Maybe live New York to Iceland on Saturn 30/08-13/09

[uktog]

32 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

We are in a DV too for our upcoming cruise, but were only offered one chef’s table 

We only had one option before boarding. This cruise is full too but we went to the Chefs Table restaurant and they were helping everyone make new reservations 

[Mackdogmolly]

3 minutes ago, uktog said:

We only had one option before boarding. This cruise is full too but we went to the Chefs Table restaurant and they were helping everyone make new reservations 

Good to hear! When I booked my one option, there was no way to see what the menu was, so I was flying blind.

[millybess]

6 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Good to hear! When I booked my one option, there was no way to see what the menu was, so I was flying blind.

It really was better before when they posted the menus online on MVJ.  I really think that would eliminate a lot of hassle with people trying to book Chef's Table on their "dining reservation booking day".  Once we are onboard, we always look at what the menus are for the days we have it booked and more often than not, we end up cancelling.  

[Clay Clayton]

Just now, millybess said:

It really was better before when they posted the menus online on MVJ.  I really think that would eliminate a lot of hassle with people trying to book Chef's Table on their "dining reservation booking day".  Once we are onboard, we always look at what the menus are for the days we have it booked and more often than not, we end up cancelling.  

We do the same but we have never seen the menus ahead of time.  Our first ocean cruise was in March of 2018.

[millybess]

4 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

We do the same but we have never seen the menus ahead of time.  Our first ocean cruise was in March of 2018.

For us, up until our cruise in January 2020, they were always online with the dates the menus would be offered.  It was much simpler when booking dining reservations at Chef's Table.

[uktog]

59 minutes ago, FetaCheese said:

Perhaps the Captain will sail near/around the Statue of Liberty.  

 

Captain Kate on X Summit did on our last X cruise.

 

Very impressive when seen from the river.

 

Yes, the bathroom is outstanding.  Best we've ever experienced on some 45 cruises!

As we are at the Manhattan terminal we have the lovely sail down past everything soon. 
 

Love all the sports on this deck (putting skittles shuffle etc) and lots of people here for the view. This area was closed off on our Northern lights cruise understandably 

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by uktog

[May B]

20 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Good to hear! When I booked my one option, there was no way to see what the menu was, so I was flying blind.

Been there, done that.

 

But then we changed onboard, based on the menus having been posted. Until we noticed, our menu had changed one item! So we cancelled, and just went to The Restaurant. 

[May B]

2 minutes ago, uktog said:

As we are at the Manhattan terminal we have the lovely sail down past everything soon 

Bon voyage! Soon!

[millybess]

9 minutes ago, uktog said:

As we are at the Manhattan terminal we have the lovely sail down past everything soon. 
 

Love all the sports on this deck (putting skittles shuffle etc) and lots of people here for the view. This area was closed off on our Northern lights cruise understandably 

 

Really lovely photo.  

 

[uktog]

Such a beautiful sail out 

 

 

 

 

 

[millybess]

1 minute ago, uktog said:

Such a beautiful sail out 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful!  And a very nice time of day for a sail away. Thanks for posting the photos.  

[Clay Clayton]

3 hours ago, millybess said:

For us, up until our cruise in January 2020, they were always online with the dates the menus would be offered.  It was much simpler when booking dining reservations at Chef's Table.

All we ever saw were "sample"'menus

[Berlin Bear]

13 hours ago, uktog said:

As we are at the Manhattan terminal we have the lovely sail down past everything soon. 
 

Love all the sports on this deck (putting skittles shuffle etc) and lots of people here for the view. This area was closed off on our Northern lights cruise understandably 

 

Envy🤢.

When we sailed from Manhattan on the Viking Sea in October 2018, we were, despite a full ship, completely alone on deck! Made ourselves comfortable on a sofa. We put it down to the fact that our North American sailing companions had seen it all before 😁

[uktog]

Excellent dinner tonight though perhaps a little slow service - just like the wifi this morning!  It was due to everyone arriving at the same time. We had a short 5 minutes or so wait for a table 

 

 

 

Scallops - quite a kick 

Calfs liver so good, big portion

Mango burst. Maybe too creamy for me but very nice 

 

DH had a steak, medium well cooked to perfection. Unfortunately his cheesecake dessert was still frozen in the middle- oops. They were very apologetic and offered an alternative immediately.
 

We found delightful music everywhere- there is much more music in the Atrium than before - really good classical background music and Leonard the guitar player was in Explorer - very easy listening and a nice personality. 
 

A comfortable night albeit a little motion. For us it rocked us nicely to sleep. 

 

[molymoo]

I am so looking forward to reading about your trip as you go!  We will be on the same itinerary next June and will enjoy seeing how your trip goes.  We will do two nights in NYC before our sail and looking for ideas as to how to spend our time.  Fortunately we will be flying from Chicago so no jet lag and we can "hit the ground running".   Last time in NYC we did a wonderful tour of Central Park, a "hard hat" tour of Ellis Island (unrestored portions ... mainly the hospital) ... awesome experience!  I remember sailing past the Statue of Liberty being a "goosebumps" moment ... looking forward to seeing her again!  Thanks for your posts!  Looking forward to more ... and your blog!

 

Edited August 31, 2023 by molymoo
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[slewis7]

I am also on this same itinerary next June, so I am most curious about the ports and what you will do at each of them.  Hopefully Viking can make all the ports this time, as it seems a number of have been missed on earlier sailings.  Thanks for doing this.  Have a great cruise with perfect weather!

[northengirl]

Following your posts with interest as we usually cruise with Azamara. Interested to see how you find it. We are cruising on Viking Orion next February/ March. The bathroom is definitely better than Azamara. 

 

 

 

 

 

[uktog]

The Daily for our first sea day 

 

 

 

We were also impressed that feedback is taken as they go along in such a proactive way. Here is the first form, we received one each 

[uktog]

3 hours ago, northengirl said:

Following your posts with interest as we usually cruise with Azamara. Interested to see how you find it. We are cruising on Viking Orion next February/ March. The bathroom is definitely better than Azamara. 

 

 

 

 

 

So far our experience is that it compares very favourably and the food choices and quality is superior 

[Mackdogmolly]

Interested in how they handle the bar experience once In Canadian waters.

[WanderingBrit]

18 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

All we ever saw were "sample"'menus

When we were recently onboard Jupiter the Chef's Table menus shown through Viking Voyager were not what they were actually serving, and staff didn't seem able to change it. The leadership board also showed the wrong Executive Chef for the duration of the cruise too ...

[uktog]

53 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Interested in how they handle the bar experience once In Canadian waters.

It’s not been mentioned yet…..

[Mackdogmolly]

5 minutes ago, uktog said:

It’s not been mentioned yet…..

Went through that experience coming back from an Azamara Alaska cruise. It was a bit of a pain.

[Beachlover1989]

Thank you for sharing your experiences, the Daily Programs, and the menus as well!  We are planning on sailing Viking soon and are learning from all of your posts!

[Clay Clayton]

31 minutes ago, Beachlover1989 said:

Thank you for sharing your experiences, the Daily Programs, and the menus as well!  We are planning on sailing Viking soon and are learning from all of your posts!

If you haven't discovered it already the thread I've linked below has lots of great hints and advice for first time Viking cruisers:

My biggest recommendation to maximize your value, find a travel agent that provides the maximum kickback of their commission that Viking allows-$150pp on cruises up to 7 nights, $300pp on 8-14 night cruises, and $500pp on cruises of 15 nights or more. This is enough to cover the daily service charge/gratuities and leave a little left over for the bar tab. 🍸

Hope you will like Viking as much as we do!