of any 'shore-ex staff' or a 'Purser's Desk' (possibly our ignorance).  The only 'service' option we were aware of were approx. 3 desks in the 'Atrium' area which were often staffed by (what I would call) 'general purpose customer service' folks.  Note - there were a TON of red-shirted people organizing the actual shore-ex process on the mornings, but they were entirely focused on getting the right people on the right busses, etc. 

[Heidi13]

13 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

We were not aware of any 'shore-ex staff' or a 'Purser's Desk' (possibly our ignorance).  The only 'service' option we were aware of were approx. 3 desks in the 'Atrium' area which were often staffed by (what I would call) 'general purpose customer service' folks.  Note - there were a TON of red-shirted people organizing the actual shore-ex process on the mornings, but they were entirely focused on getting the right people on the right busses, etc. 

 

Viking don't use the old traditional term, but it is located on Deck 1 in the Atrium - port side fwd. The fwd desks are the general Purser's (GM's) staff, while the aft desks were the Shore-ex manager and his/her staff.