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DrKoob

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Everything posted by DrKoob

  1. Back in 2005, we met a bunch of incredible people on a Cruise Critic roll call. We started cruising together. First, there were six of us (three couples), but as we cruised and others saw how much fun we were having, we added a few more each trip, and the new folks started traveling with us as well. We have lost a few over the years (some of passed away, others ghosted us) but we are still going strong. Our biggest group on a cruise was 17 on Celebrity Solstice to Alaska in 2017. That was fun. In all that time, we have never had a problem with "doing things together." In many cases, we would plan excursions together that we could never have done alone. Saved us a ton of money and were almost always awesome. We tried to always get together for cocktails and dinner. You should have seen us when there were 17 of us. A table for 10 and one for 7 right next to each other. The one regret we have now is that we don't meet a lot of new people anymore but part of that is that Viking Roll calls are pretty sparse and we used to meet a lot of people who became good friends during early/late seating assigned dining. But very few cruise ships do that any more.
  2. I never understand those people who don't come back on time. As soon as you start it, is says how much time it will take. Set an alarm on your phone or watch (or ask Siri to do it) and come back five minutes before to check it. I don't get inconsiderate people, but I have used washers and dryers they have left clothes in for 20 or 30 minutes.
  3. I think that all the cruise lines are still playing catch up from the pandemic. In two ways. First, they are having trouble finding qualified crew. We have experienced this on Viking, Vista, HAL and Celebrity. Secondly, they are still recovering financially and NCL is the cruise line that got hit the hardest in that way.
  4. Why is it that cruise ships, restaurants, hotels and so many other venues think we want music playing all the time? We did Oceania last year and my biggest complaint was that there was nowhere that the seven of us traveling together could go and have a cocktail and talk. Since we come from all over the country and only see each other on cruises, this is important to us. But there was not a single place where we could do have a conversation without yelling at each other over music. This is the one thing (well there's the beds) that absolutely stops me from ever sailing with Virgin. Give me the piece and quiet of a before dinner cocktail and conversation in the Explorer's Lounge every single day of the week.
  5. Are you saying you thought gratuities were included until you got onboard and found that they weren't? We just pay them in advance, and then it is all-inclusive. We just automatically remember we need to pay them. Then it truly is one price.
  6. I would stick with Virgin. You are right. The stuff we are hearing out there about NCL is NOT good. I think you will have a better time. When you are older (like sixties or seventies) and food means more to you than dancing, partying, etc. come on back to Oceania. But until then, go have fun on Virgin.
  7. I write a daily blog when we are on a cruise. I did our 21 day Sky Med trip last fall. Never had a single problem uploading tons of photos and being able to post them...but I am a very early riser and I found if I started writing at 4:00 am and finished by 6:30 or so when I went to work out, there was never a problem with speed. I did speed tests like yours from time to time and found I could get about 15 both up and down. I know a lot of the vlogging guys who upload video to YouTube do the same because I see them sometimes when I am up to write, uploading their videos.
  8. Hot and REALLY humid. Anytime you are outside, you will sweat profusely. Inside you will (depending on where you are from) freeze.
  9. I totally agree. My brother ordered a ribeye. What he got was NOT a ribeye. Neither of Viking's specialty restaurants passes what I call the Steve Test. That's the way to rate a ship's restaurant. It works like this: " If you eat in a restaurant while traveling, and that restaurant is near you once you get home, would you go there again? In the case of both specialty restaurants on Viking ships, the answer would be no. That's not to say they are not good, just that they aren't that special. But most cruise ship specialty restaurants have devolved to that level. At least Viking lets me try them for free. We used to sail exclusively on Celebrity and they had a restaurant on their Infinity called The United States Dining Room (named after the United States cruise ship). Great specialty restaurant. They had another call Qsine that was great until they turned it into a cartoon show. Some great meals there. We loved Toscana Grille on Oceania, Tamarind on HAL and a few others a lot more than the two Viking choices but again, they are free.
  10. "If it was food poisoning"?How about the only 11 people who ordered the swordfish in Mafnredis that night who were sicker than dogs all night long? And what did Viking do? Quarantined my wife for three days (missed three ports) because she made the mistake of going to the infirmary to ask for some Imodium. We later got a full apology but that didn't make us feel better at the time. As to the Chef's Table, what they need to do is publish the menus on the website before you make the reservation. Or at least have disclaimers that say something like, "this meal contains shellfish as its main component" and then you could pick a different night to go.
  11. We did Viking Sky from Athens to Barcelona for three weeks. The cruise had started in Istanbul and was actually sold as a one-, two-, three-, and four-week cruise. We had friends who were on the four-week version. They were able to make one reservation in both restaurants for each week they were on the ship. We were able to make three. We thought it was great until we got on board and ate there, and my wife (and about 10 other people) got food poisoning in Manfredis, and we wound up in Chef's Table with a menu my wife could not eat due to allergies, so we canceled the rest of ours. The biggest problem was for those who were on the last leg (Rome to Barcelona). By the time their reservation date came, there as nothing left except 9:00 pm reservations. But that turned out OK because by the end of the cruise, you could go down any night and get right in.
  12. Thanks for all the wonderful ideas. We are doing this cruise in June, so we won't run into the Tattoo or the Fringe. We have been in Edinburgh for both, and if you have a chance, you need to see the Tattoo. The absolute most incredible show. Sadly, you can only do it if the ship is doing an overnight. It doesn't end until close to 10:30 pm. But the previous posters were correct: the traffic is a mess in August.
  13. Unfortunately I will be of no help but I do want to monitor this thread as we are doing the June 14 sailing of this cruise and now that Viking has posted (but not opened) the shore excursions, I am in the same boat.
  14. Actually there is something you can do but it's risky. Up until 120 days before the cruise you can cancel and rebook. But you then lose your stateroom and if the ship is really full and they are having a sail to fill it up, they may sell it out before you can call back to rebook. As I said, it's risky. And this has been discussed a bunch on these boards and I will tell you what I tell everyone who asks why Viking requires such an early final payment. The best answer I can give you is that they do this because they can. Their clientele is extremely loyal and their ships almost always sail full. That's one of the premiums you pay to get to sail with them. To me, that says it must be an awesome experience if that many people are willing to pony up their final payment that early. BTW: If you have another fully paid Viking cruise you can get them to cut your final payment date down to six months before the cruise. That's one of the reasons the long-time loyal customers don't complain that much. We almost always have a fully paid for cruise out there when we book the next one.
  15. Hi TableGirl, If you thought the food was just OK on Oceania, you might be fine with Viking but you will LOVE the ship itself. And we have sailed a number of times on HAL and I have to say I like Tamarind much better than Red Ginger, Pinnacle Grille as much as Polo. Ember is the worst specialty I have ever eaten in (maybe it's just because that's not my kind of food?) But Toscana wipes the floor with Canaletto. You should have tried the Aquamar Kitchen. Best lunches I have ever had on a ship.
  16. I have only had a butler once and that was on a Celebrity ship. And ours was amazing. He arranged things for us that we could have never pulled off ourselves. He acted more as a concierge than an actual butler. Example: We were traveling with two other couples, all of us in small suites. We were sailing to Hawaii out of San Diego RT. The night we overnighted in Kona we asked him if he could arrange a dinner for six on our balcony (which was large enough). He not only did it for us, he roped in the two butlers our friends had and they all served us. Dinner direct from the MDR. Piping hot and delicious. All three butlers got the largest tip I have ever given. A truly amazing experience I still remember today and it was at least 15 years ago.
  17. I was talking about the Penthouse Verahndas not the Penthouse Suite.
  18. We did 21 nights on Viking Sky in the fall and there was not a single night you could not have walked up and gotten a table in Manfredis. We had three getting onboard and cancelled two of them because the first meal there was so bad. Don't sweat it.
  19. You are correct. If you want to do this, I know that TravelEx will do it. I have done it with them multiple times without a problem.
  20. NEVER buy cruise line insurance. Way too many restrictions. So many people using FCCs after the pandemic found out that when they tried to cancel a cruise due a covered cause, that Viking's insurance would only cover MONEY actually spent on the new cruise. FCCs (even though worth $thousands) were not covered. Plus you may not be covered on a pre or post stay if you are not doing a Viking extension. You want wall-to-wall coverage from the minute you leave until you return home. Here's what to do to get the pre-existing conditions. Put down your $25 deposit and then shop for other insurance (www.insuremytrip.com) and buy the lowest value policy they have. In many cases, you will need to insure at least a $2K trip. But this will cost you a lot less than a full policy. When you make your final payment, call the insurance company and up your coverage to the full cost of the trip. This gets you the pre-existing condition coverage but if you do have to cancel before your final payment, you haven't paid a fortune for the insurance...which is not refundable.
  21. As former Celebrity cruisers (more than 20) I can say that you will more than fit in. Go and enjoy yourselves. This is one of the most non-stuffy lines we have ever sailed on. In fact we are on one of their river cruise ships right now. Have taken the oceans ones too. Have two more booked.We are done with X and HAL.
  22. I couldn't tell you. We only signed up for one Oceania shore excursion and it ended up being cancelled and refunded due to us missing Martha's Vineyard. The cost for a two hour bus tour around the island was $79. Our experience with Viking Tours has been the opposite of yours. On our Viking Ocean cruise in September 2022, we did all the included Viking excursions except in Livorno, where we did a private excursion to Cinque Terre. That turned out to be the best tour of the entire 21-night cruise. We found Viking guides (at least in the Med) to be totally a waste of not only money but also time. We wondered if they were paid by the word because they would NOT SHUT UP! My Whisper device was getting hot because they just never wanted a second of silence. Also (due to my wife's knees and hips), we are not the biggest fans of walking tours anymore. So as they say, "Different strokes for different folks."
  23. You are very welcome and the lack of sea views was the one big thing we did not like about the ship's design. You might try their other large ships to see how they are. Or wait for my report in April 2025 when we sail on Riviera.
  24. First, you are very welcome. I would also say that this might have been a "one-off" as we really didn't have a single bad thing to eat on board Vista, but my wife did get some horrible food poisoning on Viking Sky. So did a few other people we talked to. All from some swordfish at Manfredi's. I also will not sail the smaller ships of Oceania. The staterooms are just too small. And I can barely fit in the showers and I am not paying for a suite when I can get a Penthouse Verandah (that is HUGE) on Viking for less.
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