Comparison of cabins

[bluedevilnjfl]

Is it worth $3000 to upgrade from Deluxe Veranda to Penthouse veranda?

[millybess]

19 minutes ago, bluedevilnjfl said:

Is it worth $3000 to upgrade from Deluxe Veranda to Penthouse veranda?

You would need to give us more information.  

What is the itinerary and the length of the voyage?

With a PV you have extra space

Free pressing

Earlier choices of excursions, dining and spa -- although that's neither here nor there.

Are you comparing a PV1 to a DV6?

 

Much more information is required.  

[bluedevilnjfl]

The sailing is too soon so the excursions, dining and spa reservations have already opened to both.  It is for the iconic canada, iceland and greenland cruise for 14 days.  Comparing a DV 4 to PV1.

 

[millybess]

1 hour ago, bluedevilnjfl said:

The sailing is too soon so the excursions, dining and spa reservations have already opened to both.  It is for the iconic canada, iceland and greenland cruise for 14 days.  Comparing a DV 4 to PV1.

 

I just looked at sailings in 2024 and there’s $4500 difference between a PV1 and a DV4, so it seems you got a deal. 

[Messybill]

On 2/11/2024 at 7:47 PM, Peregrina651 said:

Cabin square footage includes the balcony. ES cabin interiors are all exactly the same. It is the only the balconies that differ in size.

Really? Maybe within the same ES class...  But anyway it's the location that matters

[AroundWithMAPTravels]

On 3/22/2024 at 8:24 PM, bluedevilnjfl said:

Is it worth $3000 to upgrade from Deluxe Veranda to Penthouse veranda?

That depends on your point of view (literally). Viking upgraded us from DV to PV (both on deck 6) on our recent Northern Lights trip.   The extra room was nice, although even with the all of the extra heavy “woolies” needed for winter trip still found that we did not use much of the extra storage space.   We did not use the pressing service, although we knew it was available.   
We loved the cabin and its location (a bit more aft from our original cabin).   However, the extra overhang from the flare for Deck 7 obstructed our view “up”.  Since NL trips involve looking “up”, we were a bit disappointed…. And would have rathered our original cabin, which was not affected by the flare.

As I told my TA, overall was very thankful for the upgrade (this was our 11th Viking trip, and first time we ever got upgraded), for us it it not worth paying the extra $ for the PV, and will stick with our DV choice going forward.YMMV

 

[KBs mum]

On 2/12/2024 at 12:47 AM, Peregrina651 said:

Some things to note.

 

Cabin square footage includes the balcony. ES cabin interiors are all exactly the same. It is the only the balconies that differ in size.

 

Not true, there are differences, manly between forward and aft, also minor between decks. 

The aft ones have smaller bathrooms and bigger balconies. Layouts differ in bedrooms, lounges and window location. Equal but different. Looking at the room virtual tour is best when choosing

[Redtravel]

We were in a penthouse jr suite on our most recent cruise.  There was lots of space. .  We were on excursions daily and really didn’t spend much time in the cabin.   I did like the complimentary laundry.  Next time, I would book a smaller cabin.  

[OnTheJourney]

On 5/10/2024 at 8:08 AM, Redtravel said:

We were in a penthouse jr suite

I honestly don't think I'd book anything other than that anymore (if available of course). We were upgraded to that category one time and it spoiled us real quick. It was great having easy access to the upper level of the lounge, and then a quick trot down the stairs to Mamsen's.

Edited May 17 by OnTheJourney

[CDNPolar]

58 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

I honestly don't think I'd book anything other than that anymore (if available of course). We were upgraded to that category one time and it spoiled us real quick. It was great having easy access to the upper level of the lounge, and then a quick trot down the stairs to Mamsen's.

 

As much as I get this, I suppose I cannot justify spending the extra on this level of cabin for the time we spend in the cabin.  We have just adjusted to the lowest category of Cabin on Viking.

 

I think it would be great on a World Cruise to have that extra space.

Edited May 17 by CDNPolar

[millybess]

On 5/17/2024 at 8:50 AM, OnTheJourney said:

I honestly don't think I'd book anything other than that anymore (if available of course). We were upgraded to that category one time and it spoiled us real quick. It was great having easy access to the upper level of the lounge, and then a quick trot down the stairs to Mamsen's.

Totally agree!  Either a PS1 or 2,  or an ES2 (on the newer ships our preferred ES is now an ES1 unfortunately).

[OnTheJourney]

On 5/17/2024 at 9:48 AM, CDNPolar said:

I cannot justify spending the extra on this level of cabin for the time we spend in the cabin.

I can totally understand your reasoning.

[CDNPolar]

We got upgraded during a cruise once because of horrible intolerable noise while sailing - creaking and squeaking - and the cabin was nice with extra floor space, but we just did not appreciate the space any more than what we had.

 

We don't understand the desire to be on a higher deck than deck 3, and we have never suffered in booking shore excursions or dining reservations with the lowest category of cabin.

 

This is also why we tend to book as soon as itineraries come out, often as much as 2 years in advance, to ensure that we can get the lowest category cabin. 

[BigAl666]

On 2/11/2024 at 7:47 PM, Peregrina651 said:

Some things to note.

 

Cabin square footage includes the balcony. ES cabin interiors are all exactly the same. It is the only the balconies that differ in size.

 

Vela and Vesta are a new class of ship. We don't know how many more are to be built. The new class is longer (more cabins) and wider (slightly bigger cabins), but still under a 1000 guests.

 

Priority access to stateroom time. Well, that is what they put in the brochure but the crew is working to have all cabins available as close to 2pm as possible. Viking makes only one announcement that cabins are ready and that is when they are ALL ready. However, guests, especially PV, DV & V, can and should go to their cabins to see if they are ready as soon as they board. Why carry all your hand-luggage around with you if you don't have to?

I'm really not sure about your comment on ES stateroom sizes being identical.

 

Our rear ES on Deck 6 had a much smaller living room than those we've had on Deck 4 and Deck 5.

 

Our September cruise is a front ES1 on Deck 4, and the balcony is a lot smaller than those in the rear - it will be interesting to compare the living room space.

[BigAl666]

On 5/18/2024 at 6:36 PM, millybess said:

Totally agree!  Either a PS1 or 2,  or an ES2 (on the newer ships our preferred ES is now an ES1 unfortunately).

There's something about sailing at sunset and sitting at the table, or in one of the sun lounges, or on the sun bed, on that huge wrap around balcony on the rear ES's - pretty tough to beat.

[FoggyEthan]

5 hours ago, BigAl666 said:

There's something about sailing at sunset and sitting at the table, or in one of the sun lounges, or on the sun bed, on that huge wrap around balcony on the rear ES's - pretty tough to beat.

I did the rear ES once, but I remember smelling the exhaust fumes a lot. Even the pool behind Aquavit had the smell, and there were little black flecks on the deck, which was disconcerting. I'm not sure why it was such a problem, but we used the deck a lot less.

[wine-wine-wine]

Incredibly useful diagram correcting stateroom maps and showing relationships between staterooms and elevators. Cross posting here so it is not lost in the shuffle of threads.

 

Thank you so much @CCWineLover!

 

 

[millybess]

10 hours ago, FoggyEthan said:

I did the rear ES once, but I remember smelling the exhaust fumes a lot. Even the pool behind Aquavit had the smell, and there were little black flecks on the deck, which was disconcerting. I'm not sure why it was such a problem, but we used the deck a lot less.

On our sailing in Norway, there were little black flecks on the Aquavit Terrace, and eventually our clothes.  We traced it back to the heaters on the Terrace.

[Clay Clayton]

6 hours ago, millybess said:

On our sailing in Norway, there were little black flecks on the Aquavit Terrace, and eventually our clothes.  We traced it back to the heaters on the Terrace.

Heaters? What heaters?  I’ve been suggesting that they add them to make the outdoor space more useable in the northern climes

[millybess]

[millybess]

6 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Heaters? What heaters?  I’ve been suggesting that they add them to make the outdoor space more useable in the northern climes

They came in quite handy in Norway, but watch out for the little black flecks.  😊

 

They don't burn your clothes, it just makes a mess.

 

Edited yesterday at 08:22 PM by millybess

[Clay Clayton]

1 hour ago, millybess said:

They came in quite handy in Norway, but watch out for the little black flecks.  😊

 

They don't burn your clothes, it just makes a mess.

 

I was told those were not heaters just decorative and they certainly didn’t have them on when we were in Norway. 

7 hours ago, millybess said:

On our sailing in Norway, there were little black flecks on the Aquavit Terrace, and eventually our clothes.  We traced it back to the heaters on there 

[millybess]

38 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

I was told those were not heaters just decorative and they certainly didn’t have them on when we were in Norway. 

When we were in Norway on Jupiter in 2022 they produced heat and were quite cozy for a while.

We think the "black flecks" were caused by them having been painted black.

 

Possibly, when the ship is in warmer climes, they are turned off and are just for show.

[millybess]

18 hours ago, FoggyEthan said:

I did the rear ES once, but I remember smelling the exhaust fumes a lot. Even the pool behind Aquavit had the smell, and there were little black flecks on the deck, which was disconcerting. I'm not sure why it was such a problem, but we used the deck a lot less.

Were you on Deck 6?  We have been in an ES on deck 5 a few times and have never experienced the black flecks, exhaust  fumes, pool smell, etc.

 

Maybe @bookbabe @BlairsvilleCruiseGirl can comment on this.

[FoggyEthan]

1 hour ago, millybess said:

Were you on Deck 6?  We have been in an ES on deck 5 a few times and have never experienced the black flecks, exhaust  fumes, pool smell, etc.

 

Maybe @bookbabe @BlairsvilleCruiseGirl can comment on this.

Yes, deck right below the bar/pool area.