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

[aungrl]

4 minutes ago, uktog said:

Well to this Brit brought up to learn to bake scones with grandma I’d say they were pretty good. A little more butter in the mix and they’d be perfect. They were light years ahead of the Azamara door stops served on Onward on our last cruise 

That's interesting that you mention the butter...I may be misremembering, but I believe @Clay Clayton did mention something along the same lines...seemed to him that perhaps the butter was a little less than in earlier versions.  He'll correct me if I'm wrong. In any case, glad that you found them to be pretty good!

[Clay Clayton]

59 minutes ago, aungrl said:

That's interesting that you mention the butter...I may be misremembering, but I believe @Clay Clayton did mention something along the same lines...seemed to him that perhaps the butter was a little less than in earlier versions.  He'll correct me if I'm wrong. In any case, glad that you found them to be pretty good!

My husband Mike is the baker but he wondered if the size wasn't a little smaller and they hadn't cut the cooking time enough making them dryer. Or they had overworked the dough making them more dense.  
 

trust me, we still ate and enjoyed them!

[LindaS272]

4 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

My husband Mike is the baker but he wondered if the size wasn't a little smaller and they hadn't cut the cooking time enough making them dryer. Or they had overworked the dough making them more dense.  
 

trust me, we still ate and enjoyed them!

They were smaller for sure, but the batches we had were cooked to our liking—not dry or dense at all. 🫖

[uktog]

I think the scones were a nice size, I’ve only done one previous Viking ocean cruise so my recollections are limited. For me the size was right and the texture what I’d expect- certainly a case of size doesn’t matter here especially as they were offering seconds (didn’t take)

 

Yesterday was one of these sea days I love. Just pottering along reading and doing what takes your fancy. 
 

At last I had time to fit a morning waffle in - how I love them. 

Our main highlight was an afternoon talk with overture (20 minutes pre show video loop) by Corey Sandler on the Beatles music. The theatre was packed including the side wings. It was an excellent and unique presentation. 

 

We had a very good dinner again, food continues to impress.

Service is still not up to speed especially the wine service if you want Silver Package wines. We also tend to change wines between starter and main. So far this is hit or miss. We always get there but usually very late into eating our mains. 

Loved Dancing under the Stars. Being an Azamara regular I’ve enjoyed White Night Dancing occasionally but always on a cramped floor and often in very chilly weather. Viking has the far better venue - roof on and plenty of space either to dance on the floor or as many were doing for short spells beside their seats. It was lovely to see more mature couples having a short little dance that way. 

A great sea day, seas calm though now b foggy 

[uktog]

The Wi-Fi onboard is excellent but that is leading to a big drawback and our first big grouse about this cruise.  
 

Not Vikings fault but caused by the guests who forgot to pack their manners and basic understanding of courtesy. This morning our breakfast in world cafe was accompanied by a guest beside us watching a daytime chat show and laughing along with it. He knew he was annoying others but didn’t care.

 

Just now by the pool a lady has had a loud 20 minute video call with her girlfriend- it really reverberated round the pool so we know their neighbourhood gossip. 

Yesterday evening the classical piece to Munch pictures was punctuated by someone calling their grandkids. 

I wish Viking would go further than asking that out of courtesy video viewing and calls aren’t in public places as they do now - they should ban them and empower staff to ask guests to end calls being conducted in public. 

[millybess]

6 minutes ago, uktog said:

The Wi-Fi onboard is excellent but that is leading to a big drawback and our first big grouse about this cruise.  
 

Not Vikings fault but caused by the guests who forgot to pack their manners and basic understanding of courtesy. This morning our breakfast in world cafe was accompanied by a guest beside us watching a daytime chat show and laughing along with it. He knew he was annoying others but didn’t care.

 

Just now by the pool a lady has had a loud 20 minute video call with her girlfriend- it really reverberated round the pool so we know their neighbourhood gossip. 

Yesterday evening the classical piece to Munch pictures was punctuated by someone calling their grandkids. 

I wish Viking would go further than asking that out of courtesy video viewing and calls aren’t in public places as they do now - they should ban them and empower staff to ask guests to end calls being conducted in public. 

Agreed.  We've seen a lot of this too.  E.g., a couple face timing their adult child and giving them a tour around the sitting area that we are in and we are apparently included.  It's very annoying.  

Edited September 4, 2023 by millybess

[uktog]

We had a fun morning attending a cooking class.
 

What a beautiful “school area” equipped to the highest spec with great use of cameras and induction hobs hidden in worktops. It’s actually a chopping time as everyone gets two items needed in the overall menu to chop. You can help a little with some of the frying and stirring 

It was an enjoyable time cooking part of the chef’s table California menu (crab cakes

and the halibut)

and we were served the dessert with an explanation how to make it. 

I would recommend this which is a sea day activity sold ($79 a head) via shore ex though if you are a little hard of hearing the chef is very difficult to understand just now so be aware of that. 

[Azulann]

Great cruise report. I love sea days. Your pictures make me hungry.

Passengers  should do their talking on their devices or listening to shows on their iPad or phones in the  privacy of their stateroom. Or at least use headphones so no one else can hear. Very irritating  whether on land or sea.

 

[Selion]

6 hours ago, uktog said:

I wish Viking would go further than asking that out of courtesy video viewing and calls aren’t in public places as they do now - they should ban them and empower staff to ask guests to end calls being conducted in public. 

Take that a step further...  If Viking decides to offer a 'No WiFi' cruise, I'd be the first one to sign up.

[SJD117]

8 minutes ago, Selion said:

Take that a step further...  If Viking decides to offer a 'No WiFi' cruise, I'd be the first one to sign up.

That will never happen. Viking cruisers are wedded (addicted?) to all their devices. The company isn’t going to upset that applecart.

[aungrl]

32 minutes ago, SJD117 said:

That will never happen. Viking cruisers are wedded (addicted?) to all their devices. The company isn’t going to upset that applecart.

No, but it's nice to fantasize about it...I remember when the quiet cars first came on line on the Acela between DC and NYC.  Heaven!

[kctwinmommy]

@uktog That is one of my biggest pet peeves! That has become too common all over these days. Why do you need to facetime with someone while walking through a store. Or sitting at a table in a restaurant. Of course, I also have issues with kids playing on all the devices these days with volume cranked up in all sorts of settings. I mean, I go to the grocery store and there's definite older kids (around age 6-8) sitting in shopping carts with their eyes glued to a phone or tablet.

 

But back to your post, that would be great if the crew would kindly remind people of their disruptive behavior. We've never had WiFi on a cruise before, so this will be a first for us. All our other cruises have been on lines where you had to pay for it. Being gone for a month, it will be good to check in on our college kid a few times, but nothing serious or any long talks. And certainly not in public like that!

[KTRaveller]

On 9/1/2023 at 3:34 AM, uktog said:

A couple of little touches we liked. (It’s the little things that matter they say)

 

On embarkation, we discovered in our room, a kettle and some teabags as well as the coffee maker. We are actually not tea drinkers so had the attendant take them away, but we thought it was a nice touch that they seemed to have identified the guests from the UK and put kettles and teabags into the rooms.

 

Some  people may not like this, but the second thing we like is that they do not issue paper maps for each port , rather they place a QR code to the relevant section of Google Maps on the back page of the daily. I really like this because our experience on Azamara has been dreadfully printed maps out of date and not very clear. I know you can get to Google Maps yourself but this is just a very helpful little touch but also contributed to see if the environment by not putting lots of paper into the room

Very disappointed to hear this as I hadn't planned on having my phone using data for three weeks in the Mediterranean.  I was counting on those paper maps.  The ones on our river cruise last fall seemed quite accurate -- old towns' historic areas don't change much!  I'm forewarned though, so thank you!

[KTRaveller]

On 9/2/2023 at 11:39 AM, millybess said:

Yummy.  We had a fruit-topped one for DH's birthday on our last cruise and another for my birthday on the same cruise -- for that one they were out by a couple of months lol.  Yes, very good and we shared both with the housekeeping staff and they thought it was quite a treat!

I tried to let Viking know via MVJ chat that my DH was celebrating a birthday on our upcoming October cruise.  First the agent told me they'd put it in the record for the date I chose.  (On his actual 75th birthday in August he was 3 weeks post shoulder surgery and still in a huge sling contraption and  eating with his wrong hand...Not a great look ) Then, I went back on the chat to make sure they'd use his nickname instead of his passport name.  That agent told me that they will not recognize birthdays except on the actual date if it falls during the cruise... 

Years ago we celebrated our anniversary aboard, a few weeks before the actual date because the cruise was our celebration.  They didn't ask for proof that time. I'll try guest services when we board.  He really deserves a celebration!  

[KTRaveller]

Thanks for posting so much from your cruise.  Sad to hear that some are being so rude with their devices.  They are actually addictive as is becoming increasingly clear.  A disruptive drunk passenger would be shown back to her stateroom.  Perhaps the same gentle treatment of this addiction should apply!  Viking's public spaces are so lovely and serene.  

[uktog]

As we rock into a misty Greenland - fingers crossed we get ashore - some pictures from last night. 
The food continues to be excellent, the service is “amateur” - if only they could crack that it would be five star. They graciously thank you for feedback I think often what you say is no surprise! 
Stupid issues last night were we ordered white wine with the starter and red with the main. They brought one glass for white and one for red. Couldn’t get them to understand we were doing a simple switch. Fixed that, then had to chase and chase the red wine so we we’re almost finished our main before it comes!

Then we’d ordered a cold starter each then soup So he brings one soup and one starter because….the crab would take a long time to cook (it was a cold crab starter!!!). 
So you can see why I say amateurism. Let’s hope for better tonight!  With all the chaos I forgot to photo the menu and the main. But the rest is here. The artichoke soufflé was lovely and I think the fruit plate is so pretty 

 

 

[millybess]

4 hours ago, KTRaveller said:

He really deserves a celebration!  

Yes he certainly does!  In DH’s case, it was his actual birthday and I had no idea they were going to do something. In my case they transposed my birthdate numbers (or possibly our steward wanted another cake to share with his coworkers 😊)

[uktog]

Forgot this before

 

Yesterdays sea day programme 

And today at our first Greenland stop (hopefully). By the way the port talk yesterday was so full they had to ask people arriving 5 minutes before the start to go and watch it in their rooms. It was a useful talk 

 

 

[takemewithyou]

6 hours ago, uktog said:

As we rock into a misty Greenland - fingers crossed we get ashore - some pictures from last night. 
The food continues to be excellent, the service is “amateur” - if only they could crack that it would be five star. They graciously thank you for feedback I think often what you say is no surprise! 
Stupid issues last night were we ordered white wine with the starter and red with the main. They brought one glass for white and one for red. Couldn’t get them to understand we were doing a simple switch. Fixed that, then had to chase and chase the red wine so we we’re almost finished our main before it comes!

Then we’d ordered a cold starter each then soup So he brings one soup and one starter because….the crab would take a long time to cook (it was a cold crab starter!!!). 
So you can see why I say amateurism. Let’s hope for better tonight!  With all the chaos I forgot to photo the menu and the main. But the rest is here. The artichoke soufflé was lovely and I think the fruit plate is so pretty 

 

 

Have to say…..that type of service would drive me nuts and we also experienced that on our single Viking cruise! 

[Clay Clayton]

10 hours ago, KTRaveller said:

I tried to let Viking know via MVJ chat that my DH was celebrating a birthday on our upcoming October cruise.  First the agent told me they'd put it in the record for the date I chose.  (On his actual 75th birthday in August he was 3 weeks post shoulder surgery and still in a huge sling contraption and  eating with his wrong hand...Not a great look ) Then, I went back on the chat to make sure they'd use his nickname instead of his passport name.  That agent told me that they will not recognize birthdays except on the actual date if it falls during the cruise... 

Years ago we celebrated our anniversary aboard, a few weeks before the actual date because the cruise was our celebration.  They didn't ask for proof that time. I'll try guest services when we board.  He really deserves a celebration!  

Make friends with the Restaurant manager, he/she will make it happen. That's all I did for Mike's and our friend's birthday.  Mike's hd been three weeks before we cruised, Robert's was two weeks after disembarking. Asked her to have a cake, I was very surprised when we had two!

Edited September 5, 2023 by Clay Clayton

[FetaCheese]

11 hours ago, KTRaveller said:

I tried to let Viking know via MVJ chat that my DH was celebrating a birthday on our upcoming October cruise.  First the agent told me they'd put it in the record for the date I chose.  (On his actual 75th birthday in August he was 3 weeks post shoulder surgery and still in a huge sling contraption and  eating with his wrong hand...Not a great look ) Then, I went back on the chat to make sure they'd use his nickname instead of his passport name.  That agent told me that they will not recognize birthdays except on the actual date if it falls during the cruise... 

Years ago we celebrated our anniversary aboard, a few weeks before the actual date because the cruise was our celebration.  They didn't ask for proof that time. I'll try guest services when we board.  He really deserves a celebration!  

On last V cruise, I had 2 celebrations entered into my record. The V agent I spoke with asked me what dates do I want them.  Gave her the dates, which were not the actual dates.

 

Was not a problem. They had an anniversary cake for us in our cabin one day, and sang Happy Birthday at the dinner table. Both on the days I had specified.

 

Like many have said, different agents, different answers.

[Hobson1754]

8 hours ago, uktog said:

As we rock into a misty Greenland - fingers crossed we get ashore - some pictures from last night. 
The food continues to be excellent, the service is “amateur” - if only they could crack that it would be five star. They graciously thank you for feedback I think often what you say is no surprise! 
Stupid issues last night were we ordered white wine with the starter and red with the main. They brought one glass for white and one for red. Couldn’t get them to understand we were doing a simple switch. Fixed that, then had to chase and chase the red wine so we we’re almost finished our main before it comes!

Then we’d ordered a cold starter each then soup So he brings one soup and one starter because….the crab would take a long time to cook (it was a cold crab starter!!!). 
So you can see why I say amateurism. Let’s hope for better tonight!  With all the chaos I forgot to photo the menu and the main. But the rest is here. The artichoke soufflé was lovely and I think the fruit plate is so pretty 

 

 

Oh dear - I hope they can get their act together by next week when we board. The food however does look good. Do you think there’s a lot of new crew & have you had any conversation with the restaurant manager? 

[uktog]

It was so lovely to achieve the reason we took this cruise. We always recognised there was a risk it would not happen but it did - we set foot in Greenland. Saturn dropped anchor by a growler and the tenders set off - it was a very smooth ride in

 

Happy little school children keeping us amused at the pier

For us it was the included tour which was a walk at your own pace through Qaqortoq. Locals posted at various points (with interpreters as required)

including an Inuit singers at the Church, father and daughter. She is wearing an outfit her grandmother made for her, it took her a year to make

I loved that like so many churches around the world bored kids had indulged in graffiti on the pews. 

There were dancers in the village hall and a kayak demo by the shore. The people were so friendly, it’s a very simple place

 

Qaqortoq has the only fountain in Greenland! 

 

One thing we realised when they were using the Scrabble bag of history, Iceland got all the consonants but Greenland pulled the vowels and the qs 😀

[aungrl]

33 minutes ago, uktog said:

It was so lovely to achieve the reason we took this cruise. We always recognised there was a risk it would not happen but it did - we set foot in Greenland. Saturn dropped anchor by a growler and the tenders set off - it was a very smooth ride in

 

Happy little school children keeping us amused at the pier

For us it was the included tour which was a walk at your own pace through Qaqortoq. Locals posted at various points (with interpreters as required)

including an Inuit singers at the Church, father and daughter. She is wearing an outfit her grandmother made for her, it took her a year to make

I loved that like so many churches around the world bored kids had indulged in graffiti on the pews. 

There were dancers in the village hall and a kayak demo by the shore. The people were so friendly, it’s a very simple place

 

Qaqortoq has the only fountain in Greenland! 

 

One thing we realised when they were using the Scrabble bag of history, Iceland got all the consonants but Greenland pulled the vowels and the qs 😀

Loved seeing these pictures!  They bring back great memories of our stop on Qaqortoq a few years ago.  This and the Shetland Islands were two of our favorites ports on that In the Wake of the Vikings crossing.  Good luck with tonight's dinner service.

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

It was so lovely to achieve the reason we took this cruise. We always recognised there was a risk it would not happen but it did - we set foot in Greenland. Saturn dropped anchor by a growler and the tenders set off - it was a very smooth ride in

 

Happy little school children keeping us amused at the pier

For us it was the included tour which was a walk at your own pace through Qaqortoq. Locals posted at various points (with interpreters as required)

including an Inuit singers at the Church, father and daughter. She is wearing an outfit her grandmother made for her, it took her a year to make

I loved that like so many churches around the world bored kids had indulged in graffiti on the pews. 

There were dancers in the village hall and a kayak demo by the shore. The people were so friendly, it’s a very simple place

 

Qaqortoq has the only fountain in Greenland! 

 

One thing we realised when they were using the Scrabble bag of history, Iceland got all the consonants but Greenland pulled the vowels and the qs 😀

Qaqortoq was one of our favorite places, too, on In the Wake of the Vikings in 2019 (we missed Shetland, unfortunately). There was a men’s choir with drummers in the community hall when we there & I picked up one of their CDs.