lhamilton

Hi,

Since we're wine drinkers the silver spirits package didn't make sense anymore since there were only three red and three white plus a proseco. However, since we'd booked before the cruise we couldn't cancel.

However the ship still has some bottles from the old package when they'd had a lot of premium wines, so they're offering us wine from the previous listing every day. That works quite well. However I'd advise folk to wait to book for the silver package til they're onboard and they can see what is offered on the ship.

Linda

False impression, eh? I'm on a viking ocean cruise right this minute and that is exactly what they now have. Three red, three white and a proseco. When I can I'll share the current -- updated -- wine list.

Linda

There is certainly room for Viking to make this more obvious as it was not only yourselves who missed out because you gained the false impression that there are only 3 additional reds and whites for those on the package.

All the best!

We finally heard from Viking headquarters and they will not cancel our pre-booked silverspirits plan so we have to continue with it. It definitely is at this point only three red wines and three whites plus one proseco.

I'd strongly advise that, unless Viking comes up with a clear statement about what is in the package, people avoid booking this silver spirits plan until they're on board and can check for themselves what is currently included on that ship at that time and whether that meets what they find useful.

Linda

I am really sorry to hear about the problems you're having Linda. Thanks for the updated information and please do continue to post about how this is finally resolved (or not!)

 

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Hi,

Actually that is an old wine list. It has changed substantially. There are now only 3 reds sold by the glass for example. I have a pdf of the winelist but am at sea at the moment so cannot upload it to link to.

We are still having problems re: cancelling the silver spirits package. They told us it has been cancelled and are charging us for all spirits served since the start of the cruise BUT they have just told us they are not sure we will ever be reimbursed for the silver spirits package so we may be out over a thousand dollars. Rather worrying!

Linda

After much research (undertaken while my wife thinks I am working, but please keep that to yourselves!) I have finally tracked down a full Viking Ocean wine list that has been posted on the web.

 

See http://mightydin.com/viking-ocean/

 

A huge thank you to Mightydin for including that information in the blog.

 

You will see that there are a reasonable range of wines available by the glass ($6 each as at Summer 2017) and these are all included in the Silver Spirits Drinks Package. In fact Viking have very helpfully marked with an asterisk on the list what is not included in the package i.e whole bottles.

 

Skål:cool:

And we had success in cancelling our silver services package! We still are awaiting the rebate but are happy. It really is an excellent package for folk who drink mixed drinks but having three red wine choices for a 21 day trip just wasn't a lovely thought for a wine drinker.

I agree about viking documentation. It would be much easier for everyone if they provided a clear written document about what is included (and what isn't included) in the silver package.

We're finding Internet on the Sky to be reasonably fast for normal browsing, email, chat and even Facebook. I wouldn't imagne it would be good for streaming video but then we're not interested in doing that :-)

Linda

We bought the pkg but wish we had done more research before doing that. We like wine and are told now that we can't give the package back that there are only three red wines and three whites covered by the silver package. That's just not a lot of variety for someone who likes wine and is on a three week cruise. Perhaps the plan is worth it if you drink a lot of mixed drinks.

And tonight we were told we can't cancel. So it might be a good idea for anybody thinking of such a package to do lots of investigation first and possibly wait til on board.

We had bought a silver spirits package but have to admit to being disappointed. There just isn't any clear answer even on the ship about what is included and what not. And the selection, depending on which server we deal with, gets very very limited. At the Italian restaurant we were told it covered only wine that was specifically sold by the glass -- which is rather limited and that we could get 15 percent off a bottle if we bought one only if that bottle cost $50 or less. That seemed a bit more restrictive than we'd like so we have been trying to cancel ever since -- a rather slow process (and I notice that the more expensive bottle that we did buy had 15 percent off....). We visited the front desk last night and had to visit it again today -- and still no package cancel. We're not upset but definitely don't find the plan meets what we had thought it would. I rather wish the line had a clear outline about what was in the plan so we could have not bought it in the first place.

Thanks! Yes, we'll be on the main river up to Manaus.

Thanks! Do we need it aboard ship?

Linda

While we didn't use VO for our Amazon trip I can answer your question: You should always give yourself a spray regardless as there are mosquitos around, so it just makes sense. They are exceptionally heavy in the evenings so spray is a definite must have before any evening excursions. Eastern Mountain Sports sells a brand of spray that also makes wipes, which are REALLY convenient for touch ups or to give to someone who forgot to spray. We took Aqua Amazon and they had spray available complimentary 24/7.

Hi,

What level of mosquitos should we expect on an Amazon cruise in February. Do people have to wear repellant all the time even on the ship in the evenings?

Thanks.

Linda

Its underside is all bloody. There is no dock here -- both ships are anchored.

Linda

Just got in to the Cabo San Lucas bay on the Nieuw Amsterdam. The Celebrity Infinity got in before us. There is a dead whale out by the Infinity. I wonder if that ship hit it....

Linda

It looks like it's all coming out OK. However I hate to think what would have happened had there also been an outbreak of Norwalk virus in that ship....

Worst case would have been Norwalk and a lab worker who truly had Ebola.

I wish that rules had been in place to have stopped the woman's travel. It was a real risk.

Linda

We were on the Veendam a few years ago on a Panama Canal cruise when it lost all power to the engines in the middle of the ocean. We were stuck for most of a day before they got the propellers working again. Although the ship retained lighting and electricity, the experience was very scary! We'd never cruise on the Veendam again.

Linda