Is the quality still with O or has it also been hit with the penny pinching of other cruise lines?

[Vineyard View]

Viking first started with that long payment in advance. We sucked it up to sail to sail on their inaugural cruise of Star, their first Oceans trip for 29 days in 2015. We loved the experience. At one time, they changed their prepayment to 6 months out…..that didn’t last long. We played their game for a while, but no longer. Add to that I can sail on SB or other “luxury” lines for less, and the package is not there any longer for us. The crazy thing….they keep selling full ships. So changing their marketing strategy and business model is highly unlikely to happen. 

At this point, Oceania and SB are on our radar for the future. 

[LuAnn]

21 hours ago, pinotlover said:

I never said I speak for “ all” Oceania passengers. Far from it. Many doesn’t equal all. 
 

I can say that the push for simple and bland on Oceania is bigger than on other lines. This issue isn’t limited to Oceania.

 

One of my largest clients had a huge Cajun night last Friday. Two different sittings of outrageous great Cajun food. What part of Cajun brings to mind simple and bland? Quite a few guests ( mostly geriatric) left complaining the food was too spicy. He options weren’t really hot and spicy but very favorable. Go elsewhere on Cajun night, but don’t demand the chef make bland dishes.

Just curious...what age do you consider "geriatric"? 

[pinotlover]

Just now, LuAnn said:

Just curious...what age do you consider "geriatric"? 

Not necessarily an age. Mostly a mental and/or physical condition imo. As the saying goes for a young teen “ 13 going on 20”, you have the same at the other end. It may well be 65 going on 90!

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

Viking first started with that long payment in advance. We sucked it up to sail to sail on their inaugural cruise of Star, their first Oceans trip for 29 days in 2015. We loved the experience. At one time, they changed their prepayment to 6 months out…..that didn’t last long. We played their game for a while, but no longer. Add to that I can sail on SB or other “luxury” lines for less, and the package is not there any longer for us. The crazy thing….they keep selling full ships. So changing their marketing strategy and business model is highly unlikely to happen. 

At this point, Oceania and SB are on our radar for the future. 

 

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. - Abraham Lincoln

 

I guess he was wrong in this case..

[pinotlover]

17 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. - Abraham Lincoln

 

I guess he was wrong in this case..

For those of us cruising primarily for the itinerary, there are certain times where Viking has a vastly superior itineraries. People may well opt to pay that year in advance for that particular itinerary not available on O or SB. For all those cruisers, cruising primarily for the ship, this isn’t a consideration. Apples and Oranges.

[ak1004]

17 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

For those of us cruising primarily for the itinerary, there are certain times where Viking has a vastly superior itineraries. People may well opt to pay that year in advance for that particular itinerary not available on O or SB. For all those cruisers, cruising primarily for the ship, this isn’t a consideration. Apples and Oranges.

 

I looked at European cruises. No single itinerary is unique or something you cannot get on O SB or SS.

 

We cruise for the itinerary, so paying 12-24 months in advance and paying more than SB just doesn't make sense. Apples to apples.

[pinotlover]

17 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

I looked at European cruises. No single itinerary is unique or something you cannot get on O SB or SS.

 

We cruise for the itinerary, so paying 12-24 months in advance and paying more than SB just doesn't make sense. Apples to apples.

Depends upon how you spend your money. One Adriatic cruise:

Athens - Venice. Along the way: Argostoli, Corfu, Kotor, Koper, Ravenna, Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar. Maybe not in order, but all on one cruise with a couple sea days thrown in. One cruise, one cost. On Oceania it would take at least 2 separate cruises, if not three, to see all those ports. That single Viking cruise cost us a lot less than multiples on Oceania.

[ak1004]

8 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Depends upon how you spend your money. One Adriatic cruise:

Athens - Venice. Along the way: Argostoli, Corfu, Kotor, Koper, Ravenna, Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar. Maybe not in order, but all on one cruise with a couple sea days thrown in. One cruise, one cost. On Oceania it would take at least 2 separate cruises, if not three, to see all those ports. That single Viking cruise cost us a lot less than multiples on Oceania.

 

Not sure.. the only one I see is this one - https://www.vikingcruisescanada.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/eastern-mediterranean/empires-mediterranean/index.html

 

No Argostoli, Ravenna or Split and no sea days. Cost in June 2024: $7,800 CAD for 9 nights.

 

Comparable cruises on O:

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/mediterranean-cruises/venice-to-rome-MNA231011/

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/greek-isles-cruises/athens-to-venice-RVA241015/

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/mediterranean-cruises/venice-to-rome-RVA241025/

 

10 nights around $5,000-5,500 CAD

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. - Abraham Lincoln

 

I guess he was wrong in this case..

Lots of  Viking advertisements  to brain wash  some of the people

Lots of people also believe  Oceania has the Best Cuisine at sea 

😉

 

[LSuzQ]

8 hours ago, QuestionEverything said:

I suspect so. Check out the Celebrity site, one thread about an executive resigning and major announcement today is disturbing. 

I feel bad for Celebrity, in 1992 it was the Oceania of the day. Very sad what has happened to that once classy cruiseline.

Agree. I fondly recall the small Celebrity ships of the early 2000’s—sailed to Bermuda several times on the Horizon. The ship size (1200 passengers), excellent service and food quality (before specialty restaurants were a thing) are sorely missed, and it’s that comparison with Oceania that draws me to O ships.

[osandomir]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Depends upon how you spend your money. One Adriatic cruise:

Athens - Venice. Along the way: Argostoli, Corfu, Kotor, Koper, Ravenna, Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar. Maybe not in order, but all on one cruise with a couple sea days thrown in. One cruise, one cost. On Oceania it would take at least 2 separate cruises, if not three, to see all those ports. That single Viking cruise cost us a lot less than multiples on Oceania.

I think we hit almost all of these ports plus some more on our Oceania cruise several years ago. Don’t remember how many days exactly was the cruise, but it was just one cruise and not back to back. We didn’t sail with Viking, but when I looked them up I found their itineraries repetitive with most ports that we had done with Oceania before.

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Lots of  Viking advertisements  to brain wash  some of the people

Lots of people also believe  Oceania has the Best Cuisine at sea 

😉

 

 

We are among those people.. didn't try all lines, but sailed on Oceania, Azamara, Crystal and Silversea, we like O food the best. 

[Vineyard View]

5 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. - Abraham Lincoln

 

I guess he was wrong in this case..

There is truth in that, but we have zero regrets with our experiences on Viking.   We truly  enjoyed our travels on them. The ports we visited, and the memories we created are tinged without any negativity whatsoever. . .  It was just time to open our lenses for different. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Vineyard View

[ak1004]

42 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

There is truth in that, but we have zero regrets with our experiences on Viking.   We truly  enjoyed our travels on them. The ports we visited, and the memories we created are tinged without any negativity whatsoever. . .  It was just time to open our lenses for different. 

 

And this is how it should be. No regrets.  I'm sure Vikings provides great experience, I just believe there are better alternatives in terms of value for money and itineraries.

[Vineyard View]

2 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

And this is how it should be. No regrets.  I'm sure Vikings provides great experience, I just believe there are better alternatives in terms of value for money and itineraries.

100% agree with you in our current climate of choices! Actually, has been for some time now, but it was a good chapter. 

[Tsunami74]

16 hours ago, pinotlover said:

For those of us cruising primarily for the itinerary, there are certain times where Viking has a vastly superior itineraries. People may well opt to pay that year in advance for that particular itinerary not available on O or SB. For all those cruisers, cruising primarily for the ship, this isn’t a consideration. Apples and Oranges.

I agree. Generally we feel Oceania a better experience than Viking for similar cost.

 

However, we disagree with ak1004 -  there are some Viking itineraries that are unique to them. 

For example, we are booked on a Viking cruise which starts in Oslo, then train ride to Bergen. It hits many ports like Faroe, Shetland, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, then sails up the St Lawrence to Quebec City, disembarking in Montreal (there are other ports along the way)  It is in the fall (autumn leaves in Canada?)

 

I have never seen any cruise line do anything like this route.

[ak1004]

26 minutes ago, Tsunami74 said:

I agree. Generally we feel Oceania a better experience than Viking for similar cost.

 

However, we disagree with ak1004 -  there are some Viking itineraries that are unique to them. 

For example, we are booked on a Viking cruise which starts in Oslo, then train ride to Bergen. It hits many ports like Faroe, Shetland, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, then sails up the St Lawrence to Quebec City, disembarking in Montreal (there are other ports along the way)  It is in the fall (autumn leaves in Canada?)

 

I have never seen any cruise line do anything like this route.

 

We take mostly short cruises, 10-12 night combined with 2-4 nights pre cruise.

 

I just searched Viking for 9-11 nights itineraries. Guess how many results I got? 6. All over the world. Only 2 of them in Europe. Even if I go to 12-17 days, there are only 17 in Mediterranean. I would call it pretty limited.

 

As for similar cost, I'm not sure which itineraries you are looking at, but I previously gave an example of Mediterranean cruise of 9 nights at $7,700 CAD. Similar cruises on O are $5,000-5,500 CAD for 10 nights. I wouldn't call it similar cost.

 

I also looked at Canada sailings you mentioned (St Lawrence to Quebec City). SB has a similar sailing for less money. To me, this is absurd.

[ToxM]

Prickly pears all over this thread. 

 

Food is subjective. I will weep with happiness at the turkey and mash on embarkation day in The Terrace because it is IN The Terrace on embarkation day. it’s probably not the best turkey and mash, but it is MY turkey and mash on embarkation day. 

 

The hot sticky buns have deteriorated since the heady pre covid days and I weep with sadness at their slide towards oblivion. 

 

The pancakes in the GDR at breakfast are perfection to my eyes because I rarely get to eat American pancakes for breakfast. 

 

I have had an experience with Halloumi in The Terrace that made me want to jump over the counter and teach the griddle chef what to do with that heavenly baconcheese marvel. 

 

The fish and chips were a sadness that Marital Unit has disavowed from experiencing on O ever again.

 

The Eggs Benedict give me goosebumps because I love them so much. I discovered the Cuban sandwiches last cruise and even though they aren’t particularly authentic I really like them.  

 

The magician on Sirena who was making the most gorgeous pizzas at The Terrace was magical and I worshipped at his altar every day.

 

I am sure everyone who has experienced these things on O will have 360 degrees of different opinions.

 

I think for me it’s all pretty good, better than I have experienced on other lines.  

[J80crew]

I saw a notice today that O is changing their deposit and refund policy as of September 1. It requires full payment 120 days in advance (still less than Viking) and institutes an administrative fee of $250pp for cancellation at any time, and $500pp for cancellation between 150 and 120 days. Cancellation fees can be issued as future cruise credit, but they’re still holding your money. I’m booking my fall 2024 cruise today before the new policy kicks in. 

[EJL2023]

4 minutes ago, J80crew said:

I saw a notice today that O is changing their deposit and refund policy as of September 1. It requires full payment 120 days in advance (still less than Viking) and institutes an administrative fee of $250pp for cancellation at any time, and $500pp for cancellation between 150 and 120 days. Cancellation fees can be issued as future cruise credit, but they’re still holding your money. I’m booking my fall 2024 cruise today before the new policy kicks in. 

There is a separate thread on this topic. Your comment about cancellation fees being used as a future cruise credit does not seem to align with what I was seeing in that thread. Perhaps it was updated and I missed it. 

[LHT28]

10 minutes ago, J80crew said:

I saw a notice today that O is changing their deposit and refund policy as of September 1. It requires full payment 120 days in advance (still less than Viking) and institutes an administrative fee of $250pp for cancellation at any time, and $500pp for cancellation between 150 and 120 days. Cancellation fees can be issued as future cruise credit, but they’re still holding your money. I’m booking my fall 2024 cruise today before the new policy kicks in. 

New Cancellation policy  as well

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2958035-new-cancellation-policy/page/5/#comment-65965463

 

[Vineyard View]

8 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

We take mostly short cruises, 10-12 night combined with 2-4 nights pre cruise.

 

I just searched Viking for 9-11 nights itineraries. Guess how many results I got? 6. All over the world. Only 2 of them in Europe. Even if I go to 12-17 days, there are only 17 in Mediterranean. I would call it pretty limited.

 

As for similar cost, I'm not sure which itineraries you are looking at, but I previously gave an example of Mediterranean cruise of 9 nights at $7,700 CAD. Similar cruises on O are $5,000-5,500 CAD for 10 nights. I wouldn't call it similar cost.

 

I also looked at Canada sailings you mentioned (St Lawrence to Quebec City). SB has a similar sailing for less money. To me, this is absurd.

Viking used to have pricing much closer to O than now. It has steeply gone up post Covid to the point that I can, and did,  sail on SB for a lot less this year. They have pretty much lost a loyal customer in us. 
 

Our sweet spot is 11-14 day itineraries, with 14 now being our favorite due to animals at home. It is difficult to find a straight 14 day itinerary on Oceania, and even SB that are not B2B. Viking does offer several, and I wish others would as well. 

[Ray4Fun]

22 hours ago, J80crew said:

I saw a notice today that O is changing their deposit and refund policy as of September 1. It requires full payment 120 days in advance (still less than Viking) and institutes an administrative fee of $250pp for cancellation at any time, and $500pp for cancellation between 150 and 120 days. Cancellation fees can be issued as future cruise credit, but they’re still holding your money. I’m booking my fall 2024 cruise today before the new policy kicks in. 

Viking booking payments are 6 months out. We use to ask, now after one cruise it is automatic. Booked one two weeks back so this info is current. We enjoy V. We cannot wait to do O. The O v V is interesting. We are in it for the itineraries , then cost model. We assume O is similar quality to V. Yes? 

[basor]

3 minutes ago, Ray4Fun said:

Viking booking payments are 6 months out. We use to ask, now after one cruise it is automatic. Booked one two weeks back so this info is current. We enjoy V. We cannot wait to do O. The O v V is interesting. We are in it for the itineraries , then cost model. We assume O is similar quality to V. Yes? 

As I understand, as long as you already have a future Viking cruise booked and then book another, the FP is 6 months .  Otherwise it is the 1 year in advance. Friends booked a JAN 2025 Vietnam cruise and FP is due JAN 2024.  They have sailed on many Viking cruises so not newbies.  There is quite a discussion about this on the Viking board....

[1985rz1]

1 hour ago, Ray4Fun said:

Viking booking payments are 6 months out. We use to ask, now after one cruise it is automatic. Booked one two weeks back so this info is current. We enjoy V. We cannot wait to do O. The O v V is interesting. We are in it for the itineraries , then cost model. We assume O is similar quality to V. Yes? 

The baseline payment schedule is 12 months.  If you have an existing booking, you can ask for 6 months if you are booking a second (my experience).  Sometimes, the ask is refused (my experience).