Bermuda Bait & Switch

[eegad]

Not at all happy with Viking right now.  I can understand when a cruise line has to change an itinerary at the last moment due to a hurricane or other local disaster. What I don’t like is being LIED to about my itinerary when they know it has changed.
 

I’ve cruised to Bermuda about 10 times, always at dockyard, usually with Celebrity.  I knew someone who did the 6/22 Orion Bermuda sailing and raved about it because they got to go to the 2 ports that the big cruise ships can't get to, and Bermuda is so peaceful without the larger ships this year. So the main thing about this trip that made me decide to book it was that I'd spend 2 days tendering to St Georges, which meant I could spend one day at Tobacco Bay with no other cruise ship passengers on the island….during normal years it’s always packed like sardines in a can; and I could go to Coopers Nature Reserve for the other day (short trip from St Georges, but way too far from dockyard). Also, I love Elbow Beach, which is a short trip from Hamilton but rather long from dockyard, so that would be a lovely 3rd beach & snorkel day for us. In short, this was going to be the Bermuda cruise I've been wishing for for many years.

We booked the trip on 7/8 for the 8/3 sailing, and confirmed the itinerary was same as the 6/22 sailing.

On 7/16 I decided to read the forums here, and saw that the 7/13 sailing had changed itinerary. No more St Georges, they were now at dockyard instead. We called Viking and were told that “there was an issue this week, but you are still scheduled for St Georges”.

On the 23rd, we saw the Orion on the Bermuda webcam at dockyard, which was not the scheduled itinerary. We called Viking again and were once again assured that we were going to St Georges for our 8/3 sailing.

The next day we received an email with our “updated itinerary”, which of course has no St Georges and has us stuck at dockyard instead.
 

I wouldn’t even care about it if the Bermuda ferry system was running to St Georges. But since covid, it no longer does. I also wouldn’t care if Viking used their own tender to take passengers from dockyard to St Georges on 1 day (one trip over early morning, 1 trip back mid afternoon would be fine). But no.

Sorry Viking, but you lied to us and screwed us over. We will never be sailing with you again.

 

[Azulann]

Relax, the issue with tendering at St. George had to do with the union running the tenders . They was a work stoppage one week . The other issue was cost of using their tender . 
regardless, during this time of Covid the ferries and bus schedules have  changed. 
you will be able to go to all your beach days , if you want. Just do a private tour , taxi or bus to those beaches. You will be on Hamilton overnight and Dockyards too. The beaches I saw were basically empty , except Jones  beach which had some local families enjoying the water. 
I suggest you read the Royal Gazette for the most up to date  happenings in Bermuda. 
I did all our excursions for  St George from Hamilton . 
I do not agree with you bait and switch headline !

 

[PasadenaDave]

First World problems

[cpastu]

Just coming off the July 20 cruise, Viking is at the mercy of the Bermuda government. Our cruise had 425 passengers which was per the local government regulations. I give Viking credit for running a full staff cruise with half the passengers. Yes it is almost one to one.

Viking is working very hard to make these cruises enjoyable for its guests. 
 

This was a great cruise to basically nowhere!

[bluesea777]

@eegadI'm sorry you're unhappy about the schedule change but you should not be so hastily to blame Viking for it. Blame it on Bermuda instead!

 

Viking could have used their own tenders to ferry the passengers between ship and St. George while Orion is anchored in Murray's Anchorage but for some reason or other Bermuda prohibits cruise ships from using their own tenders to transport the passengers.

 

Murray's Anchorage is out in quite an open sea so some transfers can be iffy - if the sea is really rough, no dice. Because of the "open" sea, larger Government ferries can only be used, and each can carry up to 400 passengers. Viking's Bermuda Escape sailings have -/+ 400 pax and yeah, it's cost prohibitive for Viking to hire them to ferry a fraction of the pax to and fro between ship and St. George several times per day for 2 days.

 

But the new schedule gives pax 2 full days in Hamilton to shop, take excursions to St. George's and all over the Eastern parishes of Bermuda. And 2 full days at Dockyard so pax can visit the South Shore beaches as well as the Western parishes.

 

Lastly, the persons you spoke to when you called Viking are land-based so they wouldn't have the knowledge about what's happening in Bermuda. 

 

We are on the Aug 3rd cruise, and we're looking very much forward to it - just to get our feet back on a ship after 17 long months, and be waited, dined, and pampered by the crew. It's our very first Viking cruise!

 

 

[bbtondo]

3 hours ago, eegad said:

Not at all happy with Viking right now.  I can understand when a cruise line has to change an itinerary at the last moment due to a hurricane or other local disaster. What I don’t like is being LIED to about my itinerary when they know it has changed.
 

I’ve cruised to Bermuda about 10 times, always at dockyard, usually with Celebrity.  I knew someone who did the 6/22 Orion Bermuda sailing and raved about it because they got to go to the 2 ports that the big cruise ships can't get to, and Bermuda is so peaceful without the larger ships this year. So the main thing about this trip that made me decide to book it was that I'd spend 2 days tendering to St Georges, which meant I could spend one day at Tobacco Bay with no other cruise ship passengers on the island….during normal years it’s always packed like sardines in a can; and I could go to Coopers Nature Reserve for the other day (short trip from St Georges, but way too far from dockyard). Also, I love Elbow Beach, which is a short trip from Hamilton but rather long from dockyard, so that would be a lovely 3rd beach & snorkel day for us. In short, this was going to be the Bermuda cruise I've been wishing for for many years.

We booked the trip on 7/8 for the 8/3 sailing, and confirmed the itinerary was same as the 6/22 sailing.

On 7/16 I decided to read the forums here, and saw that the 7/13 sailing had changed itinerary. No more St Georges, they were now at dockyard instead. We called Viking and were told that “there was an issue this week, but you are still scheduled for St Georges”.

On the 23rd, we saw the Orion on the Bermuda webcam at dockyard, which was not the scheduled itinerary. We called Viking again and were once again assured that we were going to St Georges for our 8/3 sailing.

The next day we received an email with our “updated itinerary”, which of course has no St Georges and has us stuck at dockyard instead.
 

I wouldn’t even care about it if the Bermuda ferry system was running to St Georges. But since covid, it no longer does. I also wouldn’t care if Viking used their own tender to take passengers from dockyard to St Georges on 1 day (one trip over early morning, 1 trip back mid afternoon would be fine). But no.

Sorry Viking, but you lied to us and screwed us over. We will never be sailing with you again.

 

I'm sorry that this has happened to you.  I agree that leaving out St. George's is a big deal when cruising Bermuda.  Yes, this is not a world problem, but your disappointment is still valid and understandable.

[bluesea777]

@eegad

 

Have you been to Horseshoe Bay beach? If not, it's a great beach to visit. If you go there on Friday Aug 6th afternoon from Dockyard it will be at low tide - the beach is great at low tide. You can walk the entire length of beach and the other small beaches next to Horseshoe.

 

Don't go there on the Saturday because it's when (and also Sunday) the locals go.

 

The sand there is PINK!!

 

 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2021 by bluesea777

[Triptkr]

I can understand your disappointment.   Prior to our June 15th Bermuda cruise it was next to impossible to get a straight answer from anyone.  I don't know how many times I called the 1-800-viking number and got different answers to the same questions.  Doesn't instill confidence. 

It's obvious to me that Viking needs to do better training for their customer service staff answering phones.  Everyone needs to be on the same-and accurate-page!

We too were told our itinerary would include 3 stops...Hamilton, St. George's and Kings Wharf but once we got onboard we learned differently.   Honestly, it was all ok and you still have the option to take a taxi to the places you'd like to go.   

I guess, I've learned that more than ever we all have to be flexible - that thought has helped me manage my expectations. 

 

Once we stepped onboard the ship, I can say our experience was wonderful.     

 

[ddaniel337]

Folks, there is still a pandemic going on in the world.   If traveling during these times, flexibility is more critical than ever.  When has it not been important when traveling?   It has always been necessary to "go with the flow" when traveling.  Nothing could be more on point than this statement right now.    As to the information provided to guests by the reservation staff.  They are giving the most up to date info that they have at that time.

Things on the ground change very very quickly.   Have you been on the river when there were water level issues in Europe - decisions made every day at the last minute without the folks back home necessarily knowing at that moment of a change.     Yes, it is extremely disappointing to not be docked at St. Georges but there are other options to access those parts of the island from Hamilton.   Go enjoy your trip and the staff bending over backwards to welcome you back to the world.     

[Redtravel]

Sorry that your change disappointed you.  Didn’t know ferries were not operating.  With the pandemic , you should be open to any changes. Travel is not ideal now.  Even staying on land in hotels, you will find many changes and cutbacks.  Many hotels are operating with no housekeeping services and closed restaurants.  At least on a cruise ship, you can depend on clean linens and easily finding food. Be patient and accept that the pandemic has changed everything. Just relax and enjoy being on a vacation.