palermo22

I had a thread started for Viking Sky that has disappeared! I also just read an article that states that Viking Sky will not be completed until Spring 2017. I am wondering how that affects our April 15 Sky cruise of The Baltic and Beyond.

Our cruise (The Baltic and Beyond) departs 4/15/2017. Originally we were informed that full payment must be made by 12/31/2015. I now see the following on Viking's web site:

2017 EARLY BOOKING DISCOUNT

Air does not have to be purchased to get cruise/tour offer. Offers expire December 31, 2015. 2017: Book and deposit by December 31, 2015; pay in full by June 30, 2016.

Is anyone else reading this like I am: that full payment for 2017 cruises don't have to be made until 06/30/2016?

I am sure as well get closer to our cruise dates that there will be more detail about the when the Sky actually launches and hopefully we will have a leg up in that Viking will learn from past mistakes. We board on April 15, 2017 in Barcelona - for those of you boarding in March 2017 (or before) - are you required to have the full fare paid by 12/31/15?

I'd be very interested to hear what you found out (if you've checked into) your payment scenario. I understand your reading of the contract and it matches mine. I truly hope the flexibility is there, but I suspect there could be a catch something like "If you pay on the contract schedule, you get the brochure rate" (i.e., none of the discounts offered). Even though the"brochure rates" could never be sold (way too high), they are still used at the basis for all the Early Booking Discounts (EBD) which seems to be where the weird payment schedules come in.

I am not a lawyer - I depend on the expertise of people I hire - in this case it's a well-known travel agent and this is not his first rodeo. He wouldn't make statements unless they were factual. If what he stated were not correct then he and his company could be held liable. Here are a few things he has stated to me or to our travel companion:

"there is absolutely no reason to worry about Viking as they are a very solvent company. The Travel Ex policy you bought does cover you in case of supplier default or bankruptcy. As far as cancellation you can cancel for a refund of all payments except for $100 p/p up until 120 days prior to sailing. Also you paid by credit card which covers you for supplier default

As for the insurance you can cancel the policy and change the coverage to another trip or get a refund up until the penalty period at 120 days prior. Again I think you should not be concerned about Viking as the insurance companies are still keeping them as a covered supplier. If there was any issue, they would no longer insure for Viking.

They have been getting full payments a year in advance for the past 10 years.They are actually very strong financially as all the insurance companies still rate them as a covered supplier for default. Insurance carriers would know if they had issues.

I am the OP and don't consider myself a rumor monger (or mongrel, for that matter). I try to be as accurate with facts I present, as possible. Here is my latest check of ocean cruise full payment deadlines:

Holland America 75 days

Princess 75 days

Carnival 75 days

Costa 70 days

Cunard 90 days

MSC 75 days

Norwegian 75 to 90 days (depending on cruise cost)

AVERAGE ~77.5 days

 

Viking 534 days (based on Into the Midnight Sun, 17 Jun 2017 sailing)

Just about 7X the going rate :eek:

 

Finally, and with all due deference to your TA's experience and expertise, what was written to you is not what is materializing in real-time on several threads (encompassing many passengers) in this forum.

 

I have a booking on the Star for the Midnight Sun cruise in 2017, but have no illusions of how things are likely to pan out should the unexpected occur during that cruise. This information isn't intended to frighten anyone. It is a consideration (among several) to support the decisions each of us makes when selecting a cruise.

 

Best regards,

Thom [not the mongrel . . . the other Thom]:D

Wasn't trying to start an argument - in fact, I wasn't even pointing you out (just because you started the thread - I wasn't implying you were trying to whip the people into a frenzy) - just wanted to point out that from what I have read this has been standard practice for Viking for a long time and there us no indication that they are about to go under. I could see that if they were rated as junk bonds then it might be time to worry - but I don't get that idea. Anyway, just have your insurance in place and everyone is good to go.

I am not saying some of you are alarmists but there are a lot of undocumented facts in your statements above. As a future traveler on Viking Ocean cruises I did my own investigating as to whether paying for a cruise 15 1/2 months was smart (we're scheduled to take the 22 day cruise on Viking Sky on 4/15/17). While that is certainly a longer stretch of time (between full payment and cruise) - it's not two years and it's probably six to nine months longer than other cruise lines (for all I know maybe it's only four months longer). What happened to the cruise line could be termed "bad luck" in that an early cruise had to be terminated. But I guarantee every cruise line out there have horror stories attached to some of their cruises and people have not shied away from those cruise lines. My travel agent (who has been in the industry a long time and has a great reputation) told me two things (in writing) that make me (at this point) not worry about our future cruise: (1) If we cancel prior to 120 days then we're on the hook for $200 (plus what we paid for our insurance policy through Travel Ex) and (2) our insurance policy will reimburse us in full should the company (for any reason) cancel the cruise. He works for a large company and he is our agent - he wouldn't put things like that in writing unless he was 100% sure (because as our agent he is on the hook if the information he gave us was not correct). He said that Viking River Cruises has operated like this for years and folks love their river cruises. So I suggest that everyone booked on a future cruise just relax and don't le the rumor mongrels scare you away.

We are scheduled to go on a 22 day cruise (called Barcelona, the Baltic and Beyond) on the Viking Sky - departing Barcelona on April 15, 2017. Just wondering if anyone else is scheduled to take the Viking Sky before or after our cruise. I read that the Sky was originally scheduled to be completed in 2016 - now that has been amended to the Spring 2017. Obviously I am wondering if that will have an impact on our cruise. I don't know if our cruise is the Sky inaugural cruise or if there are a few before our cruise.

We were on Marina in December - ESPN International was showing the Sunday Night game (which telecast on NBC). My guess is they will do one game this Sunday as well as the Superbowl. Just as a side observation: If Aaron Rodgers is still in pain for this Sunday's game with the Seahawks - then they have no chance of an upset.

I would agree with the OP in the assessment. Unless the cruise is port intensive some people are going to be bored.

 

Even the "enrichment" lecturers are sometimes really poor. I remember our cruise last year -- we had a lecturer talking about ancient Greek and Turkish Ottoman history. His expertise was sorely lacking and his expertise was in Alaska Native tribes. I would wish that Oceania would vet them a little better rather than giving them a free cruise and hoping for the best.

+One

I would like to put some perspective to this post since we just returned from the same cruise. My responses are in capital letters

THE WORST CRUISE

 

 

We had a penthouse suite which was lovely . Kept up very well by housekeeping . We enjoyed Julia so much that we gave her additional gratuity, in addition to the all incl pre paid gratuitous that was incl in our fare.

 

We enjoyed each and everyone of the four specialty restaurants ..... The cuisine as well as the charming attentive service was delightful. TOTALLY AGREE!

 

The Sanctuary, outside , was wonderful and most relaxing. TRUE!

 

What made this trip poor for us , other then the several days of rough seas and generally poor weather with missed ports and late or early departures due to three ER airlifts .... All of course which could not be avoided on any cruise line ..... Was as follows: THIS IS TRUE BUT AS HE STATES THIS COULD NOT BE BLAMED ON OCEANIA!

 

Poor, was the terribly chronic slow and poor service in the MDR : no matter if the room was full of totally empty, each dinner took about 2 1/2 hours.... Long elapsed time between the courses and apparently overwhelmed wait staff . The food in MDR was at best, mediocre . Many other similar complaints overheard with repeated apologies from the maitre d .. But no changes effected! Even though we always arrived at 7:00... We never made it on time for the. 9:30 show! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE. WHEN WE USED THE MDR WE WENT AT 7:30 PM AND WAS OUT BY 9:15 - DIDN'T MISS ONE SHOW (ALTHOUGH I WISHED WE HAD MISSED THE PRODUCTION SHOWS).

 

Food being as fair as it was , on three occasions , I put in an order the day before for a special entree request they was a served in other specialty restaurants and also offered to room service. IT WAS DENIED!

So henceforth we had dinners in our suite several times allowing us to order what we wanted from where we wanted ! The down side was they most food deliveries , even breakfasts , delivered to suite was tepid in temperature ....even coffee ! While staff in MDR always asked upon guests departures , how things were. They were told... But changes were never apparently made. PROBABLY MORE TRUE THAN FALSE. OUR BREAKFASTS WERE DELIVERED MOSTLY EITHER COLD OR JUST BARELY WARM. WE MET A COUPLE WHO WAS ON A SPECIAL DIET AND MORE TIMES THAN NOT HER REQUESTS WERE NOT FULFILLED.

If only the wait staff were as present and as attentive as the Sommeliers were.. My God... They were there instantaneously, the moment one sat down ( great source of additional revenue for O!) NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE WAIT STAFF. ONE SERVER WAS A LITTLE SURLY WHEN A PERSON AT OUR TABLE WAS DELIVERED THE WRONG MEAL.

Poor meals and service in MDR. Many passengers are at Terrace just to avoid the long wait. Long time ait to get in MDR, long wait to place orders and long wait to get services. NEVER HAD TO WAIT MORE THAN 10 MINUTES TO GET INTO THE MDR.

 

Entertainment on board was better then expected .. Varied and quite enjoyable ,

The CD, Ray.. A joke.. Basically just an announcer of the days events and repeating the captains noon announcements which were mumbled and not well articulated . I thought that CD s are meant to be entertaining... He is not at all ... He makes PA ANNOUNCEMENTS .. That's it..RAY IS A GOOD GUY AND WE HAD A LOT OF FUN WITH HIM DURING TEAM TRIVIA - OTHER THAN THAT I ONLY SAW HIM AFTER THE SHOWS TELLING EVERYONE WHAT WAS ON THE AGENDA FOR LATER IN THE EVENING AND THE NEXT DAY. MY ONLY COMPLAINT WITH RAY IS NOT HAVING MORE INSIDE ACTIVITIES DURING THE DAY.

The front desk reception staff highly uninformative and not knowledgeable to simple queries . I needed to go to deck 11 and address any questions to our exec lounge concierge ,Damiano, to get answers . Front desk staff abrupt she often rude. NEVER EXPERIENCED THAT.

 

Overall the crew on deck, Waves, boutiques , inattentive , unfriendly , possibly at the end of their contracts and burnt out and or worried about their fate with NCL buying O!!

There were of course some delightful attentive crew..... But far too

few to be found ! Very little if any deck service ... Bars of course were always fully stocked and staffed with friendly bartenders ! BOUTIQUE STAFF WAS UNFRIENDLY - THAT PART IS TRUE.

 

Our last experience on Crystal and Silversea, where we hope to return , has a 100% more attentive and friendlier crew... Smiling, chatting with guests, even often remembering names..... Not at all on this sailing.. They were there to do their assignment ... Often appeared

reluctant to the even do so !

Not a great ambience ! STAFF (FOR US) WAS GREAT AND WONDERFUL.

 

Our butler was terrible: Rude.surly when we first met him... Only

asking why we were on board early! We got on board and went to our penthouse when instructed to! Did not even help us put

Luggage on bed or explain butler services!

It got so bad that we needed to ask for another butler. This only after 3 days of having to endure s very angry man with major attitude !

We met with the head butler; clearly he knew what we were attempting to communicate with him... Our butler was changed immediately ! Replacement was great and was what was to be expected from the onstart! Later found out that our original butler was also ending his contract with this sailing... Still no excuse for his lack of care ! OUR BUTLER WAS WONDERFUL.

 

Worse were the services provided by the ships physician. Granted it was rough sailing, with many ill crew and passengers. Coughing was rampant throughout the ship. Nevertheless, I have in all my years working in the medical field EVER met such a rude, arrogant physician . His exam at best lasted 3-5 minutes. He barely listened to chest. Never checked ENT.. Unless I asked! He has his basic protocol/

Nose and throat swabs testing for 'influenza '.... CBC Panel and then a shot of cortisone .. For this you are billed $550.00 then he gives you a bunch of OTC MEDS such as Tyndall, losenges ., etc, EVERYONE whom we spoke to on board shared that they received the same " care"... In and out in 5 mins. Bottom line. After spending close to $2,000.00 for both of us ..no relief whatsoever! I told him that I was wheezing at night and could not sleep.. No response. Finally i diagnosed myself as having an URI and took the meds that I took a long! NA

 

Granted, ship docs are typically not known for their astute skills or personalities.. But this one from Turkey was most unknowledgeable... Didn't know basic drugs ....I would not refer a sick cat to him! Another interesting point when both my wife and I took our temps before we went to medical center, we were afebrile each time but when the nurses took our temps each time we both were told we had fevers of 101! Both thermometers in room showed 97.5 or 98.1 ! I hate to think that they have " rigged " their equipment.. But what would justify the often 3.0 variance?? NA

 

Additionally, they need a clerk or receptionist in the medical center. Both nurses were totally overwhelmed with paper work with explaining to each coming passenger the fee schedule rather than having that tend to to the needs of bedridden ill patients who were calling out for assistance . The doc stayed in his office just shouting out: "NEXT"!

Trust me, it was bad.

 

That's it, even if would not have gotten ill.. I would have rated this cruise a 4... Having been ill with all that other issues.. I rate it: "horrible!"

even in our earlier sailimgs on rccl or Princess, we were received more warmly!

We look forward to returning to Crystal... We don't need a penthouse or a butler we just need a pleasant responsive crew!

I CAN SEE WHERE HE IS COMING FROM AND WHILE THERE IS SOME EXAGERATION - HE IS CORRECT IN MANY OF THE THINGS SAID. I CAN SEE WHERE A CRUISE LIKE THIS WOULD UPSET MANY PEOPLE: MISSED PORTS BECAUSE OF WEATHER - PORT VISITS CUT SHORT BECAUSE OF MEDICAL EMERGENCY - BUT AS I SAID IN MY OTHER THREAD - OUT OF 5 I WOULD GIVE THIS CRUISE AN OVERALL MARK OF 4.3.

Actually I do agree with your post. I think many of the things I stated in my review did not meet the 100% standard that the "cheerleaders" wanted me to say. I never complained about the food or the entertainment - I thought for the most part the food was excellent (more in the specialty restaurants and less in the MDR and buffet) - I didn't expect great entertainment and therefore I wasn't disappointed by the mediocre production shows (and was pleasantly surprised by the other shows that were presented). Didn't care about the expensive excursions because we did independent excursions (which for the most part were pretty good). My only major disappointment was lack of things to do on a windy rainy cold sea day. Would I take Oceania again? A definite yes! One thing I didn't mention previously: the staff - 98% were great (our butler: a genuine nice person who I would give a 100% score to).

I love sushi, never ate the lobster or the steak in the Terrace Café. I am sorry that you missed a port. We missed Ushuaia and Punta Arenas on our SA cruise on a HAL ship. Lots of passengers were upset.

Besides the Falklands/Malvinas - those two ports were our favorites.

It's quite possible that your CD did not organize enough entertainment. I listed a few things we have experienced. Did none of this happen? I understand that lots of sea days can be boring for people not into Bingo, Trivia and playing Bridge.

 

As to your assessment of the food, you lost me when you wrote that you enjoyed the hamburgers and milk shakes more than the Terrace Café. :)

I was on a team for trivia - took up 35 minutes each day. My wife played bingo - took 45 minutes including standing in line to buy the cards - worked out in the gym 45 minutes - don't play bridge. My comment on the grill and Terrace cafe: read what I stated. Never gave a blanket statement that I enjoyed hamburgers and milkshakes more than the buffet. I said on average the hamburgers and milkshakes were better than most of the buffet food. If you like tough steak and over-cooked lobster meat than the buffet is for you.

Agree with LHT28..if you require 24 hour entertainment Oceania is really not for you. many of us love to read do needlework, play cards and nap. then there are meals, breakfast, tea, lunch and dinner to be had.

Fortunately for most of us there are no hairy chest contests or rock climbing walls but there are lovely places to sit and have a coffee with friends or read or just watch the ocean. we don't feel we have to have a yell fest with trivia or a cooking class every day. the idea of a cruise on a premium cruise is to chill.

You might feel happier and busier on a Mass Market line.

Not looking for 24 hours entertainment - how about three or four hours. Even those we spoke to who have traveled on Oceania previously stated the same thing.

What I have learned going through these threads is that there are those of you out there that no matter what Oceania can do no wrong. I think they are a very good cruise company that is now depending more on their reputation rather than trying to take the next step. Again, they are good - very good - just not great!

The cruise began in Buenos Aires and went around the horn stopping at a few Argentine ports and a few Chilean ports; in addition, there was a stop at the Falkland/Malvinas islands.

There were definitely a lack of things to do INSIDE the ship. Believe me, if you asked 100 people on our cruise - 90 would say the same thing. Sure, you can provide your own things to do (reading and playing cards, etc.) - seems to me that when you are spending all of this money that contingency planning by the CD should come into play. And, right: weather is weather - not the ship's fault; however, lack of a plan for fun inside is the ship's fault.

I know there are one or two threads already started on this cruise but I wanted to have my own thread as I feel many of you are coming down hard on DrJW and I wanted to separate my review from his. But to summarize: most of his points were right on.

This was our first cruise on Oceania and we took it because of upgrades and freebies - but also because I worked in Argentina and Chile and it was a great opportunity to visit colleagues.

The Marina is a beautiful ship and our Penthouse Cabin was great. We loved our butler and had no complaints involving him. It's going to be difficult traveling in the future because once you get use to butlers, large cabins and walk in closets - that becomes the standard for the future.

Let me start off with the food (since that is what Oceania is known for. We wound up doing the specialty restaurants 8 times on this 16 day cruise - and except for one bad meal in the Italian restaurant - all meals were 4*. Didn't buy the ship's wine: we bought a bunch of wine in Buenos Aires and chose to pay the corkage. That worked out good. The food in the MDR was probably 3* - or perhaps a little above average. Example: one night I ordered prime rib and it was so tough it was hard to cut (someone else at our table ordered it also and had the same complaint). The buffet was average as well. I am not a foodie - I don't consider myself a food critic - but i have lived around the world and been on other cruise lines. My wife and others we spoke to agree with the ratings in this paragraph. We loved the hamburgers and milkshakes in the grill - on average this was better than most food in the buffet.

Ray Carr - CD - was decent. Not great but overall average. I did team trivia and he made it a fun activity. Entertainment: actually was better than what I was expecting. The production shows were not horrible but was barely passable. Mostly like a high school production. The two singers and magician were fine.

Excursions: we booked our own and for the most part we had fun. The ports were not great - except for a few of them. I would have loved to go into Punta del Este but the captain said the seas were too rough for the tenders.

Here is our main complaint: On a cruise like this one would expect to have a few days of bad weather - and we did! I would say there were about four or five days when it was cold and misty. So instead of taking advantage of outdoor activities (which were good when the weather was good) - we were all stuck inside. The ship provided very few things to do - bingo was good for 30 minutes - and a few other things and that was it. I blame this on the cruise director - most people were bored (at least i could eat up an hour in the gym - others probably took naps).

Bottom Line: I give the overall cruise a B and that maybe stretching it a bit. I would definitely take Oceania again but only in a warmer climate.

I hate calling someone a "troll" or a liar but there are too many strange things going on:

1) They were bitten (supposedly on day 2) but never informed housekeeping or the medical staff.

2) Bed bugs are small but they still can be seen (plus they leave traces on the sheets and/or mattress) - I would think the Housekeeping Staff is trained to look for anything along these lines.

3) Nobody has ever (to my knowledge) reported being bitten by bed bugs (and news would travel very fast if they had).

4) This individual (OP) has only written one post and never heard from again.

At this point I am taking it with a grain of salt.

I'm glad I asked (I am the OP) - with the "Queen" actually measuring 66 inches (thus falling midway between a true Queen and King) - that changes my thought process and we'll give the "Queen" a try.

Not trying to ask a personal question - so I'll ask in generalities: I am a tosser and turner (sounds like the old Bobby Lewis hit song) so I was thinking of asking for two twin beds instead of the Queen bed. Has anyone found that this wasn't as comfortable as the Queen bed? How long prior to the cruise should a request be made? Just looking for general opinions.

By my calculation that's just about $300. Has anyone actually purchased this package recently and would they recommend it over ordering wine ala carte (we are not big drinkers - usually one bottle will take us through two dinners). Are the wines equal to other $40 wines (on the ship) - whereby with the package you are saving almost $8 a bottle for gratuity?

A friend who just returned from an O cruise, told me that there is a "new", to me ,policy called 20 for $20 on cruises 14 days or longer.You can have 20 items laundered and folded for $20. This seems like a good deal to me. Far better than spending time in the laundry room or returning with packed dirty clothes.

Joan

We are scheduled for a 16 day cruise (Marina 12/1 out of BA) - can I count on this actually being correct information?

For those embarking the ship (Marina) in Buenos Aires - just give the name: Terminal de Pasajeros - there's just one area where the cruise ships and ferries are located.

Thanks for the replies. If it works out that we can stay in our cabin until 8:30 - 9:00 and then be off the ship for the last shuttle (hopefully close to 10 AM) then even if we have to wait an hour for our friends - the timing will be pretty good.

The Marina arrives in Valparaiso at 6 AM according to our official documents. We are staying in a Penthouse Suite. I have a friend picking us up but it will not be until 10 AM. Will we be allowed to stay somewhere on the ship close to 10 AM?

A lot of different answers here - hopefully, this will clarify:

1) Forget exchanging dollars for pesos on the ship - it won't happen (and even if it did exist it would be at the official ROE {rate of exchange} - which is not what you want - the blue rate is about 70% higher).

2) Many stores will give you close to the blue rate so if you are buying any big ticket items (like a leather coat) - you can offer U.S. dollars and see how close to the blue rate they are giving you.

3) You do want blue market pesos for taxis and restaurants.

4) Ask your hotel where a safe place is to exchange dollars for pesos at the blue rate (chances are it will be less than the blue rate but safer).

5) Finally, use your own intuition - probably some of the dealers on Florida are honest and some are dishonest - try not looking like a "Gringo" and use your language skills. i.e. you are in a Spanish speaking country - use your Spanish.