Just boarded Viking Sea - couple hiccups

[jabrown40]

Finally the big day has arrived! After getting up at 4 o’clock in the morning and enduring a four and a half hour flight from Chicago we finally arrived to beautiful sunny skies in Puerto Rico! We received free transfers from biking, and the process could not have gone smoother. They were there to greet us at the airport along with several other passengers and before we knew it we were off to the pier. Unfortunately, once we arrived, it was already close to 330 in the afternoon. There was absolutely no line at the check-in counter, and the glass of champagne as we boarded was a nice touch!The only place to get anything to eat at this point was at the pool bar grill, where we had some fresh fruit, and I had a piece of seared Ahi tuna from the grill, not bad. The hiccup occurred when we went down to guest services to purchase our silver spirits package. It was my understanding that the new policy was any cabin that purchased a silver spirits package would have alcohol replenished in their minibar as it was used. We are in a DV4. The young woman in guest services told me that this was not true, that it was reserved only for those in higher level categories. I have sent off an email to tellusatViking ************ to see If I can get clarification. Also, the amount of onboard credit from my travel agent is not correct. I did show her my email and copy from the travel agent showing the correct amount which she scanned and then said we would have to wait for confirmation. I have also sent an email to my travel agent to see if she can clear it up on her end. My only other complaint, is that it is almost 6 o’clock here and I still do not have any luggage. We have not met our cabin steward, and I only have two towels in the bathroom. Hopefully all will be resolved soon.

 

 

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[Azulann]

Now the fun and relaxation begins. Enjoy your sailaway , a good dinner and a good nights sleep.

Look foward to hearing about this long anticipated cruise for you and the others on your roll call.

The hiccups will disappear after you have a beverage or some bread. :)

[jabrown40]

7:00. Still no luggage. Have called twice. Also had to call because air conditioner barely working. Seems better now.

 

 

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[2NOLAcruisers]

Here is a copy of what it says on myvikingjourney:

 

Silver Spirits Beverage Package

 

Upgrade and enjoy unlimited beverages in all dining venues and bars throughout the duration of your cruise. The package includes:

 

Any drinks up to $15.00 including premium wines by the glass, cocktails & aperitifs

The Chef’s Table premium wine pairing

Selection of applicable wines change twice per cruise

Mini-bar replenishments

15% discount on premium beverages above $50.00

Soft drinks & juices

$279 Per Guest

 

I don't see anything about cabin restrictions.

[jabrown40]

Are minibar replenishments just soda?

 

 

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[Lobes1]

On our recent Viking Sky cruise, one of our bags arrived promptly in our cabin, along with three bags belonging to someone else! Our second bag arrived an hour or two later. They never did find our OBC. After our request, the cabin steward doubled up on the towels.

[2NOLAcruisers]

The room description for DV4 has:

 

Mini-bar with soft drinks, water & snacks, replenished once daily

 

Alcohol isn't mentioned until PV3 where it says:

 

Mini-bar with alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, water & snacks, replenished once daily

 

It looks like if you don't have alcohol in the minibar to start with, adding the beverage package will not add alcohol replenishments. Unless you can find an updated policy that specifically mentions alcohol replenishments, then I wouldn't expect it.

 

Hopefully someone else here read the same thing you did and can provide a link to it.

Edited February 5, 2018 by 2NOLAcruisers

[jabrown40]

We finally made it to dinner at 8:30 which was really 6:30 our time, but just felt tired and frustrated. My dinner was delicious- Chilean sea bass and a crab soufflé. Jim ordered the New York strip from the daily menu but unfortunately it was tough and tasteless. Staff was all over us trying to arrange something else or make it right, but we were so tired we just wanted to go to the room! Jim ordered some room service soup, hot and very good. Took a frozen mudslide from the bar back to our balcony and just relaxed. Even though the ship is here overnight, I’ll never fly in the first day of the cruise ever again. We only did it because of the free air and transfers. Mistake. Looking forward to a good night’s sleep, and starting fresh!

 

 

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[jabrown40]

I forgot to add a couple of positives - our room steward John came with our luggage, supplied us with extra towels and asked what else we needed. We mentioned diet soda only, ice, towels and just regular coffee for the machine. Came back from dinner, everything taken care of, and air conditioner working!

 

 

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[vnb2003]

I forgot to add a couple of positives - our room steward John came with our luggage, supplied us with extra towels and asked what else we needed. We mentioned diet soda only, ice, towels and just regular coffee for the machine. Came back from dinner, everything taken care of, and air conditioner working!

 

 

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Great to hear this and thank you for letting us know!

Enjoy your trip!

 

We boarded our ship around 10:30 am. Our luggage arrived late nigh but it's because it wasn't on our plane! Viking helped us to report this, then on the ship we both got the bags with toothbrush, paste, deodorant, shaving cream and razor, cream, lotion,etc. It was very nice. We had fresh teashirts and undies in carry-on So our attire at the first dinner at theRestaurant was jeans, teashirts and travel shoes :eek:

The rest of the journey was fantastic! :)

[Cyber Kat]

I knew I saw this somewhere. This is from Viking regarding the Silver Spirits package and mini bar replacements

 

Dear Peregrina651,

 

 

 

We appreciate your invitation to clarify.

 

 

 

In general, all guests with the Silver Spirits Beverage Package will receive mini-bar replenishments of alcoholic beverages - regardless of cabin category. This service is a recent addition to the package’s amenities.

 

 

 

Our World Cruise, however, will operate a bit differently. Specific details will be released to guests as the sailing approaches.

 

 

 

Thanks again for the invite. We hope this response has been helpful and want to take the opportunity to remind the Cruise Critic community that we are always happy to answer questions or clarify concerns at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

 

 

Kind regards,

 

Viking Cruises

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Solent Girl]

I would be interested to know if you resolved the mini bar issue. With the Silver drinks package in your DV stateroom did you receive any alcohol and was it replenished?

[Mrs Miggins]

We had a Silver Spirits package at New Year. We were in a Veranda 3009. Our mini bar was not replenished. There was never any alcohol in it.

I was told to obtain soda's from any bar, give my cabin number, then it would not be charged.

To be honest it really wasn't a big deal to me. We were also given the package as part of our booking deal. We certainly enjoyed the ability to choose different wines plus as many cocktails etc as we wanted. I recommend the Lemon Drop Martini.

[jabrown40]

It was never resolved. I reached out to Tellus@Viking- later they sent me an email that we should have the mini bar replenished, but did not specify alcohol. They said they called the ship. The manager called us, asked what we’d like to have stocked, told us it would be restocked daily. 5 minutes later, he called back and said he was sorry, he thought we were in a higher cabin. Really? Said we could not get alcohol. I gave up, bought some rum in the duty free shop, and decided to just enjoy the trip.

 

 

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[PRH]

Disappointing. We are in a dv4 on the Sea and purchased the silver spirits with this in mind. Why such conflicting messages between management and the ship?

 

 

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[Nippy Sweetie]

:(That's very disappointing. We're booked into a DV 4 and have the silver spirit package.

[Azulann]

It was never resolved. I reached out to Tellus@Viking- later they sent me an email that we should have the mini bar replenished, but did not specify alcohol. They said they called the ship. The manager called us, asked what we’d like to have stocked, told us it would be restocked daily. 5 minutes later, he called back and said he was sorry, he thought we were in a higher cabin. Really? Said we could not get alcohol. I gave up, bought some rum in the duty free shop, and decided to just enjoy the trip.

 

 

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Cheers!

Enjoy your cruise and don't sweat the small stuff.

[Cyber Kat]

Disappointing. We are in a dv4 on the Sea and purchased the silver spirits with this in mind. Why such conflicting messages between management and the ship?

 

 

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We are on the Viking Sea in March and were planning on getting the Silver Spirits package I plan to get this straightened out in writing beforehand. The cabin categories higher than DV already get liquor in the mini bar replenished so the Silver Spirits package is not necessary for that Viking Cruises are you listening? You need to get the crew on the Sea with the program.

 

I’m going to write to tellus@vikingcruises.com and get this clarified in writing before we purchase the package.

 

 

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[mariavii]

We are on the Viking Sea in March and were planning on getting the Silver Spirits package I plan to get this straightened out in writing beforehand. The cabin categories higher than DV already get liquor in the mini bar replenished so the Silver Spirits package is not necessary for that Viking Cruises are you listening? You need to get the crew on the Sea with the program.

 

I’m going to write to tellus@vikingcruises.com and get this clarified in writing before we purchase the package.

 

I will be interested what you find out as I am in DV on Star later this year. Has this been an issue for others on ships other than the Sea?

[philw1776]

It may be just the Sea's crew. I was in a PV which INCLUDES liquor but mine was never replenished on my cruise.

[Cyber Kat]

Okay, I emailed tellus@vikingcruises.com regarding the Silver Spirits package and mini bars. I included what jabrown40 reported and the posting to peregrina651 that I shared above.

 

This is the response I got...

I understand that there’s been conflicting information regarding what our Silver Spirits Beverage Package (SSBP) entails. I apologize for any confusion this might have caused and appreciate your understanding as we have investigated the specifics to this policy update.

 

Allow me to clarify – our SSBP does not include replenishing the alcohol in the mini-bar. I’ve attached a document outlining what our SSBP does include. Our policy for the mini-bar is based on stateroom category, regardless of whether guests have purchased SSBP. Since you’re staying in a category DV4 cabin, your mini-bar’s soft drinks, water and snacks will be replenished once daily.

————————————————

So I guess we will have to bring our drinks back to the room with us [emoji33]

 

 

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[jabrown40]

Now I feel like an idiot for trying to explain what was never a change in policy to the beverage manager. He was nice enough to provide some bottles for the mini bar, now I feel bad.

 

 

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[Cyber Kat]

Now I feel like an idiot for trying to explain what was never a change in policy to the beverage manager. He was nice enough to provide some bottles for the mini bar, now I feel bad.

 

 

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There was a lot of confusing information coming from different Viking sources. Don’t feel bad. Hope you are enjoying your cruise. I can’t wait for ours!

 

 

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[sherrar]

Vikings reply goes against what is on MVJ - this is a quote from the PDF form you can download to purchase the Silver Package.

 

"The Viking Ocean Cruises Silver Spirits beverage package includes any drink up to $15, throughout the day and anywhere on the ship; mini-bar replenishment; TheChef’s Table premium wine pairing; and 15% off premium beverages, Armagnacs and bottles of wine over $50."

 

Confused!!

[Cyber Kat]

Vikings reply goes against what is on MVJ - this is a quote from the PDF form you can download to purchase the Silver Package.

 

 

 

"The Viking Ocean Cruises Silver Spirits beverage package includes any drink up to $15, throughout the day and anywhere on the ship; mini-bar replenishment; TheChef’s Table premium wine pairing; and 15% off premium beverages, Armagnacs and bottles of wine over $50."

 

 

 

Confused!!

 

 

 

But it doesn’t say alcohol mini-bar replenishment. Maybe that’s referring to soda?

 

 

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