Difference between Veranda & Deluxe Veranda

[longterm]

We've stayed in penthouse junior suites in the past, but on our next cruise are in a Deluxe Veranda stateroom. Looking at the floor plans for the DV and the Veranda, I don't see any difference--they both have the same square footage and the same layout.

 

Am I missing something? Is it just the deck that the stateroom is on?

[burnabyjean]

The main differences are when you have access to shore excursions, specialty dining, etc. (DV has a week earlier, I believe) and what's stocked in your fridge.

[deec]

There is no difference in the size of stateroom.  V's do not get the mini bar restocked with snacks or soda.  There is NOT a coffee machine on the shelf. Vs board and get to choose excursions later and I don't think you can make reservations in the restaurants before boarding.

[longterm]

Ah. That all makes sense. For me, a coffee machine is a must, and we do like being able to make reservations ahead of time. We rarely used the mini bar, so that's iffy, but having last dibs on excursions could be a big negative.

Having stayed in penthouse junior suites in the past, we were spoiled; not sure we'll be able to swing that every time though, especially for longer trips. We really liked having laundry done every few days, makes packing so much easier. 

Headed to Italy in 2 weeks and will be in a deluxe veranda and I know we'll have a great time. We don't plan to stay in our staterooms that much anyway, and so long as we have room service, a balcony, and a nice double espresso, I'm a happy camper.

[Jim Avery]

Also location is supposedly better in a DV.  As to the "race" to book everything, we have spent considerable time in DV and have never not gotten (double neg?) an excursion or dining rez we wanted.  Sometimes a waitlist was involved on the excursions but the contrived perk of earlier bookings is a non issue to us.🍸

[longterm]

Same experience for us; we've decided that we tend to overbook excursions, when sometimes, especially when we did the Grand European river cruise, we wish we'd spent more time just wandering through some of the towns. For our upcoming trip around Italy and then to Greece, we think we've struck a nice balance and look forward to some personal exploration, now that self-guided exploring will be allowed again as of March 1.

 

In particular, we took an excursion to Munich one day, which was an all-day affair and more than 2 hours in the bus each way, only to find that we had a very mediocre tour guide who was easily the weakest guide we'd had on the entire trip. We both wished we'd stayed in Wurzburg, which is a really nice town, and enjoyed walking around and looking at Christmas decorations (it was in early November 2019).

 

 

[Heidi13]

9 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Also location is supposedly better in a DV.  As to the "race" to book everything, we have spent considerable time in DV and have never not gotten (double neg?) an excursion or dining rez we wanted.  Sometimes a waitlist was involved on the excursions but the contrived perk of earlier bookings is a non issue to us.🍸

 

We have a similar outlook and experience as Jim.

 

Always in a DV, except when the provided the final 8 of us Explorer Suites. Cabin is more than double the size of my first cabin and we had 3 of us in that cabin. On Viking, we never missed getting any shore-ex or dinner reservation we wanted.

[deec]

Agree...

[millybess]

1 hour ago, Jim Avery said:

Also location is supposedly better in a DV.🍸

Could you elaborate on this please. I need to be converted so we can take more cruises. 😊

[JeriGail]

2 minutes ago, millybess said:

Could you elaborate on this please. I need to be converted so we can take more cruises. 😊

Verandahs are only on deck 3.  V1's are forward while V2's are aft.  DV's are mainly on 3, 4, 5, and 6, with a few on 7 and 8.  You can check out the locations of the different cabin categories in the PDF below.  It says the Star, but all Viking Ocean ships have the same configuration. 

Star_deck_plans.pdf

[millybess]

1 minute ago, JeriGail said:

Verandahs are only on deck 3.  V1's are forward while V2's are aft.  DV's are mainly on 3, 4, 5, and 6, with a few on 7 and 8.  You can check out the locations of the different cabin categories in the PDF below.  It says the Star, but all Viking Ocean ships have the same configuration. 

Star_deck_plans.pdf 819.28 kB · 0 downloads

 

1 minute ago, JeriGail said:

Verandahs are only on deck 3.  V1's are forward while V2's are aft.  DV's are mainly on 3, 4, 5, and 6, with a few on 7 and 8.  You can check out the locations of the different cabin categories in the PDF below.  It says the Star, but all Viking Ocean ships have the same configuration. 

Star_deck_plans.pdf 819.28 kB · 0 downloads

Thanks JeriGail. I get it now. I totally misunderstood. 😊

[lackcreativity]

23 hours ago, longterm said:

Same experience for us; we've decided that we tend to overbook excursions, when sometimes, especially when we did the Grand European river cruise, we wish we'd spent more time just wandering through some of the towns. For our upcoming trip around Italy and then to Greece, we think we've struck a nice balance and look forward to some personal exploration, now that self-guided exploring will be allowed again as of March 1.

 

 

 

I know Viking will allow self-guided exploring as of March 1, but the regulations of each country will prevail. I am still trying to find out if Italy has dropped the cruise ship tour bubble requirement. A google search has not provided an answer. Does anyone have a source for that information?

[longterm]

1 hour ago, lackcreativity said:

I know Viking will allow self-guided exploring as of March 1, but the regulations of each country will prevail. I am still trying to find out if Italy has dropped the cruise ship tour bubble requirement. A google search has not provided an answer. Does anyone have a source for that information?

We're going to Italy and will be on the Italy, Adriatic & Greece trip (March 5, 2022); in My Viking Journey, in the Viking section called "Pre-Cruise Embarkation Requirements" in the section "What to Expect Along Your Journey:"

1. During your voyage:

   • There will be up to daily COVID-19 tests (saliva samples).

   • Beginning March 1, 2022—and if permitted by local authorities—guests will be able to explore ashore independently

     while following the country’s requirements.

 

I assume this was worded to reflect the trip that we're taking.

 

I also found this from the US Embassy; it seems to indicate that, so long as you're fully vaxxed and boosted, and have your US CDC vaccination card, wear a proper mask at all times (even when walking on the streets), you can move about in Italy without restriction:

 

https://it.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

Edited February 18, 2022 by longterm
added more info

[Eggtuary]

3 hours ago, longterm said:

We're going to Italy and will be on the Italy, Adriatic & Greece trip (March 5, 2022); in My Viking Journey, in the Viking section called "Pre-Cruise Embarkation Requirements" in the section "What to Expect Along Your Journey:"

1. During your voyage:

   • There will be up to daily COVID-19 tests (saliva samples).

   • Beginning March 1, 2022—and if permitted by local authorities—guests will be able to explore ashore independently

     while following the country’s requirements.

 

I assume this was worded to reflect the trip that we're taking.

 

I also found this from the US Embassy; it seems to indicate that, so long as you're fully vaxxed and boosted, and have your US CDC vaccination card, wear a proper mask at all times (even when walking on the streets), you can move about in Italy without restriction:

 

https://it.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

I see Venice is one of your ports. Have you been able to select excursions there?  We leave from Venice on March 25th and still have none to choose from, even though we have an extra day in port. I know all cruise lines are struggling with how to handle Venice’s restrictions these days, and we are arriving early to explore on our own, but I’m still curious. 

Edited February 18, 2022 by Eggtuary

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, longterm said:

We're going to Italy and will be on the Italy, Adriatic & Greece trip (March 5, 2022); in My Viking Journey, in the Viking section called "Pre-Cruise Embarkation Requirements" in the section "What to Expect Along Your Journey:"

1. During your voyage:

   • There will be up to daily COVID-19 tests (saliva samples).

   • Beginning March 1, 2022—and if permitted by local authorities—guests will be able to explore ashore independently

     while following the country’s requirements.

 

I assume this was worded to reflect the trip that we're taking.

 

I also found this from the US Embassy; it seems to indicate that, so long as you're fully vaxxed and boosted, and have your US CDC vaccination card, wear a proper mask at all times (even when walking on the streets), you can move about in Italy without restriction:

 

https://it.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

 

The other factor to consider is that some countries have different (more restrictive) standards  for cruise ship pax. While regular tourists may have no restrictions, it may not be the same for cruise ship pax.

 

Could depend on whether the Master reports any infectious diseases aboard the vessel, when requesting Free Pratique.

[twodjs]

1 hour ago, Eggtuary said:

I see Venice is one of your ports. Have you been able to select excursions there?  We leave from Venice on March 25th and still have none to choose from, even though we have an extra day in port. I know all cruise lines are struggling with how to handle Venice’s restrictions these days, and we are arriving early to explore on our own, but I’m still curious. 

We leave from Venice in May and can now book Venice excursions - however nothing comes up on the first day, only the second day in Venice. 

[duquephart]

On 2/16/2022 at 5:35 PM, longterm said:

Ah. That all makes sense. For me, a coffee machine is a must, and we do like being able to make reservations ahead of time. We rarely used the mini bar, so that's iffy, but having last dibs on excursions could be a big negative.

Having stayed in penthouse junior suites in the past, we were spoiled; not sure we'll be able to swing that every time though, especially for longer trips. We really liked having laundry done every few days, makes packing so much easier. 

Headed to Italy in 2 weeks and will be in a deluxe veranda and I know we'll have a great time. We don't plan to stay in our staterooms that much anyway, and so long as we have room service, a balcony, and a nice double espresso, I'm a happy camper.

 

You can still have laundry done as often as you wish.

[longterm]

7 hours ago, twodjs said:

We leave from Venice in May and can now book Venice excursions - however nothing comes up on the first day, only the second day in Venice. 

There are still no excursions listed for Venice, any of the 2-1/2 days; all other ports, but not Venice. I've been checking every day... I booked a private tour for us on the 2nd day, but would like to see what is offered from Viking.

[Eggtuary]

9 hours ago, twodjs said:

We leave from Venice in May and can now book Venice excursions - however nothing comes up on the first day, only the second day in Venice. 

Apparently it’s normal to not have any excursions on the first day of a cruise. That surprised me, because the Itinerary page for this cruise shows different excursions for the first and second day in Venice. Perhaps those Day One excursions are only available for passengers doing back-to-back cruises, ending one and starting another in Venice?  I’m a Viking newbie, FYI. 

[longterm]

Just now, Eggtuary said:

Apparently it’s normal to not have any excursions on the first day of a cruise. That surprised me, because the Itinerary page for this cruise shows different excursions for the first and second day in Venice. Perhaps those Day One excursions are only available for passengers doing back-to-back cruises, ending one and starting another in Venice?  I’m a Viking newbie, FYI. 

I think there must be some issues in Venice--perhaps because they now don't allow cruise ships in the lagoon. Venice is in the middle of our trip, so I'm hoping for excursions on the 1st and 2nd days.

[Squawkman]

Just now, Eggtuary said:

Apparently it’s normal to not have any excursions on the first day of a cruise. That surprised me, because the Itinerary page for this cruise shows different excursions for the first and second day in Venice. Perhaps those Day One excursions are only available for passengers doing back-to-back cruises, ending one and starting another in Venice?  I’m a Viking newbie, FYI. 

Or those doing the Viking pre-cruise extension.

[travelnn]

15 hours ago, duquephart said:

 

You can still have laundry done as often as you wish.

Is taundry  included with DV cabin?

thanks

[Mich3554]

22 minutes ago, travelnn said:

Is taundry  included with DV cabin?

thanks

Nope, but it’s pretty reasonably priced.  I have sent several shirts that I have dribbled down the front of, and they are great at getting out stains.  
 

There are always the free washers and dryers in the laundry room on each deck.

[travelnn]

9 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

Nope, but it’s pretty reasonably priced.  I have sent several shirts that I have dribbled down the front of, and they are great at getting out stains.  
 

There are always the free washers and dryers in the laundry room on each deck.

Thanks!

[deec]

Free Laundry was one of  the best perks we had on our WC!!!  Now I just build laundry into my schedule!