Viking Sea Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Due to captain not listening to the port authority we missed 4 of our ports and had a terrible time! We were adrift at sea here are some articles about the incident at sea!! from Ravenna Web TV: (https://www.ravennawebtv.it/salvataggio-della-crociera-viking-sea-premiato-lequipe-dei-soccorritori/_ Rescue of the Viking Sea cruise: The team of rescuers awarded From Redazione - 5 October 2022072 Port of Ravenna: the satisfaction of the Prefect, the Mayor and the President of the Port System Authority at the Port Authority - Coast Guard and the technical-nautical services of the Ravenna port. This morning, at the headquarters of the Maritime Directorate of Emilia-Romagna, a meeting was held in the presence of Mr. Prefect Dr. Castrese DE ROSA, Mr. Mayor Dr. Michele DE PASCALE and the President of the Port System Authority of the central northern Adriatic sea, Dr. Daniele ROSSI, with the representatives of the rescue machine which intervened last September 17 in favor of the cruise ship "Viking Sea" in the port of Ravenna. As you will remember, that morning of 7 September, in the port of Ravenna the wind increased in intensity, reaching peaks of strong storms (over 80 km / h) and gusts of storm. The cruise ship "Viking Sea", docked at the cruise pier of Porto Corsini broke the mooring lines, crossing and resting the keel on the sandy bottom. The Operations Room of the Harbor Master's Office - Coast Guard of Ravenna, immediately alerted of the emergency, coordinated the intervention of the technical-nautical services (Pilots, Tugs and Moorings of the port of Ravenna), who were engaged in long maneuvers with the use of 5 tugs and the Coast Guard patrol boat CP 328 "all time". The operations went on for over 4 hours, working non-stop to counter the violent gusts of wind that pushed the ship sideways against the cliff, managing to bring it back parallel to the quay and keep it in a safe position. The Norwegian flag ship, 228 meters long, with 870 passengers on board and about 200 crew members, was safely brought back to mooring shortly after 1.00 pm without any consequences for the people on board. The dynamics of the event, and the reasons that led to the breaking of the mooring cables, despite the repeated warnings from the Maritime Authority, were subsequently subject to careful technical checks, pursuant to the Navigation Code, carried out by the military of the core P.S.C. of the Harbor Master's Office - Coast Guard of Ravenna. The perfect functioning of the rescue machine has received national media acclaim, once again recognizing that the city of Ravenna has a safe harbor. With this meeting, the Authorities who attended the year wanted to express their gratitude in an official way with the compliments to the Harbor Master's Office - Coast Guard of Ravenna, C.V. (CP) Francesco CIMMINO, to the S.E.R.S. S.r.l. (Company Exercise Trailers and Salvage) Dr. Riccardo VITIELLO, the Mooring Group of Ravenna, Andrea Armari and the Ravenna Pilots Corporation, Clc Roberto BUNICCI. Also present at the meeting were the Cpt Carlo Cordone - President of the Association of maritime agents and agents of Ravenna, Dr. Danilo Belletti, President of the shippers, Dr. Riccardo Martini, President of the Users Union and Dr. Anna D'Imporzano director general Ravenna Civitas Cruis Port Cruise terminal. ==================================== And it keeps getting better: From Corriere Romgna (ravenna-la-capitaneria-di-porto-elogia-il-salvatori-della-viking-sea) Ravenna, Captaincy awarded for the rescue of the Sea Viking Andrea Tarron 5 Oct 2022 RAVENNA. In celebration of the intervention to rescue the Sea Viking, on 17 September last, the seal of the city and a plaque were given to the commander Francesco Cimmino, as well as an acknowledgment to the representatives of the groups of tugboats, moorers and the guild of the captains of the port. "Everything went well and let's toast to our teamwork. However, we could have faced a very different budget ”, said Cimmino. Having dissolved the tension of a morning with a wind at 60 knots and a huge cruise ship that had broken its moorings, the world of Ravenna ports celebrates a "team success", but does not shy away from underlining "the serious imprudence of the ship's captain. He could go offshore, early in the morning, as we advised him. And he had to call more than just one tug, as he did in the beginning ". Shortly thereafter, the arrival of four other vehicles will be imposed. It is Commander Cimmino himself who reconstructs that morning, in front of the prefect, Castrese De Rosa and the mayor, Michele De Pascale. Operations that morning went on for over four hours, to counter the violent gusts of wind that pushed the ship against the reef. As mentioned, in addition to the Harbor Master's Office, recognition was given to Sers, represented by Riccardo Vitiello, to the Mooring Group of Ravenna, headed by Andrea Armari and to the Ravenna Pilots Corporation, led by Roberto Bunicci. \ Also present at the meeting were the president of the Port Authority, Daniele Rossi, Carlo Cordone (president of the Association of shipping agents and agents), Danilo Belletti (president of the Freight Forwarders), Riccardo Martini (president of the Users' Union) and Anna D'Imporzano , general manager of Ravenna Civitas Cruise Port, the company that manages the Porto Corsini cruise terminal.

In spite of COVID restrictions this was a wonderful trip. Masks required indoors unless in cabin or eating or drinking. Restaurants and bars setup for social distancing. Only about 60% capacity. All the crew were well trained and were obviously proud to be Viking.

The cruise had many excellent points, but it wasn’t for us. Weather and norovirus - obviously not Viking’s fault - compounded the negatives. I’m sure many liked it.

This was our first cruise and it kind of lived up to expectations. Would not return to the Caribbean. Would consider sailing with Viking again, but maybe when I'm in my 70s.

We were extremely disappointed with Viking Ocean especially with all the good comments test we had received from friends.

Great bucket list cruise. Very port intensive so was also very tiring but we enjoyed it greatly. Gives you just a taste of each country so you can decide if you want to go back anywhere to spend more time in the future.

Overall, having been Holland America customers, we thought this would be a step up. In fact, it was a bit disappointing. Viking really needs to be more helpful with air arrangements and allow more flexibility. Dining room service should have been much better, and food should have been better prepared. Very nice, clean ship with friendly staff and excellent entertainment. Cabin service was superb.

Viking is a class operation but some areas need to be fixed. I.e wait staff

A Viking cruise is a great experience. Only area that is not up to Viking standards are their shore excursions. Included tours of islands were repetitive and buses and tour guides ranged from excellent to poor. Had 1 great paid tour and one paid tour were they had to refund 50% due to a horrible bus and driver.

Great cruise, crew and staff were outstanding. The ship is smaller and very easy to get around on

Going here in November it is still part of the rainy season and we did have rain everyday. Most of the time it was just a couple of hours. Which caused it to be really humid. So even though it was 70 degrees it felt much warmer. It was good to see the officers of the ship around the ship and helping out. Most of the other cruises you only see them at the Captains party, or just eating. The food supervisors also assisted in the buffet area. The crew took great care of the passengers.

Overall a OK cruise, had higher expectations since Viking markets themselves as a high end cruise experience. I thought it was an average experience. The ship also needs a new horn. Sounds like it has laryngitis. We all had a good laugh we it was blow. All other ships in the harbor had real horns!

We were actually shocked at the number of non ambulatory passengers. All of the included tours were slowed down as usually there were two of these passengers per bus. We were not expecting that at all. It would be better if they had these passengers step aside as they unloaded the buses. Many of the non-ambulatory passengers had to climb stairs to get on and off the ship. That could take a long time. There was no option of getting off on a lower deck, so I actually felt badly for these passengers, who struggled to get up and down the stairs.

This was our first Viking experience but it won't be our last!

very relaxing cruise and perfect weather and crew.

We sailed on Viking Sea 12 months prior to this cruise. We were happy to see that, generally, the quality of staff had improved and there was a significant improvement in the excursions.

Excellent cruise! This was our #12 cruise and the first Viking ocean cruise. We plan on cruising on Viking again soon. We especially liked the fact that no one was constantly trying to sell us something. Also all wine, beer and soft drinks were included at both lunch and dinner. Cold bottled water was provided at the beginning of every excursion and occasionally they had wine for us upon our return to the ship.

Viking Ocean Sea Jewels of the Southern Mediterranean mini review I just disembarked the Viking Sea. The ship is lovely and offers great amenities throughout the ship as well as in the cabin. Being a techie, I loved using the free WiFi Web Access throughout the cruise as well as being able to access my personalized daily calendar which listed my booked excursions and restaurant reservations on my phone, tablet or cabin tv. In the cabin, I had plenty of power outlets as well as usb plugs just above the bedside tables. Each headboard also has a built in swivel reading light making it easy to read in bed without disturbing your partner. The spa and gym were well equipped and open most of the time . A nice amenity in the spa was having an ample supply of robes, towels, even comfortable plastic sandals to wear in the spa or up at the pools. It eliminated the need to use the robes in your cabin and to get them wet unnecessarily. The mid ship salt water pool was open all the time which was nice. The temperature was set about 81degrees F. The aft infinity pool was out of commission and I never found out why. The ship has the look and feel of a fine five star hotel rather than a cruise ship. The public areas and the spa on Decks 1 and 2 are beautiful but somewhat enclosed so it's easy to forget you are on a ship. The staff go out of their way to be cheerful and helpful although I found the service in all the dining rooms a bit uneven at times, depending on the waiter. Several times during the week we our entree didn't arrive for 15-25 minutes after our salad. I don't know if the delay is caused by the kitchen backup or something else. I suspect Viking will work it out with time. Viking promotes having women serving people in the dinnertime which is nice to see after so many male dominated cruise lines. My favorite space in the entire ship is the Explorer Lounge on Deck 7 forward. It is simply stunning and a great place to read, get a snack and watch the world go by. There is ready access to the outside as well if you want to venture out for photos or to get a broader view. The the World Cafe is nicely designed and the food was just as good or better than the dining rooms. The only problem we encountered was on days when there were many excursions returning to the ship at the same time, or excursions leaving around the same time. Then it was really crowded and not especially pleasant. I'm sure Viking can work this problem out over time by staggering their tours better. The singers and dancers performed in the theater which has a state of the art sound and lighting system, including the latest in LED screen technology. The shows were not always successful in showcasing the talented singers and dancers, a couple of show themes kissed the mark. But the Abba song show was a huge crowd pleaser as well as a perfect way to showcase their singers. The two classically trained dancers could have been used more effectively and more often. For those who enjoy non alcoholic beverages, they have the best selection of choices of any cruise line I've been on, including, non alcoholic beer, wines and even champagne. EMBARKATION and disemarkation was the smoothest of any cruise line I've been on too. They break up the departures for example in 15 minute intervals so that there isn't that giant crush of people looking for their luggage at the same time. Bags are tagged and organized ashore according to each group of 25. Very nice. Our cabin attendant did a great job, although I hardly saw him and couldn't get him to understand my desire to keep the beaker of fresh water provided in the cabin each day in the bathroom where I used it. I was so busy with extra excursions that I didn't spend much time aboard during the day. One disappointment on our itinerary was that in two ports we couldn't take advantage of the included tours because the optional paid cruises we took returned to the shop 15 minutes after the free tour departed. I would have expected Viking to work this out and to make accommodation. The Excursion desk people said they could not. Overall, I am very impressed with Viking Ocean. Their ships have much to offer above others in the small ship market. The staff are a wonderful United Nations, especially of Eastern Europeans etc. And having women servers was nice to see. Our cruise director was a very talented Mezzo soprano who at times was a bit too overbearing/ dictatorial and somewhat condescending to passengers for my taste, but she softened and grew on me as the cruise progressed. She went out of her way to give credit to the entire staff the lady night and made the passengers feel appreciated. One big advantage Viking has over other American based cruise lines is that Viking goes to more places off the beaten track like Algiers, Vallencia and Tunisia, Egypt and Istanbul that I want to continue to visit. They are a little pricy but I hope they can offer sales that will enable me to use them more often. We used their air offering both going and coming. The pricing was unbeatable given our itinerary arriving and departing from different ports.

We picked this cruise because of the unusual ports like Tunis and Algiers - true , we had to be on escorted bus tours in Algiers - but not many Americans are willing to take taxis or go on private excursions in those countries of north  Africa . In the other ports, we hired our own private tour guides so we didn't have to go on the bus tours provided by the ship . The Viking Sea is a beautiful vessel - spotlessly clean. Very helpful staff. Shows were nice enough - outdoor Beatle  show was fun .

I'd the tour was run very efficiently and am surprised at some negative comments . I think those were due to bad weather the week before we sailed - you have to be lucky with that - no fault of the cruise line - we'd take another cruise any time Viking has some unusual ports of call . 

Had an amazing time. We're not particularly interested in mega ships with dodgems and the like, for us it's about the destinations, but obviously each to their own. Food, room and service were excellent. Given it was January the weather was changeable and affected our trip to Rome. However, Viking coped with this by changing the excursions and meal times to accommodate, and within 30 mins of docking in port had everyone on coaches. Would I travel with Viking again? Absolutely!