carma7007 Posted July 8 #1 Share Posted July 8 Hello, my husband and I are considering our first Viking voyage for Jan 2025. We have mostly cruised Princess, and would like some first time from people. What is it like on these ships, how are the excursions handled, do you like using them for flights, do you go through their site or use a 3rd party or TA? Thank you in advance for the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LindaS272 Posted July 8 #2 Share Posted July 8 You will find lots of info and tips in this thread (start post-Covid in late 2021 or 2022) In addition, it’s worthwhile to scroll through all the Viking Ocean threads individually looking for your specific questions—all have been covered extensively. Happy reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breckski Posted July 8 #3 Share Posted July 8 Just read the forum. You'll find lots of good information to answer your questions. Viking cruises are very consistent when one considers the cruise as a whole. Ships are extremely similar, food, service, excursions, etc. So, the info you find on the forum should be beneficial. To me Viking delivers a pretty predictable experience. You'll find complaints. A couple from myself. But if you look at the severity of the complaints/issues you find on this board, you'll realize they are pretty minor all things considered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OneSixtyToOne Posted July 8 #4 Share Posted July 8 1 hour ago, carma7007 said: Hello, my husband and I are considering our first Viking voyage for Jan 2025. We have mostly cruised Princess, and would like some first time from people. What is it like on these ships, how are the excursions handled, do you like using them for flights, do you go through their site or use a 3rd party or TA? Thank you in advance for the information. Knowing the itinerary you are thinking about taking would help people formulate a specific answer about the excursions as I’m sure someone on this forum has been on the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM0115 Posted July 8 #5 Share Posted July 8 Once you try Viking you won’t want to go back to the big ships! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duquephart Posted July 8 #6 Share Posted July 8 12 minutes ago, JM0115 said: Once you try Viking you won’t want to go back to the big ships! And you know this how? Zillions of people love the "big ships" - they love casino gambling, glitzy huge production shows, lots of variety in food/restaurants (regardless of extra cost), "umbrella" drinks (regardless of cost), the opportunity to buy art and grievously overpriced jewelry, a nice staged photo to bring home, etc., etc. Were it not so the "big ships" would not exist. Never underestimate the foolishness of tourists - especially American tourists - on vacation. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted July 8 #7 Share Posted July 8 7 hours ago, carma7007 said: Hello, my husband and I are considering our first Viking voyage for Jan 2025. We have mostly cruised Princess, and would like some first time from people. What is it like on these ships, how are the excursions handled, do you like using them for flights, do you go through their site or use a 3rd party or TA? Thank you in advance for the information. After you read the tips discussion, come back with your specific itinerary and outstanding questions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RLK33853 Posted July 8 #8 Share Posted July 8 Yes, once you let people know your crusie style - what's important to you and what isn't, it will be easier for us to provide answers. We have over 50 cruises with Princess and have tried a number of smaller Premium or Luxury lines over the past year due to changes that Princess has made, especially the overworked staff and the lack of loyalty back to those who have been loyal to them. We found we really liked Viking (loved Crystal and Paul Gauguin), and while Crystal will be our first choice (but they only have 2 ships/limited itineraries), Viking will probably be our new go to line. Service, cleanliness, and for the most part food on Viking are what Princess used to be. What Viking doesn't have is the activity/entertainment that Princess has. I have just completed threads on the Crystal, Silversea, Viking and Princess boards about loyal Princess cruisers trying those ships. You may find some answers on those forum topics. As for big ship, small ship - smaller ships under 1000 do appeal to us, especially at ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare WanderingBrit Posted July 8 #9 Share Posted July 8 There are lots of Youtube videos that will show you what it's like onboard. What do you value when cruising? If it's casinos, Broadway quality shows, and a photographer capturing you and the family on a waterslide, then Viking won't be for you 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carma7007 Posted July 8 Author #10 Share Posted July 8 4 hours ago, CDNPolar said: After you read the tips discussion, come back with your specific itinerary and outstanding questions. Thank you. northern lights is what we are looking at. We are quite possibly boring people 😃. We stopped going to the shows on Princess since it got like a black Friday sale. Open the doors and rush in and hold seats. We work full time and want to enjoy our cruise. My husband is happy to find a movie or documentary and watch them. Not foodies either. I will use the suggestions here and get started on reviewing. Thank you 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OKCowboy Posted July 8 #11 Share Posted July 8 We've booked cruises while on a cruise as well as on line. In all cases we've handed the booking over to our travel agent for further followup, particularly if we're arriving at least one day early (highly recommend as flights get delayed). If you know someone who has booked Viking in the past, get their Viking number to receive $100/person on the cruise (assuming this is still in effect?. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OneSixtyToOne Posted July 8 #12 Share Posted July 8 (edited) 1 hour ago, carma7007 said: Thank you. northern lights is what we are looking at. We are quite possibly boring people 😃. We stopped going to the shows on Princess since it got like a black Friday sale. Open the doors and rush in and hold seats. We work full time and want to enjoy our cruise. My husband is happy to find a movie or documentary and watch them. Not foodies either. I will use the suggestions here and get started on reviewing. Thank you Sounds like Viking will be a great match for you. We never go to shows but we attend all the enrichment lectures, most of which are outstanding. To answer your question about direct vs TA, if you find a deal online you can book directly with Viking and later transfer it to your TA. The TA may give you an On Board Credit (OBC) as a thank you. Because you can transfer the booking, you really don’t lose anything by booking with Viking first (although they do have a new incentive for repeat Viking customers, similar to booking when onboard a cruise). Viking limits the OBC amount and it is at the discretion of the TA. Viking Air is a hotly debated topic on this board. We use it all the time but we live near two major hubs and have no problem getting the exact fight we want. Others want more control or have a lot of frequent flyer miles and rather DIY. Bear in mind Viking frequently discounts their airfare rather than deep discounting the cruise itself, so if you are looking for a deal, air cost is where you will most likely find it. Also bear in mind that Bergen is a place that is going to require connections, possibly multiple. IMO one big advantage with Viking Air is they take care of transportation to and from the ship, are aware if your flight gets delayed / rescheduled and will make arrangements to get you to the ship in any case. DYI and you are on your own to get to the ship. You might want to consider a pre cruise extension. We always want to arrive before embarkation day. This is especially true in the winter when flights can be severely impacted by weather. If you book an extension with Viking transportation from the airport is included, even if you DYI (must arrive the same day as the extension). Make sure you check out the promo thread, where people post the latest promo codes. Also here is a link to a blog that has lots of great information. https://vikingcruisesreview.blogspot.com/p/design-and-planning.html?m=0 Edited July 8 by OneSixtyToOne 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kctwinmommy Posted July 8 #13 Share Posted July 8 @carma7007 we just did our first Viking cruise this spring after getting tired of the somewhat crummy service and experience on years of Carnival. We wanted something a little more exclusive I guess. We're not exclusive people, but we were tired of some of the passengers we'd deal with on Carnival. We did a 22 day Mediterranean cruise for our first, with a 4-day extension in Athens. My husband who is fine spending money on economy level vacations, while I like a little more class, admitted he loved the entire trip! He agreed it was totally worth what we spent. I just went onto the website and booked what we wanted when we were ready. It was during the time when it was a $25 deposit sale, which I've since seen happens quite a lot. But, I like to book early to get my choice of what I want. Yes, you do have to pay it off quite early, but that doesn't bother me. They do give you one included tour in each port, not each day. So if you're in a port more than 1 day, you'll just get one included excursion. You will have to sign up for all the included ones, as well as any optional ones you want. The included ones can have different times to pick from. I wrote a post, from the view of a first time Viking cruiser, on our experience in booking our excursions. We really enjoyed our Viking cruise. So much, that we booked another one for next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janetcbl Posted July 8 #14 Share Posted July 8 Cruise ship companies cater to different groups. You have to decide what is major interest to you. We are firmly in the Viking camp. We did one Princess Cruise some years ago and did not like it. We hated the difference in “class” (where you could go or not, what you could attend or not), the lack of meaningful lectures, the nickel and dimeing, the “art” auctions), are just a few things that we don’t enjoy and Viking does not have. “Different strokes for different folks”! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF - retired RRT Posted July 8 #15 Share Posted July 8 3 hours ago, carma7007 said: Thank you. northern lights is what we are looking at. We are quite possibly boring people 😃. We stopped going to the shows on Princess since it got like a black Friday sale. Open the doors and rush in and hold seats. We work full time and want to enjoy our cruise. My husband is happy to find a movie or documentary and watch them. Not foodies either. I will use the suggestions here and get started on reviewing. Thank you We're doing our first Viking cruise after 25+ Princess cruises. Got tired of the loss of things that Viking includes. We sail in November and can't wait! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkster77 Posted July 8 #16 Share Posted July 8 (edited) 4 hours ago, janetcbl said: Cruise ship companies cater to different groups. You have to decide what is major interest to you. We are firmly in the Viking camp. We did one Princess Cruise some years ago and did not like it. We hated the difference in “class” (where you could go or not, what you could attend or not), the lack of meaningful lectures, the nickel and dimeing, the “art” auctions), are just a few things that we don’t enjoy and Viking does not have. “Different strokes for different folks”! EXACTLY! We have done a couple of river cruises with Viking for all the reasons you listed and more (the list of what Viking is not, from their brochures). We have finally booked an ocean cruise to Alaska, and it is with Viking, as all the foolishness found on conventional cruise lines would drive me up a wall (NO, I don't want a photo taken....get away from me! What? Pay extra for internet!!! No I do not want to buy a painting, I thought this was an art lecture! etc.) Edited July 8 by sharkster77 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted July 9 #17 Share Posted July 9 We are firmly Viking lovers, but my nephew and family only want the biggest cruise ships and the most outrageous numbers of people on a ship. This is their happy spot. Not mine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OneSixtyToOne Posted July 9 #18 Share Posted July 9 4 hours ago, CDNPolar said: We are firmly Viking lovers, but my nephew and family only want the biggest cruise ships and the most outrageous numbers of people on a ship. This is their happy spot. Not mine. City life vs country life 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanoj Posted July 9 #19 Share Posted July 9 1 hour ago, OneSixtyToOne said: City life vs country life In 1975, Foghat released the studio album (and title song) Fool for the City. Seems some artist could have some fun producing something similar like fool for the megaships, even if only a parody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kctwinmommy Posted July 9 #20 Share Posted July 9 1 hour ago, OneSixtyToOne said: City life vs country life And now I'm singing the theme song from Green Acres! LOL! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Peregrina651 Posted July 9 #21 Share Posted July 9 One thing I have found about Viking is that on board everyone is treated as if they were traveling in the Owner's Suite. There are no restricted public spaces, no suites-only lounges or restaurants. The only time your cabin category matters is pre-cruise booking of shore excursions and specialty restaurants. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted July 9 #22 Share Posted July 9 2 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said: City life vs country life I get what you are saying, however we are city and love Viking and he and family are truly rural and love the big... so opposite from your example.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CDNPolar Posted July 9 #23 Share Posted July 9 12 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said: One thing I have found about Viking is that on board everyone is treated as if they were traveling in the Owner's Suite. There are no restricted public spaces, no suites-only lounges or restaurants. The only time your cabin category matters is pre-cruise booking of shore excursions and specialty restaurants. YES, YES, YES! I never thought of it this way, but it is so true. One "class" of passenger. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkster77 Posted July 9 #24 Share Posted July 9 2 hours ago, Hanoj said: In 1975, Foghat released the studio album (and title song) Fool for the City. Seems some artist could have some fun producing something similar like fool for the megaships, even if only a parody. Does anyone have Weird Al Yankovic on speed dial??? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kctwinmommy Posted July 9 #25 Share Posted July 9 3 hours ago, Peregrina651 said: One thing I have found about Viking is that on board everyone is treated as if they were traveling in the Owner's Suite. There are no restricted public spaces, no suites-only lounges or restaurants. The only time your cabin category matters is pre-cruise booking of shore excursions and specialty restaurants. For ocean cruises, yes. Someone made a post on a SM website complaining how they spent all this money, booked 3 years in advance, got the best cabin on the Egyptian river cruise, only to not realize that excursions are all booked at the same time. Her cruise is in October I think, and she decided to look now at excursions only to find out 2 she really wanted were sold out. She was contemplating reaching out to the CEO because customer service wasn't helping her with what she wanted. Again, this is why you need to research what you want to do. The cruise, the route, the deadlines, the options, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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