Viking Cruises
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Big, expensive disappointment
June 4, 2022 Viking Octantis Great Lake Cruise -Milw. to Toronto. Much confusion right from the beginning. Told we needed a negative Covid test to be taken not more than 3 days pre boarding. We took 4 tests to be sure the results would be on time and Viking didn't even ask to see the negative result. A big part of the reason we took this cruise were the 6 man subs onboard. We were told, onboard, that the subs could not be used on our cruise since the US would not allow them to be used in US waters. Nothing was said about why Viking didn't use them in Canadian waters. They were featured very heavily in advertising for this ship. They were used on the cruise in which travel writers were passengers. Since the subs would not be used on this cruise, we were glad to get seats on the Special Operation Boat....however our reservation and the one following ours, were cancelled since the crew had difficulty getting the SOB back onboard the ship. Another disappointment. The lab was supposed to allow passengers the opportunity to participate in some clinical work. That didn't happen, either. We did get an informative lecture in the lab by Dr. Roz., but not what was promised in their advertising. We didn't expect a lot of entertainment, but the Entertainment Director did not join our cruise until the next to last day. On the plus side, the staff was awesome..the food was, too, especially in the buffet area. The cabin was very comfortable, but the 'Balcony Cabins' had no balconies...they had a floor to ceiling window which opened up halfway. The ports were new to us and we enjoyed the tours. Also, the lectures were interesting but the theater had stadium seating and no railings..none..I did complain to Viking and they offered me a $500 pp voucher.... less than 10% of what I paid for this 7 day cruise. This was our 5th or 6th Viking cruise and the first since the covid pandemic. It cost us a great deal of money but we regret having taken it and did not get our money's worth.