On board The Star

[id4elizabeth]

This evening, we did the optional Flamenco 'tour' offered by Viking. Although this was clearly a tourist performance, it was very well done. We were bussed to an area called the "Spanish Village" that was built in 1929 as part of an International Exhibition. We walked through this area to get to a restaurant where we were served OK-but-not-outstanding tapas. The performance however made the evening special. I'm not an expert on Flamenco mind you, but it was very entertaining and well worth the effort.

However, we did learn that Flamenco is not indigenous to this area (Catalonia), but instead is from the south of Spain. Oh well, it was still a good performance.

We left the ship a little before 8:00 and returned around 11:00 pm so a late night for us.

[sitraveler]

Re Water- Early in the cruise I went to the theatre to pick up water for my independent excursion, I was told water was for Viking excursions. I strongly stated water was for Viking passengers and took it. I saw one of the company execs and told him what had happened and he said he would fix it, and he did.
Dressing in the restaurant for dinner was sloppy to a fault, with shorts not being challenged. One man was sent to change by his wife.
The clothes line in the glassed in shower doesn't have any air circulation to allow wet things to dry.
Logistics to get us to the airport today were outstanding, home safe and sound.
Need some time to gather strength for a detailed trip report. There are very few independent travelers on the cruise. I'll bet not 10 people had not sailed on at least 1 Viking river cruise.

[LuAnn]

[quote name='sitraveler']Re Water- Early in the cruise I went to the theatre to pick up water for my independent excursion, I was told water was for Viking excursions. I strongly stated water was for Viking passengers and took it. I saw one of the company execs and told him what had happened and he said he would fix it, and he did.
Dressing in the restaurant for dinner was sloppy to a fault, with shorts not being challenged. One man was sent to change by his wife.
The clothes line in the glassed in shower doesn't have any air circulation to allow wet things to dry.
Logistics to get us to the airport today were outstanding, home safe and sound.
Need some time to gather strength for a detailed trip report. There are very few independent travelers on the cruise. I'll bet not 10 people had not sailed on at least 1 Viking river cruise.[/quote]

And how you would compare V to O?? Missed you on the spring T/A...plan on doing O again in Fall '17 when the schedule comes out! How are you two?? LuAnn

[loum140]

[quote name='LuAnn']And how you would compare V to O?? Missed you on the spring T/A...plan on doing O again in Fall '17 when the schedule comes out! How are you two?? LuAnn[/QUOTE]

Hi Luann: Hope you and Kenneth are well. Home less than 24 hours. Will post details soon. Marsha

[LuAnn]

[quote name='loum140']Hi Luann: Hope you and Kenneth are well. Home less than 24 hours. Will post details soon. Marsha[/quote]

Rest up!!! LuAnn

[jlp879]

How long was their performance on the ship? Greater than 15 minutes?

I'm trying to determine if I want to add the Benedectine monasterary as one of my Barcelona excursions.

Thanks.

[id4elizabeth]

I'd guess it was a little more than half an hour, but I didn't time it to be honest. Three things though since you're considering the trip to Montserrat:
1. On the ship the boys sang a variety of things, not strictly church music. Only one song did I recognize as religious and that was Andrew L. Webbers, Agnus Deum. So hearing them in situ would be a different experience.
2. The boys are not at the Monastery on Saturdays at all. Mass on Sundays may or may not take up most of the day. This could be good or bad depending on your point of view.
3. We went to Montserrat on 'turn around day' and used BarcelonaDayTours dot com as our tour company. We had a fabulous guide named Lisa. We did a full day tour with Montserrat combined with a Cava wine tasting and winery tour, but they also offer Montserrat as a half day tour. Highly recommend them. Our group was 13, cost 89 euros for 9 hour tour - and best of all we got there way before the tour busses.

[jlp879]

Elizabeth,

Thanks for the info on the private Montserrat tour. It sounds like a terrific way to spend a turnaround day. We're definitely going to have to add that independent tour to our wish list!

[id4elizabeth]

A miracle has just happened onboard - there is now a tap at the juice machine in the World Cafe that dispenses [U][B]unsweetened iced tea[/B][/U]!!!!!

[id4elizabeth]

Did the optional Caravaca Vera Cruz tour today. I thought our guide was OK but not great. The town is interesting and quaintly charming. We were there druing the last part of their annual May 1-5 festival, but since this was the 4th day, it was pretty quiet - our guide told us everyone would be hung-over and not getting up until noon. It was a ghost town when we got there, but the apartments are all covered in colorful banners which made the town quite enjoyable. One negative was that there was virtually no place to eat lunch. Nothing opens that early in this part of Spain. They eat lunch in this area from 2:30 to about 5:00. In the morning, very very few shops were opened, but more opened as the day went on. The church is quite beautiful, but I enjoyed the Carmelite Convent even more. Second negative is that there are a LOT of steps so not for the mobility challenged.

At the end of our time in Caravaca, we went to a lovely park by the river.

Note: if you're coming here in the summer, it is apparently well into the uper 90s and humid, so may not be too comfortable that time of year. It was in the upper 80s for us today.

[id4elizabeth]

I forgot one thing - our guide told us that you cannot see inside the Cartagena Roman Theater without a ticket as they have built high walls around it so that you cannot take a picture for free. This was in reponse to my asking if we could stop by there for a quick pic, as we gotten back from our tour of Caravaca an hour early. HE LIED. My DH did not go to Caravaca and wandered around Cartagena on his own. He has fabulous pictures of the Theater!!!! Easy to get pics of the Theater from above and also through the spaces in the gates.

The Roman Museum and entry into the Theater are closed on Mondays. Apparently Viking's ShoreEx just found out about this and offerend folks who had signed up for this tour 50% off. However, many of us on CC had told the Viking LA office MONTHS ago that this was the case. LA had told us they were working on a special access to these sights. But the ShoreEx people on board were totally blindsided by this news - and hence those who had signed up for this tour!

[traveld]

Does Viking offer independent walk-off with your own luggage in tow as many of the mainline cruise ships are now offering? We like it since it allows us to forego putting out the bags the night before.

[kathy9]

[QUOTE]Does Viking offer independent walk-off with your own luggage in tow as many of the mainline cruise ships are now offering? We like it since it allows us to forego putting out the bags the night before.[/QUOTE]

Yes a few days before the cruise ends you will be given a letter allowing you to choose how you will leave the ship and one was to walk off with your luggage.
Kathy

[OneBag]

[quote name='id4elizabeth']...However, many of us on CC had told the Viking LA office MONTHS ago that this was the case. LA had told us they were working on a special access to these sights. But the ShoreEx people on board were totally blindsided by this news...[/QUOTE]

My experience has been 100% that LA is where "heads up" type phone calls and emails to Viking go to die.

[id4elizabeth]

To OneBag - :D

[JJean]

The roman theater was open yesterday in Cartagena even though it was Monday. They opened it since the ship was in port. It was $5 and interesting.
We enjoyed walking around Cartagena better than the included tour.

[WilliaFr]

[quote name='kathy9']Happy to report big improvement on lunch today! The service was very good at The Restaurant. We went to Manfredi's , very nice and vegetarian friendly!

We had a visitor to our cabin ....the Vice President of engineering , in response to my previous comment about not being able to sit on my balcony due to the smell of diesel fuel. He read my comments and came to check it out himself .
So Viking is paying attention.
Kathy[/quote]

Hi Kathy or anyone else (as Kathy9 has now disembarked),

What was the outcome of the VP Engineering's visit to your stateroom in response to your comment about smelling diesel fuel?

Was the problem solved or does it still exist?

[kathy9]

When I got off The Star the diesel smell had not been addressed... I am not sure how it can be changed. I believe the engines are a few decks below that cabin.
Kathy

[toby4352]

[quote name='id4elizabeth']A miracle has just happened onboard - there is now a tap at the juice machine in the World Cafe that dispenses [U][B]unsweetened iced tea[/B][/U]!!!!![/QUOTE]
Awesome news! Don't understand the love for sweetened iced tea....lets be in control of the sugar ourselves. Personally I love Unsweetened and so appreciative that the current cruisers are doing the hard work for future cruisers, as they get this ship, ship shape.

[Fairfield Nana]

Amazing- after reading all of these reviews (rants) for the past few months, I am astounded as to why Viking is still trying so hard to market to the American segment of potential cruise customers. I am totally not a Viking fan of their river cruise program (a tacky attempt to dominate the European river cruise market), or their initial efforts to break into the ocean-going market, even though we've booked a 2016 cruise on the Star. Some of you guys though--not all-- are also amazing. You can find the most piddliest things to complain about!

[washashorehouse]

There are several important safety issues to be aware of.

 

First, the “main desk” frequently does not answer the phone (probably due to limited manpower). This has potentially dangerous consequences should you have an emergency in your cabin and require assistance---your call for aid may not be answered!!! (They do list a “medical emergencies” number which one would hope will be answered promptly)

 

Second, be forewarned that anyone with mobility , perceptual or vertigo issues will face difficulty disembarking at some ports (so far Monte Carlo, Gibraltar, and Cadiz. Barcelona required a “cat walk” like entry). You will be required to walk down (and then upon return—up) a 2 story flight of mental steps, despite the fact that the crew entrance is “on ground” level. We were not allowed to use this level entrance, but rather directed to this LONG flight of steps. The edge of the metal steps is NOT marked with any color (ie. yellow, black, red) to denote the edge of the step. Thus, perceptually it is difficult to determine where one step ends and another drops down when descending the stairs—an accident waiting to happen.

 

And finally, when served English fish and chips be forewarned that the fried “filets” are filled with bones. I took one bite into a piece and came away with a mouthful of bones. The numerous bones were approximately an inch long, so be very careful eating any coated fish where the presence of bones may not be noted.

Edited May 6, 2015 by washashorehouse

[LadyVol1]

Although I'm not on the ship with my elderly father who is in a wheelchair, I've noticed that, in my opinion, this ship is NOT very accessible. There is at least one handicap/ADA cabin but I haven't looked at it. However, there are MANY heavy doors that must be opened to go into Explorers' Lounge, Winter Garden, the various outside decks, etc. If I was pushing his wheelchair (or if he was using a scooter) another person would definitely be required to open the doors. And I'm not sure how he would be able to get on and off ship although this segment does have at least two wheelchair users on it so there must be an easy/not dangerous way to get on/off the ship.

 

I also know of at least one passenger who has a difficult time opening these various doors since they are so heavy. There are two motion sensor doors between the World Cafe and the back of the ship and there are also two motion activated doors between the big pool area and the World Cafe. However other parts of the ship on Deck 7 (and on other decks) have the heavy doors. I would not be able to recommend this ship to wheelchair users based on what I've seen and based on my experience with my father on many other cruise ships.

 

To be fair, there are other cruise ships that I find "unfriendly" in their design/build for wheelchair users but since this is a brand new ship, it's hard to understand why all the doors aren't motion activated. There must be a reason, but I haven't figured it out. Safety (or door location) doesn't seem to be the reason behind having all of the interior manual doors (Winter Garden is "interior") but there must be some reason. If there are wheelchair users on the ship that are CC members, please respond since I know this is a very important topic for many people.

 

For what it's worth, my father will only go on Celebrity with its ADA SkySuite that has a push button to enter the cabin's bathroom as well as an automated door leading into the cabin when the keycard is put in the slot. We've tried many HAL ADA Neptune Suites but the wide bathroom doors in the cabin (to accommodate a wheelchair) are too heavy for him to open and close on his own.

[TheBucks22]

Amazing- after reading all of these reviews (rants) for the past few months, I am astounded as to why Viking is still trying so hard to market to the American segment of potential cruise customers. I am totally not a Viking fan of their river cruise program (a tacky attempt to dominate the European river cruise market), or their initial efforts to break into the ocean-going market, even though we've booked a 2016 cruise on the Star. Some of you guys though--not all-- are also amazing. You can find the most piddliest things to complain about!

 

I have been on two Viking River cruises. One was impeccable in all ways (China), the other not so impressive (Rhine). Which river cruise line do you prefer? I'd like to try a different one.

Edited May 6, 2015 by TheBucks22

[id4elizabeth]

I almost had a kanipshin (sp?) fit yesterday at lunch when I went to the starboard side of the World Cafe juice machine and the tap for my iced tea had disappeared. BUT before I had a massive panic attack, I thought to try the port side. Whew!

 

From a piddly complainer...

[id4elizabeth]

We had a fabulous day touring Seville today. Eight of us from Cruise Critic had arranged this private tour through SpainDayTours dot com (a TopDayTours subsidiary). We were the first to get off the ship at 8:15 and we were on our way by 8:30. We were WAY AHEAD of the Viking groups - as a matter of fact I never spotted them at all during the day. First we went to the Spanish Pavillion built for the 1929 World's Fair. Really beautiful. Next we went through the old historical Jewish sector and I sure am glad we had a guide or I'd still be wandering around the maze of charming alleyways. Then to the Alcazar. We had requested that we go INSIDE the Alcazar when we booked this tour. It was fantastic - better to me than the Topkapi Palace that we had gone to see in Istanbul. Then we had an hour's free time - some went shopping, most went to eat, and I toured the Cathedral (the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world, or so they say). What a place. A huge high alter awash with gold leaf top to bottom, brought back from the "New World", and the tomb of Christopher Columbus. And the interior was so enormous.

 

Then back on our small coach and back to Cadiz an hour plus before the "all aboard" time. I went immediately to the Wintergarden for high tea since I missed lunch and wolfed down two scones with clotted cream and jam. Guess I'd better weigh myself tomorrow...