kitty allen

17 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

Personally, I'd rather hang out dancing and singing on the pier versus cleaning toilets, etc.  Maybe the crew members in question felt the same? 😉

 

But they STILL have to do their regular job. They don't have to do less work, but they have to dance in the sun AND do their regular job.

Once, on a previous Viking Ocean cruise, and again once on this one we returned from an excursion to find about 20 crew members lined up in front of the gangway clapping and dancing to loud music as we boarded. This time I could hear the music blaring as soon as we returned to the port area. Since there were a number of other ships docked i wondered which line was so rude as to be making all that racket. I was astounded to see it was us! I've sailed on Viking Ocean for about 10 weeks total and I have only seen this happen twice, but it is AWFUL.

This is why I hate it;

1. It's loud and claustraphobic to run this gauntlet. After a long, hot tour I want rest, food and cool air - not a dance party

2. Its rude to all the people on the decks of both our ship and the others surrounding. I could still hear it in my room. Who want a neighbor like this?

3. Its off brand. If I wanted to sail with Carnival I would have. I cannot understand why Viking thinks passengers would want this, We all specifically chose a non-party ship.

4. It is an idiotic thing to ask the staff to do. There were waiters and housekeepers out there in full dark uniforms being made to act like our return made them want to dance and sing. Either these people are on duty and have work to do, or they are not on duty and should be left alone. They are tring their best to be happy clappy, but no one is going to be fooled into thinking this was their idea.

Wrong time

wrong place

stop it, VIKING

Is this just me?

Buenos Aries is so great I would mind the extra day there.

On 11/15/2021 at 11:57 AM, prunderw said:

Just remember that Hawaii is impacting your cruise and doesn't want your cruise dollars.  Viking is doing their best faced with Hawaii's 'waffle'.

This is Hawaii's last minute change, not Viking's

On 11/4/2021 at 8:25 PM, goldwingers said:

I am currently onboard the Orion. We took this test on Monday for a Wednesday departure. We printed out the results from the link that was sent within minutes. When we embarked, the Viking rep checked the date of the test and the result and waved us through. Easy peasy. They also had a table set up in the terminal where they appeared to be administering rapid tests - I did not walk over and check it out, but there were lab techs and equipment set up. 

How are stringent are the mask rules while onboard? How rigid is enforcement? Any difference indoor/outdoor?

Hello! I loved the city last time we were there and I was so looking forward to our return visit. BUT, it turns out we will be there on Christmas Day. has anyone been there on Christmas Day? Will anything be open? Will there be public transportation? Thanks

Both are cool. Chichen Itza has better ruins, but Tulum is by the sea. So beautiful! If I could go back to one it would be Tulum.

My DH was a very reluctant cruiser at first. He only did it because he knew I REALLY wanted to. He was SURE he would be charged extra for every little thing. So, we stepped on our first ship (Celebrity Equinox) and went to the buffet to wait for our room and the first thing he saw was a PILE of thin crisp, warm chocolate chip cookies. And the rest is history. Now, he is a destination speaker. We cruise once or twice a year - as often as work permits - and the first thing he wants the minute we step on board is his cookie. "WHERE IS MY COOKIE!!!!"

We have cruised mostly Celebrity for about 7 years and the quality of food in both buffet and MDR has slid downhill steadily during that time. We'll be on Princess in a few weeks, so I am very curious to see how it compares.

That's a maitre 'd that needs a little retraining in his job.

 

 

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He really seemed to think we were trying to take something that didn't belong to us, even though part of the contract is to be chatty and social.

For those of you concerned about staying out late - because of the very few hours of darkness up there in July, it never really feels late. It throws off your mental clock in a weird way, but you probably won't be sleepy at the usual hour.

The hassle in St Petersburg I was referring to is A) the Visa, B) Not being allowed off the ship without a pre-arranged tour and C) not being able to go anywhere or see anything that was not on the official tour - not even shops. So what we saw was beautiful and interesting, but very restrictive. We talked to other people who had private tours that were much more flexible, but they had pre-booked them before leaving home and they were pretty expensive. On the other hand, Tallin, Estonia was terrific. And the white nights were great.

Consider logistics and how comfortable you are with getting yourself around. In some departure cities the international airport and cruise port are actually in the same city (Barcelona), in others (Southampton, Rome, Athens) they are at a distance - sometimes hours away. This is not a problem for us, but it is something to consider. The Mediterranean would be my recommendation for 1st time in Europe - you'll get Italy/Greece/France highlights and maybe Spain, Turkey and even north Africa is everybody is getting along. The Baltic is wonderful for northern Europe - Sweden, Denmark, Finland, etc and usually hits Germany and St Petersburg Russia - although the Russia stop is a big hassle, so be prepared.

We sailed to Arabia and India on Celebrity at Christmas last year and there was a priest and a rabbi, and my husband (who is a protestant minister) was the destination speaker. So we had a truly multi-faith experience. BUT, even if the cruise line doesn't schedule a service, passengers can organize themselves through the bulletin boards.

One cruise we did a regular seating and on the first night we were seated at a table for 10. The other 8 people were all from the same family, from India! Nice people, but they spoke mostly in Hindi to each other, so we changed tables and sat at a table for 8. Two elderly couples that were old friends travelling together, another couple that only showed up once, and us (middle aged). But we actually had a terrific time with those 4.

My husband is one of the destination speakers, so many people recognize him and love to chat. We always choose the anytime dining and like to sit at a big table of whoever is being seated at the same time. We meet lots of people and have a great time, BUT on our last cruise on Celebrity we had a Maitre d that made it clear that we were NOT welcome in the dining room because that was for "real" guests. (we ARE guests - not employees). After a few days we went over his head and there were no more hassles, but it made us dread going to the dining room and it wasn't nearly as much fun.

We didn't do the houseboat tour, but after 3 days I have not seen a shoreline, river, stream, lake or pond that was not filled with garbage.

agreed. The buffet is terrible. It is the exact same selection every day, and there are way too many stations that require you to stand there in line while your food is prepared especially for you v e r y s l o w l y.

So much to respond to:

Yes, Oman is a country on the Persian gulf on the opposite end of the Arabian Penninsula from Jordan. It is not in Saudi Arabia.

I know there is plenty to do in the area. I was just remarking on the limited number of excursions offered by the cruise line - just 4 or 5 repetitive choices in some ports. I was thinking that because the tourist season is so short there are not enough ships to keep that kind of tour operator in business.

Happily we are going in Dec/Jan - not in the heat of the summer. And yes, its not for another 16 months, so they are probably still getting organized.

I don't know who the audience for this destination is going to be. Europeans? We just sailed from England to Scandinavia/Russia and the passengers were overwhelmingly British. There are 4 India ports and 3 Arabian ports on this trip, so I am guessing India is the draw, not the Persian Gulf.

Guess we'll find out when we get there!

I am looking ahead to 2016 trip on celebrity to UAE, Oman and India. I am surprised at so few excursion options, and not much info in the Africa/Middle east section of cruise critic. Is cruising to these ports new? Do they have a less developed cruise tourism industry? Why so many offering high tea in a luxury hotel as an excursion? I'm nor worried about boredom, DH and I are quite capable on our own. Just thought the lack of options in such great places strange. Thoughts?