Back from my first Viking cruise: reflections

[harbourside]

We had "Lotus" and California.   We like Asian food, especially spicy food and the Crispy Crab certainly was that.  My husband does not eat crab, prawns, etc, but I got him to try the crab which in the spicy sauce he actually enjoyed.  Did not taste like crab.

Everyones taste is different, so other people probably would not like it for the reasons that we did.  Every cruise is different, even with the same menus, items may be better prepared  or presented.

We liked the World Cafe.  

Edited March 7, 2023 by harbourside

[oskidunker]

Any Beef Wellngton?

[harbourside]

Yes, I saw Beef Wellington on "The Restaurant"  menu, but it was on a night we were at The Chefs Table. 

Edited March 7, 2023 by harbourside

[OneSixtyToOne]

2 hours ago, oskidunker said:

Any Beef Wellngton?

[oskidunker]

Looks like mostly pate

[MELSMOM47]

1 hour ago, oskidunker said:

Looks like mostly pate

Really. 

[JM0115]

1 hour ago, oskidunker said:

Looks like mostly pate

Is that what it is?

[Clay Clayton]

4 hours ago, millybess said:

Or which ones did you enjoy, especially at Chef’s Table?

Haven’t been on a Viking Ship since July 2021 (despite trying but having our cruise canceled) but below is my list of favorite Viking foods:

 

Breakfast:

Grilled lamb chops-The Restaurant

Raisin Pistachio Bun-The Living Room

Waffle-Mamsen’s

Potatoes Lyonaise-The World Cafe

 

Lunch:

Seared tuna-Pool Grill

(we have a salad made at the World Cafe while tuna is being prepared and then have the tuna on top)

Hamburger with Onion Rings-Pool Grill

Open Faced Sandwiches-Mamsen’s

Porcetta on the buffet

 

Afternoon Tea:

Scones with clotted cream-The Winter Garden

 

Pre-dinner:

Cold seafood and sushi-The World Cafe (then enjoy it at the Aquavit Terrace)

 

Dinner:

Chilean (NOT seared Mediterranean) Sea Bass -The Restaurant 

Cold Pea Soup-The Restaurant 

Lotus Menu - The Chef’s Table

Whole Split Lobster-The Restaurant not offered all the time

Steak Florentine-Manfredi’s 

Indian Ryazan broth - tomato soup (vegetarian)

 

Desserts:

Gelato-The World Cafe, try the sugar free flavors of ice cream and cookies-some we like better than full sugar ones

And had oatmeal cookie ice cream fir the first time on Sky in Iceland   So So good!

Cold Pea Soup-The Restaurant (seriously-it’s that good)

 

If you’d like to check out all the Chef’s Table Menus here is a link:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2861105-21-chef’s-table-menus/

 

[harbourside]

On 3/8/2023 at 1:21 PM, OneSixtyToOne said:

This is a good example of the lowering of food standards.  The Beef Wellington I had on my first cruise, was mainly steak, with a small border of pate.  Same as the lamb I had in "The Restaurant", it was very thick at least double thickness to the ones I had this time.  (I am not talking about lamb chops served for breakfast, though even those were bigger than those served for dinner.)  Put up prices, but do not dumb down the food items.  This is not mass market sailing.

[Pushka]

28 minutes ago, harbourside said:

This is a good example of the lowering of food standards.  The Beef Wellington I had on my first cruise, was mainly steak, with a small border of pate.  Same as the lamb I had in "The Restaurant", it was very thick at least double thickness to the ones I had this time.  (I am not talking about lamb chops served for breakfast, though even those were bigger than those served for dinner.)  Put up prices, but do not dumb down the food items.  This is not mass market sailing.

Prices in Australia anyway have been put up and another price increase on April 1 direct from Viking. 

[SJD117]

34 minutes ago, harbourside said:

This is a good example of the lowering of food standards.  The Beef Wellington I had on my first cruise, was mainly steak, with a small border of pate.  Same as the lamb I had in "The Restaurant", it was very thick at least double thickness to the ones I had this time.  (I am not talking about lamb chops served for breakfast, though even those were bigger than those served for dinner.)  Put up prices, but do not dumb down the food items.  This is not mass market sailing.

I wouldn’t know anything about Beef Wellington if it hit me upside the head. That’s how downmarket I am.  😀

[oskidunker]

I guess I will order two.

[MELSMOM47]

1 hour ago, oskidunker said:

I guess I will order two.

If you like the first one 🤪

[MarciAnn]

We cancelled our Viking ocean cruise to Norway for many of the same reasons.  We do not like bus tours with dozens of people and following a guide with a flag. We like to book private guides in each port as we see much more and can determine our itinerary ourselves.  They bus tours are included with Viking and we were paying for them.  This in and of itself would not have caused us to cancel but the reviews on the food and the lack of any entertainment or activities concerned us.  We noted that port talks were at 8 pm.  When do people eat dinner?  We like a leisurely dinner at 7:30.  Also, the rooms were much smaller than we were used to on other ships.  (We have primarily sailed Seabourn and Regent).  We had to book a penthouse junior suite to get the cabin that were standard on these lines.  Accordingly the price was virtually the same as if I had booked these much more upscale cruise lines which have a lot more inclusions including gratuities.  I get the sense that Viking is more geared to those cruisers who want the cruise line to make all their arrangements for them, i.e plane, transfers, hotels, tours, etc.  Just not for us.  Not knocking the cruise line, just not right for us.  its too bad because it was a great itinerary.

[SJD117]

5 minutes ago, MarciAnn said:

We cancelled our Viking ocean cruise to Norway for many of the same reasons.  We do not like bus tours with dozens of people and following a guide with a flag. We like to book private guides in each port as we see much more and can determine our itinerary ourselves.  They bus tours are included with Viking and we were paying for them.  This in and of itself would not have caused us to cancel but the reviews on the food and the lack of any entertainment or activities concerned us.  We noted that port talks were at 8 pm.  When do people eat dinner?  We like a leisurely dinner at 7:30.  Also, the rooms were much smaller than we were used to on other ships.  (We have primarily sailed Seabourn and Regent).  We had to book a penthouse junior suite to get the cabin that were standard on these lines.  Accordingly the price was virtually the same as if I had booked these much more upscale cruise lines which have a lot more inclusions including gratuities.  I get the sense that Viking is more geared to those cruisers who want the cruise line to make all their arrangements for them, i.e plane, transfers, hotels, tours, etc.  Just not for us.  Not knocking the cruise line, just not right for us.  its too bad because it was a great itinerary.

 

You "had" to book a penthouse junior suite? Over five Viking cruises, we've never "had" to book such a rarefied accommodation. Our tastes must be different than yours.  🤣

[Hockeyump]

16 minutes ago, MarciAnn said:

We cancelled our Viking ocean cruise to Norway for many of the same reasons.  We do not like bus tours with dozens of people and following a guide with a flag. We like to book private guides in each port as we see much more and can determine our itinerary ourselves.  They bus tours are included with Viking and we were paying for them.  This in and of itself would not have caused us to cancel but the reviews on the food and the lack of any entertainment or activities concerned us.  We noted that port talks were at 8 pm.  When do people eat dinner?  We like a leisurely dinner at 7:30.  Also, the rooms were much smaller than we were used to on other ships.  (We have primarily sailed Seabourn and Regent).  We had to book a penthouse junior suite to get the cabin that were standard on these lines.  Accordingly the price was virtually the same as if I had booked these much more upscale cruise lines which have a lot more inclusions including gratuities.  I get the sense that Viking is more geared to those cruisers who want the cruise line to make all their arrangements for them, i.e plane, transfers, hotels, tours, etc.  Just not for us.  Not knocking the cruise line, just not right for us.  its too bad because it was a great itinerary.

I have debated with myself whether to respond to this but have decided to do so as it fits with some recent thoughts. Do people book these cruises without prior research or due diligence? Yes, there have been recent reviews about food, always subjective, but many other concerns could have been identified prior to booking. Before my first Viking cruise I understood, for example, how an included bus tour was described and also the cost, size and included benefits of each cabin type.

 

I fail to see how anyone should be surprised at this information to the extent they have to cancel their booking.  Poor research - oh well someone else is at fault.

[Squawkman]

1 hour ago, Hockeyump said:

I have debated with myself whether to respond to this but have decided to do so as it fits with some recent thoughts. Do people book these cruises without prior research or due diligence? Yes, there have been recent reviews about food, always subjective, but many other concerns could have been identified prior to booking. Before my first Viking cruise I understood, for example, how an included bus tour was described and also the cost, size and included benefits of each cabin type.

 

I fail to see how anyone should be surprised at this information to the extent they have to cancel their booking.  Poor research - oh well someone else is at fault.

Highlighting the port talks is kinda odd since on my last cruise they were at 4:30 and available on our room TVs on demand after that.

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, MarciAnn said:

the reviews on the food and the lack of any entertainment or activities concerned us

I’d never make my decision on a cruise line based on a handful of reviewers on these boards. Besides, the food is subjective, and it’s misinformation that there is no entertainment or activities. Perhaps you also didn’t notice that Viking has superb onboard lecturers? And in five Viking cruises I’ve yet to see a port talk at 8 pm.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, MarciAnn said:

We cancelled our Viking ocean cruise to Norway for many of the same reasons.  We do not like bus tours with dozens of people and following a guide with a flag. We like to book private guides in each port as we see much more and can determine our itinerary ourselves.  They bus tours are included with Viking and we were paying for them.  This in and of itself would not have caused us to cancel but the reviews on the food and the lack of any entertainment or activities concerned us.  We noted that port talks were at 8 pm.  When do people eat dinner?  We like a leisurely dinner at 7:30.  Also, the rooms were much smaller than we were used to on other ships.  (We have primarily sailed Seabourn and Regent).  We had to book a penthouse junior suite to get the cabin that were standard on these lines.  Accordingly the price was virtually the same as if I had booked these much more upscale cruise lines which have a lot more inclusions including gratuities.  I get the sense that Viking is more geared to those cruisers who want the cruise line to make all their arrangements for them, i.e plane, transfers, hotels, tours, etc.  Just not for us.  Not knocking the cruise line, just not right for us.  its too bad because it was a great itinerary.

 

Just looked at Seabourn's cabins and the base cabin on most of them is an oceanview cabin of 295 sq feet that doesn't even have a balcony. On other ships, the base cabin is a Veranda Suite of about 355 sq feet. The comparable Viking cabins are DV & V (270 sq feet) for the oceanview and a PV (338 sq feet) for the Veranda Suite. Hardly much smaller than the equivalent cabins on Seabourn ships, as the DV & V cabins are 20 sq feet smaller and the PV is 17 sq feet smaller. I note Carnival (Seabourn) even refers to the "Oceanview" cabin as a "Suite", sorry but a 295 sq foot cabin with no balcony is hardly a suite.

 

Reading the blogs from the current World Cruisers, I seem to recall the port talks are at 18:30, but they are also recorded and available to watch at your convenience in the cabin.

 

You mentioned lack of entertainment or activities - I'm not certain which Viking you researched, as on our cruise we were glad to have experienced a couple of dozen 24.5 hr or 25 hr days, as we needed the additional time to sleep after all the activities.

 

While Viking will provide all the arrangements, this is certainly not our reason for Viking being our current preferred cruise line, as I am more than capable of making our own arrangements, subject to risk and respective costs. Viking is all about the thinking person's cruise, with numerous exceptional lectures and low key entertainment. 

[Cisterna]

On 3/2/2023 at 12:35 PM, rudychance said:

I would LOVE to hear about your French Polynesian cruise and was thinking about writing you a PM 😃. We're ( casually because of house and pets) looking at this 33 day itinerary on Neptune in 2024.  It would be more than twice as long as any cruise we've been on since our 3 and 4 day cruising in the 80's !

French Polynesia` WINDSTAR!!!!!

[Cisterna]

I must say - if they didn't have a bottle of dark  rum and you were in the Caribbean why didn't you just buy one and bring it on board!  It's allowed and so such an inexpensive solution! 

 

[Cisterna]

On 3/2/2023 at 4:38 PM, LindaS272 said:

To each his own in terms of the drinkability of the included wines. I hate the misinformation about the SSP, though, so will once again report that all wines on SSP are available ala carte and are denied to no one.

Of course  to pay to upgrade per glass of wine is available to all.. It is so nice to just buy the package and not worry about paying more each time.  If you are one who enjoys cockails before and after dinner,  mimosas during your massage,  better wine pairings with your chef's dinner,  wine during your cooking classes etc, just buy the package ~ if you are spending quite a bit for these  trips , the extra amount shouldn't break the bank. 

[CCWineLover]

3 hours ago, Hockeyump said:

I have debated with myself whether to respond to this but have decided to do so as it fits with some recent thoughts. Do people book these cruises without prior research or due diligence? Yes, there have been recent reviews about food, always subjective, but many other concerns could have been identified prior to booking. Before my first Viking cruise I understood, for example, how an included bus tour was described and also the cost, size and included benefits of each cabin type.

 

I fail to see how anyone should be surprised at this information to the extent they have to cancel their booking.  Poor research - oh well someone else is at fault.

I'm glad that you decided to post this.  Well stated.  I totally agree with you.

Most Viking passengers to be are fairly educated and well into research about ships, ports, adventures, and more.  

I have noted however, that since COVID there appears to be a newer group of passengers who have a different set of expectations and don't do as much research and are thus disappointed.

[ebtrip]

I will be on the Viking Sea in 3 days.  This will be our 4th.  We are independent travelers, as a former travel agent (retired), I do all our pre and post stays myself. On other cruise lines I have organized shore excursions for my cruise critic sailors.  As many has said, food is subjective, but we have found no problems and enjoy the quiet of small ships. We have sailed over 50 times, from Regent to a carnival over the years, but find Viking an excellent choice.

pS.   We also get the SS beverage package, as we do enjoy better wines, and extra beverages during the evening. 

Edited March 13, 2023 by ebtrip

[Clay Clayton]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

I'm glad that you decided to post this.  Well stated.  I totally agree with you.

Most Viking passengers to be are fairly educated and well into research about ships, ports, adventures, and more.  

I have noted however, that since COVID there appears to be a newer group of passengers who have a different set of expectations and don't do as much research and are thus disappointed.

Just not since Covid! On our first Viking cruise in 2018 Mike overheard a woman on Day 1 complaining about the lack of a butler in her suite and asking where the casino was located😳. On our last Viking cruise, we listened for at least 10 minutes while the Cruise Director listened to a customer complaint and then explained that while she was sorry he didn’t realize before boarding but having bingo and karoke were not part of the Owner’s vision and would never be added as he was suggesting. 😂
 

While I know we spend way too much time watching YouTube videos of cruises and places we want to visit, it’s hard to believe how many people spend so little.