HAL vs Viking River food?

[badtwin]

DH and I have been watching the price on a couple of HAL Mediterranean cruises, having really enjoyed our first HAL cruise a year ago.   We just got a brochure for Viking River cruises with some fairly competitive pricing and are adding one of those to our "watching list."  I searched these boards and I can't find much discussion of Viking River food.  I don't think we are food snobs and really enjoy the MDR on both HAL and Celebrity.  We both like large slabs of red cow - prime rib and steaks - which seem plentiful on both big lines.  Can anyone tell me about how the food on Viking River cruises would compare?    I suspect it will be good but worry their effort to incorporate regional specialties may be at the expense of american style beef.

[Roz]

15 minutes ago, badtwin said:

DH and I have been watching the price on a couple of HAL Mediterranean cruises, having really enjoyed our first HAL cruise a year ago.   We just got a brochure for Viking River cruises with some fairly competitive pricing and are adding one of those to our "watching list."  I searched these boards and I can't find much discussion of Viking River food.  I don't think we are food snobs and really enjoy the MDR on both HAL and Celebrity.  We both like large slabs of red cow - prime rib and steaks - which seem plentiful on both big lines.  Can anyone tell me about how the food on Viking River cruises would compare?    I suspect it will be good but worry their effort to incorporate regional specialties may be at the expense of american style beef.

I would post your question over in the River Cruising forum.  I've never sailed Viking, but on Uniworld they didn't emphasize American style beef meals.

 

Roz

[OlsSalt]

Reports about Viking Cruise ships indicate they have "Nordic" cuisine - more emphasis on fish and natural, locally sourced organics. Pork maybe - Denmark is big on pork in various forms. But large pieces of beef is more North American, British or Argentinian - beef producing nations.  

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, badtwin said:

 I don't think we are food snobs and really enjoy the MDR on both HAL and Celebrity.  We both like large slabs of red cow - prime rib and steaks - which seem plentiful on both big lines.  

 

Be aware that if you book with HAL, you may be charged an additional $10 for any second entree in the main dining room (in reversal of their previous policy). So if you like large slabs of red cow, and one HAL entree of 4-6 oz doesn't satisfy you, you may have to pay more to get more.

 

This is pending the outcome of a "trial" of this charge on several HAL ships at the moment. I encourage you to research it if it is a concern for you...

 

With regard to Viking, I found the following answer to someone asking a question about not liking various entrees such as fish or lamb:  "There are three choices nightly and they always have four other options available, including Chicken and Prime Rib. The folks at Viking do their best to accommodate every passenger."  This was in a culinary story, discussing a chef's experience on a Viking River Cruise:  https://www.askchefdennis.com/culinary-experience-river-cruise/

 

[Hawaiidan]

I am familiar with Viking  and NO its going to be very  euro  minimalist.   No big slab of beef I have never seen a prime rib in europe in 30 years.  Pork, chicken fish...maybe if your lucky duck.     What the locals eat and cook...   In my travels around europe  there is very very little American anything.   Nothing  like Hal.  portions will be small from american 's viewpoint.  Good luck

Edited March 3, 2019 by Hawaiidan

[HokiePoq]

I found Viking River Cruise  food on three cruises (have not been on the ocean ones) to be excellent.  That said, I've also liked HAL food.  You won't get any lobster on the river cruise nor will you have a multitude of choices.  However what they did have was great.

Edited March 3, 2019 by HokiePoq

[HokiePoq]

7 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

I am familiar with Viking  and NO its going to be very  euro  minimalist.   No big slab of beef I have never seen a prime rib in europe in 30 years.  Pork, chicken fish...maybe if your lucky duck.     What the locals eat and cook...   In my travels around europe  there is very very little American anything.   Nothing  like Hal.  portions will be small from american 's viewpoint.  Good luck

Interesting.  We were surprised how Americanized Viking's river cruise menus were.  However they had special nights with food from the country we were in.

[sammiedawg]

Viking Ocean has higher end food.  Viking River seemed to spend less on food and had a limited selection- each night a vegetarian, a fish and a meat dish.  The meat dishes were just OK, with a few exceptionals.  A couple meals  were terrific, including a German roast beef and buffet.  The always available meats were tasteless- chicken, strip loin steak.  

Breakfast, lunch, late day snacks, desserts  were fine.  They did a nice job on the regional dishes. 

The river cruise is a nice  experience, we did the fourteen day Grand European.   I’ve heard the food is better on the Viking river French itineraries.  

[BSinPNS]

Concur with Sammiedawg on the VR food.  It is tasty and prepared with standardized recipes.  There is one meal time and no two-tops.  A fair number of fours and several larger.  It's a mad dash to get to a table with your newly found friends.  We ate once in their alternative dinner site (light food) and it was a total disappointment.  On our two VR cruises, both chefs and most of the kitchen crew were from the Philippines.  Wine, beer and soft drinks are included for lunch and dinner.  

[WisRiver]

Last year we did both a Holland America Cruise and Viking River Cruise.  We did a transatlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Rome on the Koningsdam and then a 21 Viking River Cruise from Bucharest to Amsterdam.   We were on the Longships Aegir and Baldur which had a maximum capacity of 190 persons vs. the 2800 passengers on the Koningsdam.  We enjoyed all of the ships we were on, but the experiences were totally different. 

 

The Viking River food was comparable to the HAL food.  We like HAL food (we are 4* Mariners), and tend to eat most meals in the Lido.    Breakfast and Lunch on the Viking are buffet style.  For breakfast you can have eggs cooked to order, and they have good fresh baked goods.    We ate most of our breakfasts and lunches on the upper deck at the Aquavit Terrace which has a smaller menu than the dining room.   However the view from the Terrace was great.   The Viking menu tended to be more Scandinavian.  Beer and wine were served with every meal.   I do not remember seeing big slabs of meat, although there is steak on the menu almost every evening.  Often there was pork and lamb.  HAL food is much more varied since they have passengers from all over the world. 

[badtwin]

Thanks to everyone.  Our main focus picking cruises is usually itinerary and timing and have had some "interesting" food experiences. (MSC and Costa come to mind )   We don't necessarily mind a different dining experience (except for  NCL - never again)  as long as we have factored it into the decision.   This all helps a lot.

 

 

[OlsSalt]

1 hour ago, badtwin said:

Thanks to everyone.  Our main focus picking cruises is usually itinerary and timing and have had some "interesting" food experiences. (MSC and Costa come to mind )   We don't necessarily mind a different dining experience (except for  NCL - never again)  as long as we have factored it into the decision.   This all helps a lot.

 

 

 

Always fun to explore food on land on these types of cruises - a lovely mid-day meal goes a long way for us, leaving little interest in dinner on board later.

[Rusty Scupper]

For the past four years, we've done a Viking River fall cruise and then spent 30 days or more  on Holland during January and February. In my estimation, Viking food and service are superior to Holland. The Viking dinner selection is not as wide, but there always seems to be something good. The portions are ample, and on some local-themed nights, there are endless platters of food. We've  also  opted for the casual alternative, which is just as good-- pretty much the same menu as in the main room, but you can have a table for two and be done quickly.

If I went to a local restaurant and was offered either a Viking meal or Holland meal, I'd always choose Viking, although I certainly

am fine with Holland's fare.

 

 

 

[twodjs]

You can Google Viking river cruises menus and get a good feeling for the variety of choices. Looks like pan fried New York steak is an always available option, at least at the time of their post. There are fewer options, but always creative. I was shocked and impressed, after the kitchen tour, at how effecient they have to be with the size of the prep kitchen on the river cruise. How do they do that?