Eaches

The shore activities are good - the first two stops after LA are not major ports with areas of interest but Viking made the best of it and brought in some locals to explain their vocations . I think Tahiti is very similar to Aruba. Beautiful but commercial.

 

The nightly entertainment is good - only limited to the size of the Star Theatre. The few acts where good , but we are not looking for any Broadway Acts on this cruise . The shows could be called entertaining. The show in Tahiti was sold out but a second one was scheduled and it was fantastic.

 

Just do yourself a favor and write the check - you will love the 1st Class 2019 WC

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

This is an excellent thread and vehicle for reporting on and keeping up with the 2017/18 WC. For those of us considering the 2019 WC can I ask a few questions?

1) How would you rate the sea days activities? What type of activities have been offered? I assume you have had a fair share of enrichment lectures and of course the afternoon bridge games, but any other type of action?

 

2) How would you rate the evening after dinner entertainment? Has Viking mixed guest entertainers with their on-board ensemble of singers and dancers (1,2 or 3 dance couples?). What type of guest entertainers have you had? Magicians, comedians, singers ( of course Heather is included and well appreciated).

 

3) How has the table service been in the main dining room in terms of time? Exceptional, adequate, or needs to improve? The staff on our Amazon cruise worked their tails off but IMHO just has too many tables to handle and so things sometimes dragged out.

 

4) Same question about service at lunch out on the open deck 7 aft of the buffet. We were often finished eating our meal before the beverages arrived or we had even seen a waiter to ask for something. It was a little better at the pool bar.

 

5) Later as time progresses it would be interesting to get an evaluation of the Chef's Table fixed menus. If I recall correctly, the more traditional include Venetian, Marco Polo, a Chinese one with Peking duck, and a few Nordic offerings. I understand Viking intends to bring aboard new chefs along the way to make new menus available.

 

Last, when any of you see Heather, could you ask her if she is scheduled for the 2019 WC, and if not, does she think viking will continue to follow the formula used on your cruise? It's very different I hope from what they follow for shorter 1-2 week voyages.

 

Many thanks for any input, and we'll continue to follow this thread and your comments with great interest as we approach final payment for the 2019 WC.

The shore activities are good - the first two stops after LA are not major ports with areas of interest but Viking made the best of it and brought in some locals to explain their vocations . I think Tahiti is very similar to Aruba. Beautiful but commercial.

The nightly entertainment is good - only limited to the size of the Star Theatre. The few acts where good , but we are not looking for any Broadway Acts on this cruise . The shows could be called entertaining. The show in Tahiti was sold out but a second one was scheduled and it was fantastic.

Just do yourself a favor and write the check - you will love the 1st Class 2019 WC

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

On this screen there was no sound but if you viewed in your room or other locations they had sound !

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Most of the time , no sound coming from the sports announcers is a blessing! And in this case it was an extremely Wonderful event

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

And a couple of guys near us had some type of radio link we could just hear. ;p

Jim and his crew of reporters are rapidly approaching Tahiti this afternoon. Enclosed are a few pictures of the island

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thanks for the tip. I do need my coffee first thing in the early morning, but room service or runnning to the nearest station to get a good cup of expresso based Americano coffee will always work for me.

Best place for coffee on board will be in the Explorers Lounge on the 7 th deck next to Mamson or room service

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

When a sports game is shown on the large screen how do passengers hear the sound? Are they given headphones or is the sound coming from large speakers on deck?

On this screen there was no sound but if you viewed in your room or other locations they had sound !

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

And just look at the crowd in attendance!

They where there , many where in the WinterGarden in air conditioning. We sat under the overhangs to use the shade , the sun and heat were tough to take for a whole game !

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

You sometimes need to lift the bed slightly to get past that outer rail. There is normally another 2-3 inches of height once past the outer rail of the bed.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We fitted 6 suitcases under our two beds with additional space available. It cleared the room nicely!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Yes, Viking came thru !

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Rumor has it that we will also get the Super Bowl live - to make it even better -it’s a SEA DAY !

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Very nice!!!

 

 

 

Across multiple Cruise Critic forums around this time of year, I always see threads about whether or not guess will be able to view US football playoff or bowl games. Not everyone is as lucky as you guys. Enjoy!!!

Yes, Viking came thru !

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Another beautiful sea day halfway between The Marquesas and Tahiti. There are no annoying announcements on board just important messages and the Noon position report from the Captain. He always refers to himself as “your designated driver “. The Captain and officers are visible and approachable. Our wonderful cabin attendant is going home from Auckland so I guess we will have to break in another.[emoji102][emoji41]

Thank You Viking Management for letting us see the NFL games this week! What a treat under the beautiful skies of the South Pacific we got to watch both the Playoff games ! Just Wonderful !

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Yes to 110v outlets and 2 USB ports by each nightstand in DV category, plus 5 USP connections in the desk lamp. Then 2 each (110v/220v) outlets alongside each side of the desk, and a few wall outlets too. Also the arrangement of the closet is different between V1/V2 (alongside the bed, inconvenient to access) and DV (opens along the entry corridor). V1/V2 only have 3 small drawers (some ships may have modified half of the closet by inserting a 3 drawer unit that's half height). DV have 12 drawers, plenty of space.

Thanks for telling us the correct names of each of the power connections . For most people there is enough power to power all your equipment.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Since so many people do this, I wonder why people book the DV cabins. No more space and only a few perks that mount up to quiet an increase in price...but that's me.

I’m surprised that Viking still offers the V class cabin , other than position on the ship both cabins are the same !

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Eaches, beautiful pix. I have not yet mastered the insertion of pictures to CC posts. Mine always show as thumbnails. What am I doing wrong? I just don't seem to get the "official" directions. BTW, DW Lois managed to find a necklace on Nuku Hiva that was "necessary". :eek: She can always find the good stuff. Good news is it only cost $2,500 PF ($25).:cool: A sea day today and bright and sunny. I need to avoid the sun some for a few days as I am a bit "crunchy". I second Eaches comments about the crew. Every single one we have been around has been excellent. Our cabin attendant is tops. Never had such a consistently clean cabin. She even cleans the balcony glass each day. We never have a spot on any glass or mirrors. Amazing considering the (one of us) slob that lives in the room. ;p;p

Aboard the Viking Sun!

We will miss this special crew, many of them are the best from other Viking ships. We will loose both our cabin attendants in March ( in Hong Kong) because they are returning home for vacation time before opening the Orion . We will miss them both but they work so hard so time ashore is well deserved!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We also prefer a leisurely dinner followed perhaps by a drink while sitting in the explorer lounge listening to music, or the classical trio downstairs. We avoid the cruise lines with thousands of passengers and lots of splashy entertainment as it just doesn't appeal to us. But we have friends who want nothing else, and I am afraid they might be disappointed on their upcoming Viking cruise.

 

 

 

We are also thinking about the 2019 WC. It is indeed very different from the 2018 cruise, and Viking told me when I called, that that was intentional, as many doing the 2018 WC are also signed up to do the 2019. So a well-planned marketing tool, I think. I, myself, prefer the 2019 itinerary, but to each her own.

I believe I’m right on these figures but you can ask your travel agent to confirm. More than 30 percent of the people ( myself included ) have booked Viking’s 2919 WC while on board the 2018 WC . Viking must be doing something RIGHT ! Many of the larger cabins are sold out or will be by the end of the cruise! People better decide or you will left on the dock AGAIN !

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Probably a good thing they add it to your bill. Some of staff appear to be in the dark about what is going on. Bad for passengers and other crew members who have something to offer. I feel like i am being herded around with cattle.

You can always give the special employee additional funds . That’s between you and the employee!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Best thing for storage is to have your attendant remove the in room coffee maker and the cups . This gives you a Great deal of additional storage space . You can get coffee at various locations on the ship and we’ve been in 6 different Ocean Cruises including their 140 day WC and never used their in room service

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Also leave all your extension cords home , there are plenty of connections in your cabin . Bring extra cords like the cables supplied by your cellphone /iPad mfg. . The only item I need a regular cord for is my 35mm battery charger and I can use their wall plug for that one . Just look at the light bases for additional plug in’s

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We have a DV3. We are bringing collapse cloth storage cubes to put on the top shelf of closet for some of our clothes. Also not taking as many clothes because we will use the self service laundry on our 15 day cruise. I will pack for 8 days.

Best thing for storage is to have your attendant remove the in room coffee maker and the cups . This gives you a Great deal of additional storage space . You can get coffee at various locations on the ship and we’ve been in 6 different Ocean Cruises including their 140 day WC and never used their in room service

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

There are so many opinions of what is necessary. The following is mine:

 

Medications with several extra days just in case

Outlet adapter to add outlets if you have a lot electric devices

Sunscreen

Lotion for after burning when you forget to put on the sunscreen

Magnetic nightlight - we put it on the ceiling

Sunglasses

If you have to fly to reach your cruise port then a charging block is a good idea

 

Regarding clothing and packing, you really don't need to bring a lot. Wearing the same outfit twice on a 7 day cruise won't be noticed.

 

Also, not all cabin walls are metal. Our sky suite cabin walls were not. Only our door and ceilings were metal. We just got off the Summit yesterday.

 

Toiletries can be purchased in May cruise ports so if you forget anything or just don't want to pack them it's not a problem.

 

One dollar and five dollar (US) for tips are a great idea but not essential if you have prepaid your tips. In my limited experience though extra cash tipping does help though. Bartenders and other staff seem to remember those that tip.

 

 

Most of all I'll echo what has been said before, take a good attitude. Things will go wrong. In the scheme of things you're on vacation so just have fun and enjoy yourself. Don't sweat the small stuff. And most everything is small.

 

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

Good List - Especially the attitude part - REMEMBER the STAFF are people, very nice people who are not on the ship just for you ! ASK don’t demand! Life is short so Enjoy the RIDE !

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We had good reception on our cruise. We did not stream, but I was doing some blogging on the trip.

 

 

 

Keep in mind you have a multitude of factors that can impact your experience:

 

 

 

# of folks logging on at the same time, and what they are pulling down

 

current reception of ships satellite

 

where you are sitting on the ship and the location of the wifi repeaters

 

since it is free, everyone will be loggin on

 

 

 

We never stream as we download stuff the the ipad before we leave.

The Viking Management is looking for bloggers and have asked everyone to not do it while they are on their ships . Don’t get mad at Viking for poor reception, most of the time it’s the folks who are watching movies or doing games on line without downloading the items prior to boarding .

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Anchored off Taiohae, Nuku Hiva Island, Marquesas, French Polynesia. Strange to see land after 8 days of nothing but water. Not another land mass not even a ship. The Pacific is one BIG ocean. And we still have a lot more to cross but stops will come more frequently now. The weather has been tropical perfect. Sunny and warm. One thing I have noticed with sunny sea days in the tropics is that the sun is very intense here near the equator. We are from Arizona so are used to lots of hot sun but we got scorched in less than an hour by the pool. There is a major need for umbrellas at the pool areas. Both pool area loungers are in full sun. The midships pool has some loungers shaded during parts of the day and shaded loungers with fabric cushions which you would not want to sit on with wet suits. I hope Viking considers umbrellas as we have had on other lines which makes the pool side experience much better. Mostly the ship is very well thought out and the crew are doing a great job keeping all the areas clean. Heading ashore to see what we can see. Will be weird not moving.:cool:

We have nothing but praise for both Viking Ocean and everyone who puts in so many hours making our WORLD CRUISE something special. From the Cuban Experience, to the Crossing the Equator Celebrations, to making sure we had NFL playoffs on the Large Screen In the pool area. Viking and their Employees deserve a “HUGE THANK YOU! “

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I have the Cruise Critic app on my Android cell phone and after I've logged in, I attach a photo in exactly the same way as I would if I were using FB messenger, Whatsapp, Viber, etc. I wasn't sure the pics would actually show up to tell you the truth! Here's a photo of the old port in Marseille that we saw on our included tour today.

 

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

The picture is wonderful!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Tonight I called Carnival to discuss my options on canceling our cruise on Splendor over this asinine policy to eliminate Adult Only pools.

After getting the news it would cost me about $1300, I was connected to a CS person who heard my complaint.

Of course she could have been feeding me a line of BS but said management was polling the responses and was open to a change.

Love kids, raised 2 and have cruised with their children.

However, adults who pay full fare and spend much of the money on a cruise need and deserve a place where we can go to swim, relax, drink( bar revenue ) and have a good time without the screaming and splashing that goes with kids.

If you feel this way please contact Carnival and make your voice heard!

Go on Viking - no underage kids .

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Had the Crossing the Line ceremony yesterday. A bright sunny day for a change. As we crossed the Equator, the Captain and Cruise director introduced crew dressed as the King of the Seas and other Vikings. Well done and lots of fun as us Pollywogs were converted to Shellbacks. Crew who were initiated were charged with various "crimes" such as the General Manager being charged with endlessly showing cricket on the tv instead of the NFL playoffs (to big cheers) and the passengers were charged with "too many crimes to list". After being determined "guilty" all then paraded before the "Vikings" to kiss a fish, jump in the pool, and take a drink of Aquavit. All good fun. Last night we had certificates of the crossing delivered to our rooms. A great souvenir. This trip has several touchstones for mariners. Not only will we cross the Equator again northbound, we cross the International Date line (and lose a day) finally docking in Greenwich England, location of the Prime Meridian or 0 degrees longitude. 180 degrees from the International Date Line. Rumor has it we are docking off an island in French Polynesia tonight and we are scheduled to meet the Pilot at 7am tomorrow for the island of Nuku Hiva. All are ready to go exploring. The sea days were welcome at first in order to adjust to the ship and meet fellow passengers. Now it is time to explore. More later. :cool:

A picture of the Beautiful Mermaid at the celebration!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Had to laugh at some of the comments by those who have obviously not been to Cuba..."slums", "Walmart island", "restrictions."

 

I just got back last month from a cruise to Cuba - it was fantastic!! We docked in all the ports and spent 2 days/1 overnight in Havana, 1 day in Cienfuegos and 1 day in Santiago de Cuba. There were no police or monitors roaming around and no one cared where you went or what you did. Only time I saw any police or military was at the military cemetery where Fidel Castro and Jose Marti are buried. They just stood around and didn't bother us at all.

 

It's true that many of the buildings are crumbling, but they're not slums - just old buildings that the government hasn't kept fixed up. The people dress very modern and clean - they look like anyone in a civilized society, not like a third world country. They're all on their cell phones, have the Internet and many are on Facebook! They're a happy people and enjoy meeting Americans. We sat in a park in Havana (with no other tourists around) watching people out walking their dogs, children kicking soccer balls around and attended a church service. We watched a 15 year old girl having her quinceanera photos taken in several beautiful outfits, had our hair trimmed at a local beauty salon with other customers, went to a dolphin show, had lunch at a small paladar, bought cigars & rum at a local shop, rode in 3 beautiful classic 1950's cars, shopped in a drug store, visited a small pharmacy museum, and had a Cuban coffee on a rooftop terrace.

 

The Cubans we met while we wandered around were friendly, kind and many knew English. We asked questions about their lives, culture and government and they asked us many too.

 

Although I wouldn't want to live in their form of government, they said they were happy with it. They said they like not having to pay for education through college, medical care, food, housing, cheap electric and they get a small amount of spending money (about $30/mo/pp). And they can now have their own small businesses or second jobs to make more money. Their only complaint to us was that they would like to be able to leave Cuba to travel. My advice is to visit there yourself before making assumptions. I certainly hope to return for another visit someday.

Thank You !

Sent from my iPhone using Forums