jmfdr

Thank you so much for this question about the Genvisa service that Viking encourages.  We are doing a three week Asian cruise next October and will need visas for several countries.  I would much rather get evisas online myself  than pay the hefty fees required from Genvisa and without need to mail off our passports.  

10 hours ago, RICCruisers said:

We just returned from a cruise on Edge (1/2-1/13). We ate in Eden twice and enjoyed it both times. It sounds like you have been reading about the Eden restaurant from when it first opened and there was a unique show that was interactive and a totally different menu than the current one. The only holdover from the previous iteration of Eden is the drink menu which offers some very “interesting” options. The new/current menu is much more like a regular specialty restaurant with options like fish, chicken, meat.
 

We ate in Eden on two previous cruises when the previous menu and show were taking place and enjoyed those too. The current menu likely appeals to more passengers and eliminating the unique show also expands its appeal to a larger audience. 

 

There is an acoustic show that takes place in the Eden bar each evening but that is on Deck 5 and the restaurant is on Deck 4. You don’t really hear the music in the restaurant. 
 

One final note. There is a Wine Paring Tasting Menu Option on the current menu that is an additional $100 above and beyond the cover charge you pay and you cannot use your drink package to offset any of the cost. It breaks up your meal into 6 Courses. It uses the exact same menu offerings. Unless you are a real wine connoisseur or have a bunch of onboard credit I don’t see the value. 

 

Ha—no sound interference from the music above on the open deck 5 !  I totally disagree.  
We were on the Edge last October and while dining with friends in Eden it was impossible to carry on any conversation at our table.  The music from above was loud and intrusive.  We would ever eat at Eden again, even though the food and service were excellent!!  Perhaps after complaints Celebrity has modified music events during dining hours.  We loved the food, hated the Eden venue.

22 hours ago, SkystheLimit said:

Probably because their one included tour is usually a walking tour.

 

That is not true!

13 hours ago, kitty9 said:

We were loyal Celebrity cruisers with 34 cruises.  We wanted to try different lines, being the foodies we are, and went to Princess, HAL, and Oceania.  We fell in love with O because we felt they had the best food at sea. But no more. We just came back from a 22 day B2B and discovered how the cutbacks have negatively affected their food.  Like someone upthread said, the buffet was worse that what you find at Golden Corral, and that’s what we see on Oceania.  It was so disappointing that we thought about going back to X, but after reading this thread, it appears that our two favorite lines have been chewed up by the bean counters.  And I’m afraid this is just the beginning. NCL announced increased gratuities and have cut  the twice a day cabin cleaning to once.  Bet this will happen on other lines. 

Try Viking Ocean!

44 minutes ago, Pushka said:

We had one on our first Viking Cruise and weirdly he seemed to be everywhere we were. Even on the train from Seward to Anchorage on the row in front of us. I had tired of his demanding and aggressive voice from the moment of waiting to embark on the cruise. He sat opposite us. And then frequently. Rude and demanding to crew.
 

 

Just be thankful you aren't married to him.  Can you imagine being his wife and living day in and day out with someone like that!

Thanks for

49 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

No, we are Elite+ and got the email a few days ago. I was able to connect and found it a waste of time. It did have some good graphics and avatars but I found navigation clunky. I can watch U-Tube videos of the same thing.

thanks for this information.  I was unable to connect to the link yesterday.  Now I will delete and not bother to try again.

10 hours ago, Reel Love said:

 

16 hours ago, flviking said:

We were on Edge in February. For our preferences it was a great ship. The bright, sunny Retreat Lounge is a great modernization from the cigar club decor of yesterday on M and S class.  

But for those of us not sailing in a suite, the bright sunny Retreat Lounge is not open to us.  My major complaint with the E class, as mentioned before, is that there is no longer a "bright, sunny Sky Lounge" in the front of the ship.  I really miss that venue found on the M and S class ships.  It seems that location is now only for suite guests to enjoy.

On 12/3/2022 at 1:26 PM, prmssk said:

Does anyone know if they have non-dairy milk (almond, coconut, oat, or soy) available to make lattes for the elite breakfast?

When we were on the Edge in October several types of non-dairy milk was available; but no dairy-free yogurt.

We really enjoy this quiet, relaxing breakfast venue.  The Tuscan has never been crowded so we are usually able to get a table by the window.  The limited menu fits our breakfast preferences.   

19 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

I am one who was so dissatisfied and disappointed with edge I will never take a chance on another e class ship.  Even if it was free.  No thank you.

I totally agree.  We have sailed on all classes of Celebrity ships, usually in Aqua class because we enjoy Blu.  On the Edge we were in a SV cabin because we did not want an infinite balcony and can't justify the price of a suite.  My biggest disappointment with the Edge was that I really missed the SKY Lounge at the front of the ship.  That lovely area appears to be reserved for the suites (Retreat Lounge).  In my opinion, the four MDRs were fine, but food inconsistent.  The food and service in Eden were wonderful but the music coming in from the open bar above so loud that it was impossible to have a dinner table conversation.  Perhaps this has all been discussed in the other threads criticizing the E class ships?  If so, sorry for repeating.

On 11/8/2022 at 2:45 PM, Super_Tuscan said:

The waiters in Eden were making the drinks during Happy Hour. Numerous times there were no real bartenders. They brought us a 12 year old McCallum scotch with an olive and a lime slice....My wife ordered a typical margarita at the Sunset Bar and the "bartender" had to get a book out. It took our party of 6 almost 20 minutes to get drinks at Cafe al Bacio at 7pm or so on more than one occasion. EVERY time we wanted to order wine in any of the MDR's or specialty restaurants, the waiter tried to take our order. We had to request a sommelier and a wine list. 

Let me be clear, EVERY employee we came in contact with was very nice. The issue was most of them had little experience and it was easy to see. Most of the crew that I spoke to were on their first contract with Celebrity, with most leaving in the spring and not coming back.     

 

SDT

We were also on this cruise and totally agree with Shaun that there was a lack of experience among the the staff.  Nothing blatant, but a mix up in ordering drinks and coffees, especially in Cafe Bacchio and Eden.  We were not in a suite, but a sunset balcony because we prefer  a real balcony over the infinite one.

We will definitely not sail on this Edge class Celebrity ship again.  The food in the four main dining rooms was all basically the same menu,  mostly very good, but a few choices not great.  We ate in Eden one night and found the food and service excellent.  However, the loud music coming down from the entertainment on the floor above made it impossible  to have any table conversation.  We cancelled our second booked night.  We missed  the forward lounge (constellation/sky lounge) found on Celebrity’s smaller ships. This front area is now part of the Retreat—-suite package.  Rather than pay the additional price for a Celebrity suite we will stick with Viking Ocean and enjoy their Explorers Lounge in the front.  
jan

On 10/4/2022 at 11:20 AM, Arizona Wildcat said:

For B2B cruisers Celebrity does cover the cost.  For others there are free government tests and others that are about $10 you can buy.  Proctoring is about $15.  For a cruise that costs thousands of dollars . . . 

Where did you get a proctored test for $15?  We paid $35 for the emed tests.  Yes, I know, $35 for a cruise that costs thoursands of dollars.....

My Finnish friend recommended this book——THE NORDIC THEROY OF EVERYTHING by Ann Partenan.  I found it a really interesting comparison between life in Finland and the US.   

Thanks, everyone, for your responses.  The SS package for our 3 week+ cruise is $518 pp, which I thought expensive considering we might like the included dinning wines just fine. I thought we should try out the included wines prior to buying the package.  We enjoy a glass prior to dinner so will just purchase that.  

Further question about purchasing wine on board without a SS package----will we be able to select wines to purchase that are included in the SS package or will only be offered the generic included wines?  We are not wine snobs but both have our likes and dislikes in different varietals.  

Assuming we don't have a Silver Spirits drink package, is it possible to purchase other menu wine if we do not care for the included wine with lunch or dinner on any given day?  Can the Silver Spirit drink package be purchased on board if we decide we would prefer those wine options compared to the included wines?

Thanks. 

2 hours ago, Kitekat said:

Yes - have tried several times without success. Just get repeating white X on blue background and then returns to login screen. 

 

|We had an email this morning from our TA asking us to enter vaccination status the link from the form doesn't seem to work (although we are away from regular home wifi at the moment). It may just be that the website is overwhelmed... it's always been flaky even after it was rewritten by Andersens

 

Yes, no luck signing in this morning-----just the big white X flashing at me.

2 hours ago, Lastdance said:

I would love to set up my own palm readings...(tongue and cheek)

 

 I will say that there was a husband and wife team giving travel information about their own private excursions at seminars onboard. They were two individuals that were sanctioned by Celebrity to take cruisers on excursions, but only benefited themselves for free cruises.  For Celebrity to allow this couple to deal their travel excursion packages was one rason why I almost stopped cruising Celebrity.  We lost $140 from these scammers, as we figured out what they were doing before our excursion.  Yes, I did report them, so shame on Celebrity for allowing these two onboard.  The only information I received was that they were doing this "legally" with Celebrity. Thank goodness, I have not been aware of them doing this on any cruises that I was on for the last 7-8 years.  Whether they are still in operation, I have no idea.  They used to post on roll calls to get groups together...not like cruisers do at all trying to get a group together of 6-8 for a private cruise, but using that same idea.  Celebrity should have never allowed this to happen.

 

 

I remember that very questionable duo.

8 hours ago, DrKoob said:

I always envy those of you who can just do a carry-on. When you have size 13 shoes and need to have more than one pair with you it just isn't possible. One pair of my shoes takes up half of a carry-on. I would love to just take that. We try and get around it by only flying non-stop and checking Apple AirTags before and after the flght. 

😩🦶yikes, I understand. My husband wears size 11 and complains about the space his shoes take up in luggage.

On 7/22/2022 at 4:20 PM, Jim Avery said:

Flying with no checked baggage is very comforting (comparably) and two weeks in the right carry on is easy.  Not too long ago we flew to England for two weeks in carry ons.  Included a family country wedding, London, and 3 days in Venice. No problemo...🥃

I agree. No checked baggage ever again for us.  In April we spent 2.5 weeks in Ireland with carry-on luggage just fine.  Flying to Kenya in a couple days with only carry-ons.  I don't think it will be a problem for 19 days.  Our next cruise is not until October and we plan to use only carry-ons for that 2 week trip.  Cruise packing is much easier since formal and dressy wear is not required for dining as it once was. 

Thanks for this thread and good reminders about health safety habits.  The coughing and covering your mouth issue goes way beyond cruise ship venues.  We see it every day in public areas.  That is why we still wear a mask while out and about.

Jan

On 7/6/2022 at 7:55 PM, jelayne said:

They increased the discount on the beverage package upgrade and are bringing back some events that were discontinued  with Covid. 

Yes, the discount on upgrading beverage packages has increased, from 10% to 15% for elite+ but they have now also added a mandatory 20% tip fee when you upgrade.  Yesterday on the phone I was given the quote of $126 pp to upgrade my drink package on our 14 day cruise, but it became $151.25 with the mandatory 20% gratuity charge.

In Barcelona we like the Hotel Continental Palacete.  It is an older building with comfortable public areas; about a 3-4 block walk from Placa de Catalunya.  https://www.hotelcontinental.com/hotel-continental-palacete  Rooms inlcude a complimentary 24 hour buffet.

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

When making your decision, please also consider that when booking Viking Air, the fare class they purchase may not be eligible for upgrades with either cash or points/miles.

 

The fare class may not be known until you receive the e-tickets.

Hmm, didn't know this.  Thanks.

Thanks to everyone for replies to this OP's question.  We are in the same situation, trying to decide whether to cancel our Viking air before final payment.  I think we will go ahead and cancel with the hope that we later don't decide to add it back on at a much higher price. 

I really think we will much prefer to book our own airfare.  Reasonings--Because we would add both air plus and air deviation our price goes up $250.  Viking tells me we can only book economy or business/first class with them, neither of which we want.  And, yes, I know I could then go on to my airline website to up grade seating but since Viking won't book until 120 or 60 days out (a Viking agent told me this) the Econ + or premium seats we want might be filled.  I just don't like to wait that close to flight time to book international tickets.  I do know that we will lose transfers with the inbound travel but we have booked a post cruise extension with Viking and I was told that the transfer to the airport will be included even if we book our own flights.  

Thanks for listening to what is going on in my head about Viking air.  Is my reasoning valid?  Mostly, I guess I am just uncomfortable waiting so close to departure time to book our airfare.  

question for CNPOLAR---When you say you have already bought your air for the December and next March------do you mean with Viking or on your own?  And if purchased with Viking, how did you get them to book it so far before your travel date?

Jan

Speaking with a Viking agent this week about adding air plus and air deviation to our air booking, I was told that air plus price had gone up to $150.  Air deviation is still $100.  We have taken only one Viking cruise, November 2021, and at that time adding air plus was only $50.  Is the agent's quote of $150 for adding air plus correct?

23 hours ago, -Lew- said:

 

Hi Jan...

 

After a number of cancellations, we are so looking forward to finally getting back to cruising.  Our next opportunity will be a B2B2B on the Celebrity Edge this fall culminating with the October 24th TA you mentioned.  This will be only our second Celebrity cruise...we had 50+ on Princess before turning to Viking and Regent which we have yet to sail.  You can see our cruise history and future plans by expanding my signature below.

 

Our first Viking experience will be 55 days on the Sky embarking in Rome on October 6, 2023.  This also is after a number of cancellations and FCCs that need to be used before they expire.  We're looking forward to the same reaction to our first Viking cruise as you.

 

We hope you meet you onboard the Edge.  Have you signed up for the Cruise Critic Connections party?  We're planning to be there.

Hi Lew,

Yes, we have signed up for the connection party on the cruise.  Will look to meet you on the ship.

Wow, a 55 day cruise!  Our Viking Orion cruise, Oct.24, 2023 is 27 days.  This will be the longest we have ever sailed in one go. 

The last Celebrity cruise we have booked is an Antarctica two week itinerary in February 2023. We have enjoyed this cruise some years ago and look forward to repeating it with friends.  

Off the sea, we have a couple safari's planned, delayed for two years-----Kenya this August and Botswana next June.  It is so, so good to be traveling again.

Hope you had a very happy birthday!

Jan