iowa52402

We were given this email contact, when onboard the Jupiter 3 weeks ago. I received an immediate canned response that my message was received, and was contacted within the advertised 5 business days thereafter.

Cruised on the Jupiter, Nov 3-10 in a DV2 cabin, our first experience with Viking Ocean. We found that both the dining and excursion reservation experience was a disappointment compared to the Viking promotional material and our expectations. The ship itself was beautiful, but I'm also onboard to see the cities we visit, and desire to see far more then the included brief walking tours that are guaranteed. We were never able to access any dining reservations ahead of time, though once onboard a member of our group talked with guest services, and we got into Manfredi's two nights. But frankly, we found the menu and service at The Restaurant to be as good or better so in the end it really wasn't an issue, but just annoying. We were very surprised and disappointed how many excursions sold out before it was our allowed time to book. We've cruised with multiple of the larger lines (Carnival, Disney, RC, Norwegian) and never had an excursion sell out so I never thought that could happen on a ship that's only 930 passengers! We spoke with Viking on board and once we got home, and I also see from this message board that this is not an uncommon experience. I guess seeking out reliable third party vendors is the only way to go, using boards like these to get recommendations. I am curious if any of the other upscale ocean lines have this excursion selling out issue ? Also, is Viking River Cruises better in that regard ? The people I talked to at Viking implied it was, but I'm not sure I trust them at this point.