Shelley W

On 8/4/2024 at 10:13 PM, kctwinmommy said:

Just wanted to wrap this up with some of my overall thoughts on our cruise.

 

• I don't know if I loved having this cruise be 3 separate legs without really knowing up front. I know it didn't matter a lot, but it did affect those transition ports, especially Venice.
• I would say the time of the year we went was good as we did have mostly decent weather without it being hot. A little more rain than I thought, which led to us having to buy raincoats that we forgot to pack. Well, I'll admit, I totally didn't think to pack. 😉
• The crowds weren't awful for most things, but it was certainly starting to get busy.
• I totally recommend extended time at both ends if possible. I truly wish we'd had a few more days at the end in Barcelona, although I'm also glad we didn't with me getting sick. I would have been miserable. Our pre-extension was the best! So many others agree with our specific one too, they all said it was worth the price completely!
• We loved most of the staff on Viking, they live up to their standards for sure! We did have 1 or 2 that were a little lacking, but not much. I think just compared to the high standards that most work by, it was just a few we noticed, but nothing serious.
• We loved how if you asked for something, they got it for you. We told our steward we wanted to keep 2 of the blankets from the deck in our room for evenings on the balcony, no problem! We needed 2 extra small spoon things for honey in our tea in our room, no problem! Ice? No problem... I will very much miss this level of attention on our next cruise.
• I wish I had done a little more reading/research for our ports. I had the time, I had the book, but just really dragged my feet. I mean, I did read some things, and I used my Rick Steves book when I could, but still...
• I discovered the lost and found actually works on the ship! My reading glasses and Rick Steves book were both turned in, so we got them back.
• We found the rooms had plenty of space, and we did use the smaller, but good weight bearing, magnetic hooks. It was great to hang my hat, purse, and sunglasses case on them every evening.
• We loved being able to do laundry, we did it twice. It's easy to use, no shrinking or anything.
• We did overpack! I was trying to do carry on only, but realized I just couldn't make it work for the month trip we took, so we have 1 checked suitcase. Doing this meant I had a lot more room to work with, so then I packed it full. LOL! I really didn't need about 30% of what I took.
• Don't always assume you'll be able to get into an excursion once on board. While it may be possible to make those changes, we did find that after we were on board for a few days, many things were sold out by then. So if you are looking to change things, do it right away. We didn't really need to, I just remember looking.
• I can't say I love their website! I don't like that you can't see things that far out when it comes to excursions. And I don't like that there's no "past guest" history on your account. It's basically only good for people if you have a cruise booked.
• I'm also a little disappointed in their follow up customer service. We actually were communicating back and forth about our disappointment with the Pompeii excursion. We eventually were told we would get a $500 onboard credit for each of us, but for a cruise within the next year. Unfortunately, we can't travel in the next year, and the one we had booked outside of that time was one of those cancelled (W. Indies, 2025). I had been asking for an extension, but never received a response. I gave up as there's no way for us to even use it. We just can't book another $8000 cruise to save $1000.

 

I may think of a few more things, but these are some of the thoughts I had, and some of the general notes I put in my journal. I do hope to take another Viking cruise in the future, but nothing planned as of now. Again, I wanted to do a Caribbean one, but sad that it was cancelled in the ship reshuffle.

Thanks for that excellent account of your trip.  This will be my first cruise.  I laughed about your lack of reading up.  I always have good intentions and then never follow through with the research.

6 minutes ago, kctwinmommy said:

Yep! Not surprised, I think it's about money, or demand for the Med. What was the ship you were supposed to be on?

The Viking Venus

On 7/11/2024 at 3:59 PM, stretchcruz said:

My Viking Sea May 17 2026 was canceled as well.

I am due to sail for 15 days beginning April 24 2025 on the Italy, the Adriatica and Greece trip and just yesterday I got a letter saying my ship was being replaced by the Viking Sea!