Regent or Viking Ocean?

We are booked on future cruises on both Regent and Viking. Regent Tokyo to Vancouver and Viking transatlantic Bergen to Montreal. We have sailed on both previously.

Call it luxury, semi luxury, quasi luxury, premium, whatever, Viking is offering an incredible product that we enjoy. I think we will miss the retractable roof over the pool area on the Tokyo to Vancouver ! We're looking forward to both cruises equally. Looking forward to seeing Mariner after refurb. Have sailed it before.

We found the food on Viking equal or better than Regent. I'm sure anyone with an open mind would enjoy either for a cruise.

I would also add that Viking has cruises fully booked in 2019. You cannot deny their recent success and I believe it correlates to the quality of the product.

This thread is very helpful and interesting to read. Thanks BP for info and photographs.

At the end of the day the cruise style name of luxury, premium, premium plus whatever is just a name.

If the cruiser enjoys it and feels they have had excellent service in food and accommodation that's good enough for me. It's only a name and each persons take on any of the descriptions are different.

I feel this looks like a good fit for the price as Regent is currently making it less affordable for any of us.

Thanks for this valuable thread. Jean

At the end of the day the cruise style name of luxury, premium, premium plus whatever is just a name.

If the cruiser enjoys it and feels they have had excellent service in food and accommodation that's good enough for me. It's only a name and each persons take on any of the descriptions are different.

Jean, amen. That's the exact same thing I was thinking here and on another thread where someone insisted the cruise industry just had to be subject to a star rating system. Whatever category, however many stars, etc. doesn't matter a whit if the cruise doesn't meet your expectations.

Jean, amen. That's the exact same thing I was thinking here and on another thread where someone insisted the cruise industry just had to be subject to a star rating system. Whatever category, however many stars, etc. doesn't matter a whit if the cruise doesn't meet your expectations.

Bill, I've been following the same thread about "stars" and agree with you with somewhat. However, IMO, there needs to be some way to differentiate between cruise lines - just as there are with hotels in the U.S. For some reason, it is much easier to have a standard for hotels than it is for cruise lines. So, while stars do not necessarily matter, a basic standard does matter to me. The best example for me is Oceania and Regent. Two of Oceania's ships are more beautiful than the Voyager, Navigator or Mariner but, from sailing on one of them twice, it is not a luxury experience (again, comparing to Regent). There are certainly aspects of Oceania that are luxury but not the experience overall.

Paul's list (above) is very interesting. Does individually wrapped apples make Viking Ocean luxury? Does an engaging Cruise Director (I have yet to find one more engaging than John Barron). The poolside movies sound like a lot of fun but this can easily be done on Carnival or any other cruise line (it is a unique idea). Yesterday I was reading about the Norwegian Bliss that will debut next summer. It will have some of the most amazing things (restaurants, race tracks, etc.) that I have ever seen on a ship (it will carry 4,000 passengers). They have a wine bar - I believe a whiskey bar ...... the photos of these areas look amazing. But, does this make NCL a luxury cruise line? There is another new build (can't recall the cruise line) that will have an underwater lounge. This is definitely the most unique item that I have heard of that will be on a cruise ship.

Just food for thought! I do think that Azamara, Oceania and Viking Ocean are great products and a good alternative for a lower cost cruise line. But, again, without standards, there is little difference between mainstream, premium, premium plus and luxury (at least in the eyes of the beholder).

Bill, I've been following the same thread about "stars" and agree with you with somewhat. However, IMO, there needs to be some way to differentiate between cruise lines - just as there are with hotels in the U.S. For some reason, it is much easier to have a standard for hotels than it is for cruise lines. So, while stars do not necessarily matter, a basic standard does matter to me. The best example for me is Oceania and Regent. Two of Oceania's ships are more beautiful than the Voyager, Navigator or Mariner but, from sailing on one of them twice, it is not a luxury experience (again, comparing to Regent). There are certainly aspects of Oceania that are luxury but not the experience overall.

 

Paul's list (above) is very interesting. Does individually wrapped apples make Viking Ocean luxury? Does an engaging Cruise Director (I have yet to find one more engaging than John Barron). The poolside movies sound like a lot of fun but this can easily be done on Carnival or any other cruise line (it is a unique idea). Yesterday I was reading about the Norwegian Bliss that will debut next summer. It will have some of the most amazing things (restaurants, race tracks, etc.) that I have ever seen on a ship (it will carry 4,000 passengers). They have a wine bar - I believe a whiskey bar ...... the photos of these areas look amazing. But, does this make NCL a luxury cruise line? There is another new build (can't recall the cruise line) that will have an underwater lounge. This is definitely the most unique item that I have heard of that will be on a cruise ship.

 

Just food for thought! I do think that Azamara, Oceania and Viking Ocean are great products and a good alternative for a lower cost cruise line. But, again, without standards, there is little difference between mainstream, premium, premium plus and luxury (at least in the eyes of the beholder).

Jackie,

Your post just reinforces my belief that a rating system for cruises is practically worthless. While there are rating systems for hotels (that work fairly well), a hotel is just that - a hotel. There may be restaurants or other entertainment, but they're rarely a destination. A cruise, on the other hand, is like a hotel. And restaurants. And entertainment. And tour guides. And taxi service. And air travel. And casinos, and shows, and everything else the cruise industry provides. When you go to a hotel, it's usually a part of a vacation, whereas a cruise IS the vacation. Imagine trying to rate a hotel if they flew you there, picked you up at the airport, took you on local tours, fed you 3 meals a day, put on shows, delivered room service 24/7, and still had to have an accessible friendly staff. Those facts alone are why I don't think there will ever be a useful rating system for the cruise industry.

Like you said, what makes a luxury experience? Is it being in a luxurious enclave on a floating city? Open air movies? Undersea lounges? There are just so many variables you can't really summarize them all in one rating scale.

Either way, I'm going to finish stuff up here and get ready to fly out to our 4.5/5/6 star, near-luxury/luxury/ultra-luxury cruise. I don't care what it's called or how many stars it has, I'm gonna have a good time.

That's a great attitude Bill !

The same one we travel with !

Jackie,

 

 

 

Your post just reinforces my belief that a rating system for cruises is practically worthless. While there are rating systems for hotels (that work fairly well), a hotel is just that - a hotel. There may be restaurants or other entertainment, but they're rarely a destination. A cruise, on the other hand, is like a hotel. And restaurants. And entertainment. And tour guides. And taxi service. And air travel. And casinos, and shows, and everything else the cruise industry provides. When you go to a hotel, it's usually a part of a vacation, whereas a cruise IS the vacation. Imagine trying to rate a hotel if they flew you there, picked you up at the airport, took you on local tours, fed you 3 meals a day, put on shows, delivered room service 24/7, and still had to have an accessible friendly staff. Those facts alone are why I don't think there will ever be a useful rating system for the cruise industry.

 

 

 

Like you said, what makes a luxury experience? Is it being in a luxurious enclave on a floating city? Open air movies? Undersea lounges? There are just so many variables you can't really summarize them all in one rating scale.

 

 

 

Either way, I'm going to finish stuff up here and get ready to fly out to our 4.5/5/6 star, near-luxury/luxury/ultra-luxury cruise. I don't care what it's called or how many stars it has, I'm gonna have a good time.

Wherever you are going, have a great time Bill!

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Wherever you are going, have a great time Bill!

 

 

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Thanks, BP. Baltic. Good time practically guaranteed.

Take good care of the Explorer, Bill. We get on as you get off the ship.

Have a great cruise.

This thread is very helpful and interesting to read. Thanks BP for info and photographs.

At the end of the day the cruise style name of luxury, premium, premium plus whatever is just a name.

If the cruiser enjoys it and feels they have had excellent service in food and accommodation that's good enough for me. It's only a name and each persons take on any of the descriptions are different.

I feel this looks like a good fit for the price as Regent is currently making it less affordable for any of us.

Thanks for this valuable thread. Jean

This is a very spot on observation. I would like to add that more and more, some people become crazed and the overuse of the word "luxury" DOES become some what of a blur. It reminds me of "nice jeans". There seem to be a lot of very smart and interesting people contributing to this thread and I hope it can continue.

Take good care of the Explorer, Bill. We get on as you get off the ship.

 

Have a great cruise.

Dave, will do. Maybe. ;)

I too am happy to have found this thread as we will be "newbies" on both cruise lines next year and it will be interesting (to say the least) to see how they compare in our eyes. We have mucked about on quite a number of cruise lines through the years and have always been drawn to interesting itineraries first and foremost. We have found two (one on each cruise line) that sparked our interest and look forward to both. For us the novelty of a new brand adds an additional spark to our cruise adventure (new ships to explore, new menus and new groups of people to mingle with all add a certain something extra to the cruise).

Could have written the above myself. ;)

We also are sailing on both Regent and Viking Ocean for the first time, coming up soon. I will echo other comments... thanks to everyone who is contributing to this thread. Lots of great information.

Yes, great information and I agree a very informative thread.

I believe I read that there is no Casino on Viking. Is this accurate?

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Based on what I reading on this thread, it seems like there are many Regent customers looking for a lower cost alternative. I find this extremely interesting. As many posters know, we tend to book higher end suites (PH and above). Based on the 2019/2020 brochure that we received yesterday, pricing for the lower categories is now what we paid for PH suites in the past. At the moment I'm trying to talk my DH into booking more reasonable accommodations. I guess we'll see how it goes on our 10 night Alaska cruise in a PH suite ...... with only 1 bathroom!

I believe I read that there is no Casino on Viking. Is this accurate?

 

 

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No Casino on Viking and would not be a deal breaker for us.

Based on what I reading on this thread, it seems like there are many Regent customers looking for a lower cost alternative. I find this extremely interesting. As many posters know, we tend to book higher end suites (PH and above). Based on the 2019/2020 brochure that we received yesterday, pricing for the lower categories is now what we paid for PH suites in the past. At the moment I'm trying to talk my DH into booking more reasonable accommodations. I guess we'll see how it goes on our 10 night Alaska cruise in a PH suite ...... with only 1 bathroom!

I remember that you're heading off soon. I hope you have a great time!

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It's a sea day here on the Viking Star, and my wife and I are relaxing and reading here in the Explorer's lounge, and of course I'm posting. Very cool lightning storm as we left Tallinn yesterday night, otherwise it was a sunny day. Today it's drizzly, but it's always fun to look out through the glass at the passing sea.

Just discovered that our ship is arriving in Gdansk at 6 AM tomorrow, and leaving at 12:30 PM. So our walking tour of the town will be at the crack of dawn. Ugh!!

I loved those medieval fortifications upon which you could actually walk in Tallinn. Felt like a journey back through time!

And here's a monstrosity of the seas dwarfing our ship. Was glad I wasn't sailing on it, but it was certainly formidable, and would have been fun to explore for an hour or so. I could have done without a few of the older passengers walking out on their balconies in their underwear to look at our ship. I mean, do they think they're invisible? Do they think we can't see?

One other cruise line comparison occurred to me, by the way. For all of our lively discussion on this thread of Regent vs. Viking, of course there's no question that Regent offers the highest quality, if pricey, product.

But since we've also sailed on Crystal, how does that line stack up to Viking? In my opinion, until the Serenity and Symphony are upgraded, it doesn't. At all. In any way.

The cabins are no bigger, but they are years and years older, and they show it. The food isn't as good. The ships are older and nowhere near as sleek and well designed. There's not a single factor I can think of that even equals what Viking offers. I haven't compared their prices recently, but I think it's a safe bet that Crystal is more expensive. After sailing Viking I'd never consider them.

Ok, back to our fun sea day...

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This has been a very useful and informative thread.

Since there are no independently accredited ratings to justify the use of the terms "luxury", "premium", "5 star" etc etc that are used to describe the 'upper end' cruise lines, it is perfectly OK, and very helpful for others, to compare the likes of Viking Ocean with Regent.

It's a sea day here on the Viking Star, and my wife and I are relaxing and reading here in the Explorer's lounge, and of course I'm posting. Very cool lightning storm as we left Tallinn yesterday night, otherwise it was a sunny day. Today it's drizzly, but it's always fun to look out through the glass at the passing sea.

 

Just discovered that our ship is arriving in Gdansk at 6 AM tomorrow, and leaving at 12:30 PM. So our walking tour of the town will be at the crack of dawn. Ugh!!

 

I loved those medieval fortifications upon which you could actually walk in Tallinn. Felt like a journey back through time!

 

 

 

 

And here's a monstrosity of the seas dwarfing our ship. Was glad I wasn't sailing on it, but it was certainly formidable, and would have been fun to explore for an hour or so. I could have done without a few of the older passengers walking out on their balconies in their underwear to look at our ship. I mean, do they think they're invisible? Do they think we can't see?

 

 

One other cruise line comparison occurred to me, by the way. For all of our lively discussion on this thread of Regent vs. Viking, of course there's no question that Regent offers the highest quality, if pricey, product.

 

But since we've also sailed on Crystal, how does that line stack up to Viking? In my opinion, until the Serenity and Symphony are upgraded, it doesn't. At all. In any way.

 

The cabins are no bigger, but they are years and years older, and they show it. The food isn't as good. The ships are older and nowhere near as sleek and well designed. There's not a single factor I can think of that even equals what Viking offers. I haven't compared their prices recently, but I think it's a safe bet that Crystal is more expensive. After sailing Viking I'd never consider them.

 

Ok, back to our fun sea day...

 

 

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Great photos and commentary. It was raining the last time we were in Tallin but we still love that city.

Really interesting comments about Crystal. Think I'll link this thread with the Regent vs. Crystal thread and mention your post.

Keep having a great time!

How can you link this thread? Are you a moderator?

How can you link this thread? Are you a moderator?

You just cut & paste the URL up at the top of your browser.

You just cut & paste the URL up at the top of your browser.

Yes you can but I would check with CC before merging something to another thread they don't seem to like redundant posts and I agree.

Yes you can but I would check with CC before merging something to another thread they don't seem to like redundant posts and I agree.

Not a merge, the poster said a link. Only a Host can merge two threads. Anybody can link a thread or post as Wendy described. Don't know why someone would link to the entire thread and have those interested have to search rather than simply link the post with all the nice pictures??

You have to link the thread - can't link the post but when you put in the post number, people don't have to read the whole thread. OTOH, you can copy and paste a post. Both methods have been used on CC ..... not something new.