On board The Star

[kathy9]

The first day Saturday the 11th of April there was a muster drill at 5 pm and then on Sunday the 12 at 2 pm prior to sailing there was a make up muster drill for those who boarded late.

Edited April 15, 2015 by kathy9
spelling

[Dauntless]

Thanks and that makes perfect sense...Now. Thank you

[LadyVol1]

The toiletries.

[CrusinSubMan]

Yes I am also surprised by the lack of a chocolate at turndown service also....

That was not a big deal to me. Nor the lack of little animal shapes made from towels.

....Today will be the first tender port.... If experience as told me anything so far on this journey ..... keep an open mind and expect anything with the first time....

My thoughts exactly.

[hypercafe]

Is there any sort of shows or entertainment in the evening. Thanks

[roothy123]

My plan is to try to step on board with a promise to myself to not compare Viking to previous cruise lines. Yes, chocolates are good (except for my waist line) and towel animals and photographers are bad, but comparing Viking to other ships is counter-productive to my enjoyment of a completely different cruise line.

 

Just curious (if anyone noticed this minor detail) - Did Star use her own tenders, or Boatmen of Santorini tenders? I think everyone's required to use Boatmen tenders there, but was just curious. Santorini is such a pain in the ass with the tendering situation, but hopefully with a smaller ship than most, it didn't take too terribly long like some cruisers report with bigger ships (and with lots of other ships there). (Was Costa there? She was approaching last night when I went to sleep but now does not show up. Perhaps she just has her tracking device turned off, but I'm curious....)

 

Thanks for info on the Dardanelles. I'll have my camera at my side.

 

Hope you enjoyed gorgeous Santorini. Favorite place in the world for me (so far, anyway!_

[kathy9]

Tonight at 930 pm they are presenting La Peregrinations

described in The Viking Daily

as what you get when you blend the intrigue of James Bond And the humor of Get Smart! A Viking exclusive musical experience with danger, deceit and dazzling surprises.

Hope dinner will be done by then and we can go check that out!

Kathy

[kathy9]

No they did not use there own tenders today. Costa was there also.

We had a disaster with a ships excursion today. The VD said to report to the Star

Theatre at 0945 for a 1015 departure ( this was a paid excursion)

We got there at 0945 only to be told our excursion had departed. We were able to go on an included excursion but I am not sure how other guest knew about early departure....

[LadyVol1]

Mamsen's menu:

 

 

[Vineyard View]

Chocolates at turn down are not a big deal to us. The various cruise lines we have experienced all offer different little bonuses...as well as missteps...and as Roothy said, I don't want to spend my vacation comparing Viking to others, and what Viking isn't doing, but would rather focus on the positives that they are. i know that there will likely be spots of frustrations, but we accepted that possibility when we signed up for the maiden cruise.....

 

And we won't miss the folded towels or photographers!!!

[Azulann]

Mamsen's menu:

 

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Your pictures are not clear,but thanks for trying.

Could you describe the offerings and what you sampled at Mamsen?

[roothy123]

Thanks for the info on Mamsens (hard to read, but I get the gist!) and the show (interesting - and I know a couple places you'll visit have been featured in Bond films, so perhaps that's a slight destination tie-in!), plus info on Santorini tendering (wow, Kathy I'd be pretty disappointed).

 

I feel even sorrier, though, for the person who broke her ankles. Now THAT would really disappoint me, especially pre-cruise! If I have any medical disaster, I hope it's at the end of the cruise!

[kathy9]

I spoke with Theo , head of the excursion dept, very nice . He is not sure why the excursion left early but we will get a full refund of course.

No TV channel to watch out of the bow of the ship.

I would never get a cabin in this location again 4103 due to the diesel smell when the ship is sailing you can not sit on the balcony . Probably better on a higher deck or more forward.

Kathy

[LadyVol1]

Could you describe the offerings and what you sampled at Mamsen?

 

 

Until 10AM breakfast is thin waffles (not crepes, just thin IMO) with toppings (raw blueberries or raw strawberries or whipped cream or chocolate syrup), oatmeal (but no raisins or cinnamon or milk for it), herring and assorted pastries. Since I wasn't able to get raisins or cinnamon, I didn't try any of the breakfast items other than asking for a bowl of fresh blueberries and strawberries.

 

At lunch, there are four cold open faced sandwiches to choose from: shrimp, beef tartare (which looks like a 1/4 lb. patty of raw beef!), salmon and roast beef with tartar sauce. One of three warm sandwiches is supposed to be served each day, too, but the day my husband and I went there for lunch, the cook/server/solo man standing behind the glass refrigerated case said we would have to go to The Restaurant for a warm sandwich. We showed him the menu but the language barrier was too great and we walked away without having anything.

 

Between 4-5PM, when tea is served in WinterGarden, Mamsen's serves five "cake" desserts. Three of us (me and a couple that was in line in front of me) sampled three of them today and only ate a bite of each. Maybe the other two that are served each day are better. Mine was a layer of very dry heavy cake with very little flavor with an inch of very, very sweet meringue on top and the cook/server said it's called Bergen's Best.

 

At 10PM, Mamsen's offers only two things (and no desserts): split pea soup and a plate of flatbread and meats. The split pea soup was okay and didn't seem to have ham in it - just carrots and split peas. (We like HAL's much better but this "vegetarian" version was okay.) The flatbread plate contained 4 small pieces of what I would call cut-up soft pita bread and large portions of three kinds of "Italian deli meats" (my description) - a lunch meat containing pistachios, a salami and a prosciutto-like thinly sliced meat. They were all probably very high quality and very tasty, but not my taste.

 

The 4-page nice looking menu booklet never changes.

[cassandra44]

Someone said no room fridges in v2 category? Can anyone confirm?

Thx

[Azulann]

Until 10AM breakfast is thin waffles (not crepes, just thin IMO) with toppings (raw blueberries or raw strawberries or whipped cream or chocolate syrup), oatmeal (but no raisins or cinnamon or milk for it), herring and assorted pastries. Since I wasn't able to get raisins or cinnamon, I didn't try any of the breakfast items other than asking for a bowl of fresh blueberries and strawberries.

 

At lunch, there are four cold open faced sandwiches to choose from: shrimp, beef tartare (which looks like a 1/4 lb. patty of raw beef!), salmon and roast beef with tartar sauce. One of three warm sandwiches is supposed to be served each day, too, but the day my husband and I went there for lunch, the cook/server/solo man standing behind the glass refrigerated case said we would have to go to The Restaurant for a warm sandwich. We showed him the menu but the language barrier was too great and we walked away without having anything.

 

Between 4-5PM, when tea is served in WinterGarden, Mamsen's serves five "cake" desserts. Three of us (me and a couple that was in line in front of me) sampled three of them today and only ate a bite of each. Maybe the other two that are served each day are better. Mine was a layer of very dry heavy cake with very little flavor with an inch of very, very sweet meringue on top and the cook/server said it's called Bergen's Best.

 

At 10PM, Mamsen's offers only two things (and no desserts): split pea soup and a plate of flatbread and meats. The split pea soup was okay and didn't seem to have ham in it - just carrots and split peas. (We like HAL's much better but this "vegetarian" version was okay.) The flatbread plate contained 4 small pieces of what I would call cut-up soft pita bread and large portions of three kinds of "Italian deli meats" (my description) - a lunch meat containing pistachios, a salami and a prosciutto-like thinly sliced meat. They were all probably very high quality and very tasty, but not my taste.

 

The 4-page nice looking menu booklet never changes.

 

Thanks so much for the explanation of the food at Mamsen. The thin pancakes are the Swedish/Norwegian type. They are usually eaten with butter , jelly or powered sugar, also fresh fruit. The sandwiches are smorgasbord type offerings, and love that they have herring.

[kathy9]

Last night's dinner was very good at The Restaurant. Every evening they have a special menu of local area specialties. The last two nights were Greek, my DH said all the dishes were excellent.

Sea day today! Going for a massage ....

Kathy

[Azulann]

Last night's dinner was very good at The Restaurant. Every evening they have a special menu of local area specialties. The last two nights were Greek, my DH said all the dishes were excellent.

Sea day today! Going for a massage ....

Kathy

 

Enjoy you sea day.

Oh! the Spa, it looked so inviting in the photos.

Can't wait to hear about your experience, no one has said anything about it yet.:)

Have fun in the sauna and snow room!:eek:

 

Again thank you for all your posts while you are on this wonderful cruise.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Azulann

[kathy9]

I believe all the cabins have the mini fridge.I believe the difference in the DV and V cabins is getting it restocked daily. But as of now I am sure they really don't know the difference .

Kathy

[kathy9]

Went for my massage. The service was excellent , I had Anna D, she gave a great massage. Nice robes and slippers.

The ladies changing room was way too small and there were not enough lockers.

Got our embarkation paper for Venice, states you have to be off the ship by 1000 am. I had to go down to the Explorers' Desk in response to a letter I received stating my credit card was not on file. I had added it to My Viking. Journey months ago. After 34 minutes in line my credit card was on file ! I asked about the embarkation in Venice. The women stated we had to be off the ship at 8 am. I showed her the paper that said 1000 so of course she had to go ask someone in the back. So supposedly you have to leave your cabin by 8 am and be off the ship by 1000 am. Something else they need to clarify!!!!

Kathy

[roothy123]

Wow. 10 is late - nice! 8 out of cabins seems to be pretty standard. Everyone is up early that day.

[cassandra44]

I know that some people don't like comparisons with other ships...or to hear negatives..but it is called cruise critic (emphasis) and I really welcome hearing all the positives and negatives about experiences on board. If it's possible to avoid issues in the future then it's helpful to get a heads- up.

I think it is also helpful for Viking to know where are are problems so that they might make changes in the future.

I am really enjoying all the experiences via livecruisecritic....enormously helpful and we are also checking a couple of blogs written during this maiden voyage.

So far people have been very positive - which is great - but a few things have been identified and hopefully brought to the attention of Viking.

I'm very pleased that everyone is being candid about their experiences.

[id4elizabeth]

We ate in the Chef's Table tonight for the first time and really enjoyed it. Although each portion was small, over all 5 courses there was plenty to eat. Full disclosure; we did have scones and tea sandwiches this afternoon at 4:00.

 

I'm eating way too much. They'd better get a weight scale onboard soon or I'm going to be up the creek. I'm tempted to buy my own in Dubrovnik and donate it.

 

To LadyVols point about the ship not being full, heard today that there are 55 empty cabins and I've met several people who are travelling solo. The Chef's Table early seating was only about half full. This would tend to confirm that they've held back on some rooms and dining reservations for this first segment anyway. Totally makes sense to not stack the deck against yourself from Viking's point of view.

 

Had a massage today and it was fabulous. Looking forward to more sea days! Agree that there are not enough lockers in the women's room for everyone. I was given a robe when I checked in for my massage, but no slippers. As soon as I noticed other women walking around in identical slippers I asked for some and the spa lady came up with some from a bin. Don't know how clean they were so for my next appoint I think I'll bring my own.

[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

[coco-girl]

That's encouraging!