Viking Star

[quebecgirl]

Hi all, 

We sailed on the Star in 2017 and loved it. We are now considering another cruise in 2023 also on the Star. Can anyone tell me if the Star is now showing a lot of wear and tear ? Thanks.

[MikeyB]

seriously?

[Mich3554]

I can’t tell you what the status of the Star is, but what I can tell you is that Viking takes very good care of it’s ships.  
For instance, we got on the Jupiter when it was new.  3 months later, the wooden floor in the Explorer’s lounge was damaged due to a water leak.  It wasn’t a tripping hazard, just did not look good.  This was right before Covid shut things down.  When we got on the Jupiter 2 years later, the floor had been totally replaced.  

[quebecgirl]

Thanks Mich3554 !

[quebecgirl]

Hi MikeyB, 

Not sure what you mean by "seriously" ? : ) 

[SantaFe1]

We were on the Star in Dec.-Jan.  In my opinion it was definitely showing it’s age.  In our PV1 stateroom, the sofa had ripped arms and the carpet was really worn.  When we got home I called Viking to complain and sent pictures.  They apologized and gave us $1000 voucher for a future cruise.

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, quebecgirl said:

Hi all, 

We sailed on the Star in 2017 and loved it. We are now considering another cruise in 2023 also on the Star. Can anyone tell me if the Star is now showing a lot of wear and tear ? Thanks.

 

Although she was the first of the ocean ships she is still only 7 yrs old, out of an expected lifespan of 30 yrs +. She was drydocked for her 1st Special Survey in 2019, when they did some work and they also completed additional work during the COVID layup and prior to the 21/22 World Cruise.

 

In general, the Viking crews work diligently to keep these vessels ship shape, so I expect you will find Viking Star in an acceptable condition. 

[quebecgirl]

SantaFe1, thank you very much for the useful info. Cheers !

[SantaFe1]

12 minutes ago, quebecgirl said:

SantaFe1, thank you very much for the useful info. Cheers !

I do hope they got some things fixed up.  We love Viking ships and we’re so disappointed in our stateroom last time.  

[CDNPolar]

We were on the Star in December - this past - and we did not notice any detectable wear that was in need of repair.  Our cabin was in perfectly good shape, as were the dining rooms and all the common areas.

 

I feel like I was on a different ship to the reply above.  Perhaps they were unlucky with a badly abused stateroom.

[quebecgirl]

Heidi13 and CDNPolar : Thank you both for your input. 

5 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

We were on the Star in December - this past - and we did not notice any detectable wear that was in need of repair.  Our cabin was in perfectly good shape, as were the dining rooms and all the common areas.

 

I feel like I was on a different ship to the reply above.  Perhaps they were unlucky with a badly abused stateroom.

 

[WNcruiser]

10 hours ago, quebecgirl said:

Hi all, 

We sailed on the Star in 2017 and loved it. We are now considering another cruise in 2023 also on the Star. Can anyone tell me if the Star is now showing a lot of wear and tear ? Thanks.

I will be on Star in October. I will try to remember to find this thread and give you an update. 

[FetaCheese]

19 hours ago, SantaFe1 said:

We were on the Star in Dec.-Jan.  In my opinion it was definitely showing it’s age.  In our PV1 stateroom, the sofa had ripped arms and the carpet was really worn.  When we got home I called Viking to complain and sent pictures.  They apologized and gave us $1000 voucher for a future cruise.

 

Edited August 5, 2022 by FetaCheese

[hutch1994]

6 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

 

Should not expect to have to find your stateroom in poor condition after paying good money for the cruise.  Ripped arms, worn carpets are totally unacceptable.

[keokukjoe]

19 hours ago, hutch1994 said:

Should not expect to have to find your stateroom in poor condition after paying good money for the cruise.  Ripped arms, worn carpets are totally unacceptable.

Totally agree with you! Unfortunately, there are a few Viking "cheerleaders" on the forum who don't agree with us. 

[Heidi13]

51 minutes ago, keokukjoe said:

Totally agree with you! Unfortunately, there are a few Viking "cheerleaders" on the forum who don't agree with us. 

 

I happen to agree that pax shouldn't find issues with the cabin, but unfortunately, when humans are involved, the potential is always there. The first thing learned in "Human Factors" training is, "To err is human".

 

Rather than complaining about issues on here, I prefer to deal with issues proactively and advise the cabin steward to have the issue addressed. If s/he doesn't, the next call is to the Purser's Desk and if still unresolved in a reasonable time, then a visit to the GM. In 4-months on a Viking ship, I've never had to progress past step 1.

 

Every company has issues, the difference is how they deal with the issues. The good ones resolve issues in an expeditious manner. This has been our experience with Viking, as every issue we mentioned to our cabin steward, he advised he was aware, and had already had a work order raised.

[FetaCheese]

Have learned to bring issues, to the appropriate (lowest level) individual 1st.  I prefer to allow ship to solve it while onboard.  As Andy said, one can always escalate, if needed.  

[kag3120]

We sailed on the Star in 2016 and just recently (7/2022) did the Viking Homelands cruise, once again on the Star. Different cabin but same corridor, PV1. 
To our eyes, the cabin was as wonderful as we’d remembered. All finishes looked new and fresh. Furnishings were in great shape. Frankly, I expected to notice more wear and tear on the ship. It felt like a pretty new ship to us. And friends who travelled with us, new to Viking, raved about the ship’s quality.  Not saying some areas may have needed updating, but we sure didn’t see it. 

[lackcreativity]

kag3120,

Our experience was very much the same, repeat sailing on the Sky (third one) in April 2022, but in a DV cabin. Our cabin was in excellent condition, as was the rest of the ship. 

Might there have been isolated incidents of damage to the ship in places I never saw? Of course, but Viking certainly seems to stay on top of things in getting things repaired. 

[Jazmyn49]

We had one of those sofas with the arm looking like a tiger clawed it (a PV1 cabin).  This was the 21-22 World Cruise on the Star.  When talking to different passengers, they mentioned the same thing.  Before the end of the cruise, we had a brand new sofa delivered as did many others.  There were also dozens and dozens of new mattresses on the dock in one port as crew removed the old ones, filling many dumpsters.  At least one stateroom was having the bathroom redone, all flooring removed as well as fixtures.  All carpeting appeared new. Viking keeps things looking good.  And then there was the Octantis......WOW!!!

What a ship.  Perfection.

[lackcreativity]

1 hour ago, Jazmyn49 said:

We had one of those sofas with the arm looking like a tiger clawed it (a PV1 cabin).  This was the 21-22 World Cruise on the Star.  When talking to different passengers, they mentioned the same thing.  Before the end of the cruise, we had a brand new sofa delivered as did many others.  There were also dozens and dozens of new mattresses on the dock in one port as crew removed the old ones, filling many dumpsters. 

This seems like an odd thing to have happened to more than one sofa. It sounds almost as if there was a defect in the fabric. The other thing that could be related is the famed "Supply Chain" issues kept furniture in service past the time when they would have usually been replaced. 

 

I wonder if cruise ships usually keep spare pieces of furniture on board for quick replacement of items that are seriously damaged? Stains can usually be cleaned, but torn fabric is harder to fix.  (Heidi13, are you here?) 

Edited August 7, 2022 by lackcreativity

[FetaCheese]

24 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

This seems like an odd thing to have happened to more than one sofa. It sounds almost as if there was a defect in the fabric. The other thing that could be related is the famed "Supply Chain" issues kept furniture in service past the time when they would have usually been replaced. 

 

I wonder if cruise ships usually keep spare pieces of furniture on board for quick replacement of items that are seriously damaged? Stains can usually be cleaned, but torn fabric is harder to fix.  (Heidi13, are you here?) 

On AZ, we had a balcony cabin.  Sofa, next to slider door,  had a terrible musty, moldy odor.  Steward  tried air freshener, but to no effect. The problem was the sliding door -- it leaked -- and water came in before our cruise.  We had no water come in on our voyage.  After alerting guest services, our sofa was replaced, and they dried the carpet.  End of odor.  So I must assume AZ, and other lines have new furniture onboard, as this occurred on a TA.  

[Heidi13]

40 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

This seems like an odd thing to have happened to more than one sofa. It sounds almost as if there was a defect in the fabric. The other thing that could be related is the famed "Supply Chain" issues kept furniture in service past the time when they would have usually been replaced. 

 

I wonder if cruise ships usually keep spare pieces of furniture on board for quick replacement of items that are seriously damaged? Stains can usually be cleaned, but torn fabric is harder to fix.  (Heidi13, are you here?) 

 

If Viking stocks spare furniture, wasn't a specific question I asked the Engineers, so best guess is that it's unlikely they had spare couches. Possibly small items and they may also have spare cushions and components for furniture that can be disassembled.

 

All furniture is easily damaged, but not so easy to repair. Even with a dedicated Upholstery Department with 6 full-time tradesmen, I couldn't keep up with the volume of repairs.

[quebecgirl]

THANK YOU ALL for your useful insights on this topic, specially Heidi13 for your very knowledgeable input. 

I come away thinking that booking on the Star will be a positive experience.  Yes, a stateroom could possibly have some minor issues but if the issues are promptly resolved, there really is no problem.

Cheers !