tink1970
DCL Platinum
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2012
Here are some thoughts on my recent Viking Cruise Line cruise from Sydney to Auckland.
I know there is a lot of discussion about 2019nCoV...this is not to continue that discussion, rather a report regarding my trip and observations. The situation was quite different when we left our home approximately 4 weeks ago. Thanks!
Viking Orion
Deluxe Verandah 5, approx $15K
Here's our itinerary-
https://www.vikingcruises.com/ocean...ia-australia/australia-new-zealand/index.html
(I will say crossing the Foveaux Straight was less scenic and more try not to yark but otherwise gives a pretty good idea regarding the itinerary! For about 50 hours from Tasmania to NZ it was rough seas and gray days. I took some OTC meds and stopped doing the elliptical and that helped my nausea quite a bit.)
My cruise background-
I sailed Carnival twice when I was young and foolish. Now I would never (personal preference for many many reasons) but DCL after ?20 cruises has gotten sort of less than exciting plus I don't see the value in it as I did. So, since DCL doesn't sail this route I figured I could cheat on DCL while contemplating jumping ship. It was a "research trip" as it were, lol.
Embarkation-Viking breaks this up based on cabin category, so suites embark at 11, another category at a later time and so on. We were the second lowest category and embarked promptly at 2 pm and there were no crowds, no lines, no muss no fuss. We did fill out extra questions about recent travel to China (at that time it was only China), our passports were thoroughly examined and our temperature was taken by a medical person (a nurse or EMT perhaps, not a doctor). Entering the ship we were handed cold towels (if desired) and sparking wine or fruit juice.
Impressions of the ship-Viking Cruise ships carry only 930 passengers max and all cabins have a 2 person capacity. That said, it felt larger than I thought it would and there were so many intimate areas where you could sit and read or just watch the waves. I think it was a week before I had been to every area of the ship! The decor is clean, light, Scandinavian inspired and there is a book and part of the Viking app explains the artwork. There were faux fireplaces dotted around which added to the "cozy" factor. There is an atrium covering the 1st, 2nd and 3rd deck and funneled the nightly grand piano music nicely. I guess I would describe the style as cozy but sophisticated.
I felt for the most part the service was excellent and I definitely did not feel it was inferior to DCL. Like DCL, there were always staff members working to keep the ship clean and the outside pristine. Only in a couple of public restrooms during busy times (right before port adventures for instance) did I ever notice another person had used the restroom-usually they were pristine (full hand towel basket, dirty basket of towels, empty, etc).
I thought the food was very good BUT I'm not a foodie though. There is a nice restaurant called The Restaurant which provides sit down table service for breakfast and dinner every night and lunch on sea days. It took me a while to realize most of what was available in The Restaurant for dinner was available in The Buffet so once I figured that out, usually dinner was at The Buffet.
The Buffet served breakfast, lunch and dinner. I preferred The sit down Restaurant for breakfast, whereas DH preferred the Buffet so we alternated. Once we figured the Buffet had the food from the Restaurant we ate there every night because in addition to those menu items there was always a sushi bar and seafood bar at the Buffet. The Buffet also had two types of pizza for lunch (margarita and a themed one which rotated) and dinner as well as themed lunches or dinners-my favorite was Greek lunch day since I try to avoid a lot of meat-it was wonderful. There is also a small grill near the main pool which was open for lunch and snacks (late lunch) and had several different hamburger offerings as well as hot dogs, pork sandwich, a veggie sandwich and chicken wings, in addition to fruit, salads, fries and onion rings. It quickly became my favorite place for lunch and the chef soon anticipated my order. Gelato was available in the Buffet for lunch and dinner as well as a lot of other desserts-I think I ate my weight in gelato!
There was also room service (never ordered) with a good solid menu as well as a place that offered limited breakfast and lunch offerings-Mamsen's.
Viking has 2 specialty restaurants- The Chef's Table and Manfredi's. Depending on your cabin level, you have a certain number of guaranteed reservations at each one. There is no upcharge for these restaurants. Since we were the second to lowest class, we had 1 reservation at each guaranteed (although there is someone available to make extra as space allows). Unfortunately, the Chef's Table rotates its menu every 2-3 nights and while I had booked it for the Australia menu (it's a tasting menu so no substitutions) for some reason that was changed to Mexican and...I can't tolerate cilantro so our waiter was very uncomfortable and told us we'd have to wait 50 min (minimum) to even begin dinner. That was a little too long to wait so, in short, we didn't try out the Chef's Table. Manfredi's is the Italian specialty restaurant and it was very very very good--we ate so much it hurt good AND that was ordering half portions of our pasta, DH's entrees and my dessert. I'm looking forward to returning already!
The cabin was small but thoughtfully functional. I would have loved maybe another set of drawers but I'm an overpacker! Every cabin has a veranda and that was nice-our mini fridge was restocked with toblerone mini candy bars, peanuts and an almond/raison mix every day and the coffee/tea set up was as well. Launderettes were available for free and only a couple of times (the day of embarkation and the day before disembarkation) did they get busy and none of the rude behavior exhibited at times in DCL's laundry rooms.
Entertainment-apparently limited? but there was some-DH and I are early to bed early to rise though so I'm not the best source. There were port talks, history talks, astronomy talks and the guest lecturers that were taped so I did watch some of the nature and history talks in bed which was nice. The tv had movies, tv shows, TED talks, port talks, taped talks from the ship's guest lecturers (we had 3 onboard our cruise) as well as the daily activity and daily menus access. I know there were musical performances every night and 2 or 3 nights there was a movie under the stars on the pool deck (headphones, popcorn and blankets were provided).
The app was helpful, the wifi was good everywhere except when the ship was docked in Sydney and Wellington and there were screens on every floor which had electronic message boards with information like news, weather, location of the ship, etc.
Access to diet coke-very good-2 in the mini fridge and replenished daily, plus available at all meals. I'm the girl who when people ask "is it worth $1000 extra for diet coke, I say heck yes."
It was also out of the can so none of the issues that plague DCL's fountain quality and consistency.
Spa-oh my--imagine the Rainforest Room with a snow room, padded and heated loungers, a large whirlpool as well as small hot tub and all for free! I did pay for a massage (the best of my life) from a Russian lady named Natalia...for those old enough to remember I kept imagining Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle "we half ways to make you talk" and it was the best yet most amusing (in my head) massage ever. No sales or pushing product either-wonderful!
I only took advantage of the free excursion offered in one port but it was very enjoyable and the driver/guide was thoroughly knowledgeable. I know more about kiwi than I ever thought I would need to know, lol. The other paid excursions ranged from good to excellent-I was happy with all of my choices.
It was such a great experience we booked 3 future cruises with Viking-for 2021, 2022, and 2023. Price wise it was smart to do on board since they have some on board booking benefits-$200 OBC for each cruise booked per cabin so Viking is mailing me a check for my POSITIVE balance; current online promotions apply and then a reduction in fare based on the length of the new cruise booked. It's a lot of numbers but basically when I had my DCL TA price out the 11night Norway, Iceland, Scotland cruise in a porthole window for 11 nights and it was $13.7K whereas the Norway and Iceland cruise on Viking in a Deluxe Verandah was more like $10.5K--so 2 nights more and with a verandah for $3K less? Sign me up!
Comparing to DCL-
Things I thought I'd miss-split bathrooms, service and ease of food accessibility. I didn't miss anything except occasionally we'd have to wait between 10-11 for a snack in the am. Otherwise, it was fine-and there is 24/7 room service which is, imho, more extensive than DCL's offerings.
Things I DID miss-happy Disney music in the halls, more drawer storage, bingo, and trivia. DH missed the fancy coffee machine in the concierge lounge (and I missed the hot chocolate from same machine). Otherwise...not much.
Viking definitely isn't for everyone! Most people were in their 60s and 70s and moved very slowly...which was occasionally annoying. There was a 30-ish tech guy there with his parents and a honeymooning couple in their 20s but otherwise I'm pretty sure I was one of the youngest onboard. There were people from Canada, UK and Australia as well as Americans so there was a great deal of accent fluctuations and it was fun to eavesdrop. DH and I are old grumpy people in middle aged bodies so we are easily amused, I'm super happy being alone in the spa with a book and we aren't big kid people so the jump was bound to happen. We still have 2 DCL cruises booked (August and December) but I'm seeing my loyalties transfer pretty easily.
If you have any specific questions please feel free to PM
I know there is a lot of discussion about 2019nCoV...this is not to continue that discussion, rather a report regarding my trip and observations. The situation was quite different when we left our home approximately 4 weeks ago. Thanks!
Viking Orion
Deluxe Verandah 5, approx $15K
Here's our itinerary-
https://www.vikingcruises.com/ocean...ia-australia/australia-new-zealand/index.html
(I will say crossing the Foveaux Straight was less scenic and more try not to yark but otherwise gives a pretty good idea regarding the itinerary! For about 50 hours from Tasmania to NZ it was rough seas and gray days. I took some OTC meds and stopped doing the elliptical and that helped my nausea quite a bit.)
My cruise background-
I sailed Carnival twice when I was young and foolish. Now I would never (personal preference for many many reasons) but DCL after ?20 cruises has gotten sort of less than exciting plus I don't see the value in it as I did. So, since DCL doesn't sail this route I figured I could cheat on DCL while contemplating jumping ship. It was a "research trip" as it were, lol.
Embarkation-Viking breaks this up based on cabin category, so suites embark at 11, another category at a later time and so on. We were the second lowest category and embarked promptly at 2 pm and there were no crowds, no lines, no muss no fuss. We did fill out extra questions about recent travel to China (at that time it was only China), our passports were thoroughly examined and our temperature was taken by a medical person (a nurse or EMT perhaps, not a doctor). Entering the ship we were handed cold towels (if desired) and sparking wine or fruit juice.
Impressions of the ship-Viking Cruise ships carry only 930 passengers max and all cabins have a 2 person capacity. That said, it felt larger than I thought it would and there were so many intimate areas where you could sit and read or just watch the waves. I think it was a week before I had been to every area of the ship! The decor is clean, light, Scandinavian inspired and there is a book and part of the Viking app explains the artwork. There were faux fireplaces dotted around which added to the "cozy" factor. There is an atrium covering the 1st, 2nd and 3rd deck and funneled the nightly grand piano music nicely. I guess I would describe the style as cozy but sophisticated.
I felt for the most part the service was excellent and I definitely did not feel it was inferior to DCL. Like DCL, there were always staff members working to keep the ship clean and the outside pristine. Only in a couple of public restrooms during busy times (right before port adventures for instance) did I ever notice another person had used the restroom-usually they were pristine (full hand towel basket, dirty basket of towels, empty, etc).
I thought the food was very good BUT I'm not a foodie though. There is a nice restaurant called The Restaurant which provides sit down table service for breakfast and dinner every night and lunch on sea days. It took me a while to realize most of what was available in The Restaurant for dinner was available in The Buffet so once I figured that out, usually dinner was at The Buffet.
The Buffet served breakfast, lunch and dinner. I preferred The sit down Restaurant for breakfast, whereas DH preferred the Buffet so we alternated. Once we figured the Buffet had the food from the Restaurant we ate there every night because in addition to those menu items there was always a sushi bar and seafood bar at the Buffet. The Buffet also had two types of pizza for lunch (margarita and a themed one which rotated) and dinner as well as themed lunches or dinners-my favorite was Greek lunch day since I try to avoid a lot of meat-it was wonderful. There is also a small grill near the main pool which was open for lunch and snacks (late lunch) and had several different hamburger offerings as well as hot dogs, pork sandwich, a veggie sandwich and chicken wings, in addition to fruit, salads, fries and onion rings. It quickly became my favorite place for lunch and the chef soon anticipated my order. Gelato was available in the Buffet for lunch and dinner as well as a lot of other desserts-I think I ate my weight in gelato!
There was also room service (never ordered) with a good solid menu as well as a place that offered limited breakfast and lunch offerings-Mamsen's.
Viking has 2 specialty restaurants- The Chef's Table and Manfredi's. Depending on your cabin level, you have a certain number of guaranteed reservations at each one. There is no upcharge for these restaurants. Since we were the second to lowest class, we had 1 reservation at each guaranteed (although there is someone available to make extra as space allows). Unfortunately, the Chef's Table rotates its menu every 2-3 nights and while I had booked it for the Australia menu (it's a tasting menu so no substitutions) for some reason that was changed to Mexican and...I can't tolerate cilantro so our waiter was very uncomfortable and told us we'd have to wait 50 min (minimum) to even begin dinner. That was a little too long to wait so, in short, we didn't try out the Chef's Table. Manfredi's is the Italian specialty restaurant and it was very very very good--we ate so much it hurt good AND that was ordering half portions of our pasta, DH's entrees and my dessert. I'm looking forward to returning already!
The cabin was small but thoughtfully functional. I would have loved maybe another set of drawers but I'm an overpacker! Every cabin has a veranda and that was nice-our mini fridge was restocked with toblerone mini candy bars, peanuts and an almond/raison mix every day and the coffee/tea set up was as well. Launderettes were available for free and only a couple of times (the day of embarkation and the day before disembarkation) did they get busy and none of the rude behavior exhibited at times in DCL's laundry rooms.
Entertainment-apparently limited? but there was some-DH and I are early to bed early to rise though so I'm not the best source. There were port talks, history talks, astronomy talks and the guest lecturers that were taped so I did watch some of the nature and history talks in bed which was nice. The tv had movies, tv shows, TED talks, port talks, taped talks from the ship's guest lecturers (we had 3 onboard our cruise) as well as the daily activity and daily menus access. I know there were musical performances every night and 2 or 3 nights there was a movie under the stars on the pool deck (headphones, popcorn and blankets were provided).
The app was helpful, the wifi was good everywhere except when the ship was docked in Sydney and Wellington and there were screens on every floor which had electronic message boards with information like news, weather, location of the ship, etc.
Access to diet coke-very good-2 in the mini fridge and replenished daily, plus available at all meals. I'm the girl who when people ask "is it worth $1000 extra for diet coke, I say heck yes."
It was also out of the can so none of the issues that plague DCL's fountain quality and consistency.Spa-oh my--imagine the Rainforest Room with a snow room, padded and heated loungers, a large whirlpool as well as small hot tub and all for free! I did pay for a massage (the best of my life) from a Russian lady named Natalia...for those old enough to remember I kept imagining Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle "we half ways to make you talk" and it was the best yet most amusing (in my head) massage ever. No sales or pushing product either-wonderful!
I only took advantage of the free excursion offered in one port but it was very enjoyable and the driver/guide was thoroughly knowledgeable. I know more about kiwi than I ever thought I would need to know, lol. The other paid excursions ranged from good to excellent-I was happy with all of my choices.
It was such a great experience we booked 3 future cruises with Viking-for 2021, 2022, and 2023. Price wise it was smart to do on board since they have some on board booking benefits-$200 OBC for each cruise booked per cabin so Viking is mailing me a check for my POSITIVE balance; current online promotions apply and then a reduction in fare based on the length of the new cruise booked. It's a lot of numbers but basically when I had my DCL TA price out the 11night Norway, Iceland, Scotland cruise in a porthole window for 11 nights and it was $13.7K whereas the Norway and Iceland cruise on Viking in a Deluxe Verandah was more like $10.5K--so 2 nights more and with a verandah for $3K less? Sign me up!
Comparing to DCL-
Things I thought I'd miss-split bathrooms, service and ease of food accessibility. I didn't miss anything except occasionally we'd have to wait between 10-11 for a snack in the am. Otherwise, it was fine-and there is 24/7 room service which is, imho, more extensive than DCL's offerings.
Things I DID miss-happy Disney music in the halls, more drawer storage, bingo, and trivia. DH missed the fancy coffee machine in the concierge lounge (and I missed the hot chocolate from same machine). Otherwise...not much.
Viking definitely isn't for everyone! Most people were in their 60s and 70s and moved very slowly...which was occasionally annoying. There was a 30-ish tech guy there with his parents and a honeymooning couple in their 20s but otherwise I'm pretty sure I was one of the youngest onboard. There were people from Canada, UK and Australia as well as Americans so there was a great deal of accent fluctuations and it was fun to eavesdrop. DH and I are old grumpy people in middle aged bodies so we are easily amused, I'm super happy being alone in the spa with a book and we aren't big kid people so the jump was bound to happen. We still have 2 DCL cruises booked (August and December) but I'm seeing my loyalties transfer pretty easily.
If you have any specific questions please feel free to PM
