First time Viking Ocean

[rollie]

Sorry if asked before.  We are Celebrity Elite Plus cruisers and are trying out Viking for the first time.  We have booked sky suites on or last few cruises and have really enjoyed them.  We have a penthouse jr suite booked on the Venus in November.  Just wondering peoples thoughts. TIA

 

Rollie

[duquephart]

36 minutes ago, rollie said:

Sorry if asked before.  We are Celebrity Elite Plus cruisers and are trying out Viking for the first time.  We have booked sky suites on or last few cruises and have really enjoyed them.  We have a penthouse jr suite booked on the Venus in November.  Just wondering peoples thoughts. TIA

 

Rollie

 

Well ----- we are super-dooper purple ribbon with yellow dots and fancy orange fringe cruisers ----- and we like the jr suite on Viking just fine.

[duquephart]

We also qualify for more than "One complimentary scoop of gelato."

[Clay Clayton]

1 hour ago, rollie said:

Sorry if asked before.  We are Celebrity Elite Plus cruisers and are trying out Viking for the first time.  We have booked sky suites on or last few cruises and have really enjoyed them.  We have a penthouse jr suite booked on the Venus in November.  Just wondering peoples thoughts. TIA

 

Rollie

Rollie

Welcome to Viking! Pay no attention to some of the folks on this board who are less than welcoming. I am sure some less sarcastic folks will be along soon who can give you real comparison from their experiences. While I can’t do that I can share that I was lucky enough to visit the Sky Suite of a fellow rollcaller on our transpacific in 2019 aboard Millennium. I don’t know if that is typical or not of all Sky Suites. I seem to recall that it was a true suite in that it had a separate bedroom which the Penthouse Junior Suites (maybe that’s why they call it a Junior?) don’t have.  So it that is a necessity, then you need to look at an Explorer’s Suite. 
 

Since we’ve never splurged to have any room on Viking higher than a Penthouse Veranda I can’t give you a good comparison other than to say that the smaller ship and lack of kids are the two big things that keep us sailing on Viking. Their V and DV staterooms are comparable to balconies on Celebrity though the bathrooms are much nicer.  I suspect the biggest difference between your Sky Suite and the Junior Penthouse will be the lack of a separate dining facility. Onboard Viking ships everyone has access to all venues. Since the number of passengers is so much less, I don’t think the lack of a Luminae will be noticed. I don’t know what other perks being in a Sky Suite had but I’m sure others will be able to address. 
 

Somewhere on this board there is a thread where someone asked for and got a discussion about differences between X and Viking. Also, if you haven’t already discovered it, you might want to take a look at this thread for Viking newbies: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2416372-tips-for-new-viking-ocean-cruisers/page/62/#comment-62141739

 

 

Have a great cruise and ask any questions. Most folks are happy to assist!

[rollie]

34 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Rollie

Welcome to Viking! Pay no attention to some of the folks on this board who are less than welcoming. I am sure some less sarcastic folks will be along soon who can give you real comparison from their experiences. While I can’t do that I can share that I was lucky enough to visit the Sky Suite of a fellow rollcaller on our transpacific in 2019 aboard Millennium. I don’t know if that is typical or not of all Sky Suites. I seem to recall that it was a true suite in that it had a separate bedroom which the Penthouse Junior Suites (maybe that’s why they call it a Junior?) don’t have.  So it that is a necessity, then you need to look at an Explorer’s Suite. 
 

Since we’ve never splurged to have any room on Viking higher than a Penthouse Veranda I can’t give you a good comparison other than to say that the smaller ship and lack of kids are the two big things that keep us sailing on Viking. Their V and DV staterooms are comparable to balconies on Celebrity though the bathrooms are much nicer.  I suspect the biggest difference between your Sky Suite and the Junior Penthouse will be the lack of a separate dining facility. Onboard Viking ships everyone has access to all venues. Since the number of passengers is so much less, I don’t think the lack of a Luminae will be noticed. I don’t know what other perks being in a Sky Suite had but I’m sure others will be able to address. 
 

Somewhere on this board there is a thread where someone asked for and got a discussion about differences between X and Viking. Also, if you haven’t already discovered it, you might want to take a look at this thread for Viking newbies: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2416372-tips-for-new-viking-ocean-cruisers/page/62/#comment-62141739

 

 

Have a great cruise and ask any questions. Most folks are happy to assist!

Thanks for your reply  I will check out the new be board.

 

Rollie

[Azulann]

Rollie, As a former celebrity cruiser, I want to welcome you to Viking Ocean forum. My last cruise in Oct was  the Viking Venus in a Deluxe Veranda on the aft.  I look forward to your  thoughts of your first Viking cruise in a Penthouse Jr suite.   All Viking Ocean ships have the same layout and decor  of the beautiful common spaces. 

I know you will enjoy the ship , service and no added costs for speciality dining .

Edited June 11, 2022 by Azulann

[duquephart]

18 minutes ago, Azulann said:

Rollie, As a former celebrity cruiser, I want to welcome you to Viking Ocean forum. My last cruise in Oct was  the Viking Venus in a Deluxe Veranda on the aft.  I look forward to your  thoughts of your first Viking cruise in a Penthouse Jr suite.   All Viking Ocean ships have the same layout and decor  of the beautiful common spaces. 

I know you will enjoy the ship , service and no added costs for speciality dining .

 

Or gelato.

[janetcbl]

1 hour ago, Azulann said:

Rollie, As a former celebrity cruiser, I want to welcome you to Viking Ocean forum. My last cruise in Oct was  the Viking Venus in a Deluxe Veranda on the aft.  I look forward to your  thoughts of your first Viking cruise in a Penthouse Jr suite.   All Viking Ocean ships have the same layout and decor  of the beautiful common spaces. 

I know you will enjoy the ship , service and no added costs for speciality dining .

The only real difference between a PV and a PJS is slightly more space and free laundry. We always had PVs until our upcoming cruise, where the only available cabin was a PJS…looking forward to not having to do my own laundry!

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

2 hours ago, duquephart said:

We also qualify for more than "One complimentary scoop of gelato."

They have now extended that to PV, and I was able to request additional chocolate syrup as well.  🤣

[duquephart]

12 minutes ago, janetcbl said:

The only real difference between a PV and a PJS is slightly more space and free laundry. We always had PVs until our upcoming cruise, where the only available cabin was a PJS…looking forward to not having to do my own laundry!

 

I'm especially looking forward to the extra TV. In the "lower class" cabins you have to either sit/lie on the bed or get a crook in your neck while catching up on port talks, lectures, etc. Laundry is nice. Whether the extra perks are worth the extra cost is a another matter.

[janetcbl]

17 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

I'm especially looking forward to the extra TV. In the "lower class" cabins you have to either sit/lie on the bed or get a crook in your neck while catching up on port talks, lectures, etc. Laundry is nice. Whether the extra perks are worth the extra cost is a another matter.

Forgot about the second TV….was so excited about not having to do laundry! Agree with you about “worth the extra cost”….we shall see…

[duquephart]

2 minutes ago, janetcbl said:

Forgot about the second TV….was so excited about not having to do laundry! Agree with you about “worth the extra cost”….we shall see…

 

20% more room as well. For lack of anything important to do I worked up a spreadsheet on the minimum changes of underwear/socks required given the ease of "free" laundry. Guess I need a life!

[keokukjoe]

1 hour ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

They have now extended that to PV, and I was able to request additional chocolate syrup as well.  🤣

Where did you hear that? The website states that PV have free ironing only, still have to use the on board laundromat to wash and dry your clothes.

[Mich3554]

2 hours ago, janetcbl said:

The only real difference between a PV and a PJS is slightly more space and free laundry. We always had PVs until our upcoming cruise, where the only available cabin was a PJS…looking forward to not having to do my own laundry!

We recently had access to laundry services on a river cruise and I have to admit I really do like this perk more than anything.  I have to see if I like it enough to start upgrading from our standard PV.

[mauimacho]

Would anyone have a comparison between Holland America Neptune Suite and Viking PJS? Also a first timer.

[Clay Clayton]

3 hours ago, janetcbl said:

The only real difference between a PV and a PJS is slightly more space and free laundry. We always had PVs until our upcoming cruise, where the only available cabin was a PJS…looking forward to not having to do my own laundry!

Don’t the PJSs have double sinks in the bathroom?

[duquephart]

1 minute ago, Clay Clayton said:

Don’t the PJSs have double sinks in the bathroom?

 

Yes. But how many do you need?

[LindaS272]

2 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Don’t the PJSs have double sinks in the bathroom?

And a towel warming rack? Or are the two sinks and warmer only in Explorer Suites?

[Clay Clayton]

41 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

And a towel warming rack? Or are the two sinks and warmer only in Explorer Suites?

It appears you and I are both correct based on the picture online.  

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

6 hours ago, keokukjoe said:

Where did you hear that? The website states that PV have free ironing only, still have to use the on board laundromat to wash and dry your clothes.

You kinda missed something there....I was responding to the post about the extra gelato scoop!!  I don't think PV qualifies for an extra scoop of laundry.

[molymoo]

13 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

It appears you and I are both correct based on the picture online.  

AND the shower is larger !  

[rollie]

Thanks everyone for the replies.  We were rather late booking this cruise because we canceled a river cruise that had a future cruise credit we haver to use this year.  [pandemic related]  We wanted to book a penthouse veranda but they are all gone, so we opted for a jr suite.  We were able to book a suite without going over the cruise credit amount.

 

Rollie

[Clay Clayton]

4 hours ago, rollie said:

Thanks everyone for the replies.  We were rather late booking this cruise because we canceled a river cruise that had a future cruise credit we haver to use this year.  [pandemic related]  We wanted to book a penthouse veranda but they are all gone, so we opted for a jr suite.  We were able to book a suite without going over the cruise credit amount.

 

Rollie

Have a great time!

[duquephart]

On 6/11/2022 at 10:31 AM, duquephart said:

 

20% more room as well. For lack of anything important to do I worked up a spreadsheet on the minimum changes of underwear/socks required given the ease of "free" laundry. Guess I need a life!

 

Of course the minimum changes of underwear system doesn't work out too well when you are stranded in Bergen & Oslo for five days. Then you go buy some "Made in Bangladesh" product at the Oslo underwear store 😊.

[Jim Avery]

4 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

Of course the minimum changes of underwear system doesn't work out too well when you are stranded in Bergen & Oslo for five days. Then you go buy some "Made in Bangladesh" product at the Oslo underwear store 😊.

Duque I don't know if you are a fan of the tv show Two and A Half Men but the kid, Jake, had the perfect solution concerning this topic: "if you turn em inside out you can wear them twice as long"....😱