Tranatlantic

[brichar499]

I'm considering a Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona trip next Spring. Viking has both Star and Mars scheduled. We have sailed the Viking Mississippi and really like the product. My concerns are two. The Viking itineraries include only two port stops over thirteen days. My other TA experience included six stops. Also, given the relatively small size of the ships, entertainment is of much smaller scale.

 

I'd really like to experience the food and service of Viking again, but, will we be bored?

[CurlerRob]

It would be helpful if you were to post who you sailed your previous TA with and if you have other ocean cruising experience on additional lines. That data will allow posters here to offer comparisons and insights that may assist you.

 

In the end, only you will be able to decide if you'll be bored - that's totally individual. 🍺🥌

[TayanaLorna]

You may wish to try a Barcelona to San Juan TA or vice versa.  We did it and had Barcelona, Valencia, Cadiz, Gilbrator instead of Casablanca because Morocco was still Covid closed, Maderia, St. Martin and San Juan.  There were sea days between some ports but only 5 sea days to cross the Atlantic.  We love being at sea and really enjoy the ship.  I think it was our only cruise where we had the time to enjoy sitting out on the deck 8 loungers and reading.

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, brichar499 said:

I'm considering a Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona trip next Spring. Viking has both Star and Mars scheduled. We have sailed the Viking Mississippi and really like the product. My concerns are two. The Viking itineraries include only two port stops over thirteen days. My other TA experience included six stops. Also, given the relatively small size of the ships, entertainment is of much smaller scale.

 

I'd really like to experience the food and service of Viking again, but, will we be bored?

 

Only you know if you will be bored.

 

We did over 30 sea days in a row with Viking and even on the days with 25 hrs, it was tough finding enough hours to sleep.

[Mich3554]

6 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Only you know if you will be bored.

 

We did over 30 sea days in a row with Viking and even on the days with 25 hrs, it was tough finding enough hours to sleep.

This is the nice thing about Viking, you can be as busy as you want to be.  We adore sea days, but on the WC there were people griping that there were too many sea days and they were bored (I did wonder if they bothered to look at the itinerary).  
If you think you are going to be bored, then don’t do a TA, or any cruise with a lot of sea days, If  you don’t like sea days, find a cruise that’s in a different port each day.  There are a lot of them.  If you do like sea days, find a different cruise that has more of a balance.  

[CCWineLover]

Totally agree!   We like sea days and are never bored.  So much to do, including just relaxing!!

But there were always people on our TA who complained they were bored, couldn't wait to get off, and more.   

Everyone is different and likes different things.  Just like you'll find completely different opinions about the restaurants, food, entertainment, etc on Viking Ships.   But that's what is nice about the Ocean ships - you have so much to choose from - there is likely something for everyone (well, except those who don't want to be at sea 🙂

 

[Jem 12]

We are booked on Viking Sky for a transatlantic, we know we are going to love it, hoping the weather is nice so we can enjoy pool area etc.

 

We are flying home the same day as we arrive in Florida, can anybody advise what Viking do with passengers who have a late flight back to UK, we will have a transfer back to airport, but I was wondering what time they will make us leave the ship, I know in the good old days with previous cruise lines we would have the use of a hotel day room, any help appreciated. 

[wine-wine-wine]

52 minutes ago, Jem 12 said:

hoping the weather is nice so we can enjoy pool area

Thanks to the retractable roof over the pool so you can enjoy in any case…

[biggerbearmom]

We are taking the TA leaving Barcelona on November 17. I can’t wait for all those sea days to do as little or much as I want. So looking forward to finding a quiet spot to read, nap, and listen to Spotify. 😊

[shadowlover]

On 10/23/2023 at 6:15 AM, Jem 12 said:

We are booked on Viking Sky for a transatlantic, we know we are going to love it, hoping the weather is nice so we can enjoy pool area etc.

 

We are flying home the same day as we arrive in Florida, can anybody advise what Viking do with passengers who have a late flight back to UK, we will have a transfer back to airport, but I was wondering what time they will make us leave the ship, I know in the good old days with previous cruise lines we would have the use of a hotel day room, any help appreciated. 

they make you leave the ship with everyone else sadly.  I would not use their transfer.  I would either rent a car for the day or find something to do.  we were stranded at san juan airport with no seat as we waited for united to open.  Sat for hours.

Sometimes (probably depending on the class cabin you purchased) they arrange for a hotel to spend the day in.  Also if your flight is quite late I believe they do the same.

 

[Jem 12]

8 minutes ago, shadowlover said:

they make you leave the ship with everyone else sadly.  I would not use their transfer.  I would either rent a car for the day or find something to do.  we were stranded at san juan airport with no seat as we waited for united to open.  Sat for hours.

Sometimes (probably depending on the class cabin you purchased) they arrange for a hotel to spend the day in.  Also if your flight is quite late I believe they do the same.

 

Hopefully a day room would be nice, I wonder if they will know on ship ? 

 

Can anyone confirm whether we will need adaptors for our 3 pin UK plugs please? 

[deec]

I would NOT start with a Transatlantic until you experience a Viking Ocean Cruise and can determine if you will like sea days.  We are doing British Isles in May and I am so disappointed that there is only one sea day!!!

[Mich3554]

58 minutes ago, deec said:

I would NOT start with a Transatlantic until you experience a Viking Ocean Cruise and can determine if you will like sea days.  We are doing British Isles in May and I am so disappointed that there is only one sea day!!!

This is funny, we started cruising with a trans Atlantic and fell in love with Viking because of the sea days!  When I booked the cruise in 2018, a TA was the only cruise where there were cabins available about 3 months before the sail date.  
Like you, we like sea days.  

[Reaniel]

1 hour ago, deec said:

I would NOT start with a Transatlantic until you experience a Viking Ocean Cruise and can determine if you will like sea days.  We are doing British Isles in May and I am so disappointed that there is only one sea day!!!

 

Ocean Cruise newbie here.  We've only done 2 river cruises (with Viking and Grand Circle) prior to our upcoming sailing from Athens to Rome that's coming up.  Would you be so kind and share what are some of the things we can do on sea days?

[CruisingAlong4Now]

IMHO, people who have an expectation (or fear) of boredom usually are bored.

[SJD117]

I’ve never understood why people book an ocean cruise and then worry about spending an entire day on the ocean.

[shipboy]

3 hours ago, Jem 12 said:

Hopefully a day room would be nice, I wonder if they will know on ship ? 

 

Can anyone confirm whether we will need adaptors for our 3 pin UK plugs please? 

There are USB-A sockets, but you will need an adaptor for the 3 pin UK plug. The euro 2 pin adaptor does the job

[Jim Avery]

Boredom is a personal problem.😎

[CCWineLover]

3 hours ago, Reaniel said:

 

Ocean Cruise newbie here.  We've only done 2 river cruises (with Viking and Grand Circle) prior to our upcoming sailing from Athens to Rome that's coming up.  Would you be so kind and share what are some of the things we can do on sea days?

We are on the Rome to Athens itinerary this February.  Don't recall any sea days.  In fact, need to get better shape before then to do the 14 days of touring/walking without a break!  🙂

 

We usually like a mix of sea and port days - love them both, for different reasons.

But only YOU can tell if you will enjoy your sea days, no matter what anyone on Cruise Critic says.  Try it out!

[Reaniel]

3 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

We are on the Rome to Athens itinerary this February.  Don't recall any sea days.  In fact, need to get better shape before then to do the 14 days of touring/walking without a break!  🙂

 

We usually like a mix of sea and port days - love them both, for different reasons.

But only YOU can tell if you will enjoy your sea days, no matter what anyone on Cruise Critic says.  Try it out!

 

We're on the upcoming Cities of antiquity and the holy land sailing, and we have 3 sea days 🙂

I personally think I'll be fine, but mom might get bored and all.  😛 Just trying to find out what most people enjoy on sea days so that I can accompany her and make sure she's having a good time.

[CCWineLover]

1 minute ago, Reaniel said:

 

We're on the upcoming Cities of antiquity and the holy land sailing, and we have 3 sea days 🙂

I personally think I'll be fine, but mom might get bored and all.  😛 Just trying to find out what most people enjoy on sea days so that I can accompany her and make sure she's having a good time.

Ah yes - I do recall now there are two different Athens/Rome itineraries!  One with a few sea days (yours) and one with zero sea days (ours).

3 is actually a pretty good number on a 14 day cruise I think.  We would use them to relax, enjoy a non-committal day after port days, poke around the ship to see what new little corners exist, and just plain do nothing sometimes (well except maybe read a book and watch the ocean go by).  The latter was one of our favorites - where we'd bring our books to the 2nd deck fantail, sit, and watch the churned screws wash trail out behind us.  Talk about relaxing!

[Azulann]

4 hours ago, Reaniel said:

Just trying to find out what most people enjoy on sea days so that I can accompany her and make sure she's having a good time.

Sea days are welcome after a rigorous  day of excursions

You can sleep late. have breakfast at Mamsens in the Explorer lounge. Attend a couple of lectures, or go to a movie , or a Met opera rebroadcast in the theater.

Play some of the interactive game console on deck three overlooking the atrium,  go to spa and relax in the heated pool , sauna, steam room etc.

Or book a massage.

Enjoy afternoon tea in the  Wintergarden.

Have lunch and if nice eat outside in Aquavit terrace or lunch at the pool grill.

 Play trivia, read a book picked from  any of the numerous book cases throughout the ship.

Take a tour of the art work on the ship  with the audio guide found on the Viking app.Visit the small Viking museum  on board.

Take a nap, watch a movie  or lectures you have missed in your stateroom. Have a glass of wine . with a cheese plate ordered from room service, on your balcony and watch  the ocean roll by.

Do your laundry, and have a expresso in the Living room Bar while your clothes  wash and dry,

 leisurely get ready for cocktail hour and dinner.

Go to the evening show in theater and not fall asleep.

[deec]

23 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

We are on the Rome to Athens itinerary this February.  Don't recall any sea days.  In fact, need to get better shape before then to do the 14 days of touring/walking without a break!  🙂

 

We usually like a mix of sea and port days - love them both, for different reasons.

But only YOU can tell if you will enjoy your sea days, no matter what anyone on Cruise Critic says.  Try it out!

our British Isle is also very port intensive...I really would pay $$$ to add in a couple sea days...I am so afraid of missing something really fantastic that I can't ever bring myself to stay aboard and make my own free day ( although not a SEA day)

[formernuke]

1 hour ago, deec said:

our British Isle is also very port intensive...I really would pay $$$ to add in a couple sea days...I am so afraid of missing something really fantastic that I can't ever bring myself to stay aboard and make my own free day ( although not a SEA day)

No thanks! We're just the opposite... We don't tend to go for  any itineraries where there is more than 1 sea day/week (preferably 0). We travel for the ports!

[FetaCheese]

On both TA December 2022, and Greek Odyssey December 2021, there was no Met broadcast, nor local entertainment brought onboard.  

 

V advertises that these are on every voyage.  (We read Currents thoroughly each evening -- was not listed.). Unfortunately, I never enquired as to why not.

 

We did very much enjoy many activities on the TA Sea days that @Azulann listed.

 

The prior years' Greek Odyssey was port intensive, and we did not have much time to enjoy all that a V cruise ship offers.  Highly recommend Greek Odyssey.

Edited October 31, 2023 by FetaCheese
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