Tips for New Viking Ocean Cruisers

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, rbslos18 said:

I don't mean to be a dolt but what is a Simple Sandwich?

 

Cheese, fried egg, roast beef, etc. Whatever she fancied that day.

[rbslos18]

1 hour ago, KarNog said:

If you're willing to pay $50 a drink, I'll bring a bottle or two.

Try and find a bottle!  Sell it. You can pay for a cruise. 20 year Pappy is $4000+ 

[bluesea777]

Currently on Orion Bermuda Escape cruise. Seems we learnt the hard way … be warned the beds are very firm, so if you are used to or need comfort/memory foam topper you’ll need to invest in bringing one onboard  as Viking doesn’t have egg crate or foam mattress toppers. NCL does.

 

After the first night we got off ship in Hamilton to go to a store to get some. I have arthritic hip and lower back so could not sleep and was very sore in the morning.

 

We are in DV1 stateroom, if this helps.

 

Edited August 6, 2021 by bluesea777

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

Currently on Orion Bermuda Escape cruise. Seems we learnt the hard way … be warned the beds are very firm, so if you are used to or need comfort/memory foam topper you’ll need to invest in bringing one onboard  as Viking doesn’t have egg crate or foam mattress toppers. NCL does.

 

After the first night we got off ship in Hamilton to go to a store to get some. I have arthritic hip and lower back so could not sleep and was very sore in the morning.

 

We are in DV1 stateroom, if this helps.

 

 

Suggest asking your cabin steward for options for a softer mattress or a foam topper. This was one of our requests when chatting with the World Cruise Desk pre-cruise. We had a foam topper the entire WC. Good luck.

[KarNog]

13 hours ago, rbslos18 said:

Try and find a bottle!  Sell it. You can pay for a cruise. 20 year Pappy is $4000+ 

The 23 year old is the tough find, around $5k on the secondary. 20 year is much easier to get, around $250 on secondary. I'm a retailer and have a nice stash but no 23 year.

[rbslos18]

2 hours ago, KarNog said:

The 23 year old is the tough find, around $5k on the secondary. 20 year is much easier to get, around $250 on secondary. I'm a retailer and have a nice stash but no 23 year.

When is your next cruise? Can I tag along? I personally like the 12 year best!

[KarNog]

4 minutes ago, rbslos18 said:

When is your next cruise? Can I tag along? I personally like the 12 year best!

Aug 21 to Iceland! Welcome aboard!

[bluesea777]

3 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Suggest asking your cabin steward for options for a softer mattress or a foam topper. This was one of our requests when chatting with the World Cruise Desk pre-cruise. We had a foam topper the entire WC. Good luck.

We did, but they had none, unfortunately. This surprised us. It will be in the comments at end of cruise. 
 

 

[Clay Clayton]

Since we have returned from our Welcome Back cruise to Iceland, I’m updating a list of favorite Viking foods that ( I think) I posted previously on this thread.  
 

Favorite Viking Dishes

Breakfast:

Grilled lamb chops-The Restaurant

Raisin Pistachio Bun-The Living Room

Waffle-Mamsen’s

Potatoes Lyonaise-The World Cafe

 

Lunch:

Seared tuna-Pool Grill

(we have a salad made at the World Cafe while tuna is being prepared and then have the tuna on top)

Hamburger with Onion Rings-Pool Grill

Open Faced Sandwiches-Mamsen’s

Porcetta on the buffet

 

Afternoon Tea:

Scones with clotted cream-The Winter Garden

 

Pre-dinner:

Cold seafood and sushi-The World Cafe (then enjoy it at the Aquavit Terrace)

 

Dinner:

Chilean (NOT seared Mediterranean) Sea Bass -The Restaurant 

Cold Pea Soup-The Restaurant 

Lotus Menu - The Chef’s Table

Whole Split Lobster-The Restaurant not offered all the time

Steak Florentine-Manfredi’s 

Indian Ryazan broth - tomato soup (vegetarian)

 

Desserts:

Gelato-The World Cafe, try the sugar free flavors of ice cream and cookies-some we like better than full sugar ones

And had oatmeal cookie ice cream fir the first time on Sky in Iceland   So So good!

Cold Pea Soup-The Restaurant (seriously-it’s that good)

[rbslos18]

56 minutes ago, KarNog said:

Aug 21 to Iceland! Welcome aboard!

If only I knew. Still working for two more years.

Can I interest you in December's Ancient Mediterranean Antiquities!?

 BYOP Bring your own Pappy 😉

[KarNog]

29 minutes ago, rbslos18 said:

If only I knew. Still working for two more years.

Can I interest you in December's Ancient Mediterranean Antiquities!?

 BYOP Bring your own Pappy 😉

This is our first cruise and I hope it will convince my husband to retire! He's certainly old enough - lol. 

"If you retire, I won't make you go on another cruise," or conversely, "If you don't retire, Imma make you go on four cruises a year."

I admit that I did use the "open bar" policy to sway him for this one. We got the Silver Bullet package as a promo.

[rbslos18]

1 hour ago, KarNog said:

This is our first cruise and I hope it will convince my husband to retire! He's certainly old enough - lol. 

"If you retire, I won't make you go on another cruise," or conversely, "If you don't retire, Imma make you go on four cruises a year."

I admit that I did use the "open bar" policy to sway him for this one. We got the Silver Bullet package as a promo.

We are also Newbies. Sounds like a great cruise. We have been cancelled a couple of times so here's hoping!

[Shorex]

Is it possible to pre-order distilled water for a CPAP machine, or should we just request it (along with an extension cord) onboard? Thanks for any help in this area.

[Squawkman]

37 minutes ago, Shorex said:

Is it possible to pre-order distilled water for a CPAP machine, or should we just request it (along with an extension cord) onboard? Thanks for any help in this area.

Yes. You can do this yourself in MyViking Journey. Go to “on board experience”, choose “preferences”, choose “stateroom preferences “, then check “distilled water”. You may have to ask your room steward anyway, but it will be on record you asked.

 

Both my wife and I use CPAPs, and we never needed extension cords. If you’re staying on land as part of the cruise or an extension, be sure to bring converters and an extension cord for use there as outlets are usually all European, and you may not have an outlet near your CPAP.

[Cher98]

29 minutes ago, Shorex said:

Is it possible to pre-order distilled water for a CPAP machine, or should we just request it (along with an extension cord) onboard? Thanks for any help in this area.

Hi. I’m a newbie but can offer that Distilled water is listed under My Viking Journal, Onboard Experience, Preferences, Stateroom Preferences. You may check it off there as a preference though you may need to request extra.  Also under MVJ Onboard Experience is Stateroom, Electrical Outlets & Adapters.  There is information and a list of prohibited items. Extension cords are not prohibited.  That’s as far as my knowledge goes but others will likely have more to offer. 

[Shorex]

Thanks much!

 

[Squawkman]

11 minutes ago, Cher98 said:

Hi. I’m a newbie but can offer that Distilled water is listed under My Viking Journal, Onboard Experience, Preferences, Stateroom Preferences. You may check it off there as a preference though you may need to request extra.  Also under MVJ Onboard Experience is Stateroom, Electrical Outlets & Adapters.  There is information and a list of prohibited items. Extension cords are not prohibited.  That’s as far as my knowledge goes but others will likely have more to offer. 

Have to disagree - USB charging cables are OK, but extension cords are prohibited:

https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/20190826-Prohibited-Item-List.pdf
 

[CharTrav]

36 minutes ago, Squawkman said:

Have to disagree - USB charging cables are OK, but extension cords are prohibited:

https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/20190826-Prohibited-Item-List.pdf
 

devices with a surge protector not allowed?  That's odd -- I would think they'd be OK.  I had (still  have but can't remember now where it wandered off to during my now relatively far in the past business trips) that was a small combination surge protector power "strip" that expanded one outlet to three. I can actually see why they wouldn't be happy with one power outlet being used to power up to three or more devices but what would be the harm in a surge protector?  I actually DO have plug adapters (Europe to US) that permit me to plug two devices into it at the same time .  I wonder if that's a bad thing....Maybe mums the word on the things I do, eh?

[Eggtuary]

Interestingly, surge protectors are a fire risk on ships, according to this link from the US Coast Guard. 
 

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/TVNCOE/Documents/SafetyAlerts/SurgeProtectiveDevices.pdf

[Cher98]

1 hour ago, Shorex said:

Thanks much!

 

Sorry, I missed it. Lots of nice helpful folks to catch errors though. : )

[JeriGail]

All of The Viking cabins have many outlets and USB ports, so a power strip or extension cord is not needed.  Each side of the bed has a US and Euro outlet (hence no need for an extension cord for a CPAP) plus 1 high power and 1 low power USB.  There are also multiple outlets at the desk plus 5 (I think) USB outlets on the lamp.

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, JeriGail said:

All of The Viking cabins have many outlets and USB ports, so a power strip or extension cord is not needed.  Each side of the bed has a US and Euro outlet (hence no need for an extension cord for a CPAP) plus 1 high power and 1 low power USB.  There are also multiple outlets at the desk plus 5 (I think) USB outlets on the lamp.

Agree - I know you haven't been on Viking before, Jeri, but we've been on 5 Viking Ocean Cruises. and we agree.  There is no need for any extraneous devices at all.  There were so many USB outlets and regular outlets, I cannot imagine anyone needing anymore of them!   And yes, Power Surge protectors are indeed hazards.

[les37b]

6 hours ago, JeriGail said:

All of The Viking cabins have many outlets and USB ports, so a power strip or extension cord is not needed.  Each side of the bed has a US and Euro outlet (hence no need for an extension cord for a CPAP) plus 1 high power and 1 low power USB.  There are also multiple outlets at the desk plus 5 (I think) USB outlets on the lamp.

 

With so many devices needing charging, (approx 7 different cameras alone)...... I'd certainly question that there will be enough power outlets.

 

3 DJI Osmo Action cam (4K for timelapse) can be USB charged if its USB C

1 DJI Pocket cam (ship tour videos) can be USB charged if its USB C

1 Sony Camcorder (general use)

1 Canon 6D (big boy camera)

1 Sony camera (wifes camera)

My phone Can be USB charged

wifes phone can be USB charged

ipad pro

laptop

4 usb power packs

1 USB block (charging 6 USB devices - hopefully OK)

DJI Mavic drone - if at a safe to fly country location visited.

 

My carry on case is a beacon for security  each trip - so many cables, mounts and gizmos! Never fails to get opened - which of course is fine and expected.

[JM0115]

On 8/6/2021 at 2:40 PM, Clay Clayton said:

Since we have returned from our Welcome Back cruise to Iceland, I’m updating a list of favorite Viking foods that ( I think) I posted previously on this thread.  
 

Favorite Viking Dishes

Breakfast:

Grilled lamb chops-The Restaurant

Raisin Pistachio Bun-The Living Room

Waffle-Mamsen’s

Potatoes Lyonaise-The World Cafe

 

Lunch:

Seared tuna-Pool Grill

(we have a salad made at the World Cafe while tuna is being prepared and then have the tuna on top)

Hamburger with Onion Rings-Pool Grill

Open Faced Sandwiches-Mamsen’s

Porcetta on the buffet

 

Afternoon Tea:

Scones with clotted cream-The Winter Garden

 

Pre-dinner:

Cold seafood and sushi-The World Cafe (then enjoy it at the Aquavit Terrace)

 

Dinner:

Chilean (NOT seared Mediterranean) Sea Bass -The Restaurant 

Cold Pea Soup-The Restaurant 

Lotus Menu - The Chef’s Table

Whole Split Lobster-The Restaurant not offered all the time

Steak Florentine-Manfredi’s 

Indian Ryazan broth - tomato soup (vegetarian)

 

Desserts:

Gelato-The World Cafe, try the sugar free flavors of ice cream and cookies-some we like better than full sugar ones

And had oatmeal cookie ice cream fir the first time on Sky in Iceland   So So good!

Cold Pea Soup-The Restaurant (seriously-it’s that good)

After 3 Viking Cruises I still have not had the waffles!!!  

[NeilP57]

1 hour ago, JM0115 said:

After 3 Viking Cruises I still have not had the waffles!!!  

I think that is outrageous !

 

I believe Viking should make sure all passengers have tried at least one waffle whilst on board. 
 

Perhaps they could amend VeriFLY to allow us to upload a picture to prove that we have tried a waffle.