We are going on our 2nd Viking cruise in February. Our first one was to Antarctica. It blew our minds. We even got to go down in a 6 person submarine. We walked on glaciers. Walked among penguins. Saw humpback whales, dolphins and more. Amazing cruise line. No gambling, no tacky shows. Nothing flashy. They feature speakers that talk about the area you are visiting, geology, culture, adventures. And all the excursions are included. There are optional excursions that you can pay for but you will be happy even if you just do the included ones. It’s called the Thinking Persons Cruise Line. Also no children are allowed. We’ll never cruise on any other cruise line. The food was over the top. We haven’t done the chefs table as both of us are very picky about food. I’m a fish, tofu, tempeh eater and hubby will eat chicken and fish. If Chef’s Table can accommodate our tastes we’ll try it.
There is no formal night but everyone dressed very nice for dinner. I actually was surprised that people were fully dressed for the day even at breakfast. Most men had on jackets or pullover sweaters with collar. Women wore nice dresses, pant suits. You won’t feel out of place dressing like a holiday party but no sequins unless you are fearless ❤
What I loved is that you can pick to seat with just yourself which I did for the afternoon tea. Or dinner for your choice of table size. We had some nights with us 2 only and some nights with friends we met. Very flexible which fits my style better.
Hi. Thanks for the great information and really appreciate how detailed your videos are. Going with a good friend with our hubs Nov 2023 and it’s giving us anxiety coz we can only make our specialty dining reservations the day of boarding and it’s stressing me out that we won’t get reservations for The Chef’s Table and Manfredi. Omg what should we do? Should we change our cabin category? Should we just cancel? I don’t know what to do. It took me so long to convinced my friend and her hubs to finally cruise with us and I don’t want theirs first cruise experience to bomb. What advice can you give. Even though everyone who’ve cruise with viking says the food is fantastic, we don’t want to eat at the regular restaurant the entire cruise. We’re looking forward to dining at their specialty restaurants and if we won’t be able to I’d just be so sad.
Hi Tess thanks so much for joining my channel I completely understand you probably travel like me with putting together all the information before going on your trip and like you said this is a big one and when traveling with friends it’s can feel like your whole friend group reputation is riding it lol. go with a few of my tips and you will be in great shape. I’m going to post a new video with tips just for you
I just saw ur latest video and I do feel better after watching it and those encouraging tips eased my anxiety. I will stick to the original bookings and will follow ur advice. Others may not get why it stressed me out but u did and I really appreciate that. Thank you so much! :)
You will be fine! I went 4 years ago and my father and I stayed in the 2nd lowest level for rooms (Deluxe Veranda), and we got reservations at both restaurants easily on one of their 8 day cruises. Unfortunately we had to cancel our reservation at Manfredi's because our excursion got back too late, to the point where all the restaurants were closed according to the listed times. Viking ended up keeping the World Cafe (buffet style restaurant) open an extra 90 minutes so everyone could get a nice dinner. We weren't able to reschedule for Manfredi's because it was towards the end of our cruise, and all of the remaining time slots had been booked. If you're going on a trip that is 11 days or longer, you shouldn't have any issue getting a reservation at those 2 restaurants. I would go to the front desk at each restaurant as soon as you get onboard, and book a reservation. Also they do have sushi and gelato in the buffet every night, and they had a seafood night once or twice outside of the buffet right next to the infinity pool. We sailed to Cuba so the weather was beautiful and they could set it up outside there, but they might set it up somewhere else if you're sailing somewhere not as warm. The only time I got tired of the food was breakfast at the buffet because that doesn't change a whole lot. With that being said, you can go to Mamsen's for breakfast which is in the Explorers Lounge, or you can check to see if the Restaurant is serving breakfast.
Great evaluation of all the restaurants! Going on my first Viking Ocean cruise in March, having been on two of their river cruises in the past. Can’t wait!! Good tip about the lobster, I will definitely ask which nights that is on the menu 😋
You will never want to go on any other cruise line after taking a Viking cruise. We took a cruise many decades ago and hated it. Gambling, horrible shows, food was awful. Even going on excursions was a nightmare just to get on a boat to get to shore. With Viking you are surrounding in classic luxury. The food is amazing. No nickle and dimeing you. Everything is included except the Chefs Table. The included excursions are ample. Plus there are optional excursions if you want to spend more time going places. Our first trip was to Antarctica. Oh my! We got to walk on glaciers, mingle with the penguins and seals. They even had a 6 person submarine and we got to go twice. The ship provided us with a great red jacket so everyone could be seen on the ice/snow. Also a puffer jacket to wear underneath it. We had to provide our own long underwear, neck gators and warm head gear. They provided the snow boots. Our next trip is in February. We’re going to Australia. New Zealand and Tasmania. I can’t wait.
Thanks for this information. Very helpful.n Headed for my first Viking ocean cruise in March (Mediterranean). I don't drink alcohol of any kind. Would you still recommend the Chef's Table restaurant? I noticed that pairing wines with the food was one of the benefits of that restaurant.
Thanks for the comment! The food alone was well worth the reservation. Also even though it is a pairing you can be bold and ask for another round of any course that you love. My tip on the non alcohol pairing is what I did when I didn’t want to drink anymore… I simply googled fun drinks that I wanted to try and asked the drink waiter to make them like Italian soda, mocktail mojitos, Shirley temples and created my own pairings. Try that and lmk what you think
My father and I didn't get the drinks package, and they simply asked us if we wanted to pay for the upgrade, or just have the included beer/wine. I'm sure you can ask for something else to drink as well.
I don’t know the best time to reserve a dinner table. I do t want to miss dinner because an excursion ran too long and I don’t want to miss the port talks that tell you about what you can expect to see the next day. I assume we’ll be off the ship most of the day to enjoy the town we’re in. How late are the restaurants open, when are the talks, how late is the spa open? I have so many questions!!!
Hi there you are going to have a great trip! As you get closer they will give you the details and what we found out is that the itinerary works out really well for not missing anything. The excursions each day all wrap up around 3:30 or maybe 5 at the latest. The boat usually leaves each port by 6pm so getting a dinner reservation between 6-7:30 is the best time. What's nice is starting dinner around 6:00 you will see the sun set and feel the boat pull from the deck while enjoying dinner. The port talks are around 4:30 each day and in my opinion I was completely ready to get back on board around 3pm. So you can get back in time for port talks if you want to make it. One note, the high tea is between 4-5 so that is really the only thing that conflicts with the port talks. From what I recall they will announce onboard a second later port talk on some of the days. ................. The spa facilities are open from 8am - 8pm the pool and gym open up earlier. ................ The restaurants are open until 9pm ............ Let me know if there is anything else I can help with!!
We are going on our 2nd Viking cruise in February. Our first one was to Antarctica. It blew our minds. We even got to go down in a 6 person submarine. We walked on glaciers. Walked among penguins. Saw humpback whales, dolphins and more. Amazing cruise line. No gambling, no tacky shows. Nothing flashy. They feature speakers that talk about the area you are visiting, geology, culture, adventures. And all the excursions are included. There are optional excursions that you can pay for but you will be happy even if you just do the included ones. It’s called the Thinking Persons Cruise Line. Also no children are allowed. We’ll never cruise on any other cruise line. The food was over the top. We haven’t done the chefs table as both of us are very picky about food. I’m a fish, tofu, tempeh eater and hubby will eat chicken and fish. If Chef’s Table can accommodate our tastes we’ll try it.
You never me mentioned the world cafe, the food is just as good as the restaurant
Food in World cafe is same as in the main restaurant for the most part.
the World cafe is awesome. Just about anything you could want is offered.
From one “foodie” (who doesn’t call herself that😂) to another this is such great info.....thank you!
It will be our secret lol but sure you agree that Food really makes the experience
How about the dress code. Since they do not have a formal night?. Thank you!!!
There is no formal night but everyone dressed very nice for dinner. I actually was surprised that people were fully dressed for the day even at breakfast. Most men had on jackets or pullover sweaters with collar. Women wore nice dresses, pant suits. You won’t feel out of place dressing like a holiday party but no sequins unless you are fearless ❤
How was your experience dining at tables for 4, or did you always dine at tables for 2?
What I loved is that you can pick to seat with just yourself which I did for the afternoon tea. Or dinner for your choice of table size. We had some nights with us 2 only and some nights with friends we met. Very flexible which fits my style better.
Would like to hear your impressions o f the cruise but you have a hard time getting to the point.
Have you found any of the other videos to be more helpful? Thanks for your feedback
Your channel is awesome! Sending you good thoughts for more travels (on Viking and others) and good health!
Hi. Thanks for the great information and really appreciate how detailed your videos are. Going with a good friend with our hubs Nov 2023 and it’s giving us anxiety coz we can only make our specialty dining reservations the day of boarding and it’s stressing me out that we won’t get reservations for The Chef’s Table and Manfredi. Omg what should we do? Should we change our cabin category? Should we just cancel? I don’t know what to do. It took me so long to convinced my friend and her hubs to finally cruise with us and I don’t want theirs first cruise experience to bomb. What advice can you give. Even though everyone who’ve cruise with viking says the food is fantastic, we don’t want to eat at the regular restaurant the entire cruise. We’re looking forward to dining at their specialty restaurants and if we won’t be able to I’d just be so sad.
Hi Tess thanks so much for joining my channel I completely understand you probably travel like me with putting together all the information before going on your trip and like you said this is a big one and when traveling with friends it’s can feel like your whole friend group reputation is riding it lol. go with a few of my tips and you will be in great shape. I’m going to post a new video with tips just for you
I just saw ur latest video and I do feel better after watching it and those encouraging tips eased my anxiety. I will stick to the original bookings and will follow ur advice. Others may not get why it stressed me out but u did and I really appreciate that. Thank you so much! :)
You will be fine! I went 4 years ago and my father and I stayed in the 2nd lowest level for rooms (Deluxe Veranda), and we got reservations at both restaurants easily on one of their 8 day cruises. Unfortunately we had to cancel our reservation at Manfredi's because our excursion got back too late, to the point where all the restaurants were closed according to the listed times. Viking ended up keeping the World Cafe (buffet style restaurant) open an extra 90 minutes so everyone could get a nice dinner. We weren't able to reschedule for Manfredi's because it was towards the end of our cruise, and all of the remaining time slots had been booked. If you're going on a trip that is 11 days or longer, you shouldn't have any issue getting a reservation at those 2 restaurants. I would go to the front desk at each restaurant as soon as you get onboard, and book a reservation. Also they do have sushi and gelato in the buffet every night, and they had a seafood night once or twice outside of the buffet right next to the infinity pool. We sailed to Cuba so the weather was beautiful and they could set it up outside there, but they might set it up somewhere else if you're sailing somewhere not as warm. The only time I got tired of the food was breakfast at the buffet because that doesn't change a whole lot. With that being said, you can go to Mamsen's for breakfast which is in the Explorers Lounge, or you can check to see if the Restaurant is serving breakfast.
Great evaluation of all the restaurants! Going on my first Viking Ocean cruise in March, having been on two of their river cruises in the past. Can’t wait!! Good tip about the lobster, I will definitely ask which nights that is on the menu 😋
Hope you enjoy it!
You will never want to go on any other cruise line after taking a Viking cruise. We took a cruise many decades ago and hated it. Gambling, horrible shows, food was awful. Even going on excursions was a nightmare just to get on a boat to get to shore. With Viking you are surrounding in classic luxury. The food is amazing. No nickle and dimeing you. Everything is included except the Chefs Table. The included excursions are ample. Plus there are optional excursions if you want to spend more time going places. Our first trip was to Antarctica. Oh my! We got to walk on glaciers, mingle with the penguins and seals. They even had a 6 person submarine and we got to go twice. The ship provided us with a great red jacket so everyone could be seen on the ice/snow. Also a puffer jacket to wear underneath it. We had to provide our own long underwear, neck gators and warm head gear. They provided the snow boots. Our next trip is in February. We’re going to Australia. New Zealand and Tasmania. I can’t wait.
Thanks so much for the information! We are taking our first Viking Ocean Cruise in Feb.
Have a great trip! Thanks for your comment
Thanks for this information. Very helpful.n Headed for my first Viking ocean cruise in March (Mediterranean). I don't drink alcohol of any kind. Would you still recommend the Chef's Table restaurant? I noticed that pairing wines with the food was one of the benefits of that restaurant.
Thanks for the comment! The food alone was well worth the reservation. Also even though it is a pairing you can be bold and ask for another round of any course that you love. My tip on the non alcohol pairing is what I did when I didn’t want to drink anymore… I simply googled fun drinks that I wanted to try and asked the drink waiter to make them like Italian soda, mocktail mojitos, Shirley temples and created my own pairings. Try that and lmk what you think
My father and I didn't get the drinks package, and they simply asked us if we wanted to pay for the upgrade, or just have the included beer/wine. I'm sure you can ask for something else to drink as well.
I don’t know the best time to reserve a dinner table. I do t want to miss dinner because an excursion ran too long and I don’t want to miss the port talks that tell you about what you can expect to see the next day. I assume we’ll be off the ship most of the day to enjoy the town we’re in. How late are the restaurants open, when are the talks, how late is the spa open? I have so many questions!!!
Hi there you are going to have a great trip! As you get closer they will give you the details and what we found out is that the itinerary works out really well for not missing anything. The excursions each day all wrap up around 3:30 or maybe 5 at the latest. The boat usually leaves each port by 6pm so getting a dinner reservation between 6-7:30 is the best time. What's nice is starting dinner around 6:00 you will see the sun set and feel the boat pull from the deck while enjoying dinner.
The port talks are around 4:30 each day and in my opinion I was completely ready to get back on board around 3pm. So you can get back in time for port talks if you want to make it. One note, the high tea is between 4-5 so that is really the only thing that conflicts with the port talks. From what I recall they will announce onboard a second later port talk on some of the days.
.................
The spa facilities are open from 8am - 8pm the pool and gym open up earlier.
................
The restaurants are open until 9pm
............
Let me know if there is anything else I can help with!!
Port talks are recorded and available on tv in your room after 7pm.
World cafe closes at 10. They won’t throw you out, just close the food stations.
Dude I’ve been on ten cruises and viking was by far superior . Unbelievable.