Cruising89143 Posted May 17, 2013 #1 Share Posted May 17, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ghstudio Posted May 17, 2013 #2 Share Posted May 17, 2013 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..,. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredflint Posted May 17, 2013 #3 Share Posted May 17, 2013 I thought that Azamara was the small line from RCCL and therefore part of the Celebrity family? http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare skittl1321 Posted May 17, 2013 #4 Share Posted May 17, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koolforkatz Posted May 17, 2013 #5 Share Posted May 17, 2013 Here's a link to some mock-up pics - it looks like a beautiful, classic ship! Love the infinity pool... http://maritimematters.com/2013/05/viking-star-to-shine/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koolforkatz Posted May 17, 2013 #6 Share Posted May 17, 2013 Oops - there's actually lots of pictures and info on Viking Cruises' website - just so excited - a new ship to choose from! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted May 17, 2013 #7 Share Posted May 17, 2013 Hi Everyone, I commented about the Viking news earlier today, on the Azamara Forum : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1846097 Here's a link to Cruise Critic's story : http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5356 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGoDutch Posted May 17, 2013 #8 Share Posted May 17, 2013 I see it as competition for Crystal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted May 17, 2013 #9 Share Posted May 17, 2013 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 ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted May 17, 2013 #10 Share Posted May 17, 2013 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 ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen@Steve Posted May 17, 2013 #11 Share Posted May 17, 2013 Looks pretty interesting. Not sure it's going to priced well enough that I would be able to multiple cruises a year, maybe just one special one. I like the look and the concept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiserhal Posted May 17, 2013 #12 Share Posted May 17, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ghstudio Posted May 17, 2013 #13 Share Posted May 17, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scanditaly Posted May 17, 2013 #14 Share Posted May 17, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texkan Posted May 17, 2013 #15 Share Posted May 17, 2013 Viking cruise ship looks very nice :) but the price is a little high for me and have to cruise Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggie.1008 Posted May 17, 2013 #16 Share Posted May 17, 2013 Sounds like a good fit for us. We were disappointed in our last Solstice cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petoonya Posted May 17, 2013 #17 Share Posted May 17, 2013 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..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swsfrail Posted May 17, 2013 #18 Share Posted May 17, 2013 Wow! This photo shows two rolls of toilet paper in the bathroom. Definitely more high-end than Celebrity! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cl.klink Posted May 17, 2013 #19 Share Posted May 17, 2013 I wanted to do a Viking river cruise next year, but DW wanted an ocean cruise, so doing Celebrity TA. Would still like to try Viking, though. Looked grea to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midwestchick Posted May 18, 2013 #20 Share Posted May 18, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Project_gal Posted May 18, 2013 #21 Share Posted May 18, 2013 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy Posted May 18, 2013 #22 Share Posted May 18, 2013 We've been looking a little bit at some river cruises, so this is very intriguing to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trk_koa Posted May 18, 2013 #23 Share Posted May 18, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare richstowe Posted May 18, 2013 #24 Share Posted May 18, 2013 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retired067 Posted May 18, 2013 #25 Share Posted May 18, 2013 Hmmm Offering an introductory two-for-one rate of $4,999 for a 14 nighter which includes drinks and excursions ? Is that 4,999 per person or is it for a couple? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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