austinetc

I'm not 100% sure today. It was my experience in 2015. Since then I keep a card in the slot. We were on the first Ocean ship in it's first year. Perhaps they made an adjustment.

If I recall correctly, when the card is removed from the device, not only do the lights go out, but also power to the outlets. So if you carry lots of things that need charging, it's wise to use a fake card.

The card is also used to lock/unlock the locker room lockers in the spa. Like a magic wand.

Advice on this subject depends largely on how serious one is about wine. Back in our White Zinfandel days, what they pour would be fine. Now, their $8 wines leaves much to be desired. We're bringing wine with us. If the only alcohol you plan to consume is wine at meals, the SSBP is certainly not a good idea. Keep in mind that you can not only order an $8 glass, but also purchase a bottle for as little as $30. They'll save open bottles for you. Also, in my experience they will let you taste as many $8 wines as you'd like before you choose a glass. They also pour very generously.

In my experience, one of the good/bad things about Viking is their extremely hot water.

We had tickets in our hand only to learn the night before that the excursion was canceled. By asking, not by being told. We got apologies (every time the director saw us from then on), a refund, and credit. There are so many moving parts on a cruise, I'm surprised when things work without a hitch. Because I assume things will go wrong, I book once, check twice (at least). As long as Viking continues to buy us off with credit, I'm fine if they sometimes want to cover errors with a little mendacity.

I spied this poster on the inside of a crew's entrance door. Viking river cruise in Portugal.

We’re boarding the Jupiter in a few weeks. I’m afraid of some brain drain when experienced crew members transfer over to the Saturn.

Now that is impressive.

What is yours? I think whatever criteria Viking uses to select (and keep) their staff is the biggest asset they have going. Mine was actually on a Viking River cruise in Portugal. We were circumnavigating the Iberian peninsula at the time by car, so I needed to find long-term parking during the cruise. I short-term parked the car near the boat and asked Sara at the front desk for any long-term parking information. Sara didn't tell me. Instead, she walked me three blocks to the entrance! It actually wasn't that hard to find, making her effort all the more impressive.

You are probably right. I hadn't made the connection. Viking reps never mentioned that as a precondition. They would put me on hold to ask a "supervisor", then come back with "good news". Duplicitous.

In my experience the trick is to ask for six months out to PIF at the time of booking. I've never had the request refused.

To recap from my originating question, it's clear that the people my sister saw tipping early and often on her Viking (transAtlantic) cruise don't participate on CruiseCritic. I'm glad to see it. No tipping it is (until perhaps the last day).

I was on the Epic! Caribbean, 7 nights. 4600 LOUD passengers. Never again. So much tipping, which frankly didn't work from what I saw. There were lines at the bars.

I was recently on an awful Norwegian cruise and was surprised by the amount of random tipping going on at the bars. There's a service charge for each drink. But now my sister, who just completed a Viking Cruise, also mentioned tipping at bars and the dining room. What is this about? I'm not insensitive to the crew's tremendous value, but one thing I stress over is whether or not to tip and how much. I luxuriate in the knowledge that tipping is included on Viking.

Not sniping either. In all my retirement travels I've had fellow travelers with all sorts of medical or physical issues. My first reaction is irritation that they are slowing the group down or interfering with my enjoyment. My second reaction is to admire their pluck and enthusiasm to suffer some discomfort in pursuit of their dreams. I'm afraid that in my later years I won't have the same courage. In the Galapagos Islands there was a traveler with chronic severe skin sensitivity AND potentially severe risk of seasickness. He dressed like a mummy and had pills, patches, bracelets and whatever other remedy available. I think he still got seasick, though he made no complaint. Nobody dies from seasickness, though some wish they would. LOL

I love the unaccustomed joy of a good glass of champagne (not Viking's label) before dinner and a good port after, plus I enjoy experimenting with premium whiskeys that I wouldn't normally have on hand at home. I am put off by the $8 price of "premium" wine. The bottle price of these wines ($30) suggests that the store price would be $10. But to be fair to Viking, they are in the $15-$20 range. But is that premium? No. We'll probably get the SSBP. But I'll wait until I get on board, to voice my outrage that one cannot actually receive an $18 glass of "premium" wine on the SSBP.

I chatted with viking last week on this subject and got two answers: Yes, they'll open a "premium" bottle to serve a glass and No, they won't. From experience I know that before Covid they did, but after Covid they didn't. On my next cruise I don't plan to buy the SSBP until I get on board and get a rationalization for them promoting "Premium wine by the glass". Make them squirm a little while claiming that a $6 glass can contain "Premium" wine.

Ocean cruises usually do include port times. Have you looked at MyVikingJourney.com? The Calendar screen.

I have never heard of an Included excursion that has been locked out (two ocean; five river cruises). They may at times be listed as "Sold Out" online due to some tech hitch, but once you're on board the excursion is available. The downside is that reality dictates that a large number of participants interrupts the pleasure of the excursion. One excursion we did in France had an overwhelming number of 40-person groups, all doing the same walking tour along the same narrow streets. It was madness. But it was Included.

I'd appreciate it if you could give specifics. Name, vintage, price of glass/bottle. What confused me on our cruise was that most, if not all of the bottles listed had a asterisk denoting them as "not eligible for SSBG pricing". The staff would not open any of these to give me just a glass. All the wines with a per glass fee were about $6, not close to the $15 (now $18) max. I'm not going to consider a $6 glass of wine as "premium".

Some cruise ships now have the equivalent of a cell tower on board. So it's important to turn off your cellular connection as soon as the ship leaves port. Otherwise you risk having the phone default to cell service vice wifi and then being charged the international cellular rate. Even eSims probably charge a lot for international usage. I don't think any Viking ship has a cell tower, but the technology is certainly on the way.

Question and comment. We're booked in a penthouse veranda for the first time. What alcohol is/can be stocked in the fridge? I'm partial to bourbon. I was on a Med cruise with Viking last year and bought the SSBP. But I was extremely disappointed in the wine selection that was available. The selling point for the SSBP was and is "Any drinks up to $18.00 USD including premium wines by the glass." But NO glass of wine cost more than $10 on the menu. All their bottles of wine were similarly low priced. When I'm pricing out the value of the SSBP, I'm assuming I'll be able to factor in truly premium wine (i.e., something substantially better than the swill they pour for free). Thankfully, they did have a truly impressive selection of premium whiskey. Has anyone else experienced the same situation?

I am admittedly spoiled. Our cruise line of choice is Viking, Ocean and Rivers. But my wife has no interest in the Caribbean and Norwegian has singles with no supplement at a really good price. So I pulled the trigger on a 7 night cruise. It'll be what it will be. Hopefully the string of complaints is just a coincidence.

Thanks for all the advice so far. Normally I ignore poor reviews, but the Epic's are going through an unusually consistent stream of negatives. I'd love to book the spa, but the pre-cruise cost worked out to $50 per day. To much for me. I'll drown my sorrows in the Premium Plus Drinks package.