Review of Viking Star from first time Viking cruiser

[TayanaLorna]

8 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

The thing of it is that my favourite food is Asian.  My husband is also Chinese so I know pretty well my Asian food and what is authentic vs. the North American version.  BUT, if I were to order a stir fry on a Viking ship, or even the Dan Dan Noodles that everyone talks about... I am not expecting it to be the same as the Dan Dan Noodles that we ate in Sichuan province in China.  I will try it and if it does not meet my expectations then I won't have it again... but I also don't expect it to be truly authentic...  I won't however tell you that it did not meet my expectations because mine are very different from most when it comes to Asian food.

I grew up in Chicago when there were very distinct ethnic neighborhoods with locally run restaurants - Chinese, German, Polish, Italian, Swedish, Greek, Korean...  Now i live in Puerto Rico where the "asian" restaurants feature fried chicken and french fries and most ethnic restaurants do not exist.  I love Puerto Rican food but i am so happy to dine on a Viking ship and have other choices even if they are not up to that localities standard.

[ural guy]

OP, thanks for posting.  We're on the Star for our first ocean cruise of any type in January, so reassuring to hear she is in good shape.  I had noticed it was the oldest ship so had slight concerns...more of the little tweaks for the better that sometimes happen after you build a few of something.

 

Have been on 5 river cruises with various lines, so looking forward to stretching out on the larger vessel.

[2blueyam]

I believe the Star is going in for some refurbishment between November 11th and December 2nd, so parts of it should look even newer if you sail in December or later. I am hoping they add the drawers in the DV closets, although we will be fine without them.

[AZ_Tim]

On 8/19/2024 at 3:27 PM, 2blueyam said:

I believe the Star is going in for some refurbishment between November 11th and December 2nd, so parts of it should look even newer if you sail in December or later. I am hoping they add the drawers in the DV closets, although we will be fine without them.

We were on the Star last November/December. Some of the comments I made on the end-of-cruise review were about things I thought they should do the next time the Star went in for refurbishment, with adding the chest of drawers to the closet at the top of my list. I also suggested that they add the windows that open in the pool area, like they have on the newest ships. We'll have to wait and see if Viking listened to requests like these for updating their older ships.

 

Our experiences on Viking have been similar to what OP described. I have had only one disappointing meal in the Restaurant, that was one evening I ordered the New York strip steak. When I had the steak before, it had always come out exactly the way I ordered it, but this one time, it came out much rarer than I like, and had to have them re-do it. But I did not let that ruin my whole dinner, much less my attitude about Viking as a whole. As others have said, things don't always go the way you want or expect. Just get over it and move on.

[Peregrina651]

 I can't be the only person who does not like the drawers taking up the hanging space in closet space. We hang a lot of clothing and with the drawers I get just half a bar to work with (I'm too short to use the bar over the drawers).

 

Can they put them in DV1, 2 & 3 cabins and leave the rest untouched?

[lackcreativity]

42 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 I can't be the only person who does not like the drawers taking up the hanging space in closet space.

You are not alone! I always need to ask for extra hangers since I like to hang most of my things. 

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, lackcreativity said:

You are not alone!

 

 

Whew!

[Redtravel]

Whatever they do, some people will like it and others will not. It’s hard to please everyone.  Viking cabins are better than many other cruise lines.  They are functional.  Some cabins are small. Some are big. Want more space, book a bigger cabin.  On cruises, space in cabin may or may not matter.  I know people who book the biggest suite.  I also know people who book the cheapest cabin.  Only you can decide what cabin works best for you. It’s no wonder that cruise cabins book from both ends.  The big suites and the cheapest cabins sell out first.  There are added features that come when you book a suite.  Only you can decide if those features are important to you.