Azulann

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Did you cruise on Viking River or Ocean.? Just asking because originally, River cruise folks could refer people and after so many referral they got a free River cruise. See the pinned thread at the top of the Viking Ocean ocean forum. I don't think that referral program works like in the past. I referred my sister and brother in-law when they also booked the same cruise I had booked. I asked the Viking rep about the referral. He said I had to asked for it , it was not automatic. So I got $100 per person for this couple, and they got the same. He gave me a future voucher . We were beyond final payment and close to sailing. I used this $200 voucher later when I booked on board: it showed up on my last cruise invoice for June of 2023. This was all on Viking Ocean.

The new Vela ,which will be ready to sail in early 2025 .will meet those requirements. Their first itineraries will be the Northern Lights. Check out the Viking Ocean Web site.

I did ask at excursion desk if they had a biography of Alfred Nobel while on my cruise in June. She said she would check in office. Came back in a few minutes and said no they did not have it. The do have a bibliography of books on the ship that they can check. As Clay stated,there is a couple of selves in Living room where past guest have left books. Many of them are novels. Others all around the ship , a l book readers paradise. I also use the RESOURCE link on the main Viking Ocean web page for my particular itinerary. There you will find a curated list of books and movies that will be about your particular cruise. These are all curated by a bookstore in England. I usually read number of the histories that are listed before hand as part of my research. Then I always bring a novel set in the area I will be visiting. I loved the book ICE by Ulla-Lena Lundberg .Written in Swedish , but read the English translation.It is set in 1946 and takes place on Aland island! Also watched Babbitt's Feast and the A Fortunate Man ,both movies that are set in Denmark . Up next in 2025 is a Greek Odyssey cruise, so I will revisit some of the history and literature for Greece. Happy reading and enjoy your upcoming cruise.

What recent cruise were you on? I was on the Jupiter in June. Asked for the list of Chef table menus the first day of our cruise. We change one reservation for table for two and got another , no problem. We were open to eating anytime before 8:30. On one evening we were waiting to get into Restaurant for dinner. There were about four copies ahead of us. The host for Chef Table appeared and asked if anyone was interested in eating at Chef table now? We said yes, and another couple and us were escorted to Chef Table and seated at tables for two. I think each cruise is unique in some respects as to the dining and reservations. Our Jupiter cruise had no sea days btw so maybe folks were tired after excursions and cancelled some of their reservations at Chef Table or Manfredi? Never had a problem getting more than one Chef table reservation on all my five previous cruise. Sorry you were not able to get additional reservations for a table for two.

I absolutely love coffee. I grind my own beans every morning for my morning coffee at home. I always have them remove the Nespresso machine. My sister and I need that space in a DV cabin. always get our morning coffee in the Living room. my sister works out everyday at 6am and bring me a to go cup when she get back to room. Then I have my cappuccino later in morning in Living Room.

Love your pictures of your hike today . Reminds me of Northern MN . That staircase is similar to one I went down with a Duluth pack on my back and we slid our canoes down the steps . We were portaging in the BWCA in MN . I was in my 40’s at the time . One and only wilderness trip of a lifetime . Love your trip report as always .

Love the water pressure in shower on Viking ships

Looks forward to reading about your cruise on the Lake Superior. yes, I did hear about the rain in Duluth. Most of the state is is serious drought so any rain is needed. Enjoy Thunder Bay, it was many years ago we were there. Thank you for your posts on this expedition ship Polaris. t

What wonderful hospitality you all received by the people of the village. Warms one's heart.

HAHA! I do like the Viking Luggage tags and have them on my stuff even if I am not flying to a Viking cruise. Phil, what cruise are flying to have another great vacation?

I also enjoyed the Erling Scandinavian chef table dinner on a previous cruise. Your pictures bring back memories. Seeing it is a sea day, I would certainly talk to Food manager about the nuts in desserts. Go toughest relations and ask to speak ot food manager.The chef will certainly make a dessert that is without nuts . Talk to folks behind the counter at World Cafe and let your waiter know when you sit down for dinner that you have a nut allergy. Viking has always been very accommodating with any food allergies of any kind. Am enjoying your trip report so much.

Have read this thread and the one you are doing on Ponant Forum. Welcome to the Midwest. Our weather will be perfect this weekend when you fly into MSP airport. Enjoy Milwaukee. and do have a German dinner. My son went to Marquette University so I got to know some of the city during those years. I look forward to your cruise on a Great Lake and on a French owned ship. I sailed Celebrity for many years. Loved the M class ships. Then booked a Viking Ocean and have found my new favorite cruise line. It too is European owned ; love their service, ship design, food and their emphasis on the history of the area you are visiting and having a resident historian on board. I can feel your excitement about your new adventure , happy for you both.

Absolutely fabulous picture! The lighting is amazing. Looking forward to your report of visiting this Greenland village.

Great cruise report. I love sea days. Your pictures make me hungry. Passengers should do their talking on their devices or listening to shows on their iPad or phones in the privacy of their stateroom. Or at least use headphones so no one else can hear. Very irritating whether on land or sea.

They have nice size tubes of shampoo , conditioner, body wash and body lotion , two set of each on selves next to sink. They re the same since Viking Ocean started. room steward will repleanish as needed. I like them and even take a couple home with me. they also have a small bar of soap too.

Cruisemom42, I have read your post for years here on CC. You are indeed a informed traveller. I too love history , a good lecture and a very knowledgeable guide when I cruise and do excursions. Viking has a resident historian on every cruise plus other lecturers such as scientist, general topics, port talks. The resident historian on my recent Scandinavian cruise was a college professor of art history and archaeology at a small college out East. Dr. Emily gave lectures of the Viking Age and Vikings : the Hanseatic League. There were well done and I learned a lot. She was also very accessible around the ship. The resident historian also does have smaller focus groups, if people are interested. I had to miss her focus group on last cruise because of a conflict. As others have said all their lectures can be viewed on your stateroom tv if you miss the in person lecture that day.. My first Viking cruise was a transatlantic cruise on Viking and we had the best resident historian. He was from UK and had his PHD on "invisible holocaust museum ' under Soviet Rule. He even had office hours in the Wintergarden some days. We did have 6 sea days in a row which contribute to his availabilty. Viking optional tours which you pay for has had some really great guides. I had the director of the Art museum on Bermuda give our small 8 person group an enlightening tour of the museum. My guide for Viskby and Gdansk this summer gave in depth commentary to our group and answered lots of questions from our group. I also love the resource link on any Viking Itinerary on their web page. it is a list a curated bibliography and movies to read or view before your cruise. As Viking claims Viking is for" curious travelers.: I do know that they rarely have a decent solo fare which is a shame for many of us who could cruise as a solo. without breaking the bank. Hope you find a Viking cruise that fits your criteria and budget.

WOW that is a lot of responsibility. Did you book using a TA or directly with Viking? As to excursions , have your whole group pick out the optional excursions you want first and then which included excursion. Make a list the groups priorities. Then someone in each booked stateroom needs to book for their stateroom. Hope you are all in the same category of stateroom: DV or PV's Pay by e-check which you set up on MVJ. When your date for booking excursions open each stateroom person can book for both of the occupants. Pick optional one and pay for each , then go to include ones. Don't worry aboutincluded ones, most have a number of different time thought the day for the included ones. These are mostly 2-3 hrs bus ride or walking tour. Once on board you can also go to excursion desk and see if you all can get the same time for the included one if you did not previously. Good Luck. Once on board you can all relax and enjoy your first Viking Cruise. BTW, which itinerary are you going to be on as a group of 8? Cheers! and welcome to Viking. cheers!

Thank you for your review as a first time cruiser. I think your Alaska itinerary might have something to do with the sloppy dress by some. On our cruise int eh Baltic this summer, no-one was wearing sweatshirts or jeans in the restaurant. The lady in the bathrobe in Explorer Lounge. story is priceless.. there always seems to be an eccentric passenger on most cruises. Brings back memories of my first cruise. After it I was hooked on cruising as the perfect vacation.

To add to the discussion: an expert from Viking Ocean forum.: chengkp75 25.7k February 19, 2013 Retired to Maine #9 Posted Monday at 04:56 AM (edited) Under the new Canal tariff schedule, a Viking ocean ship will pay about $195,000 just for the transit (various required services are extra), and since the new schedule does not charge passenger ships on the basis of total berths, but on PC tonnage, this is also about what a container ship of the same size would pay. Then, to get a guaranteed slot, in daylight, the cruise ship pays another $70,000, or a 35% surcharge. Backlogs of ships awaiting transit during dry spells have happened many times in the past. Edited Monday at 04:57 AM by chengkp75

None of Viking Ocean, full transits have been cancelled for 2023 or 2024. All the fresh water used in the canal is from the river and mountains of Panama. Climate change can certainly impact the canal and various other places on our planet.

My first cruise ever was on the Century in 2008 , 11day Western Med cruise. It was in an inside cabin with friends who had a beautiful big aft balcony across the hall. I was in heaven about service, food and destinations. The Panama Canal cruise on Century years later was fabulous. The best Celebrity cruise was on Constellation, 15 day cruise around Iberia peninsula called " Running with the Bulls". My sister did that memorable excursion. At that time the premium beverage package was $29.00 pp per day. fond memories of the m class ships, Murano's and great itineraries in Europe. We had great roll calls, and great guides both ship and private. The mix of passengers were US, UK, AU and NZ. Then Viking Ocean came upon the cruise scene. Did one and never looked back. But I still read trip reports on Celebrity forum because they re some the most fun folks who are all having great time. 👍🏻🥂

Panama Authority get big money from cruise lines. They pay up front a big premium to go through the full canal in daylight. Those who work for the Panama Canal are the best paid folks in Panama. They do make a very fine wage. Maybe this new Crystal line could not find an opening for a price , so they cancelled.

HA I absolutely love the Munch moments from 6-6;30 on Viking Ocean. They are on one big screen on landing in the Atrium.I love this feature..Viking has the gotten the rights to use Munch paintings to use this way. You are of course on a Norwegian owned cruise line. To each their own, but then again Viking Ocean has a great niche and is doing very well.

YEA! a trip report. Thank you for also giving us your blog link. Have a wonderful cruise .

Love reading trip reports . Looking forward to your experience on a Viking cruise after the pandemic .