Lenbro1944 Posted July 10 #1 Share Posted July 10 Just booked our 1st Viking cruise. It’s next summer around Iceland on the Mars. Although the important part is the itinerary, the food plays a part. I started to watch u tube video about the ship etc. I was surprised that a number of them didn’t think the food meet the standard they should expect on a luxury cruise. I understand that not everyone’s opinions are the same but there were very few raves. Let’s hear what your opinion of the food is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OneSixtyToOne Posted July 10 #2 Share Posted July 10 (edited) This topic has been discussed many many times on this forum. We don’t need another thread. You can use this one: We will be doing an Iceland cruise next month and I will do a full review. Check back to read it. Edited July 11 by OneSixtyToOne 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CCWineLover Posted July 11 #3 Share Posted July 11 57 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said: This topic has been discussed many many times on this forum. We don’t need another thread. You can use this one: We will be doing an Iceland cruise next month and I will do a full review. Check back to read it. Thank you! The subject has certainly been rehashed A LOT !! Lots of opinions on food and everyone has a different one. Very subjective. To the OP, only you will know when you travel whether you like it or not. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRWolf Posted July 11 #4 Share Posted July 11 Lenbro1944: We are currently on the Mars,circumnavigating Iceland. We hope that you enjoy your journey. The itinerary is superb. The food is average. We've been on two other cruise lines with far better food and more variety. We have an allergy issue and Viking is careful to work with us to avoid issues. HTH 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squawkman Posted July 11 #5 Share Posted July 11 5 hours ago, BRWolf said: We've been on two other cruise lines with far better food and more variety. May I ask which lines you’re referring to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Avery Posted July 11 #6 Share Posted July 11 In our Viking experiences the food quality and variety changes from ship to ship. On each ship it changes when the chef is relieved. We have fave chefs like most and I do have to say we have noticed a drop off in overall food quality since covid. Seems to pretty much be industry wide. In short, we don't sail on Viking for the food. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mich3554 Posted July 11 #7 Share Posted July 11 17 minutes ago, Jim Avery said: In our Viking experiences the food quality and variety changes from ship to ship. On each ship it changes when the chef is relieved. We have fave chefs like most and I do have to say we have noticed a drop off in overall food quality since covid. Seems to pretty much be industry wide. In short, we don't sail on Viking for the food. Very true! On the WC, we could tell when the chef changed as foods were no longer as spicy as we liked. When we got on, we were pleasantly surprised at the beginning, but halfway through foods weren’t spiced as well, nor were they salted at all. I think there was a turnover in the chef. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRWolf Posted July 11 #8 Share Posted July 11 1 hour ago, Squawkman said: May I ask which lines you’re referring to? I purposely didn't mention them to avoid a flame war. I intended a polite response to the OP. I tend to agree that posts about food are quite numerous. If you really, really want to know, please ask again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Avery Posted July 11 #9 Share Posted July 11 Don't worry Wolf, I will not flame you. Imho they all have problems with food and all are charging too high rates post covid...🥃 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DrKoob Posted July 11 #10 Share Posted July 11 We just returned from a 14 night on Venus. I detailed the food pretty deeply on my blog at https://jktravelredmondDOTcom/2024/07/01/our-own-amazing-race-30-days-3-countries-2-very-tired-people/(No ads/No selling). Just scroll down to the food section. Have a great time. Jim 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taiwan_girl Posted July 12 #11 Share Posted July 12 For me, the food on Viking is definitely a step up from the mass market cruise lines. Our recent cruise, the food was good, not great. Didn't leave any meal hungry but no one in our group of 8 was raving about the food. We had also done one previous Oceania cruise and as a group, thought the food was better. If I were a grader, I would say Viking was B to B+ and Oceania was B+ to A. But again, I dont think you will go hungry. LOL 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReaderGirl57 Posted July 12 #12 Share Posted July 12 We were on Viking Jupiter last summer. I thought the food was on a par with the Oceania Marina cruise we had taken in 2022, but my husband thought it was better! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CILCIANRQTS Posted July 12 #13 Share Posted July 12 11 hours ago, ReaderGirl57 said: We were on Viking Jupiter last summer. I thought the food was on a par with the Oceania Marina cruise we had taken in 2022, but my husband thought it was better! Oceani’s marketing strategy is to keep telling people their food is better than the other lines - and hope that people will eventually believe it. We we’re not impressed. Viking’s food is good, not great, but all ships are constrained by supply, freshness, prep time constraints and lack of chef discretion. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayRich65 Posted July 12 #14 Share Posted July 12 Lenbro1944, which sailing around Iceland are you booked? We have a roll call for the 7/16/25 voyage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CCWineLover Posted July 12 #15 Share Posted July 12 13 hours ago, ReaderGirl57 said: We were on Viking Jupiter last summer. I thought the food was on a par with the Oceania Marina cruise we had taken in 2022, but my husband thought it was better! Again, shows everyone that food is quite a subjective thing. What some enjoy, others do not. Sort of like wine tasting. You should follow your own personal tastes and what you like - what others like/dislike is of no matter to you personally. Only you can make the decision. Plus, we've also found our tastes in food have changed over the years (much like our tastes in wine 🙂 ).... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redtravel Posted July 13 #16 Share Posted July 13 Food is an important part of cruising. We often sail on Viking, Oceania, and Windstar. They all have good food. There are differences that we have noticed. Since the pandemic, cruise lines have cutback in food offerings. It could be the result of supply issues or increasing costs. We enjoy Viking. Riverboats do an amazing job with food. Due to size, there are fewer selections compared to Viking Ocean. We were on Mississippi in April. It’s a scaled down version of Viking Ocean. Food variety was similar to Viking Ocean. We had some regional dishes. There were only 2 dining venues…restaurant and buffet. They served similar items. Selection was ok. The included wines were bad. No real choice beyond today’s red, white or rose. In May, we were on Oceania Marina. Food was superb in all venues. The grand dining room was similar in offerings to Viking restaurant. Oceania specialty restaurants are amazing. The included wine with Simply More was good and bad. Oceania offers a nice selection of wines with meals. Found some that were very good. The most creative food offerings can be found on Windstar. The connection with James Beard is interesting. We love the veranda, Aamphora, Candles,Stella Bistro, etc. not a big fan of the grill or cuodro44. For best room service, we like Windstar. Worst room service was Viking Mississippi. We were in a suite and there wasn’t any. That was a big disappointment. Since Viking, Oceania, and Windstar serve good food, we pick cruises more for the itinerary. During 2024 we have or will cruise on Oceania Vista and Marina, Windstar Star Pride, and Viking Mississippi and Mars. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenbro1944 Posted July 13 Author #17 Share Posted July 13 On 7/12/2024 at 9:02 AM, JayRich65 said: Lenbro1944, which sailing around Iceland are you booked? We have a roll call for the 7/16/25 voyage. We’ll be on7/2/25 cruise. I will check out there roll call. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch1994 Posted July 19 #18 Share Posted July 19 Have done both Viking river and ocean. Thought the food was just okay, not anything to write home about. Wine choices on SS package were marginal by the glass. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millybess Posted July 19 #19 Share Posted July 19 4 hours ago, hutch1994 said: Have done both Viking river and ocean. Thought the food was just okay, not anything to write home about. Wine choices on SS package were marginal by the glass. You're right The food has recently become "just okay" in our opinion. We usually purchase SSBP and the wines by the glass are indeed marginal, but they are a few steps above the included wines in our opinion. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Peregrina651 Posted July 20 #20 Share Posted July 20 On 7/13/2024 at 10:30 AM, Redtravel said: Worst room service was Viking Mississippi. We were in a suite and there wasn’t any. That was a big disappointment. There is no room service offered on the Viking River ships, never has been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovybusybee Posted July 20 #21 Share Posted July 20 Got off Mars last week. First Viking cruise. For the most part I thought the food was ok/fine, not outstanding but not horrible either. Where I thought it generally fell short was in the bread and pastry sections. In the restaurant and speciality restaurants the bread was great, the World Cafe average at best. I would even suggest that it was just standard shop bought, with very little choice of breads especially at breakfast. Now I’m not saying it was mass produced bread but it certainly didn’t come across as artisan/home baked either. But as ever, people tastes differ. Debbie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike07 Posted July 20 #22 Share Posted July 20 On 7/10/2024 at 6:53 PM, OneSixtyToOne said: This topic has been discussed many many times on this forum. We don’t need another thread. You can use this one: We will be doing an Iceland cruise next month and I will do a full review. Check back to read it. The photo CC"s algorithm captured in that photo is from the expedition ships, not the ocean ships. Not implying you chose that photo, One. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike07 Posted July 20 #23 Share Posted July 20 30 minutes ago, Groovybusybee said: Got off Mars last week. First Viking cruise. For the most part I thought the food was ok/fine, not outstanding but not horrible either. My impression of a recent sailing as well. It was fine, but I would not call it outstanding, amazing or award winning. During the galley tour, the chefs have an iPad that has the Viking approved menus loaded into them... with cooking instructions and photos of how to display it. Though, there is enough anecdotal evidence that some executive chefs have some discretion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millybess Posted July 20 #24 Share Posted July 20 13 minutes ago, Mike07 said: My impression of a recent sailing as well. It was fine, but I would not call it outstanding, amazing or award winning. During the galley tour, the chefs have an iPad that has the Viking approved menus loaded into them... with cooking instructions and photos of how to display it. Though, there is enough anecdotal evidence that some executive chefs have some discretion. I would be hard pressed to call them “executive chefs” or “chefs” if that is the case. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squawkman Posted July 20 #25 Share Posted July 20 1 hour ago, Groovybusybee said: Where I thought it generally fell short was in the bread and pastry sections. In the restaurant and speciality restaurants the bread was great, the World Cafe average at best. I would even suggest that it was just standard shop bought, with very little choice of breads especially at breakfast. Now I’m not saying it was mass produced bread but it certainly didn’t come across as artisan/home baked either. If you take a galley tour, you will see all the bread is baked on board - including those awful bagels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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