Not the Fun Celebratory Cruises We've Had in the Past
by Rebekajean
Our 51st Anniversary cruise to Panama Canal on Viking Star was the least enjoyable & most frustrating cruise we’ve ever experienced. First time on Viking, a dozen plus on other lines, Viking fell far short of the luxury expectations we were led to believe. Sales/customer representatives are ill informed about Viking ships and their regulations and continued to impart false information from first contact throughout our cruise.
I have a disease with no cure. My needs have been met on 4 other cruise lines. My allergies require a feather free room, a bed pad to ease back problems, freezer use for custom eye meds, sterile distilled water for a medical device, microwave use to sterilize devices and specific dietary needs of no dairy, citrus, wheat or sugar and were very clearly listed and confirmed available multiple times by Viking representatives’ months before our cruise departed. Three days into this cruise, after dozens of hours speaking with Explorers Desk, heads of departments on board, the doctor in the infirmary and the General Manager, medical needs remained unresolved.
At the start, our given directions to the ship in Ft. Lauderdale were incorrect. The address we, and others we spoke with on the Viking Star, was a building far from port 19. We flew in days early so did not use Viking shuttles.
Our room was not ready when announced and I had to search for our steward. It was snug for a balcony room, only one person could move past the bed to the balcony. The balcony chairs were so shredded they were unusable. Feather pillows were not removed so I sneezed continually until removed. Our pre-cruise paperwork noted we are both diabetic but the room was stocked with sugared drinks and candy bars instead of the requested bottled water. I was told sterile distilled water would be in my room upon arrival. To her credit, our steward did install the bed pad, replaced the chairs, took out the feathers, replaced the sugared items with water and searched for sterile distilled water but found none the entire cruise.
As per instructions by Viking pre-cruise, I found the Head Waiter for access to a microwave to sterilize my medical devices but the claim was another falsehood. Even the infirmary doctor refused to sterilize anything stating it was against policy, although he also refused to show us the policy. After boarding, I learned my expensive custom blood serum meds were not allowed in any freezer anywhere on board so were rendered unusable after 3 days and had to be trashed. Thankfully, I had had brought back-up over-the-counter just in case but my eyes burned the entire trip. The infirmary offered nothing useable.
The internet connections were the slowest on any ship we’ve sailed. We decided to leave the ship at the first port but were unable to book flights as the connection repeatedly dropped. When we decided to stay on board, our Quicken codes expired before connecting each time we tried.
On our Anniversary, Viking offered nothing to mark the occasion. We dined at Manfredi’s the day before as no times were available until very late on our Anniversary night even months before our cruise departed. Not even a note of “Happy 51st Anniversary” by staff. After all the recognition given us on previous anniversary cruises on 4 other lines, Viking continued to be unimpressive.
On the third day I was passing by the General Managers office and stopped in to voice my disappointment and frustration regarding claims thus far. The General Manager did get a microwave put in the stewards’ room to sterilize my devices and loaned me a plug adapter for my medical device but my expensive blood serum eye meds would not get a freezer, no one found sterile distilled water and nothing else could be done about the foods offered for my meals. I thanked him and tried to make the best of a bad situation.
At The Restaurant and World Café I requested “plant-based” milk but only three days during our cruise did I receive any. Several times I was told none was available. Several times the server didn’t understand me and brought regular milk so I had to skip my protein drink and settle for a glass of water. The only available food item for breakfast was scrambled eggs and requesting plant-based yogurt, even though signs at World Café claimed it was available, it was not.
The World Café food offerings were either covered in dairy sauces or covered with tomato or citrus, not eatable for me. Comments from my hubby and those around us were made about how the food was dry and overcooked. For lunch and dinner, one exceptional staff member got me fresh cooked fish and veggies but sadly could only offer the exact same fish and same steamed veggies every single day for the entire cruise. The World Café did have sashimi and seaweed salad, which I ate, but the same food for all meals is boring and not luxury.
I love seafood but seafood night in the World Café served mushy langoustines, overcooked and rubbery steamed mussels and the crab legs were still frozen. After trying several disappointing meals in the Restaurant, the rest of our dining was done at the Café. In The Restaurant I ordered a steak tartar burger and was served a well-done hard puck of nearly burnt meat with a few pieces of lettuce. I tried to catch the attention of our server but by the time I did, my husband had finished his meal so I ate the lettuce and we left. We tried the dining room again, giving our room number to avail our waitstaff of my allergies and asking “please, just meat, nothing else” two times, once because broiled tomatoes were on the meat, once because mashed potatoes and gravy covered everything. All 7 people at our table finished dining before mine arrived. Our Restaurant experience was certainly not “luxury” quality or service.
Any claim that smaller ships have less crowds is untrue as all social functions on board, and there are precious few, were crowded or standing room only. The chamber music was enjoyable and one of the speakers was interesting, everything else, just OK. The guitar player sing-along, playing scrabble/Corn Hole/trivia and walking around could be enjoyed at home for free. Because my eyes burned from not having my eye meds, reading was out.
Because I am disabled and have balance issues, I asked about transportation to and from the “included” excursions. I was told, several times, the busses are modern, comfortable and air-conditioned. Three excursions on this cruise were tiny mini busses, cramped, barely enough air to lower excessive heat to muggy/warm and one used “jump” seats down the middle of isles so more people would fit. Not safe, not luxury, not comfortable. We knew passengers who turned around and went back to the ship when they saw mini buses. Several overweight passengers didn’t fit down the aisles and several with walking difficulties couldn’t get on.
This cruise was costlier than any others in our 60 plus years of cruising. Cost did not equal luxury. I usually believe “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything” but how are inadequacies and false statements to be corrected if the corporate office isn’t aware of what is being said by their marketing/sales representatives? Are they aware of how cruises are truly being conducted? If Viking sales representatives make claims, they should make them happen or stop making the claims!
Cruisers experiencing bad service/food/entertainment etc. tell friends/family. Receiving Viking’s response to my multiple emails and calls saying they had taken notice of the issues, will do what it takes to rectify the problems, provide appropriate compensation for my medical losses and offer appropriate cruise credit for our dreadful experience would have been encouraging to hear…but never happened.
