The main idea of my post is that I strongly recommend you to refrain from taking Viking Cruises. I was dreaming of a round-the-world cruise and decided to a 3-month journey with Viking Cruises. It turned out into a total disappointment. Beautiful website descriptions and vivid manager speeches have nothing to do with reality. I have huge experience in sea journeys and have traveled with almost all well-known companies, thus I have a lot to compare with. Personnel qualification level is very low and does not correspond with the one declared by the company. The crew is occasionally rude and careless. Throughout the whole journey I felt discriminated against basing on age and nationality. From my personal observations, the company focuses its services on aged clients but there is nothing to learn this information from and managers will not inform you about that. The quality and variety of meals is very poor: the menu barely differs from day to day and it’s not tasty at all. Meal courses are mean and thrifty, quality of service is very very low. Here’s an example, we were given an apple (a single one) and were constantly stared at, harassing us and signaling us to leave. Here’s my story: My acquaintance with company started with my personal manager almost ignoring me shortly after I purchased the voyage. Later on, he totally disappeared. It turned out occasionally that he quit the company and forgot to hand over me to another manager. It was almost impossible to verify the status of my special requests before the start of the journey. And that’s what they call and individual approach to every client. The first day on board ended up with room service team breaking all the buttons on my new suit, which was quite expensive and purchased exactly for the trip. My friend faced the same situation. The only thing offered to us as compensation was to attach black buttons used for the crew uniform. As soon as we boarded, we informed guest service about food allergy. Despite this, kitchen crew ignored this information and served dishes with products we are allergic to during 2 months of our journey. Guest service never intervened and helped us, we were able to fix the situation only after a huge argument. Soon after leaving South America, the entire ship was left without internet. Guest service managers made up various excuses: something broke down, no signal and many else. The connection was restored only at French Polynesia islands. This information was published in daily bulletin along with new excuses for the situation. Be aware that cafe waiters are very tardy and lazy. You may spend an hour or two waiting for your order to be cooked. The guest service explained the situation in a way that cruise focuses on elderly customers and thus everything is done slowly on purpose for the convenience of aged people. That is a real problem, instead of making the crew work faster the guest service justifies their lack of action. Moreover, the waiters behave themselves very unfriendly. Another serious problem faced throughout the whole journey - dirty dishes and cutlery, in all of the ship’s restaurants and room service as well. Dirty spots and leftovers from previous clients were noticed on a daily basis. Waiters never reacted to this situation! After contacting officers, the only answer received from them was an explanation of the factors that may lead to these leftovers not being completely washed off. This is not the information that I am willing to receive as a guest. I require proper service, not the explanation why the dishes are dirty. Sanitary conditions were a very serious issue, so keep this in mind while booking a cruise. Be extremely careful while ordering chicken eggs during trips on Viking ships. It was a common issue to receive dirty eggs for breakfast while ordering room service. There were several occasions when eggs were messed up in something black or had feathers stick to it and something else, supposedly feces. Multiple complaints to guest service ended up in nothing, Ana, the manager, set it off and stated that she doesn’t know whose fault it was. Fish dishes were of low quality, the fish itself was literally old and tough, absolutely impossible to eat. It felt like fish was frozen several times killing all the taste and flavor. I faced certain problems with Australian visa. Officer pretended he was helping me. I was made to pay for new visa with no guarantees for success, and I felt that Officer wanted me and my friend leave the ship. We got lucky that my friend found a way to solve the problem and Officer had nothing to say against us. Discrimination was also present during this journey. Me and my friend felt being discriminated against every time we went for dinner. Waiters were extremely friendly and gallant with Americans and blatantly ignored other guests. Furthermore, we faced negligent attitude as we were the youngest on board. Discrimination against nationality and age is present and it is unacceptable for international company! Shame on Viking company. The entire crew of Viking’s ship turned our journey into a nightmare with constant problems arising due to their actions or inaction, and nobody except us tried to solve those issues. Financial issues are not properly solved by the personnel. As the journey started, I was told that residuals on my on board account will be refunded at the end of the cruise. The day before the journey ends, I was told that residual funds will be sent to my credit card. Two weeks later I discovered the fact that residual money will be sent to me in check via mail services. This is a total incompetence of the crew and purposely misleading. I’d also like to pay your attention to the uniqueness of cruises declared by Viking company. Small ships used for Viking’s voyages should be able to visit unique ports as it’s claimed by the company. This is a trickery. During our 3-month trip the ship often made stops far from main city ports forcing the passengers to spend 50-60 minutes each way to reach the cities. There were several occasions when the stops were made in absolutely uninteresting and empty ports. The way Viking company contacts its clients after the trip requires special description. All my inquiries are being ignored and none of my e-mails were replied. Official complaint took very long time to be replied and in the end the only thing Mr Cohen could offer me was a 250$ refund for the spoilt 3 months or discount voucher for further cruise. This sounds like mocking rather than serious approach to problem management. I encourage all readers and those who traveled with Viking to write reviews and leave comments on things thaw went wrong during your trip! Currently, the company services are just overvalued and its ratings are absolutely unreasonable! I urge all those who suffered from the actions of the Viking company to unite! Read Less

I was only on the Arcadia for a 3 day trip Syd to Bris. Solo traveller paid $1000 for 3 nights in deluxe balcony cabin. Cabin was nice, although I really had to twist the Steward's arm to get a white robe. Food in Belverede (Buffet) was like Boarding School - small display and not very appertising Food in Main Dining Room was either great or average. Staff everywhere onboard I found very pleasant. There are some nice Public spaces on board being 'Adults only' it made the Swimming Pools and Buffet areas a lot more civilized. Shops were a non event. Embarkation was the fastest ever Disembarkation was a bit slow, due to different messages from P&O Staff and Border Security. The Fishermans Grain Wharf at Brisbane is around a 25min cab ride to the Airport and cost $63 - we did not pull in at Hamilton which is about 10mins from the airport. Read Less

Worldcruise Amsterdam-Amsterdam early Jan.-early May 2018. What went right is too much to mention. What went wrong is too much to mention. This is sad for the staff that did their work the right way, e.g. my cabin-steward S HTIN LIN MYA from Myamar. Under the same conditions again? Hmmmmmmm. Special mentioning deserves the australian border-control. Substandard, disorganized , incompetent. On my question to this peculiar woman that this (ill)-treatment seamed inhospitable to me her initial answer was "how to they do it in you country" (sic).All passengers going ashore were kept waiting a long time for no good reason, all passengers returning were kept waiting a long time for no good reason. Clearly because i asked. Two passengers had not reported the way they wanted.... Files a complaint 12/06/18 (so 12th. of June) with the australian government/department of home affairs. In several places the border-control was ridiculous. On my question why this way, you can guess the answer: safety pfffff, the easy way out, creating anoyment. On request some additional information. The food was quite good, in seating-restaurant and buffet=restaurant. Activities were plenty, quizzes, dancing, cooking-lessons/-demonstrations, etc., presented as should be. Service in order ( at the front desk staff always smiling, confronted with an error the answer was blurry and the smile turned vague - oh well). Entertainment high level, certainly taken into account the Columbus is a small ship to today's standard, so limited possibilities on the small stage. Ship's performers were excellent, visiting performers too in most cases. Staff were attentive and suited for the job. Excursions ware sometimes very unorganized, e.g. long waiting (about 20 minutes) on the stairways, some were not to standard so money was for half returned. What bothered me was maintenance/cleaning all the time, with staircases and parts of deck closed. Avoid the easy mistakes and the "hmmmmm" will turn into "yes". So i am curieus for the upcoming reviews. Read Less

Having travelled with Silversea before, I decided to try an expedition ship - I was a little daunted before I travelled but after talking in depth with my cruise advisor, I was a little more relaxed. I was so surprised at how incredible the whole experience was. I stayed in Phuket pre-cruise and met with a friend from a previous cruise. The flights were excellent, the service by Silversea to the hotels and ship were excellent and the cruise was magnificent. The staff were amazing - they couldn't do enough to assist us. That includes restaurant, butler and bar staff who all knew our names and were just lovely. They also had great senses of humour and put up with all our idiosyncrasies. The food was generally of a high standard and I had no complaints. Our amazing restaurant waitress, Catherine was a firm favourite so I always ate dinner at one of her tables where we were assisted by Darwin, the Sommelier who was most informative and actually found me a lovely red that I actually liked, which is no mean feat. Caroline was also on hand to assist. My butler, Ivy was superb and couldn't do enough to help me. The expedition team as well as the fitness team were amazing and not only did they inform us, look after us and find amazing destinations but they also advised on future trips and gave us insight to experiences that they had had. James the photographer took a superb DVD that we could purchase at the end of the trip - it was worth every penny I spent. The experiences in Thailand and Indonesia were phenomenal from seeing Oran-utangs in the wild to cultural dancing, the Simelue islands that had never been visited before by a cruise ship, where the people were so friendly and welcoming, to the Nias Islands where we watched the initiation ceremony of young men jumping over high walls with bare feet and landing onto stone - crazy but incredible. The different buildings and villages were also superb - to be honest the experiences were too many to describe, but we also visited Anak Krakatoa - mind blowing as well as a wonderful day on Kura Kura for some relaxation and snorkelling. Riding the zodiacs was fantastic. Basically, I can wax lyrical for ever but if you haven't done it, get out there and do it. My cabin was amazing. Do not listen to negatives as the positives totally outweigh the positives as there are no negatives. Silversea are fantastic. Go cruise. Read Less

A ship not fit for travel especially on such a long cruise. I have disembarked early in Malta. After a disasterous first month it did not really get any better. It became a ferry for bargain hunters to fill cabins. From the Magellan cough ,llness to broken AC systems that left guests sleeping on open decks, and water poring throughdecks it was the Companys treatment of passaners that made it worse.. What should have been a trip of a lifetime had become quite the opposite. I was not alone. Over 200 passengers met and voiced their complaints on board. Entetainment and the cruise director are a shadow of what to expect on even a three star ship. Just the cabin was of passable quality. Oters ad floods and fumes and moved many times. The food was of a good quality until the chef left for another vessel. The poor layout of decks means there are no comfy seating areas or places to dine alfresco. The Eros bar area is poor and totaly unaceptable in this day and age. Managemnet on board is non existant when problems arise, like water in rooms, to fumes in the AC sysyem.... problems were endless. A gastro illness was last straw for me. Read Less

Cruise and Maritime. MV Magellan, round the world maiden cruise, 120 nights. Sailed from Tilbury UK. I joined the Magellan, on the 5th of January 2017. I have previoulsy sailed with Holland America, and Voyages of Discovery. I Picked this one as it was my 65th year. I made many friends, I particulary enjoyed the Restarant Open seating dining at breakfast and lunchtime. In the evening a seating plan was in use. The Bistro deck also had a Buffet style arrangement. Guest Relation's put on events for single travellers which was good for me, also other social events were staged, e.g. Quiz,Dance, and Bridge sessions to name a few. A range of guest lecturers kept us entertained on a range of subjects appertaing to our cruise itinery. a Full range of excursions as you would expect, reasonably priced in my oppionion. I enjoyed the trip so much iam going on CMV MV Columbus in january. This time around I aim to undertake more ship board life. Standards were genearlly good, if you are a top of the range traveller, this style would not be for you.However it was exceptional value for your pound. Read Less

Arcadia is one of my favourite ships and I have sailed on her a few times. The fact it is adult only is lovely and makes for a more relaxing cruise. As a single lady I fine this a safe way of travelling and a way of meeting like minded people. The only downside to travelling alone is the price P&O charge for a cabin it is often double the price! The food is good but standards have dropped over the years no silver service and no portion control in the resturant. The entertainment was exellent and a good variety . My cabin was on G deck and was lovely all but there being a few problems initially with cleanness . I worry that the staff cuts are leading to poorer service in all areas which isn't the fault of the staff! The staff rush around and no longer have time to interact with passengers and on occasions can present as rude. Arcadia was going in for a refute which was due and I look forward to seeing the improvements on my next cruise in March 2018. Read Less

Did the first 30 day leg of this cruise Savona to LA. Very poor communication on all aspects prior to cruise. Advertised drink packages confusing and mistranslated from Italian to English. In addition upon boarding discovered all wine, beer and water was free at lunch and dinner, nice surprise if you had already bought a drinks package. Boarding was shambolic, poor directions at port, no indication of where to go or where to deposit luggage. Once on board directed to level 9 for lunch but no indication that cabin was ready, only found out hours later from conversation with other guests after hanging around the buffet for ages. No option for dinner other than the 6pm (too early) or 8.30pm (too late) sittings, or pay for a pizza or burger on level 9. Suffered minor cold and sniffles, (which ran rampant around the ship) but forgot to pack any aspirin. None available on board unless you pay 62 Euros to consult the doctor, most expensive aspirin ever. By the way you could buy condoms, so no headaches please. Library cramped and books difficult to access, internet exorbitantly expensive, 99 Euro for 3GB, my home satellite package is 60GB for about 30Euro, so that is quite a mark up. Food average, and repetitive, cabins reasonable (had a balcony on level 8), evening shows fair to poor. On board crew helpful and trying, problem seems to be management incompetence and general penny pinching. No English language news except CCTV (China) and Korean TV. No CNN or BBC, yet multiple Italian,German, Spanish stations. Did have CNN and BBC for first day or so them mysteriously disappeared. Official line is technical problems but suspect it is about the Dollars Read Less

Embarkment-a breeze because the times were staggered so no build up. Disembarkment - my 10th cruise, but disembarkment will never be pleasant and smooth it is what it is. cabinc321; plenty of hanging and drawer space for 2 people; suit cases stored under the bed . bathroom is well designed the shower would have been bigger if it had a sliding door instead of a plastic curtain which clings to you thankfully we were of average weight and size otherwise the cabin was very comfortable. As always the steward did a fantastic job we were very impressed. Finding our way around this ship was easy as we have done the diamond before in 2006. Dining; of our 10 cruises we have done 5 princess cruises and we can certainly say the food has improved in all areas and the staff were well drilled they could not be faulted. Enterainment;not so good-some very limited in what they do even the band and dj why geta ballroom and latin dj who does not understand what to play-must blame the cruise director because only a handfull attended because it was not promoted. Movies under the stars was very good,a choice of latest movies which was shown in our cabin the following day Overall a well maintained ship for all ages we did our own tours on land Ps i met many people who withdrew their gratuities why,after all it goes to the crew who bend over backwards to look after us,maybe it should be included in the cruise fare , even if it reduced everyone will contribute ,this is happening on all cruise lines. Although there was a flu virus outbreak on board it did not deter us as we were ultra careful returning to cabin, we always wiped all areas we touched and sprayed with our own antiseptic spray. Ports of call, varied and interesting but very very hot and most times could not wait to get back on board where the crew gave us cold facecloth, nice touch diamond princess Read Less