Live from the Viking Sea

Just finishing day two of our Athens - Venice trip on the Sea. Since there have been quite a few questions about the new ships, I thought I would share some observations of this trip so far, combined with experience on the Star earlier this year.

Both ships are very well designed, with several small 'updates' noted on Sea. Anyone familiar with the VIKING river ships will feel pretty much at home - it's like a river ship on steriods!

Check - in was the easiest and least crowded I've ever seen. Almost no one there when we arrived just before noon. No delay getting on the ship - buffet was ready to go, but nearly empty as well. Quite a change from the 'mega-ships'.

Cabins were promised to be ready at 2:00 but were announced about 1:00. Luggage was at the door when we arrived.

DV cabins are almost identical to the Star, except for a few more USB outlets by the bed on both sides, better shower heads, etc. Both have heated floors and mirrors in the bathroom, so no fogging of the mirror after a shower. Nice touch!

First dinner on the ship tonight was at the buffet because we didn't want to change clothes after our afternoon tour. Huge seafood section (every night) includes crab claws, crab legs, shrimp and wide variety of sushi - no oysters, mussels, or clams. Otherwise, beef Wellington, slices of duck breast, lobster in pastry and lasagna. Disappointing once again is a lack of green vegetable choices, but plenty of potatoes and rice, etc. along with breads and the ever-present gelato bar. By the way, best breakfast, by far, is the waffle with fruit and berries available ar Mamsens!

Technology-wise the Sea appears to be a slightly newer version with everything working pretty well. One curious omission is the crude, manual check list used at the lifeboat drill when other lines just scan your cruise card.

Enough for now, I guess, but will be glad to answer any ship-specific questions during the week.

Thank you for this update! We also sailed on the Star last year Barcelona-Stockholm, and we have a trip booked for next year (Amazon) on the Sea. Last year we were fortunate enough to be in a PV, however next will be a DV - and we feel very happy to be able to experience such a beautiful ship once again.

I appreciated the differences you pointed out between the ships - I actually did not consider that there would be any! I am guessing that the DV did not add any more drawer space on the Sea vs the Star? It is really my only minor concern....

Enjoy your journey!!!

Have a great cruise!

Just a few questions ... is there a beverage station in the World Cafe? What beverages (types of juice) are available ... coffee, tea, lemonade, hot chocolate etc ??

Curious as to how much a Strawberry Daiquiri, Pina Colada, Bloody Mary is ... trying to ascertain the value of their drink packages ...

Thanks

Have a great cruise!

 

Just a few questions ... is there a beverage station in the World Cafe? What beverages (types of juice) are available ... coffee, tea, lemonade, hot chocolate etc ??

 

Curious as to how much a Strawberry Daiquiri, Pina Colada, Bloody Mary is ... trying to ascertain the value of their drink packages ...

 

Thanks

FM, I took pictures of the bar menu when we were on in June, along with information about the drinks package, they are among the pictures here along with the description of the Silver Spirits package and a couple of other things.

There was a salad station on one side of the cafe and sushi on the other. We didn't noticed this until later in the cruise.

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Thanks for info, enjoy your trip.

There was a salad station on one side of the cafe and sushi on the other. We didn't noticed this until later in the cruise.

 

 

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And sushi was available only at dinner time. I went looking for it at lunch but it wasn't there.

FM, I took pictures of the bar menu when we were on in June, along with information about the drinks package, they are among the pictures here along with the description of the Silver Spirits package and a couple of other things.

Extremely helpful ... thanks! Still undecided whether to switch to Viking or keep the B2B we have with RCL Anthem of the Seas, neither of which we have cruised with before. So comparing their activities/amenities to see if that will help with the decision.

Have you had any problems with the included excursions (ie. times changed, crowded, etc)? Thanks.

Just finishing day two of our Athens - Venice trip on the Sea. Since there have been quite a few questions about the new ships, I thought I would share some observations of this trip so far, combined with experience on the Star earlier this year.

Both ships are very well designed, with several small 'updates' noted on Sea. Anyone familiar with the VIKING river ships will feel pretty much at home - it's like a river ship on steriods!

Check - in was the easiest and least crowded I've ever seen. Almost no one there when we arrived just before noon. No delay getting on the ship - buffet was ready to go, but nearly empty as well. Quite a change from the 'mega-ships'.

Cabins were promised to be ready at 2:00 but were announced about 1:00. Luggage was at the door when we arrived.

DV cabins are almost identical to the Star, except for a few more USB outlets by the bed on both sides, better shower heads, etc. Both have heated floors and mirrors in the bathroom, so no fogging of the mirror after a shower. Nice touch!

First dinner on the ship tonight was at the buffet because we didn't want to change clothes after our afternoon tour. Huge seafood section (every night) includes crab claws, crab legs, shrimp and wide variety of sushi - no oysters, mussels, or clams. Otherwise, beef Wellington, slices of duck breast, lobster in pastry and lasagna. Disappointing once again is a lack of green vegetable choices, but plenty of potatoes and rice, etc. along with breads and the ever-present gelato bar. By the way, best breakfast, by far, is the waffle with fruit and berries available ar Mamsens!

Technology-wise the Sea appears to be a slightly newer version with everything working pretty well. One curious omission is the crude, manual check list used at the lifeboat drill when other lines just scan your cruise card.

Enough for now, I guess, but will be glad to answer any ship-specific questions during the week.

Since you offered, could you tell me about the coffee offered in the room? Is it all bold or are there some medium or mild selections?

Thanks for your help, hope you have a great trip.

Have you had any problems with the included excursions (ie. times changed, crowded, etc)? Thanks.

Excursions are well organized and generally operated on time. Today in Santorini there were some small delays due to heavy/hectic traffic- lots of ships here. Tour guides have been excellent as usual.

Since you offered, could you tell me about the coffee offered in the room? Is it all bold or are there some medium or mild selections?

 

Thanks for your help, hope you have a great trip.

Haven't tried the in-room coffee, but what I see is 2 each decafe, espresso supreme, and 'Parisian'.

We were able to request what we preferred after we tried the options - which were pretty good....and if I remember correctly there was a decaf option if requested?

Did Viking provide a shuttle from Piraeus to Athens and back?

Yes, there was a decaf option available.

Yes, there was a shuttle service during the day we were there; we did not use it so can't say how well it worked. Heard no complaints, however.

Just got back from the included tour to Olympia. Very hot but great tour of the ancient Olympic site!

We will be on the SKY next spring from Barcelona to Stockholm. I am wondering what time of the year you did the cruise (maybe the same time since it is only offered once in 2017).

we leave 15th of april. do you have any itinerary specific recommendations for ports? What did you do in France...I think it it too much bus ride to spend the time in Paris but would love to see Monet's garden if much would be in bloom in April?

Will be anxious to hear about the Amazon cruise...think that maybe next on our list or land of midnight sun.

thanks for any insights

Hi deec we were on a Viking River cruise that went to Monet's gardens on May 3rd of this year and they were Beautiful. Hope this helps.

Not sure if you intended to address this thread, but I can answer some in general. We sailed the Star in April 2016, but also felt the bus ride would be too long so did not make the trip into Paris. At other ports we took the Viking included tours and found them to be satisfactory. Our trip also had some schedule deviations, so was not completely typical.

The only Amazon trip scheduled the last time I looked included the Christmas holidays, so we did not consider. Hopefully, they will schedule some other dates later.

thanks, msmarsdell just what I wanted to hear...I'd looked at the Monet garden website but was not sure there would be enough in bloom!!!

We may eventually do the long French River cruises that combine from Normandy to Avignon but if I can see the gardens on this cruise i may opt to go.

Haven't tried the in-room coffee, but what I see is 2 each decafe, espresso supreme, and 'Parisian'.

You can also talk with your cabin steward to stock your cabin with whatever you want. As in if all you want is decaf, make sure they know that, and that's what you'll get. Our cabin steward made sure I never got decaf; supplied us with a nice mixture of espresso and Parisian. And....there's also the method of helping yourself to what you want from their cart if they're nearby busy with somebody else's cabin. I humbly confess to having done that once, swapped some of my Parisians for Espressos. [emoji1]

Hi deec....we did sail during the same time of year as you will...it was great! We are traveling right now, home next week and happy to give you input....just know we were in Viking's very first Ocean voyage so I am sure that there are changes and improvements since then. Feel free to give me a way to email you if you would like!

And yes, only one Amazon cruise so far....December 2017....we had to work mentally through missing the holidays at home...had a chat with family and will miss Christmas with grandkids, but just this one time.....

Does the coffee maker take standard pods? I'm not a coffee drinker but love hot chocolate. I've seen hot chocolate pods in the store and wondered if I brought them along, would I be able to use them in Viking's machines?

"Standard" pods for that brand of coffeemaker which I think is Lavazza (?). Would one of you who is onboard now confirm my memory? Check the brand and model?

Vineyard View

deedavisclark (at) gmail (dot) com

thanks for all information

grandkids are 2 and 6 too little to miss the Christmas Wonderment....

perhaps Viking will add a second voyage to the Amazon in the future.

So far, little has been written about current entertainment on Sea. Here goes.

Sea has the 8-strong "Viking Singers and Dancers" who are truly exceptional - three female singers, three male singers and two dancers. They performed the Captain's Welcome, Opera, ABBA and the Captain's Farewell (don't miss this; it was out of this world, Amy) extremely well, top notch shows, but the spoof on "James Bond", though well performed, had a storyline/plot that was excruciatingly DIRE, and should be replaced, pronto. Cringeworthy! The boys also performed a Rat Pack programme and the girls a Parisian programme in Torshavn, the night club, on three separate nights each, again a great success. These people are truly talented and worth seeing.

We also had two "imported" singers -- Shimi Goodman (tenor) and Robyn North (musical theatre) -- who did two shows each and were very well received Each sang well-known songs, nothing too heavy.

The experienced Cruise Director Heather Clancy, a mezzo-soprano, did an operatic show herself on the last night, a wonderful show to round off our cruise. She was everywhere around the ship, you could not miss her. Or her high heels! A very talented lady.

The Viking Band, a quartet with two singers, played in Torshavn nearly every night and elsewhere as required. They were very good indeed with a huge repertoire. Music for listening and dancing.

We also had a pianist, a guitarist and a trio. These played in the Atrium in the evening and for afternoon tea in the Wintergarden.

Mercifully, comedians, jugglers and magicians were not on board, (nor were photographers or gamblers).

We had a number of "enrichment" lecturers on board. I cannot comment here as I did not attend. The large British cruiser contingent did not have their usual large diet of quizzes and Trivia.

For those whose evenings would not be complete without some retail therapy, prepare to be disappointed. There is a large floor area given over to expensive sparklies, but the man there seemed to be always lonely. The shops stocked Viking merchandise (red luggage tags $6, Viking toilet bag $15); Viking logo clothing; handbags; potions, powder and paint for the ladies; and a medicines rack the same size as the chocolate and sweets rack! The small shop did not stock much of what we forget to pack and for the significant number of passengers whose luggage went astray in Amsterdam, the ship's shops were not much help. Disappointing.

All in all, the shows were of a standard far above my expectations (except the two mentioned above) and I was well entertained.

Well done Heather C !