12/23/21 West Indies Explorer Review

[sleepybobo]

We came back from San Juan last night. Thought I’ll write a trip report while my memory is still fresh. 
 

Pre-cruise 

While uploading vax cards to Verifly and completing the health survey were straightforward, getting Covid test two days prior to departure was challenging due to surge in demand prior to the holidays and spike in Omicron cases. Fortunately, we were able to get PCR tests and had the negative results back in time. 

 

EWR was a zoo. Long lines everywhere. But they were moving fast. We got to the airport at 6:45am and made it to the gate at 8am. 

 

The flight was slightly delayed due to holiday volume. We were glad to find people in the flight were very good with masking. Many people wore good quality masks. We wore two masks - a surgical mask underneath a KN95. The fact that everyone visiting PR needs to be vaccinated or tested 72 hours prior gave us some comfort. 

 

Embarkation

We were greeted by a Viking representative at baggage claim. One good thing about having Viking airport transfer is they took care of our luggages and transport them to the ship from airport. So we only needed to take our carry-on. The PR safe process was efficient. I pulled up the green QR codes saved in my phone and showed our IDs to PR staff and got through quickly. Bus ride to the cruise terminal was about 30 minutes. 

 

We needed to show our vax cards, PCR test results and passports to board the ship. Once boarded, we were directed to the Star Theatre to watch a live jacket demo. Then we went to our stateroom to take the saliva test.

 

Excursion

Historic Old San Juan by Foot (Included)

I liked it. It’s fast pace, but the guide scheduled several rest stops, so it helped. The amount of walking wasn’t too bad. But, there was a deep incline to Fort San Cristobal. It’s definitely hot and humid in San Juan. So try to take the first one in the morning to avoid the heat. 

 

Tortola Scenic Tour & Beach (Included)

Highly recommend. Loved the open air safari style bus. The drive to the mountain and down the Cane Bay Beach was fun. We were blessed with gorgeous weather. Felt very comfortable. Cane Bay Beach is beautiful with white sand and clear water. I wished we had more time at the beach. 

 

St Kitts Scenic Railway

By far my least favorite optional tour. To me, it was a bumpy and never-ending train ride. Plus the gas fume from the train engine was overpowering. The scenery got repetitive quickly. Unlike the previous day in BVI where I had wanted more time at the beach, I simply wanted to return to the ship as soon as possible while in the train. 

 

Highlights of St Lucia

The plantation house was charming. But the sulfur springs park and botanical garden were just okay. I’ve seen better. St Lucia is a lush and beautiful island. The bus ride was really long. 

 

Panoramic Barbados (Included)

Spent most of the 2 1/2 hours in an air conditioned coach. Thankfully there’s ample legroom. The church and the plantation house truly weren’t anything special. We should have gone to the beach instead. 

 

Amazing Antigua (Included)

Another long bus tour. Yes, there’s beautiful scenery along the drive. We got some beautiful pictures. But we were tired of yet another bus ride. 

 

Things I like

Daily testing. I used to think testing vaccinated guests daily is an overkill. Not anymore. Now I believe it’s important and necessary. It gave me peace of mind knowing the people we were on a bus with were at least tested negative the day before. 

 

Beautiful Weather. We were lucky that there’s no rain throughout our sailing. It didn’t get uncomfortably hot neither. 

 

Crew. The staff are all hardworking and friendly, especially our stateroom attendants. They took care of our additional requests and remembered our preferences. One of our waiters at the Restaurant was amazing. One of the World Cafe kitchen staff was delightful. 

 

Customer service. Originally we were told that we would head to the airport from the ship at 7:45am. But I had a 3:10pm returning flight. Guest service told me Sheraton couldn’t accommodate more than 185 guests. So Viking could only send guests who had flights later than 4pm to the hotel. I wasn’t happy. But didn’t press further. I understood the situation was out of Viking’s control. Later, I received an updated disembarkation instruction saying we were booked to an Old and New San Juan Bus Tour with Transportation to Airport. I truly appreciate how Viking really exhausted every means to accommodate us. It’s much better to spend a few hours touring (mostly on a bus) San Juan than waiting at the airport. 

 

Spa and thermal suite. The steam room and snow grotto ritual was so much fun. The Viking spa is one of my favorites and it’s free for all guests. 

 

Heated floor and fog-less mirror in the bathroom. How I wish I have heated floor in my bathroom at home.  

 

Things I don’t like 

Food. This is personal opinion. And I’m sure many people disagree with me. May be because I’ve been having mostly home cooked meals since the pandemic, I’m used to lighter fares with better ingredients. I found the food on the Sea overly salty. I feel thirsty after dinner often. The Manfredi’s steak wasn’t as good as I remember it to be. The lobsters were way below the quality of lobsters I usually buy. One lobster we ate was even mushy. Poached salmon was over cooked. Quality of sashimi and crab legs was mediocre.  Mamsen’s waffle was soggy. We didn’t have any memorable meal. To the contrary, our first dinner at the Restaurant on the Sun in 2017 remained one of the best meals we have eaten anywhere. Not sure if my disappointment in food was due to my own taste change, or change in Viking kitchen staff or both. 

 

Inconsistent restaurant services. While our waiters were great, I can tell they were overworked. Hence, there were many times when we had to wait to get water. Wine glasses left unfilled. Plates weren’t being taken soon enough. My mom sat on a dirty chair once. Our first dinner at Manfredi’s was quite bad. Entree wasn’t served until over an hour after we were seated. We waited a long time for our desserts second time we dined at Manfredi’s. One afternoon at the Pool Grill was horrendous. We waited over half an hour for our order while the crew was busy moving heavy pool lounges just inches behind our heads. They should have cleaned up a table further away from the action and moved us there. But we were left waiting. When we tried to leave twice, the waiter assured us our order was coming. By the time the cheesesteak arrived, it was cold. We opted to eat at the World Cafe a lot because it’s easier and less time consuming. 

 

Included excursion. I decided to do a mix of included and optional tours. While I enjoyed the San Juan and Tortola tours. The rest were underwhelming. The included bus tours became repetitive. After the Barbados and Antigua tours, I decided to skip the included tour in St Maarten. These included tours were long bus rides with a few stops to take pictures basically.  Since St Thomas didn’t allow us to board, we missed the highly anticipated champagne catamaran tour. May be I just did a bad job in selecting excursion. 

 

Overall

When compared to my last two Ocean cruises, average age of passengers on the Sea were much younger. There were families, younger couples, mothers and daughters. The ship was lively during the day. At times, it even felt crowded. One afternoon, we couldn’t find a table for two in the Wintergarden. The staff had to set us up at Mamsen’s. 

 

Wifi is spotty and slow throughout the sailing. 

 

The Sea didn’t show her age. She’s well maintained. There’s hardly any signs of wears and tears. Viking Oceans ships are truly beautiful. The Scandinavian decor is elegant. I was still at awe by the quality of art pieces and furnitures throughout the ship. The relaxing yet  sophisticated ambience was one of the reasons that got me return to Viking repeatedly. 

 

 I think I was spoiled by my previous two impeccable Viking cruises. The 12/23/21 West Indies Explorer on the Sea was not up to the high benchmark set by Viking pre-Covid. I will cut Viking some slacks. I understand it’s a trying time for the cruising industry. 

 

I usually felt sad on disembarkation day. I wanted to spend more time with Viking. But not this time. I actually felt ready and relieved. Perhaps I had enough Caribbean sun or was just plain happy that we made it through the entire sailing tested negative. 

 

I will definitely sail on Viking again. But I’ll wait until after Covid becomes more manageable and less of a concern. Daily saliva testing, completing short daily health surveys and temperature taking were easy, but they were daily reminders of how things can go wrong on any day. These necessary protocols did impact my overall experience. My heart skipped a beat whenever the stateroom phone rang.

 

It’s nice to have a change of scenery and get away from winter cold in the Northeast. But, for me personally, the stress was not worth it. It’ll be much nicer and more relaxing to sail without worry of constantly changing Covid situation. 

 

Now that we are home safely, I don’t regret taking the cruise. New memories were created and we will reminisce this experience fondly in the future. 

[basenji56]

I agree with you about the included tours.  I liked the Tortola tour--I would have stayed at the beach and taken a cab back later but for the fact that the weather was bad.

 

Barbados was disappointing.  

 

"The included bus tours became repetitive. After the Barbados and Antigua tours, I decided to skip the included tour in St Maarten. These included tours were long bus rides with a few stops to take pictures basically. "

 

The St. Maarten tour was disappointing.  The traffic there was horrendous.

 

I wish that Viking would you give you a set amount of money for tours that you can use as you see fit--and supplement if the tour was more expensive.  Oceania does this.

 

I hated to give up the included tours that I paid for but you often had to choose between included and optional tours.

 

 

 

 

[sleepybobo]

19 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

I agree with you about the included tours.  I liked the Tortola tour--I would have stayed at the beach and taken a cab back later but for the fact that the weather was bad.

 

Barbados was disappointing.  

 

"The included bus tours became repetitive. After the Barbados and Antigua tours, I decided to skip the included tour in St Maarten. These included tours were long bus rides with a few stops to take pictures basically. "

 

The St. Maarten tour was disappointing.  The traffic there was horrendous.

 

I wish that Viking would you give you a set amount of money for tours that you can use as you see fit--and supplement if the tour was more expensive.  Oceania does this.

 

I hated to give up the included tours that I paid for but you often had to choose between included and optional tours.

 

 

 

 

We did think about staying at the beach in Tortola and getting a cab back to the ship.  But it was Christmas Day, so we were afraid getting a cab may not be as easy. 

 

It would be better, in my opinion, if Viking can mix up the included tours.  Instead of having "scenic island tour" in all ports, may be a mix of island tour and beach stop.  I don't understand why a beach escape is optional tour that we have to pay additional for.  

[basenji56]

44 minutes ago, sleepybobo said:

We did think about staying at the beach in Tortola and getting a cab back to the ship.  But it was Christmas Day, so we were afraid getting a cab may not be as easy. 

 

It would be better, in my opinion, if Viking can mix up the included tours.  Instead of having "scenic island tour" in all ports, may be a mix of island tour and beach stop.  I don't understand why a beach escape is optional tour that we have to pay additional for.  

Yes, having more included beach tours would be a great idea.  

[Peregrina651]

 Food too salty? Easy to remedy.  

 

Pre-cruise mark your dietary preference as low or no salt to avoid the variations from chef to chef and ship to ship.  Confirm the request when you board.  Kitchen and dining staff will work with you throughout the cruise.  

 

 

[LisaDee]

Thanks for your detailed review.  We will be on this itinerary on Feb 15th.  This will be our first Viking cruise (were supposed to be on one in the Mediterranean in late December but cancelled due to concerns over traveling to Europe during the Omicron surge.)   Fingers crossed things are better in February covid-wise.

 

I agree that I wish that the included tours were better.  The included tours was one of the features that caused us to take the leap from mass market ships (mostly Royal Caribbean) to Viking.  But once I saw that the included tours were generally 2 hour bus tours I was disappointed.  For this itinerary we've booked a mix of included and uncharge tours.  I'll rethink the St. Kitts train we have booked based on your comments.  Hopefully the small ship size, sophisticated decor and good food will still make this trip worth the higher cost vs our prior cruises.

[Jim Avery]

I will add my 2 cents about the St. Kitts train.  Beat us to death and just about sick from the fumes.  Also you must really appreciate junkyards as you will see plenty of junk along the tracks.  Not trying to be negative just hoping to save some others from a big waste of time and money....🍺

[sleepybobo]

25 minutes ago, LisaDee said:

Thanks for your detailed review.  We will be on this itinerary on Feb 15th.  This will be our first Viking cruise (were supposed to be on one in the Mediterranean in late December but cancelled due to concerns over traveling to Europe during the Omicron surge.)   Fingers crossed things are better in February covid-wise.

 

I agree that I wish that the included tours were better.  The included tours was one of the features that caused us to take the leap from mass market ships (mostly Royal Caribbean) to Viking.  But once I saw that the included tours were generally 2 hour bus tours I was disappointed.  For this itinerary we've booked a mix of included and uncharge tours.  I'll rethink the St. Kitts train we have booked based on your comments.  Hopefully the small ship size, sophisticated decor and good food will still make this trip worth the higher cost vs our prior cruises.

For the St Kitts train ride, let me provide more info so you can decide.  The bus ride to the train station was about an hour long.  Then, we boarded the train.  The train ran at low speed.  They served rum punch and pina colada during the ride.  There's a guide talking throughout the ride   And two guys dressed in costume came to our car twice to dance for a few minutes.  

 

The biggest problem for us was the scenery throughout the two hours ride didn't vary much.  It's the same blue sky, same green mountain range and same blue sea.  It would have been a nice experience if the train ride was may be 30 min long.  Frankly, I felt I saw the same scenery during the bus ride to the train station.  Only difference being on an open-air upper level train vs air conditioned bus.  

 

We aren't drinker.  So not interested in the drinks offered.  I tuned out after the hour mark and just couldn't listen to the guide anymore.  

 

Depending on what you like, if you like a slower pace excursion when you can sit back, relax, enjoy a few drinks while surrounded by pretty scenery.  Then this excursion could be enjoyable.  Based on what I read, many people liked the train ride.  But for me, it's a bumpy boring uncomfortable ride that lasted too long.

 

Side note: if you like catamaran sail, book more than one as an insurance.  I booked the St John champagne sail.  St Thomas happened to be the only port that didn't allow us to get onshore; so I missed my most anticipated excursion.  I so wish I booked a catamaran tour in Antigua rather than going on the included excursion.

Edited January 3, 2022 by sleepybobo

[JeriGail]

3 hours ago, sleepybobo said:

After the Barbados and Antigua tours, I decided to skip the included tour in St Maarten.

I disembarked the Sea in San Juan on 12/13 after our TA from Barcelona to San Juan.  St. Maarten was our last port, and I chose the optional chair lift excursion.  The bus was small and uncomfortable, but luckily the ride to the chair lift was short.  The chair lift itself was fantastic with cooler breezes and incredible views from the top.  There's also a zipline at the top so you can watch brave souls rocket down the hill.  The excursion itself could have been a bit shorter, but I would do it again.

[sleepybobo]

1 minute ago, JeriGail said:

I disembarked the Sea in San Juan on 12/13 after our TA from Barcelona to San Juan.  St. Maarten was our last port, and I chose the optional chair lift excursion.  The bus was small and uncomfortable, but luckily the ride to the chair lift was short.  The chair lift itself was fantastic with cooler breezes and incredible views from the top.  There's also a zipline at the top so you can watch brave souls rocket down the hill.  The excursion itself could have been a bit shorter, but I would do it again.

I considered doing the chair lift.  But my mom is a bit afraid of height.  

[Twitchly]

2 hours ago, basenji56 said:

 

 

I wish that Viking would you give you a set amount of money for tours that you can use as you see fit--and supplement if the tour was more expensive.  Oceania does this.

 

What a fantastic idea. Definitely worth sending an email to tellus.

[JeriGail]

20 minutes ago, sleepybobo said:

I considered doing the chair lift.  But my mom is a bit afraid of height.  

I have some height issues too, but the chair lift did not bother me.  You do have to be able to negotiate the chair lift as it's moving, although they did stop it once or twice to help passengers get on or off.

[sleepybobo]

@JeriGail thanks for the pictures. I wish we did the chair lift. 

[TayanaLorna]

We did the Catamaran snorkel trip and liked it very much.  It was on a power cat dive kind of boat not a sailing vessel.  Took us to an artificial reef so not much coral but large schools of fish swimming all around you.  They sunk some Hurricane Irma debris there on to which a reef will form and it provides great protection and a nursery for the fish.  Then we went sightseeing along the coast to Simpson Bay where all the mega yachts anchor and the planes fly close overhead to land at the airport.  It's a thing to do there.  Then we anchored off a gorgeous beach where you could swim ashore.  The crew we had was fun and we were served drinks and snacks.  I have sailed and snorkeled all over the Caribbean and thought it was worthwhile 

 

In St. Kitts a trip up to Brimstone Mountain is fantastic.  It's a World Heritage Site fort overlooking the sea with gorgeous views and history.  Also Carabelle Batik is interesting as are the surrounding gardens.  Don't know if Viking does this.  Walking around the town is nice too and close to the cruise dock as I remember.  Spent a week here on our sailboat in the little marina and driving around in our rental car.

 

Antigua choice would be Nelson's Dockyard near Falmouth and up to Shirley Heights if the pan band is playing.  Again don't know if Viking does this.

 

 

[Cienfuegos]

My recollection of the St Kitts train ride is based on a Celebrity cruise excursion. It was combined with a one way catamaran trip to see homes of the rich and famous part time residents. 

 

twenty minutes bus ride to the train facility. Slow, pitching ride through abandoned sugar cane fields with luxury painted homes. Good narration, lots of 151 rum. A few bridges over deep gorges. Didn't smell gas fumes, but we were a few cars back. At the train turn back, we took buses to the catamaran. Other people boarded the train for a return trip.

 

It was OK.

[rizello]

Thanks for your very thorough review!

 

I liked what you said:  "My heart skipped a beat whenever the stateroom phone rang." 

My feelings exactly.  Each day I had a little dread that I would find an envelope on my bed or a message on my phone that would change the cruise experience significantly.  I started to feel more easy about it about day 5 when it was probably late in the game for anyone to catch Covid as we were in the bubble the entire time.

[longterm]

On 1/3/2022 at 10:02 AM, sleepybobo said:

We came back from San Juan last night. Thought I’ll write a trip report while my memory is still fresh...

 

Now that we are home safely, I don’t regret taking the cruise. New memories were created and we will reminisce this experience fondly in the future. 

We were on the same cruise, 10 days before; overall, we had a great time, although we found most of the excursions underwhelming with not much to get excited about.

We scheduled 5 beach days; all of those were great, and we enjoyed our time on the beach. We also walked off the ship in St. Lucia and found a driver who took us on a tour of the island, up to the sulphur springs, through some little towns along the way--and this was easily our favorite excursion other than the beach jaunts.

Batik demo was a bit disappointing; the facility seemed understaffed and disorganized--no one seemed to know where we were supposed to go, until someone finally pointed to an obscure door leading to a back workshop that was dimly lit and clearly not designed for guests to view the goings-on.

Having said that though, we had a great trip and came back healthy and pleased with our trip. Having gotten an upgrade (a "move-over" offer) to a penhouse junior suite, we enjoyed our room, met some really great people, and are glad we went.

Would we do the Caribbean again? Probably not.

[sleepybobo]

On 2/20/2022 at 1:46 PM, longterm said:

Would we do the Caribbean again? Probably not.

 

Same here.  I still like Viking.  But would not do Caribbean with Viking again.  I agree with the people who said Caribbean is not Viking's strong suit.

 

I think Viking can definitely make improvement in the excursions offered (both included and optional) in this itinerary.

[longterm]

1 hour ago, sleepybobo said:

 

Same here.  I still like Viking.  But would not do Caribbean with Viking again.  I agree with the people who said Caribbean is not Viking's strong suit.

 

I think Viking can definitely make improvement in the excursions offered (both included and optional) in this itinerary.

We loved the ship, loved all the beach excursions and the snorkeling, but the towns just don't have much to show to tourists--not their fault, just a sad reality of the state of the towns on these islands. When the best thing the tour guide could point out was the gas company, you knew that interesting sites were sparse... 🙂

But we had a great time; the crew was first-rate, as all Viking cruises are. In 6 days we leave for Rome, then on the 5th we start the Italy-Adriatic-Greece trip, which we're really excited about. LOTS to see in Italy and Greece, for sure!

[sleepybobo]

18 minutes ago, longterm said:

We loved the ship, loved all the beach excursions and the snorkeling, but the towns just don't have much to show to tourists--not their fault, just a sad reality of the state of the towns on these islands. When the best thing the tour guide could point out was the gas company, you knew that interesting sites were sparse... 🙂

But we had a great time; the crew was first-rate, as all Viking cruises are. In 6 days we leave for Rome, then on the 5th we start the Italy-Adriatic-Greece trip, which we're really excited about. LOTS to see in Italy and Greece, for sure!

 

Enjoy!  We were on the Sun's inaugural sailing from Venice to Athens in 2017, which was my favorite Viking cruise.  I'd like to do the Empires of the Mediterranean (a similar itinerary) in the future.  The ports are all very interesting.  Dubrovnik is amazing.  The sail into Kotor is breathtaking.  A fabulous cruise with interesting destinations, great food and phenomenal service.

[kmmdw]

? On excursions -  we are going in December 2022 -

Do Catamaran’s have bathroom?

 

The two rainforest excursions say they are strenuous.  I can walk 3 miles easily, but not good with ‘slipper slopes.’   I can go successfully.. I don’t mind sitting out a bit.

 

Anyone go on the UTV tour?  We drive them all the time, so know about how to handle them.

Edited October 20, 2022 by kmmdw

[basenji56]

Some of you who were on this sailing last year may remember Minda Larsen.

 

I have been in contact with Minda and she is available for the 12/27/22 Viking Sea sailing

 

I sent this message to the tellus@vikingcruises.com address.  If you are on this years sailing and would like to see Minda perform again, I urge you to write to Viking and ask them to bring her back.

 

My message:

 

"I was a passenger on a Viking Sea cruise last December--West Indies Explorer out of San Juan right after Christmas.

 

It was a wonderful cruise but was made even better because of singer Minda Larsen.

 

Minda filled in with two extra shows when two of the production show performers had to leave the ship due to covid restrictions.  She created an entirely new show on the fly.

 

All of her shows were amazing.

 

Anyway, I loved this cruise so much that I rebooked it for December 27, 2020.  Viking Sea.

 

I would love if you could rebook Minda on this year's sailing.

 

I reached out to her and she said she is available at that time.

 

Here is her website.

 

Singing Instructor | Minda Larsen Singer, Teacher, Actor

 

Voice Teacher to Broadway Singers (mindalarsen.com)

 

Thank you for your consideration!

 

M

[LisaDee]

8 hours ago, kmmdw said:

? On excursions -  we are going in December 2022 -

Do Catamaran’s have bathroom?

 

The two rainforest excursions say they are strenuous.  I can walk 3 miles easily, but not good with ‘slipper slopes.’   I can go successfully.. I don’t mind sitting out a bit.

 

Anyone go on the UTV tour?  We drive them all the time, so know about how to handle them.

 

Regarding bathrooms, we did 4 Viking excursions on catamarans in Feb 2022 - in St. Kitts, St. Maarten, St. Thomas & St. Lucia and they all had bathrooms.  I can’t help on your other questions, hopefully others will chime in.

[photopro2]

On 10/20/2022 at 6:12 PM, kmmdw said:

The two rainforest excursions say they are strenuous.  I can walk 3 miles easily, but not good with ‘slipper slopes.’   I can go successfully.. I don’t mind sitting out a bit.

If you are looking to get into the forest, the El Yunque Rainforest excursion out of San Juan is described as moderate. We did this earlier this year from the Viking Octantis and I expect the one available in December will be much the same.

 

I would say that 2/3 of the excursion would be accessible even to someone with a degree of mobility difficulties. It was an easy walk from the parking area into the newly reopened forest visitor centre and the bus parked just across the road from the waterfall. The only questionable part would be the walk we made down into a valley to see a rocky river section of the forest. It was about 30 minutes down 30 minutes by the river and 30 minutes back. 

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "slipper slopes" if that is a typo for steeper slopes then you might have an issue with that part of the trip. These things are hard to quantify but the pathway zigzagged down into the valley and was somewhat steep in parts. However the path was relatively well made. I have attached a photograph which is not particularly great in itself but is the one which best shows the quality of the path.

 

We very much enjoyed the excursion overall especially the informative and knowledgeable guide who was from the UK, now living on the island, with many years experience in sustainable forestry.

 

Hope that helps!

 

 

 

[photopro2]

We are doing this itinerary in January and so maybe I could tack on my own question to this thread.....

 

I do like to be up at dawn sometimes to watch the sail-in but I'm not sure that I want to be up that early every single day of the trip. Are there any port arrivals on the West Indies Explorers cruise that are known for being more/less photogenic than others?

Edited October 22, 2022 by photopro2
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