Viking West Indies Explorer, Feb 5-15 2017 - Wonderful!

We must be a little crazy because we intend to continue to do both. In fact next year we are. [emoji16]

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We must be a little crazy because we intend to continue to do both. In fact next year we are.

Not crazy at all, and we would if we could. It's that Catch 22 : we are still working so we have that bonus money to freely spend on travel, but then we don't have vacation time to do as many trips as we would like to do!

Not crazy at all, and we would if we could. It's that Catch 22 : we are still working so we have that bonus money to freely spend on travel, but then we don't have vacation time to do as many trips as we would like to do!

Ah! Actually I'm still working; hubby is retired. This year will be parched vis-a-vis time off but next year won't. And I have thems that cares already well primed for the fact that moi will take 5 weeks of time off next year. This year has only been a week (last May) with some long weekends tossed in (e.g., daughter's wedding over Memorial Day weekend).

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Cruzzzinma, my wife and I were on the same cruise. I agree with pretty much everything you said in your original post, and I also agree that Viking Ocean is nicer than Viking River (but both are excellent). VO has taken customer service several steps beyond that on VR, and I'm surprised VR hasn't picked up on some of the improvements.

Of the excursions on the West Indies cruise, we especially enjoyed the Barbados Photo Adventure Tour, the Aerial Tram above the rainforest in St. Lucia, the Mystic II catamaran cruise with grilled lobster lunch in Antigua, and snorkling in St. Maarten. But I also agree with the person who said the islands tend to blur together.

What kinds of things should VR adopt from VO? I'm already seeing one or two - complementary laundry for verandah suite cabins and many more optional excursions at each river port (are doing Frances Finest next year). In the case of the latter (based in when we did the grand european tour in 2014) used to be maybe one or none. More often none. Just curious.

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What kinds of things should VR adopt from VO? I'm already seeing one or two - complementary laundry for verandah suite cabins and many more optional excursions at each river port (are doing Frances Finest next year). In the case of the latter (based in when we did the grand european tour in 2014) used to be maybe one or none. More often none. Just curious.

 

 

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So much of what I enjoyed on Viking Ocean was the physical space per passenger. There was always somewhere just to be.

Thanks so much for your review. My son will be graduating soon from college and since I have just written my last massive tuition check, I am looking forward to treating myself to a nice cruise and have been looking at the Viking Ocean Caribbean cruises. So far, I have only been on DCL and NCL. I neither need nor want a casino or kids club so I am thinking this may be the way to go. On NCL even if you get their "free" Unlimited Beverage Package, you are still paying a hefty service charge. My husband doesn't drink at all - just sodas and juice and I am a light drinker. Likely the included wine at lunch and dinner will be sufficient. One more question - are there set dining times in the main restaurant? My husband doesn't like either set dining times or assigned tables such as in "traditional" cruising.

not set time for dining

you need a reservation in the 2 Specialty Restaurants (no fee)

not set time for dining

you need a reservation in the 2 Specialty Restaurants (no fee)

Viking Ocean sounds perfect, then! Thanks so much for the info.

Which docking location does Viking Ocean use for cruises starting/ending in San Juan? The one in Old San Juan? Or the Pan American one where the regular ocean ships (RCL, Celebrity, etc) dock that is next to that little airstrip?

Going on V. Sea 10/13 from NYC & ending in SJ -- ship will overnight in SJ before we disembark,

Also curious how early or late one can disembark?

Also curious if boarding really follows that published time frame (DV @ 2 and V @3)?

Also curious how early or late one can disembark?

Also curious if boarding really follows that published time frame (DV @ 2 and V @3)?

It states by 9:30 but I have see that some have been allowed to stay later. We did not make transit plans through Viking and we could disembark as early as we wanted.

The arrival schedule is the goal but on our cruise, we arrived about 11:15, took care of a few scheduling things, since we were V we couldn't do some before boarding, had lunch in World Cafe, scouted out the ship, toured the spa and it was about 2:30 so we just went to look for sure where the cabin was and the attendants were just finishing our cabin and with our bags outside, we took possession of the space about 20 minutes early.

Which docking location does Viking Ocean use for cruises starting/ending in San Juan? The one in Old San Juan? Or the Pan American one where the regular ocean ships (RCL, Celebrity, etc) dock that is next to that little airstrip?

Going on V. Sea 10/13 from NYC & ending in SJ -- ship will overnight in SJ before we disembark,

Also curious how early or late one can disembark?

Also curious if boarding really follows that published time frame (DV @ 2 and V @3)?

Old San Juan is where we docked in Feb 2017. The earliest security would let us us through the gates on the street was 11:30 - we walked down early to see the ship but could only see it from the street.

I don't remember what our boarding time was supposed to be but we left the Sheraton Old San Juan on foot with our bags at 11:20 and were probably on the ship by 11:30/11:40.

Dear Cruisin Kay,

We appreciate the opportunity to provide answers to your inquiries, and hope this information is helpful to you. On October 26th, 2017, Viking Sea is scheduled to dock in Cruise Pier Calle Marina, Old San Juan. Embarkation normally begins at 11:00AM for all categories, but stateroom availability varies depending on your category, and goes as follows:

11:00 AM: Explorer Suite and Penthouse Veranda Suite

1:00 PM: Penthouse Veranda

2:00 PM: Deluxe Veranda

3:00 PM: Veranda

If you arrive to the ship before your stateroom is ready, you are free to either explore the ship and its facilities, or venture to discover your port of call after you have dropped off your luggage. Just make sure to board the ship at least two hours before your scheduled departure time. Disembarkation is allowed as early as necessary, however it usually takes place from 9:00AM to 10:00AM.

Cruisin Kay D, should you have any further questions, we would be happy to hear from you at TellUs@vikingcruises.com. We hope you have a great weekend, and a wonderful cruise ahead.

Warm regards,

Viking Cruises

Which docking location does Viking Ocean use for cruises starting/ending in San Juan? The one in Old San Juan? Or the Pan American one where the regular ocean ships (RCL, Celebrity, etc) dock that is next to that little airstrip?

Going on V. Sea 10/13 from NYC & ending in SJ -- ship will overnight in SJ before we disembark,

Also curious how early or late one can disembark?

Also curious if boarding really follows that published time frame (DV @ 2 and V @3)?