notjaded

Can anyone post information about the packing instructions/warning that LF provides?

Thanks!

Was considering using LF on our upcoming voyage ex-Hong Kong, but now reconsidering. Any additional stories anyone has to share?

@Nachosdelux: I like your logic about tipping. We arrange for private transport and meet and greet services to help ease the travel pain.

@shark b8: Aloha. Any thoughts about shipping from/to Hawaii was part of the problem?

We are going on the Venus next week, and Ms Notjaded is already missing her pickleball! She asked that I survey the community to see is there are table tennis/ping pong tables aboard and where they are located.

Many thanks!

Many thanks for starting this thread, and your review. Quick question for now:

Do you think that there would be a benefit to bringing walking sticks and crampons for navigating ice and snow while on excursions?

Looking forward to our very first Viking cruise, and wonder about what time we should schedule ourselves to be at the port to get processed to board.

We are in a penthouse suite and can board at 11:00 and go right to our suite. If we come at 11:00, would one expect a madhouse and long queues?

I'd appreciate hearing from experienced Viking cruisers about when to board so as to make the process less onerous.

Many thanks!

My wife and I are sailing next month, first time on Viking. Ms. Notjaded has asked that I inquire about whether there is a marked perfumed scent with the shower gel/shampoo/conditioner.

Many thanks.

OP here. Thanks to all who responded to my initial query.

I have an OT followup, courtesy of Ms Cruise: Does anyone find the provided shower gel/shampoo/conditioner to have an objectionable fragrance?

Thanks again.

We are taking our first Viking (Ocean) Cruise, and are in a Penthouse Suite with complimentary laundry and dry cleaning. I would appreciate it if someone could inform about what the typical turnaround time is to receive back one's laundry and dry cleaning.

Also, how would you characterize the quality of these services? (i.e., do you trust your clothes with Viking's laundry/dry cleaning?)

Many thanks.

OP here. Love all the information presented here. Was surprised to read here that, like Seabourn and Silversea, Viking allows one to bring their own alcohol aboard.

So, I Googled alcohol import allowance for Great Britain, where we are picking up our cruise, and found:

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Alcohol allowance

How much you can bring depends on the type of alcohol. You can bring in:

• beer - 42 litres
• wine (still) - 18 litres

You can also bring in either:

• spirits and other liquors over 22% alcohol - 4 litres
• sparkling wine, fortified wine (for example port, sherry) and other alcoholic drinks up to 22% alcohol (not including beer or still wine) - 9 litres

You can split this last allowance, for example you could bring 4.5 litres of fortified wine and 2 litres of spirits (both half of your allowance).

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Looks like we can easily bring a case of a favorite wine with us and my favorite Wino will be pleased.

Thanks again for your help with this pressing problem! 🙃

23 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Totally agree!  "Playfully" is the perfect word.

I can relate.  Wine connoisseur might be more true, but to me that phrase has the true negative connotations - a polite way of saying "wine snob".

This post did draw out all the California "people who enjoy wine", didn't it.

OP here. “Wino” sure got a lot of attention, and great information from the group. Glad that most knew I was using the term in an endearing manner. 

7 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Being a self proclaimed "Wino"  -  here's my thoughts after 10+ Viking Ocean cruises:

-pre COVID the included wines at lunch/dinner were so-so but the wines by the glass (either paid individually or got with SSBP) were excellent with a wide variety!

-post COVID the included wines seem to be better but Viking has moved the quite a number of the good wines by the glass for purchase to be only available by the bottle (which means even SSBP has to buy a bottle, granted at a slight discount).  Wines are grouped by country.  For example, to show the limited selection for wines by the glass, for USA Red Wines there is only ONE wine, a Coppola Zin, available by the glass and yet there are 8 USA red wines only by the bottle.

NOTE:  if you are PV or higher, you can also ask the steward to replace the cocktail bottles with wine (ask for your choice by varietal i.e. Zin, Cab, Merlot, etc.).  You'll get the "house" wine.

 

-Our Solution:  we bring our own bottles on board.  Quite easy for us as we never fly in the day of boarding - and so can either pack some in our suitcases or visit a shop before boarding.  Depending on the ports, we also get some on the way. 

-No corkage fee, no nothing!  Steward brings us clean wine glasses to the room every day.

-Note: there are still some decent wines by the glass and we enjoy trying foreign wines we've not heard of before.  Wines by the bottle are quite good and actually the price is reasonable.  We might buy some bottles this trip using up OBC's.

 

Here is the Wine List that we had on Saturn Iceland cruise this past June.

Hope this helps!

 

MANY THABKS FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS AND POSTING OF THE WINE MENU!

This is our first Viking cruise. While I don't drink, Ms. Notjaded loves quality red wine. We will not be purchasing a drink package. If one is a lover of quality red wine, would one be disappointed with Viking's complementary selections?

Many thanks!

We are on this cruise. My concern is the possibility of deferred maintenance issues, but Ms Notjaded thinks it will be a fun sail 🙂

Thanks all for the info on the massages. I did use the chat function when logged in, and the agent said that one just needs to book onboard. Very strange to offer just a part of a menu when one is trying to see menu items.

4 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

...the Seabourn website doesn’t work for $h1t. Is it always this bad (searching on the Seabourn website?) Thx!

It has been for awhile. Even trying different browsers.

I mentioned the problems with the website to an agent and asked her if they are having problems with it. She immediately laughed, which is very telling.

6 hours ago, Mahogany said:

Were you able to turn deposit into FCC?

It was returned to our credit card since we were still in the 100% refund period

On 10/21/2023 at 7:34 AM, Randyk47 said:

We did the Rome (Civitaveccha) to Dubai itinerary on the Spirit a few years ago.  Even back then it was an off and on situation for my wife who is a senior manager in the US Department of Defense.   Her travel, even personal travel, has to be approved for certain parts of the world including Israel, most of North African, and the Persian Gulf states.  Right now she is in Poland on official travel and told me this morning she’d received a long cautionary message to be careful and that specifically cancelled all official and personal travel to Israel, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf states pending further review.  Stuff happens.   

Hey Randy, this is 747FC. Hope your wife is safe and sound in Poland. Thank her for her service.

Just cancelled our ME trip for April. Don't trust that even then we will be able to have a stress-free and relaxing trip.

Looked to make a massage appointment online for my wife, and all I saw were facials. Are there full-body massages offered on Viking Ocean? Nothing in MyViking. 
 

Thank you. 

You are all making my mouth water. Is there a line that forms before 6:00 AM? 🙂

2 minutes ago, wine-wine-wine said:

The living room bar is your best bet by far. Beautifully made. Room service will be from a machine. 
 

I wake up early and make a journey on behalf of DW. ❤️

Thanks. Do you recall when they open?

First time Viking (Ocean) passenger here and very happy to read that our room will have a Nespresso maker.

What other options are there for drinking a nicely-made latte early in the morning? Is there a coffee bar open early (time)? Will room service deliver a latte?

Many thanks!

OP here. Thanks for the information. Just booked our NL cruise!

Thanks for the feedback!

We finally booked a Viking cruise, one that disembarks in Bergen. We need to find an airport hotel for one night. As it will be in the middle of the winter, do not want to stay in town for fear of some delay keeping us from our 5:30 AM flight.

Would appreciate any airport hotel recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

We are Platinum on Seabourn, nearing Diamond. We sometimes do SIlversea.

We are thinking of going on a Viking Venus Northern Lights Cruise, and wondering how others used to the Seabourn experience have found sailing with Viking?

(I know that the Viking ships have larger passenger loads, do not include gratuities in the stated price, and have more restricted complimentary alcohol service.)

Any feedback about fellow Seabourphiles on your experiences on Viking would be greatly appreciated.