Booked our first Viking Ocean Cruise

[californiagirl]

Very excited to have booked Bangkok to Bali, November 2024 on Venus.  We are long time, experienced cruisers and we are elite on Princess.  Over time - especially since the change in leadership we have become more and more dissatisfied with Princess.  Also they don’t offer an itinerary in any way similar to this one.  Lastly we are at the point in life where we want a more upscale experience.  I read many Venus reviews prior to booking and the consistently high ratings were reassuring.  Having said all this I understand there is no perfect cruise line and that some Viking cruisers feel the company has slipped.  I think that is across the boards since covid.  However from reading this board and the recent reviews it appears the Viking experience is heads above Princess.

 

We don’t drink alcohol and rarely take ship excursions.  Since we overnight in Bangkok at the beginning of the cruise, early cabin access doesn’t matter to us.  (We will have a late checkout at our hotel.)  For these reasons we chose the lowest veranda cabin category.  I think someone jokingly referred to it as steerage class.  We like the location of the cabin.  Question: is there an extra fee for the specialty restaurants?  I realize we won’t have priority reservations.  Looking forward to this  cruise!

[JM0115]

2 minutes ago, californiagirl said:

Very excited to have booked Bangkok to Bali, November 2024 on Venus.  We are long time, experienced cruisers and we are elite on Princess.  Over time - especially since the change in leadership we have become more and more dissatisfied with Princess.  Also they don’t offer an itinerary in any way similar to this one.  Lastly we are at the point in life where we want a more upscale experience.  I read many Venus reviews prior to booking and the consistently high ratings were reassuring.  Having said all this I understand there is no perfect cruise line and that some Viking cruisers feel the company has slipped.  I think that is across the boards since covid.  However from reading this board and the recent reviews it appears the Viking experience is heads above Princess.

 

We don’t drink alcohol and rarely take ship excursions.  Since we overnight in Bangkok at the beginning of the cruise, early cabin access doesn’t matter to us.  (We will have a late checkout at our hotel.)  For these reasons we chose the lowest veranda cabin category.  I think someone jokingly referred to it as steerage class.  We like the location of the cabin.  Question: is there an extra fee for the specialty restaurants?  I realize we won’t have priority reservations.  Looking forward to this  cruise!

No fee for specialty restaurants. You will be able to get reservations once on board. Everyone is equal once you are on board. No fee for thermal suite either.

[lackcreativity]

We always sail in Veranda cabins, and think they are quite satisfactory. With every cabin having a veranda, and lots of open and uncrowded areas on board, we never feel the need for more space.

 

Even without advance reservations, we have been able to eat in both specialty restaurants on every cruise we have taken, often more than once. It helps to be flexible on time, and check availability several times during the cruise, as people change plans often. Download the Viking Voyager app on your phone before you depart, though you won't be able to use it until on board. You can use that to search for and make reservations.

 

Welcome to Viking. Hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

[Clay Clayton]

2 hours ago, californiagirl said:

Very excited to have booked Bangkok to Bali, November 2024 on Venus.  We are long time, experienced cruisers and we are elite on Princess.  Over time - especially since the change in leadership we have become more and more dissatisfied with Princess.  Also they don’t offer an itinerary in any way similar to this one.  Lastly we are at the point in life where we want a more upscale experience.  I read many Venus reviews prior to booking and the consistently high ratings were reassuring.  Having said all this I understand there is no perfect cruise line and that some Viking cruisers feel the company has slipped.  I think that is across the boards since covid.  However from reading this board and the recent reviews it appears the Viking experience is heads above Princess.

 

We don’t drink alcohol and rarely take ship excursions.  Since we overnight in Bangkok at the beginning of the cruise, early cabin access doesn’t matter to us.  (We will have a late checkout at our hotel.)  For these reasons we chose the lowest veranda cabin category.  I think someone jokingly referred to it as steerage class.  We like the location of the cabin.  Question: is there an extra fee for the specialty restaurants?  I realize we won’t have priority reservations.  Looking forward to this  cruise!

I hope and suspect you will be very pleased with Viking. If you haven't already discovered it, this thread provides lots of information and advice on making the most of your viking cruise. 
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2416372-tips-for-new-viking-ocean-cruisers/page/62/#comment-62141739

[californiagirl]

Thank you for the suggestions and recommendations. 

[ChrisB123]

Also a California Girl, also a long time Princess cruiser and dissatisfied with what they have become and also a first time Viking cruiser. We go next year on the Homeland Cruise, Stockholm Sweden to Bergen Norway. The Viking website has tons of information as does YouTube. You don't pay for restaurants on Viking. 😁

[californiagirl]

ChrisB that’s so funny!  I think we are no longer the Princess target market.  That’s okay, at this point in life we can afford Viking.  No so when we began cruising back in 1998.  I’m pleasantly surprised to hear that there is more included than I thought.  

[Clay Clayton]

26 minutes ago, californiagirl said:

ChrisB that’s so funny!  I think we are no longer the Princess target market.  That’s okay, at this point in life we can afford Viking.  No so when we began cruising back in 1998.  I’m pleasantly surprised to hear that there is more included than I thought.  

The only things that are not already included in your fare once you are onboard are:

-Daily Gratuities (we cover this with the shipboard credit our Travel Agent provides)

-cocktails, wine, sodas at non-meal times

-wines that are not the included offerings at meal time

-optional excursions

-massages, treatments, etc. at the spa

-Kitchen Table cooking classes

-wine or liquor tastings

 

[californiagirl]

Thank you for the info Clay!

[Clay Clayton]

1 hour ago, californiagirl said:

Thank you for the info Clay!

Anytime!

[photopro2]

7 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Daily Gratuities (we cover this with the shipboard credit our Travel Agent provides)

If you have booked direct with Viking I believe I am correct in saying that you can transfer that booking over to a TA within 30 days and benefit from the shipboard credit form them. Certainly something worth investigating.

Edited September 17, 2023 by photopro2
Spelling

[Clay Clayton]

4 hours ago, photopro2 said:

If you have booked direct with Viking I believe I am correct in saying that you can transfer that booking over to a TA within 30 days and benefit from the shipboard credit form them. Certainly something worth investigating.

That is also my understanding though somewhere on these boards, others have reported being able to do so within 60 days. I know our agent told me 30. 

[rbslos18]

On 9/16/2023 at 4:50 PM, californiagirl said:

Very excited to have booked Bangkok to Bali, November 2024 on Venus.  We are long time, experienced cruisers and we are elite on Princess.  Over time - especially since the change in leadership we have become more and more dissatisfied with Princess.  Also they don’t offer an itinerary in any way similar to this one.  Lastly we are at the point in life where we want a more upscale experience.  I read many Venus reviews prior to booking and the consistently high ratings were reassuring.  Having said all this I understand there is no perfect cruise line and that some Viking cruisers feel the company has slipped.  I think that is across the boards since covid.  However from reading this board and the recent reviews it appears the Viking experience is heads above Princess.

 

We don’t drink alcohol and rarely take ship excursions.  Since we overnight in Bangkok at the beginning of the cruise, early cabin access doesn’t matter to us.  (We will have a late checkout at our hotel.)  For these reasons we chose the lowest veranda cabin category.  I think someone jokingly referred to it as steerage class.  We like the location of the cabin.  Question: is there an extra fee for the specialty restaurants?  I realize we won’t have priority reservations.  Looking forward to this  cruise!

Welcome to Viking! We have followed a similar path. We too were long time Princess travelers and Elite. We became disillusioned, experimented with a few “luxury cruises,” and finally found Viking in 2021. We have been very satisfied.
Have a wonderful cruise. There is a lot of Viking information on this board. Be sure to let us know how it goes.

Edited September 18, 2023 by rbslos18

[Kruzkrazy]

We are also refugees from Princess. We used them for 40 years, have over 500 nights on that line. No more. We are done with them. We got sick and tired of having our elite perks canceled. Clearly, Princess no longer wants us. Viking does. You will love V. Welcome aboard.

[RLK33853]

Princess has slowly pushed many loyal cruisers away with their current policies and takeaways.  Like others have mentioned, we have 500 nights and over the past several years we have decided to try other lines due to Princess's lack of loyalty in return.  It appears that Princess would rather have new bodies on board than those who have spent years achieving the upper levels of loyalty.  Will we still cruise with Princess, probably - if the itinerary is right.  In reality we have booked four other lines over the next six months, including Viking to see if they are a better fit for us.

[Clay Clayton]

I'm glad to see all of you folks trying Viking and hope you like it as much as we do. But I hope you won't be disappointed in their lack of loyalty benefits. We are pretty high up the list at NCL but haven't missed the free bag of laundry perk since we can do as much of our own as we want nor have we missed the two free specialty dinners with wine that we receive onboard Norwegian as all alternative dining is included on Viking and wine pours freely at mealtime. 
 

Hopefully you won't miss your loyalty benefits either. 

[kctwinmommy]

On 9/16/2023 at 7:07 PM, californiagirl said:

ChrisB that’s so funny!  I think we are no longer the Princess target market.  That’s okay, at this point in life we can afford Viking.  No so when we began cruising back in 1998.  I’m pleasantly surprised to hear that there is more included than I thought.  

We're the same! We never even got to Princess, we'd done Carnival for years. Honestly, we never had any problems with them, and we always did their longer cruises, which reduces the "booze cruise" type issues. Plus, we almost always went with some friends who were pretty loyal to Carnival, so it was about the time with them too. Our last one though, which was a 5-night cruise, was less than desirable. No real problems, but just not our people anymore. So we've done a huge 180 going from Carnival to Viking. LOL! But like you said, we can afford it too. We're splurging on a big one right out of the gate too, but it's also a retirement (hubby) and 50th birthday (me) gift basically. Not sure we'll done another BIG Viking one again like this, but possibly a smaller one. We'd also like to do non-cruise travel as well.

[californiagirl]

11 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

 

Hopefully you won't miss your loyalty benefits either. 

That just it, the loyalty perks on Princess have been diminished such that they won’t be missed.  The only perks we really used were the priority boarding and tendering and the one time mini-bar set up.  (We changed out the alcohol for soft drinks.)  But Viking provides soft drinks in every cabin…replenished daily.  I would imagine the significantly lower passenger count reduces the need for priority boarding.  
 

Loved the Princess refugee comment!

[OneSixtyToOne]

2 minutes ago, californiagirl said:

But Viking provides soft drinks in every cabin…replenished daily.  I would imagine the significantly lower passenger count reduces the need for priority boarding.  

Drinks are provided in all cabins but replenished daily in every cabin class except V. No big deal since you can take and extra soft drink can from the World Cafe.

 

You are correct about boarding. Your cabin might not be ready but the World Cafe is open for lunch and the rest of the ship is available to explore. I’ve always been able to board when I arrived. 

[californiagirl]

Thank you for the clarification on soft drinks.  I’m still okay with it. 😊

[island lady]

Not just Princess.  Perks and benefits have eroded a lot since post Covid on RCI.  

 

We are their highest level (Pinnacle) and have been for awhile now.  The things they are taking away is just getting too much.  The uncontrolled party crowd and "feral children" running loose has become too much as well.  We had been "loyal to Royal" for 20 years...now we are booking with other lines. 

 

Sooo...I am currently typing this from our Cabin on Viking Vidar...soooo nice!  Next up are two ocean cruises with Viking and two with Octantis.  To us it's what Viking does not offer... that is the strong appeal for us. 😉  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by island lady

[Mike07]

6 hours ago, island lady said:

Sooo...I am currently typing this from our Cabin on Viking Vidar...soooo nice!  Next up are two ocean cruises with Viking and two with Octantis.  To us it's what Viking does not offer... that is the strong appeal for us. 😉  

 

 

 

It's funny, because if you look at the advertising literature, Viking "offers" what they "don't offer".... casinos, art sales, umbrella drinks, etc.

 

Right now, the RCL Oasis class ships are trying to be all things to all people --- from the ultra budget cruiser to ones that can drop $10k (or way more) per week on those ultra apartment/condo staterooms.

[Escaper]

We, too, have moved on from Princess.

 

It was fine when we were younger and travelling with young family members, but once the Boss and I tried Viking it was no looking back.  She made it clear she would rather take one Viking cruise vs. 2 Princess cruises. 'Nuff said.

[island lady]

10 hours ago, Escaper said:

We, too, have moved on from Princess.

 

It was fine when we were younger and travelling with young family members, but once the Boss and I tried Viking it was no looking back.  She made it clear she would rather take one Viking cruise vs. 2 Princess cruises. 'Nuff said.

 

Totally agree.  Currently on our first Viking cruise (3 weeks) and are already firmly hooked by day 4.  Bye-bye Royal Carib!  😉 

[mofrances]

On 9/16/2023 at 4:50 PM, californiagirl said:

Very excited to have booked Bangkok to Bali, November 2024 on Venus.  We are long time, experienced cruisers and we are elite on Princess.  Over time - especially since the change in leadership we have become more and more dissatisfied with Princess.  Also they don’t offer an itinerary in any way similar to this one.  Lastly we are at the point in life where we want a more upscale experience.  I read many Venus reviews prior to booking and the consistently high ratings were reassuring.  Having said all this I understand there is no perfect cruise line and that some Viking cruisers feel the company has slipped.  I think that is across the boards since covid.  However from reading this board and the recent reviews it appears the Viking experience is heads above Princess.

 

We don’t drink alcohol and rarely take ship excursions.  Since we overnight in Bangkok at the beginning of the cruise, early cabin access doesn’t matter to us.  (We will have a late checkout at our hotel.)  For these reasons we chose the lowest veranda cabin category.  I think someone jokingly referred to it as steerage class.  We like the location of the cabin.  Question: is there an extra fee for the specialty restaurants?  I realize we won’t have priority reservations.  Looking forward to this  cruise!

 @californiagirlwe are booked on this cruise for November 2024 as well, although the earlier one on the Orion. First time Viking cruisers so very much looking forward to the experience! Are you doing the pre or post extensions? We are - the pre in Bangkok and the 2-night post in Bali. Can't wait!

 

On another note, I saw your post related to Diet Coke on board. All I can say is I certainly hope so! Two weeks of Diet Pepsi is unthinkable!😄