Our First Cruise......Could it be our Last?

Item: Viking Orion
Rating: 3.8
Author: micmc

Viking Orion Cruise Review to Alaska

micmc

Contributor Level: Purser

57 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 30

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

Verified Review

10 Night Alaska & The Inside Passage (Vancouver To Seward)

Sail date: June 29, 2023

Ship: Viking Orion

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 5038

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

The Inside Passage is a nice leisurely cruise and we enjoyed it even though we had lousy weather much of the time. We felt the excursions were a little lacking, especially when the main thrust of many of the excursions was to view scenery and wildlife but the weather or the time of year didn't provide an opportunity for either. We felt maybe we should have been warned that we would not see anything that day due to bad weather and maybe offer the opportunity to change to some other excursion. Life on-board the ship was basically good, with several places to hang out and sip a wine or listen to music. There was a dress code issue that surprised us a little though. One afternoon we were looking for a place to sit and listen to the string duo in the swanky Atrium Lounge and walked by a man sitting at a game table with shorts, flip-flops and no shirt. No staff had accosted him so I suppose his attire may have been OK....just seemed very odd to us. We really can't say enough how much we loved the well-trained staff onboard our ship, and what a nice facility it is overall. But we feel Viking let us down in one major area - Health&Safety. We noticed people coughing everywhere we went on the ship almost from Day-One. And after 3 or 4 days we noticed more and more people coughing. Virtually nobody was wearing a mask and there were no advisories. On the 6th day of our 10-day trip we both came down with covid. We were fully vaccinated and boosted and had made through the entire 3-year pandemic unscathed. Then we decided to take our first cruise......bad idea! We had to cancel our last four excursions, one of which Viking did not refund for some unknown reason, and we had to cancel the last week of our trip after the cruise and fly home early for treatment/recovery. We are not happy that Viking didn't place more emphasis on monitoring the condition of it's passengers and issuing a warning of some sort when it was obvious that so many people were coming down sick and spreading germs throughout the ship. This included some staff members as well. So will it be not only our first cruise but also maybe our last cruise? Not likely. But we will probably have to avoid buffets and maybe check the current mask policies more closely in the future.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Embarkation was decent, although the ship was not ready and we had to wait awhile and the check-in agent messed up our credit card input so we had to redo it onboard later.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Food and drink was a mixed bag. The World Cafe usually had good stuff but the buffet style was unsanitary and probably contributed to our catching covid. We enjoyed the soft shell crab and lobster the most. The roast turkey was also good. There was always a wide selection of side dishes, salad fixings, and deserts. What we didn't like was that they did not offer any Alaskan King Crab on an Alaskan Cruise! And this, inspite of the fact that all the sample menus they provided online always showed pictures of the King Crab Legs...a little bait and switch maybe?? The waiters were all friendly and efficient. The house wines were mediocre. We didn't try any beer. We ate several times in The Restaurant and enjoyed it each time in spite of the limited and mediocre wine selection. And in addition to the World Cafe and The Restaurant we ate once at the Chef's Table, which we didn't much care for.....you have to want exactly what they are offering and it's usually dishes that were not our cup of tea. But the service was great. And we also ate once at Manfredi's and thought it was OK. The pork chop I had was tough and chewy. We usually ate breakfast each day at The World Cafe and it was good, although the pastry selection was not great. Since this was our first cruise we can't compare with any other ships except a trip we took with Hurtigruten in Norway, which was not really a cruise ship but a ferry. The Hurtigruten food was a good bit better that the Viking Orion.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

No much in the way on onboard activities, which is why most people go for Viking in the first place I guess. We went to the planetarium for one show that was interesting.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The band was OK and we went to a couple of shows that were OK as well. The string duo was great as was the piano player in the Atrium.

Children's Programs

No children's programs.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

The entire staff was friendly, professional, and helpful. From the cabin steward to the waiters to the maintenance personnel and the medical staff - everyone was fantastic.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

The ship's layout and design was excellent and we thought all the public spaces were clean and well-maintained. We did get sick though.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

We thought our cabin was very good overall. It was a little small, but well-designed. The bed was comfy. A good bit of storage space in the closet. The bathroom was decent sizze. Shower was excellent with room to actually shower! And the heated floor was a welcome bonus.