This was our 5th and LAST Viking Cruise... A wiggly worm running across the dinner plate, the ship almost clipped a bridge with people having to duck and our room smelled like septic when we first boarded! The food was "meh," the service was sketchy and the steward walked in on my wife in the bathroom (she was mortified)! What has happened to Viking? Oh they went public...
Cancelled out two future cruises we had booked for next year…
And some thought Covid would kill the Cruise industry.
No need for that to happen when the big operators are capable of doing it all on their own!
Perhaps the worm doing wind sprints on your plate was the chef’s choice for nouvelle cuisine.
It only took 1 cruise, some years back with Viking, to convince me. I had the septic odor and the boat was only a year old. Some of the staff were rude plus other small complaints. It was the most expensive trip I'd taken up to that point and I decided once was enough. I just didn't feel I got the value for my money that I get from my Rick Steves' tours.
Something tells me the Vikings of yore would have thrown anyone bi%$#ing about the food and sleeping arrangements overboard without a second thought. At least you have the option of simply not cruising with a line you find unacceptable.
I’m sure the old Vikings would have happily eaten the extra protein source that wiggled its way onto their plate :-)
The old Vikings would be astounded by the opulence of the 21st century Viking ships.
There's very little pillaging nowadays. Very disappointing.
There's very little pillaging nowadays
Except for the added fees, excursion costs. mandatory tips etc
Roger That, Was your cruise a river cruise or a sea going one? Any particulars will be appreciated since we are looking at a Netherlands river cruise.
The cruise was a river cruise from Amsterdam to Avignon. It actually was 2 separate cruises with a (boring) all-day coach ride in between Basel Switzerland and Lyon France. We did stop at Beaune (for 2 hours, enough for a quick walk around and grabbing lunch on your own) but it was presented as being a "scenic journey" as we were hoping to see some of the Alps and scenic Switzerland, but didn't.
If you enjoy exploring your own itineraries I WOULD NOT recommend Viking River Cruises. The schedule is based on their excursions and they aren't very forthcoming on details of arrivals and departures at each port so you can make plans. You could get stuck paying for stuff and missing out...
Also, their excursions are very slow-paced and information-intensive. We couldn't take the shuffle and wanted to break free and see more, since you only have a limited time at each port.
Another irritation for us was in the afternoons after leaving port, we liked to sit in their Aquavit lounge in front of the ship (which was all windows). The bartender would come around at 3pm and tell you to leave so he could set the few tables there for dinner—which was at 7pm and mostly served in the dining room one floor down. This left you limited places to talk with other guest or viewing the scenery, as the lounge (adjacent to this) was always having a prevention on the next port or other cruises Viking offered. And the upper deck was often closed during day cruising due to the low Bridges (like the one we almost clipped).
** If you enjoy exploring your own itineraries I WOULD NOT recommended Viking River Cruises**
The same can be said for any cruise or organized tour. For some, that type organization is within their comfort zone and exactly why they take cruises or tours.
The things that irritated you on this cruise didn’t change from previous ones. I’m surprised it took you 5 cruises to figure out you enjoy exploring on your own. Stuff happens with any cruise/trip and not everything goes according to plan.
Sorry, you are wrong. As far as things that irritated me happening on other trips—no—this was the first worm running across the plate, first time having a cabin steward see my wife naked, first time having my room smell like a sewer, and first time having to duck going under a bridge!
We also have done many cruises over the past 6+ years and we did our own itinerary without any problems. In fact, we did an Azamara Cruise right after this that went around Scotland. They were pretty much spot on with their pre-published itinerary times at every port with the exception of one that we missed completely due to bad weather.
We also have found that ocean cruises in general, including 2 with Viking, have been better for doing your own itinerary on and had no problems.
Viking river cruises would make interim stops that were not on the original itinerary, and neglected to provide full details unless you attended their excursion talk the day before. Plus, when they did make the interim stops, it would not be announced. On one occasion, they just pulled up next to another docked Viking ship, put the gangplank across, let their excursion people off (at 10am) and left. You were then not arriving at the original destination (Speyer) until 1pm! This was supposed to be an 8-9am arrival. So we missed out on plans to do Heidelberg because of their lack of communication. Speyer only had about 1-1.5 hours of things to do. This could have easily been stated in the Viking Daily, that if you planned to get off, to be downstairs at X time. It wasn’t.
The day before they made an interim stop just like this and it was announced prior so you could be in the lobby etc beforehand, plus they were docked for 30 minutes so people could disembark.
“ and first time having to duck going under a bridge!”
I’m sorry but how is this Viking fault? Or did you expect Viking to lower the water level of the river, so you could fit comfortably under the bridge?
It’s a shame you had a poor experience. One river cruise back in 2015 was enough for me to know it wasn’t my preferred travel style. On that cruise the water was so low we had to switch boats at one point, mid-trip, with another coming from the opposite direction.
Re: “I’m sorry but how is this Viking fault? Or did you expect Viking to lower the water level of the river, so you could fit comfortably under the bridge?“
As the company operating the vessel, yes, this would be Viking’s fault. They shouldn’t have had people up there in the first place (as their safety video even says would be the case when it wasn’t safe.) There were several other times during both cruises where they did not permit people on the upper deck due to the bridge clearances.
Sounds as if you haven’t been on a river cruise before or you would know this as that safety video is mandatory viewing.
Roger That,
Thanks for all the details. We are also looking at Azamara and AMA Waterways. Any insight on their cruises?
The Azamara cruise we did after the Viking river cruise was surprising good. We paid $6,800 for a balcony suite that included gratuities for a 12-day cruise around Scotland with one day at sea. The time in port was usually from 8am to at least 8pm or later. The food was much better than Viking in variety and flavor. They included wine and beer and some mixed drinks, which was nice as it didn’t have to be just with dinner or lunch.
The ships are older but have been updated, so that wasn’t a big deal. The age was younger than Viking too, and not set up for kids, so you really didn’t have to deal with that either. They had decent entertainment (band), a pool and two hot tubs. It was fairly comparable to the level of a Viking Ocean ship, except better food and entertainment. Plus it was a 700-person ship (Viking’s are 900), so getting into smaller ports without tendering is a definite plus! Azamara also has the “white-night evening” which was a massive food and entertainment evening, a lot of good food, entertainment and fun!
The excursions can be a little on the pricey side for most cruises if you do the ship’s, and you are limited because they have to cater to larger audiences with different abilities. We tend to plan and do our own thing to maximize what the location/region has to offer.
We have not done AMA or any other river cruises other than Viking. And I would recommend doing the Christmas markets by river cruise. But other than that, I think we will stick with Ocean cruises.
You all remind me as to why I always cruise on my own keel :-)
yeah, I'm starting to think that way myself!
Thanks again for your insights on the Azamara cruise. Much appreciated.
