bottomfeeder

I agree with @Mike07--I also did a solo river cruise on Uniworld and there was far more that was the same than different.  The ships are smaller than ocean ships and so necessarily have fewer options in many areas of the experience--including food.

And while I haven't sailed on any lines other than those two, I enjoy Viking (both river and ocean) and they do have some reduced solo supplements, as well as including air and sometimes the premium drink packages (though I could care less about that, really, since I don't drink much at all.)  When you add it all together it is less than the whole package from another cruise line--though I admit to watching Viking sales like a hawk, and not so much so other lines, so perhaps I missed some good deals on others.

I'm sure you'll enjoy whichever you choose--and maybe you can try a few different lines and decide which is your absolute favorite.  🙂

On river cruises, pretty much all the tables are at least 6 people, many larger.  On Viking there are apparently 2 (!!) tables for 2 on the ship, up in the upstairs more casual dining area. 

I went solo on the Grand European in October/November, and I would sit at an empty table each night and see who joined me!  There were several couples and groups who joined me multiple nights, and there were also several other solo travelers who joined multiple nights.  It worked out pretty well although if I had met anyone I really wanted to avoid I guess I would have tried to sit at already almost-full tables.

Breakfast and lunch were more spread-out meals and so if you would prefer not to sit with a group you could generally find a table to yourself, but at dinner everyone eats at once so  you will definitely be with others.

Lots of friendly people and I enjoyed everyone except two couples who sat at my table the last night.

I've cruised solo twice on Viking Ocean and it is currently my favorite line, though I have to watch for sales like a hawk and jump on good ones right away because they usually don't give much of a break on the solo supplement.  Not sure what type of info you are looking for, but happy to answer any questions you have if I can.

(I am about to leave for my 2nd Viking River cruise, by the way.  My first one was in late October and I had no plans to cruise again so soon, but there was such a good sale on this one I couldn't resist!  I'd prefer to do Viking Ocean but haven't seen such deals there lately.)

I still check Celebrity prices, because I have really enjoyed sailing on them, but yes, they seem to be really trying to discourage solos with their pricing.  It's so disappointing.

Can you buy the SS package after you are onboard?  I have $290 of non-refundable onboard credit left for my upcoming cruise (after pre-paying gratuities) and I'd like to have a look in the shops onboard to see if there is anything that I want to buy there.  If I don't find anything appealing I'd like to buy the beverage package.

50 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

 

Sidenote: I wonder if the pajamas in the World Cafe thing is another side effect of the pandemic? If I can go to the "office" in my pajamas, why can't I go to breakfast that way? Sigh.

I dunno.  I spent the last 23 years of my career working from a home office (when I wasn't traveling for work) and I have never considered leaving my cruise ship cabin in my pajamas and/or robe!

I don't believe "Mr. Luxury" has sailed on Viking.  I think he was just reading Dr. Koob's review to see if he WANTED to sail on Viking, and concluded from the review that he doesn't.

I live in South Venice, and my neighborhood still has no power (I have well water so no water either without power) and we're in a red zone per Sarasota County meaning access is limited to residents and business owners.  I'm at my summer place in Maine still and itching to get back there to look at the damage and file my insurance claim etc., but there is no sense going back before there is power as I'd have no way to clean up.  My next door neighbor had flooding into her house but my house sits up a few feet higher and she says I did not get any flooding, just roof damage, small trees etc. down, and minor damage to the front fascia of the house.  Of course she can't get inside as I foolishly did not leave keys with anyone this year--I'm just hoping there is no water/mold damage inside.

I consider myself lucky when I compare my situation to even my next door neighbor's.  I am hopeful that in a few weeks things will be heading towards normal in  my neighborhood, albeit with fewer trees and a lot more roof tarps than before.  I feel just awful for those who took a bigger punch from the wind and those who experienced serious flooding--the news stories are heartbreaking.

5 hours ago, hcat said:

Thanks for asking. We are in NY now..but apparently did way  better than what we are seeing on TV. Have been in Fl  part time since 1985. Charley was bad..this was much  worse in scope and destructive  area. Both storms did not follow the predicted tracks.

 

Power was out for 3 days..back on now.  We lost roof tiles, have a leak in  the  garage,  large shrubs are down but water did not reach our front or rear doors. Fridge has to be emptied.,we did not leave much but will be stinky.  We hear our Community is a mess, not everyone has power and many trees are down..We are near the Myakka River...water is receding from flooded roads.  Clubhouse and gym will need to be inspected and repaired before re -opened for use.

 

We  will head down for the season in  early Nov just in time for our BEYOND cruise. Really looking forward to that!

 

Florida is not for everyone but we hope we can bounce back.... sorry you have to postpone your move!

I'm a Venice resident too--South Venice, off Englewood Road.  I'm at my summer place in Maine still, but planning to head down as soon as power is back on, which they estimate (and I hope they are right because it was out for several weeks after the 2017 hurricane for our little cluster of 4 houses) will happen by Sunday the 9th. 

My neighbor gave me a report similar to yours--all fences down, all small trees down, all roofs with damaged/loose/missing shingles, and I have a little damage to the front fascia of my house.  What worries me is if there is a leak in the roof from the wind damage leading to mold inside.  Especially with no AC to dry it out without power.  But I'm hopeful we'll be limping along toward semi-normalcy in a few weeks.  I'm one of the apparently small percentage who has always had flood insurance even though I am not in a flood zone--and it worked because there was no flooding at my house!

I usually stay in Maine until late October, but I figure I had best get back so I can file a homeowner's insurance claim if needed (I suspect it will be.)

Seems as if Sarasota and north is just fine on "our" coast, it's south of there where the damage and problems start.

Thanks so much for doing this thread--I really enjoyed reading your posts every day.  What will I do with my time now?  🙂

I've been really enjoying reading about your cruise(s)!  Thanks for doing this thread.

I live about halfway between Portland and Bar Harbor on the coast and we have been having wonderful weather most of this summer--tomorrow looks like a great day here with a high of about 70 and lots of sun, and you should get about the same in Bar Harbor.   Enjoy Maine!

1 hour ago, carolyn22 said:

 

I’d love to ask my cousin and his wife to take me and pick me up (using my car), but it’s a 3 hour drive from their house to the port - resulting in two 6 hour drives - and that is just too much to ask of them. 
 

So I guess I’m going to have to suck it up and pay for the garage. At least it’s covered, hopefully secured, and very close to the ship. 
 

Having said all of that, thank you so much for your suggestions!  I hadn’t thought about the off-site lots at the airport so I was happy to explore that option. 

If the schedule works for your cruise (and they are still in business--I know someone who was using them for a transatlantic I went on this spring but know nothing beyond that) you might also consider  https://www.cruiseconnection.travel/ as they have pickup/dropoff near where your cousin is and it seems like maybe it wouldn't be too much to ask to be driven to the pickup location.  🙂  I think there may be one or two other similar services as well.  (I live in the same area and so I bookmarked the company's site for possible future use on my solo cruises!)

Just got an email from Viking Ocean--the company is having a flash sale on some Asia/Australia cruises for October-December with a solo supplement of "only" 75% or so, which isn't great except that they usually don't offer anything less than a 100% additional cost.  The cruises INCLUDE free airfare in economy from many cities as well as discounted premium economy and business class fares if you prefer.  They also include their Silver Spirits beverage package and a shipboard credit which should cover the daily service fees.  The sale only goes through May 16th, so hurry if you're interested.

 Because of the included airfare this is a GREAT deal for anyone interested in these itineraries.  The offer code is SEA22.

Even though Asia wasn't on my radar for the near future and I was thinking of holding off on more cruising for a while to wait for Covid to cool down (hopefully) I'm still seriously considering one of these cruises...

3 hours ago, NerdsInNature said:

I use the iPhone app also, and I didn't think the save/confirm button was there either, but it was.  For me, it looked like I was at the end of the page with no way to save my changes, but the button to save shows up below what looks like the bottom of the page after I made my updated selection.  I felt kind of dumb but apparently I wasn't the only one, haha, because I got that tip online.   This was all on March 13.  Either way, I hope your embarkation goes smoothly!

No, sadly, I have tried to drag it up over and over and there is no save button there--or else I am not able to drag it up far enough to view it.  But thanks for the suggestion...might help someone else.

31 minutes ago, NerdsInNature said:

On the app, did you keep scrolling down the page past the arrival times?  I had a similar problem, and it turned out that I just couldn't see the button to save my new arrival group selection!

Yes, it is not there on the iPhone.  Others have posted of this "bug" and said if you have an iPad, it works on the iPad and the save button is visible. 

I wasn't worried about it and figured I'd just show up when I was ready, but then I got an "emergency update" email from Princess the other day--which didn't contain anything that looked like much of an emergency to me, but did say that if you show up before your arrival group's time you will be asked to leave and come back--and the thought of waiting outside the terminal in 85+ degree heat and humidity for several hours since I had no arrival group chosen didn't sound fun to me!  But I've been reassured by the answers on this thread that it probably won't come to that.  🙂

Apparently it is a bug in the iPhone version of the app from what I've read here, but I cannot finalize selection of an arrival group for my cruise on April 9th.  I have tried many times.  I've also tried to use the "web version" link from the Princess website, but it just spins continuously saying "Loading" on my computer after I try to log into it--I use Chrome if that matters.  I realize that I could probably hang on the line waiting for customer service for multiple hours to get through to someone, but I would rather not spend all that time.  I am wondering if they will still let me onboard if I show up at, say, 12:30 PM without having selected an arrival group first?

I understand the app's boarding time selection process works on an iPad but I don't have one and I'm not about to buy one just for this purpose.  🙂

Has anyone on here recently just shown up to board without having an arrival group?  If so, what happened?

Yep I was thinking about bringing my own small sugar-free Torani bottles.  I wasn't sure if they would use them for me at the IC or if I'd have to mix the flavor in myself later and I would mess up the latte foam if I mixed in my own after they give me the coffee...plus I am a little worried about the bottles leaking in my luggage (I would double-bag them in ziplocs but you never know!  Though I guess my clothes smelling strongly of french vanilla wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen!)

41 minutes ago, brisalta said:

No, what you are describing is cafe latte or caffè latte.  Latte is just milk.

Whether what I want to get from the International Cafe includes espresso or not (i.e. whether I am using the common American usage for a latte containing espresso, or whether I am using your "precise" definition of the term and only want steamed milk with flavoring,) your response is sadly not helping to answer the question.

I will now go back to my usual practice on internet message boards of not feeding the trolls.

Hi all, wondering if any of you who have been on the Enchanted Princess recently can tell me if they stock sugar-free coffee syrups for lattes and such?  I'm trying to minimize my sugar consumption but I do love my fancy coffee treats!  Thanks in advance for any info!

I used my voucher from the "half-transatlantic" to pay for part of the Hawaiian Sojourn cruise when I booked it.  I was told, when I chose to cancel after it was changed to a Mexico cruise, that my voucher would be reinstated for an additional 24 months.  I haven't tried to use the "new" voucher yet (darn it, they have not lowered their solo supplement for anything I've looked at!) so I can't absolutely guarantee that it was treated as promised. 

I have done one solo cruise on Viking (well, it was a partial cruise since it was when Covid hit and we only sailed halfway across the Atlantic before coming back!)  I had another scheduled for last month, to Hawaii, but since Hawaii was not allowing cruise ships in they changed the itinerary to Mexico and allowed those who did not want to sail on the new itinerary to cancel for a full refund--so I canceled.

I really enjoyed sailing with them.  They fit my style of cruising--no kids, no casinos, no glitz, just excellent food, interesting itineraries, relaxed atmosphere, pricing is pretty inclusive,  a new and very well-maintained and cleaned fleet...and lots of other things I like.

The only problem, which I think was also mentioned on the thread on the Viking forum, is that it is VERY rare to be able to get a solo supplement less than 100%.  I watch like a hawk for everything they send via email, and look most days at pricing online, just so I don't miss when they offer a reduced supplement.  Hopefully some day I will find another offer of a lower supplement and will be able to sail with them again!  🙂

Are the Enclave hours the same as the Lotus Spa hours listed in the Patter, does anyone know?  And are they limiting the number of people they allow in the Enclave at one time, or limiting the amount of time each person is allowed to spend in the Enclave each day?  Thanks so much!

Just booked the Enchanted Princess transatlantic for April 2022.  Planning to combine it with a 2 week land vacation in Belgium/Western France once I get to Copenhagen.  It's a replacement for what was to be my retirement cruise to Hawaii on Viking last month, that got switched to a Mexican cruise when the Hawaii ports stayed closed to cruise ships--so I canceled it.  Sure hope this one goes and the virus situation gets better between now and then!

28 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Didn't mean no vax.  We are vaxxed and my entire lifetime I have had to get one vax or another for travel  to various places.  I refer to the spitting in tubes, "social" distancing (an oxymoron??) and the useless, endless masking.  I want to see faces, expressions, etc.  Some ships are already sailing this way.  No Viking until they drop the excess..

You've been quite vocal about your opinion on this, and I'm sure there are a good number of others who share that opinion.  The question the cruise lines have to wrestle with in this environment of clashing opinions on these sorts of questions is whether there are more people in their target market who refuse to cruise with these restrictions or more people who will not cruise without these restrictions?

And I don't know the answer to that.  It's a quandary for the marketing folks to figure out, I guess (and of course, whatever medical/scientific experts Viking consults with.)  But whatever they do they'll have some significant segment of their pre-Covid market disagreeing with the policy they implement.

For what it's worth, I'm on the side of the more Covid mitigation measures, the better.  Just in case someone from Viking is monitoring this forum and keeping score!  🙂

54 minutes ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Alla was fantastic in St Petersburg and of course we had 2 overnights.  Look on the port of call boards for other recommendations for the locations you will be cruising in.

I agree!  I used Alla for a 2 day St. Petersburg tour (group tour with others on my roll call on another cruise line) and it was wonderful.  We asked her to get us back an hour earlier than the tour called for, just to be safe, and she did so without us missing any of our tour stops.