Planning to cruise

Greetings from Viking Venus on the Viking Homelands cruise doing the return run from Stockholm to Bergen.  

On 7/14/2024 at 7:08 AM, OneSixtyToOne said:

 

We will be on the Venus in a couple of weeks. I will ask some crew members and see if they know anything.

Im on Venus now.

Have been told by staff who should know that she goes to Australia in December.  

I wonder how the non English guests felt about the wall to wall to England atmosphere on board.  Unlike the upcoming Olympics, the England football team is not Team GB attracting more widespread support.  Scotland and Wales has not had the same enthusiasm for the Euros since their teams were eliminated and I know there are German, and no doubt other, guests on QA. 

Hi from Viking Venus. 

Every flavour tea bags are available at self service points.  The brand is Dilmah.  

Our steward provided the kettle on request.  Although not asked for, he has also removed the coffee maker when we said we wouldnt be using it.  He puts a jug of milk in the fridge daily.  He also asked us which type of tea we wanted and a regular supply of English breakfast appears.  

We tend to explore indepedently, having researched what we want to see and how to go about it.  Often that involves spending on public transport, entry fees, a coffee or two.  

If tendering into Dun Laoghaire you might not arrive onshore that early, or in fact at all.  As conditions were unfavourable we didnt get there until almost lunchtime.  Then you need to travel into Dublin.  There is more than enough to do and see in the city.  The Book of Kells is likely to have queues, taking time.  Powerscourt on the same day seems ambitious.  We have done it all but over several land stays.  

I cruise.  I contribute to such problems.  I have much sympathy for the residents of places that can be inundated.  

Many years ago we were on a small expedition type ship that called in Ketchikan, Alaska at the same time as 4or 5 large ships.  There were over 10,000 pax and the town was swamped.  The local radio station had put out messages asking locals not to go into town.    

Another time we were sailing out of Venice accompanied by a flotilla of many small boats carrying noisy demonstrators protesting about cruise ships affecting the historic fabric.  In a way it was interesting but a lady by me on deck got quite heated about it all.  Her attitude was on the lines of how dare they etc etc.  I dont think my comment that they live here, we are just visitors went down too well.

Also, I have a friend living in a small port of call in Scotland.  She says they dread the cruise ships and do not go into town on days when ships are in.  It is crammed and locals cant get on the buses.  

I enjoy cruises, I enjoy seeing other places but I do see the other side of the story.

There is ample room for everything on multi surfaces in PV cabins.  

Google each port authority separately.  Cruise schedules are usually listed.  Look for date and ship.  Times of arrival and departure are usually listed and often the exact berth that can be checked against the port map on the same site. 

Remeber that any times are not exact.  They are subject to change especially if the dates are sometime off and are always dependent on such operational things as pilot availability etc.  Also the time will be when the ship arrives in the port not passenger disembarkation time which is after ship / port formalities and clearance.  Nevertheless I have often found such web sites helpful in forward planning.

Although we have an occasional coffee from a bar and in the dining room after dinner we are not great coffee drinkers and dont use the machine in the room.  On our last Viking cruise without any request our steward offered us an in room kettle to make tea .  He assumed, correctly, that as we are Brits we would want that.  The kettle arrived quicky and was well used. 

For those close to a John Lewis the cheese scones in their Place to Eat cafes are great.  My staple with a pot of tea for a quick lunch when shopping in town.  

We stayed overnight at one port before embarking the next day.  Although air was arranged by Viking the independent hotel stay meant we had to do our own transfer to the ship.  On the next morning, embarkation day, as we went to breakfast there were lots of people, luggage and Viking land reps at the hotel.  It seemed that Viking had taken several lounges for incoming guests and provided refreshments while they waited to board later.  I assume they were transferred to the ship later.  We left by taxi at an earlier time to suit ourselves.   

Many thanks.  Good to know.  

We did Trade Routes out of Bergen.  That was in a starbord room.  I would say get the cabin you want with starboard / port sides being one of the lower priorities.  As others have said, you dont see much land from balconies anyway.  Open decks are much better for viewing.

My priority for room selection is grade, deck, forward or aft facing, position on deck, away from stair wells, then which side.  Compromises have to be made, it is unlikely that everything will come together.

We enjoyed the itinerary.  It shows different scenery and countries with the contrasts within Europe, from the north Scandinavia to the warmer southern Latin Med .  Le Havre was missed, disappointing those who intended doing the Paris excursion.  As we are in the UK it was odd calling at Portsmouth (that we didnt know so well) and Falmouth where we had a few land hoidays. 

Enjoy the cruise and dont fret too much about side for viewing. 

2 hours ago, Pushpit said:

On deck 10? Quite possibly. It's quite reasonable sound volume around the pool itself on deck 9, but it you look upwards a bit, you will see the loudspeakers and can position yourself accordingly. Incidentally did you have problems in Royal Court Theatre? I noticed the loudspeakers were mainly near the front, the sound at the back was much lower in volume.

Yes deck 10 and away from the screen.  We sat there as it was more sheltered and were not alone.  

RCT.  I had problems here too but thats me.  OH found it fine.  We sat in the front section - to see!   I am always happy with the sound quality on the other 3 ships.  I noticed QA was different.  I have 2 aids, controlled by an app using bluetooth.  The volume was fine and I can control it anyway, up or down (useful if you want to turn some unwanted noise off or down!).  My problem was a sort of echo making speech in the talks sometimes a bit garbled and difficult to follow, marring enjoyment.  This can happen if there is too much electronic relay.  We didnt see any shows in the theatre simply because we were eating or not keen on a particular event. 

I see that Viking Venus is in Warnemunde today on its Viking Homelands cruise.  We are on its next cruise, the same in the opposite direction, also calling at Warnemunde.  We are booked on the included train excursion to Berlin, the on your own option on arrival there. 

My research shows that places including the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate, things you would wish to see, are closed up for the European Football tournament.  I am wondering if the excursions still went ahead and how things are in Berlin for the tourist.  Any comments?

6 hours ago, Pushpit said:

Now I think about it, that was fairly clever. I was there during England's football game against Slovakia, which had a dramatic final 10 minutes. The noise level was pretty much correct around the pool and seating areas, due to the careful distribution of multiple loudspeakers, probably 2 dozen plus. Each loudspeaker therefore didn't need to be that loud, they only had a fairly small aural footprint. But as soon as you were away from that area, say by the Wellness Café upstairs on deck 10, the sound fell away. I remember being on deck 11 at the end of the match (I'm rugby not soccer) and I could hear the spectators on deck 9 cheering, but not hear the TV sound at all. So I knew the result from the passengers, not the TV. Anyway, the acoustics are well designed and managed, the sound does not boom everywhere.

Following my last post and only just reading this, maybe the poorer sound quality for us was that we were sitting in the wrong place, on one of the balconies. 

6 hours ago, Ilovemyuke said:

Hello, when they show a film, or sports etc in the Pavilion Pool area, how is the sound controlled? Does it boom out over the whole area? Just wondering as we’re cruising on Queen Anne soon - thank you for any replies 😀

I know Im hard of hearing but the sound was often too quiet for me and hard to follow.  No subtitles.    

The night we went, earlyish and still light, it was pretty draughty.  People were taking pool towels to wrap round.  In fact we watched for a while and gave up. Its probably better in warmer places.   

Viking Cruises, for example, supplies earphones for sound and a blanket on each lounger although I havent experienced this myself.   

45 minutes ago, NE John said:

That’s great to read because the recent QM2 reviews have been dismal. If you like lamb, splurge on PG or QG next time and get the Dorset rack of lamb. The best. You also get many other food stuffs from the UK that we can’t get here: cold stream trout, Cornish crab, Loch Duart salmon etc. 

The lamb is also available in Club, including the other ships.  I too love it and found the quality really good.  I asked the MD where it was from.  He didnt know.  I come from a lamb producing country, I wondered if it was ours.  

Just saying thats how I found it. 

I agree that the new system is much better for hygiene.

Also glad to hear that there are now 2 servers per station.  That will have speeded things.  Clearly they have realised that the one in early days was insufficient at busy times and to get back up.

As for the nickname. It wasnt meant to suggest that it is a canteen.  It was a strange name change from what was the Lido or Kings Court.  The direct translation is worker, and foodhall could be canteen.

In February 2024 we did:-

San Juan     Walking tour on the evening of embarkation day.  Good guide.  A reasonable amount of ground covered and a good overview of the city.  On the full day in port we then walked the city on our own, having prepared a route beforehand and visiting both castles. 

Tortola     Included panoramic and beach.  Good to get a feel for the island.  Transport was basic but fun, open sided bench seated mini vans.  Hang on and get shaken!  The beach visit was short and possibly not the best beach on the island.  We are not beach or watersports people, we enjoyed the historic aspects of this cruise itinerary.  If a beach visit is your thing you may be better off making alternative plans.  

St Kitts    One of the few paid excursions.  The train.  A great ride through countryside past villages and former sugar plantations.  A rocky ride.  We enjoyed this, thought it was worth paying for.  

St Lucia    Included - enjoyed drive around island scenery, though hilly, and a stop at a lovely house and garden in the hills.  

Paid for - coastal cruise to the Pitons.  If like me you want to see the Pitons you do so from the sea.  This disappointed as for me it did not go far enough along the coast to see more.  Possibly there were time constarints.  As I was interested in the natural landscape, the music, free drinks etc were not what I wanted.  Depends on personal preferences. 

Barbados    As we had visited a few times and done the main sites we toured on our own.  Went to and from the history museum by taxi. 

Roseau Dominica    included   Enjoyed tour of the town.  Saw views, walked through the interesting botanic gardens and visited a crafts workshop for people with physical or mental disabilites.  I was pleased to buy some of the output, gaining some souvenirs and helping the charity.  I know that not everyone cared for this or wanted to walk in the gardens - it is not all by bus.   

Paid for  Panoramic Dominica and Jacko Falls.  We found it disappointing and maybe not worth paying for.  A long drive, not that interesting. Stop at the Falls was a small tourist site at the side of the road.  Falls could be seen - just - if you went down a narrow path buf it wasnt easy. Stop was a bit tedious.  

Antigua    Very good tour of the island with a stop to overlook English harbour and visit to Nelsons Dockyard, a historic site with buildings, explanations of the history etc.  A must if you like history.  

St Martin    Our least favourite tour.  A bus ride through part of the built up area and an overlong stop at a town with a market. 

St Thomas    No tour.  Research suggested that the stop was just a souvenir spot.  We walked the town on our own but it was not as interesting as other islands.  

The Artisans Foodhall, which I have sampled, translates to Workers Canteen. 

Cunards name posh, no?  to relate to another thread. 

Sorry, I dont know if kedgeree is available but I doubt it.  The notices of menu at each serving station were rather small to read.  What I do know is that on the only occasion we used the Foodhall / Canteen for breakfast, by the time I had reached the head of the queue at what was apparently the toast station the server said there was no bread.  By then I had lost the will and time to queue elesewhere.

We have sailed on Queen Anne.  That experience led us to cancel the other cruise we had already booked on her and transfer the deposit to an alternative on QM2.  It was not the passnger mix, it was the ship. That's our opinion, clearly there are others who like Queen Anne.  Unlike some, we like QM2, possibly more so than the Vistas.  We pays our money and takes our choice.  

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

Has any classical music appeared on QA? That is far more of a worry to me than having slightly fewer Gala Nights. I haven’t heard of most of the people mentioned above, but assume it’s pop music.

I was on the QA Maiden.  A young lady who informed us she was the "Activities Manager" (to be honest I thought it sounded like something from my late father's care home) bounced up to be sociable and have a chat.  Being classical music fans who attend concerts at home and very much enjoy the traditional classical concerts and other similar entertainment on the other 3 Cunard ships on which we have sailed many times I asked her when classical music was featuring.  She said It's not.  All that has gone.  Oh just on QA says me.  No, across the board.  Not good.  I'm not keen on pop and much else.  Each to their own, I know, but it did seem that something for all tastes is no longer going to be the case.  The QR concerts are not revenue earning opportunities.  I dont think such an event would work in the QA QR that is a thoroughfare, more so than on the Vistas, and has a bar and noise.