Viking should have cancelled this trip.

Item: Viking Jupiter
Rating: 3.8
Author: joncwhite

Viking Jupiter Cruise Review to Transatlantic

joncwhite

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 24

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

21 Night Southern Atlantic Crossing (Buenos Aires To Barcelona)

Sail date: March 17, 2022

Ship: Viking Jupiter

Cabin number: penthouse suite

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

We've loved our 7 Viking River cruises, which is probably the only reason why we'll give Viking Ocean another try. The ship is beautiful, and the service is unparalleled. But, so many ports were skipped, excursions not offered, and paid benefits not provided, this cruise should have been cancelled. Viking's covid protocols are largely unwarranted based on current scientific data, which leads me to believe they are in place primarily to appeal to the absolute most risk-averse cruiser. For example, we're at sea 9 days in a row, but still have to do a covid test every day and wear a mask at all times?!? How exactly could we be infected?!? And another example, every other treadmill must be inactive, but hundreds of people can sit in the Star Theater?!?

Embarkation

1 out of 5

Terrible. We did not get the embarkation benefits (early check-in and boarding) we paid for. The entire process was very poorly managed. Plus, we were forced to stay in our stateroom the entire first day.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

The food ranges from very good (Manfredi's) to mediocre (World Cafe).

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

The thermal spa is very nice, and we used it nearly every sea day. The fitness center is inadequate since every other machine is unavailable due to Viking's covid protocols (more on that later).

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The Viking Band in Torshavn was good and the piano player in the atrium was quite good.

Children's Programs

No children on the ship.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Viking's strength is the service and staff. The service is the best in the industry.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

The ship could not possibly be more sterile. I would literally eat off of the floor.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

The cabin was very nice and absolutely met our expectations.

Ship tip

Know that Viking is not required to go to any port listed in your itinerary, nor offer any excursion listed in the promotional material, nor provide the extra benefits that are promised based on cabin category.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Buenos Aires, Argentina

3 out of 5

We love Buenos Aires. The main excursion we wanted based on the marketing material, was not offered. We explored on our own. Thank goodness for Viator.

Thumbs Up 0

Montevideo, Uruguay

3 out of 5

Frankly, Montevideo is a bit boring, but the excursion to the winery was nice.

Thumbs Up 0

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil Did not visit port

Viking never told us.

Thumbs Up 0

Recife, Brazil Did not visit port

Viking never told us.

Thumbs Up 0

Dakar, Senegal Did not visit port

Viking never told us.

Thumbs Up 0

Casablanca, Morocco Did not visit port

Viking never told us.

Thumbs Up 0

Malaga, Spain

4 out of 5

We liked Malaga and the botanical garden excursion was lovely.

Thumbs Up 1

Barcelona, Spain

5 out of 5

We LOVE Barcelona. We did the Sagrada Familia / Park Guell tour, which is absolutely a must. We did our own Viator tasting tour during our post extension, and I highly recommend it.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

It was the usual.

3 Comments

PiratesWorld 2 years ago

Thanks for the info

Thumbs Up 0

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javawoody 2 years ago

Thanks for the review

Thumbs Up 0

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Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. Also Viking up dates.

Thumbs Up 0

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