Viking Star/Cultural Cuba - Frequent Cancelled and Changed Ports?

[Hiking In Heels]

We learned an hour before tours were set to meet that the Feb. 19 port in Santiago de Cuba was cancelled due to wind. We were very disappointed, especially when Viking felt a game of cornhole was an equitable substitute for the cancelled port. I’ve reached out twice to customer relations with no reply, so perhaps there is something else aside from a bean bag toss they are working out to compensate cruisers, although an acknowledgment of receipt of my messages would be appreciated.

 

Reading through the Cruise Critic forum, it looks like more often than not that not all ports are reached, or there is some last minute change on this Cultural Cuba Cruise. We knew they hadn’t been permitted for a Havana port even though it was on the original itinerary (a major issue for previous cruisers who didn’t know that when they booked), and they had it sorted to Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. 

 

I just read the previous sailing’s Santiago port was cancelled for illness. We are (were?) big fans of Viking, and did the Paris river cruise with few issues in 2015 (other than not being permitted to dock in central Paris, despite the itinerary, which seems to be a Viking pattern, to release an unpermitted itinerary), and no cancelled ports. In fact, we were on the boat when the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks happened and Viking went out of their way to arrange alternative excursions at no cost when we couldn’t enter the locked down city. 

 

Has anyone made it to all the ports with an unchanged itinerary on this Cultural Cuba cruise? I’m hesitant to book again with Viking if there are itineraries with routine problems that are only fixed short term rather than with a long term, stable solution. We thought we got a screaming deal (if you can call $2800pp that), but now I’m concerned this is Viking’s ‘problem child’ Cruise and any other offers will be rooted in low customer satisfaction and high dropout due to port changes, resulting in the need to drum up customers.

[Cienfuegos]

My wife and I did the Viking Cultural Cuba cruise in November, 2018.  That was in the series of three or four cruises which visited just Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. There was a two day bus excursion to Havana which many people selected.

 

No serious issues with the Cienfuegos visit, but there were "issues" with the Santiago de Cuba "one day" visit. The Cuban government required the ship to dock in the outer harbor, which required a 40 minute tender trip each way. I don't have a sense about whether Viking knew in advance, but this was not communicated to guests until the port discussion the night before.

 

The ship arrived at the end of the arrival window Viking had specified, and the very slow tender process placed people in the independent groups and certain "included tours" at the end of the tender process.  I would guess it was after 10 am before our group was tendered, and 10.45am when it arrived at the dock.  There was a lot of grumbling on the tender boat, as Viking announced a HARD CLOSE with a last tender boat at 2.30pm.

 

The bus tour was rushed, the foot tour through the old city was a rapid, forced march, but Viking's guide made sure we had a full half hour at the rum / cigars shop.  One guest just gave up on the downtown hike, made arrangements with a vintage car driver, and went back to the dock.  Viking didn't handle this well.

 

The ship weighed anchor about 3.30pm, and we spent a day leisurely sailing back to Miami.  There was absolutely no reason why we couldn't have had another few hours in Santiago de Cuba.  We arrived in Miami before 7 am, the ship was empty by 9.30 am.

 

Cuba is a place of enigma and contradictions. Things that are permitted become not permitted.  But Viking could have done a better job. A much better job for the price they charged.

 

 

[Australia08]

It sounds like our cruise was one of the lucky ones.  We were on the Cultural Cuba cruise Jan 31-Feb 7.  We made it to both ports.  We tendered in Cienfuegos (kind of a normal tender time).  We actually docked in Santiago de Cuba.  We arrived about one hour late in Santiago, but our time ashore was extended by one hour so that our tour time was complete.  On the first night of the cruise, my husband and I were a bit concerned because the excursion discussion held in the Theater seemed pretty bleak, warning us that this was Cuba and tours had received quite a few complaints in the past.  It seemed they spent a lot of time warning us about all of all the complaints they had received in the past cruisings and even suggesting that if these tours did not seem like a good fit, we still had time to cancel (but right away).  We kind of looked at each other and thought let's give it a go anyway.  We ended up liking all of our tours.  Of course, you must factor in that we had marvelous weather - blue skies, lower humidity, no muddy streets, etc.  That automatically put us in a good mood.  We had great Cuban tour guides.  Some highlights - Bay of Pigs tour was great (probably due to the personality of our guide and the fact that Viking had downplayed this tour so much), fantastic ride in the vintage convertible in Havana on our Day in Havana tour (plus our tour guide sat in the front seat of the convertible we were riding in and gave us a great description of every site we passed on the 30+ minute drive - again, marvelous weather), our Cienfuegos "included" walking tour was on Monday so we were actually able to visit the cigar factory which was fascinating (tours on the weekend could not tour the factory because it is closed on the weekend -  I think they went to a cigar store instead), and our optional tour choice in Santiago de Cuba (Santiago de Cuba in Photographs) was probably the best because were were able to visit the El Morro fort, San Juan Hill, and the cemetery where Fidel is buried for the changing of the guard ceremony,  ending with a mojito on top of the main hotel downtown  - we also had a panoramic description of all the other sights in town such as Desi Arnaz' home, etc as we traveled between locations.

 

We felt that this trip could not have been any better, but we also realize that part of that was due to weather, lucky choices of tours and tour times, and the whims of the Cuban government for actually letting us dock in Santiago (so nice to not even have a short tender ride).  I'm sure if we had had the problems the other cruise dates have had, we would be so upset, too.  All cruise lines need to understand that when problems arise, the best thing is to be  immediately straightforward about what is happening and why.  This was our first Viking cruise so we left with a very good impression. 

[Peregrina651]

11 hours ago, Hiking In Heels said:

 I’ve reached out twice to customer relations with no reply, so perhaps there is something else aside from a bean bag toss they are working out to compensate cruisers, although an acknowledgment of receipt of my messages would be appreciated.

 

 

 

Regardless of who you have already contacted at Viking, shoot off an e-mail to the folks at TellUs@vikingcruises.com. Include your booking number and if you wish your phone number --and explain your problem.

Edited February 21, 2019 by Peregrina651

[Captain_Morgan]

Weather aside, which we all know is something which can't be controlled by even the most seasoned companies, it seems the issue at large is a combination of poor planning, poor design and perhaps even a little arrogance on behalf of an upstart bunch in the sector of ocean cruising.  Let me explain...

 

We were on the Canada/New England cruise last year where we had our original itinerary changed which we later found out was due to the fact that there is a speed restriction in the Gulf of St Lawrence in order to avoid collisions with whales, etc. which i completely accept; however, it seems this was never factored in to the itinerary planning as the speed required to get from Montreal to Charlottetown (original schedule) was too high and as a result we went to Gaspe instead, which was alright but it's not what was advertised or planned for!  Of course in this case we also had the currents of the St Lawrence working against us, which cannot be helped but these are things which i would expect someone responsible for planning itineraries to consider??

 

I always make a point as well of speaking with the senior marine and technical officers during the meet & greets as well as asking a lot of questions on occasions when I've managed to visit the Bridge as its amazing what kind of detail you can find out, which is not otherwise known or considered.  Case in point is the fact that as nice as the ships are, they are vastly under-powered in the stern and although they have a stern thruster, one officer said it was the equivalent in power to a ceiling fan.  Sure that's an exaggeration but it was used to illustrate the point that even with all engines working (which it seems they seldom are) they still have issues when the wind is blowing more than 20kts...

 

As for the arrogance, its not meant to be taken as an insult but more of an astute criticism in that it seems on more than one occasion, Viking have seemed to think they can show up late to the party and still get a seat at the table.  In the case of Cuba, i think we can all agree that the likes of NCL, Royal, HAL etc. have had their finger on the button just waiting for Cuba to open up for ships long before VOC was even thinking about putting a ship in the ocean, so when the time came they of course were ready to go and got first dibs on preferred berth allocation.  The fact that the original Viking itineraries from what i understand said the ships would dock in Havana only to then be left at anchor for nearly 3 days is a testament to this poor planning and over estimation of their place in the system, which of course sounds as well like its not been disseminated well to the passengers.

 

After the first 2 years you can call these 'growing pains' but i would think if a company has such an ambitious plan to flood the market with its product they would be better served working to perfect what they have instead of repeating the same mistakes only separated by 12-18 short months before they do it all again with a new ship

[Hiking In Heels]

17 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Regardless of who you have already contacted at Viking, shoot off an e-mail to the folks at TellUs@vikingcruises.com. Include your booking number and if you wish your phone number --and explain your problem.

Thank you!! I will let you know how it goes.

[caskale]

23 hours ago, Hiking In Heels said:

Thank you!! I will let you know how it goes.

On this cruise with you we were sent a 500 dollar voucher each against a future cruise.

[Hiking In Heels]

We just got our email - are you inclined to use your credit? One of our fears is that cycle of throwing money down in hopes of things improving. I'm not sure we'll be able to afford another Viking cruise and get enough Paid Time Off from work before our discount expires, since we're in our 30s and work full-time.

[Hiking In Heels]

On 2/21/2019 at 4:07 AM, Captain_Morgan said:

Weather aside, which we all know is something which can't be controlled by even the most seasoned companies, it seems the issue at large is a combination of poor planning, poor design and perhaps even a little arrogance on behalf of an upstart bunch in the sector of ocean cruising.  Let me explain...

 

We were on the Canada/New England cruise last year where we had our original itinerary changed which we later found out was due to the fact that there is a speed restriction in the Gulf of St Lawrence in order to avoid collisions with whales, etc. which i completely accept; however, it seems this was never factored in to the itinerary planning as the speed required to get from Montreal to Charlottetown (original schedule) was too high and as a result we went to Gaspe instead, which was alright but it's not what was advertised or planned for!  Of course in this case we also had the currents of the St Lawrence working against us, which cannot be helped but these are things which i would expect someone responsible for planning itineraries to consider??

 

I always make a point as well of speaking with the senior marine and technical officers during the meet & greets as well as asking a lot of questions on occasions when I've managed to visit the Bridge as its amazing what kind of detail you can find out, which is not otherwise known or considered.  Case in point is the fact that as nice as the ships are, they are vastly under-powered in the stern and although they have a stern thruster, one officer said it was the equivalent in power to a ceiling fan.  Sure that's an exaggeration but it was used to illustrate the point that even with all engines working (which it seems they seldom are) they still have issues when the wind is blowing more than 20kts...

 

As for the arrogance, its not meant to be taken as an insult but more of an astute criticism in that it seems on more than one occasion, Viking have seemed to think they can show up late to the party and still get a seat at the table.  In the case of Cuba, i think we can all agree that the likes of NCL, Royal, HAL etc. have had their finger on the button just waiting for Cuba to open up for ships long before VOC was even thinking about putting a ship in the ocean, so when the time came they of course were ready to go and got first dibs on preferred berth allocation.  The fact that the original Viking itineraries from what i understand said the ships would dock in Havana only to then be left at anchor for nearly 3 days is a testament to this poor planning and over estimation of their place in the system, which of course sounds as well like its not been disseminated well to the passengers.

 

After the first 2 years you can call these 'growing pains' but i would think if a company has such an ambitious plan to flood the market with its product they would be better served working to perfect what they have instead of repeating the same mistakes only separated by 12-18 short months before they do it all again with a new ship

 

We just got a voucher for a discount on a future Viking Cruise, but I'm concerned, like you pointed out, that Viking seems to be having a lot more 'growing pains' four years out that you'd expect from a company of Viking's caliber. 

 

I'm not as experienced of a cruiser as most folks - do you know if switched ports and unfeasible itineraries (like not taking into account speed restrictions, as you mentioned) are as common on other lines? Viking is the only one we've run into these issues with.

[Hiking In Heels]

On 2/20/2019 at 3:22 PM, Cienfuegos said:

Cuba is a place of enigma and contradictions. Things that are permitted become not permitted.  But Viking could have done a better job. A much better job for the price they charged.

That's ultimately how we felt - we selected the pricier Viking cruise rather than a cheapie one because, with some of the travel issues still being ironed out with Cuba, we figured they would be on top of it, or have a reasonable back up plan. We asked a lot of questions on our end about Visas and permits to ensure we were doing our part, too. 

 

With the constant issues this cruise has, and continues to have, I'm shocked that there's not a plan B or a better approach to handling this. Our Cruise Director made a lot of jokes about how it just meant we got to spend more time with him, which is what we were really there for, right!? It was a very odd approach - continuing to bring attention to a missed port and laughing about it. It just felt like salt in the wound, and the whole experience really colored my opinion of Viking.

[caskale]

57 minutes ago, Hiking In Heels said:

We just got our email - are you inclined to use your credit? One of our fears is that cycle of throwing money down in hopes of things improving. I'm not sure we'll be able to afford another Viking cruise and get enough Paid Time Off from work before our discount expires, since we're in our 30s and work full-time.

We still enjoyed ourselves enough on this cruise,so we did book another one while on board,one with way less sea days though. Was able to use transfer the credit to it. It will be our third VikIng ocean cruise.

[Heidi13]

When selecting a cruise, we never expect to visit every port on the schedule, or even for the full time allocated on the schedule. So many variables are present, most of which are outside the control of the Captain and the cruise line. For missed and/or delayed ports the Cruise Director will have plans, but due to the number of variables it could be as generic, as adding entertainment and/or activities.

 

If weather issues are forecast, the Cruise Director can make tentative plans, but in this case, I believe the port was cancelled an hour before arrival. Doesn't give him/her much time to both develop and promulgate a schedule to his staff and then the pax. Yes, missing a port is a disappointment, but for the ensuing sea day, we tend to cut the ship some slack and are thankful for anything that gets organised. The Galley also must quickly prep for a full service, as on port days they expect less for lunch, but with late notice they had to prepare and cook a full lunch service.

 

With the issues on the St Lawrence, on first look it would appear that Viking's marine planning department certainly dropped the ball. However, before being critical, we should research potential issues and Regulatory changes. Personally, I don't have any sailing or voyage planning experience on the East Coast, but on the West Coast, ship noise is gaining some significant press and ships are currently being encouraged to slow down. On the St Lawrence, I believe they have gone further and temporary speed restrictions were imposed by the Federal Government in August 2017, from Quebec to PEI.

 

Since Viking frequently release itineraries a couple of years ahead, the voyage planning was most likely completed prior to the temporary speed restrictions were imposed. The speed reductions also come with significant fines for non-compliance. Also being temporary, makes it challenging for long term planning.

[Harley57]

We were on the January 24-31 sailing and like Australia08 had a wonderful cruise.   Had terrific weather - mostly sunny, mid to high 80’s and quite humid.   The humidity surprised me, although it shouldn’t have and was certainly better than the polar vortex passing through our hometown of Chicago that week.

 

I have read about the February cruises and it appears there were significant issues.  I would be upset to miss a port due to propulsion issues as that is something that should be mostly within a cruise line’s control.   Weather and foreign government regulations in ports is something that is typically a risk for cruisers.  While we mostly take land based trips, we’ve taken 5 cruises - Royal Caribbean (x2), HAL, Celebrity and this was our first cruise with Viking.  We really, really like the smaller size, good food, outstanding service, guest lecturers and quiet ambience of Viking.  So much so, that although we are not big cruise people, we are thinking of booking another Viking cruise for 2020.  

 

We tendered in Santiago de Cuba and it was a rather long tender ride, but so worth it in our opinion.  We really enjoyed the Santiago de Cuba Photographs tour and felt it was well worth the money.   I was surprised to read Australia08’s cruise docked there as I thought I had heard the dock was damaged due to a hurricane last fall.   A co-worker is taking a Royal Caribbean cruise to Cuba in May and they have already replaced the Santiago de Cuba stop with Key West - she’s not happy.  So I wonder if there is something more going on with the situation in Santiago de Cuba as many of the mass market lines seem to skipping this port per comments here on Cruise Critic.  

 

I do do hope that Viking gains permission to dock in Havana in the near future.  This would eliminate the long bus ride from Cienfuegos to Havana and allow more time to explore Havana.  Even with the long bus ride, I am very happy we took the day tour to Havana.

 

[Marykatesmom]

Keep us posted.  I have a February 2020 Cuba trip planned.  It will be our 3rd VO.  I loved the first two.  

[Captain_Morgan]

@Hiking In Heels the reality of cruising in general is that stuff happens to all lines, regardless of itinerary or time spent operating; however, the big difference I've seen is how the unforeseen issues are handled and with what regularity.

If it were a 'one off' situation relating to weather or where something mechanical happened during a cruise but it was sorted and not repeated than you could chalk it up to bad luck, but when there's a seemingly repeating pattern combined with self-deprecating humor as a means to address it followed by a credit for a future cruise it tends to lower expectations and opinions I would think and its a bit of a tough pill to swallow when paying a premium for a supposedly premium product.

 

As I say, new products are expected to have growing pains; however when you're also producing a virtual 'copy/paste' of the same product over and over again it would be reasonable to expect the 'bugs' to have been figured out and addressed, not repeated.  Sadly when it comes to Viking i can almost guarantee their largest shore side department is the sales department followed by customer relations (read. future cruise credits) and somewhere further down the line, closer to the end would be marine (read planning and maintenance).  Of course this is speculation based mostly on what's been observed by way of their inability to properly deal with unforeseen changes to the itinerary and how they try to pacify a passenger base with future cruise credits that may or may not be used...

[Australia08]

8 hours ago, Harley57 said:

We were on the January 24-31 sailing . . .

 

We tendered in Santiago de Cuba and it was a rather long tender ride, but so worth it in our opinion.  We really enjoyed the Santiago de Cuba Photographs tour and felt it was well worth the money.   I was surprised to read Australia08’s cruise docked there as I thought I had heard the dock was damaged due to a hurricane last fall.   A co-worker is taking a Royal Caribbean cruise to Cuba in May and they have already replaced the Santiago de Cuba stop with Key West - she’s not happy.  So I wonder if there is something more going on with the situation in Santiago de Cuba as many of the mass market lines seem to skipping this port per comments here on Cruise Critic.  

 

 

Yes it was actually a surprise to us. We were told we would be tendering but then it was announced the night before arrival that we would dock. I don’t know why we were granted permission but we were the only ship in town that day. 

[minnie mommie]

looking to book in 2020 for Cultural Cuba, can anyone tell me what the cost is for the full day tour to Havana?

[ABoatNerd]

Hiking In Heels, you asked a question pertaining to other cruise line tendencies to miss ports/switch.

 

I would say Oceania has a well earned reputation for dropping ports with no reasonable explanation or any explanation to paying guests.  There have been numerous threads on this subject on the Oceania boards in the past 6 months. The CC review section on Oceania tells many tales. 

 

And yes, out comes the future cruise credit, if you are lucky. Does not mean you have to use it.

 

Like anything in business, if a situation develops, explain to the customer the options and why an option was picked. Silence is not ever acceptable.

 

In today's cruising world, guests have access to weather information and AIS which provides a wealth of information pertaining to docking space etc. Any cruise line that thinks they can cancel a port, or not swap in another, without credible explanation should expect to get challenged.

 

A consumer who paid $ can challenge anything.

 

 

[Australia08]

1 hour ago, minnie mommie said:

looking to book in 2020 for Cultural Cuba, can anyone tell me what the cost is for the full day tour to Havana?

 

This season it was 299 pp for the full day trip to Havana. 799 pp for the overnight Havana trip. 

 

Of course prices could change for next year. 

[Hanoj]

We nearly booked a Cultural Cuba for early January 2019 back in November when we received an email offering free economy air if booked by November 30, 2018. A suitable stateroom was available and we would have booked, but no Viking Air upgrade was possible and we didn't want to hassle with getting our own flights and transfers. We had called Viking sales direct instead of our TA because we were making general inquiry. The Viking rep when into full salesmanship mode, and he couldn't understand how we could decline such a "great offer." When he wouldn't accept our insistence on flying business or first class as a prerequisite for taking this cruise, my wife, who has great patience, hung up on him since he wouldn't let go. I was on speaker phone with her for most of the conversation, and it was the most rude and obnoxious behavior we've experienced from a Viking sales rep since booking our first cruise in December 2016.

 

Our Viking Homelands last summer was fabulous. We have a Mediterranean Odyssey (MO) in 3 months, which we eagerly anticipate since neither of us have been to Italy. Homelands was our first VO and we considered booking the MO while on board, but there were a few things that rubbed us wrong, particularly our interactions with the Cruise Consultant (CC) on board. I had happened by her desk the morning of the first day we were in St. Petersburg. Most guests left the ship early. Our first excursion was in the afternoon. The CC was very friendly and answered questions about several itineraries, but being alone I wasn't going make any decision. My wife and I scheduled a 1/2 hour appointment a few days later. My wife had questions and we were not going to book during this appointment. We always discuss things first before making a decision. When that became evident to the CC, her demeanor changed and we got brushed off for another guest who arrived 15 minutes early for her appointment.

 

So when we got back home I began looking into other cruise lines, with particular interest in Regent, Seabourn, and Silversea. While these are all more inclusive than Viking, which is appealing, we prefer Viking since there is no casino and no minors on board. We also like Viking's less luxurious ambiance because we find it more relaxing.

 

Generally, I prefer a cruise line whose market demand is increasing. But now in its 5th season offering ocean cruises, I wondering if Viking's marketing has been too successful and they risk under delivering on expectations. I recognize many things are beyond their control. But the neophyte hubris is troubling. Some things and services are designed to be sold, not bought. I hope this isn't the case with VO.   

[Cienfuegos]

10 hours ago, Australia08 said:

 

This season it was 299 pp for the full day trip to Havana. 799 pp for the overnight Havana trip. 

 

Of course prices could change for next year. 

 

Many people on our November, 2018 trip opted for the Havana overnight excursion. My understanding is it went very well, although it's a ---long--- bus ride.

[rsdmom]

We were on the Jan 17th sailing and had our stop in Santiago de Cuba cancelled also due to the weather, which was of course not in their control, and at least you got a game of cornhole that day.  The cruise staff did nothing to find any activities for the extra sea day.  Even an additional trivia game would have been appreciated.  Since the weather had been deteriorating the day before I am sure the staff could have had a plan B ready to go.We had nothing but there were many other issues.  The TV system was not working the entire cruise.  Both live TV and the movies spent the entire time buffering so it was impossible.  The best though was when my DH and son wanted to play shuffleboard and there was no equipment for that or bocce ball out.  When he inquired as to why he was first told it couldn’t be out because it made too much noise for the cabin below and then he was told it was because bad weather was predicted, meanwhile it was the day we were anchored in Cienfuegos and the sun was shining and seas were still calm.   The day trip to Havana was not good.  Our guide actually lost two people and wasn’t sure what to do.  The best tour we did was a private tour to Trinidad, which yes Viking gave us a hard time about not having a tour scheduled through them.Yes we were sent the $500.00 credit for an upcoming cruise but after the experience we had, to sail on Viking again it will need to be next to nothing cost wise with the credit. We still had a good time because we got to spend a week with our young adult kids and the bar staff were terrific.  It’s back to RCL and Uniworld for us

[Captain_Morgan]

I don't want to be a 'Debbie downer' here but it sounds to me like this whole Cuba itinerary is a wash with more issues than benefits.  As has been said time and again, weather issues are beyond any cruise line's control BUT its how the recovery of the issue is handled that people remember, and unless you're going to make use of a $500 future cruise credit, what are you left with?

If its not cancelled calls due to wind, weather, mechanical issues than its long tender rides, sub standard tours, and of course everyone's favorite Noro outbreaks...

 

I think there's a big fall from grace happening here, not only with this itinerary but from what I've read of the SE Asia and Aus/NZ runs and the issues being had there.  I don't foresee good things on the horizon for the Alaska season if the current inaugural seasons in other areas are the barometer.  At least in Europe the tour operators are all very good and the geography lends itself well to the port intensive itineraries with enrichment, etc which Viking sold the public on as being their niche; however, that's not the case in North America as they're learning the hard way and i can't help but notice the lack of focus on the entire 'worlds best' tag line they were selling in the beginning 

[Cienfuegos]

Focusing on Cuba, I suspect some of the problem is the absence of a developed infrastructure for the volume of cruise business now arriving. A port like Santiago de Cuba will be swamped with  3,000 visitors in a day. And, that's easy to see.  One cruise ship will do that. I would be amazed if the city could produce 75 - 100 competent, English speaking guides and one hundred buses.

 

In five years these problems will be in the rear view mirror. In the meantime, an intensive development of cruise-worthy guides and itineraries would be a superb goal for the local government.  I don't know if English language arts are taught in the schools, several guides said they learned the language on their own.

[minnie mommie]

Austrailia08, thank you for the information re Havana tours.  It is next year and who knows if it will still be offered.