Viking ocean cruise
 

Would love to do Asia next yr but can't say I'm not nervous to book something with this uncertain world we are living in. See a beautiful one on Viking. Has anyone used Viking for ocean cruises?

I would wait awhile before going to Asia

I agree...first it was covid, now it's all the conflicts going on around the world

Hope I am doing this reply thing correctly, first one!!!

We did a 4 1/2 month world cruise. Leaving Miami and ending in London. It was wonderful. Asia was a beautiful area. The terrain, culture, people. Viking takes good care of each passenger and treats you like royalty. I understand your concern as we are scheduled for a River cruise in October. But Viking has a good cancellation policy for any reason clause. We had originally planned our River cruise for two years ago and just now rescheduled it so I know it works. Do what your heart tells you.

Go now!

There will always be some excuse not to go - we have friends who have been wanting to visit Europe for ten years but always delay or cancel for one reason or another. They are now considerably less mobile than they were ten years ago and my bet is that they will never get there.

We generally use Holland-America or Cunard but have spoken to many who have cruised with Viking and always enjoyed the experience.

We have friends on a Viking world cruise right now and their itinerary has been changed dramatically twice now. They were not allowed to stop anywhere in SE Asia or Australia. They diverted to S. America instead and then onto Europe. All scheduled stops in St Petersburg have been cancelled. The world’s kind of a scary place right now.

Would love to go on a world cruise but only if we can see the world

We have cruised on Royal Caribbean, Princess, Celebrity, Wind star and Regency. Heard a lot about Viking river cruises so tried one of their ocean itineraries. It was not good at all. They apparently excel at small ships with fewer guests but 1,000 guests were too much. The ship was beautiful but most of the time the food was not hot and repetitive, entertainment sub par compared to others we’ve experienced. So if we do use Viking again I would try their river cruises.

We vouchered upcoming Mediterranean cruise. I think the terms were very fair and included the insurance but you do have to rebuy the insurance when you rebook. Italy wanted N95 masks even outdoors until July. Too much

As much as I want to go, i would be extremely disappointed if the itinerary changed. The person who answered about the food and entertainment not GREAT ON OCEAN VIKING helped as the cost is extremely high so expectations would be high also for the price of $30,000 plus. I've heard good reports on the river cruises but I'm asking about the ICEAN cruising.

Viking is a wonderful cruise line
 

We have taken a river cruise and an ocean cruise with Viking and will leave April 2nd on another ocean Cruise, Mediterranean Odyssey. We have greatly enjoyed each cruise. Yes, the ship is small but we prefer a small crowd versus 5,000 passengers. No children under 18. No casinos. Daily talks by historians pertaining to your next port. Free Wi-Fi. Free included excursions. Free beer and wine with lunch and dinner. No extra charge for specialty restaurants. The food has been wonderful and, as someone who eats gluten-free, very accommodating. Since the cruises have less passengers, you will pay more than a cruise on a mega ship.

Good friends did a Viking ocean cruise some months ago and enjoyed it but thought it was over the top for what they wanted.

We are all different and have different wants.

You can't go wrong with Viking. They are the best around!

We have done four river cruises and three ocean cruises with Viking. We are planning another cruise if health prevails. Do not go on Viking if you like gambling or extravagent shows. They are for older folks and no children. Very educational.

Viking ocean cruise
 

We have rebooked Mediterranean & Italian Sojourn for May-June. Did previous river cruise when water on rivers very low. Was disappointing at times. Now I am very frustrated as we were unable to book any of our favorite excursions. We were given wrong time when bookings open. We're unable to get dinner reservations for the specialty restaurants which we were guaranteed. I'm at the point where I want to cancel this trip. The boat docks so far from some cities so if you cannot book their excursions and you book on your own it is extremely expensive. We even upgraded our cabin to have earlier booking opportunity which did not work out. Very disappointed at this time with Viking and the fact they gave incorrect info and they could not book dinners and site said it was now available. Very frustrasting. We did not have to repay insurance from booking 2 years ago but we will lose incentives if we dont go now. Last year we would have received our cash back, now we get vouchers and lose the incentive vouchers from the previous cruise with problems.

I am currently on the Viking Star world cruise that left Ft. Lauderdale on 12/24. We feel that this is the safest place on the planet. We are PCR tested every single day and the ship has been COVID-free for weeks. The handful that caught COVID were isolated until recovered and life goes on.

But, things do change. We were supposed to head west from LA to the south Pacific and Asia, but they were all closed to cruise traffic. Viking pivoted and we headed east and south around South America, across the Atlantic, and into the Med. We are currently in Souda Bay, Crete, Greece, and are heading south tonight through the Suez Canal to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

If COVID and the world has you nervous or scared, I recommend staying home. But...you don't get more years added on to the end of your life by doing so. We chose to embrace the adventure and travel and have not regretted a second. We booked Viking's Vancouver to Sydney adventure for next year.

And...as that aforementioned friend, I can say that while the itinerary changed, and we would have loved to see those ports, we are seeing amazing places that we didn't expect and are having a terrific time. Wouldn't change a thing - except it is a lot colder in the Med in March that where we were supposed to be. That will change as it will be 95 in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday... :-)

Interesting. Mrs Fox is always trying to get us on Viking but I doubt that cruises costing twice as much per day offer twice the reward, so we have generally stayed with Holland-America Line. Sadly, now that they have sold all of their smaller ships (especially our favourite, the 800-passenger Prinsendam) they are becoming more generic. Still, we love cruising and there are some great bargains to be had.

Viking Ocean Cruise
 

There are litteraly 100's of cruise lines out there ...we have done over 60 cruises with most of the majors ...for river cruises you just cannot beat Scenic a 5* outfit or Emerald their 4* subsiduary.
An example - we did the 15 day Jewels of Europe cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest - there is a well known pinch point on that route which boats cannot get by if the water is too low (rocks) and cannot get by if the water is too high (low bridge). It came to pass that this happened (as it does regularly) however Scenic despatch a boat from both ends timed to meet at the pinch point - so in the morning we put our bags out and went off on an excursion. When we came back our bags were in the exact same cabin on the other sister ship so we were able to continue our cruise. The Viking ship next to us - customers were given the option of continuing by bus or going home. I wonder why the poster is such a Viking only fan ...does she have financial involvement ?? Small ship cruising around the UK and Europe ...take a look at Fred Olsen or Saga (no children and all inclusive) Do your research ...Viking is not the be all and end all of cruising !!

Yes, we have. Wonderful! If there was one cruise line I would trust given the current world uncertainties, it would be Viking. The line is privately-owned by an old Norwegian, Torstein Hagen, who runs it as he wishes. Small ships, clean, simple Scandinavian decor, great food, no kids, no gambling, no art or watch sales, daily educational presentations by real experts, well-planned shore excursions…wonderful! As they describe themselves, they are the “thinking person’s cruise line”. Check out the many videos on their website.

Can u define their over the top?

Dear friends,
The world has always been uncertain. The younger we are, the more that uncertainty looks like adventure/fun. As we get older we see that uncertainty as danger.
My advice is go now, before the fun and adventure turns to fear and worry. The longer you wait, the less likely you are to fulfil your dreams. My biggest fear is that my last words will be, " I wish I would have .....".

🚢 🇺🇸🇮🇹🇪🇸🇫🇷🇬🇧🇩🇪� ��🇵🇺🇸

Advisor
 

I was just on a Viking Ocean in Jan/Feb to Norway to see the Northern Lights. This was my first time on Viking and was impressed with many things. We were still in height of Covid and we were checked daily via saliva tests, temperature and questionnaire. Staff wore masks continuously and guests except when eating/drinking. Very clean & safe. As things are lifting the traveling will get more pleasant but Viking is #1 in protection.

The food was great, staff was exceptional! The ships are all clean, Scandinavian design. Polished without all the glitz and glamour. The entertainment was sub par. I don't know if this is because of cruising just getting started again and perhaps it's harder to get good entertainment right now. Had the same experience with another line I went on back in October.

Viking is considered small-medium range for Ocean cruising with a little under 1,000 passengers. They do have a good staff-passenger ratio though, so good attention.

As for Asia, you could book for 2023, but I would make sure of the cancellation policy. I am still leery of Asia in general right now and would consider someone else if you have other areas on your bucket list. In full disclosure-I am a Travel Advisor-living in the Village of Bradford. I've been in the business for over 40 years. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have other concerns or questions. Let me know and I can send you my contact info.