zalusky

Yea I agree this is not Carnival. At this level items like this should always be made to order.

Wow that food. What's the before and after damage to the scale!

I feel kind of left out of this. I really don't care for wine or beer much. Cocktails have always been my choice. This pushes me towards Seabourn.

Yea this is a big annoyance for me. On our last night they had a big theatrical show and then we had to pack and such. There really was no time. We should be able to do it off the ship. It's 2023 not 1983.

I don't know if it is ship based / Simply More based or waiter based. I remember in January getting my second drink after I finished my first. Now of course in a crowded lounge who is to say what adjustments are made.

Its been 9 months. I don't really remember but I do distinctly remember the Martinis waiter switching the menus and could see the more elaborate cocktails were missing. If there are any people currently onboard maybe they can comment.

I am not on the ship now but I noticed them switching menus to the basic cocktails from a more extended menu during happy hour. I think those were in the basic menu however.

But they reduce the drink selection and put out the basic drink menus.

Thanks I plan to but it’s not till 2025 so I have time to read everybodies stories in advance.

The YouTube review I saw mentioned that the only toppers on the Viking Mars were thin and would flatten easily when you lay on them as compared to denser foam toppers. For you guys it doesn't appear to be a problem. I think If I were to book a longer cruise it would be a concern for me.

We are still waiting to take our first Viking Ocean cruise. We have had one canceled because we caught Covid and the second Viking called us a couple of days before with a move over offer we could not turn down. Basically all our money back with a free alternate cruise with upgraded JS cabin / booze package for free. As a result I have been watching videos and people are saying how hard the beds are and the toppers are very inconsistent. I much prefer Tempurpedic like foam mattresses.

I wonder if they will improve the comfort of the beds that many complain about?

I agree Itinerary does not always supersede comfort.

And this is why I, my wife, and a number of others will never sail on an R class ship again. With this attitude why did they do the Oceania Next on the R class ships what did it gain them. This is one of a number of reasons they are farther away from luxury on an R class ship.

True but the ship has been various refreshes why couldn’t they have added a bathroom and taken out a stateroom for an additional laundry facility.

Only one laundry facility vs each floor on the larger ships. inadequate bathroom facilities. Literally none outside the Horizon Lounge and single person room outside the theatre. Those are the two largest people rooms on the ship. If you are a person with ADA needs that can be a real pain. I don’t see how that ever made it past the design phase.

We have a 2025 sailing from Athens to Rome with a 3 day stop in Venice. Obviously too early to know but with one ship at a time how do they decide? First booking in Choggia or can it change on the fly. I guess I better not make any major private tours or expectations.

Although the Celebrity world is a bit different today than 2016. We thoroughly enjoyed a 14 day Celebrity Solstice cruise in 2016. The excursion that put it over the top was an overnight from Milford sound to Dunedin with the overnight hotel in Queenstown. While we missed the other sounds that people who stayed on the ship saw, we saw a great transition from glaciers to rolling green hills. Something to look at when you look at the various cruise options. The Oceania circumnavigation cruise we did earlier this year was 14 + 21 + 14 days and it continued to New Zealand. It was essentially 3 segments: Northern Route, Southern Route, New Zealand Route. We did the middle southern route. There were people on the ship continuing onto New Zealand basically adding that segment. If I had never done Australia / New Zealand before and had the money I would do all 3 segments.

Except very few do the full circumnavigation. Princess and Oceania are among the few that do the southern route.

Maybe its 2026 but I thought I read they were switching to a larger ship for Australia at some point and using Regatta for something else.

Viking gave us a move over offer on a 14 day Italian cruise this last May. Complete refund of all monies paid including business air. Allowed us to pick another sailing equivalent up to 24 months in the future with business class air for free. Upgraded room one level in our cases to Junior Suite. They threw in the drink package. They also reduced the trip insurance increasing our refund since our cost is essentially zero except for Medical. We could not turn that down.

I would like to hear direct food comparisons on both lines when you can. We did a 21 day O cruise this last January and I was not wowed. As somebody who has sailed VO a lot I would like to hear more specifics.

No up charge restaurants No up charge entrees No up charge lounges Substantially cheaper booze pkgs and drinks relative to the mainstream lines I exclude excursions for comparisons as they are so individual in nature.

I am a little surprised that a relatively brand new ship has "waste water" certification issues. Does this mean they just did not get inspected and do some regular cleaning or does it mean technologically they don't have what it needs to meet the certification? I remember our round Australia cruise on Regatta earlier this year when many of the ships were getting bounced from various AUS/NZ ports for not cleaning their hulls which surprised me as well since they knew the rule was coming and got lazy.

Any guesses when the 2026 sailings are released? I know there are some new ships coming and places like Flam will require them? The Grand Fjords & Iconic Viking Shores Itinerary interests me but we are already booked in that time frame for 2025. It would also be nice to book it while we already have a booking to get the 6 month final payment schedule.