Iconic Iceland, Greenland and Canada ... a Mini Review

[molymoo]

We are back from our Iconic Iceland, Greenland and Canada cruise.  The laundry is done and it’s time for a quick “review”.  We were on Mars and unfortunately missed the Greenland stops because of ice.  We knew going in that this was a distinct possibility, so we weren’t surprised.  The captain tried to get us to an alternate port (Paamiut) but even there the ice was just too much.  Frankly I was thrilled just to see the icebergs (small ones; “growlers” they call them) and there was a brief whale siting, so I was perfectly content, even not having set foot on land. 

 

Mars was a lovely ship and the crew was amazing.  Viking crews are always fabulous, but this crew seemed to take things to another level.  So friendly, so patient, and so accommodating.  Honestly there was absolutely nothing to complain about at any point in the cruise.  That said, however, this was probably the rudest group of passengers we have encountered on any of our (21) Viking cruises!  Don’t get me wrong … most of the passengers were great, but the relatively few who weren’t were so obnoxious as to really stand out.  Most of the rudeness was directed at the crew in the form of complaints, demands, and snapping of fingers, etc. but some bordered on aggression and what I would consider to be bordering on threatening behavior.  We thought perhaps it was us but in conversations with other passengers we found that others had the same observations.

 

Food is always a subjective topic but we found it to be very good.   I enjoyed some meals more than others but was never disappointed.  We had a tour of the galley and after seeing how much work and planning goes into preparing each meal I wonder at their ability to do as well as they do.   

We had a last minute upgrade in our cabin and ended up in a PJS on the 7^th deck.  We were there once before (another upgrade) and really like the location.  Our stewards were hard working, efficient and friendly.  Not a day went by when we didn’t enjoy a chat with them as we came and went.

 

All in all we had a great time.  The itinerary was awesome and we loved seeing the Iceland outside of Reykjavik.  It was beautiful and we really lucked out with the weather! 

Edited July 11 by molymoo

[Azulann]

Thank you so much for your  trip report on Viking Mars.

It helps me remember why I love Viking as I wait  for my next cruise in 2025, and 2026!

Love that you got an upgrade for your cruise. 

Sorry you had some  a few very rude passengers on your  cruise. That is indeed an anomaly based on  my past experiences. 

I do want to do a gallery tour on my next cruise if possible. I have never been on one. 

 

[Peregrina651]

E, my sister, who disembarked the day you embarked, was wondering if you got into Iceland and is a bit jealous that you got to Newfoundland. One of the ice pilots did say that this is the worst they have seen in 30 years. Her feeling was she preferred her early June sailing to the crowds of the summer months.

 

19 minutes ago, Azulann said:

Sorry you had some  a few very rude passengers on your  cruise. That is indeed an anomaly based on  my past experiences. 

 

Ditto. I wonder if increased rudeness correlates to increased disappointment in missed ports or other anticipated changes (coupled with the entitlement mentality and lack of "doing one's homework").

 

In any case, glad to hear that you two had a great time.

[Hanoj]

5 hours ago, molymoo said:

 

Mars was a lovely ship and the crew was amazing.  Viking crews are always fabulous, but this crew seemed to take things to another level.  So friendly, so patient, and so accommodating.  Honestly there was absolutely nothing to complain about at any point in the cruise.  That said, however, this was probably the rudest group of passengers we have encountered on any of our (21) Viking cruises!  Don’t get me wrong … most of the passengers were great, but the relatively few who weren’t were so obnoxious as to really stand out.  Most of the rudeness was directed at the crew in the form of complaints, demands, and snapping of fingers, etc. but some bordered on aggression and what I would consider to be bordering on threatening behavior.  We thought perhaps it was us but in conversations with other passengers we found that others had the same observations.

 

 

So, I hope it wouldn't be premature for Viking to add another "no" to its marketing comparisons to other cruise lines . . . "no brawls."

 

My observation is the "relatively few so obnoxious" are fewer than in the past, but seem to be more willing to exhibit reprehensible behaviors making these extremes more apparent. Some of these petulant narcissists act as if with impunity. 

 

@molymoo, thank you for your review comments, including about other passengers. 

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, Hanoj said:

Some of these petulant narcissists act as if with impunity. 

Very good observation.
 

When I first learned about the seven deadly sins, I thought “how bad can narcissism be?” In the age of social media, influencers, pay for clicks, lack of self-awareness, selfishness, inconsideration, rudeness, etc. I now believe it’s one of the deadliest. 
 

It’s also a component of the crazy conspiracy theories that people buy into. “I know what’s really going on so it makes me special”

[Redtravel]

We are booked on Mars in August.  This will be our 3rd attempt to be on Viking to celebrate our anniversary.  In 2019, we decided to celebrate our 50th anniversary in August 2020 Into the a midnight Sun.  Sadly the pandemic stopped cruising.  We put our plan on hold.  We booked again for August 2023. Sadly we had a medical emergency and had to cancel plans.  Into the Midnight Sun isn’t sailing this year in August.  Instead we chose to book Iceland, Greenland, and Canada. Thanks for posting your review.  I am getting excited.  

[Peregrina651]

I'm looking forward to hearing your review. I am hoping to do this or else the Reykjavik to Bergen eventually and would like to do it in late summer.

[CCWineLover]

18 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Very good observation.
 

When I first learned about the seven deadly sins, I thought “how bad can narcissism be?” In the age of social media, influencers, pay for clicks, lack of self-awareness, selfishness, inconsideration, rudeness, etc. I now believe it’s one of the deadliest. 
 

It’s also a component of the crazy conspiracy theories that people buy into. “I know what’s really going on so it makes me special”

Totally agree with you all.

We just finished Bergen to Reykjavik.  We've done quite a number of Viking cruises since COVID  (see signature) with more to come.  We also commented that each cruise seems to be a bit worse in the passenger bad behavior category.  Our theory was that social media has inflamed people to become even more entitled and more aggressive and obnoxious.  Lots of anger and venting at Viking personnel.   I spoke this time with one of the Guest Services people after having to overhear her being totally harrassed by a self-important passenger.  I commiserated with her and she confirmed that to her it has been getting worse each cruise.

 

I guess it is just a new factor we have to take into account when cruising in the future.  Didn't someone once say Social Media will finally be the death of us all ?

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

Didn't someone once say Social Media will finally be the death of us all ?

I’ve said that pay for clicks will end civilization as we know it.

[TayanaLorna]

On 7/11/2024 at 11:06 AM, Peregrina651 said:

E, my sister, who disembarked the day you embarked, was wondering if you got into Iceland and is a bit jealous that you got to Newfoundland. One of the ice pilots did say that this is the worst they have seen in 30 years. Her feeling was she preferred her early June sailing to the crowds of the summer months.

 

 

Ditto. I wonder if increased rudeness correlates to increased disappointment in missed ports or other anticipated changes (coupled with the entitlement mentality and lack of "doing one's homework").

 

In any case, glad to hear that you two had a great time.

Re "increased rudeness...disappointment in missed ports".  The different Viking FB groups were loaded with folks loudly complaining about this.

[SJD117]

4 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

Re "increased rudeness...disappointment in missed ports".  The different Viking FB groups were loaded with folks loudly complaining about this.

One way to avoid cruise ship complainers is to not go on the cruise in the first place — to instead travel on your own, make your own plans, and set your own pace. That approach can also increase your chances of visiting a particular destination.

 

Example: Back in 2019, our TA from Bergen to Montreal missed the Shetland Islands in Scotland. We understood the captain’s decision to skip the port (Lerwick) for weather-related reasons. Still, it was frustrating to miss a place we really, really wanted to visit. How could we get to the Shetlands?

 

Problem solved! We spent three weeks in Scotland last month, including three days in the Shetlands and five in the nearby Orkney Islands. The leisurely itinerary allowed us to design our trip around the very reliable Northlink ferry schedule. And we didn’t have to listen to a single cruise complainer along the way.

[R2cruiser]

We were also on this cruise and had a wonderful time. The crew was amazing and pivoted quickly to add activities to the unexpected sea days. Fortunately, we did not observe any of the rude behavior you mentioned. 

[Mich3554]

On 7/12/2024 at 7:50 AM, CCWineLover said:

Totally agree with you all.

We just finished Bergen to Reykjavik.  We've done quite a number of Viking cruises since COVID  (see signature) with more to come.  We also commented that each cruise seems to be a bit worse in the passenger bad behavior category.  Our theory was that social media has inflamed people to become even more entitled and more aggressive and obnoxious.  Lots of anger and venting at Viking personnel.   I spoke this time with one of the Guest Services people after having to overhear her being totally harrassed by a self-important passenger.  I commiserated with her and she confirmed that to her it has been getting worse each cruise.

 

I guess it is just a new factor we have to take into account when cruising in the future.  Didn't someone once say Social Media will finally be the death of us all ?

I’ve been noticing this too.  I think the absolute worst behavior I encountered was when we did the Northern Lights cruise earlier this year.  We were on the sailing where we got trapped in Tromso by a raging Norwegian Sea and we wound up getting airlifted out of Tromso to London, and those passengers waiting to get on in London got flown to Tromso.

It was a crappy situation, but there was NOTHING Viking could do other than give us weather reports about the sea.  They sounded brutal, and I am very glad that Viking played this conservatively.  They let us know what was going on every step of the way, and once they made the decision to fly us to London, it was less than 12 hours between the time they made the announcement and we got specific instructions on what and how this was going to happen.  I cannot fault Viking in the least, and have absolutely no idea how they could have done anything else.
However, this woman was traveling with her family of 6 and every single room we were in she was railing at someone.  You simply couldn’t escape her, WC, Living Room, Explorers Lounge, she was everywhere.  She took her story to social media…..leaving out a few important aspects of the story……and I called her on it.  I guess that embarrassed her, and she left.  I hated hearing her as Guest Services, bartenders and waitstaff all were treated like crap as if this was their fault.  She made me embarrassed to be the same nationality as her.  
We got a very decent voucher from Viking, which fully covered our river cruise in Bordeaux we are taking in Sept.