Viking Venus - no Planetarium

[CCWineLover]

We are on the Viking Jupiter in South America.  We attended a feature today by the resident Astronomer, Dr. Raymond Arvidson.  He is quite distinguished and has been on many Viking cruises as resident astronomer.  Speaking with him before the show today, we were discussing the planetarium - its functionality and use.  He let us know that it is his understanding that only the Jupiter and Orion will have the Planetarium.  Specifically, the Venus and future ships will NOT have the planetarium implemented.  It apparently is proving to be just too costly for the benefits received.  As such, the Planetarium shows will only be available on the Jupiter and Orion(which is primarily the Far East, Australia/NZ, Alaska).

This makes sense to us, as perhaps the concept was good, but the implementation was lacking somewhere, and it certainly took away a lot of space in the Explorer's Lounge.

[The Other Tom]

Can you tell us more about his thoughts on the functionality and use of he planetarium?

[OnTheJourney]

Bummer.....was looking forward to it....

[TayanaLorna]

I am looking forward to experiencing the planetarium on our upcoming cruise on Jupiter however i did enjoy the upper Explorers Lounge space on the Star.  We shall see.

[OnTheJourney]

Well, yeah, so was I looking forward to it on the Venus. Oh well. Not sure we'll be doing too many more with Viking following the Cities of Antiquity in '21 (probably on the Sea, which also doesn't have a planetarium). Anything beyond that will probably be a river trip. 

Edited December 26, 2019 by OnTheJourney

[stretchcruz]

I'll be honest, I thought it was a waste of space on the Orion. It took away a lot of the Explorers Lounge, and it really wasn't a planetarium. It was a theater with uncomfortable seat and you had to lean back and watch the movie on the ceiling. The movies, in my opinion, were not very good. Amateurish. We returned tickets that we had for a third show.

[DaveSJ711]

1 hour ago, stretchcruz said:

I'll be honest, I thought it was a waste of space on the Orion. It took away a lot of the Explorers Lounge, and it really wasn't a planetarium. It was a theater with uncomfortable seat and you had to lean back and watch the movie on the ceiling. The movies, in my opinion, were not very good. Amateurish. We returned tickets that we had for a third show.

 

I agree wholeheartedly.  My wife and I cruised on the Orion last month.  Neither of us thought much of the planetarium, for the same reasons cited by Stretchcruz. 

 

Much more enjoyable, IMHO, are the top-deck star sightings that Viking's resident astronomers host.  We had that experience on another cruise in September.  Great fun despite the North Atlantic cold!

[CCWineLover]

20 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Well, yeah, so was I looking forward to it on the Venus. Oh well. Not sure we'll be doing too many more with Viking following the Cities of Antiquity in '21 (probably on the Sea, which also doesn't have a planetarium). Anything beyond that will probably be a river trip. 

I don’t think you are missing anything.  Was sort of glad to hear it.  

I miss the space in Explorers Lounge that it took up.  The seats were uncomfortable, and the shows were not that good.  Very amateurish.  Our astronomer talks in the Star Theater, Torshavn Lounge and hopefully on deck to actually see the stars is so much better. 

I also had been looking forward to it, but it just didn’t work.  I’m sure Viking heard from people and realized it just wasn’t a good thing.  Glad to see the recognized it and moving on!

[OnTheJourney]

Hmmm...interesting...I've read some reviews from people that really like it, but thanks for your thoughts. It does seem to be something that probably would be better suited to a much bigger ship so as to not take space away from other public areas. 

[melindda]

I will add my disappointment to the previous comments - you are not missing anything! The movie was not even B level - I thought to myself - is this the best they can do? - I gave it very low ratings on our comment sheet when we were on Orion in Alaska.  The rest of the cruise was wonderful! Headed back out on the Sky in less than two weeks. 

[CDNPolar]

Our disappointment added.  We booked I think 4 different shows and after forcing ourselves to sit through 2 we cancelled the other 2.  Not a real "planetarium" as the movies were only shown on a portion of the screen.  Seats don't recline enough - or at all.  Straining on the neck.  Freezing cold in that room and could not wait to leave.  Shows were boring and not well produced.  All in our personal opinion.  We would not bother again if on the Orion again. and would rather see that space returned to the Explorer Lounge - one of our favourite places on the ship.

[OnTheJourney]

Thanks for all the thoughts on it! 

[SM77]

On 12/27/2019 at 2:29 PM, CCWineLover said:

I don’t think you are missing anything.  Was sort of glad to hear it.  

I miss the space in Explorers Lounge that it took up.  The seats were uncomfortable, and the shows were not that good.  Very amateurish.  Our astronomer talks in the Star Theater, Torshavn Lounge and hopefully on deck to actually see the stars is so much better. 

I also had been looking forward to it, but it just didn’t work.  I’m sure Viking heard from people and realized it just wasn’t a good thing.  Glad to see the recognized it and moving on!

Agreed.  We did the planetarium on the Orion and we even did one of the movies on Jupiter.  I'm sure it was expensive to run(they had to have a dedicated tech person to run the planetarium), costly to build, and benefited too small of an audience.  I too missed the open space that was there for taking in the views and for reading.

[Insanityx4]

We sailed on the Orion last year and not only were the Planetarium presentations very non-memorable, but we found the Explorer's Lounge (deck 7) to be freezing all of the time. We had to wear a jacket or sweater whenever we were there whereas Deck 8 (upstairs) was really hot. Did anyone else find this to be the case? Our next trip is on the Sun and we are glad they don't have the Planetarium. Also, sailing on the Jupiter next year and are disappointed to learn they do!

Edited January 13, 2020 by Insanityx4

[CCWineLover]

10 minutes ago, Insanityx4 said:

We sailed on the Orion last year and not only were the Planetarium presentations very non-memorable, but we found the Explorer's Lounge (deck 7) to be freezing all of the time. We had to wear a jacket or sweater whenever we were there whereas Deck 8 (upstairs) was really hot. Did anyone else find this to be the case? Our next trip is on the Sun and we are glad they don't have the Planetarium. Also, sailing on the Jupiter next year and are disappointed to learn they do!

 

Having just gotten off the Jupiter in Buenos Aires, I can confirm the Deck 7 Explorer's Lounge was a bit cold - and the planetarium was VERY cold.   We are on the Sun for our next cruise - and SO looking forward to getting our favorite 8th floor Explorer's Lounge back again.  We found the 7th floor tended to be dominated by the bar crowd and the 8th floor was much quieter and easier to relax and read.  But something for everyone!

[Insanityx4]

We are booked on the the Southern Atlantic Crossing next year. Is that the one you just finished. If so, how was it?

Edited January 13, 2020 by Insanityx4

[Frenchberet]

Sorry to read all the negative comments.  We are sailing on Orion is a few weeks and I'm really looking forward to the planetarium.  Will report back!

[OneSixtyToOne]

21 hours ago, Frenchberet said:

Sorry to read all the negative comments.  We are sailing on Orion is a few weeks and I'm really looking forward to the planetarium.  Will report back!

 

We were on the Jupiter last April and someone asked the resident astronomer if he would do a planetarium show. He agreed and handed out a very limited number of tickets to an impromptu show he arranged that actually used the planetarium as intended, something more than a 3D theater. This off-the-cuff show was much better than the films being shown. Viking has really have missed the boat so to speak. It's an expensive piece of equipment that is underutilized. A planetarium should be used as one, not as just a movie theater.

Edited January 14, 2020 by OneSixtyToOne