First time on Oceania - some impressions

[Mariastreby]

2 hours ago, Sebbiesgrammy said:

And it depends on what the promotion details are at the time of booking.  Dear friends are Viking devotees and encouraged us to travel with them in late 2025 on a "new" ship with new itinerary. Hard to say no to a $25 pp deposit in May 2023 but the fine print says PIF is required December 2023, almost 2 years before sailing.  That's how they are paying for the new ship I assume 😂

I agree that the 1-2 years advance PIF is ridiculous by industry standards. We’ve taken advantage of the $25 deposit three times now, but always had another cruise on the books, so only 6 months payment. Somehow, Viking is maintaining nearly full ocean ships, and overselling river ship cabins. 
 

They introduced THREE new ocean ships since last May, and the next, the Vela, in fall of 24. Also, about 6 new river ships, and plans for about 5 more ocean ships prior to 2030. And none with a pax capacity of over 1,000 pax. Yet there are people willing to pay so far in advance to finance those ships. But many more aren’t willing, and I don’t blame them a bit. 
 

We’re happy to have a total of $4,000 in deposits out right now for two 24 night cruises on Vista next year and 2025. We do like both companies, but will think hard about traveling with Viking again after taking the last one that is already booked - this Christmas. 

[1985rz1]

6 hours ago, Sebbiesgrammy said:

And it depends on what the promotion details are at the time of booking.  Dear friends are Viking devotees and encouraged us to travel with them in late 2025 on a "new" ship with new itinerary. Hard to say no to a $25 pp deposit in May 2023 but the fine print says PIF is required December 2023, almost 2 years before sailing.  That's how they are paying for the new ship I assume 😂

We booked our 2025 cruises on the new ships with the $25 pp deposit, one with 1 year and one with 6 months payment dates.

Edited June 17, 2023 by 1985rz1

[May B]

On 5/23/2023 at 5:33 PM, legaleaglegreen said:

First night in MDR is often a mess.  However, we have found that after we check in there is always a desk in the reception area for booking the specialty restaurants.  These are usually underbooked on the first night and frequently we have to able to get a booking without a prior reservation especially if we are willing to share a table.  By the way, this does not count against the number of reservations you generally allowed.  We have also been able to get additional reservations in the specialty reservations by checking at the desk at breakfast time.  However sea days are usually very busy in the restaurants as no one is eating ashore or getting home late from an excursion.  Hope this helps.

On our one and only Oceania, we actually independently looked at the first night’s menu in the MDR, and found it lack-luster. Instead, then, we did dine in Polo, instead, agreeing to share. We did not enjoy the company of the other couple, and when the woman excused herself before the main course arrived, a disappointing dinner, food-wise, spiraled down into one of the worst meals we’ve ever encountered at sea.

[May B]

On 5/23/2023 at 6:13 PM, ORV said:

Yeah, I follow that, I still don't think it should matter. Unless there are more people trying to eat in there on the first night, but I actually think there would be more in the Terrace on the first night. 

It seems to happen on many lines. I think it’s b/c many pax have expectations that don’t match reality. Of course there may also be a crew member who has just been moved to the podium position, and is a tad overwhelmed.

[May B]

On 6/14/2023 at 7:15 PM, jonthomas said:

Viking Ocean, not river, they are different. So how did you compare the two?

Our observation also was that those who were drinking several glasses of wine with their meals didn't find the food quite as objectionable as we did. For us and a couple we befriended, the food was dreadful in all venues. Our acquaintances sent back several meals, one was a chunk of fat, disguised as some kind of roast. We stuck to mostly salad and bread.

But again many found the food ok. The common denominator for them  was wine included with every meal.

We hope that if O begins to include liquor with meals, they do not lower the quality of the meals, as this may affect how the meals are perceived,  especially after a finished bottle of wine. 

We left all other cruise lines in the dust for "the best food at sea".

So far we have not been disappointed. 

We disembarked Viking Jupiter just two days ago, and we truly enjoyed the food. Mr B had halibut three times in The Restaurant, plus one red snapper and one Chilean sea bass. I had ahi tuna and Dover sole. All were cooked perfectly and seasoned ten times better than on our Riviera in 2014.

 

I knew I wouldn’t like the red included with dinner, so we brought on a Josh cab to enjoy for the beginning few nights. The included Riesling was a pleasant surprise for the white. One night we each sprung for an $8 glass of the Francis Ford Coppola zin.

 

We also brought on our Makers Mark, as we’d heard they don’t have it onboard. It worked out great for us, exactly finishing up the 750 ml in our ten days. I did plan to have a Sex on the Beach one night, but we ran out of time. Mr B says he can make it for me at home.

 

So despite your having lumped me and Mr B in a bucket of food and wine idiots, I’m comfortable in my own choices.

[May B]

Dear Curler Rob,

 

Thank you so much for mentioning this thread, on the other comparison one, as I’ve enjoyed this immensely! B/c my son, DiL and two grandsons are devoted curlers, I’m always happy to hear from you. Plus, my OTHER son is named Rob, so we have quite the connection, thee and me.

 

 

[jonthomas]

Sorry I don't believe you. We had to get the restaurant manager to have them make us dover sole. Halibut , forget it, nowhere to be found. The food was worse than Celebrity, the reason we left it.

[ak1004]

We never sailed on Viking, so cannot comment on the quality of the food or other aspects. And we all know how subjective the food is.

 

However, they have 9 ships (the biggest fleet among all premium and luxury lines), another 8 expected in the next 5 years, and the ships sail full despite the draconic payment policy. They also have the highest rating on CC of ALL lines (4.6) - https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/viking-ocean-cruises/cl/ (O is 3.9).

 

While I don't give too much weight to the reviews, the fact remains. They must be doing something right. You cannot fool all the people all the time.

[SJD117]

2 hours ago, jonthomas said:

Sorry I don't believe you. We had to get the restaurant manager to have them make us dover sole. Halibut , forget it, nowhere to be found. The food was worse than Celebrity, the reason we left it.

I believe May. When someone says she enjoyed the food, I have no reason to dispute her. It was her dining experience, after all — not yours.

[Mariastreby]

29 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

We never sailed on Viking, so cannot comment on the quality of the food or other aspects. And we all know how subjective the food is.

 

However, they have 9 ships (the biggest fleet among all premium and luxury lines), another 8 expected in the next 5 years, and the ships sail full despite the draconic payment policy. They also have the highest rating on CC of ALL lines (4.6) - https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/viking-ocean-cruises/cl/ (O is 3.9).

 

While I don't give too much weight to the reviews, the fact remains. They must be doing something right. You cannot fool all the people all the time.

At this point, my husband and I like both lines about equally, but each has its own unique merits and drawbacks. Many faithful Viking sailors simply love the homey feel of the Scandinavian decor. There is no piped-in music anywhere, and most people really love the spa area inclusion. There are also more lectures, which seems to appeal to those passengers. We have taken two 14 day cruises, with two more coming up in the next 6 months. 
 

But we are becoming less fond of the design of the four restaurants, including the World Cafe. It’s a really good buffet, to be sure, but we find the tables and seating to be barely a level up from a nice cafeteria one might find in a business office. The saving grace are the windows for their view, but at dinner time, it is often after dark. We’re not crazy about the other three restaurants’ decor either, with the tables in the Restaurant (MDR) placed extremely close together, making conversations nearly impossible at times. But I guess those things don’t bother the Viking faithful.

 

We enjoyed the different interior designs of all the public spaces on the Riviera in March, including the specialty restaurants. We are looking forward to taking the Vista on two transatlantics, from Europe in November 2024, then over to Lisbon and beyond in May of 2025. The photos and videos of the cabins and public areas all look very promising. We hope that we do love the ship, as we’ll be on her for 24 and 22 days respectively. 
 

Having made both bookings in the spring, we’re now faced with the decision of changing over to the new SimplyMore extras, or keeping things the way we have them now. Our TA is away this week, but that decision has plenty of time to be made. 

[lackcreativity]

57 minutes ago, Mariastreby said:

 We’re not crazy about the other three restaurants’ decor either, with the tables in the Restaurant (MDR) placed extremely close together, making conversations nearly impossible at times. But I guess those things don’t bother the Viking faithful. 

As usual, different things appeal to different people. We honestly enjoy the proximity of adjacent tables on the Viking ships, and have had many a pleasant conversation with other passengers over dinner. It is easy enough to tell when others would prefer their privacy, and I respect that. However, often times those random chance conversations have led to future intentional dinner plans. Some of those have led to valued friendships, and that is a great bonus to our travels.

[jonthomas]

2 hours ago, SJD117 said:

I believe May. When someone says she enjoyed the food, I have no reason to dispute her. It was her dining experience, after all — not yours.

If you had been on our Viking sailing in April, you would also not believe her. We and many others ate a lot of pizza since so much of everything else was not edible. 

The dining room staff kept saying how sorry they were when many sent their onion soup back, ice cream that had no cream, just water,  etc.etc.etc.

 

Food was only one complaint.The mid ship area, pool, winter garden...requested numerous times to open roof...since that would slow ships movement , more fuel is needed. It was constantly closed, hot and stuffy and as a result not usable, except for tea late aft.

Those that were ok with the food, consumed large amounts of included wine or had not sailed other lines. 

 

We did 2 V cruises after we could no longer tolerate celebrity and we liked it. That was pre covid and pre O. This last one was in April and after 5, O cruises. No comparison. 

 

If food on O also does meet our expectations,  I will be the first to say so and have complained in the past but that was before the latest V experience. 

[LHT28]

well that is  a new take on cruising

 We cruise  for the itinerary  not the decor 😄

[jonthomas]

it is NOT the decor that I am referring to....when the retractable roof is not open, it is very hot in the area that houses the books, the outdoor chairs, the pool etc....the area becomes not usable...

 

no matter how many times passengers asked, it was kept closed....weather was beautiful...crossing the ocean on the way to BCN....

 

one more thing, we had an hour and a half in Madeira...that was our only stop...we knew this was the only stop but certainly  hoped for more than 1.5 hours...

 

I have said all this before...

 

just such a different experience from the poster that loved everything about V, wish we could have said the same...we loved the spa, open to all...we loved NO kids... good service.....but that is about it...

[May B]

5 hours ago, jonthomas said:

Sorry I don't believe you. We had to get the restaurant manager to have them make us dover sole. Halibut , forget it, nowhere to be found. The food was worse than Celebrity, the reason we left it.

You think I don’t know how to read?

 

Gosh, I wonder if they gave you a different menu, so you wouldn’t like your cruise.

 

How about ahi tuna. Are you going to tell me I didn’t enjoy two lunches of it at the Pool Grill? It must’ve been a figment of my imagination.

 

We lucked out with the retractable roof, too. It was open when appropriate, either fully or partially.

 

I wonder who your ship’s decision-makers were trying to punish.

Edited July 4, 2023 by May B

[shepherd really]

1 minute ago, May B said:

You think I don’t know how to read?

 

Gosh, I wonder if they gave you a different menu, so you wouldn’t like your cruise.

 

How about ahi tuna. Are you going to tell me I didn’t enjoy two lunches of it at the Pool Grill? It must’ve been a figment of my imagination.

If you hover over someone's screen name a popup appears.  On the bottom right is an "ignore" button.  It works fabulously.  

 

You're welcome.

[SJD117]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

well that is  a new take on cruising

 We cruise  for the itinerary  not the decor 😄

They’re not mutually exclusive.

[jonthomas]

49 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

If you hover over someone's screen name a popup appears.  On the bottom right is an "ignore" button.  It works fabulously.  

 

You're welcome.

Yes I must use that more often. Thank you.

[SJD117]

After reading this colloquy, now I really believe May.  😀

[Mariastreby]

3 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

As usual, different things appeal to different people. We honestly enjoy the proximity of adjacent tables on the Viking ships, and have had many a pleasant conversation with other passengers over dinner. It is easy enough to tell when others would prefer their privacy, and I respect that. However, often times those random chance conversations have led to future intentional dinner plans. Some of those have led to valued friendships, and that is a great bonus to our travels.

 
I get it about meeting people there via shared tables or random overheard conversations.  We did have that experience in December when one large table and two two-tops got to talking about Subarus, then other cars, etc. It was an enjoyable time. I think something similar happened a couple of times on our Trade Routes cruise too.
 

On the other hand, we often hear about 4 different conversations going on around us, and my husband could hardly hear me. Even with hearing aids, it’s hard for him to hear when there is a lot of background noise. We have friends who have just taken their 9th Viking ocean cruise, and almost all their dinners are in the World Cafe. The wife is also hard of hearing, and they can only sit at very select tables in the Restaurant so she can hear her husband at all. They do enjoy Chef’s Table and Manfredi’s though, as those tables are further apart. 

[osandomir]

4 hours ago, LHT28 said:

well that is  a new take on cruising

 We cruise  for the itinerary  not the decor 😄

I agree with you, but we’ve met people cruising for many various reasons. Though, it was the first time I saw on this board that one person cruised for shoestring fries constantly asking if he can find them on board. Guess, everyone is different.

[jonthomas]

And you chose to read those posts over and over again and to interpret them to your liking, just as someone else thought I was referring to decor when talking about the lack of fresh air mid ship, pool area aboard the Viking Star.

 

 

[LHT28]

44 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

And you chose to read those posts over and over again and to interpret them to your liking, just as someone else thought I was referring to decor when talking about the lack of fresh air mid ship, pool area aboard the Viking Star.

 

 

It was not referring to you

 Every post here is NOT ALL ABOUT YOU

[pinotlover]

13 hours ago, jonthomas said:

Sorry I don't believe you. We had to get the restaurant manager to have them make us dover sole. Halibut , forget it, nowhere to be found. The food was worse than Celebrity, the reason we left it.

You weren’t on her cruise and her ship. You haven’t a clue of the quality of food that was presented to her on that cruise. You haven’t a clue of who the chef was on her ship.

 

Here’s a clue for you. On Oceania food quality can very tremendously depending upon the head chef. 

[Vineyard View]

9 hours ago, jonthomas said:

We have sailed multiple times on Viking. Not post C, but none of what you experienced was remotely close to what we experienced. It sounds as if yours must have been the ‘perfect storm’ because in spite of the always present cheer leaders of each line, Viking just wouldn’t be sailing at the continued capacity that they do if that was a pattern. 

That said, we are not booking Viking in the near future for very different reasons - not because of our experiences on board them with services, food, ship layout, crew - we are booking elsewhere due to prepayment, overall price, and recent higher value (for us) on another line. Food is subjective. Most enjoy  it as did we.  Dining room layout can be subjective as well - we weren’t fans.

But overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our days on Viking. 
You clearly, through your much repeated slams of Viking, tell us they were not a good fit for you. The overall perception and reviews are not however in line with what you experienced. Full ships of happy passengers say something else. 

we all choose whom we sail with for different reasons, but your many, many, many reviews of completely atrocious experiences on Viking with their food, etc. just seem a bit extreme compared to most. So surely, you and all your fellow passengers must have been on the itinerary from where on one wants to be. 
If the retractable roof is closed, as was a big issue for you on top of the food,  there is always the outdoor aft pool and hot tub, as well as the lasotherapy pool available to all for free in the spa area.