Why Viking?

[Packman1000]

My DW and I will be on our first Viking ocean cruise in July.  We did a Viking river cruise last summer and have done more than 30 ocean cruises, mostly on Princess but also HAL, Celebrity and RCL.  Since Viking would be considered a premium line compared to our other ocean cruises (certainly a premium price), I am wondering what others think about why Viking can command that premium.  I know from our river cruise that Viking on-board customer service is better.  Though we are not foodies, we didn't think the food was 'that' much better than the others.  Is it simply the smaller ships and better service that warrant the higher costs?

 

I'm interested in your opinions and looking forward to our cruise in July to experience ourselves.  Thanks.

[Jim Avery]

900 or so passengers instead of 2,500+.  Great crew.  No kids. That's enough for us.

[Selion]

4 minutes ago, Packman1000 said:

Is it simply the smaller ships and better service that warrant the higher costs?

For us those are the exact reasons we like Viking.  We'd sailed MSC's Yacht Club before we sailed Viking.  It's a great ship-in-a-ship product.  But once we step outside of the YC areas, the experience is the typical resort-ships'.  On Viking Ocean the entire ship is like the YC, but better.

[CCWineLover]

There are so many threads and discussions on this topic.   Rather than repeat them all again, take a look at them by doing a search in the search bar under this forum.

 

Here is just one example:

 

[dd57]

We were elite on Princess when the cutbacks began to change the experience: the extra chair in the rooms were removed, wifi hours were limited, and service began to slide as room stewards were given more rooms and waiters were given more tables.  After twice being served food I was allergic to, despite ordering ahead and discussing it with the waiter, and wasting part of the vacation being sick, I started looking around for a new cruiseline.  Viking Ocean had just started and I was intrigued, especially after reading the Tell Me Why thread in this forum, but the higher cost gave me pause.  So I built a spreadsheet comparing the cost of an Inside Passage cruise on both Princess and Viking.  I compared a V category to a similar sized room on Princess - a minisuite.  Then I added in the things that I wanted and had to pay for on Princess: unlimited wifi, wine/beer at lunch and dinner, speciality coffees, DIY laundry midcruise, and an excursion in every port (using the cost of similar excursions when we had gone to Alaska on Princess).  It ended up the cost for Viking was $10 a day more expensive.  It was a no brainer to try Viking.  Well, except now we're hooked.  I don't know if that cost relationship is still true, but the quality of the experience is night and day.

[CDNPolar]

There are others that offer the same type of service, but for us it was simply no kids.  That was one of the major draws for me.  The fact that you can hear yourself think at the pool without screaming all around you.

[lackcreativity]

The above link is pre-Covid and quite long, but it is a classic.

 

Personally, we had never been interested in cruising at all, based on stories about the huge ships with crowds of people and our perception of raucous behavior. We saw the Viking river commercials (thanks, Downton Abbey), tried one, decided to give their new ocean cruises a try, and were hooked. 

 

We loved traveling in Europe by land, but as we were getting older, the constant moving from place to place had become tiring. Viking provided all the things we loved about traveling, but it was easier! Visiting new places and learning about them, meeting interesting people, and doing it in a very pleasant environment. It was perfect for us. 

 

All the issues related to the pandemic are still impacting the travel industry, but I know that is going to take a while to resolve and I adjust my expectations accordingly. Our one post covid cruise was one of our best ever. Hope you will enjoy it as much as we do.

[CCWineLover]

7 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

There are others that offer the same type of service, but for us it was simply no kids.  That was one of the major draws for me.  The fact that you can hear yourself think at the pool without screaming all around you.

CDNPolar - we agree!   You can actually hear yourself think is correct!

And by the fast number of likes clicked, I'd say many others do too.

[RLK33853]

dd57  -  Totally agree about Princess.  50 cruises with them, Royal Caribbean, etc, and while we will still cruise with Princess, even their quality of service is starting to slide mainly due to the reasons you mention - overworked staff. 

 

We decided to look at the various upscale options and booked our first Viking and our first Paul Gauguin.  Like you, we found that they are not as expensive as you may think.  If we like these two, great, if not, there are still lots of others to try.

[DrKoob]

We are long-time (30+) Celebrity cruisers. When they brought out the Edge class with their "Infinite Balconies," which are really just outside staterooms with a window that opens. We were done with them. That and the fact that they took our Elite Plus privileges away by giving them to everyone else for free.

 

So we went looking for a new cruise line. We had done HAL, RCL, Azamara and one other we won't name. We wanted a smaller ship that could get into smaller places that had better itineraries. But really convinced us to try Viking was not what they had but what they didn't have.

 

And we compared a Celebrity Sky suite and found that the pricing was about what we would pay for a penthouse verandah on Viking Ocean. So we look at it this way, either we book a suite or spend just about the same money as a Sky Suite and go on Viking Ocean. Here’s why we are moving. It’s not as much for what they have as what they don’t have.

• No one is under 18. (It’s not that we don’t like kids; we take our grandkids on RCL. That’s where kids belong.)
• No smoking except one small spot on an upper outdoor deck.
• No art auctions
• No casinos
• No charge for beer or wine with lunch or dinner
• No charge to use their laundry. All soap and fabric softener included—a full laundry room on every deck. If you are in a Penthouse verandah or above you get free pressing.
• No ship photographers
• No upselling in the spa
• No charge for internet
• No charge for specialty restaurants
• One free shore excursion in every port
• Minibar in staterooms completely restocked every night is included
• All staterooms are verandahs/with no insides or outsides.
• Only 900 guests
• Smaller ships that can get into smaller ports
• No formal, fancy chic or whatever they are calling it now nights.
• No waiting in lines because there so few guests
• No nickel and diming. You can have a great cruise without paying an extra cent.
• The ships are gorgeous—some of my favorite inside spaces at sea.
• If you are in the lowest category of stateroom or the highest suite, no one will know after you are on board. Everyone has access to everything. We hate that many of the "premium" lines now have a caste system on board.
• Longer cruises in more exotic places. I won’t fly to Europe for a 7-night cruise. Other than the Baltic, that’s about all X does anymore. Most of our X cruises were 14 nights minimum. Viking has 7, 14, 21, and 28-night cruises. That’s worth going to Europe for.
• A focus on ports and traveling. We did a 21-night with them last September from Athens to Barcelona with NO sea days. It was exhausting, but at least there were four overnights (Athens, Venice, Livorno, Barcelona). We went to many small towns in Greece, the Adriatic and the back side of Italy’s boot.
• Much more interesting food, especially in the buffet.

 

I think that about covers it. All that said, when we did our 21 night cruise, my expectations were way to high. You can read that review here: https://jktravelredmond.com/2022/09/30/expectations-not-met-but-thats-ok/ 

 

Hope this helps answer your question.

 

[Azulann]

12 hours ago, DrKoob said:

• The ships are gorgeous—some of my favorite inside spaces at sea.
• If you are in the lowest category of stateroom or the highest suite, no one will know after you are on board. Everyone has access to everything. We hate that many of the "premium" lines now have a caste system on board.

Totally agree ! One of the main  reason I sail Viking.

I often wonder  does this reflects the Scandinavian aesthetic and Nordic culture of the vision of the owner? 

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, Azulann said:

Totally agree ! One of the main  reason I sail Viking.

I often wonder  does this reflects the Scandinavian aesthetic and Nordic culture of the vision of the owner? 

Yes. 😊

[WanderingBrit]

I find it's helpful to create a spreadsheet that helps estimate truly like-for-like costs:

• Extra cost for a shore excursion in every port, which Viking includes
• Cost for WiFi, which Viking includes
• Cost for soft drinks, beer, and wine with meals which is extra on other lines
• Cost of "specialty" dining on other lines, included by Viking
• Included onboard laundry facilities

 

The premium often isn't as great as one might think once you add everything up - and attempt to recreate the small ship, adults only, no casino, no art auction, no nickle and diming environment ...

[CCWineLover]

Yes, and then there is the question - how much $ value do you place on:

- Having no children onboard

- No casinos

etc.

 

Priceless

[The Other Tom]

22 hours ago, DrKoob said:

If you are in the lowest category of stateroom or the highest suite, no one will know after you are on board. Everyone has access to everything. We hate that many of the "premium" lines now have a caste system on board.

I agree with everything you posted except this one.  Higher category staterooms have privileges, like first shot at excursions and specialty restaurants.  On our recent Viking cruise, we were unable to book one excursion that we wanted, and NO specialty restaurants.  And yes, we checked while on board and asked to be put on a wait list. 

[Azulann]

54 minutes ago, The Other Tom said:

On our recent Viking cruise, we were unable to book one excursion that we wanted, and NO specialty restaurants.  And yes, we checked while on board and asked to be put on a wait list. 

Which cruise were you on? I can see if an excursion is sold out by the time DV get to book , it might not open up even if you are waitlisted. These are usually small excursions, not a bus type optional excursion.

But I have never heard of someone not being able to get a reservation at any time at Manfredi's or Chef table once on board. Ws you saying a sold out cruise by chance? 

[DrKoob]

3 hours ago, The Other Tom said:

I agree with everything you posted except this one.  Higher category staterooms have privileges, like first shot at excursions and specialty restaurants.  On our recent Viking cruise, we were unable to book one excursion that we wanted, and NO specialty restaurants.  And yes, we checked while on board and asked to be put on a wait list. 

You misunderstood. I said that once you are on board, no one will know what category you are in. You will be able to go anyplace on the ship. The so-called Premium Lines (like Celebrity) now prohibit anyone not in their Retreat (other names on other lines) won't let you into certain parts of the ship. They have separate dining rooms, separate pool areas and in the case of Celebrity's new Edge series unless you are in their Retreat there is not a single place on the ship you can see forward of the ship. Can't imagine going through the Panama Canal (for instance) without being able to see ahead of the ship. On Viking, I can go anyplace and not a soul will have any idea what kind of stateroom I am in. The key words you missed were...once you are on board. 

 

By the way, having eaten in their specialty restaurants and taken Viking excursions, you didn't miss anything. Their excursions are big bus, big crowd excursions with guides that are being paid by the word. That means they never shut up.

[The Other Tom]

9 hours ago, DrKoob said:

You misunderstood. I said that once you are on board, no one will know what category you are in.

I was replying to the "no caste" comment, which is mostly before you board. But I agree that once on board, you have access to all areas of the ship, unlike the major cruise lines. And no one knows what category you are.  And no special treatment when you leave for an excursion, or disembark.

Edited May 31, 2023 by The Other Tom