Back from BIE cruise - review and thoughts

[longterm]

We just returned from a British Isles Explorer cruise, which ended in Bergen on July 18th; we were on the Viking Neptune. While it's still fresh in my mind, I thought I'd share our thoughts and experiences. This is a long review, so you may or may not make it to the end, but I'll try to be succinct.

We arrived in London 5 days early, and had a great time seeing the city; the Viking Saturn was scheduled to dock in Greenwich on the 4th, at which time we'd board and then spend the day in Greenwich seeing the museum, Cutty Sark, and the Greenwich Market.

Due to high wind, the ship docked in Tilbury instead; this messed up our plans, since we had scheduled a dinner meetup in Greenwich with a friend. To make things work, we checked out of the hotel on the 4th, but left our bags, and spent the day in Greenwich, saw our friend, had a great day. The Maritime Museum didn't disappoint, but for us one of the jewels was the Cutty Sark, which is beautiful and worth seeing if you're a boat-lover as I am. 

Then, we went back to the hotel, fetched our bags, and took an Uber to Tilbury and the ship. So now for a review of the cruise:

Checkin was smooth and easy; our stateroom was as expected, neat, clean, ready for us. Beds are firm but workable, pillows satisfactory but certainly not my favorite feather pillows like at home. 

FOOD - We found the food to be excellent, easily on par with previous cruises, if not a little bit better. Service was top-notch as always, and contrary to some reports, we found everything to be as good or better than our previous cruises. 

I was only able to book 1 Manfredi's and 1 Chef's Table beforehand; although ppl. online assured that there would be plenty of availability once on board, this turned out NOT to be true. I was able to add a booking for 7:30pm at Manfredi's on a 6-top--not an optimum time for us, and we had hoped for at least one night in Manfredi's on a 2-top. That wasn't to be; our other reservation was on a 4-top at 6pm; when we arrived, we were seated at a 6-top, in a restaurant that was 2/3 full; to make matters worse, one of the diners insisted on expressing his political leanings 3 times before he realized that no one wanted to hear it. What a jerk. 

I was very disappointed that we were seated on a 6-top when there were lots of empty tables that night, probably due to the Cafe offering lobster that night; an email to Viking is in the near future.

The dining reservation situation stinks, in my opinion; we enjoyed the Restaurant very much however, and ate most of our meals there. Food there was very good, as it was in the cafe as well--especially the Dan Dan Noodles, which we had quite a few times.

Manfredi's disappointed in the service; there were 4 mistakes in our service:
  - I was served fish instead of the steak I ordered;
  - Another diner at our table got a steak not cooked properly;
 - He also didn't receive his 1st course as ordered; 
 - Desserts came out all mixed up and we had to shuffle things around

This never happened at the Restaurant; I was very surprised at how poor our service was that night.

EXCURSIONS - I booked 5 days of private tours for my wife and me; because we weren't able to dock in Dover due to high wind, we were unable to do that day, but the other 4 were really excellent and I'll definitely book private tour guides again on our next cruise. 

However, the freebie excursions were, without exception, a waste of time; the Liverpool drive-around was particularly awful, but Ullapool, where the town offers almost nothing worth seeing, was also without any redeeming quality. The hour's drive back and forth to Inverness (from Invergordon) was also substandard; we were chatted to there and back, but once we arrived in Inverness we had 75 minutes to go into the town--which meant 15 minutes to the city center, 45 minutes to browse, 15 minutes walking back. Not much to recommend this tour either. The Dublin excursion was okay, but St. Patrick's was mobbed and not much fun, then we did manage to walk about and see the city a bit.

 

In Dublin, we took advantage of the afternoon to go to Trinity College, which was a huge disappointment; I was looking forward to seeing the Book of Kells; what we got was a view of a single page, which appeared to be a table of contents--what a letdown. The Long Room was almost empty of all its books, but was a pretty room but again a disappointment. Oh well... not Viking's fault.

I managed to get some sort of bug for a day, so Edinburgh was unfortunately a washout and I never left the room that day. Bounced back the next day though.

HIGH POINTS - We booked private tour guides in Dover (which we missed due to wind), Belfast, Holyhead Wales, Orkney, and Shetlands. All of these were spectacular, but the shining star was Orkney, where our day was particularly excellent. I would HIGHLY recommend a private guide there--there is so much to see, and a Viking excursion barely touches on all the ancient sites there. Holyhead Wales was really interesting, as was Belfast, where we got to see the Giant's Causeway, the Rope Bridge, and also the city itself, where we drove about and saw so much interesting history.

WEATHER - Online reports put the weather at everything from chilly and windy, to warm and dry; as it turned out, it was on the chilly side every day once we boarded the ship, and we never wore shorts. There was misty rain almost every day, but somehow it always cleared up enough for some spectucular photos and wonderful days. I brought convertible pants from REI, and they worked great; my wife wore her scarf almost every day, and we had windbreakers which were the perfect light jackets for us. 

BERGEN - We did the Norway in a Nutshell daylong excursions into the fjords; while it was beautiful and full of great views, it made for a long day with 3 separate train rides, a 2-hour boat ride on a fjord (about an hour too long in my opinion), and a 90-minute bus ride in a cramped bus. I'd skip this if I were going to go back, although the views were gorgeous. 

CONCLUSION - The Viking Neptune was perfect; the crew were without exception first-rate. Our bridge tour was fun and interesting; the captain was a nice guy, very willing to answer questions. Our room stewards were wonderful and as good as we have always had; service in the restaurants was always excellent, friendly, prompt; except for the service issues in Manfredi's, all our food experiences were perfect. Would we recommend the BIE? Absolutely; we know so much more about the UK now, and have already considered a land tour of Scotland for the future. I won't critique the musicians, because as a professional musicians I'm a tougher audience than most; suffice to say, I've heard worse. 🙂

 

 

 

 

[millybess]

@longterm Thanks for the very informative review.  We have this cruise booked out of Bergen about the same time of year.  We are planning on spending several days in Stockholm (one of our favourite cities) before the cruise and then flying to Bergen.

 

Once we reach London we are doing one of the post extensions.

 

Very nice photos.  

[longterm]

I forgot to mention one really great thing that happened on our cruise:

 

When we were having lunch in the World Cafe, a man walked by, and I thought he looked familiar, but gave it no further thought.

Then, the next day my wife and I were playing Scrabble in the Atrium; when we were debating a game rule, a man walked by and commented on the rule, and I heard the voice. "Hey, what is your first name?"

He said, "Damon." An unusual first name, to be sure; I responded with his last name, and his jaw dropped.

"You've tuned my piano many times!" I said. He didn't recognize me yet, and his wife, who was next to him, said, "If you tell him the brand, he'll know who you are." 

I replied, "Kawai 6-foot grand." He immediately said, "Bob?"

It turns out that Damon, who owned a piano services company in Nashville, tuned my piano for more than 10 years; he's since sold his company to his son, but he and his technicians had been to my house many times over the years. He's a piano player like me, and both of us were in the music industry, touring with various artists there, and he also had his company. 

Small world! In a ship with 930 passengers, and when Viking has many thousands of passengers per year, we ran into each other; we had dinner with Damon and his wife several times on the cruise, and it was a great surprise. 

[millybess]

That's a cool story.

 

On the last evening of the first segment of our b2b cruise last year, a couple who were disembarking the next morning were looking to join a trivia team.  They sat with us and it so happened that they were members of our golf club.  Now we see them around all the time.

 

Small world really.   

[CCWineLover]

9 hours ago, longterm said:

We just returned from a British Isles Explorer cruise, which ended in Bergen on July 18th; we were on the Viking Neptune. While it's still fresh in my mind, I thought I'd share our thoughts and experiences. This is a long review, so you may or may not make it to the end, but I'll try to be succinct.

We arrived in London 5 days early, and had a great time seeing the city; the Viking Saturn was scheduled to dock in Greenwich on the 4th, at which time we'd board and then spend the day in Greenwich seeing the museum, Cutty Sark, and the Greenwich Market.

Due to high wind, the ship docked in Tilbury instead; this messed up our plans, since we had scheduled a dinner meetup in Greenwich with a friend. To make things work, we checked out of the hotel on the 4th, but left our bags, and spent the day in Greenwich, saw our friend, had a great day. The Maritime Museum didn't disappoint, but for us one of the jewels was the Cutty Sark, which is beautiful and worth seeing if you're a boat-lover as I am. 

Then, we went back to the hotel, fetched our bags, and took an Uber to Tilbury and the ship. So now for a review of the cruise:

Checkin was smooth and easy; our stateroom was as expected, neat, clean, ready for us. Beds are firm but workable, pillows satisfactory but certainly not my favorite feather pillows like at home. 

FOOD - We found the food to be excellent, easily on par with previous cruises, if not a little bit better. Service was top-notch as always, and contrary to some reports, we found everything to be as good or better than our previous cruises. 

I was only able to book 1 Manfredi's and 1 Chef's Table beforehand; although ppl. online assured that there would be plenty of availability once on board, this turned out NOT to be true. I was able to add a booking for 7:30pm at Manfredi's on a 6-top--not an optimum time for us, and we had hoped for at least one night in Manfredi's on a 2-top. That wasn't to be; our other reservation was on a 4-top at 6pm; when we arrived, we were seated at a 6-top, in a restaurant that was 2/3 full; to make matters worse, one of the diners insisted on expressing his political leanings 3 times before he realized that no one wanted to hear it. What a jerk. 

I was very disappointed that we were seated on a 6-top when there were lots of empty tables that night, probably due to the Cafe offering lobster that night; an email to Viking is in the near future.

The dining reservation situation stinks, in my opinion; we enjoyed the Restaurant very much however, and ate most of our meals there. Food there was very good, as it was in the cafe as well--especially the Dan Dan Noodles, which we had quite a few times.

Manfredi's disappointed in the service; there were 4 mistakes in our service:
  - I was served fish instead of the steak I ordered;
  - Another diner at our table got a steak not cooked properly;
 - He also didn't receive his 1st course as ordered; 
 - Desserts came out all mixed up and we had to shuffle things around

This never happened at the Restaurant; I was very surprised at how poor our service was that night.

EXCURSIONS - I booked 5 days of private tours for my wife and me; because we weren't able to dock in Dover due to high wind, we were unable to do that day, but the other 4 were really excellent and I'll definitely book private tour guides again on our next cruise. 

However, the freebie excursions were, without exception, a waste of time; the Liverpool drive-around was particularly awful, but Ullapool, where the town offers almost nothing worth seeing, was also without any redeeming quality. The hour's drive back and forth to Inverness (from Invergordon) was also substandard; we were chatted to there and back, but once we arrived in Inverness we had 75 minutes to go into the town--which meant 15 minutes to the city center, 45 minutes to browse, 15 minutes walking back. Not much to recommend this tour either. The Dublin excursion was okay, but St. Patrick's was mobbed and not much fun, then we did manage to walk about and see the city a bit.

 

In Dublin, we took advantage of the afternoon to go to Trinity College, which was a huge disappointment; I was looking forward to seeing the Book of Kells; what we got was a view of a single page, which appeared to be a table of contents--what a letdown. The Long Room was almost empty of all its books, but was a pretty room but again a disappointment. Oh well... not Viking's fault.

I managed to get some sort of bug for a day, so Edinburgh was unfortunately a washout and I never left the room that day. Bounced back the next day though.

HIGH POINTS - We booked private tour guides in Dover (which we missed due to wind), Belfast, Holyhead Wales, Orkney, and Shetlands. All of these were spectacular, but the shining star was Orkney, where our day was particularly excellent. I would HIGHLY recommend a private guide there--there is so much to see, and a Viking excursion barely touches on all the ancient sites there. Holyhead Wales was really interesting, as was Belfast, where we got to see the Giant's Causeway, the Rope Bridge, and also the city itself, where we drove about and saw so much interesting history.

WEATHER - Online reports put the weather at everything from chilly and windy, to warm and dry; as it turned out, it was on the chilly side every day once we boarded the ship, and we never wore shorts. There was misty rain almost every day, but somehow it always cleared up enough for some spectucular photos and wonderful days. I brought convertible pants from REI, and they worked great; my wife wore her scarf almost every day, and we had windbreakers which were the perfect light jackets for us. 

BERGEN - We did the Norway in a Nutshell daylong excursions into the fjords; while it was beautiful and full of great views, it made for a long day with 3 separate train rides, a 2-hour boat ride on a fjord (about an hour too long in my opinion), and a 90-minute bus ride in a cramped bus. I'd skip this if I were going to go back, although the views were gorgeous. 

CONCLUSION - The Viking Neptune was perfect; the crew were without exception first-rate. Our bridge tour was fun and interesting; the captain was a nice guy, very willing to answer questions. Our room stewards were wonderful and as good as we have always had; service in the restaurants was always excellent, friendly, prompt; except for the service issues in Manfredi's, all our food experiences were perfect. Would we recommend the BIE? Absolutely; we know so much more about the UK now, and have already considered a land tour of Scotland for the future. I won't critique the musicians, because as a professional musicians I'm a tougher audience than most; suffice to say, I've heard worse. 🙂

 

 

 

 

Bob - what a wonderful review to read.  Thank you so much for taking the time to put it all together while it was fresh in your mind.  You've given us some good information and ideas for the future!

[Breckski]

9 hours ago, longterm said:

I was only able to book 1 Manfredi's and 1 Chef's Table beforehand; although ppl. online assured that there would be plenty of availability once on board, this turned out NOT to be true. I was able to add a booking for 7:30pm at Manfredi's on a 6-top--not an optimum time for us, and we had hoped for at least one night in Manfredi's on a 2-top. That wasn't to be; our other reservation was on a 4-top at 6pm; when we arrived, we were seated at a 6-top, in a restaurant that was 2/3 full; to make matters worse, one of the diners insisted on expressing his political leanings 3 times before he realized that no one wanted to hear it. What a jerk. 
 

We were on a Svalbard cruise about a month ago and thought the specialty restaurants had much less availability.  We were in a ES3 stateroom so had 3 booking for each.  We noticed the first night on the cruise there was a bit of an argument going on between the passengers and the staff relating to reservations.  We could hear it all as we had to wait for the issue to be resolved.  In this instance the passengers didn't reserve a table before disembarkation and were having issues getting a suitable table for them during the entire duration of the 14-night cruise.

 

Then later on in the cruise, I noticed on MVJ that Viking had cancelled 2 of our reservations.  I called the reservation line to complain and was told someone could only have 2 visits per restaurant.  I explained our situation based on the stateroom category, but they would not re-instate our reservations.  I had to get customer services involved to remedy.

 

During the cruise we noticed much more lengthy discussions when getting seated for dinner at these restaurants, and the discussions always seemed to be around reservations.  In the end, we decided the specialty restaurants are either much more popular than in the past or Viking had intentionally limited capacity.  Our cruise wasn't full (750 passengers), so maybe they reduced capacity in these restaurants based on bookings???

[CCWineLover]

1 minute ago, Breckski said:

We were on a Svalbard cruise about a month ago and thought the specialty restaurants had much less availability.  We were in a ES3 stateroom so had 3 booking for each.  We noticed the first night on the cruise there was a bit of an argument going on between the passengers and the staff relating to reservations.  We could hear it all as we had to wait for the issue to be resolved.  In this instance the passengers didn't reserve a table before disembarkation and were having issues getting a suitable table for them during the entire duration of the 14-night cruise.

 

Then later on in the cruise, I noticed on MVJ that Viking had cancelled 2 of our reservations.  I called the reservation line to complain and was told someone could only have 2 visits per restaurant.  I explained our situation based on the stateroom category, but they would not re-instate our reservations.  I had to get customer services involved to remedy.

 

During the cruise we noticed much more lengthy discussions when getting seated for dinner at these restaurants, and the discussions always seemed to be around reservations.  In the end, we decided the specialty restaurants are either much more popular than in the past or Viking had intentionally limited capacity.  Our cruise wasn't full (750 passengers), so maybe they reduced capacity in these restaurants based on bookings???

We were on Svalbard Iceland cruise last June on Mars.  We had 900 people though.  We also noticed this at the Chef's Table.  Hard to get reservations at all, especially for 2!  But when we went the first time, it seemed pretty wide open.  So later in the cruise we went down to CT with no reservation and just went standby.  They said we'd likely wait only 20 minutes max, as they have so many no-shows (people who don't even bother to call and cancel).  Sure enough, we got in just fine.

Another time was rough seas and I jokingly suggested that we go to CT again standby (we don't get seasick).  Sure enough, it was quite empty and we got right in at 7:30!

Who knows how it all works!

[OneSixtyToOne]

7 minutes ago, Breckski said:

so maybe they reduced capacity in these restaurants based on bookings???

Or staffing

[OneSixtyToOne]

4 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

We were on Svalbard Iceland cruise last June on Mars.  We had 900 people though.  We also noticed this at the Chef's Table.  Hard to get reservations at all, especially for 2!  But when we went the first time, it seemed pretty wide open.  So later in the cruise we went down to CT with no reservation and just went standby.  They said we'd likely wait only 20 minutes max, as they have so many no-shows (people who don't even bother to call and cancel).  Sure enough, we got in just fine.

Another time was rough seas and I jokingly suggested that we go to CT again standby (we don't get seasick).  Sure enough, it was quite empty and we got right in at 7:30!

Who knows how it all works!

 

I saw someone state that since they wait 15-20 minutes to cancel no shows, go down at quarter pass or quarter before the hour and you might get right in.

[SJD117]

@longterm  We spent three weeks in Scotland last month, a visit that included five days in the Shetland Islands and three on Orkney. It was an excellent trip despite my Covid diagnosis in Lerwick!

If you do decide to pursue a Scotland land tour, let us know and we’ll tell you more about what we did, where we stayed and ate, etc.

[CDNPolar]

21 hours ago, longterm said:

EXCURSIONS - I booked 5 days of private tours for my wife and me; because we weren't able to dock in Dover due to high wind, we were unable to do that day, but the other 4 were really excellent and I'll definitely book private tour guides again on our next cruise. 

However, the freebie excursions were, without exception, a waste of time; the Liverpool drive-around was particularly awful, but Ullapool, where the town offers almost nothing worth seeing, was also without any redeeming quality. The hour's drive back and forth to Inverness (from Invergordon) was also substandard; we were chatted to there and back, but once we arrived in Inverness we had 75 minutes to go into the town--which meant 15 minutes to the city center, 45 minutes to browse, 15 minutes walking back. Not much to recommend this tour either. The Dublin excursion was okay, but St. Patrick's was mobbed and not much fun, then we did manage to walk about and see the city a bit.

 

 

 

Thank you for a great review.  We don't do this until early 2026, BUT we plan way in advance - hence booking that far out.

 

We would be very appreciative if you would post the tour company and the names of the guides and the names of the tours that you booked privately?

 

We always have enjoyed private tours that were recommended by fellow CC members.  

Thanks!

[sharkster77]

@longterm, can you comment on the "roughness" of the ocean?  This itinerary has intrigued us, but we wonder about how rough North Sea waters can be.  I have balance issues and the ferry from the tip of Scotland to Orkney had a bit of rocking to it when we visited as part of a land tour two years ago.

 

Agree---Orkney was definitely a highlight of our 2022 Scotand tour.

[longterm]

2 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

@longterm, can you comment on the "roughness" of the ocean?  This itinerary has intrigued us, but we wonder about how rough North Sea waters can be.  I have balance issues and the ferry from the tip of Scotland to Orkney had a bit of rocking to it when we visited as part of a land tour two years ago.

 

Agree---Orkney was definitely a highlight of our 2022 Scotand tour.

The seas were rough but the ship didn't roll much at all; at night, when we were sailing around 30 knots, you could definitely feel the seas, but not enough to disturb our sleep.

The wind in London was high, so much that the ship was docked in Tilbury instead of Greenwich. We still spent the day in Greenwich, then took a car to Tilbury and boarded the ship, so we didn't miss out on visiting the Maritime Museum & Cutty Sark (which I really loved).

In Dover, the Captain tried to approach, but decided we needed to skip the port; the first word we got was from our private guide, who was waiting for us at the terminal. He emailed me, I called Guest Services and got a confirmation, and then an announcement went out over the P.A.

Other than those 2 days, the seas were fine, and our biggest concern was when we got to the Orkneys and Shetlands. For both of those, as well as all other ports, we were able to dock and absolutely loved Orkney--easily our favorite day among all of them, because of our private guide who took us to all the major archaeological sites.

I would strongly recommend a private guide there (we used Garry Donohoe at ToursByLocals); the Viking excursions went to one or two sites, while we went to about 8, had an incredible seafood lunch, really got to see some amazing places in Orkney and its environs.

My wife can have issues with seasickness, but it wasn't a problem for her on this cruise; the North Sea, once we got away from London & Dover, wasn't a problem at all.

 

[Azulann]

Thank you so much for a  very detailed review. I. love your pictures.

 The encounter of your piano tuner is a great story.  Love these "chance" encounters especially on a cruise or vacation.

 

[Newdaytrippers]

9 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Thank you for a great review.  We don't do this until early 2026, BUT we plan way in advance - hence booking that far out.

 

We would be very appreciative if you would post the tour company and the names of the guides and the names of the tours that you booked privately?

 

We always have enjoyed private tours that were recommended by fellow CC members.  

Thanks!

We had an amazing day in the Shetland Islands on a private tour with a retired family practitioner, David Malcolm.  He lives up the road from Carol and her ponies.  Highly recommend him.  We customized our tour and he accommodated my husband’s mobility needs by text well in advance.  We drove by the ponies, walked around Lerwick where the show “Shetland” was filmed, toured the Shetland Bus museum (a must-see), ate fabulous fish and chips at a local university, walked through thatched cottage ruins and so much more.  He was recommended to us on this site.  Www.Shetland.org 

[jerrybdds46]

Thank you for posting your thoughts and pictures. My wife and I will be doing this cruise in June 2025.

[Think_Big_Island]

On 7/20/2024 at 9:20 AM, sharkster77 said:

@longterm, can you comment on the "roughness" of the ocean?  This itinerary has intrigued us, but we wonder about how rough North Sea waters can be.  I have balance issues and the ferry from the tip of Scotland to Orkney had a bit of rocking to it when we visited as part of a land tour two years ago.

 

Agree---Orkney was definitely a highlight of our 2022 Scotand tour.

We were on the cruise just before this (left Greenwich 1 July) and apart from noticing the rough seas when I got up to in the middle of the night on our way to Bergen It was much calmer than I was expecting.  This was our experiment as I can get very sea sick but I had no issues at all and the cruise was amazing!

[Mich3554]

On 7/19/2024 at 3:41 PM, Breckski said:

 

 

During the cruise we noticed much more lengthy discussions when getting seated for dinner at these restaurants, and the discussions always seemed to be around reservations.  In the end, we decided the specialty restaurants are either much more popular than in the past or Viking had intentionally limited capacity.  Our cruise wasn't full (750 passengers), so maybe they reduced capacity in these restaurants based on bookings???

I was on a galley tour put on by the chef who did CT.  I asked why there were a lot of free tables, even on full reservation nights.  The number of reservations allowed are dictated by the complexity of the menu and how many plates of food they can compose in a certain amount of time over the evening without impacting quality.  The complexity of the menu varies as to how labor intensive it is, so certain menus will allow more reservations than others.

[CDNPolar]

16 hours ago, Mich3554 said:

I was on a galley tour put on by the chef who did CT.  I asked why there were a lot of free tables, even on full reservation nights.  The number of reservations allowed are dictated by the complexity of the menu and how many plates of food they can compose in a certain amount of time over the evening without impacting quality.  The complexity of the menu varies as to how labor intensive it is, so certain menus will allow more reservations than others.

 

So, if I read what you are saying correctly, when I am in the Chef's Table and there are empty tables, it does not mean that there is room for more to dine, they could be at their capacity based on the complexity of the menu and the ability to serve the guests in a timely manner while keeping quality.

 

Hmmmm... Interesting.  Never thought of it this way.  I would have thought that they would be able to serve a full room and even turn that room over once.

[Mich3554]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

So, if I read what you are saying correctly, when I am in the Chef's Table and there are empty tables, it does not mean that there is room for more to dine, they could be at their capacity based on the complexity of the menu and the ability to serve the guests in a timely manner while keeping quality.

 

Hmmmm... Interesting.  Never thought of it this way.  I would have thought that they would be able to serve a full room and even turn that room over once.

Exactly.  The amount of dinners that they can serve varies by the menu.  There are some menus where they can serve more people than others. 
 The space that they work in back there is ridiculously small, and half is for Manfredi’s.