Jammy Bun

Sorry I think I duplicated one sheet - here’s the final page. 

Here are the excursions offered to us from Civitavecchia this week.

Onboard now, the list of trips  us are all to Rome, so it looks like we’ll be heading to Civitavecchia on the shuttle bus.  Thanks for all your replies, and Merry Christmas!

We are onboard Venus at the moment, sailing from Athens to Tilbury UK, via Civitavecchia ( for Rome) at which point some guests will leave and others join the cruise.  In our cabin on boarding in Athens was a list of tours available to us in Civitavecchia  - all are to Rome and are 8.5 hours long, leaving the ship between 7:30 and 8:00am.  The included one is a Rome on your Own one, so that might be one you could use?  

9 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

 

We also did the shoex to Tarquinia. Since it was Easter Sunday and we've been to Rome before, we decided to take this marvelous tour that is just a short drive up the coast. Here is my review from April of this year:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2927474-almost-live-viking-sky-mediterranean-odyssey-april-2023/?do=findComment&comment=65232669

 

Thank you!  I've just read your review, it sounds just perfect for us.  And I can earmark that day as a laundry day too. 😁

3 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

The Port runs a shuttle from the ship to front gate(s) or you can get a cab on the dock to take you into town.  Passengers are discouraged from walking through the port as we are a hazard to the workers. Besides, it is a long walk.  Multiple shuttles back to the ships; make sure yours is going to Viking. 

 

On our 2 day stay in Civi, one a turnover day, we did two Viking tours.  One to Old Ostia, the seaport of ancient Rome at the mouth of the Tiber River and the other to see the Etruscan  Necropolis and the Etruscan Archeology Museum in town of  Tarquinia.  Loved them both. Plus we had time to wander into Civi.

Thanks, very helpful.  I now feel sure we'll get to see something on our day there!

Thanks!  I’ll do a little research on the port now. 😊

Very soon we'll be joining a Viking cruise which calls at Civitavecchia, where some guests will disembark and others will join for the next cruise.  No excursions have been offered in advance, though I guess maybe they will be offered for those staying onboard for both cruises.  We've been to Rome before and therefore we've been thinking we might explore the local area.  Have any of you done this?  And do Viking run a shuttle bus into the town centre?

Having to fly to join the ship is the only downside to cruising with Viking.  Living in the north of England usually means we must take two flights to get to the port, and consequently the chances of delays is increased.  For this reason we have chosen to fly from Heathrow to Athens later this week, BUT the big decider on choosing this particular 3 week cruise was that the ship sails back to Tilbury.  Our local long-distance transfer company will meet us at the terminal. 

To answer your questions: 

The quality and variety of the food is excellent, and the places to eat offer far more choice than Saga.  And better opening hours. AND you have a sea view in all dining venues.  Even the 24hour room service is great.  The buffet serves not only the same meals as the restaurant in the evening, but also freshly made sushi, seafood, an Asian selection, and beautiful desserts and gelato.  The only place on Saga that we had a similar experience to Viking was in the Nepalese restaurant.

Service throughout the ship is exceptional.  We did experience poor service in the bars on SoA in February, several times in the big lounge had to go and find someone to serve us. 

The lectures are also great. (Though we did have one guy on Saga who was also great, credit where credit's due).  Their port talks aren't the usual selling opportunity, purely aimed at those doing the tours, but give you good advice about local transport, and other DIY info.  Viking employ a resident historian who gives some talks and has smaller special interest groups for those who are interested.

Entertainment I would say is probably Viking's weakest area.  It suits us, but is generally very low key.  Light classical music or guitar in some venues, light entertainment in the 'theatre' most nights, which consists of four singers with a 'show' , or maybe the house band, or maybe the cruise director if they've got that background.   They have 'movies under the stars' occasionally, on the pool deck, where you lie on loungers and use headphones so you don't disturb anyone else.  Brilliant with a cocktail, a tub of popcorn, and maybe a rug if it's a bit chilly.

Hope this gives you a flavour of why we were so disappointed with Saga.  I'm not saying we'll never cruise with them again, but it hopefully won't be for a while yet.  I do understand that for many (especially solo travellers) it is a good fit.  

7 minutes ago, seasickphil said:

 

It would be interesting to know which cruise lines you think standards have not slipped post covid to pre covid? we have no allegiance to any one cruise line and have only cruised on Cunard x2, Regent x2  and Saga once since the pandemic but for us none of those cruises matched the ones we took on the same lines prior to covid.

Viking remain the same post pandemic as they were before. 😊

We tried Saga last February, and it’s not for us.  The food was dull - choice of desserts at lunchtime in the cafe for example consisted of an eclair, a jelly, a sponge pudding, a cake with buttercream decoration, and often a mousse or a rice pudding.  This was every day, the flavour might change, but the appearance was the same.  Everything seemed to be “British”. I don’t go on holiday to eat fish and chips - and they weren’t that great anyway! (OK I live at the seaside so am maybe spoiled 😏).

We rarely dined in the Main Dining Room, it’s not a pleasant space, crowded and very noisy, with no views of the sea.  On one occasion we arrived at 8pm to be told it was full, so we were directed upstairs to the cafe.  No self service buffet available in the evenings, and even when the buffet is open it’s all served to you - some like it, but I prefer to take exactly what I want not have a conversation with every server about my choices!

Other things we didn’t like included the uncovered pool area.  Saga made a huge mistake there, in not having a retractable roof.  On our cruise the area was often unusable, meaning other public areas were constantly crowded.  We never found anywhere peaceful (or comfortable) to sit and read.  
Our Saga transport was awful.  A shared Titan vehicle on the way to the ship, which was just about ok (though neither ‘luxury’ nor ‘chauffeur driven’ as advertised) and an old minibus on the way back in which we were seated facing the rear, knee to knee with strangers.  
We haven’t used P&O or Fred since 2016, tried Viking in 2017 and apart from the one Saga cruise this year have now spent about 12 weeks on various Viking ships.  We leave this week for 3 more weeks.  While we are able to fly we will stick with them, for us they are perfect.  
OK, I’ll stand back and await the flames…   🤪

The presentation on Turkish carpets is (IMHO) a total waste of your time.  They're trying to sell you an overpriced carpet or rug while you sip an apple tea.  Purely for the tourists.  We got trapped once, but on subsequent visits to Istanbul gave it a miss.  Istanbul is easy to do on your own, the main sites are fairly close to each other and the HoHo buses are excellent.  The spice market is amazing.

We've not been there with Viking, so I can't say what the brochure wording means!

We’ve done several Viking cruises and always choose to be near the lifts - no issues at all with noise, and it makes getting around the ship so easy.  

We've had 4079 (onboard almost 5 weeks). 4073 (twice, total 4 weeks) 4070 (for 3 weeks), all above the lifeboats AND very close to the elevators!  All are very quiet rooms.

On our first Viking cruise we were allocated 4073 and enjoyed it so much that we've chosen to be in that location almost every time.  Had to move up to Deck 5 when we cruised in July this year, but there was honestly no benefit - and for our next cruise, in 48 days time (who's counting?) we're right next to the elevators again. 

Personally, especially if having to deal with luggage, I would book Addison Lee car to make the transfer.  British trains are unreliable (especially at the moment, subject to strike action with little notice) and often crowded.  Worth the additional cost imho for a door to door service.

Unless of course Viking offer a transfer - which is your original question!

6 hours ago, Hobson1754 said:

Fab - the next time it’s on repeat I’ll make a point of watching it.  As I said ‘claim to fame’ 😀

It’s on YouTube!

15 hours ago, deec said:

Yes it was Jane!!!  Senior memory!  She was in the Owner's suite!

The tv programme is available on Youtube (at least in the UK) - I'm not sure whether I'm allowed to post a link, but the channel is UK History Documentary, and the episode is 'Cruising with Jane McDonald - The Baltic and Viking Sky'.  

2 hours ago, deec said:

There was a British TV personality onboard...Ann McDonald, I think, she was doing a review of the ship for her TV series about cruising.  So glad we were able to visit St. Petersburg  and Tallin!

I think it's probably Jane McDonald, who was a singer on a cruise ship and featured in a BBC TV series in 1998, and became a much loved tv presenter.  I seem to remember that when she did the Viking Ocean cruise she had the Owners Suite - we were very envious!

A great review, thank you.  We were on the cruise following yours and also had a wonderful time (though we didn’t care much for the Cruise Director, thought he was a bit brash). 
Jupiter isn’t our favourite of the Viking fleet - the planetarium has spoiled the upper lounge area of Explorers, and its dome also interferes with the open deck space at the front.  But I think Viking must have come to the same conclusion as they only built two!  
 

Just back from Homelands on Jupiter.  We had two Movies under the stars while onboard, and two deck parties.  

On 7/12/2023 at 9:35 PM, Island2Dweller said:

You'll be moored mid river, and then transfered (by one of the Thames Clipper boats) onto Greenwich pier.  This is in a pedestrianised area.  The nearest place a taxi can pick you up is outside the Gypsy Moth pub.  (Greenwich Church Street, SE10 9BL).  It's only a minute or two walk across the pedestrianised area to that pub.

This is excellent advice.  We made the mistake of just disembarking and giving the name of a street - our taxi had trouble finding us.  Outside a  pub would have been an easier location.  

22 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

The included excursions are all described as panoramic.  Ie two to three hours in a  coach with the odd very short photo stop. After our first cancelled them all

Same here.  Dreadful.  

Thanks for your lovely report.  We're on Jupiter in two weeks time, and will visit Rostock for the first time (did the Berlin trip last time we were there).  Your photos have really whetted my appetite - though I'm not a fan of the Success cake, it's too sweet for me.  I don't recognise the other cake on your plate.

Who are the guest lecturers onboard?  And your cruise director?  

5 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

One thing I don't understand is the fixation of many people with the included car to the airport it's not free, and upgrading to a private car costs as much as booking one yourself . All one needs to do is find a good local chauffeur /taxi company. Yes you may need to add in a bit more leeway.

Yes, I totally agree!  We used our local private hire company to take us to Heathrow in late 2021, and to collect us from Tilbury following an Athens-Tilbury cruise.  And a far nicer vehicle than the van that SAGA sent to pick us up from our cruise with them this year! 

Thanks for your frequent reports Sara, and for giving your honest opinion on the SAGA experience.  It's not for us either, at least at this stage in our lives (though we are well into SAGA's targeted demographic, being in our mid 70s).  One and done for us, for the time being.  Whilst we are able to cope with the craziness of airport travel we think there are much better alternatives available - back to Viking for us next month and I cannot wait!