Hockeyump

I think a lot depends on the cruise. We were in the far east earlier in the year where bringing your own on board is not a viable option. Lots of stemmed glasses!

& that's exactly when a tip is deserved.

Was it the female guitarist (we disembarked in Hong Kong)?  In our opinion she was too loud and the music was intrusive rather than background particularly at busy times.

5 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

It seems that some Explorers’ Lounge performers think they are headliners instead of background music.

Absolutely.

53 minutes ago, KBs mum said:

They won't, out of politeness, but will sneer when you are out of sight. Euros may be of use, if near a eurozone country, dollars are as much use as euros would be in the US

Absolutely agree. 

We had a similar issue recently on the Orion. There was an acoustic guitarist/singer in the Explorers Lounge that was loud so people had speak louder! We did raise this and spoke with the cruise director who allegedly had the amplifiers turned down as they are apparently controlled centrally. Didn't seem to make a difference and when the Lounge only had a few people it was not a pleasant experience. We decamped elsewhere if we wanted a drink during her sets.

Disagree and that's very judgemental. We have been sat close to noisy diners who were not taking advantage of alcohol. 

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

What time did the excursion leave and return to the ship may I ask?

 

I guess that we look at the description and know if there is a snack or a meal, and we plan accordingly.

 

Most excursions we go on typically leave in the early morning and are back for lunch or leave after lunch.

 

In the morning excursions if we want to stay in the town/city we have lunch there on our own.

 

We typically don't gravitate to the excursions with a meal included.

I think it was 10:00 to 15:30 with no meal break.  Many of the excursions on that cruise were longer due to the distances from the ports to the main destinations. 

On the Bangkok to Hing Kong cruise last month we had an excursion that was 5 hours with no food. Spoke with guest services and got a lunch bag. Sandwich, fruit and cookies. Not advertised and we were the only people who had this.

12 hours ago, shipboy said:

I am Scottish and we only have 2 seasons in the year, winter and July 😁

What about the mosquito season!

In my opinion it is the food offerings, choice and quality, that have noticeably declined particularly in the World Cafe and Mafredis. On our recent cruise this was the main issue for us, everything else was at or above expectation. We did give instant feedback but not sure the explanations were accurate.

Love the beds!

Left Orion earlier this week., no excursion offered.  Our flight was 19:40 and we left the ship at 08:15, all departing passengers had to be off ship by 10:00. We were taken to the Regent Hotel where all our luggage was held in a separate but accessible room and well guarded! We had a conference room with tea, coffee, water and cookies but only dining room chairs so not very comfy. We walked around the area, plenty of thing to look at and a lovely promenade for strolling. Very close to the Star Ferry terminal as well.  Our bus to the airport was 16:00 and this was the last of the day so a couple who has a 23:00 flight had a long wait at the airport.

We went to Stanley Market and some stalls take every major currency plus plastic.

Currently on Viking Orion and the food quality has definitely dropped. It may be the area but seafood seems to dominate in the World Cafe and so if you don't like this, which my husband doesn't, then choices are limited. The couple of times we went to Manfredi's the pasta of the day was seafood, no lasagne so didn't go again. There were quite a few empty tables so perhaps others feeing the same. Our overall view generally is when it is good it is very good but too many off days.

I assume you reported these issues?

On Orion at the moment and was rendered speechless by a man in a bathrobe and baseball cap in the Explorers Lounge this evening. Nothing on his lower legs and I daren't look too close anywhere else.

5 hours ago, sk99 said:

Were you able to do two included tours on the same day? I get an error message when trying.

Viking does not permit two included tours in the same port. That's probably the reason for the error message.

It is very hot! We have had a couple of issues but they have been dealt with very well. 

I can't find the thread where @millybess (I think) asked for these details. Currently on Orion so up to date. Temperature in Explorers Lounge also mentioned. We are in there every night and either sleeveless or short sleeves. Walking around tonight I found the Living Room area cooler than the EL.

We're also on the Orion. For us this is not an issue.

What happens if someone wants to use the ladder?

If I see this on our upcoming cruise I may well stand behind them, in view, and have an imaginary phone conversation. If/when questioned I would say I thought this was the area for public conversations. Bit like the area dedicated for smokers.

One of the first places we check as well. 8 days before we can see what's on the menu!

Can someone on board ask them to fix the camera please! It's pointing skywards and those of us lurking are missing the views.