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Seating in The Restaurant


Marykatesmom
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We are traveling with another couple and just yesterday we both made our specialty dining reservations. I called Viking customer service first and was told that I just had to “invite” our fellow travelers in order to reserve a table for 4. There was no option to invite anyone so I called Viking back and got 3 different answers about how we could arrange to sit with with our friends. None of them have worked. The last answer was to just arrange it shipboard and that there was no guarantee that we would be seated together. Why is this so difficult for Viking? Isn’t traveling with others commonplace? This is our first Viking cruise and so far they are way behind Crystal in customer service.

Did you both get the same time for your reservations?

If yes, then when you get on ship they can easily put you at a table for four.

That is what others, who had the same request, have posted.

Enjoy your first Viking cruise.

I hear the Crystal web site is not very user friendly either. ;p

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Well, our frustration is in being told different things by different people. This has to be a common request. And although none of these web sites are really user friendly, Crystal makes it easy to invite your traveling companions to dine.

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Another couple called Viking and Viking said it was seat yourself in The Restaurant which did not make sense to me so I came here to double check.

 

 

What they probably meant was that there are no reservations for the restaurant - just for Manfredi’s and the Chefs Table.

 

 

 

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Thanks for the heads up. I am going to have to look into this further.

 

 

 

We were able to put our gratuities on our bill and pay with a credit card on our 2016 Rhine cruise. We had no OBC so that issue never came up.

 

I think they may be changing their policy on using OBC for gratuities, so perhaps they are trying it out on some ships or itineraries and that’s what is leading to confusion.

 

With that said, Viking needs to get all their phone reps on the same page and monitor to make sure they are not giving out conflicting information.

 

I worked for a time as a customer service manager and it’s a bit like that game of telephone. Upper management passes down information to supervisors, who pass it down to the reps, who pass it down to customers - and the end result often bears no resemblance to the information given at the start.

 

Has anyone else noticed that Viking hasn’t responded here lately?

 

 

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Has anyone else noticed that Viking hasn’t responded here lately?

 

 

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Yes. But imho, less is better. We know that they will pipe in when someone really needs help and hopefully they are reporting our criticisms to the powers that be. Maybe we should start a thread "Stupid things customer service has told me."

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What they probably meant was that there are no reservations for the restaurant - just for Manfredi’s and the Chefs Table.

 

 

 

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Good point. The MDR is called the Restaurant and as a current passenger on the Viking Sky reported the others are called alternative restaurants by the staff.

I am reading the blog of Clay Clayton who is on Sky, cruising across the Atlantic ocean at this time.

 

He wrote ," The main dining room has been well above most cruise lines specialty restaurants in quality and comparable in service. We have only eaten in one alternative restaurant, Manfredi’s and enjoyed our meal throughly (see previous post) but we both noted that there wasn’t the difference between it and the main dining room that one sees on other cruise lines. We mentioned that to the Dining manager when he stopped by our table and he stated that wasn’t “the Owner’s” vision and why they call them alternative rather than specialty restaurants."

Viking wants all venues to be of the same high quality works for me.

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"Finger's crossed" is unnecessary pessimism. If you go to Manfredi's or the Chef's Table, it will generally be with reservations in advance. You will have reserved a table for two and that is what you will get. If you go to the World Cafe, you sit where you choose and you don't wait for service, since it is a buffet. If you go to the Restaurant, there are a very large number of tables for two, and you would rarely have a problem.

 

No, it's not a pessimism (unnecessary or not) - we're being optimistic, with a 'glass definitely well over half full sort of attitude.

 

Having put up with situations on other cruise lines, we feel that it's best to not be blinkered and hope that we get situations in future which we are more content with. In the event that we have to put up with something we don't really like, then we can always laugh in the face of adversity and put it down to experience. So, it's finger's crossed, most definitely!

 

Being the sort of person who is quite capable of making reservations and reading terms and conditions, I realise that the seating in the alternative locations can be reserved in advance. I was referring quite simply to the main dining room only.

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Yes. But imho, less is better. We know that they will pipe in when someone really needs help and hopefully they are reporting our criticisms to the powers that be. Maybe we should start a thread "Stupid things customer service has told me."

 

 

 

LOL - I like that idea! Or at least conflicting things customer service has told me. [emoji12]

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
Quick question. We are 2couples, we have made our reservations for each restaurant but could only make them for a party of two. Do we need to advise restaurant that we need a TABLE for 4 prior to our reservation. Thanks

 

We are also traveling with another couple. I was also concerned about this. I made reservations and then called the Viking help desk. They set us up as a reservation for 4 without any problems. It even show up on our itinerary as a reservation for 4.

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No, it's not a pessimism (unnecessary or not) - we're being optimistic, with a 'glass definitely well over half full sort of attitude.

 

Having put up with situations on other cruise lines, we feel that it's best to not be blinkered and hope that we get situations in future which we are more content with. In the event that we have to put up with something we don't really like, then we can always laugh in the face of adversity and put it down to experience. So, it's finger's crossed, most definitely!

 

Being the sort of person who is quite capable of making reservations and reading terms and conditions, I realise that the seating in the alternative locations can be reserved in advance. I was referring quite simply to the main dining room only.

 

Quite simply, in the main dining room, if you request a table for two, you will be seated at a table for two.

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  • 1 month later...
Another question that they got wrong was you could not cancel the Silver Sea's package until you board which is the exact WRONG answer. Someone remembered that they are getting an OBC and could use it to pay for the package which they already purchased. I talked her through cancelling it on MVJ since I did the exact same thing. It was very easy. They told her to talk to her TA.

 

Someone else called about using the OBC for gratuities and was told it was OK to use for Viking Ocean but not Viking River. Is that correct?

 

We were on the Viking Sky from Miami on January 28 and my paperwork specifically stated that we could NOT use our OBC to cover gratuities.

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We were on the Viking Sky from Miami on January 28 and my paperwork specifically stated that we could NOT use our OBC to cover gratuities.

 

It is a very recent change that has happened in just the past couple of months and may well still have been in place when you sailed on Jan 28--or at least when your paperwork was printed..

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We are traveling with another couple and just yesterday we both made our specialty dining reservations. I called Viking customer service first and was told that I just had to “invite” our fellow travelers in order to reserve a table for 4. There was no option to invite anyone so I called Viking back and got 3 different answers about how we could arrange to sit with with our friends. None of them have worked. The last answer was to just arrange it shipboard and that there was no guarantee that we would be seated together. Why is this so difficult for Viking? Isn’t traveling with others commonplace? This is our first Viking cruise and so far they are way behind Crystal in customer service.

There is a button "invite guests" when you book your table.

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