Learn How To Use The Shower Controls
Jerry is always ripping on my relationship with bathtubs and showers! But hes right. Shower heads, faucets, valves, handles, and I do not get along. For some reason, they confuse me, and I rarely get the temperature or pressure right the first time in a new shower. That is why I love the shower controls on Viking longships! Simply put: The left handle controls the temperature. Set it and forget it. The right handle controls water pressure. Adjust as needed.
Early Years In Cruise Industry
Hagen was a consultant, and later partner, for in Europe, helping to bring back from near-bankruptcy in 1974. In 1976, he became CEO of , and then became CEO of from 1980 to 1984. After a failed take-over bid, he had to resign in 1984. He joined the board of Holland America Line in 1985, and later served on the board of Kloster Cruise. In the early 1990s, he acquired a 27% stake in , a Rotterdam-based shipping company, becoming the biggest shareholder. He sold his shares several years later at a loss.
If You Need Something Ask
When the Program Director or Hotel Manager make the announcement to let them know if you need anything, they are not kidding. Viking staff members will bend over backwards to meet your needs. When we had our medical emergency , the ship Concierge, scheduled our medical appointments and transportation, the Head Housekeeper accompanied us around town as a translator, and we witnessed them providing the same care for another far serious emergency. While in Germany on our most recent trip, we asked the ship Hotel Manager for the location of a nearby supermarket to buy cranberry juice. Later, when we returned unsuccessfully to our cabin, a brand new container of cranberry juice was waiting for us, courtesy of the ship Maître D. Our cabin steward was also incredibly intuitive, always providing for needs without having to ask. Simply put, if you have a need, ask, and the ship staff will do their best to make it happen.
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Viking Mississippi River Cruises
The company plans to add cruise ships on Mississippi River . However, the process is slowed due to issues regarding the so-called “Jones Act” . It imposes restrictions on where USA-based ships can navigate and how to be staffed.
Company’s plan to enter the US river cruising market was officially announced in 2015. In October 2018 was announced as a potential start-up the year 2021. By 2027, Viking plans to increase river’s annual passenger shipping capacity to over 100,000 by deploying six Viking riverboats. The 7-day cruise itineraries will include roundtrips from New Orleans, as well as one-ways between New Orleans and Memphis TN, and between St Louis MO and Minneapolis-Saint Paul MN.
Viking’s USA-based riverboats will be newbuilds , each with 5 decks, passenger capacity 386, all-balcony staterooms , an aft-located infinity pool, bow ramp . All the 6 ships will be built and owned by ECO Shipyards and operated under charter by Viking Cruises USA.
The first boat starts operations in August 2022. Bookings opened in 2020 – on March 31 and on April 15 . Currently, Viking River Cruises USA offers 4 itineraries, themed as:
- “Heart of the Delta” – prices started from GBP 3390 pp
- “America’s Heartland” – from GBP 4790 pp
- “Southern Celebration” – from GBP 3390 pp
- “America’s Great River” – from GBP 8690 pp
Viking’s competitors on the US market are American Cruise Lines and American Queen Steamboat Company.
Know The Effect Of Ordering From The Right Side Of The Menu
The left side of the ship restaurant menus feature daily-prepared chef specialties, often regional seasonal cuisine. The right side of the menu contains standard options such as fish, chicken and steak. We learned first-hand that it typically takes the kitchen longer to prepare the standard options than the chef specialties because a steak will be cooked to order while the specialties need only be assembled. Be advised that if you order from the right side of the menu, your entire table will have to wait to be served until your special order is ready.
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Viking Announces 2024 Mississippi River Cruises Now On Sale
Viking Cruises announced its new Mississippi River cruises for 2024 are now on sale.
The cruise lines Viking Mississippi is scheduled to debut in August 2022 and sail voyages on the Lower and Upper Mississippi River, between New Orleans and St. Paul.
Vikings river cruises in the U.S. scheduled for 2023 have already started to sell out, prompting the company to open 2024 sailing dates sooner than initially expected. The cruise line is preparing to bring more than 5,800 guests to the region in 2022 and over 17,600 during the first full sailing season in 2023.
Scheduled ports of call on the Mississippi River cruises include Baton Rouge, Darrow, New Orleans and St. Francisville, Louisiana Natchez and Vicksburg, Mississippi Memphis, Tennessee Hannibal and St. Louis, Missouri Burlington, Dubuque and Davenport, Iowa Red Wing and St. Paul, Minnesota and La Crosse, Wisconsin.
We are pleased with the continued response and support we have received from loyal guests and valued partners ahead of our new Mississippi River sailings, Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen said. As we begin to restart ocean operations this spring, we also look forward to a new chapter in 2022 when we begin sailing our first U.S. river voyages.
Viking provided a look at its 2022-2024 Viking Mississippi voyages:
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How Much Is A Viking Ocean Cruise
5/5CruiseVikingCruiseVikingin-depth answer
Viking River Cruises start off at around $1,800 and are great for people who want a large selection of destinations to choose from.Viking River Cruises Cost and Destinations.
| Viking River Cruises Destinations Per Person Prices | Cruise Destination |
|---|---|
| Starting Price | $1,999 to $6,899 |
Similarly, how much is the 245 day Viking cruise? Its “ultimate world cruise,” which set sail on August 31 from London, will spend a total of 245 days visiting 51 countries across six continents. Tickets for the cruise cost over $90,000 per person. The cruise line is using its Viking Sun ship for the record attempt.
Also, are Viking cruises expensive?
If you’ve cruised before, you know that Viking cruises arewell, expensive. You can expect to pay several thousand dollars for your trip , which seems costly compared to the $500-600 rates you’d find from other cruise companies.
Are Viking cruise prices per person?
Viking Star sails from San Juan on 10-night round-trip journeys, visiting nine ports, with prices beginning at $3,399 per person, or $339 per night. You get no drinks , no shore excursions, no Wi-Fi, and port taxes and fees are an extra $91.05 per person.
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River Cruise Gratuities Guidelines On How Much To Tip
October 28, 2015 By Aaron Saunders
When we first began writing about river cruises over six years ago, river cruise lines had a myriad of tipping policies. Few lines included gratuities in the cost of the cruise, and fewer still allowed you to charge those gratuities to your onboard account in order to pay with your credit card.
How much should you tip on your river cruise or are tips expected at all? Read on. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia / Creative Commons
But just as gratuities have evolved and changed for deep-ocean cruising, the river cruise industry is no exception. Today, a number of lines offer gratuities included in the cost of the cruise as they attempt to attract an international passenger base that has different cultural customs for tipping. Americans, for example, tend to tip more than Canadians, and both tip more than Australian guests, who are used to having gratuities rolled into wages for service staff. Including the gratuities in the cost of the cruise smooths out the experience, regardless of your customs or background.
Heres a look at the current river cruise line suggested gratuities this fall:
For river cruisers, all of this information should be provided by the cruise line with your pre-cruise documentation. Its important to thoroughly read each and every piece of documentation that the cruise line sends you before your vacation begins doing so can save you some real headaches when youre abroad.
Stash Cookies For Later
I mentioned this tip on another Viking post, but it bears repeating here. The self-serve coffee bar is open 24/7, but the chocolate macadamia and oatmeal raisin cookies are only available for a few hours in the afternoon. If you are like me, meaning you enjoy cookies for a late-night snack, be sure to grab a stash when they are available so you can enjoy them later on.
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Viking Ocean Cruises Tipping Policy: Information On Tipping And Gratuities
One of the best things about a fancy cruise trip is the kind of luxury services that you can avail of. When you add this bit to the fact that the cruise journeys are unique and exotic, many tourists actually want to be a part of a nice cruise trip at least once in their lives. One thing, however, seems to be a debatable issue for the people travelling on the cruise and that is the issue of tipping.
Viking Ocean cruises are extremely popular and thousands every month are aboard in their fine cruise ships. A question that many are concerned with is the Viking Ocean cruises tipping policy. A common doubt in the minds of the traveler is, do I have to pay gratuities on Viking Ocean Cruise. The answer, we hope you will find easily once you are done with this write up on the Viking Ocean cruises tipping policy.
Viking Cruises + Luggage Forward
Partner Since: 2017
Viking Cruises exclusively recommends Luggage Forward to passengers who wish to ship luggage directly to or from any of the ships in Vikings rapidly expanding fleet.
About Viking Cruises
Viking Cruises, the leader in river and small ship ocean cruising, offers destination-focused itineraries designed for experienced travelers who have an interest in geography, culture and history. In its first year of operation, Viking Ocean Cruises was rated the #1 ocean cruise line in Travel + Leisures 2016 Worlds Best Awards, which came on the heels of being rated the highest of all cruise lines in the 2015 Worlds Best Awards. Viking currently operates a fleet of 61 vessels, offering scenic cruising along the rivers and oceans of the Americas, Europe, Russia, Egypt, China, and Southeast Asia. By 2019 the company will operate six 930-passenger ocean cruise ships and will sail itineraries in Scandinavia and the Baltic, the Western and Eastern Mediterranean, Asia, Australia, North America and the Caribbean. In addition to the Travel + Leisure honors, Viking has also been honored multiple times on Condé Nast Travelers Gold List as well as recognized by the editors of Cruise Critic as Best River Cruise Line and Best River Itineraries, with the entire Viking Longships® fleet being named Best New River Ships in the websites Editors Picks Awards.
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Accommodation Aboard Viking Sea
The vessel features a variety of accommodation facilities to suit passenger requirements. It has five stateroom categories, including standard, deluxe, and penthouse verandas, and junior, explorer and penthouse suites.
Veranda staterooms have a king-size bed with luxury linens, a large flatscreen LCD TV, luxury toiletries, satellite and cell phone services, a security safe, a hair dryer, Wi-Fi, interactive TV and on-demand movies, and 24h room service.
Deluxe and penthouse verandas, and junior and explorer suites offer mini-bars with soft drinks, water and snacks, in-suite binoculars, coffee makers, shoe-shine and pressing facilities, laundry, and cashmere blankets. Priority shore-excursion, restaurant and dining room reservations are available for these rooms.
Explorer suites are two-room suites offering ocean views from private verandas. They feature the highest number of amenities of all the onboard stateroom categories.
Wifi Is Included On Viking Cruises
Wifi is completely free on Viking woohoo! Im actually using it right now to write this post. Its been pretty good and you can use it on as many devices as youd like at the same time. You just log in with your room number and surname. There is no limit on how much WiFi you can use although Viking do reserve the right to kick you off if you start downloading movies or things like that. We cruised around the Norwegian Fjords and didnt really need to use the WiFi too much because we had great 4G signal.
I understand the above picture isnt of WiFi.. but its quite hard to photograph WiFi! So here is a lovely place you could sit onboard while using the Wifi.
The WiFi signal was actually pretty good. I managed to send photos and update my Twitter, Instagram and Facebook without any problems. It wasnt good enough for video really but it was okay for making WhatsApp/Skype calls without the video part.
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What To Expect On A Viking Ocean Cruise
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Lots and lots of details about our recent experience sailing on a Viking Ocean Cruise!
Alright guys, cozy up. Today Im finally sharing all about our recent sail through the Baltic Sea with Viking Ocean Cruises!
As I mentioned in my post about spending three days beforehand in Stockholm, this trip was both Barclays and my first time visiting each of the countries on this cruise Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia and Poland. So we were excited and curious to experience this part of Europe. And also, super curious to experience our first Viking ocean cruise.
As some of you might remember, we actually had the chance to sail through France on a Viking river cruise a few years ago, which we both really enjoyed. But we were curious how the Viking vibe would translate to a much larger ocean cruise ship, and how the experience overall would differ. Turns out, it was pretty different. But also, incredibly fun. We had a blast, and were hopelessly spoiled on board, and didnt want our week to end. So to answer the question a hundred or so of you asked yes, we would totally recommend it!
So heres the scoop on everything about our Viking ocean cruise, including details on:
- The Ship
- The Cruise
- The Food
- Our Best Tips
- Ocean Cruise vs. River Cruise
Our cruise ship: The Viking Star
Has Viking Cancelled Any Cruises
Viking Cruises Cancels Sailings Through May The good news is that Viking vessels remain in a warm layup and ready to begin sailings with new health measures in place once government approvals are given. Viking Cruises preciously announced on December 8, 2020 its extended hold on operations through March 31, 2021.
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How Much Do Viking Ocean Cruises Cost
Now, lets get to what this post really is about. How much Viking Ocean cruises cost. The fare for a Viking Ocean Cruise includes everything you could possibly need on board. On the other hand, it doesnt include anything you dont need. Simply put, there may not be any butlers, but there is 24-hour room service and several different dining options. The price also includes Wi-Fi, spa access, one shore excursion in every port, as well as alcoholic drinks with each on-board lunch and dinner.
Prices of Viking Ocean Cruises vary wildly, depending on the destination, time of year and duration. You can find cruises as cheap as $1,999the 8-day Southern Mediterranean Discovery Cruise, for instancewhile the epic Viking World Cruise clocks in at $49,995 for no fewer than 128 days of sailing almost around the world. Whatever your budget is, you can find tips and tricks on how to score the best cruise deals in this blog post. Use them to save some of your well-earned money.
You can always contact us or request a quote for a complete overview of all Viking Ocean cruises currently available. Note that your options are abundant, ranging from cruises in Scandinavia to Australia, from the Mediterranean to the Far East.
Find Better Internet Reception In The Ship Library
It would be great to take a river cruise, turn off all mobile devices, and just relax. Unfortunately, when you are a travel blogger you need to update social media regularly and run your web site en route. Technically, Wi-Fi is available throughout the ship, but because the Internet is satellite-based, reception is often spotty. This is most noticeable when going through the innumerable river and canal locks. We discovered the best stateroom Wi-Fi reception was in the bathroom, probably because it was closest to the hallway. As for the entire ship, we found the strongest Wi-Fi signal in the library located on the Upper Deck.
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Know What Youre Paying
Courtesy of Viking Cruises
As we mentioned earlier, Viking cruises arent cheap, but that doesnt mean that you cant travel frugally.
Viking River Cruises offer a 3.3 percent discount for travelers who pay via e-check, so if youre looking for a way to reduce your expenses, thats a great place to start. You should also research tipping policies for your vessel while tips are voluntary for both ocean and river cruises, Viking ocean cruises have a discretionary hotel and dining charge of $15.00 per day .
For river cruises, tipping recommendations vary depending on your location. The Viking River Cruises website contains gratuity recommendations for various cruises, along with currency recommendations.
While youll want to show your gratitude to the ships staff, youll want to know what youre paying, particularly if youre traveling on a ship that doesnt use your typical currency. Planning in advance should help you avoid a costly mistake .