Dhsamso

I pretty much agree with orchestrapal that Oceania has better food and that both have better and not so good dishes.  However, Viking food is still much better than for example RCL and other huge ships.  I would not chose Oceania over Viking because of the food given a similar itinerary.  Viking ships are more up to date, all cabins have balconies, and there are better self laundry facilities.  Both are good lines, you have to try both and see which is a better fit.

I am glad to know it was fennel which sounds better with salmon.  I did not try choucroute with fish the time I had the chance since there were good sausages.  The meatloaf did not inspire eating in a Crystal MDR.  I hope your report will indicate some better dishes.  Even the O MDRs have some hits and some misses.

Is the chef Alsatian?  Once in Paris, we went to an Alsatian restaurant the specialized in choucroute.  You could get any type of meat or sausage or seafood or fish with an enormous pile of very good choucroute so maybe some people do like it with fish or shellfish too.  DH would be happy to see Meatloaf or Liver and onions on a menu at sea for a change of pace even though I see those items as diner food.  Tell us what else they offer if it is something different.

We took Viking Sea from London to Bergen so that one of our first Norway stops was Nord Capp.  After Tromso, we saw more of the coast in something called the inside passage which was very scenic and this continued to Molde and Geiranger Fjord.  There was an extra pilot on board for that part.  I would be surprised to hear that most of the ships do not go through this going north too but do not know.  There were all sorts of odd towering rock formations (we had good clear weather).  Norway is great no matter what cruise you take in terms of scenery on the water and on land.

When we had a later flight from Barcelona in early 2017, we ate a leisurely breakfast in the Restaurant-they did not make us leave much before 9:30 (we only had carry-on and most who did just had it with them nearby).  In Bergen last summer, we left the ship with our carry-on  a little before 6 to catch a local bus to the airport nearby.  We had a decent breakfast in the world cafe at around 5:30 before we disembarked.  They do seem to try to make it easy for you to leave early or late.  We definitely had a decent meal before leaving for a day of airplane food!

On our cruise we got notification of our cabin 12 days before sailing and after the ship was shown as sold out.

On our summer cruise, a few days after the cruise was shown as sold out, a cabin assignment showed up one morning on My Viking Journey. I think it was about 12 days out. We were only upgraded from V to DV but the location was nice. It seems like this year's requests for V cabins were often made guarantees. On the cruise we booked on board, we were told V was sold out and we could only book DV as they were no longer booking guarantees. I think it is because many like us booked a V on the first Viking Ocean cruise we took and did not see any advantage to paying more (yes it is smallish but better than many ships and with a balcony). While our DV2 near an aft elevator on 6 was a good location, the other amenities of DV over V were not substantial especially if you got one as a guarantee. You can get on an hour earlier and use the stuff in the fridge without paying for it but often the cabin is not assigned soon enough to sign up for restaurants etc. Do get the Viking App now though because it is the easiest way to book restaurants once you are on board.

They do a good job of fitting you in if you want to come on almost any night. We liked the Venetian menu best on our latest cruise. The one thing we did not like was the take on Peking Duck on the Asian Panorama menu-a burrito filled with shredded duck with a small amount of sauce and a tiny piece of crispy skin on top was not good. Most other "inspired by" dishes worked better.

+1on downloading the Viking App. That was one of the best tips we got for our Midnight Sun cruise this past summer. We got 2 Manfredi's reservations and 4 chef's table reservations without leaving our cabin-we could not book before boarding and the ship was full. The chef's table is pretty easy to book on board and change if the menu or your plans change. The window seats on the Chef's Table side are the best. It is quieter there when full. The App also reminds you of other things you booked on board like spa reservations-try the Nordic Bath experience.

+1 on Baristas. It was much more inviting on Nautica.

Try not to have an early specialty dinner on the day you do the cooking class if it is not first thing in the morning. They do pair single cooks with one another in order to share some of the machines, tasks and ingredients. They are as said above all great and lots of fun to do on a sea day.

+1 on looking for a kid friendly ship (there was not much of anything to do at night on our 4 day cruise a few years ago). As said above, you can snorkel from rafts or on the shore and see interesting things and walking the designated paths is very interesting. One thing to consider: we went in August and it was warm enough to swim without a half wet suit most of the time but another cruiser who had been in the early part of the year said it was much colder though sea life was even better. Check on that.

+1 on the Golden Circle if the port time is not past 5 or 6. The South Coast is even better but takes a long day to really enjoy. The Blue Lagoon is very touristy but fun but not if you have only one day. If you get a quick look at the city and the big church on your way back, even better.

+1 on getting rid of the coffee machines as a DV perk. Let the somewhat better locations be the perk-that was the only difference from V that made any sense to me. It is too easy to get great coffee at the Living Room after 6:30 or acceptable coffee in the world cafe machines earlier or get room service coffee. The pod machine takes up room, is a pain to set up, and makes terrible coffee.

+1 also on making Chef's table something else. On our Midnight Sun cruise we tried it more than once. When we went early, we enjoyed sitting at window tables for the view and even better service but the menus are hit and miss with a lot of misses. Surely some other thing would be better.

We traveled through EWR on United last month returning last week-Florida to EWR to LHR and Reykjavik to EWR to JAX. Connection time going was very short and involved a terminal change but everything was working fine and we ended up on a dreamliner (do not know number it said dreamliner in the details of the flight) that was not full and our best flight in years. So of course return was payback. Old plane 3-3 packed to the gills with most of us bringing all we could on board because of short connection times in EWR. Even with Global Entry, customs was slow and then a terminal change to small plane to Florida (packed but not a long trip). I would still do EWR and maybe UA again rather than go through JFK. Both need updating.

United gave us very short connection times last month JAX to EWR to LHR but even with a terminal change it was doable. Return from Reyjavik had slightly longer time but you have to go through customs and then go to another terminal. Still we preferred it to Dulles which is huge and flights from JAX are often in some far corner of the airport (our daughter lived nearby). I would go earlier if you are going to Dulles or see if another routing would also work. We have also had a JAX flight later in the day cancelled altogether because of a mechanical problem that was unfixable that day and no replacement available. OTOH try to see if the JAX flight lands at the international terminal.

+1 on picking a hotel off Las Ramblas even if Viking does everything else. It is easy to walk to most of the interesting museums, Sagrada and the market if in this area and Barcelona is a nice place to do on your own. You can also get a taxi to the port if you have a lot of luggage.

"Munch Moments" are when classical music (On the Midnight Sun cruise it was Greig) is played while art by Munch is shown on the big screen in the atrium. It is very pleasant.

+1 on wine diapers (available on amazon still I think). On return, I put breakable purchases in them and nestled them in the middle of the luggage.

Thank you, I forgot it was whisky already-good thing we are going again. This year we will sample our whisky in Kirkwall!

Minka, Elizabeth, and screen-gem, thank you for your detailed commentary on the ship and the ports. Minka, we are thinking of taking part of the included Edinburgh tour and then bailing to see some things we missed on Edinburgh land tour last year (we also enjoyed the Whiskey Experience for a quick intro to good whiskey). Thanks for details on that. But also thank you screen-gem for providing the alternative. People boarding the star today-please write if possible about starting from London like we will in a little more than a week.

Cahpek has done an excellent job of comparing the two lines-we would take either if the itinerary was one we liked and enjoy the differences. The only thing I would like to say if some here have not tried Oceania is that the O ships are great but the R ships-aside from Regatta which is getting very negative reviews at present-are my favorite for ocean cruises because they are smaller than other lines in our price range and itinerary choices. Our Iberian cruise on Nautica was a favorite among all. It was very cozy. OTOH, I am looking forward to our Midnight Sun cruise with a few hundred more later this month.

minka34, you are giving great information on your excursions, the weather, and layering. Thank you from one still waiting for my cruise at the end of the month.

I have really enjoyed following your journey since I still have until the end of July for mine. I have been on one Viking Ocean journey but you added some new information and ideas for things to do on sea days and on the Chefs Table menus (Hated the one we did but will try the new ones now with more choice). I hope you do soon write your long review and I hope that those of you on the Midnight Sun cruise now and soon have time to tell us what you like and do.

What is the Norwegian Bath Ritual? And thanks to all for the continued coverage of the cruise.