We're Done With The L/A Office

[lackcreativity]

12 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Kent,

 

On Viking, another chap arranged curry nights, which were served family style in a closed off section of the MDR. I believe the last one had about 90 attendees. He arranged it with the Executive Chef through the GM. On the 2023 WC, had we not cancelled, I would have met with the GM to arrange and provide a plan where the numbers were managed carefully.

 

Back in 2015 on our Princess WC, I arranged a curry dinner for our table of 8. I arranged it with our section's A/Hd Waiter.

 

Sad to admit that you have slightly tarnished one of my favorite Viking memories. On our last trip, we were befriended by the head waiter in the Dining Room. When he learned our favorite food was Indian, he arranged a special meal from the chef just for us. At least we thought it was a special meal just for us. Little did we know it was a common occurrence! Oh well, it really did make us feel special at the time. I am glad others get to experience that too. 😉

 

 

[Mich3554]

On 5/27/2023 at 1:51 AM, CCWineLover said:

Andy -

We love Indian food.  How were you able to get it on Viking Ocean cruises?   Did you talk with the head chef?  one of the staff?   Did you get it via room service or in MDR?

Kent

We had a special menu one night in the MDR on the world cruise.  One of the party we were with set it up for us.  
We have also been served a LOT of Indian food on that cruise.  I think that there was at least one Indian option each night in World Cafe.  There were only a few nights that the spice level was cranked up on it, but I think that they were catering to the lowest common denominator and DH and I found it lacking.  

[CDNPolar]

On 5/27/2023 at 7:02 AM, duquephart said:

Has Viking gotten what we used to call "too big for their britches?"

 

I personally don't think that this is necessarily the case, but I do think the following:

 

• they suffer from a severe lack of consistency in their training of customer service and reservation/air plus agents
• Their policies - some of them - need some flexibility

 

I also think this...  when you look at the demographic that Viking attracts - the largest part of their demographic - is aging fast and won't always be there.  (No offence intended to anyone)

 

Like the job and career market - there is a large void of middle management and age groups.  There are not enough people taking the place of Viking's largest demographic for them to remain viable in the market that they currently do well in.

 

Viking will have to start to appeal to the younger cruising market to stay in business.

 

Think about this when you are on a Viking cruise.  We don't see the younger market yet on a Viking ship.

 

Viking don't have a loyalty program, they increasingly tick me off when I have to call about something, and they are not the only ones in the market.  

 

We started our cruising craze with Viking and were loyal for a few years.  Now we are not loyal.

 

Perhaps they are too big for their britches.

[-Lew-]

On 5/26/2023 at 1:17 PM, deec said:

do the other cruise lines suffer from the same mixed experiences with onshore operations?

 

Yes, Princess and Celebrity suffer the same disparity in service.  I've found Regent offers much better onshore service than others we have dealt with.

[Mich3554]

On 5/27/2023 at 1:02 PM, duquephart said:

Has Viking gotten what we used to call "too big for their britches?"

DH and I had dinner the other night with the GM and the cruise director.  They were talking about the plans for Viking to roll out more ships.

I made a comment to them that it seems that already Viking is having difficulty in keeping trained staff on board, that if they grow too big, too fast they’re going to dilute what they are known for, and start losing customers.  Both admitted this is a potential problem.

We have seen a huge difference in the staff, where things happened (on our WC, and on our sailings onward) that demonstrated it.  I know Covid really did a lot of damage to the industry, but I have seen some things that I wouldn’t have seen 4 years ago when we first started sailing with them.

[lackcreativity]

20 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

We have seen a huge difference in the staff, where things happened (on our WC, and on our sailings onward) that demonstrated it.  I know Covid really did a lot of damage to the industry, but I have seen some things that I wouldn’t have seen 4 years ago when we first started sailing with them.

I am not sure that I would say there was a huge difference in the staff. To me, they were unfailingly polite and eager to be of assistance. On our cruise, I would say it was more an issue of inexperience and understaffing. The combination of restaffing post-Covid with the expansion of the Viking Line is indeed problematic. 

 

I feel like such a cranky old lady when keep mentioning this, but I still can't forget the woman in her bathrobe and pj's seated in the World Cafe on our one post Covid cruise. That makes the "jeans in the Dining Room" debate such a non-issue! I can't help but believe that a well-trained, experienced staff member would have prevented that from happening. 

Edited May 28, 2023 by lackcreativity

[FlyerTalker]

On 5/27/2023 at 4:02 AM, duquephart said:

Has Viking gotten what we used to call "too big for their britches?"

 

Gotten?

 

 

[Mich3554]

1 hour ago, lackcreativity said:

I am not sure that I would say there was a huge difference in the staff. To me, they were unfailingly polite and eager to be of assistance. On our cruise, I would say it was more an issue of inexperience and understaffing. The combination of restaffing post-Covid with the expansion of the Viking Line is indeed problematic. 

 

I feel like such a cranky old lady when keep mentioning this, but I still can't forget the woman in her bathrobe and pj's seated in the World Cafe on our one post Covid cruise. That makes the "jeans in the Dining Room" debate such a non-issue! I can't help but believe that a well-trained, experienced staff member would have prevented that from happening. 

We had friends that were yelled at by the shore excursion desk for asking a question.  The same guy pulled me aside (after I jumped through my Covid hoops) OUTSIDE of the ship and gave me the third degree because he assumed I had just walked off the ship without keying out.  Since my card key was shut down while I was isolated, there is no way I could have gotten off the ship without the medical center giving the ok for it and releasing my card.  There were a bunch of other issues, more minor but it went more to how customers were treated, and arrogance that some of the staff displayed than anything else.  This was on the world cruise.
A lot of the difference was more in how the senior staff dealt with customer service than anything else, I could handle the little things by waitstaff and cabin stewards.

Edited May 28, 2023 by Mich3554

[duquephart]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Gotten?

 

 

 

got·ten

verb

North American past participle of get.

[duquephart]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Gotten?

 

 

 

"We had friends that were yelled at by the shore excursion desk for asking a question.  The same guy pulled me aside (after I jumped through my Covid hoops) OUTSIDE of the ship and gave me the third degree because he assumed I had just walked off the ship without keying out.  Since my card key was shut down while I was isolated, there is no way I could have gotten off the ship without the medical center giving the ok for it and releasing my card.  There were a bunch of other issues, more minor but it went more to how customers were treated, and arrogance that some of the staff displayed than anything else.  This was on the world cruise.
A lot of the difference was more in how the senior staff dealt with customer service than anything else, I could handle the little things by waitstaff and cabin stewards."

 

Two of using that word! So far!

Edited May 28, 2023 by duquephart

[LibertyBella]

2 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

 

 

I feel like such a cranky old lady when keep mentioning this, but I still can't forget the woman in her bathrobe and pj's seated in the World Cafe on our one post Covid cruise. That makes the "jeans in the Dining Room" debate such a non-issue! I can't help but believe that a well-trained, experienced staff member would have prevented that from happening. 

 

 

I think overall cruisers are much more demanding, fussy, particular, and willing to flout convention.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, because lots of experience does allow for more knowledge, but it illustrates the struggles and clashes between those that prefer the traditional manners which everyone upheld, and those that want a more modern free-for-all approach. 

 

Yes, on my recent Viking river cruise a gentleman (?) came down to breakfast in his pajamas--it was really a bit disgusting as the bottoms were just hanging around him--but at no time did I think to put responsibility on the crew to address this issue.  I believe that nowadays ship crew (on many cruise lines) are overwhelmed trying to do their duties, keep people happy, and cope with all the new challenges post-Covid.

 

Should crew ever be rude to passengers?--absolutely not!  But do passengers do things that make crew frustrated and stressed?--all the time!  And naturally there are many passengers who may disgust other passengers. Examples for me: smoking, getting drunk, wearing pajamas at breakfast  (although I do not mind when children and teenagers do that), being overly loud and aggressive, etc.

 

Has Viking gotten too big? Probably not yet, but they may have created expectations that were too high, by offering too much of a personalized, service-oriented response at the beginning for now which they no longer have the person-power, time, funds, or training ability.  None of this will stop me from sailing on them--my main complaints are having to pay so far in advance, and not being able to choose my shore excursions immediately. 

 

But in the scheme of life, for me usually any cruise is better than no cruise!

[FlyerTalker]

7 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

But in the scheme of life, for me usually any cruise is better than no cruise!

 

Sounds like Carnival has a potential customer.  Or maybe Margaritaville.

 

 

[Omax4]

On 5/26/2023 at 10:26 AM, Heidi13 said:

 

Our TA voices a similar opinion, Viking L/A Office is by far the worst cruise line they deal with. We are not her only pax that have moved on due to the booking process.

I’m a travel agent and I completely agree

[Omax4]

On 5/27/2023 at 6:02 AM, duquephart said:

Has Viking gotten what we used to call "too big for their britches?"

I believe this indeed partially true. However, they keep experiencing record sales every quarter so their bottom line doesn’t appear to be suffering. 

[Meander Ingwa]

On 5/16/2023 at 9:46 PM, Heidi13 said:

Hebridean Cruises is probably the closest i know.

I have recently found out about their offering and am preparing to plan a Fall 24 trip.  It sounds wonderful

 

[duquephart]

1 hour ago, Omax4 said:

I believe this indeed partially true. However, they keep experiencing record sales every quarter so their bottom line doesn’t appear to be suffering. 

 

Which, of course, has nothing to do with my comment.

[SJD117]

1 minute ago, duquephart said:

 

Which, of course, has nothing to do with my comment.

Not everything is about you.

[Omax4]

50 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

Which, of course, has nothing to do with my comment.

It doesn’t? If they are doing so well financially they probably aren’t likely to feel like they need to change. 

[crimmj]

How does a person know they are talking to Viking’s LA office? When I call from Minnesota- am I calling LA? I’ve never had any kind of difficulty when dealing with Viking but I’ve never had to try and wrangle vouchers or other financial issues. What specific kinds of problems have people had with this LA office?

[PasadenaDave]

Many people who you speak with “in” the Los Angeles office are working remotely.  The agent with whom we worked with recently was in Arizona and you could hear the occasional barking dog.  This is standard now in the travel industry 

[duquephart]

2 hours ago, SJD117 said:

Not everything is about you.

 

I could say the same. Actually, I just did.

[Mrs Miggins]

I am cruising with Azamara from Saturday - lovely itinerary.  Had a few minutes to catch up on the Viking board this morning.  Goodness me !  Tempers are easily frayed here.  Makes me very uncomfortable and possibly off putting for prospective Viking clients.

[Twitchly]

2 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

I am cruising with Azamara from Saturday - lovely itinerary.  Had a few minutes to catch up on the Viking board this morning.  Goodness me !  Tempers are easily frayed here.  Makes me very uncomfortable and possibly off putting for prospective Viking clients.

I’d never leave the house if I thought social media was an accurate reflection of the real world. People are rarely their best selves when hiding behind pixels. 

[-Lew-]

3 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

I am cruising with Azamara from Saturday - lovely itinerary.  Had a few minutes to catch up on the Viking board this morning.  Goodness me !  Tempers are easily frayed here.  Makes me very uncomfortable and possibly off putting for prospective Viking clients.

 

39 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

I’d never leave the house if I thought social media was an accurate reflection of the real world. People are rarely their best selves when hiding behind pixels. 

 

All the negativity here on the Viking Board can be disturbing until it is put into the proper prospective.

 

• First, in the universe of Cruise Critic forums the Viking Forum is quite small with very limited participation.  Further, the number of Viking cruisers who are on Cruise Critic or are even aware of this site make up a very small percentage of those who have cruised Viking Ocean. 
   
• Second, those with a gripe are more apt to post than those who have enjoyed a positive experience.

According to a study by Rize Reviews, people are more likely to leave negative reviews without any prompt or request. Many positive reviews are solicited, but unhappy people are probably 10 times more likely to write a review than happy customers without any prompting.

Another study by Online Reputation Management shows that customers who have a bad experience are twice to three times more likely to write an angry review than customers who had a great experience are to post a happy review.

[FlyerTalker]

15 hours ago, Omax4 said:

I believe this indeed partially true. However, they keep experiencing record sales every quarter so their bottom line doesn’t appear to be suffering. 

 

At some point, reality catches up with marketing.