A Serious Complaint about Viking Ocean

[frickwg]

A Serious Complaint about Viking Ocean

I have been on 3 Viking Ocean cruises.

My assessment:

·        The Ship:  Superb!  Right size, has everything you need or want and none of the things you don't want or that annoy you (Casino, Photographer, Gold-by-the Inch, Art Auctions, etc.)

·        The Cabins.  Excellent, spacious, good balconies, crisp Scandinavian decor.

·        Public spaces.  Well placed, well equipped, and sized with a variety of places to park on a day at sea or at the ends of a day in port, again crisp Scandinavian decor.

·        Food:  Very Good.  Two specially restaurants (though I not a fan of Chef's Table) and great main venues.   Lots of menu choices with good to excellent wines and drinks.

·        Service:  Very Good.  Knowledgeable, attentive, understanding, and helpful.

·        Lectures and destination information.  Superb.  Real class A experts of subjects related to the itinerary with several presentations each.

 

So, what's my problem?

 

Itineraries!  It not the ones they have, it the ones they don't have.  Viking Ocean seems to run in grooves in the ocean.  Nice groves (Northern Europe, UK, Med, some Asia) but grooves non-the-less.  Even their world cruises follow the same grooves!

 

What about: Africa, other Asia routes, Emirates, Indian Ocean Islands, South Africa trans-oceanic (Cape Town to Buenos Aires with St. Helena).  Off the routine remote islands? 

 

I want to take more Viking Ocean cruises, but I want to try new places.  They have lots of ships and are getting more!  Experiment!  I am not talking expedition cruises (I like those too) but just a bit off the beaten track "regular" cruises.

[duquephart]

They go where the money is.

[Jim Avery]

Viking's World Cruises hit lots of those places.🍸

[Ontario/AZ]

13 minutes ago, frickwg said:

A Serious Complaint about Viking Ocean

I have been on 3 Viking Ocean cruises.

My assessment:

·        The Ship:  Superb!  Right size, has everything you need or want and none of the things you don't want or that annoy you (Casino, Photographer, Gold-by-the Inch, Art Auctions, etc.)

·        The Cabins.  Excellent, spacious, good balconies, crisp Scandinavian decor.

·        Public spaces.  Well placed, well equipped, and sized with a variety of places to park on a day at sea or at the ends of a day in port, again crisp Scandinavian decor.

·        Food:  Very Good.  Two specially restaurants (though I not a fan of Chef's Table) and great main venues.   Lots of menu choices with good to excellent wines and drinks.

·        Service:  Very Good.  Knowledgeable, attentive, understanding, and helpful.

·        Lectures and destination information.  Superb.  Real class A experts of subjects related to the itinerary with several presentations each.

 

So, what's my problem?

 

Itineraries!  It not the ones they have, it the ones they don't have.  Viking Ocean seems to run in grooves in the ocean.  Nice groves (Northern Europe, UK, Med, some Asia) but grooves non-the-less.  Even their world cruises follow the same grooves!

 

What about: Africa, other Asia routes, Emirates, Indian Ocean Islands, South Africa trans-oceanic (Cape Town to Buenos Aires with St. Helena).  Off the routine remote islands? 

 

I want to take more Viking Ocean cruises, but I want to try new places.  They have lots of ships and are getting more!  Experiment!  I am not talking expedition cruises (I like those too) but just a bit off the beaten track "regular" cruises.

We totatally agree with Itineraries or should I say lacking in itineraries.  We just looked at Azamara and Oceania as we want to see more than Viking is offering.  We have or by the end of the year, done most of what Viking has to offer.  We would like to stay witth Viking but......

[philw1776]

Silversea is a good alternative and goes to those places in very nice small ships. Younger crowd. Bigger bathrooms. Downside is jacket for men at dinner (not too bad) and formal nights (ugh!). Also Viking room stewards > Silversea butlers.

Edited May 4, 2022 by philw1776

[PasadenaDave]

Oh the problems of the first world.  You might just see an expansion of destinations.  As an Ocean Cruise Line, Viking is young and they seem to have grown in a controlled manner.  Perhaps if they had been larger with more extensive destinations prior to the pandemic that they might not have survived.

 

We hear of staffing issues on Octanis on the west coast.  Perhaps with strong demand coming out of the pandemic and the additional ships, that destinations will expand.

 

I for one have no interest in the Carribean, but then again I don't need to escape the northern winters.

[SJD117]

59 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Viking's World Cruises hit lots of those places.🍸

Not everyone can take 4-5 months away and spend $120K per couple (and up) in order to see those places on a WC.

[Azulann]

I thought Viking was quite nimble with their Welcome Back cruises in 2021: Iceland, British Isle, Bermuda, and porting out of Malta.  They tried Hawaii but island was not ready for cruise ships. They did that  one Pacific cruise instead.  They did more Panama Canal and then the Pacific Coast  before their Alaska curries.

 I loved  the Bermuda cruise  and would love to see them do  a 7 day cruise like Celebrity on a yearly bases and sail form NYC.  Viking ship can dock right downtown Hamilton.

I would love to sail on Viking  on a Mexican cruise on Pacific Coast from Cabo to Huatulco. Been to all these Mexican  resort areas  on land vacations. Love to be on a ship instead. 

Wish they would bring back their cruise  through the Kiel Canal. They have dropped that itinerary.  Still need to do South America when the pandemic is really over. 

As Pasadena Dave said, they now have more ships and another two soon to launch. They can  expand with new destinations.

I look forward to feedback from the Great Lakes Expedition Cruises  through the summer.  

 

Edited May 4, 2022 by Azulann

[harbourside]

Viking just gives a token gesture to Australia and New Zealand .  Same tour repeated each year, no deviations.  Does not even include The Milford Sounds.  Must be the only cruise line that does not.  Viking only includes in on World cruises.   Oceania and Azamara have more interesting itineraries for down under.  Both cover the West coast of Australia, plus Perth to Sydney.  Oceania does a circle tour of Australia.  Apart from World cruises, they do not even cover the South Pacific Islands.  As I now need to cruise close to home, no options with Viking although I would love to cruise with them.  Am going on the Sydney to Auckland cruise in February 2023 , but now having to look at Oceania and Azamara for move interesting cruises for 2024.  Such a lot of lost opportunity for Viking down under. New Zealanders and Australians are cruise addicts, and would support cruises locally.

[SJD117]

31 minutes ago, harbourside said:

Viking just gives a token gesture to Australia and New Zealand .  Same tour repeated each year, no deviations.  Does not even include The Milford Sounds.  Must be the only cruise line that does not.  Viking only includes in on World cruises.   Oceania and Azamara have more interesting itineraries for down under.  Both cover the West coast of Australia, plus Perth to Sydney.  Oceania does a circle tour of Australia.  Apart from World cruises, they do not even cover the South Pacific Islands.  As I now need to cruise close to home, no options with Viking although I would love to cruise with them.  Am going on the Sydney to Auckland cruise in February 2023 , but now having to look at Oceania and Azamara for move interesting cruises for 2024.  Such a lot of lost opportunity for Viking down under. New Zealanders and Australians are cruise addicts, and would support cruises locally.

I’ve been to Oz twice and New Zealand three times, all on my own. Both countries are great places to travel independently. I can’t imagine relying on a cruise ship to get me around. 
 

Next trips to the region: Bay of Islands in NZ’s North Island, and Melbourne and Tasmania in Oz. See you there!

[janetcbl]

3 minutes ago, SJD117 said:

I’ve been to Oz twice and New Zealand three times, all on my own. Both countries are great places to travel independently. I can’t imagine relying on a cruise ship to get me around. 
 

Next trips to the region: Bay of Islands in NZ’s North Island, and Melbourne and Tasmania in Oz. See you there!

Loved Tasmania! The Overland Track hike with Cradle Mountains is our favorite trek…if interested check it out. (Sorry, this is totally off topic, but had to add it.)

[SJD117]

21 minutes ago, janetcbl said:

Loved Tasmania! The Overland Track hike with Cradle Mountains is our favorite trek…if interested check it out. (Sorry, this is totally off topic, but had to add it.)

Thanks for the recommendation! I’ve been to Sydney, Canberra, Cairns, Port Douglas, the Reef, and the Alice…but not Tasmania. I suspect the landscape there will remind me of parts of NZ. 

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, frickwg said:

A Serious Complaint about Viking Ocean

I have been on 3 Viking Ocean cruises.

My assessment:

·        The Ship:  Superb!  Right size, has everything you need or want and none of the things you don't want or that annoy you (Casino, Photographer, Gold-by-the Inch, Art Auctions, etc.)

·        The Cabins.  Excellent, spacious, good balconies, crisp Scandinavian decor.

·        Public spaces.  Well placed, well equipped, and sized with a variety of places to park on a day at sea or at the ends of a day in port, again crisp Scandinavian decor.

·        Food:  Very Good.  Two specially restaurants (though I not a fan of Chef's Table) and great main venues.   Lots of menu choices with good to excellent wines and drinks.

·        Service:  Very Good.  Knowledgeable, attentive, understanding, and helpful.

·        Lectures and destination information.  Superb.  Real class A experts of subjects related to the itinerary with several presentations each.

 

So, what's my problem?

 

Itineraries!  It not the ones they have, it the ones they don't have.  Viking Ocean seems to run in grooves in the ocean.  Nice groves (Northern Europe, UK, Med, some Asia) but grooves non-the-less.  Even their world cruises follow the same grooves!

 

What about: Africa, other Asia routes, Emirates, Indian Ocean Islands, South Africa trans-oceanic (Cape Town to Buenos Aires with St. Helena).  Off the routine remote islands? 

 

I want to take more Viking Ocean cruises, but I want to try new places.  They have lots of ships and are getting more!  Experiment!  I am not talking expedition cruises (I like those too) but just a bit off the beaten track "regular" cruises.

 

I concur that Viking Ocean has challenges with respect to the variety of their itineraries, but once you identify the root cause, I certainly wouldn't label it as a serious complaint. I'll suggest they have further room to continue growing the ocean brand.

 

Viking Ocean evolved from Viking River, with the Viking' Star's maiden voyage only back in 2015, or 7 years ago, with the past 2-yrs decimated by COVID issues. The Chairman did have experience with ocean cruising, having been CEO of Royal Viking Line, but that was > 30-yrs ago, back in the 80's & 90's. However, the industry has changed substantially since those days.

 

Just my thoughts.

 

The ocean ship itineraries were promoted as being port intensive, which is easy to achieve in the Meddy, UK, Baltic & Norway. Even the cruises in SE Asia & Aus/NZ follow this same standard. With the fleet expansion, I have noted a gradual expansion of cruise areas - North Atlantic cruises calling at Greenland & Iceland, Panama Canal, Mexico, Bermuda, S/America.

 

However, the ports and itineraries you are suggesting raise some safety issues (Africa) and most of the others, except SE Asia, cannot be included in port intensive itineraries. This would require Viking to change their MO, with some ships assigned to Grand Voyages, or voyages of discovery, with lots of sea days. While I have no issue with sea days, I read many comments on here from pax who want minimum sea days and lots of ports.

 

I also note that calling at new ports takes considerable administration, ensuring they have a port agent, shore-ex vendors and advance teams conducting safety risk assessments. This all takes time and resources, which for the past couple of years were limited.

 

Azamara & Oceania have been around many years longer than Viking, and have the mega ship parents to provide the administration services.

 

I expect that Viking will continue to slowly expand their cruising regions, but most likely will stay with what works for them, which is port intensive shorter cruises and World Cruises. I expect to see future World Cruises with different itineraries.

[lackcreativity]

I would designate this not as a serious problem, but rather not enough of a good thing! I tend to agree, and hope Viking will soon add some new stops. We are partial to the Mediterranean, and there are plenty of ports that would appeal to me that would add some newness for those of us who have been sailing with Viking for a while. Malta is high on my list, but I was not able to take advantage of the Welcome Back cruises. Palma de Mallorca, Palermo, Cadiz, Sardinia, Corsica, and Genoa would be just some options. 

 

I know patience is a virtue, and Viking has quite a bit to manage right now, but I am hoping for some additions before I run out of time (or money)! Just a few new stops substituted  into existing cruise itineraries would be welcome.

Edited May 5, 2022 by lackcreativity

[rbslos18]

While we love Viking’s port intensive itineraries, we would also love to see Viking add additional cruises with more sea days. Variety would increase Viking’s market. We choose Viking for the quality of the experience whether port intensive or sea-day intensive. 

[Harley57]

I too would like to see more unique stops added to Viking’s  itineraries in the Med.   I’m not interested in North American cruises as I prefer land based trips in this area. An expedition cruise to Antarctica is high on my list.  Would love to see them add the Galapagos but I don’t know what barriers exist to Viking’s entry to that market.  Hopefully they will add some new itineraries in the next few years.  

[Peregrina651]

5 hours ago, PasadenaDave said:

I for one have no interest in the Carribean,

 

Me neither.  Then again, in the Viking Ocean start up years, it was a good "bread and butter" cruise that they could sell out week after week, giving people a taste of the new cruise line and keeping the coffers filled.

 

1 hour ago, lackcreativity said:

Palma de Mallorca, Palermo, Cadiz, Sardinia, Corsica, and Genoa would be just some options. 

 

Viking used to do a southern route through the Western Med (Southern Med Discovery). They wanted to do Rome to Barcelona stopping at Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, Tunis, Algeria and Valencia; back to back with Iconic Med, people could choose a 1 week or 2 week adventure on the same ship sailing in circles between Barcelona and Rome. Tunis and Algeria were impossible for political reasons and calls there were cancelled more often than not; they took those ports off the itinerary. Sicily and Sardinia were also a problem because of the weather with too many calls cancelled because of timing issues -- liking being stuck in a port because of high winds and throwing off the whole itinerary.  The eventually dropped the whole itinerary.  ☹️

 

6 minutes ago, Harley57 said:

 Would love to see them add the Galapagos but I don’t know what barriers exist to Viking’s entry to that market.

 

Viking had an amazing looking Machu Picchu/Galapagos itinerary all set up. They were going to lease the Santa Cruz II. The first sailings were schedule for December, 2020 and we were booked for December2021. Sadly, it was an early victim of the Covid shutdown. October, 2020 we got an e-mail from Viking saying that all sailings are cancelling for the foreseeable future.  Another  ☹️.

 

 

 

 

[Jim Avery]

The Caribbean comments remind me of a Yogi Berra line:”That place? Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.” 😎

[eylarson]

Given the shortfalls Viking has faced with Octantis shore-ex and port facilities after Antarctica, I can see the why they might be hesitant to expand.  Be interesting to see how the Mississippi cruises work.  New is hard!

[kcpvwill]

I think the title of this thread is misleading.  I thought something dreadful or dangerous must have happened.  
While some new destinations would be nice, it is not a serious happening.  

[Frenchberet]

Honestly, this sounds like a "comment".  Not a "serious complaint"...

[Clay Clayton]

14 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

. I expect to see future World Cruises with different itineraries.

I’m so hoping you’re right!  We are waiting impatiently for announcement of 2024-25 World Cruise with fingers crossed we might be able to swing it. 

[Vineyard View]

On 5/4/2022 at 5:01 PM, lackcreativity said:

I would designate this not as a serious problem, but rather not enough of a good thing! I tend to agree, and hope Viking will soon add some new stops. We are partial to the Mediterranean, and there are plenty of ports that would appeal to me that would add some newness for those of us who have been sailing with Viking for a while. Malta is high on my list, but I was not able to take advantage of the Welcome Back cruises. Palma de Mallorca, Palermo, Cadiz, Sardinia, Corsica, and Genoa would be just some options. 

 

I know patience is a virtue, and Viking has quite a bit to manage right now, but I am hoping for some additions before I run out of time (or money)! Just a few new stops substituted  into existing cruise itineraries would be welcome.

I totally agree with you on this. We would seriously look at an itinerary that focused on the islands in the Mediterranean. Or adding new ports in the Med to their line up. 

[PRH]

On 5/4/2022 at 9:32 PM, Peregrina651 said:

 

Me neither.  Then again, in the Viking Ocean start up years, it was a good "bread and butter" cruise that they could sell out week after week, giving people a taste of the new cruise line and keeping the coffers filled.

 

 

Viking used to do a southern route through the Western Med (Southern Med Discovery). They wanted to do Rome to Barcelona stopping at Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, Tunis, Algeria and Valencia; back to back with Iconic Med, people could choose a 1 week or 2 week adventure on the same ship sailing in circles between Barcelona and Rome. Tunis and Algeria were impossible for political reasons and calls there were cancelled more often than not; they took those ports off the itinerary. Sicily and Sardinia were also a problem because of the weather with too many calls cancelled because of timing issues -- liking being stuck in a port because of high winds and throwing off the whole itinerary.  The eventually dropped the whole itinerary.  ☹️

 

 

Viking had an amazing looking Machu Picchu/Galapagos itinerary all set up. They were going to lease the Santa Cruz II. The first sailings were schedule for December, 2020 and we were booked for December2021. Sadly, it was an early victim of the Covid shutdown. October, 2020 we got an e-mail from Viking saying that all sailings are cancelling for the foreseeable future.  Another  ☹️.

 

 

 

 

As were we!  Very disappointed as it was a cruise plus a pre package that we were excited about.

[lackcreativity]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

I totally agree with you on this. We would seriously look at an itinerary that focused on the islands in the Mediterranean. Or adding new ports in the Med to their line up. 

Hello, Viking, are you listening?!?