January 8th Review

[1stimecruiser]

We sailed Barcelona to Rome, 7 days, January 8 -17, 2017 with a 2-day post extension in Rome. My expectations were high and most of the time I was not disappointed.

 

We purchased air and transfers with Viking and as on the River cruises the company does an outstanding job getting you to and from the airport. I highly recommend purchasing air from Viking as their service is top notch getting you to your airline terminal.

 

The weather in January was a little cooler and wetter than I had hoped for and was glad I had a winter coat, gloves and rain gear. It poured on us in Marseilles, Pisa, Florence, Nice and Monte Carlo. On our final day in Rome it was just down right cold. We will reconsider going in winter even with special deals I think this will be our last winter Med cruise as we both got sick.

 

Food – I was a little disappointed in Manfredi’s. After reading all the wonderful reviews I expected the steak to be out of this world. We come from Kansas City where steaks and BBQ are king. It was just ok, nothing extra special to me. My husband said my expectations were to high. I was very disappointed in the service as I’m not a wine drinker and even after asking several times was not able to get a glass of ice tea refilled. The wine drinkers at my table were refilled many many times. I expected the service to match any other lines extra pay restaurant, unfortunately, it did not. Orders were wrong, and attention to details was not paid. Viking still needs to work on their service.

 

If you like sushi, as my husband does, you will enjoy dinner at the World Café, the buffet. The buffet is by far the best dinner buffet of any cruise line we’ve sailed on to date. In addition to the sushi (only at dinner) they have other quality items to select from. The steak (the one I had) in the buffet was better than in Manfredi’s. Beer, wine, soft drinks, ice tea was also available during dinner and the service staff worked very hard. The entrance to the buffet is on two separate sides and to get from one side of the buffet to the other you either walk out the front or around back as the sushi bar is only on one side.

 

We took many day long shore excursions and were very happy to have room service deliver breakfast. The menu was extensive. We also tried to order a pizza at 10 pm one night from room service, but pizza is only available when the buffet is open.

 

Our cabin (penthouse) was very comfortable, bathroom was fantastic. The closet was quite nice, plenty of drawer space. We upgraded... I must say our cabin steward "Michael" was fabulous. There when we needed him, invisible when you didn't. He even helped us get a dry cleaner bag for some clothing we didn’t want to wrinkle between the ship and hotel. Our cabin was clean, tidy, and the bath was spotless.

 

The hotel used for post extension was not impressive. The Grand Hotel Palace. The included breakfast buffet was well below average with very slow service. The reason I rate it poorly is due to the fact they pump fragrance into the ventilation system. As someone with asthma this is not good. We spoke with the hotel management and they did what they could but wasn’t able to stop the strong smell.

 

We would travel on a Viking Ocean vessel again. But, our next Viking trip will be a River Cruise. Many seasoned River cruisers on this cruise and the ones we spoke with prefer the River cruise over the Ocean cruise. Smaller and more intimate.

[Lottie A]

Isn't it strange how different perceptions are from the different people on the same cruise?

 

We loved Manfredi's and ate there three times on our seven day cruise. Like you, I have had much better steaks but Italian food is Manfredi's speciality and we thought the pasta. gnocchi and veal were very good indeed. As you say, the wine service was excellent.

 

We didn't like The World Cafe that much and felt the buffet on Azamara was much better. I don't eat Sushi, so can't comment on that, but we felt the choices for lunch were fairly limited and repeated throughout the cruise. The gelato was excellent though. We had breakfast in the Restaurant each morning and thought it was very good.

 

The only complaint we had about our lovely Deluxe Veranda cabin was the lack of drawer space, but we coped.

 

We only experienced rain in Aix en Provence and briefly in Nice but I can't say we really got wet. We just went into a lovely restaurant and had lunch. A few times we sat outside in The Aquavit Bar in the sunshine and had drinks.

 

We were just discussing our cruising options and we would certainly go on Viking again, but this time with a group of friends. The one thing we found lacking was the entertainment in general and the early time that everyone seemed to go to bed. We are not party all night people but we do like some life on the ship after 10pm!

[abbykate]

We sailed Barcelona to Rome, 7 days, January 8 -17, 2017 with a 2-day post extension in Rome. My expectations were high and most of the time I was not disappointed.

 

We purchased air and transfers with Viking and as on the River cruises the company does an outstanding job getting you to and from the airport. I highly recommend purchasing air from Viking as their service is top notch getting you to your airline terminal.

 

The weather in January was a little cooler and wetter than I had hoped for and was glad I had a winter coat, gloves and rain gear. It poured on us in Marseilles, Pisa, Florence, Nice and Monte Carlo. On our final day in Rome it was just down right cold. We will reconsider going in winter even with special deals I think this will be our last winter Med cruise as we both got sick.

 

Food – I was a little disappointed in Manfredi’s. After reading all the wonderful reviews I expected the steak to be out of this world. We come from Kansas City where steaks and BBQ are king. It was just ok, nothing extra special to me. My husband said my expectations were to high. I was very disappointed in the service as I’m not a wine drinker and even after asking several times was not able to get a glass of ice tea refilled. The wine drinkers at my table were refilled many many times. I expected the service to match any other lines extra pay restaurant, unfortunately, it did not. Orders were wrong, and attention to details was not paid. Viking still needs to work on their service.

 

If you like sushi, as my husband does, you will enjoy dinner at the World Café, the buffet. The buffet is by far the best dinner buffet of any cruise line we’ve sailed on to date. In addition to the sushi (only at dinner) they have other quality items to select from. The steak (the one I had) in the buffet was better than in Manfredi’s. Beer, wine, soft drinks, ice tea was also available during dinner and the service staff worked very hard. The entrance to the buffet is on two separate sides and to get from one side of the buffet to the other you either walk out the front or around back as the sushi bar is only on one side.

 

We took many day long shore excursions and were very happy to have room service deliver breakfast. The menu was extensive. We also tried to order a pizza at 10 pm one night from room service, but pizza is only available when the buffet is open.

 

Our cabin (penthouse) was very comfortable, bathroom was fantastic. The closet was quite nice, plenty of drawer space. We upgraded... I must say our cabin steward "Michael" was fabulous. There when we needed him, invisible when you didn't. He even helped us get a dry cleaner bag for some clothing we didn’t want to wrinkle between the ship and hotel. Our cabin was clean, tidy, and the bath was spotless.

 

The hotel used for post extension was not impressive. The Grand Hotel Palace. The included breakfast buffet was well below average with very slow service. The reason I rate it poorly is due to the fact they pump fragrance into the ventilation system. As someone with asthma this is not good. We spoke with the hotel management and they did what they could but wasn’t able to stop the strong smell.

 

We would travel on a Viking Ocean vessel again. But, our next Viking trip will be a River Cruise. Many seasoned River cruisers on this cruise and the ones we spoke with prefer the River cruise over the Ocean cruise. Smaller and more intimate.

Can you expand on the Grand Hotel Palace in Rome? That is where we are set to stay at the beginning of March, and for the price we're paying, I want that hotel to be amazing. Is there anything you would have done upfront to make the hotel any better? (I don't mean changing hotels, but something that could have changed the experience if you had known upfront?)

 

Is the hotel clean and was the room what you would expect?

 

Thanks so much for this! I really enjoyed reading your review.

[1stimecruiser]

Can you expand on the Grand Hotel Palace in Rome? That is where we are set to stay at the beginning of March, and for the price we're paying, I want that hotel to be amazing. Is there anything you would have done upfront to make the hotel any better? (I don't mean changing hotels, but something that could have changed the experience if you had known upfront?)

 

Is the hotel clean and was the room what you would expect?

 

Thanks so much for this! I really enjoyed reading your review.

 

Like you, I expected the Grand Hotel Palace to be amazing for the price we paid. We were given a small basis room and when I approached the front desk about the smell and having allergies and asthma was told I should have contacted them before hand to address my allergies. It felt like the front desk staff and the Viking Rep at the hotel were attacking me. My husband was so mad he had to go for a walk. To address the smell they offered us an upgraded room (at no charge) that had not been used for 2 days. The smell was also in that room so we stayed in the smaller room (less area for the smell) they did bring a machine to clean the air. But the smell was in the air ducks and continued when the heat came on. We found a mask at a local pharmacy that I wore to sleep.

 

On a plus side. The hotel is walking distance to the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Novana and Borghese Gallery.

 

I've stayed at other hotels in Rome that were much nicer and didn't cause my asthma to flare up.

 

Next time I will not purchase post stay with Viking as $1,700 for 2 people, 2 nights stay in the cheapest rooms the hotel has is not a great experience to end the cruise.

 

What I feel Viking does well is transfer to and from the airport.

 

Lottie A gave me several Rome hotel options on our roll-call and I wish I would have cancelled with Viking and booked on our own. But, I wanted the Viking airport transfer...

 

This is just my opinion from my personal experience.

 

To answer your questions. The hotel was clean. The room was not what I expected. I expected one of the nicer rooms.

Edited January 21, 2017 by 1stimecruiser

[garycarla]

So far, we love what Viking does. But, hotels - not so much.

 

They (like most cruise lines) seem to get a super discount rate when they book these rooms, but charge a serious premium to passengers. I am a Diamond level at Hilton, but was unable to take advantage of those perks on a recent stay because of the low rate Viking paid for the room. The front desk guy apologized but did slip me the wifi code (against policy).

 

When you price out what they charge, you are really better off booking rooms on your own. Airport transfers seem to be a big draw for lots of folks and I get that. But, it really is not that difficult to get to the airport. People do it everyday and manage just fine.

[Jay23]

We sailed Barcelona to Rome, 7 days, January 8 -17, 2017 with a 2-day post extension in Rome. We will reconsider going in winter even with special deals I think this will be our last winter Med cruise as we both got sick.

 

 

l.

 

Thank you for this review. Sorry to hear the hotel was not so good. We are doing the very same cruise in three weeks' time. It will be our first VO cruise although we are seasoned cruisers and have sailed with V River. I am quite worried about the weather/temperature so we will be taking warm clothes, for going outside as suggested by you.

More importantly!!!! I am concerned about your saying both you and your OH were sick. Do you mean Seasick or ......... I am also worried about the idea of lumpy seas. We booked this because of the very advantageous price we were offered. I am hoping we have not made a terrible mistake. Trouble is my OH has never been seasick but I have to rely on medication quite frequently.

 

J

[Jay23]

We sailed Barcelona to Rome, 7 days, January 8 -17, 2017 with a 2-day post extension in Rome. We will reconsider going in winter even with special deals I think this will be our last winter Med cruise as we both got sick.

 

 

l.

 

Thank you for this review. Sorry to hear the hotel was not so good. We are doing the very same cruise in three weeks' time. It will be our first VO cruise although we are seasoned cruisers and have sailed with V River. I am quite worried about the weather/temperature so we will be taking warm clothes, for going outside as suggested by you.

More importantly!!!! I am concerned about your saying both you and your OH were sick. Do you mean Seasick or ......... I am also worried about the idea of lumpy seas. We booked this because of the very advantageous price we were offered. I am hoping we have not made a terrible mistake. Trouble is my OH has never been seasick but I have to rely on medication quite frequently!

 

J

[Spursgirl]

Like you, I expected the Grand Hotel Palace to be amazing for the price we paid. We were given a small basis room and when I approached the front desk about the smell and having allergies and asthma was told I should have contacted them before hand to address my allergies. It felt like the front desk staff and the Viking Rep at the hotel were attacking me. My husband was so mad he had to go for a walk. To address the smell they offered us an upgraded room (at no charge) that had not been used for 2 days. The smell was also in that room so we stayed in the smaller room (less area for the smell) they did bring a machine to clean the air. But the smell was in the air ducks and continued when the heat came on. We found a mask at a local pharmacy that I wore to sleep.

 

On a plus side. The hotel is walking distance to the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Novana and Borghese Gallery.

 

I've stayed at other hotels in Rome that were much nicer and didn't cause my asthma to flare up.

 

Next time I will not purchase post stay with Viking as $1,700 for 2 people, 2 nights stay in the cheapest rooms the hotel has is not a great experience to end the cruise.

 

What I feel Viking does well is transfer to and from the airport.

 

Lottie A gave me several Rome hotel options on our roll-call and I wish I would have cancelled with Viking and booked on our own. But, I wanted the Viking airport transfer...

 

This is just my opinion from my personal experience.

 

To answer your questions. The hotel was clean. The room was not what I expected. I expected one of the nicer rooms.

 

The price you paid for your hotel stay seems extortionate even bearing in mind that Rome hotels are pricy.

 

We usually stay at the Lunetta, a charming boutique hotel near Piazza Navona.

 

I understand that you wanted the reassurance of a Viking transfer to the airport but there are several excellent car companies used by many on these boards you might want to consider next time.

 

What a shame your post cruise experience was so disappointing

[1stimecruiser]

Thank you for this review. Sorry to hear the hotel was not so good. We are doing the very same cruise in three weeks' time. It will be our first VO cruise although we are seasoned cruisers and have sailed with V River. I am quite worried about the weather/temperature so we will be taking warm clothes, for going outside as suggested by you.

More importantly!!!! I am concerned about your saying both you and your OH were sick. Do you mean Seasick or ......... I am also worried about the idea of lumpy seas. We booked this because of the very advantageous price we were offered. I am hoping we have not made a terrible mistake. Trouble is my OH has never been seasick but I have to rely on medication quite frequently!

 

J

We did NOT get sea sick. There was at least one night of rough seas but that is to be expected on any cruise.

 

I think we got colds on the airplane over. We did get cold meds at a pharmacy in Florence that really did the trick. We are healthy 56 & 60 year olds.

 

I hope you have beautiful weather! Take layers

[1stimecruiser]

The price you paid for your hotel stay seems extortionate even bearing in mind that Rome hotels are pricy.

 

We usually stay at the Lunetta, a charming boutique hotel near Piazza Navona.

 

I understand that you wanted the reassurance of a Viking transfer to the airport but there are several excellent car companies used by many on these boards you might want to consider next time.

 

What a shame your post cruise experience was so disappointing

 

 

Hazel, next time we will book our own hotel and transportation. We always book our own when sailing from Florida.

[Jay23]

Thanks for that 1st Time cruiser. Not too lumpy then. Yes. Air travel is good for catching colds isn't it?

I too think the price for your hotel in Rome was ridiculously expensive for not very nice accommodation I do understand about your wanting an organised transfer but it was a high price to pay. J

Edited January 22, 2017 by Jay23

[Lottie A]

I was fine on the Jan 8th cruise but since returning home I have had a severe chest infection, sore throat and heavy cold. I think I may have picked up an infection from the plane's recycled air on the return journey. This is always a risk of air travel, especially in the winter.

 

As to the post cruise hotel, I am sorry it disappointed you. As Hazel said, The Lunetta is just charming. We discovered it quite by accident two years ago and now would not consider staying anywhere else in Rome.

[Fpacifico]

I was fine on the Jan 8th cruise but since returning home I have had a severe chest infection, sore throat and heavy cold. I think I may have picked up an infection from the plane's recycled air on the return journey. This is always a risk of air travel, especially in the winter.

 

As to the post cruise hotel, I am sorry it disappointed you. As Hazel said, The Lunetta is just charming. We discovered it quite by accident two years ago and now would not consider staying anywhere else in Rome.

 

Feel better

[Proctor824]

Thank you for sharing your experience. We are taking the Barcelona to Rome on March 5 . Reading your review is helpful.

 

 

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[1stimecruiser]

I was fine on the Jan 8th cruise but since returning home I have had a severe chest infection, sore throat and heavy cold. I think I may have picked up an infection from the plane's recycled air on the return journey. This is always a risk of air travel, especially in the winter.

 

As to the post cruise hotel, I am sorry it disappointed you. As Hazel said, The Lunetta is just charming. We discovered it quite by accident two years ago and now would not consider staying anywhere else in Rome.

 

Hope you feel better soon Lottie.

[1stimecruiser]

Thank you for sharing your experience. We are taking the Barcelona to Rome on March 5 . Reading your review is helpful.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Enjoy your cruise, March should be nice weather! The tea at 4 pm daily in the wintergarden is very nice. Due to all our day long excursions we were only able to go once and really enjoyed it!

[beachmudhut]

I was fine on the Jan 8th cruise but since returning home I have had a severe chest infection, sore throat and heavy cold. I think I may have picked up an infection from the plane's recycled air on the return journey. This is always a risk of air travel, especially in the winter.

 

Hope you get well soon Lottie. Jill