Live fron the Viking Sea, Venice -Barcelona 10/4-10/16

[micruiser12]

Hello rjscott. Thanks for your review! We are considering a Viking Ocean Cruise. Could you please tell me what the costs are for laundry, specialty restaurants and if you used the mini-bar and cost of items of that too? We are making a budget and trying to decide any extra costs on board. Any other fees that we should know about? We do know gratuities are an additional fee as well as optional tours.

[huntersyaya]

Laundry is free/self-service and includes detergent (the machines dispense automatically). Specialty restaurants are free. I don't know the charge to restock mini-bar....sorry. Drinks are very reasonable! Wine and beer are free flowing at lunch and dinner with no charge.

[Peregrina651]

Hello rjscott. Thanks for your review! We are considering a Viking Ocean Cruise. Could you please tell me what the costs are for laundry, specialty restaurants and if you used the mini-bar and cost of items of that too? We are making a budget and trying to decide any extra costs on board. Any other fees that we should know about? We do know gratuities are an additional fee as well as optional tours.

 

It is very possible to sail on Viking and not spend any more on board then gratuities. You may find this list of stateroom amenities to be helpful.

 

Self-serve laundry is free and detergent is provided. Laundry and dry cleaning service is by the piece (no "fill the bag" specials).

 

Specialty restaurants are included and you may dine there as many nights as you can make reservations for once you board the ship. (Advanced reservations as per the link above for all categories except Veranda)

 

OOPS. Sorry to repeat info. It was posted while I was typing.

 

OOPS! Sorry to repeat info from above post; it was posted while I was typing.

 

OOPS. Sorry to repeat some of the above post; it was posted while I was typing.

 

Mini-bar is replenished gratis daily in all categories except Veranda (and includes spirits in all categories except DV and V). Daily stocking is 6 cans of soda and two candy bars. Also note that Viking does not forbid bringing your own favorite tipple on board (spirits or soft drinks). There is no corkage fee on board if you wish to enjoy a BYO bottle with dinner.

 

Specialty coffees and hot chocolate are free, even at the bars. House wine, beer and soft drinks are included with lunch and dinner.

 

Internet is free and unlimited and the entire ship is wired for wi-fi.

Edited October 21, 2016 by Peregrina651

[micruiser12]

It is very possible to sail on Viking and not spend any more on board then gratuities. You may find this list of stateroom amenities to be helpful.

 

Self-serve laundry is free and detergent is provided. Laundry and dry cleaning service is by the piece (no "fill the bag" specials).

 

Specialty restaurants are included and you may dine there as many nights as you can make reservations for once you board the ship. (Advanced reservations as per the link above for all categories except Veranda)

 

OOPS. Sorry to repeat info. It was posted while I was typing.

 

OOPS! Sorry to repeat info from above post; it was posted while I was typing.

 

OOPS. Sorry to repeat some of the above post; it was posted while I was typing.

 

Mini-bar is replenished gratis daily in all categories except Veranda (and includes spirits in all categories except DV and V). Daily stocking is 6 cans of soda and two candy bars. Also note that Viking does not forbid bringing your own favorite tipple on board (spirits or soft drinks). There is no corkage fee on board if you wish to enjoy a BYO bottle with dinner.

 

Specialty coffees and hot chocolate are free, even at the bars. House wine, beer and soft drinks are included with lunch and dinner.

 

Internet is free and unlimited and the entire ship is wired for wi-fi.

 

Thanks so much for your answer! Sounds great!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks for your review Becki. One caution for your return trip to Rome [whether you threw coins in the fountain or not, you will go back!] -- the Sistine Chapel has gotten so crowded that there is no good way to visit it during the day. I recommend booking one of the Sistine Chapel at Night tours that gets you in after it has closed for the day. Unlike the wonderful St. Mark's at Night tours in Venice, the Sistine Chapel is not empty when you visit but the crowds are at least manageable.

[Peregrina651]

 

<snip>

 

OOPS. Sorry to repeat info. It was posted while I was typing.

 

OOPS! Sorry to repeat info from above post; it was posted while I was typing.

 

OOPS. Sorry to repeat some of the above post; it was posted while I was typing.

 

 

 

<snip>

 

OMG what a mess! I guess staying up until 3 A.M. to book our shorex did a number on my brain--and vision. I won't even bother to explain what happened; I'll just say, "Oops. Sorry. Didn't mean to do that to happen."

Edited October 21, 2016 by Peregrina651

[rjscott]

Jazz,

Thx for the advice on the Sistine Chapel at night tour. Sounds great.

 

Becki

[rjscott]

Laundry is free/self-service and includes detergent (the machines dispense automatically). Specialty restaurants are free. I don't know the charge to restock mini-bar....sorry. Drinks are very reasonable! Wine and beer are free flowing at lunch and dinner with no charge.

 

One update; the machines on the Viking Sea do not dispense detergent automatically. In fact, there is a little sticker on each machine to "press the button on dispenser x". I missed that when I did my first load of laundry and realized I had "washed" my clothes without soap. :p Ah, well, they smelled better. :D

 

Becki

[Peregrina651]

One update; the machines on the Viking Sea do not dispense detergent automatically. In fact, there is a little sticker on each machine to "press the button on dispenser x". I missed that when I did my first load of laundry and realized I had "washed" my clothes without soap. :p Ah, well, they smelled better. :D

 

Becki

 

That's right because you can use your own detergent if you wish.

 

However, the machines on the Star are different and don't offer the option of your detergent or theirs. You can only use their detergent.

 

Save

Edited October 21, 2016 by Peregrina651

[roothy123]

Hi Becki. Glad you had a wonderful cruise, but of course, I knew you would! Some people just LOVE to cruise (smile). I'd be extremely jealous except that we just returned from a cruise to Canada and New England on that other line I love so well. We were in port right behind Star in Quebec City (sigh!) (By the way, there were 5 ships there that day - ugh! We and Star ended up at an oddball location almost 2 miles below the others, but there was a shuttle so it worked out OK.) I bet the German ship you saw was Aida. They were one of the ones in Quebec with us. At least that horrible Anthem of the Seas wasn't with us in Quebec - but she and a big Princess ship seemed to follow us a lot. That's another reason I love the lines like Viking that aren't afraid to go to the lesser-known places - and are small enough to be able to do it.

 

I get my chance again on Viking Ocean next year, and in my notes will go that my husband may need to press that other button for detergent! He won't be happy if he has to do his clothes twice, even if they smell better!

Edited October 25, 2016 by roothy123

[Lottie A]

Peregrina, thanks for your post about amenities onboard. I am happy and amazed that there is no corkage fee for wines brought onto the ship. :)

[murron]

Hi Becki! We were on the same cruise with you. It was fun to re live the trip through your postings. We also had a wonderful time and would highly recommend this cruise. Here's one tip I would add. Some excursions were booked when we did them in advance of the trip. However, once you are on board, guest services usually finds a way to get a booking for you. Don't be afraid to give it a try. Same for Manfredi's as you stated earlier. We asked if it were possible to get a 6 p.m. reservation and they were able to easily accommodate us. Fun trip!

[rjscott]

Hi, Murron,

 

Good point about the excursions. We found that to be true as well. Although we had booked the excursions we thought we wanted prior to arriving, we changed our mind on a couple . One, an included excursion, was showing as closed, but guest services found us a spot. So, if this is a concern for you future cruisers, don't despair, the people at Guest Services are terrific and will work hard to meet your needs.

 

Becki

[Peregrina651]

Hi, Murron,

 

Good point about the excursions. We found that to be true as well. Although we had booked the excursions we thought we wanted prior to arriving, we changed our mind on a couple . One, an included excursion, was showing as closed, but guest services found us a spot. So, if this is a concern for you future cruisers, don't despair, the people at Guest Services are terrific and will work hard to meet your needs.

 

Becki

 

A couple more things to note about on board management shorex (per Vikings terms and conditions).

 

• cannot cancel within 36 hours of a tour.
  
• cannot cancel tours booked for the first two days of the cruise
  
• cannot manage tours online in the 7 days prior to the cruise; if you must cancel something during that period, call Viking at the number given in the terms and conditions
  

"Terms and conditions" link is at the bottom of each page listing the day's shorex on MVJ. The type is gray, which makes you think that it is a choice not available but in truth it is an active link.

[murron]

Good to know Peregring651!!! I'll be honest, in that I did not know all the rules, but that being said, we didn't change anything the first two days and the changes we did make were at the back end of the cruise so without knowing all this, I was within those 36 hours!! Talk about ignorant luck! :)

[Celiac Cruiser]

Regarding liquor on board: On the Viking River cruises, they allow you to bring aboard a bottle of hard liquor and store it at the bar. They will make you drinks with your liquor at no charge. Is this true on the Ocean cruises as well?

 

On our Grand European River cruise, several of us took advantage of this feature and bought liquor from the duty free store in the airport. All our our mixed drinks were "free"!