millybess

Very interesting thread which I have just come across after being away for a bit. My question: Is it possible that Viking would use different management companies for different ships?

That's a surprising generalization. We would like more upbeat music in one of the lounges and Viking is the cruise line for us. As you point out, Viking "has never positioned themselves in the market as a nightlife ship" and we aren't into the nightlife. But, just as an example, having someone perform in the Explorer's Lounge who pretends to be talented playing the same music over, and over again with different lyrics? Or, another example, having a percussion, brass accompaniment on your iPad as you play the guitar? Maybe Viking could do better. On some of our cruises, Viking has provided very good lounge entertainment -- Mark, the guitar player is a fine example.

Totally agree! Either a PS1 or 2, or an ES2 (on the newer ships our preferred ES is now an ES1 unfortunately).

Yes, a female guitarist.

Orion was built in 2018; Sea in 2016. Admittedly, the British menu was good at Chef's Table, although they substituted chicken eggs for quail eggs. And in Manfredi's, I enjoyed the short rib. DH enjoyed almost everything at Chef's Table, but didn't like anything at Manfredi's. At the WC: The eggs Benedict were always cold. The seafood: shrimps, lobster and crab were consistently mushy -- like they had been frozen and then thawed a tad too long. The NY Striploin was uncuttable. In regards to ship shape, the floor in the Explorer's Lounge by the piano is totally worn and very deeply scratched. When we started to cross the Pacific and all of the outdoor loungers were removed from the Aquavit, we noticed 2 large blotches on the deck, portside, which appeared to be holes. These would ordinarily have been covered by a lounger or a side table. Anyway, our point is, we feel that our 3 sailings on Viking Sea in the last 14 months were excellent and very good value. Our sailing on Viking Orion -- not so much. Hence, we are hoping that our experience on Venus will be as good as our sailings on Viking Sea. We have 3 more cruises booked with Viking and we are very much hoping that our recent experience was an anomaly.

I agree with all of that. And our experience on Orion was definitely unexpected. Obviously, one wouldn’t know for certain who the management team would be at booking — although, there might be a pattern if you really think about it. Hopefully our experience on Venus will be similar to our numerous experiences on Sea. Regardless, Orion is not in good shape. And again, obviously, we wouldn’t take a cancellation hit on a whim.

No longer true. We will consider the ship. We have sailed on Viking Sea 3 times since March 2023. We sailed on Viking Orion once and disembarked on May 14th. The difference was very surprising. It was like it was a different cruiseline. We had zero issues with staff on Orion, but Sea was different because it was a "happy ship" as far as the staff goes, and it showed. There was a huge difference in staff being happy with their jobs and also a difference in the service. The food on Sea was consistently excellent in all venues for all 3 cruises. The food on Orion over 5 weeks was consistently inedible -- just my opinion. The condition of the Viking Sea ship was very different. It was in very good shape. The Orion is a newer ship, but appeared to be far more worn. We had a PS2 and it had issues. Just one example would be the carpet "bubbling", but there were other issues. The Explorer's Lounge is in very rough shape. The floor is very scratched and worn, and the arms of the chairs are ripping. We had a cruise booked on Orion for March and have changed it to a similar cruise on Venus. So I take back what I said about not booking for the ship. Hopefully the issues on Orion will be addressed.

Absolutely agree with you. We aren't so much on the "younger end", but would like some of the music to be more up-beat. We disembarked Orion yesterday after a 5 week cruise. The guitar player in the Explorers Lounge played 3 sets every evening -- the same tune, just different lyrics. It was mind-numbing.

Welcome to Hong Kong. We were sitting in the hotel having breakfast and you sailed right by -- a happy sight to see. Sorry the weather is not great, but enjoy your day here!

Just to add: dates, itinerary and availability of preferred cabin and location would be our deciding factors, not the ship.

We will be on Orion for the first time next week. We have mostly sailed on Sea, and as recently as January. We really like Sea and we haven’t noticed any wear.

And we’ll have one of Viking’s better CDs. Should be fun!

We have often changed Euros and U.S $ at Guest Services for smaller bills.

I don't think there is a difference between U.S. and Canada invoicing. We never see our OBC from our TA until the day after we board

@Hockeyump Actually I see you're getting off as we're getting on. I hope you have enjoyed your cruise!

@Hockeyump Thanks very much. See you next week!

Very insightful. Thanks!

So I did a bit of research, and it seems they are rubber ducks that some pax bring on board with their name, location, etc. tagged. They hide the duck, and If you find the duck, you add your name, location, etc. Maybe it's a group on the F book? I guess, eventually, the duck travels around the world. I'm not sure I have this right.

Same.

If you are leaving in a few days, I guess you can't cancel the SSBP on MVJ, but you may be able to cancel it on board.

How did Mark injure his hand (if it's okay to share that info)? Mark is the best guitar player we've come across on Viking.

I have never tried that, but I find that a self-adhesive card holder stuck to the back of my phone works well.

I think the point is, "what did they know, and when did they know it?"

I agree. I think the notification came a few days after the NW Passage pax could cancel.

And, right, we pay nothing to our agent. We pay Viking directly through ACH. That is what gives us the 3.3% discount. Our agent has nothing to do with these payments. Although she does send a reminder to do that about 10 days in advance.