Tips for New Viking Ocean Cruisers

[Peregrina651]

52 minutes ago, hqarangrsl said:

We have never had this type of problem in the past with Viking. 

 

And Viking has never has as much trouble with the airlines as they have had over the past year.  I'd like to think that they are as frustrated by all of this as we are.  It is very hard to book guests and keep them happy when the airlines keep changing what flights Viking has access to, while at the same time cancelling flights, changing departure times and all the other monkeying around with schedules.

[May B]

I think the first contact person tends to be a newbie. When I patiently, and repeatedly, explained what I wanted and why, my newbie put me on hold and contacted a supervisor. Soon (sort of), I had exactly what I wanted.

[SteelCity Cruiser]

18 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

And Viking has never has as much trouble with the airlines as they have had over the past year.  I'd like to think that they are as frustrated by all of this as we are.  It is very hard to book guests and keep them happy when the airlines keep changing what flights Viking has access to, while at the same time cancelling flights, changing departure times and all the other monkeying around with schedules.

Our travel agent  told us that the past 18 months have been living hell for him dealing with the airlines, so it isn't just Viking (nor is it necessarily their fault) It's been a pretty universal problem.

Edited November 17, 2022 by SteelCity Cruiser
typo correction

[hqarangrsl]

I think I was misunderstood in my last post.  I was not being negative about Viking Air Plus as they are working within the constraints they are dealing with on Airline contracts.  What I was trying to get across to people who are looking at this "tips for new Viking Ocean Cruisers" thread for help on how to solve their problems is  that getting Viking Air Plus may not ultimately be the answer to getting exactly what they want for air arrangements - because the way Viking could always solve our issues in the past is NOT the environment they are working in now.  So, take some initiative to try to solve the problem yourself if Viking encounters problems from the airlines that they can't resolve.  Some of you are such loyal Viking Ocean fans that you may not be willing to entertain the idea that Viking Air Plus may not be the be all to end all for getting flights you want at this point in time - and it is not fair to the new Viking Ocean Cruisers to not tell them of the current day realities.

[biggerbearmom]

13 hours ago, hqarangrsl said:

I think I was misunderstood in my last post.  I was not being negative about Viking Air Plus as they are working within the constraints they are dealing with on Airline contracts.  What I was trying to get across to people who are looking at this "tips for new Viking Ocean Cruisers" thread for help on how to solve their problems is  that getting Viking Air Plus may not ultimately be the answer to getting exactly what they want for air arrangements - because the way Viking could always solve our issues in the past is NOT the environment they are working in now.  So, take some initiative to try to solve the problem yourself if Viking encounters problems from the airlines that they can't resolve.  Some of you are such loyal Viking Ocean fans that you may not be willing to entertain the idea that Viking Air Plus may not be the be all to end all for getting flights you want at this point in time - and it is not fair to the new Viking Ocean Cruisers to not tell them of the current day realities.

You are so spot on! With the current situation that the airlines are in, it is not the fault of Viking Air. I purchased tickets for my son and family to travel home for Christmas from Sweden. We bought tickets in August, Lufthansa cancelled one leg of the trip, so we cancelled and rebooked with Delta. Since September and as recently as three days ago, Delta has made three major schedule changes to their flights (8 hour layover in AMS) and cancelled the last leg of their flight on their return to Sweden. Schedule changes, cancellations and luggage issues is what we have to deal with if we want to travel. Viking can’t be blamed for something out of their control.

[CCWineLover]

13 hours ago, hqarangrsl said:

I think I was misunderstood in my last post.  I was not being negative about Viking Air Plus as they are working within the constraints they are dealing with on Airline contracts.  What I was trying to get across to people who are looking at this "tips for new Viking Ocean Cruisers" thread for help on how to solve their problems is  that getting Viking Air Plus may not ultimately be the answer to getting exactly what they want for air arrangements - because the way Viking could always solve our issues in the past is NOT the environment they are working in now.  So, take some initiative to try to solve the problem yourself if Viking encounters problems from the airlines that they can't resolve.  Some of you are such loyal Viking Ocean fans that you may not be willing to entertain the idea that Viking Air Plus may not be the be all to end all for getting flights you want at this point in time - and it is not fair to the new Viking Ocean Cruisers to not tell them of the current day realities.

I totally agree with you and your assessments re:Viking Air and AirPlus.

The airlines are indeed changing things right and left all the time now, and I've heard from our TA that Viking is not getting the kind of contracts from airlines they had before COVID.

 

You merely pointed out some of the pros and cons of using air through Viking.   We've now taken the stance of doing our own air all the time.  We consistently get better pricing and have more control.  But even if the price was more, we'd still do our own - with the main reason that we can at least truly pick our own flights AND get our actual tickets and seats and/or upgrades many many months ahead of when Viking Air would allow it, thus having higher availability probability.  We love Viking cruises, but not Viking Air due to what the airlines have done to them.

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

We love Viking cruises, but not Viking Air due to what the airlines have done to them.

 

Very well put. Thank you.

[RPapaMarshall]

Quick question.

We were on the Sea last January and never figured out how to get ship-wide announcements to play in our stateroom.  Is this possible?  How?  Thanks!

[LindaS272]

58 minutes ago, RPapaMarshall said:

Quick question.

We were on the Sea last January and never figured out how to get ship-wide announcements to play in our stateroom.  Is this possible?  How?  Thanks!

I don’t think it happens unless an emergency or urgent message. The captain/cd messages at noon have always been just in the public spaces. We open our cabin door to listen. It’s possible they are on the TV though. The only time I can remember an announcement beamed into our stateroom was the announcement around 8 am on March 12, 2020, when the CD told us Viking was ceasing all worldwide operations after the WHO announcement on March 11 of Covid as a pandemic.

[UWDawg]

1 hour ago, RPapaMarshall said:

Quick question.

We were on the Sea last January and never figured out how to get ship-wide announcements to play in our stateroom.  Is this possible?  How?  Thanks!

During the 21/22 WC on the Star, while most announcements were in public areas only, there were also announcements which were extended into our stateroom.  I think most of the inside the stateroom announcements were associated with the weekly crew drills, but there were a few of the daily announcements which were reached inside as well.  Distribution is controlled by the bridge/ communications folks, not something you can do from within the stateroom. 

[Pushka]

1 hour ago, UWDawg said:

During the 21/22 WC on the Star, while most announcements were in public areas only, there were also announcements which were extended into our stateroom.  I think most of the inside the stateroom announcements were associated with the weekly crew drills, but there were a few of the daily announcements which were reached inside as well.  Distribution is controlled by the bridge/ communications folks, not something you can do from within the stateroom. 

I remember being on a Cunard cruise having a shower when suddenly the booming voice of the captain came into the cabin. Made for some consternation.  Thankfully not a safety message though. 
 

It is a little frustrating to know there’s an announcement but not be able to hear it but think all cruise lines are the same. Shame it’s not an opt out option because I’m usually interested in hearing these announcements. 

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, RPapaMarshall said:

Quick question.

We were on the Sea last January and never figured out how to get ship-wide announcements to play in our stateroom.  Is this possible?  How?  Thanks!

 

The ship's P/A system has multiple zones that can be selected, for example - all zones, crew quarters, pax cabins, outer decks, public rooms, restaurants, etc. Prior to making a P/A announcement, you select the appropriate zone(s) and double check, before pressing the Tx button.

 

Any P/A announcement sent to the pax cabins is generally an emergency and/or critically important information, often requiring the Captain's approval. As a Deck Officer,  making an inadvertent P/A announcement through pax cabins or restaurants could be career limiting.

 

When in the cabin and you hear an announcement, open the cabin door and many times you can hear it clearly. 

[Twitchly]

You can hear the daily announcements without opening your door. We listened to them on the TV. I can’t remember how we did it (maybe the live ship cam?), but your steward can probably tell you. Ours did.

[CurlerRob]

1 minute ago, Twitchly said:

You can hear the daily announcements without opening your door. We listened to them on the TV. I can’t remember how we did it (maybe the live ship cam?), but your steward can probably tell you. Ours did.

If my memory serves from 2019, they can be heard on the bow cam channel (or I’ve confused it with a different ship 😬 ).   🍺🥌

[Steerpike58]

20 hours ago, RPapaMarshall said:

Quick question.

We were on the Sea last January and never figured out how to get ship-wide announcements to play in our stateroom.  Is this possible?  How?  Thanks!

 

18 hours ago, UWDawg said:

During the 21/22 WC on the Star, while most announcements were in public areas only, there were also announcements which were extended into our stateroom.  I think most of the inside the stateroom announcements were associated with the weekly crew drills, but there were a few of the daily announcements which were reached inside as well.  Distribution is controlled by the bridge/ communications folks, not something you can do from within the stateroom. 

We just got back from a Viking cruise where this was an issue. The captain made an announcement that came into our cabin announcing a delay in arrival in port and then shortly thereafter, told us that we were now cleared for docking.  Shortly after that, the 'Cruise Director' made an announcement about rescheduled excursions, but this was only audible in the hallways so I had to rush to open the door, and leave it open, in order to hear. 

[Twitchly]

23 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

If my memory serves from 2019, they can be heard on the bow cam channel (or I’ve confused it with a different ship 😬 ).   🍺🥌

Yup, that was it. 

[CurlerRob]

43 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

Yup, that was it. 

 

Thx for the confirmation. The "price tag" for doing it that way is that you have to listen to the elevator music that plays on the camera channel when there are no announcements 🤢     🍺🥌

[Twitchly]

10 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Thx for the confirmation. The "price tag" for doing it that way is that you have to listen to the elevator music that plays on the camera channel when there are no announcements 🤢     🍺🥌

We just turned on the TV right before the regular daily announcements. Or as soon as we heard them begin in the hallway. There’s a slight delay before they reach the TV, so you don’t miss anything.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

It's the same process, on Viking or another similar cruise line.  It works for me.  If non-emergency announcements were broadcast into the rooms, some people would be bothered by that.  

 

[LinnieRed]

Newbie question specific to cold weather cruises: We are boarding in February on the Northern Lights cruise and trying to minimize our luggage. We have an abundance of warm clothes, do we need to take sporty/chic dinner wear also or are our daily exploration clothes fine to wear at dinner? 

[Twitchly]

10 minutes ago, LinnieRed said:

Newbie question specific to cold weather cruises: We are boarding in February on the Northern Lights cruise and trying to minimize our luggage. We have an abundance of warm clothes, do we need to take sporty/chic dinner wear also or are our daily exploration clothes fine to wear at dinner? 

So long as your daily exploration clothes don’t include jeans, you should be fine. Might want to bring some shoes that aren’t sneakers or hiking boots. A nice scarf or two to jazz things up won’t take up much room. 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

17 minutes ago, LinnieRed said:

Newbie question specific to cold weather cruises: We are boarding in February on the Northern Lights cruise and trying to minimize our luggage. We have an abundance of warm clothes, do we need to take sporty/chic dinner wear also or are our daily exploration clothes fine to wear at dinner? 

twitchly is right on the money.

 

If you happen to be on Facebook, there's at least one page for Viking "fans" or something like that which might be of interest.  There are at least a few people on there who've done the Northern Lights cruise.  But regarding clothing:  I (female) mostly just wear a nice pair of pants and nice top, and take one decent dress. My spouse (and sometimes I) wears jeans at the World Cafe at night (perfectly fine) and khakis and nice (collared) golf shirts for the other restaurants.  He takes one or two button down shirts to wear to the specialty restaurants.  People generally dress a little bit nicer for the specialty restaurants. I always take a small crossbody bag that looks decent walking around the ship, eating in the specialty restaurants, etc. - and one pair of non-sporty shoes. 

[Steerpike58]

On 11/23/2022 at 7:05 AM, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

twitchly is right on the money.

 

If you happen to be on Facebook, there's at least one page for Viking "fans" or something like that which might be of interest.  There are at least a few people on there who've done the Northern Lights cruise.  But regarding clothing:  I (female) mostly just wear a nice pair of pants and nice top, and take one decent dress. My spouse (and sometimes I) wears jeans at the World Cafe at night (perfectly fine) and khakis and nice (collared) golf shirts for the other restaurants.  He takes one or two button down shirts to wear to the specialty restaurants.  People generally dress a little bit nicer for the specialty restaurants. I always take a small crossbody bag that looks decent walking around the ship, eating in the specialty restaurants, etc. - and one pair of non-sporty shoes. 

(male perspective here). I was a bit put-off by Viking's dress policy. Since retiring, I vowed never to wear a jacket/tie again and practically live in shorts and tee shirts in summer, jeans in winter. A vacation, to me, is meant to be relaxing and I don't want to worry about clothes!  I reluctantly brought one long-sleeved 'collared' shirt (plaid so it didn't show creases), and one pair of khakis, just for the specialty restaurants on the ship. I also bought a bunch of 'polo' shirts just for this trip, to up my game from regular tee-shirts!  We absolutely loved the 'World Cafe' choices, and ate there most of the time, and they don't have any dress restrictions at all so shorts/jeans are just fine. I did wear the shirt/trousers at Manfreddi's, and I felt like I 'fitted in'. I also wore the khaki's in 'The Restaurant' along with a polo shirt, and felt 'appropriately dressed'. Luckily it was always warm on the ship and I didn't need any jacket, and I didn't bring one (didn't bring a 'dressy' one that is). 

[CCWineLover]

55 minutes ago, Steerpike58 said:

(male perspective here). I was a bit put-off by Viking's dress policy. Since retiring, I vowed never to wear a jacket/tie again and practically live in shorts and tee shirts in summer, jeans in winter. A vacation, to me, is meant to be relaxing and I don't want to worry about clothes!  I reluctantly brought one long-sleeved 'collared' shirt (plaid so it didn't show creases), and one pair of khakis, just for the specialty restaurants on the ship. I also bought a bunch of 'polo' shirts just for this trip, to up my game from regular tee-shirts!  We absolutely loved the 'World Cafe' choices, and ate there most of the time, and they don't have any dress restrictions at all so shorts/jeans are just fine. I did wear the shirt/trousers at Manfreddi's, and I felt like I 'fitted in'. I also wore the khaki's in 'The Restaurant' along with a polo shirt, and felt 'appropriately dressed'. Luckily it was always warm on the ship and I didn't need any jacket, and I didn't bring one (didn't bring a 'dressy' one that is). 

Love it!  You must be East Bay or San Jose area - to be wearing Shorts and Tee Shirts in the summer in San Francisco area!  What was it Mark Twain once said?

 

We like Viking because of the casual dining.  Don't need a jacket or a tie!   Do have golf polo shirts and 2 slacks that still fit 🙂   but that's also why we enjoy the World Cafe.  Never felt underdressed or overdressed.  

 

[Steerpike58]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

Love it!  You must be East Bay or San Jose area - to be wearing Shorts and Tee Shirts in the summer in San Francisco area!  What was it Mark Twain once said?

 

We like Viking because of the casual dining.  Don't need a jacket or a tie!   Do have golf polo shirts and 2 slacks that still fit 🙂   but that's also why we enjoy the World Cafe.  Never felt underdressed or overdressed.  

 

We are East Bay, and I love the hot summers!  I'm also former tech/IT, so never really had to wear a tie / jacket to work other than for rare meetings, so dressing up is alien to me. 

 

All my 'slacks' (Khaki's / Dockers) were too tight, so I actually bought a new pair just for this trip!  Hopefully they'll see some usage over the next decade!