Steerpike58

One difference between HA and Viking that I've noticed while booking the excursions for our cruise seems to be 'shuttles' into town. It seems like HA charge for nothing but a coach into town and back. With Viking, they provided coach shuttles at no cost. Eg - Athens (Piraeus) - HA: This transfer may suit you if you would like to explore on your own. It consists of a motorcoach ride from the ship to the city. You will be dropped off at a central location, and your escort will show you to the Old Town (Plaka) area and advise you of the pick-up time for the return journey. You will have approximately two hours and twenty minutes to shop and explore on your own. Viking - in Athens (Pireaus), they just ran a coach to and from a central pickup location and published a schedule for the pickups (roughly every 30 mins or hour, with the last one clearly identified). This was free, and as noted gave you as much or as little time in town as you wanted. I do see that HA are providing an 'escort' to get you to Plaka. Google Maps did a fine job as our escort on Viking 🙂 So this is another way HA is charging for something that Viking 'build in' to their (much higher) price. So far, we've run up an 'excursion' cost of about $2,200 ($1,100 each), minus $400 (200 each) HIA credit so $1,800 so far. Viking guarantee at least 1 free excursion per port, so our excursion costs tend to be lower on Viking. The HA approach would seem to favor those who prefer to organize their own excursions, since you aren't already paying (indirectly) for the 'included' ones with Viking. At the end of the day, it will be interesting to see just how much cheaper these HA cruises are going to be!

Thanks for all the info here! I ended up booking two cruises on HA on Friday; a single-occupancy circle-Japan cruise next March with my buddies (the ones who will be in the Neptune Suite, requiring me to have Club Orange so I can join them) and one with my girlfriend to Malta in September. The price was so cheap (compared to Viking) that we upgraded to a 'Signature' room on the Malta cruise and it's still much lower than the Viking rate for a veranda room. We went for 'Club Orange' on the Malta cruise also; it seemed to give us a much lower price on the rooms, somehow (or at least, our HA travel guy was able to get us a better price than we could get on the website). The HA travel guy was very helpful. We're going to have two nights (one full day) in Rome at the start, and 4 nights (three full days) in Barcelona at the end. HA seem to have fewer 'pre-' and 'post-' cruise extensions compared to Viking, but - we felt the last two pre / post extensions with Viking were not good value anyway so we'll just put together our own package. Now we get to see how the excursion booking process is, compared to Viking.

I kept notes/screen shots. It's a 14-day Iceland cruise, from Rotterdam, but - it's for single occupancy so the rate is basically double the typical 'double occupancy' quote (which gets doubled at the end, for two). I've since been looking at lots of cruises, and the premium for choosing your own room seems to vary wildly, I believe depending on what range of 'other' rooms exist in inventory. So, for example, if there's only a few rooms left, and those rooms are at the bottom level of the category, the price difference is zero. But if you started out with, say, obstructed view', then go 'choose your own room', the difference jumps up because the range of rooms shown isn't restricted to obstructed view rooms only. Thats my current theory!

I try real hard on cruises, especially since Covid, to avoid elevators at all costs - I view elevators as germ concentrators, and stairs as weight-loss devices/gym substitutes 🙂 . But yes, I will find a way to get to the Cafe. Or just eat in the cafe ...

To clarify, on the itineraries I've looked at (4 looked at in detail today!), HA typically arrive at a port at 7 or 8am, and depart from the port around 4pm, 6pm, or very rarely 11pm - almost never spend any nights in the port. EG - (HA snippet from a longer itinerary here): Compare that to this from Viking, similar itinerary (In reverse) - this is from our recent cruise): (I just noticed they didn't state the departure time from Sihanoukville 🙂 - it left around 6pm I believe). As you can see, only in Hue (Chan May) did they arrive and depart the same day. It seems like Viking often give you two half-days in a port, and spend the night in port, while HA arrive very early, and depart very late, but are always sailing overnight. Again - not a scientific analysis, I just happened to compare these two in detail.

My friends tell me the Noordam has a 'dedicated VIP section' for CO within the main dining room area. So that's why they want me to get CO, so I can join them in that section. Makes sense.

Since you have experience with Viking, I do have a question for you if I may. Looking at the HA itineraries, it seems like HA very rarely spend an overnight in port. We just got back from a Viking cruise in Asia (Bangkok to Hong Kong), and HA have an almost identical itinerary (Hong Kong to Singapore). But comparing the two in more detail, we had 5 overnights in port, with some of them two nights/3 days (Bangkok, Sihanoukville, HoChiMin City, HaLong Bay, Hong Kong) while HA seem to only have one overnight, in Bangkok (but HA then goes on to two extra destinations). A couple of other quick reviews of itineraries suggested a similar pattern (though I'm still new to their itineraries, of course). Are overnights in port more expensive for the cruise line? I also noticed, Viking seem to give you two nights in both the start and the end port, while HA just 'depart' on the first day and 'arrive' on the last day. Not sure what to make of this - though it does give you (on the first port) a bit of a buffer in case you have issues with flying in.

Thanks for all your detailed responses! Very helpful! I'll try to ask follow on questions in context ... let's see if this works ... (crystalspin said): There are Nespresso type machines IN neptune suites but I have not heard much good about them! Also I have no memory of seeing anyone toast their own bread in the Lido. The Exploration Cafe is on Deck 3 on the Noordam, starboard between midship and forward stairwells/elevators. Lattes are not free, but they are reasonable and probably not worth booking with HIA. I hate Nespresso machines; I just want steamed milk with an espresso shot. The Exploration Cafe is on Deck 3; Google tells me the Lido Cafe is on deck 9 ... so I'd be running up and down stairs to go between the two. Is the Lido the main location for breakfast buffet, and can I at least order a latte in the Lido (served, and paid for)? Regarding toast - every breakfast buffet I've seen in the past few years (cruises, hotels, etc) has had a pile of fresh bread next to either a toaster, toaster oven or a 'conveyor belt' toaster. Do HA simply provide a stock of recently toasted bread in the buffet? I like my toast fresh, and 'very' dark (I call it cremated, for emphasis!). To restate my desires - I feel like my needs are incredibly 'basic' for breakfast - I don't want bacon/eggs/omelets/sausages/benedicts/porridge/cereal/pancakes, etc - just fresh toast, lattes, and fresh fruit. I guess I could 'place an order' for a latte if that's possible in the lido, but if it's a true 'buffet' (pure self-serve), maybe not? The Viking 'buffet' is more like a full-service restaurant that just happens to have a lot of stuff ready to be picked up. It has an army of cooks and waiters on hand ready to custom make everything, and they'll get you the latte if you ask (I just prefer to do it myself as it's faster). (crystalspin said): The number of specialty dinners included in HIA depends on the length of the cruise, which you did not mention. Duration would be 14 days. My travelling companions are HA veterans but they've been doing Neptune for so long I don't think they remember what it was like to be in the lower grade rooms! But they did suggest I get Club Orange, making it sound like I would need to do that to be able to hang out with them easily. Thanks again for your help! Edit to add (since no replies yet!) This description says (about the Lido Restaurant, at night) "A casual dinner with waiter service, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., incorporates a couple of entrees from the dining-room menu and other options, along with multiple appetizers, soups, salads and desserts." So does that mean, Lido switches from Buffet (breakfast and lunch) to 'waiter service' for dinner, and if so, does that mean there's no full-blown 'buffet' for dinner? Using the Viking example again, their 'World Cafe' 'buffet' is more of a hybrid full serve/buffet than a classic buffet; they have plenty of cooks on hand ready to grill a steak, salmon, mahi-mahi, tuna, etc plus there's an array of prepared items to take (eg, 'side dishes'). They don't serve you at the table - you have to walk up and either pick up food or order and wait for food. So is there anything like that with the Noordam?

Thanks for informing me about the 'quench' package! Works out at $21/day it seems - probably worth it if i drink 2-3 lattes and a few bottles of sparkling water, which is my daily dose. But it does say ''Enjoy ... bottled water ... and Exploration's Cafe Beverages". I'm still not clear on where exactly I can get a latte on the ship to have with my breakfast; I want to have the latte with my breakfast buffet; is that 'Exploration Cafe'? (You mention Lido Cafe above). With coffee, I don't touch a drop after breakfast, but during breakfast, I want them fast and furious! Since my friends already have the benefits of Club Orange, and will presumably make reservations and get seated, won't I simply be able to join them at their table, without needing my own 'priority access'? The extra entrees is obviously a benefit. When you say "all restaurants are available to you, you can make a reservation at Canaletto and Pinnacle Grill" (with the Club Orange), is that unlimited - like, every night if I so desired?

Thanks for the detailed replies to my message; I'll review and digest the info and probably come back with more questions shortly. In the meantime, I did a sample booking and was surprised to see the very high premium associated with choosing your own room! For a basic 'ocean view' room on a 14-day cruise, the difference between choosing my own room vs letting HA assign it was $700 - (and I think the premium was higher if I chose a better room class). Is this always the case and why do they charge such a premium? The more I go through the details, the more I see the 'value proposition' eroding between HA and Viking! The 'starting price' for HA is much lower, but - Viking include specialty coffees, sparkling water, basic wine/beer with meals, basic WiFi, specific room choice, one excursion per port, (some) specialty dining, and probably more I haven't figured out yet! It's still hopefully going to be cheaper, but not by as much as I first thought. I guess that's somewhat obvious! (not trying to turn this into a Viking vs HA debate, just making some observations!).

I'm new to HA after a couple of Viking Ocean cruises. I loved the Viking experience but the value proposition of HA is hard to ignore so I want to give it a try. I'm looking at a cruise on the Noordam, joining a couple who are already booked on a cruise in a Neptune suite. I will be joining them solo and will be going for an Ocean View or Veranda suite. I prefer self-service for breakfast. All I want is toasted bread (toasted by me, to my darkness requirements 🙂 ), fresh fruit, and a few cafe lattes. Viking has a 'pretty decent' self-service espresso machine in the buffet - it's not perfect, but it's better than waiting in a long line for a custom-made latte. Does HA have anything like this available with the breakfast buffet? If not, what are my options for a latte? As I understand it, the 'HIA' package includes specialty coffees so I guess that means Cafe Lattes are not free? I typically drink 2 or 3 of them in quick succession and don't like to wait, which is why the machine is such a good option. Since I'll be in a basic room and my friends will be in a Neptune suite, what options do I have to be able to dine with them? Are there restaurants they can use that I can't? This description suggests there's no exclusive dinner restaurants that Neptune gets that I don't, other than perhaps reservations at the Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto. They suggested I get the 'club orange' deal in order to be able to dine with them, but all I see in the Club Orange description related to dining is 'Priority seating in the Dining Room for breakfast and dinner with an expanded menu'. The 'Have It All' package refers to: ‘Specialty dining: Dinner at a fine dining restaurant’, and 'Enhance your cruise with award-winning specialty dining at Pinnacle Grill, Canaletto or Tamarind' - does that just mean ONE dinner at one of the specialty restaurants is included in HIA? I don't drink alcohol so have no real need for a 'beverage' package, other than for the 'specialty coffees' (which I can't live without). I also drink a lot of sparkling water with meals - is that included? Also - if I don't purchase the HIA package, do I get any internet access at all - is there a basic level of access provided for all? Edit to add: One final thing - I saw in this thread some mention of 'open seating' and 'designated seating' (or similar). We tend to eat later (7pm or later). How exactly does designated seating work? One more thing - if I don't dine with them some evenings, will I have trouble eating alone? I'm not always in the mood for dining with strangers. Thanks for getting me started on my HA journey!

Ahhhh .... all the extras! - excursions, upgrades, cabin upgrades, etc. Yes, I can imagine taking advantage of those. We were given the beverages package upgrade on our recent cruise, unasked. Ironically, I don't drink any more (and my partner manages about 1 glass of wine a night) so it was a bit of a waste!

Following on from my post about Bangkok, we also observed a bit of a problem with our excursion to Macau from Hong Kong. The excursion was scheduled to leave the ship at around 8am. The excursion coach left pretty close to on-time, and reached the ferry terminal by 8:40am. We then discovered that our tickets for the ferry to Macau were not until 10am - over a 1 hour wait in the ferry terminal. That's around 25% of the excursion time spent sitting in the (not very pleasant) ferry terminal. I imagine they bulk-buy the ferry tickets well in advance, and buy them for the 10:00 am departure to allow for delays in the ship's arrival, and/or delays getting the excursion on the road - fair enough. But - there is now a brand-new road from Hong Kong to Macau (apparently a spectacular series of bridges and tunnels), providing an alternative to the ferry. I asked our tour guide why we weren't using the road, he made some reference to traffic, but - even if the traffic were heavy, I can't imagine it would have taken an extra hour. My own reading about that road suggests it is under-utilized. Does anyone have any idea why they don't use the new road for the excursions to Macau? Once in Macau, we thoroughly enjoyed the old town, full of fascinating food options. But we only got a quick walk through the old town, no time to stop, and then on to the next venue (a temple). After that, we were taken to the 'revolving restaurant' at the top of the observation tower for lunch, then on to a very fancy casino. The lunch was outstanding, I have to say, but - we'd have much rather spent more time in the old town area and would have gladly skipped the modern restaurant and casino. Having the option to stay in old-town and re-join the group later would have been ideal (or just make our own way to the ferry terminal for the return trip).

Just curious - using simple numbers to illustrate the point, not representative of the specific cruise under discussion - if current cruise were $10,000 then 110% would mean a $11,000 voucher. What if you rebook on a cruise that is $9,000? Will they refund the difference of $2,000? If not, then it would suggest you really need to find a cruise of greater value to get any real benefit from the 110% offer.

Well at least now you know what to expect! I hope you can use the info in this thread to better utilize the time available. I'd be curious to know if Viking will allow you to stay an extra night in the hotel, and let you somehow join the included excursion the next day - that's what I would have done if I'd have known. Biggest challenge I can see is, they 'block book' the hotels so the hotel doesn't have any record of you as an individual until the month before arrival, so coordinating that one extra night at the hotel, and making sure you don't have to suffer a room change, could be a challenge. I'd be curious to know what Viking say!

It is wonderful how you simply have to get yourself on the ship and after that, it's all taken care of! Luckily, we're still very mobile so we don't have to rely on that. One thought may be to really splurge on 'local assistance'. Pay top dollar for guides and for 'transfers', and make sure they take care of everything. I've always avoided spending money on such things, but given the amount of money one spends on cruises, it may be 'in the budget'. Something to consider.

I can't say Viking out-and-out lied, but by saying that Day 2 is a 'free day to explore Bangkok' is certainly of dubious accuracy! On Day 1, we had to meet in the lobby at 8:00am for the 'briefing' (I took a photo of the instructions so I wouldn't forget), and we departed for the actual day 1 tour at around 9:00am (Grand Palace and Reclining Buddha). This meant we had to be up at around 6:30am for breakfast, which wasn't ideal since we didn't get to the hotel till 3am (not Viking's fault). Our tour ended with a 'lunch', and we had the afternoon / evening free - which was good. On Day 2, as you mention, we were supposedly 'free to explore Bangkok' but in reality, you had to be back at the hotel at 11am for the baggage ID, and then there wasn't much choice but to stick around for the 1pm departure to the ship. What really annoys me is, they didn't tell us any of this timing ahead of time, and thus didn't give us time to think or plan alternatives. There are three alternatives I would have considered; 1) stay longer in the city on day 2, and get my own transport to the ship in the evening, or 2) stay overnight in the city on day 2, and try to meet up with the 'included tour' on the 3rd day ('day 1' of the main cruise), or 3) stay overnight in the city on day 2 and ignore the 'included' day 1 main cruise tour, and just get a taxi to the ship before departure. Now, this is only my third cruise and I never anticipated all these logistical challenges, but this is the second time I've experienced bad timing with an 'extension', so from now on, I will dig deeply into the logistics and see if it's possible to get some flexibility with Viking; or - just ignore their extensions and work out my own plan. Your estimate of room costs for the Shangri-La are probably a bit high; Looking today on Hotels.com, I can get a good room for $200 USD for March 2025. But let's assume $250 with fees/etc. I would have gladly paid the extra $250 and paid for a taxi to the ship, had I known in advance this was the plan. I'm most annoyed we had to leave Bangkok at 1pm to get to the ship; the ship didn't sail for another 24+ hours so why not transport us to the ship in the evening at least, and give us a 'day' in Bangkok? I see from your copy/paste of the Viking description that they offer "... perhaps you would like to join a full-day optional tour to Ayutthaya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site." - that sounds like they are anticipating a later arrival at the ship for those people. I think your transportation estimates are very high - I can't imagine spending $200 for taxis from airport or to the cruise terminal. I would imagine the hotel would help you arrange such things reliably. This is the biggest craziness of all! Wow - I see NOTHING there that would warrant the increase in price! Amazing. We did our own 'pre-extension' to Japan for 5 nights and it was wonderful. We stayed at the GranVia hotel in Kyoto for $300/night, and paid quite a bit for bullet trains, etc - but compared to Viking prices, it was an absolute bargain. Our meal prices were ridiculously cheap (but then, we enjoy eating at noodle bars, etc!). In truth, I'm starting to question the value proposition of the whole Viking cruise concept. It seems to work out around $1,000 per day, for two. I absolutely adore the dining options on the ship, but if you assume $300/night for the cabin, $300/day for the convenience of being transported between ports, that still leaves about $400 for food - and the food isn't 'that' good! We planned our own 'land trip' through England and Scotland last year, staying at good hotels, eating really well, and renting a nice car, and I think it came out to about $500 / night.

I've always viewed buffets as places for the overweight to stock up on junk food, but World Cafe changed that. You can order Mahi Mahi, a steak, or a Tuna steak cooked to order at any time, plus their hot selections are generally very recently prepared - the turnover means everything is 'fresh' (as it were). On the last cruise, they were serving 'prime rib' at the carving station in World Cafe, and my piece was perhaps the best prime rib I've ever had - ever! A couple of nights later, at 'The Restaurant', I ordered prime rib, and it was decidedly less enjoyable. It was ever-so-slightly over-cooked, but not enough to warrant sending back; the serving at the WC was simply perfect (and I could see that as soon as it was carved / served). I also discovered the 'noodle bar' at WC this trip. Every night, a selection of different noodle dishes (dan dan noodles, ramen, etc). This became a staple for me (especially as this was a South-East Asian cruise!). On our last visit to The Restaurant, it took a long time for the desert to arrive, and when it did arrive, it wasn't that great. At WC, you can simply walk up and pick your dessert, and they are so small (perfectly sized) you can try a few without feeling guilty. I'm not a 'speed eater', but I do get frustrated sometimes by slow service. Being able to get up and choose your own dishes is sometimes a blessing. There's a great selection of bread in WC; it just all happens to be very similar to my taste - it's all slightly 'off white', suggesting a whole-wheat component perhaps. I'm all for healthy, whole-wheat breads in general but I just happen to adore the crunchy / fluffy texture of a typical French baguette with my dinner and that was simply not on offer anywhere - including Manfredi's. I've only been on 3 Viking cruises (2 Ocean, 1 River) and so far, I can't say I've noticed a decline. I'm of the opinion that the food is one of the highlights of Viking cruises (excursions being the lowlight!). Oh, there's definitely variety of breads available - they just don't have the one thing I'm hoping for! They even have a few items on display that say 'for display only' that look like they may hit the spot. That DOES look good! The item in the lower right corner looks exactly like what I'm hoping for! Darn, I must be unlucky! I did ask, at the 'Restaurant', for a baguette, and it took a very long time for them to locate it and it was some sort of off-white product with an insipid crust. I'll try again ...

I'm incredibly impressed by the food on Viking cruises. My attitude to buffets has been changed forever, and we ended up eating at World Cafe for 10 out of 14 nights recently, with just two (very enjoyable) dinners at 'The Restaurant', and two somewhat disappointing dinners at Manfredi's and Chef's Table. My one complaint is the bread! Doesn't matter where you eat, it's always the same. I absolutely love French baguettes, and also Italian Ciabatta's and similar. All the bread on Viking seems to be some mushy off-white product with a soft crust. I would give an arm and a leg for a crunchy firm crust with a fluffy white interior, but alas, this seems to be impossible. I asked for a baguette one evening, and after a LONG delay, was brought some soft-shelled, insipid off-white product. Is there any way to find decent white fluffy bread with a crunchy exterior?

When were you there? I would have loved to see it before the building boom/bust. It was certainly an education, and for that I was grateful. It got me reading more about Pol Pot/Khmer Rouge, and also, made me want to read more about the whole Chinese investment story. I saw a potentially similar situation in Vietnam, though less extreme; there were lots of what looked like stalled construction projects along the road between the port and downtown Saigon (HCMC), and then later, Ha Long Bay. Ha Long Bay is clearly getting ruined by over-development; it's starting to look like a western city, with a totally out-of-place Ferris wheel, a cable car, and lots of high-rise hotels and low-rise 'vacation villages'. I didn't notice any 'stalled construction projects' in Bangkok, interestingly. I realize that Bangkok is 'ahead' of the neighboring countries in terms of development, but it seems to have escaped the recent blight of failed projects. Despite all the setbacks, the people of Cambodia share the lovely 'mellow' attitude that you see in Thailand and Vietnam. Do you know how Sihanoukville compares to Siem Reap? We want to visit Angkor Wat at some point and Sihanoukville made me wonder what SR would be like. As an aside, I wonder what overseas tourists think about a visit to Las Vegas, if they manage to get 'off the strip'? I once drove randomly around Las Vegas, and once you get half a block from the 'strip', it can be pretty grim - broken streets, homeless encampments, scary sense of danger.

I made direct contact with the 'shore excursions director' (or whatever his title is) on the ship and got an email address for him; he asked me to write up my concerns and send to him. It wasn't his personal address, but an address for (I believe) the specific ship. I will cc the 'TellUs' address (which I hadn't heard about). We had issues with missed flights joining a cruise in Venice last year and experienced pretty much what you described - a 'personal limo' to the ship. In the case above, I guess a lot of people were on the same flight as us so they punished the 'other' guys. As I recall, they had booked the excursion to Siem Reap for Angkor Wat and had a REALLY early departure - like 5am or similar - so they were really messed up! I'm not quite sure what you are getting at here; the last thing we wanted was to be taken to the ship in time for lunch - that would have wasted even more of our time in Bangkok. I would have preferred an evening transfer to the ship (or next day transfer). But I did overhear one passenger complaining that we weren't going to be on the ship at their expected registration time - so I guess some people really do like to be on the ship as soon as possible, and don't care about the beautiful city they are in. This will likely be our last 'pre/post' excursion with Viking. A recent post-excursion to Prague (from Austria) was also badly handled. We left the ship at around 10am, but instead of taking us straight to Prague, we were taken to a mediocre small town along the way and given a few hours on our own for 'lunch'. It was a Sunday and most shops were closed, and there were no interesting places to eat. We finally hit Prague around 4pm, and got stuck in very heavy traffic. We could have been in Prague by 1pm had they taken us straight there.

Our cruise (Viking, Bangkok to Hong Kong) gave us two half-days in Sihanoukville, Cambodia - arrived around noon on day 1, left around 6pm day 2. I'm not sure how to describe Sihanoukville. The biggest question would be 'why' - why did we stop there? It's a terribly depressing place, in so many ways. We had two excursions provided by Viking. The first one took us to the fishing harbor area of Sihanoukville. Dilapidated fishing boats were in the harbor, with local stores selling not much of anything. The poverty was surprising. We then went to a local temple. This too was quite run-down, with quite a few poor families begging. We gave some money to some kids who 'looked after' our shoes (which we removed to enter the temple), and the money was immediately taken from them by someone else. We were then taken to a beach area that was quite empty. That was it for day 1. Day 2, we were taken to another beach area (this time with more people and shops) and given some local food, then taken to a busy local market in town, and then to a high-end casino/hotel with a fancy private beach area with a bar. There were Rolls Royce's and Bentleys parked outside the casino/hotel. Everywhere you look, and I mean everywhere, there are high-rise buildings frozen mid-construction, with no activity whatsoever. The guide said something like 80 buildings were abandoned mid-construction, due to the Chinese real-estate market crash (he may have said more than that but I'll stick with 80 to be conservative). Apparently Sihanoukville was intended to be the next 'Macau' or 'Hong Kong', with lots of Chinese money flowing in, until the crash. I'm guessing lots of people moved here to work in the construction and services industry, fueled by the casinos and construction, and now, they are unemployed. I've been to many poor countries in South-East Asia (including Dacca, Bangladesh), but none quite compare to Sihanoukville in terms of the contrast between rich and poor. My guess is, Viking have to stop there because there's no better alterative in the vicinity. Plus, I think they offer some optional inland excursions (to Phnom Pen) that need a place to set off from, so Sihanoukville gets the visit. If ever there was a place to avoid, this might be it! I will say, it was interesting - I've never seen so many abandoned construction projects, and so much poverty. It really shows what can happen in a third-world country when the economy takes a dive.

Our cruise started in Bangkok (to Hong Kong). We took the optional 'pre-excursion' to get a better look at the city. This was only a 2-night extension, and cost $600 (x2 = $1200). Our scheduled arrival at Bangkok on Sunday wasn't until around 11pm, and that flight was delayed a few hours - not Viking's fault - so didn't get to the hotel till 3am Monday (it sounded like other Viking arrivals that night had to wait at the airport for our delayed flight, so it wasn't so great for them - I heard some of them had really early-morning departures for some long excursions). Hotel was very nice - Shangri-La, located on the main river, lovely views from the room. Great breakfast at the hotel. Up early Monday morning for the one 'included' excursion - a pretty decent whistle-stop tour of various temples (including the Grand Palace - very impressive, though hotter than hell and incredibly crowded!). A very mediocre lunch was provided; coach pulled up at some non-descript location (looked like a spare 'event room' at a hotel), and a buffet was provided. I love Thai food and the offerings were very 'tame'. But it was passable. The late afternoon / evening was 'free time', and we had a great time exploring Bangkok. So that was a reasonable day in Bangkok (Monday). The next day (Tuesday) was a massive waste of time. We were told we had to have our luggage outside our rooms at 8am, and that we would have to identify our luggage in the lobby at 11:30am, and that we would have to depart for the ship at 1pm. So that means the whole morning was virtually shot, since you had to be back at the hotel for that 11:30am 'ID'. We actually saw our luggage in the staging area at around 9am, but they said we still had to re-do this at 11:30am. So all we had time to do was hop on the hotel's river boat shuttle to the 'IconSiam' center across the water for a couple of hours (we could have done more had we known the plan ahead of time). Once we identified our luggage at 11:30am (took all of 30 seconds), we then had to wait for the coach to the ship at 1pm. The ride to the ship was about 2.5 hours in heavy traffic. Once we got to the ship, around 4pm, there was NOTHING to do; the ship was docked in a massive cargo terminal (with a view of cars and containers waiting to be loaded), with nothing but a small terminal building that had a few vendors selling trinkets. Going back into Bangkok for the evening would be another 2.5 hours there, 2.5 hours back, in bad traffic. So we just hung out on the ship. Why did we have to leave the hotel at 1pm when the ship didn't depart till the next day? Why not leave at 6pm, or at least offer that as an option? (I think some travelers just want to get on the ship ... mind boggling!). The next day (Wednesday) was the first official day of the cruise, and there was an included tour of Bangkok. Whoop-de-do - another 2.5 hours drive into Bangkok, a tour of the same sites we saw Monday on the 'pre-', then a 2.5 hour drive back to the ship (for a 6pm departure) ... we declined and just hung out on the ship (and had a 1 hour Thai massage for $20 each at the small terminal - the one saving grace!). Had we known how this was going to pan out, we would have either saved the $1200 and skipped the 'extension', or, paid for an EXTRA night at the Shangri-La ($2-300) Tuesday night, and stayed a third night at the hotel, and (if necessary) arranged our own transportation to the ship on departure day. That $1200 (for 2) extension basically boiled down to two nights at the Shangri-La (probably a $400 cost to Viking), an airport and a ship transfer, a mediocre meal, and a single few-hour excursion on the Monday. Not what I'd call good value, and a real wasted opportunity to spend a full day in Bangkok on the Tuesday.

We just got back from our Viking cruise. We were able to get a cancellation on an excursion in Vietnam within 2-3 days of it happening. First we heard about it was a charge showing up on our account; I called to question it and it was for the excursion we were wait-listed on! My guess is that some passengers realized just how hot and sticky it was, and just didn't want to bother. And/or, they get tired on the cruise and didn't want to bother.

Just returned from the trip. Overall, I'd say Viking were pretty reasonable with their AC on the ship. The cabin was almost always slightly over-cooled, but I brought some warm clothing specifically for that purpose (plus, the bedding was winter-grade, so needed to keep the room cool!). The restaurants were all pretty comfortable. Some of the coaches for the excursions were a bit cold, but I was generally able to turn off the 'vents' affecting my seating area.