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For the ones wanting a smaller ship experience

Cruising89143

By Cruising89143,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Cruising89143

Cruising89143

Posted
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Looks like Viking will be going after Celebrity's customers who are tired of the big ship experience. I actually think that this sounds very nice with the exception of no casino. Prices sound good also. Will be interesting to see more information on this new line.

 

http://www.seatrade-insider.com/news/news-headlines/hagens-viking-ocean-concept-aims-to-revive-destination-cruising.html

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ghstudio "Live from...." Rare

ghstudio

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It will be interesting to see if Celebrity reacts at all to this type of cruise. I would not be at all surprised to see those who book expensive cabins on Celebrity's "mass market" ships are attracted to this new type of offering. Those would be the folks that celebrity is seemingly not caring all that much about these days as they focus on the "new modern" cruisers.

 

Time will tell..,.

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skittl1321 Great Review Rare

skittl1321

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I thought that Azamara was the small line from RCCL and therefore part of the Celebrity family?

 

http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/

 

 

Maybe I've been looking at the wrong things- but Azamara has always been very expensive. It is completely out of reach for us.

 

This article mentions a 9-night at $3000 for two for a Med trip, that is half the cost of Azamara.

 

I know that these are 'introductory' rates, but Viking has always done 2 for 1 pricing if you book early.

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Andy

Andy

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I thought that Azamara was the small line from RCCL and therefore part of the Celebrity family?

 

http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/

 

Hi Fred,

 

Azamara is a part of the Royal Caribbean Family, as Azamara has their own management team, who reports directly to Royal. I hope this helps !

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Andy

Andy

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Hi Everyone,

 

While I'm excited to see a new venture with new ships... I do not see Viking as huge competition to Celebrity. I see this more as competition to Oceania & Azamara.

 

We'll see how it all plays out. One thing's for sure - it will definitely be interesting !

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cruiserhal

cruiserhal

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I have to admit I am very excited about this news. After 40 ocean cruises I am ready for something new not costing an arm and a leg. Azamara is just too expensive for what you get (in my opinion).

 

Having been on only one river cruise (and looking to going again next year), I really hope Viking can move the same experience to ocean cruising.

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ghstudio "Live from...." Rare

ghstudio

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I think there are many of us that would like to see another Renaissance Cruise type company appear. There is absolutely a niche that celebrity, RCL, Princess and HAL aren't filling that should be an opening for someone with deep pockets. Perhaps this viking offering may be in that niche...we'll see.

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scanditaly

scanditaly

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I certainly think this is competition for X. I have been looking out for 2015, and Viking might just fit the bill.

 

I see the pricing structure, and even the taxes are port fees are included. Very interesting web-site; definitely worth a look. I really don't want to start yet another conversation on status status, but I am looking toward the day when we can accrue some Elite benefits. Depending on what X does for it's loyal customers, bookings will be made or lost within our family. I am off the fence on this one.

 

Just for comparison, our price margins are mostly in the Sky Suite category, so that is what I am using to compare the value(s) offered and expected. Our cruising rate would fall, however, if we switched over to Viking Oceans.

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Petoonya

Petoonya

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Sounds like a good fit for us. We were disappointed in our last Solstice cruise.

 

Just got off Silhouette last weekend and found the massive ship thing isn't for us either.

 

Love O, but the quote on a 13 nite Med on Viking Star, least expensive veranda is $3999 with $795 air from the west coast, competitive with O. The itinerary is well worn, but who cares.

I'm either raiding the retirement account or listing some items on ebay.....

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midwestchick

midwestchick

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I have to admit I am very excited about this news. After 40 ocean cruises I am ready for something new not costing an arm and a leg. Azamara is just too expensive for what you get (in my opinion).

 

Having been on only one river cruise (and looking to going again next year), I really hope Viking can move the same experience to ocean cruising.

 

We booked our very first cruise last year on Azamara. It was a last minute thing and included air...the cost was a no brainer and since I never had any desire in cruising, we did it because it was such a small ship...I did not feel what we paid was expensive considering all that was included and the excursions were 50% off if you booked ahead of time. With little time to research, we only did the ship's excursions but had a wonderful cruise...couldn't have been happier.

I still worry that the Silhouette will be too large for us...but the itinerary is wonderful.

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Project_gal

Project_gal

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I would not be at all surprised to see those who book expensive cabins on Celebrity's "mass market" ships are attracted to this new type of offering. Those would be the folks that celebrity is seemingly not caring all that much about these days as they focus on the "new modern" cruisers.

 

Time will tell..,.

 

Nope, does not appeal to us. Do not enjoy port intensive cruises and much prefer to choose to pay for the extras we want rather than all of them included in an "all inclusive". Much to our surprise, we enjoyed Eclipse more than the M-Class ships.

 

We would like to do a river cruise but have never found a river cruise line that offers something we would be happy with so moving the product to the ocean has no attraction for us.

 

Sue

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trk_koa

trk_koa

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We just got off Paul Gauguin a week ago and it was our first time on a more upscale inclusive. I have to say we loved it. It was just so easy. We started looking at Azamara when we got home and love the ideas Viking Ocean has. It's like they asked us exactly what we would like in a cruise and then are proceeding to make it real.

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richstowe Great Review Rare

richstowe

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Hmmm Offering an introductory two-for-one rate of $4,999 for a 14 nighter which includes drinks and excursions ?

Add to that the loss of revenue of not having a casino or additional fee restaurants and I am not sure how this works $ wise.

 

Plus they are using a new build not a retrofit. I don't believe introductory pricing works.

Once people are used to paying a certain amount for something, it's hard to get them to pay the "regular' price.

 

Good luck to them. It sounds great.

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