natshala

I’m new to Viking. I’m considering booking a 2025 cruise. Viking is giving me a FPD 14 months in advance. Can this be correct?

I’ve been on both. Both are lovely. All things being equal, I’d choose Beyond. Are you saying there’s a premium for Beyond? I don’t think so.

20 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Curious what the "special" $1000 amount is from Viking?  Is that the $500 Viking Shipboard credit on the advertisement they had?

 

Note that when you use a TA, Viking does have a schedule for the maximum a TA is allowed to give you in OBC's and this varies by length of the cruise you book, ranging from $150 to $300 to $500 max  (pp).  The TA's don't have to give you the maximum amount.  Some do some don't.

 

I have heard people say their TA gives them better cruise prices than Viking does, but I've never understood why, since Viking to my knowledge doesn't let TA's discount the actual cruise price.  Would love to hear some concrete examples.  My guess is that if those TA's were found out, they might have an issue.  Maybe that has changed in 2023 where TA's can undercut the cruise price that Viking sells.  If so, would also like to hear about it!  

Sorry for the late response. Yes—I was talking about the $500 OBC Viking advertised.

Do TAs tell you up front the amount of OBC they offer? As I said, I’ve always used big box and they’re transparent. 

Just now, natshala said:

 

Thanks Bob P. When we booked last week we received the special $1000/stateroom from Viking. That ended, I think. Would we keep that if we transfer the booking to a TA? 
 

1 minute ago, longterm said:

If for no other reason, transfer your cruise booking to a TA so that you can get some free on-board credits. It won't cost you anything, won't change anything at all about your booking, but you'll get some money you can use while on the ship.

 

I always book directly with Viking, then transfer my booking to a TA. Should I ever have a serious issue, I suppose I could get assistance from my TA, but so far haven't had to do so.

I’m a longtime X cruiser and book through a large big box TA.  They don’t book Viking so we booked directly through Viking. Thinking about future cruises, is there an advantage to booking through a TA that does book Viking? If so, how does one go about finding a TA? Any advice/comments welcome. I know we cannot mention specific TAs.

Thanks, all!

1 minute ago, mrgabriel said:

The first week of February isn't a typical school holiday time in Canada or the U.S. 

 

Schools in both countries will break around the third week of February - maybe for a week, maybe for a long weekend.

 

Spring break doesn't start until March. It doesn't necessarily coincide with Easter. Looks like March 11 is a popular week in 2024. 

I was on Apex the third week of February this year. It was swamped with many, many kids bc of Presidents Day. I was also told there’s a Canadian holiday about the same time. There were so many kids I wondered if they traveled free. Not pleasant but I think X is encouraging this.

My favorite was Raw On Five. Wonderful sushi and Asian cuisine. Never seemed crowded and service was excellent.

Is “fully vaccinated “ defined anywhere? If one got shots when available in 2020, are they still considered fully vaccinated? Did they need to have boosters? When?

4 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

I cruised many, many years to reach zenith on Celebrity and have four future cruises, all booked onboard so only $100 deposit each.  I choose Concierge cabins for location, however, I'm becoming disenchanted about X's prices.  I would love to book a higher level cabin so I could dine somewhere other than MDR and OVC.  Checked the prices for next year's 13-night Silhouette TA out of Barcelona.  My C2 cabin solo is $2942; A2 $5850; S2 $10134.  Factoring in the gratuities I'd pay with C2, it would cost me $2674 more (+$205/night) to eat in Blu and $7205 more (+$554/night) to eat in Luminae.  Blu and Luminae have always been lovely, but not that lovely.  So I checked Silversea (all suites).  A veranda (separate shower and tub) all-in for 14-night TA would be $5813.  That's less than Blu and includes butler, minibar, bevs, wifi (not the premium, though), self-serve laundry, excursions, and specialty restaurants (probably left something out).  Plus ALL areas of the ship are accessible to all pax, including forward lounge.  Even with my free wifi and bev, the C2 (MDR) just isn't worth the price to me.  I'm willing to pay more for a better experience but Blu @ $450/night doesn't compare to Silversea's better cabin and benefits @$415/night.  Sooooo, it saddens me to say that I'm jumping ship from X to Silversea next year.  

 

BTW, on one of my February Summit cruises, I did see a younger demographic.  I did notice a few knee-walking drunks but they were happy and harmless.  My favorite moment was watching a couple wearing bathing suits (no coverup) walk through Rendezvous to line up for dinner in MDR the first night....and then stroll back through the Rendezvous after being turned away.  They both stood in front of my chair to dance to the music and I saw things burned into my brain (boogied there for the rest of the set - I moved).  That was a personal first for me.

Good luck with Silversea. I put a deposit of $750 down on a cruise more than a year away. A week later my spouse passed. SS refused to return any of my deposit. They have very stringent cancellation rules and no heart. Be sure to check date final payment is due. I’ll never consider SS again.

2 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

The glass bottles would be very heavy to take off the ship with you. And of course it would be a lot of condensation with either of them. It’s best to bring an insulated container from home to keep your water cool.

Good idea. I brought an insulated cup for coffee, etc. it was a great tip I found on this site.

It’s not perfect but really great for keeping in touch with others onboard.

If you have the premium drink package, you can get upscale water in glass bottles at any of the bars.

On 3/2/2023 at 11:48 AM, Jim_Iain said:

Ahh. .can see what your are saying.     So if you cancel 6 months out there is no cancellation fee but there is if cancelled between say 90 and 180 days.    Better than Ponant,

 

Silver Seas seems to be similar

 

 

I booked a Silversea cruise more than a year in advance. The deposit was on the order of $750. I needed to cancel a few weeks later only to find it was completely non refundable! I lost the entire deposit. Never again Silversea. Also, final payment date is 5 months in advance of sailing.

On 3/2/2023 at 5:42 PM, phoenix_dream said:

Agree. Solstice was one of the ships getting a lot of freebies. Am I the only one not very happy at all about this?? Not talking about people who earn cruises from their gambling,  but those trying to be lured back for free while I'm in the next cabin,  very loyal (Zenith) and paying full price? Don't blame the passengers for accepting the offer. It just rubs me the wrong way. 

I feel your pain. I feel like I’m in the minority paying full freight. Are children cruising free? One family had six kids.

I was on Apex B2B February 11-25. Both sailings were sold out. The second had a zillion kids. Very, very crowded. I was watching capacity, particularly for the second cruise which had a lot of empty cabins until 3 weeks out. All of a sudden, the ship was full—really full. Makes me think there must have been some incentive offered for families with children. Also lots of gamblers.

I was on Apex last week in 6227. I had the “metal thing,” which holds the lifeboats. It didn’t bother me at all bc I was very glad to get a single cabin and I spend almost no time in the room.
 

Also, at night there’s a light on the thing so you pretty much need to close the blind if the light disturbs your sleep. Sometimes I like to lower the window at night for the fresh air and ocean sound while staying in other rooms. Small sacrifice to make for me to keep it closed at night.

if you really enjoy a view, probably not the best scenario.I loved the sixth floor location. Very central to most venues. I’d definitely do it again, especially if the price is right.

I hope you enjoy your cruise.

Thank you all for your responses.

On 2/4/2023 at 12:48 PM, DCPIV said:

 

You are either a slow walker or a quick drinker. Either way, my hat is off to you. That's a nice way to cruise! 

Lol.

12 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

now that I'd actually watch instead of the webinar from yesterday which I muted after 8 seconds.

Too bad for you. You missed which captains prefer cheese or chocolate. Everyone wants to know that. I guess if you’re a captain, you need to put up with lame questions. Script was written by a middle school student.

On my last cruise, I completely missed the boat wrt LeGrand Bistro. I spend a lot of time at Bacio and every time I passed LeGrand Bistro, it looked like nothing was going on there.

I just looked at the lunch menu and it looks wonderful.

Can you please fill me in on what I’ve been missing? I’m cruising an e-class ship again starting tomorrow and I’m thinking LeGrand may be my first lunch. Thanks.

I was recently B2B on Beyond. Only saw it on 14 but I loved sitting out there. It never seemed crowded.

Same here. And she kept a straight face! I loved the photos of the ports, but the questions asked to the captains were pretty lame. 

Just now, OrcaGirl said:

I did say but now can’t remember. It’s a page or two back. ~200 under capacity.

 

And yet every picture I send my mom she asks “where are all the people?!?!” 😂

Just now, OrcaGirl said:

I did say but now can’t remember. It’s a page or two back. ~200 under capacity.

 

And yet every picture I send my mom she asks “where are all the people?!?!” 😂

Pretty full, then? Are there long lines at Al bacio? Bars? Thanks.