Back from my first Viking cruise: reflections

[JM0115]

20 minutes ago, purpleally said:

Viking is absolutely not a luxury cruise line, for several reasons.  I can only hope they hang onto premium. 

Why do you say that they are not luxury? What is your criteria?

[downsmead]

We are currently on the Viking Sea and have seen no unacceptable behaviour on board. The food has been good, apart from the Chefs Table, like others we have cancelled a second visit. We haven’t encountered any problems with drinks, but that all depends on what you are drinking! We did not have a package this time but did notice that the premium wines offered on SSP, are not what we would consider premium wines - some are less than £10 a bottle in our local supermarkets!

We have some very good guest lecturers on board and have enjoyed the lectures we attended. 
 

[lackcreativity]

1 hour ago, JM0115 said:

We had a couple that wore robes to breakfast in the World Cafe basically every morning!

If I wanted to eat breakfast with people in bathrobes I could just stay home and do that!

[duquephart]

1 hour ago, purpleally said:

Make a difference on the wine

 

No. You can get whatever you want at any time with or without the package.

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, purpleally said:

Viking is absolutely not a luxury cruise line, for several reasons.  I can only hope they hang onto premium. 

Since you’re throwing slings and arrows at Viking what is your experience with them?

[KBs mum]

1 hour ago, purpleally said:

Viking is absolutely not a luxury cruise line, for several reasons.  I can only hope they hang onto premium. 

Depends how luxury is defined. On here it seems to be based on the cost being all inclusive, rather than the product/s. Odd to us as in the UK 'all inclusive' is usually a sign of quality not being the best. 

We book with them to avoid things, crowds, casinos, overenthusiastic cruise directors, pa announcements. We can ignore the mediocre food, and previously have been able to avoid the mediocre musicians, but the latter was in every bar, every evening. Sometimes non stop, same sets everytime. Extremely annoying. Not even premium quality. 

There were passengers who seemed completely unfamiliar with how to conduct themselves in a hotel like setting, for the first time we saw room key cards on lanyards (why?) with one person unable to grasp that the barman just wanted their room number, the guest repeatedly insisted the chap 'just scan the card' despite explanations that the card has no function other than as a room key and at the gangway, and the bar has nothing to scan it with. 

There were people walking through the atrium in bathrobes to get to the spa from the main elevators. I would have expected crew to ask them to walk along the accommodation corridors and use the forward elevators/stairs. 

[Twitchly]

3 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

How recent news your post pandamnit cruise?  I felt the same about ours but it was way back in 2021.  All these more recent reviews have me concerned about our upcoming one in July-especially since we have convinced our friends, @HUNKYto join us. 

Our post pandammit cruise was this past September. Viking Mars in the British Isles. Great cruise. But it’s true, they didn’t have the pistachio rolls. So I take it all back — Viking is circling the drain!

[longterm]

On 2/25/2023 at 9:31 AM, bookbabe said:

I’ll tag in here, hoping @J80crew doesn’t mind, as we were also on that same cruise, and it was also our first experience with Viking.

 

DH and I are experienced cruisers in our mid-50’s, and if you were on that cruise you can likely ID us easily as we were two of the maybe a dozen under-60yo passengers who were not traveling with older relatives.  We’ve cruised NCL (including the Haven) the most, with a few Disney and even a couple of Carnival cruises thrown in when we were traveling with friends or family who preferred those lines.

 

Embarkation/debarkation and getting off the ship in the various ports was unbelievably easy, quick and painless.  We arrived late afternoon to San Juan on embarkation day, and initially thought that the comparatively empty terminal and smooth boarding process was just because we had arrived later than we usually would have, but no, that ease continued all week.  We even took a few pics to share with friends of us virtually alone on a pier even though it was first thing in the morning and theoretically prime time for people leaving to tour ports.  Disembarking was just as smooth, and we were impressed by the fact that Viking arranged a hospitality room at the hotel by the port for those of us with transfers and late flights.

 

Service on the ship, overall great, similar to what we’ve experienced most times with NCL’s Haven.  Our cabin steward and his assistant were both awesome, very personable and competent, willing to go above and beyond.  Most servers in the various dining areas were good, a few seemed new and uncertain but nothing too glaring that would put us off dining there again.

 

Our cabin was great, but we were in an Explorer Suite so that’s to be expected. 😉 

 

Didn’t really partake in any of the entertainment or enrichment options, weren’t many things we were interested in.  Loved the decor of the ship, especially the displays of Norse culture and history.  Excursions had some hits, some misses and one epic fail, but most were the included ones and those are so dependent on the guide it doesn’t bother us at all.

 

Food is where we have worries about the future Viking cruises on our schedule.  
 

We did Xiang at Chef’s Table but canceled our other two reservations as the menus weren’t ones we were interested in.  Did Manfredi’s twice, food and service was good enough but I don’t know if I’m as wowed over it as many seem to be.  Ate in the Restaurant once, again, food and service was okay, but we really aren’t fans of long drawn-out dinners, so we did the buffet most nights other than one night where we ordered room service.  I should add that we abhor the “foam and swirls” trend in dining, and due to food allergies I have to be careful about what I eat.  I also prefer buffets where I have lots of opportunity to have small portions of a bunch of different dishes, DH says I have Dining Commitment Issues. 

 

If you are a fan of fish, you will love the menus on Viking.  If you are allergic to fish, like I am, dining will be challenging.  And as much as everyone on the boards assured me that they would be happy to customize dishes, that seemed to only be an option if you prebooked your dinner choice by 9am that morning.  Not a fan of that system.  Even in Manfredi’s, the waiter hummed and hawed and had to consult the chef about swapping out a sauce in one of the pasta dishes for just plain garlic butter and Parmesan.  And, if you have food allergies, be very careful in the buffet because things aren’t always labeled correctly and repeatedly a conversation with the crew member behind the counter brought to light different ingredients than were on the sign above the dish.  And once he insisted crabstick was crustacean rather than fish.  So, diner beware.

 

Overall, the food we ate was generally well-prepared, but some items felt like they were “lost in translation” as we eventually named it.  Curries, Philippino dishes, British dishes, most were surprisingly good for buffet food.  But some ingredient choices were odd, such as Mexican night with spiceless fajitas made using naan bread instead of tortilla wraps, and chicken cordon bleu with only a vague hint of cheese and ham inside.  Our joking analogy was that a Norwegian language cookbook was handed to an East Asian chef and recipes were run through Google Translate in order to figure out what they were.  However, the seafood night was an impressive surprise when I discovered a whole grill full of lobster tails out by the pool grill and no line at all for them.  Just walk up and fill your plate as many times as you want.  They definitely weren’t trying to cut costs there.

 

Our next cruise is In the Wake of the Vikings this fall, and we’ll make final payment on that because we are really interested in ancient Norse culture and history.  The stops are such that they will outweigh any reservations we have about the food.  Our 36-day Istanbul to Bergen in spring 2024 is still iffy, though.  We’ll see how the one this fall goes.

We did the 11-day West Indies Explorer cruise at the end of 2020; while I agree with those who have said that some of the excursions are a bit lackluster, I would also note that there just isn't much to choose from when it comes to a poor Caribbean island town whose biggest building is the local electric company (which was pointed out to us on one excursion!).

 

We booked 5 beach days, and thoroughly enjoyed those; some of our excursion days were a bit disappointing, but given the locations, I don't blame Viking for that. 

 

Our best excursion overall was in St. Lucia; we decided to go for a walk into town, and within 1/2 mile of the ship, we met a one-legged taxi driver named Tony, who offered to show us the island. We warmed to him, decided to take a chance, agreed on a price, and took off for a tour of the island. We went to the lava pools on the island (well worth visiting), drove through some interesting small villages; having the ability to go where we wanted, on our own schedule, was excellent and well worth the price we paid. 

 

Batik demonstration? It was a bust. When we arrived, the employees there didn't even seem to know we were coming. After our group searched around for the location of the demo, we finally found the door to a dingy back room, where the lights didn't work, and I finally found the light switch (even the workers back there didn't know where it was) and we got a very poor demo. While the excursion was supposed to be wheelchair-friendly (one of our group was a 92-year old man), there was a large curb running right through the demo room, so I helped another man lift the wheelchair-bound man over the curb so he could watch the demo.

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, purpleally said:

Viking is absolutely not a luxury cruise line, for several reasons.  I can only hope they hang onto premium. 

 

Yet again, being devoid of facts, this is simply a highly subjective personal opinion. Compared to what I experienced, I also don't consider Viking a "Luxury" cruise line, but I also don't consider Crystal, Regent, Seabourn, etc as being "True Luxury" cruise lines.

 

In my experience, in the North American market, "Luxury" is most often associated with "All-inclusive" and what is important to us and our expectations. To put it in perspective, some newbies even consider Carnival & NCL, as a luxury experience.

 

When we experienced "True Luxury" the pax responded in the evening by being properly attired in tuxedos/dark suits and gowns, every evening, except the first and last nights. This standard of dress was throughout all public rooms and dining establishments. When I researched the "Faux Luxury" Boards, I just shook my head with pax espousing luxury, but questioning the dress code.

 

DW and I thoroughly enjoyed formal attire every evening, for the experience of a true luxury dining experience, but these days, I'll stick with the smart casual and more than adequate Viking standards and options.

 

I look forward to reading what criteria you consider makes a cruise line designated as "Luxury".

 

[SJD117]

4 hours ago, purpleally said:

Viking is absolutely not a luxury cruise line, for several reasons.  I can only hope they hang onto premium. 

Why is it even necessary to stratify the Viking experience into “luxury” or “premium” or some other niche? The experience is what it is — you’re either comfortable with it, at Viking’s price point, or you’re not.
 

Labels to us are marketing buzz words. We look behind the curtain to see if a cruise line meets our objectives. Viking more than fits the bill.

[Iloveketo]

9 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

How recent news your post pandamnit cruise?  I felt the same about ours but it was way back in 2021.  All these more recent reviews have me concerned about our upcoming one in July-especially since we have convinced our friends, @HUNKYto join us. 

We have done West Indies in December of 2021 everything was fine same as before with the exception of no ginger ale to be had.
Then a 33 day French Polynesian cruise in January of 2022 only issue was overcooked poultry (in my opinion), but we had ginger ale.

May of 2022 we were on the Octantis on the Great Lakes, so many bugs! The food in the World Cafe was OUTSTANDING!

November of 2022 we did the Iconic Western Mediterranean with a pre in Parma/Bologna, which was INCREDIBLE and a post in Barcelona. The food on the ship was as delicious as always. 
In January of 2023 we did the Panama Canal and Central America the food was good until I got a stomach bug after going through the locks and couldn’t enjoy anything for the rest of the trip. Lol

Service on all these post pandemic cruises are what I was use to from Viking, music basically the same, I am not a wine connoisseur, so I can’t say anything about the wine. I’m happy with a Jamesons or a Rusty Nail.  We do enjoy the Chef’s Table with the wine pairings, though I didn’t care for the Beef Cheeks on the Mexican menu. 
We are leaving on Sunday for the Northern Lights cruise and we are looking forward to being back on a Viking ship. I try to look at the positives around me so my opinions are based on my positive outlook of life in general. 
I hope you and your friends enjoy your cruise as much as we are enjoying ours!

[Clay Clayton]

11 hours ago, Iloveketo said:

We have done West Indies in December of 2021 everything was fine same as before with the exception of no ginger ale to be had.
Then a 33 day French Polynesian cruise in January of 2022 only issue was overcooked poultry (in my opinion), but we had ginger ale.

May of 2022 we were on the Octantis on the Great Lakes, so many bugs! The food in the World Cafe was OUTSTANDING!

November of 2022 we did the Iconic Western Mediterranean with a pre in Parma/Bologna, which was INCREDIBLE and a post in Barcelona. The food on the ship was as delicious as always. 
In January of 2023 we did the Panama Canal and Central America the food was good until I got a stomach bug after going through the locks and couldn’t enjoy anything for the rest of the trip. Lol

Service on all these post pandemic cruises are what I was use to from Viking, music basically the same, I am not a wine connoisseur, so I can’t say anything about the wine. I’m happy with a Jamesons or a Rusty Nail.  We do enjoy the Chef’s Table with the wine pairings, though I didn’t care for the Beef Cheeks on the Mexican menu. 
We are leaving on Sunday for the Northern Lights cruise and we are looking forward to being back on a Viking ship. I try to look at the positives around me so my opinions are based on my positive outlook of life in general. 
I hope you and your friends enjoy your cruise as much as we are enjoying ours!

Glad to hear it’s not all gloom and doom. Hope your opinion doesn’t change after your next cruise. 

[farmecologist]

On 2/24/2023 at 5:09 PM, J80crew said:

My husband and I sailed on Viking Sea, 10 days round trip San Juan, last week. While not as experienced as many on this board, we have done 18 cruises since 2012, when we started. Our first many cruises were on Celebrity, various ships including Edge; we’ve also sailed with Oceania 3 times and Crystal twice. With Crystal gone, we were looking for a new option and Viking seemed to fit. It’s the size we like (about 1000 pax), the right demographic, an itinerary we liked, and of course it gets great reviews. We did not use Viking air; we had a DV4 stateroom. All the pre-board business went efficiently (except I was annoyed not to be able to book dinners when DV reservations supposedly opened—but I was reassured by this board that it wouldn’t matter once on board).  We flew in the night before, stayed at the Sheraton in Old San Juan, and about 11:00 the next morning walked to the pier and got onboard. Easiest embarkation ever! No lines, friendly staff in their red shirts everywhere greeting and directing us, straight to the safety briefing (also easiest ever), and then to Torshavn to check our carry on bags. Nice not to have to lug them around while waiting for our room. We loved the look of the ship, with its clean lines and soft colors, and the more sophisticated atmosphere, with no loud music (or loud guests). We chose the pool grill for lunch, taking our food outside (an embarkation tradition for us). First disappointment: my husband, the cheeseburger connoisseur, said his burger was just okay. My veggie burger, though, was really good. I ordered a glass of champagne (part of the tradition), but was told they didn’t have champagne, just Prosecco. DH asked for dark rum, told there was no dark rum. This, unfortunately, was the case throughout the cruise—both wine and liquor selections were seriously limited. There was no Pinot Noir in any bar or dining room, no oaky Chardonnay, no champagne, the only rum was Mt Gay, and other guests said there was no single malt scotch. It’s a little late to be blaming the pandemic, the supply lines, whatever for this level of shortages; we’ve been on three cruises since the pandemic and none of the others have had this problem. 

After lunch, we were able to get into our room. It seemed small (DV) compared to other ships’ veranda rooms, though the square footage is similar. What we really noticed, though, was the lack of storage space. The closet was fine for hanging clothes, but only three drawers plus the two tiny ones in the end tables, and the one shelf in the closet meant that DH used the desk to stack shorts and polos. I’m glad we weren’t on for more than 10 days!  The bathroom was better, plenty of storage, really good light, a hot and powerful shower. And the Nespresso machine was a definite bonus. There was no magnifying mirror in the room, but when I asked our attendant if it was possible to get one, he delivered it right away. Which brings me to the service issue: the staff could not have been more responsive or friendlier; as everyone says, they are Viking’s best feature. When I complained about a couple of issues (including the wine selection) on the mid-cruise comment form, we received a visit or call from the head sommelier and the cruise director. They didn’t change anything, but they did at least respond to my comments. 
 

In general, we found the food (very subjective subject) to be fine, but not great. No outstanding dishes, either in the Restaurant or Manfedi’s. We did not try Chef’s Table, as none of the menus appealed to us. The World Cafe offered a smaller buffet than we’ve found on other ships, and often the hot food was not really hot. Several times they ran out of certain dishes a good while before closing time. We give both Oceania and Crystal (as it was) higher marks for food. 
 

We did the included tours most days and a paid one once. The tours are pretty repetitive, mostly bus rides with a brief stop or two for a vista and a punch drink. The tour guides were all very knowledgeable and friendly, and the tours met but didn’t exceed expectations. I was surprised that Viking did not offer a shuttle into town on the islands where the main town was a couple of miles from the pier. On the ship during the day there was very little activity. We are healthy, energetic 80-year-olds and we found it, well, dull. We played mini golf and lawn bowling. There was a port talk each day and tea time; Viking promotes its intellectual offerings such as Ted Talks, but that’s really just watching a big TV in the theater. We would have liked some trivia, for example, or other interactive pursuits. They did have trivia twice but at 8:00 in the evening, competing with dinner. Evening entertainment was more varied. We loved the guitar player, John, who played listening music early, but later on would do danceable songs and sing-a-longs. The Viking band played late in Torshavn, a crowded room with a small dance floor, doing mostly rock. We found it hard to dance there because there was too little room for movement. A classical duo and a pianist also entertained each evening, and in the theater the offerings ranged from movies to mediocre stage shows (singers with more heart than talent). 

 

One off-beat but good-to-know bit: DH had a flare-up of a shoulder problem while we were there and visited the medical center. He was impressed by the doctor and nurse and felt he got good treatment. The doctor called later to see how he was doing. Again, great service—and not expensive!

 

Notwithstanding the outstanding staff, we were in the end disappointed in our Viking cruise. Maybe our expectations were too high, but the bar problems, the lack of dining excitement, and mostly, the lack of activities that we enjoy combined to leave us disenchanted. We’re booked on Oceania in the fall and are looking forward to seeing what the new Crystal will bring. Meantime, maybe we’ll try Seabourn.  Happy cruising, all. 

 

 

 

Interesting that bar choices were so limited.  For a high end cruise line, that is quite concerning.

 

In contrast, we were on a Norwegian cruise a couple weeks ago, and everything was quite plentiful. Norwegian is a 'budget' cruise line compared to Viking, so keep that in mind.

 

Have you tried a Viking river cruise? I'm wondering if that might be more to your liking.

 

 

[MELSMOM47]

On 2/25/2023 at 2:41 PM, KBs mum said:

All the cruise line catering is glorified chain/resort hotels. The best food is ashore in local independent restaurants

Bingo. We travel to experience the local culture and food. Now I like to have decent food and having been in the business my whole life, I know good food but I don’t think there is a cruise line out there that is capable of serving 5 star food. There are just too many people. That said I’ve been on Holland America, Celebrity, Regent, NCL, Disney, Royal Caribbean, Tauck and Windstar. There have been good meals and some so so meals but we certainly were never hungry. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[zero charisma]

Thank you for the review, although it does leave me confused and conflicted. I guess I'll just have to experience Viking Ocean for myself.

[MELSMOM47]

On 2/26/2023 at 11:11 AM, lackcreativity said:

We also very much enjoyed our one post-Covid cruise, and are looking forward to our next two.  Your observations led me to review specifically what I felt was different about that cruise. Honestly, it was mostly related to passenger behavior. It is hard to hold Viking responsible for that, except perhaps in how the staff react to it.

 

I must admit, I am not sure how the staff in dining venues is supposed to handle a large party whose volume is too loud, or police the passengers on a tour bus who keep removing their masks as soon as the guide's back is turned. However, I can't help but think that a more experienced crew member would have prevented the woman in her bathrobe from entering the World Cafe for breakfast that morning! Now, I am long past the point of being distressed about jeans in The Restaurant, but I must admit that experience did leave an impression.

Wow. Entertaining at least 🤣

[Jmoondance]

My impression with  Viking cruises was not much different than other lines. 

It was our first, we were on 18 days on Chilean fjord in Jan,2023.

 

They are better with logistics wise in our impression. 

 

Thoughts Quality of foods are little better than mass cruises line but lack of taste. 

Specialty restaurants were good but nothing exceptional.

 

Entertainment was very subdued, not much going on during the day, except if you like to play cards game or bean bag toss.

 

Though,we met some great pax, they were well traveled and interesting to have a conversation. 

 

Our biggest disappointment was lack of lectures compared our days on the ship and most was Port talk .

 

Thinking Man's cruise they were advocate wasn't!

 

 

 

[Jmoondance]

I would like to add services were good all-around, but we never had subpar service problems with other cruise lines we have been on.

[oskidunker]

15 hours ago, MELSMOM47 said:

Bingo. We travel to experience the local culture and food. Now I like to have decent food and having been in the business my whole life, I know good food but I don’t think there is a cruise line out there that is capable of serving 5 star food. There are just too many people. That said I’ve been on Holland America, Celebrity, Regent, NCL, Disney, Royal Caribbean, Tauck and Windstar. There have been good meals and some so so meals but we certainly were never hungry. 🤷🏼‍♀️

What does never hungry mean? What are you trying to say? That the food was not-so bad you  couldn't eat it??Many make this comment. Either the food is good or it isnt. Of course, you can always just eat  bread. Not going hungry has nothing to do with the quality of the food. It doesnt   Tell us anything. 

[kirtihk]

On 2/24/2023 at 6:09 PM, J80crew said:

When I complained about a couple of issues (including the wine selection) on the mid-cruise comment form, we received a visit or call from the head sommelier and the cruise director. They didn’t change anything, but they did at least respond to my comments.

They should do better: perhaps, fishing some black rum, French wine, and single malt scotch bottles.

[Iloveketo]

2 hours ago, kirtihk said:

  On 2/24/2023 at 6:09 PM, J80crew said:

When I complained about a couple of issues (including the wine selection) on the mid-cruise comment form, we received a visit or call from the head sommelier and the cruise director. They didn’t change anything, but they did at least respond to my comments.

Expand  

I can’t remember ever getting a mid-cruise comment form… we have done 6 Ocean cruises, starting in January of 2020. Was it part of the embarkation survey?

[Iloveketo]

On 2/24/2023 at 6:09 PM, J80crew said:

My husband and I sailed on Viking Sea, 10 days round trip San Juan, last week. While not as experienced as many on this board, we have done 18 cruises since 2012, when we started. Our first many cruises were on Celebrity, various ships including Edge; we’ve also sailed with Oceania 3 times and Crystal twice. With Crystal gone, we were looking for a new option and Viking seemed to fit. It’s the size we like (about 1000 pax), the right demographic, an itinerary we liked, and of course it gets great reviews. We did not use Viking air; we had a DV4 stateroom. All the pre-board business went efficiently (except I was annoyed not to be able to book dinners when DV reservations supposedly opened—but I was reassured by this board that it wouldn’t matter once on board).  We flew in the night before, stayed at the Sheraton in Old San Juan, and about 11:00 the next morning walked to the pier and got onboard. Easiest embarkation ever! No lines, friendly staff in their red shirts everywhere greeting and directing us, straight to the safety briefing (also easiest ever), and then to Torshavn to check our carry on bags. Nice not to have to lug them around while waiting for our room. We loved the look of the ship, with its clean lines and soft colors, and the more sophisticated atmosphere, with no loud music (or loud guests). We chose the pool grill for lunch, taking our food outside (an embarkation tradition for us). First disappointment: my husband, the cheeseburger connoisseur, said his burger was just okay. My veggie burger, though, was really good. I ordered a glass of champagne (part of the tradition), but was told they didn’t have champagne, just Prosecco. DH asked for dark rum, told there was no dark rum. This, unfortunately, was the case throughout the cruise—both wine and liquor selections were seriously limited. There was no Pinot Noir in any bar or dining room, no oaky Chardonnay, no champagne, the only rum was Mt Gay, and other guests said there was no single malt scotch. It’s a little late to be blaming the pandemic, the supply lines, whatever for this level of shortages; we’ve been on three cruises since the pandemic and none of the others have had this problem. 

After lunch, we were able to get into our room. It seemed small (DV) compared to other ships’ veranda rooms, though the square footage is similar. What we really noticed, though, was the lack of storage space. The closet was fine for hanging clothes, but only three drawers plus the two tiny ones in the end tables, and the one shelf in the closet meant that DH used the desk to stack shorts and polos. I’m glad we weren’t on for more than 10 days!  The bathroom was better, plenty of storage, really good light, a hot and powerful shower. And the Nespresso machine was a definite bonus. There was no magnifying mirror in the room, but when I asked our attendant if it was possible to get one, he delivered it right away. Which brings me to the service issue: the staff could not have been more responsive or friendlier; as everyone says, they are Viking’s best feature. When I complained about a couple of issues (including the wine selection) on the mid-cruise comment form, we received a visit or call from the head sommelier and the cruise director. They didn’t change anything, but they did at least respond to my comments. 
 

In general, we found the food (very subjective subject) to be fine, but not great. No outstanding dishes, either in the Restaurant or Manfedi’s. We did not try Chef’s Table, as none of the menus appealed to us. The World Cafe offered a smaller buffet than we’ve found on other ships, and often the hot food was not really hot. Several times they ran out of certain dishes a good while before closing time. We give both Oceania and Crystal (as it was) higher marks for food. 
 

We did the included tours most days and a paid one once. The tours are pretty repetitive, mostly bus rides with a brief stop or two for a vista and a punch drink. The tour guides were all very knowledgeable and friendly, and the tours met but didn’t exceed expectations. I was surprised that Viking did not offer a shuttle into town on the islands where the main town was a couple of miles from the pier. On the ship during the day there was very little activity. We are healthy, energetic 80-year-olds and we found it, well, dull. We played mini golf and lawn bowling. There was a port talk each day and tea time; Viking promotes its intellectual offerings such as Ted Talks, but that’s really just watching a big TV in the theater. We would have liked some trivia, for example, or other interactive pursuits. They did have trivia twice but at 8:00 in the evening, competing with dinner. Evening entertainment was more varied. We loved the guitar player, John, who played listening music early, but later on would do danceable songs and sing-a-longs. The Viking band played late in Torshavn, a crowded room with a small dance floor, doing mostly rock. We found it hard to dance there because there was too little room for movement. A classical duo and a pianist also entertained each evening, and in the theater the offerings ranged from movies to mediocre stage shows (singers with more heart than talent). 

 

One off-beat but good-to-know bit: DH had a flare-up of a shoulder problem while we were there and visited the medical center. He was impressed by the doctor and nurse and felt he got good treatment. The doctor called later to see how he was doing. Again, great service—and not expensive!

 

Notwithstanding the outstanding staff, we were in the end disappointed in our Viking cruise. Maybe our expectations were too high, but the bar problems, the lack of dining excitement, and mostly, the lack of activities that we enjoy combined to leave us disenchanted. We’re booked on Oceania in the fall and are looking forward to seeing what the new Crystal will bring. Meantime, maybe we’ll try Seabourn.  Happy cruising, all. 

 

 

 

 

 

Just curious… was this the West Indies Explorer cruise?

[CCWineLover]

50 minutes ago, Iloveketo said:

I can’t remember ever getting a mid-cruise comment form… we have done 6 Ocean cruises, starting in January of 2020. Was it part of the embarkation survey?

We have gotten them on every one of our 11 Viking Ocean cruises pre and post COVID.

It isn't very obvious as the steward would put it with the Viking Dailey on the coffee table.  One could easily miss seeing it.

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, Iloveketo said:

I can’t remember ever getting a mid-cruise comment form… we have done 6 Ocean cruises, starting in January of 2020. Was it part of the embarkation survey?

We have seen them frequently. Especially if we made a comment, concern or complaint to guest services. We’d get a comment form that evening.

[Iloveketo]

57 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

We have seen them frequently. Especially if we made a comment, concern or complaint to guest services. We’d get a comment form that evening.

Ok, so since we have never made a comment, complaint or voiced a concern that is why we have never seen one, except at the end of a cruise. That makes sense! Thanks!