Other (Asia/Africa/Middle East) Cruise Reviews

Did you know that Viking and trip mate insurance are owned by the same company basically? Did you know that if something goes wrong with your cruise and you feel you need legal help you must file any claims in Sweden? Did you know most US attorneys will not defend you against Viking because of the cost and restrictions to litigate? Did you know that Viking’s cruise contract is a hold harmless contract? You do now. Buyer beware . . . On 10/23/22 my mom fell on the Viking Antarctic explorer's maiden voyage while in port in Ushuaia. Passengers were asked to step onto the 28' stage unassisted to participate in an excursion because too many people had signed up to go and this was a “fun exercise” to reduce the number of participants. There were no safety protocols in place, no guards, no help if you didn't make it. Two Viking staff stood in the distance and captured names of people who came to them first. Mom (80 and very spry) made it, but while standing on stage, she lost her balance and fell backwards. She broke her femur at her hip. She was taken to local hospital and Viking hired a medical coordinator to help. The trip mate insurance refused to pay for her surgery and demanded that I provide a credit card with a $100k limit to pay for the surgery. (mom was drugged, alone in Argentina and not really able to make decisions on her own, I have power of attorney) The hospital threatened to discharge her after if I did not comply. I called Viking and they responded "you will need to make a decision that is best for your family, maybe another family member can help you" I called trip mate and they said they would pay for my air and hotel to fly down if doctor confirmed she would be in hospital for 7 days. But when I called after receiving that document, trip mate denied that. Later Trip Mate did agree to cover the cost in an email the following day, I was already on my way at my own expense, they said they would reimburse me. Mom was in the hospital 7 days and another 5 in a hotel for recovery, but unable to put any weight on her foot, still using a bedpan and unable to move well from bed to chair. Viking contracted with a medical coordinator to help us with language barriers and get us a physical therapist to help teach her how to get from chair to chair so we could travel back to US. When we were leaving Ushuaia, the medical coordinator that Viking contracted with said Viking refused to pay them. So, we paid them. They were great! Pax in Ushuaia! Trip mate did pay and make travel arrangements for us to get home to SC but they would not get me to Virginia. That was ok because I stayed with mom another 7 weeks until she was approved by US Doctor to put weight on the leg. We confirmed mom's coverage with trip mate and filed a claim for trip cancellation, companion coverage, and the medical coordinator. Here we are 2/23/23 and Trip Mate is only paying the companion coverage portion. ( I suppose that is because I have an email confirming that they would and since they paid for us to come home-it would be hard to deny that) but trip interruption and medical coordinator coverage was denied. Another call to Viking and their response was sorry we can't help you, maybe you can appeal. I will tell our owner and because I am sure he will be upset. Yeah, sure you will . . . sure he will . . . Please! We can't get an attorney in the US to take the case because Viking and Trip Mate are owned by a Swedish company and the requirements in their contract state that all claims must be handled in Sweden and we must appear in person. The Viking contracts are also hold harmless, which makes them very hard to litigate, you must show malice and intent, and in those instances, Viking then claims it was a staff person’s decision acting outside of Viking policy and then we have to sue that person-which is just ridiculous. I would never work for a company that does that to their staff. I feel bad for Viking employees. Lesson learned, not ever taking another Viking trip. This was mom’s 4th. As an FYI, we have had to interrupt trips in the past with Princess for various reasons-so different an experience. Princess did all the reservations, checked in on us, transported our luggage, and were wonderful and kind and curious and genuine. A few Viking staff visited mom in the hotel and brought flowers when they returned to port after the trip. They were nice they felt bad for her. So unforgivable.

Punta Arenas to Punta Arenas Embark date: 11/14/2021 Debark Date: 11/30/2021 I have booked about 7 expeditions with Silversea in the past and they are impeccable from top to bottom. Everyone is very friendly, kind and they what’s best for you. They will even open a restaurant for your pleasure; if for example, the grill is closed due to bad weather. The butler, waitstaff, management, and expedition staff were excellent. This time around, the expedition staff is mediocre. The expedition staff used to want what’s best for you but are busy taking their own photographs and are a hypocritical bunch of know it all. They have hired some new staff and what a bunch of idiots. They are too busy taking photos of themselves and selfies. The new expedition staff will tell you what to do, where to walk and where to breathe. Some will scold you, even if you deviate from the walking path by one inch! There isn’t even any penguin highway. The new hires they have hired are not educated. They are young, foolish and have control issue. Just read their biographies, it is pathetic. You are a guide? For what? I have proof of photos of their hypocrisy. They need to be fired right away. What happen Silversea/ Royal Caribbean? We paid $50,000 dollars for what? To be told what to do by high school dropouts? But their resume says, I guide? What a pathetic SELECT FEW expedition staff.

It was one of the best cruises I have ever had. Cannot fault anything at all. It was my first time on a marella ship can honestly say it eont be my last absolutely fantastic

Very disappointing, food not the best, stateroom dirty, just a massive letdown for our first Princess cruise

Coronavirus was always in the back of our minds but this did not stop what was otherwise a very good holiday.

a fabulous cruise, fantastic staff and service, ports of call in India were fascinating

Absolute relax away from busy life, fantastic trip. Will be doing the same trip again hopefully on a slightly newer ship, now that our kids are older they want more things to do.

Great boat and great cruise. New year's eve was wonderful.

Diamond Princess is a well laid out ship and while it is showing some signs of age it is still very good. The crew were amazing and always did things with a smile. A great stress free way to spend Christmas!

An excellent cruise. I thoroughly recommend it for anyone looking for something different. The ports we visited were very interesting.

This cruise was rather boring during the day. Not enough intellectual activities on. Often on the Lido deck it was impossible to find a seat to sit down at. We spent a lot of time in our cabin, as this was the only peaceful place....... Not one of our better cruises. The best meal was the Indonesian lunch they prepared for Mariners - very spicy & tasty. We ate quite a few times in the Pinacle Grill - food was far superior & the service was brilliant.

We enjoyed most things about the cruise. We enjoyed the ship. The food was good to excellent. Unfortunately, two ports were so far away we decided against traveling into the city. Missed seeing BanI am not sure the visit to Cambodia was worth the price of the VISA. May visit Cambodia again visit other areas. Recently saw an article in the New York Times that identified Kampot Cambodian as one of 53 places a tourist should visit. Kampot is only an hour away from Sihanoukville. Had we known that we would have arranged to visit there. Missed seeing Bangkok and Kula Lampur. Enjoyed staying overnight in two ports. I wish we had stayed overnigh in Phuket. There was a lot there to enjoy. Go, enjoy. Focus on the positives and let go of the minor annoyances.

An excellent cruise to enjoy some quiet time and also some fun on the dance floor at nights, the food was so good! entertainment was never boring. would love to go again

Great overall service on the ship. There was so much to do and see, we would do this again.

Overall, we enjoyed the cruise with the unique port of calls.

Really enjoyed the cruise experience(s) overall, especially crew and Halong Bay. Was actually on for the Hong Hong to Brisbane cruise then stayed for the Brisbane to Sydney cruise and the Sydney to Brisbane cruise .... and this was where the 'lows' were experienced. Although these were 3 separate bookings, Princess deemed that in terms of onboard entitlements, that it would count as only 2. There was no previous advice given, or even advice given on the ship of this decision before it happened and was chased up. (I wasn't the only passenger who had one cruise count deducted.) Still trying to get an explanation from Princess as to how this could happen. Sadly, it has detracted from what had been otherwise enjoyable onboard experiences.

I would do this trip again so that I could see things I missed the first time.

We signed up for this cruise based on the itinerary so we were very disappointed in the excursion changes an omissions. We didn’t find the food exceptional but we certainly had plenty of it. I have to emphasize that the international staff on this ship is their very best asset!

We've done a back-to-back cruises 13 day Hong Kong-Singapore and this one, the vibe on the ship and the atmosphere was so much better on the the latter cruise for some reason. We finally enjoyed the night time entertainment and felt that it wasn't as dead and boring as before. So would definitely recommend.

We had an awesome cruise with Princess cruises despite some dissatisfaction with the cost of excursions which is a general thing with many cruise companies. Service staff on board are faultless .