Viking Orion - Reviews

The 6-day pre-cruise "Best of Australia" was very disappointing. It was 2 days Melbourne, 2 days Alice Springs, 2 days Ayer's Rock. Would have been much better if 2 days Melbourne, 1-2 days Outback, 1-2 days wine regions, 1 day Sydney. The 4-day post-cruise was excellent, with 2 days Tongariro National Park and 2 days Auckland. The stops for lunch at local farms were outstanding, as was the visit to Waiheke Island.

After 9 Viking river cruises, I decided to try a Viking Ocean cruise. As usual, the booking was a nightmare. Booking agents are impossible to work with. When you book something, you get an acknowledgement that doesn't reflect what was agreed. This booking was never really correct but we went with it anyway. Air is impossible to deal with. We were told we had seat assignments then found we did not. With a nearly full international flight, we got some bad seats. Shore excursions are a bait and switch. The included ones are worthless and the optional ones are over priced. From the conversation on the ship, the optional tours are no better. I won't say that I will never take another Viking ocean cruise but there are certainly better options out there.

Our trip was probably the best we have ever experienced. AND we actually travel a lot.

Loved the ship and staff. Food was great. Two of the ports were a waste of time and paying so much for a Visa for China was a waste of money since you don't need one for Hong Kong an Haikou had absolutely nothing to offer

Ship, food and staff were excellent. Tours were in general poor. Hong Kong pre tour was poorly organized and over priced. Beijing extension was top shelf with wonderful sites and guides. Optional dinner was spectacular. Included lunches were very good.

Awesome ship. The staff was very accommodating. The food was tasty but not so much for the fish other than delicious crab legs & sushi. We enjoyed the wine list as it was interesting to try different wines by the glass. This was something we enjoyed as they rotated the same wines over & over, We simply just got bored. The spa was absolutely wonderful but better than using space for a casino. The included tours were not great but somewhat acceptable. Not a luxury cruise but totally fine. I'm not sure that if I paid full price that I would've given it such good reviews.

Awesome ship. The staff was very accommodating. The food was tasty but not so much for the fish other than delicious crab legs & sushi. We enjoyed the wine list as it was interesting to try different wines by the glass. This was something we enjoyed as they rotated the same wines over & over, We simply just got bored. The spa was absolutely wonderful but better than using space for a casino. The included tours were not great but somewhat acceptable. Not a luxury cruise but totally fine. I'm not sure that if I paid full price that I would've given it such good reviews.

This was the cruise of a life time for us and I would say the only downside would be the quality of internet available. When you are gone for an extended period of time you have to be able to pay bills at home and this was difficult due to lack of signal or it falling on its face just when you needed it the most. But that being said still better than when I actually paid for it!

fun for adults, easy to find a location for every night to gather, would go again with Viking

This was our fifth Viking cruise. Met wonderful people and saw new and interesting things. Staff and crew friendly, onboard entertainers very good. All crew diligently attempted to provide exceptional service. Please read details about the cruise ship and excursions thoroughly as many passengers had expectations not met, simply a result of poor and ineffective communication.

I have no complaints about the ship or staff... food very good and they handled the norovirus outbreak very well. My complaint is the ports of call. They obviously got cheap port charges to lure them to some of these ports. I f you are considering a trip through Indonesia, check out Silverseas, their itinerary is far better.

We have cruised on HAL, MSC, Princess, RCL, Celebrity, Costa, Oceana, and Azamara. This was our second Viking Ocean Cruise. The first Viking Ocean cruise was in the Mediterranean and North Africa and it was great. This cruise was 14 days from Hong Kong to Beijing. The ship, like her sister ships, is great. We were unhappily surprised by the lack of entertainment on a number of the evenings, including days at sea. This is a real issue when you have multiple days at sea and you are on a ship for 14 days. But the biggest issue was the very poor planning and quality of the included excursions. Overall, these were the worst excursions we have experienced on the 35 cruises we have taken, and inferior to what we have experienced on Viking Ocean and Viking River in the past. Viking claims that part of the problem was the lack of qualified tour agencies in China. We doubt that is the only issue. We have cruised in Asia before, including Viet Nam, and have experience in arranging our own tours with tourist agencies that were recommended on Trip Advisor. We were picked up promptly at our distant ports by drivers and tour guides that had to travel 2 hours or more to meet us. But a good tour agency sends qualified guides even when they have to be bussed in from far away cities, This is not how Viking and its agency did it in China. Local young people who barely knew English and knew even less about travel and history were the "guides" that were provided. On our last day of this Viking cruise, we arranged to be picked up at the port for Beijing by a private tour agency that was recommended on Trip Advisor. The guide and driver made a 2 hour plus trip to pick us up and drive us to Beijing. The guide was proficient in English and took care of us professionally. So we can only conclude that Viking either did not do their homework to contract with quality tour companies or that they'd not care about their passengers, or that they were trying to cut corners and save money on their self described luxury 5 star cruise. At the price point that Viking charges, these included excursions were miserable and reflect poorly on the organization. They need to make major improvements in their excursion departments. Given this experience, we would have been better off to have cruised with a Cruise line that did not provide excursions as part of the pricing and to then have arranged our own tours with fellow passengers with reputable local agencies as described on Trip Advisor. The ship is beautiful as are its sister ships. What a shame that Viking ruins the experience by providing mediocre entertainment at night and a miserable experience.

Viking Ocean is moving too fast. As a prior and a future ticketed client, I was disappointed in this Cruise. The Australian included excursions were terrible. Not enough time by the company in evaluating and assuring consistency of each group. The Eorld Cafe has regressed and the repetition of foods was disappointing. The wines were repeAted too often as opposed to prior experienced total variety .The Service was superb to the expected standard. The Cruise Director is a talent and SUPERB. As a whole, it’s clear the Line is moving too quickly SND is forgetting its roots on how it hot to where it WAS.

Alaska Inside Passage is gorgeous scenery from beginning to end. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the Viking experience, incredible staff, amazing service, beautiful accommodations, bountiful, delicious food. Worth every cent.

Nice cruise. Captain did great job with Hubbard Glacier viewing. Viking air failed (again!) and won’t use them next time. Viking free excursions are as they say free so don’t expect anything. Will travel with Viking again and now understand their limitations.