Food

[LindaS272]

47 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

 On Saturn and Sky, and on other cruise lines, a set of menus was delivered with evening turndown for me to peruse and make choices, which I would then return the next morning at breakfast, so that the chef and kitchen could be prepared.  That wasn’t an option on Mars.

Not sure why you think “that wasn’t an option on Mars.” It is Viking’s practice and policy, so perhaps you just didn’t get your needs to the right department…?

[bookbabe]

41 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

Not sure why you think “that wasn’t an option on Mars.” It is Viking’s practice and policy, so perhaps you just didn’t get your needs to the right department…?

We asked at the restaurant reservations desk.  They said that wasn’t something they did.  Guest Services said that couldn’t be done through them, to talk to the restaurant reservations desk.  Didn’t bother to waste any more time on it after that.  On Sky and Mars, and on Regent and NCL, it just effortlessly happened, based on my standing pre-notifications of allergies.  We did seem to have a lot of new crew, especially in the restaurants, so maybe they just didn’t know what they were doing yet.  Saturn just didn’t handle that area of things as well as Sky or Mars.  
 

I don’t know why people keep blaming me, I’m an experienced cruiser and an experienced traveller, and I’ve spent my whole life dealing with food-related and other allergies.  Not a rookie, I know how things should work.  However, I’m also not going to Go Karen and demand services after being told no by a couple of different sources, even if it’s something that usually should be within their policies and procedures.  I also dislike having to custom order at the time of the meal, that’s not fair to the chefs, so if I can’t deal with menu alterations ahead of time I’ll just order whatever is on the menu that I can eat.  YMMV.

 

Edited to fix ship names.  Issues were on Saturn in March/April.  Mars was back in September and it was fine.

Edited May 18 by bookbabe

[bookbabe]

59 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

As have we. I think the disconnect is it appears the poster asked the hostess to make substitutions and was told to tell the waiter. The waiter is the person to convey your order request to, not the host/hostess.  “Refused” is a strong word. Sounds more like the hostess conveyed the proper procedure and it was construed as insufficient to meet the OP’s needs / desires.

 

As for menus, they are available on the app and throughout the ship video monitors daily. If you have special food requirements/preferences and have indicated this in MVJ, you will also have copies of the menus delivered to your stateroom daily.
 

There are certain foods that I don’t eat and have had the staff bend over backwards to accommodate me and indicate what I should avoid. 

I guess I wasn’t clear.  I asked the hostess at CT if I could talk to the chef or restaurant manager about possible alterations to an upcoming menu.  She said no, just tell the waiter that night and they’d figure something out.  It wasn’t that they refused to modify, it was that they refused to let me discuss it in advance.  I dislike last minute modifications, I’d rather know in advance what my options were so I could decide if that was a menu I not only was able to eat, but that I wanted to eat.

 

And, as I have said previously, I was told by the hostess at the restaurants desk that they couldn’t deliver the menus in advance each night, to just look on the app and tv each day.  And that’s who guest services told me to talk to.  I know that’s not how it’s supposed to work, but that’s what happened on *Saturn* (March/April 2024).  And yes, I had all of the same allergy info entered in MVJ and noted on our reservation by my PCC that I’d had for Sky and Mars, our two other cruises over the last year.  Menus delivered on Sky and Mars, not on Saturn.

 

*** sorry, just noticed I’ve had my ships reversed, we were on Saturn most recently, not Mars.  Mars was in September.  LOL.  Too many cruises, and the identical ships in Viking’s fleet causes me to mix them up sometimes.

[LindaS272]

Thanks for clarifying that you just didn’t get to the right people, because it’s my experience & knowledge that it is Viking’s policy. You said it “wasn’t an option” on the one ship, but sometimes you just have to dig a little deeper on Viking.

[hutch1994]

I've found the food on both Viking' river and ocean cruises to be not that great along with poor wine by the glass choice with the silver beverage package on ocean cruises.  I know the difference between very good food vs just average food.   And just average was the extent to what we found.  Also don't fit the let's see how much food we can eat  because we've paid for it persona.

[rmalbers]

I've got a food hack for you to spice up the Chinese dishes.  Go to the pizza station and dig down to the bottom of the red pepper flacks, there is usually powered red pepper in the bottom of the bowl, sprinkle some of that into your Chinese food and that will spice it up a lot.

[TinaLee]

On 5/16/2024 at 11:09 AM, z111 said:

I have been disappointed by the food on Viking. 

Much of it seems bland.

Almost all of it is the taste of disappointment. 

 

Chef’s Table had decent plating but none of it was great. If it were a restaurant and i got a bill for it, I’d have rated it 2 out of 5 stars for the food and 5 out of 5 for the service.

 

i lived in Vegas for a long time and i know that you can provide tasty food at scale. (Vegas has some great buffets that probably easily turn 1000 people in a day.)

 

The crew is so fantastic. And when they ask “how is everything”, i don’t feel like i can say what i think, in part because, i don’t think there’s anything they can do.

 

i’m also wondering if food has gone downhill as it seems people generally like the food.

 

Other than that, everything else is beyond expectation. 

 

 

 

Could you tell us which ship you're on? And maybe which itinerary? Thanks!

[May B]

8 hours ago, bookbabe said:

I guess I wasn’t clear.  I asked the hostess at CT if I could talk to the chef or restaurant manager about possible alterations to an upcoming menu.  She said no, just tell the waiter that night and they’d figure something out.  It wasn’t that they refused to modify, it was that they refused to let me discuss it in advance.  I dislike last minute modifications, I’d rather know in advance what my options were so I could decide if that was a menu I not only was able to eat, but that I wanted to eat.

 

And, as I have said previously, I was told by the hostess at the restaurants desk that they couldn’t deliver the menus in advance each night, to just look on the app and tv each day.  And that’s who guest services told me to talk to.  I know that’s not how it’s supposed to work, but that’s what happened on *Saturn* (March/April 2024).  And yes, I had all of the same allergy info entered in MVJ and noted on our reservation by my PCC that I’d had for Sky and Mars, our two other cruises over the last year.  Menus delivered on Sky and Mars, not on Saturn.

 

*** sorry, just noticed I’ve had my ships reversed, we were on Saturn most recently, not Mars.  Mars was in September.  LOL.  Too many cruises, and the identical ships in Viking’s fleet causes me to mix them up sometimes.

I’ve often thought that inconsistencies between ships reflect the captain, or possibly the head chef. When only one out of, say, eight or ten or twelve ships doesn’t match the service we love on the rest of them, there has to be a reason.

 

I’m glad you remembered it was Saturn, not Mars, that failed to match the expected appropriate level of service you’d found on your previous two Viking cruises. Of course, staff moves around, plus sometimes it’s something temporary going on. 
 

Meantime, you've been politely patient when so many here just aren’t listening to you. I commend you. 

[Messybill]

5 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

Thanks for clarifying that you just didn’t get to the right people, because it’s my experience & knowledge that it is Viking’s policy. You said it “wasn’t an option” on the one ship, but sometimes you just have to dig a little deeper on Viking.

Policy is Policy.  It is not about going to the "right" people, just because you happen to know who they are.  It's about them delivering a consistent product, at which they fail miserably in our experience.    It is not up to the guest to point out what the policy is.  

Edited May 19 by Messybill

[SJD117]

2 hours ago, Messybill said:

Policy is Policy.  It is not about going to the "right" people, just because you happen to know who they are.  It's about them delivering a consistent product, at which they fail miserably in our experience.    It is not up to the guest to point out what the policy is.  

Linda wrote, quote, “It’s my experience & knowledge that it is Viking’s policy.” Give her credit, please, for that experience and knowledge. Those are hers, not yours.

[CurlerRob]

11 hours ago, bookbabe said:

I guess I wasn’t clear.

 

You've been quite clear. On all 3 trips, you identified your allergy issues in MVJ and via your agent. As you noted, SOP for pax with allergies is the provision of menus the prior day and usually a brief meeting with the Restaurant/Food Manager on embarkation, to ensure mutual understanding of the process.

 

It appears the process worked as expected on two ships, but failed on Saturn - that is unfortunate. Your tolerance for that and for the "ping-pong" from GS and the hostess is laudable.

 

My only thought for a subsequent cruise would be to request (insist if required) a meeting with the Restaurant Manager on embarkation or the next day, to ensure mutual clarity. I hope your next cruise is smoother. 🍺🥌

[LindaS272]

2 hours ago, Messybill said:

It is not up to the guest to point out what the policy is.  

It is if you want to get your nutritional needs met when you have food intolerances.

 

The OP might consider writing to tellus@vikingcruises.com, telling them of the problem experienced with not getting dietary needs met. They might very well give you some OBC for your next cruise. Happened for us a few years ago with Viking when I experienced some extremely rude behavior by a call center agent. 

[kydems]

I understand that food is very subjective, but I did not realize what a huge difference a food prep team can make. We recently completed a 21-day Viking River trip from Bucharest to Amsterdam and unfortunately had to change ships halfway due to low water levels. On the first ship the food was very ordinary. Nothing was inedible but nothing special either.  When we changed ships some of the menus were repeated but the food was so much better on the second leg. The head chef and the catering team would visit the dining room regularly and seemed very interested in guests feedback.

[CDNPolar]

1 hour ago, kydems said:

I understand that food is very subjective, but I did not realize what a huge difference a food prep team can make. We recently completed a 21-day Viking River trip from Bucharest to Amsterdam and unfortunately had to change ships halfway due to low water levels. On the first ship the food was very ordinary. Nothing was inedible but nothing special either.  When we changed ships some of the menus were repeated but the food was so much better on the second leg. The head chef and the catering team would visit the dining room regularly and seemed very interested in guests feedback.

 

I would hope that you have emailed tellus@vikingcruises.com to share this feedback with them directly.  

 

I am not certain that comments on a survey are acted on quickly based on the sheer volume of surveys they receive.

 

This just shows that even standard menus can be impacted by the team that are preparing the meals - and the Chef's input is paramount.

[Mike07]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I would hope that you have emailed tellus@vikingcruises.com to share this feedback with them directly.  

 

I am not certain that comments on a survey are acted on quickly based on the sheer volume of surveys they receive.

 

This just shows that even standard menus can be impacted by the team that are preparing the meals - and the Chef's input is paramount.

 

 

I would 100% do this. That's why I take a firm position that giving "blanket 5 stars" does nobody a service except the crew.

[z111]

6 hours ago, kydems said:

I understand that food is very subjective, but I did not realize what a huge difference a food prep team can make. We recently completed a 21-day Viking River trip from Bucharest to Amsterdam and unfortunately had to change ships halfway due to low water levels. On the first ship the food was very ordinary. Nothing was inedible but nothing special either.  When we changed ships some of the menus were repeated but the food was so much better on the second leg. The head chef and the catering team would visit the dining room regularly and seemed very interested in guests feedback.

That's really interesting.

I did end up talking to the head chef and he said that all food is Viking recipes and that it should be consistent.
He also indicated that the food is loaded up at the start and not replenished until the end which has some impact on what's possible.

I was able to navigate a bit better to find what I liked after a few days. But overall, found Manfreddi's to be very good, Chef's Table to be borderline terrible, and everything else somewhere in between that.

My husband is wanting to go to Greece and that's a place that's so known for its food and I'm not sure I could do a Viking trip to a region famous for delicious food.

Other than that, I loved my cruise so much and would love to go again.

Maybe Antarctica where there is no local food 🙂

[OneSixtyToOne]

One of our river cruises was really memorable in part because of the dessert chef. Every night he would create a work of art with a theme of our location. For example, in Vienna the sauce would be drizzled on the plate in the shape of a musical note. Every night we were excited to view his next creation.

 

Edited May 30 by OneSixtyToOne

[Cienfuegos]

1 hour ago, z111 said:

Maybe Antarctica where there is no local food 🙂

 Grilled penguin isn't on the menu?

[CDNPolar]

1 hour ago, Cienfuegos said:

 Grilled penguin isn't on the menu?

 

That was served every night on our cruise... delicious!

[island lady]

7 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

That was served every night on our cruise... delicious!

 

Not so happy feet then?  😄 

[allyg]

What cruise line has had the best food, in your opinion? We recently got off Saturn and found dishes we enjoyed: fennel salad in Manfredi’s, new Indonesian menu in Chef’s Table, Dan Dan noodles in the back of WC, fabulous bread sticks in the evening, most of the soups, especially the simple broth soups with julienned vegetables, excellent Chateaubriand served once during the cruise with Grand Marnier souffle as dessert ( so glad we looked at menu), and most of the salads, specially the salad Nicoise served in the Restaurant when it is open for lunch ( I always get a piece of grilled salmon with it.) What fun we had just checking it all out! We will be on Mars in September so it will be interesting to see the differences. 

[Jim Avery]

8 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

That was served every night on our cruise... delicious!

Tastes just like chicken.🍸

[CDNPolar]

7 hours ago, allyg said:

What cruise line has had the best food, in your opinion? We recently got off Saturn and found dishes we enjoyed: fennel salad in Manfredi’s, new Indonesian menu in Chef’s Table, Dan Dan noodles in the back of WC, fabulous bread sticks in the evening, most of the soups, especially the simple broth soups with julienned vegetables, excellent Chateaubriand served once during the cruise with Grand Marnier souffle as dessert ( so glad we looked at menu), and most of the salads, specially the salad Nicoise served in the Restaurant when it is open for lunch ( I always get a piece of grilled salmon with it.) What fun we had just checking it all out! We will be on Mars in September so it will be interesting to see the differences. 

 

We have sailed mostly Viking but also Uniworld and Hurtigruten.

 

Personally the breakfast and lunch buffet on Hurtigruten although not as expansive as Viking, in my opinion was slightly better, but the dinner choices and execution on Hurtigruten did not hold a candle to Viking evening meals and choices.

 

Uniworld was The Nile and to me the food was passable.  Passable meaning that I would not complain, but there was nothing really to compliment beyond the fact that it was good food on par with a decent restaurant at home.

 

To us with our more limited experience Viking wins, but this vote is subjective to our tastes and experiences.

[CCWineLover]

7 hours ago, allyg said:

What cruise line has had the best food, in your opinion? We recently got off Saturn and found dishes we enjoyed: fennel salad in Manfredi’s, new Indonesian menu in Chef’s Table, Dan Dan noodles in the back of WC, fabulous bread sticks in the evening, most of the soups, especially the simple broth soups with julienned vegetables, excellent Chateaubriand served once during the cruise with Grand Marnier souffle as dessert ( so glad we looked at menu), and most of the salads, specially the salad Nicoise served in the Restaurant when it is open for lunch ( I always get a piece of grilled salmon with it.) What fun we had just checking it all out! We will be on Mars in September so it will be interesting to see the differences. 

So people are not confused….

 

nearly all the items on the Restaurant menu are offered at World Cafe.  WC has a wonderful salad area.  We enjoy many of the salads including the Salad nicoise you mention.  So you don’t have to go to the Restaurant to find great salads.  😀. And yes, we always augment salads with something (like a piece of salmon!).  You can also make your own salad.

 

Plus WC has the best views on the ship!  Especially if the weather is great and you eat outside!

Edited May 31 by CCWineLover

[CDNPolar]

5 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

 

 

Plus WC has the best views on the ship!  Especially if the weather is great and you eat outside!

 

Gosh, I love to be in the WC as it opens for Breakfast, especially on a sea day, when it is sunny and you have just this expansive view...  

 

The salad options are great for sure.  This is a draw for us as we are not vegetarian, but probably consume 95% of what we eat on the side of vegetarian.  Meat is a very small consideration for us.  My husband being Asian decent meat to him is more of a flavouring to a dish rather than the star of the dish that North Americans are more in tune with.