Alternatives to Viking Cruises?

[vafoodie]

A friend of mine took a Vantage Cruise and really liked it. Any others to consider?

 

[OldShooter]

We took a Caribbean cruise with Small Ship & Cruise Adventures | Cruise Trip - Blount Small Ship Adventures It's a very quirky and enjoyable alternative to those giant ships covered with what looks to us like dog kennel doors. Among other Good Things, alcohol is BYOB, so no ripoffs in that category. And "small" means really small, like 40 people. The ever-reliable internet is a little unclear when or if they will resume operations after the pandemic, but if "small" to you means no crowds, their trips are worth a look. If you like crowds, piano bars, swimming pools, and lots of surcharges, look elsewhere.

 

[Sunset]

OP - Are you talking river cruises, or ocean cruises ?

I think Vantage does not own their ships, and just leases a ship and sell trips on it.

I know when on a Viking River cruise, we had to cut though a Grand Circle Cruise Line ship, so I talked to the folks up on deck. They liked their cruise and thought well of the ship.

 

[athena53]

I've endorsed UnCruise here before and will again. I'm booked on my 6th cruise with them in August. (Have been to Alaska with them twice, Central America, Baja Peninsula and Hawaii). Ships under 100 passengers, very nature-focused, pretty much all-inclusive, they attract a group of smart, curious people. Guides and crew members typically have advanced degrees in areas such as Marine biology.

They started sailing within Alaska in early May. So far so good. Crew and passengers must be fully vaccinated and have a recent negative PCR test. They also do some within the US such as the Snake River. I was supposed to go to Belize and Guatemala in October with them but the COVID situation in Belize is dicey so I selected the Alaskan cruise instead when offered a chance to change my mind at no cost.

 

[braumeister]

Viking is an excellent cruise line. We've done a couple of European river cruises with them. But they have many competitors, and from what I've seen there aren't many differences between them.

Cruisecritic.com would be a good place to look for alternatives.

 

[friar1610]

Viking is an excellent cruise line. We've done a couple of European river cruises with them. But they have many competitors, and from what I've seen there aren't many differences between them.

Cruisecritic.com would be a good place to look for alternatives.

We’ve done 3 ocean cruises with Viking and liked them sooo much more than our first (and only other) ocean cruise with Norwegian. Have our first Viking European river cruise booked in Oct. 2022. Tried to book a Viking cruise for a Russia river cruise about 10 years ago. Couldn’t get the dates we wanted so went with UniWorld which was excellent.

 

[qwerty3656]

Costco has some good deals on cruises

 

[Dtail]

We took a Caribbean cruise with Small Ship & Cruise Adventures | Cruise Trip - Blount Small Ship Adventures It's a very quirky and enjoyable alternative to those giant ships covered with what looks to us like dog kennel doors. Among other Good Things, alcohol is BYOB, so no ripoffs in that category. And "small" means really small, like 40 people. The ever-reliable internet is a little unclear when or if they will resume operations after the pandemic, but if "small" to you means no crowds, their trips are worth a look. If you like crowds, piano bars, swimming pools, and lots of surcharges, look elsewhere.

Blount appears to be closed currently due to Covid, but could reopen in 2021.

 

[tango2]

We have done 7 or 8?viking river cruises and enjoyed all of them. No complaints. Did you have problem with Viking?

 

[PaunchyPirate]

A friend of mine took a Vantage Cruise and really liked it. Any others to consider?

Carnival?

 

[athena53]

Costco has some good deals on cruises

I was about to scoff that Costco likely dealt only with mega-ships but they sell Uniworld, which looks interesting. The ship for a European river cruise I checked was 155 passengers. I haven't compared Costco's prices to other cruise booking sites, though. Hmmm. Might be one to consider for the future.

 

[vafoodie]

No—just wondering of there are less expensive alternatives. Do you have any tips for getting the best deal on a Viking cruise?

 

[Sunset]

No—just wondering of there are less expensive alternatives. Do you have any tips for getting the best deal on a Viking cruise?

Nothing earth shattering.
We had been interested in a 15 day Grand European Tour ( river cruise).

When I got an email (sign up for their emails) offering the tour with free air and free gratuities, regular price for cruise, we took it. That was the best price we had seen in 2 yrs.
We went in June, which was a good time, just prior to European holiday time, and nice weather.

 

[braumeister]

Viking runs sales all the time. Free airfare, free excursions, etc.
Get on their mailing list and you'll see them.

River cruise or ocean cruise?

Look at cruisecritic.com and vacationstogo.com just for starters.

 

[Bamaman]

If you're talking about a European river cruise, Viking is the largest in the retail market.

I think Tauck is even more luxurious and gets great ratings.

My sister went on a Ama Waterways trip, and she was extremely impressed. They went on a brand new ship--largest ship going as far as Budapest.

My wife and I don't have enough time to take "slow" river cruises due to family obligations. We have to travel a little faster, and have seen virtually all the river cities already popular cruises stop at.

 

[Souschef]

If you're talking about a European river cruise, Viking is the largest in the retail market.

I think Tauck is even more luxurious and gets great ratings.

My sister went on a Ama Waterways trip, and she was extremely impressed. They went on a brand new ship--largest ship going as far as Budapest.

My wife and I don't have enough time to take "slow" river cruises due to family obligations. We have to travel a little faster, and have seen virtually all the river cities already popular cruises stop at.

We have taken a couple of Tauck tours and highly recommend them. After you take the first tour with them, they give you a "gift of time", which is an additional night at a hotel.

 

[donheff]

I've endorsed UnCruise here before and will again. I'm booked on my 6th cruise with them in August. (Have been to Alaska with them twice, Central America, Baja Peninsula and Hawaii). Ships under 100 passengers, very nature-focused, pretty much all-inclusive, they attract a group of smart, curious people. Guides and crew members typically have advanced degrees in areas such as Marine biology.

They started sailing within Alaska in early May. So far so good. Crew and passengers must be fully vaccinated and have a recent negative PCR test. They also do some within the US such as the Snake River. I was supposed to go to Belize and Guatemala in October with them but the COVID situation in Belize is dicey so I selected the Alaskan cruise instead when offered a chance to change my mind at no cost.

DW and I took an UnCruise in the Gulf of California just before the pandemic. Very active, lots of fun.

 

[OldConch]

I've endorsed UnCruise here before and will again. I'm booked on my 6th cruise with them in August. (Have been to Alaska with them twice, Central America, Baja Peninsula and Hawaii). Ships under 100 passengers, very nature-focused, pretty much all-inclusive, they attract a group of smart, curious people. Guides and crew members typically have advanced degrees in areas such as Marine biology.

They started sailing within Alaska in early May. So far so good. Crew and passengers must be fully vaccinated and have a recent negative PCR test. They also do some within the US such as the Snake River. I was supposed to go to Belize and Guatemala in October with them but the COVID situation in Belize is dicey so I selected the Alaskan cruise instead when offered a chance to change my mind at no cost.

Loved our first UnCruise to Glacier Bay in June. You usually had 2 or 3 activities to choose from each morning and afternoon including, kayaking, bushwacking, shore walks, SUP, snorkeling, and skiff trips. We saw humpbacks, orcas, river and sea otters, eagles, puffins, auks, auklettes, mountain goats, seals, sea lions, harbor porpoises, brown bears, murreletes, and guillemots. One morning during breakfast "orcas at 2 o'clock" blared over the speakers. The dining room cleared in an instant, the captain slowed down, and we watched a pod of resident orcas for about a half hour. At one point, in the Icy Straits, we were literally surrounded by humpback spouts and tails. An amazing trip with a great crew and, fortunately, we had Juneau and the surrounding waters practically to ourselves. Highly recommended to those who like a relatively active experience. Liked it so much we put a down payment on a future cruise. Itching to pull the trigger but having a difficult time choosing between Hawaii, Sea of Cortes, or Panama/Costa Rica.

Never heard of penguins of the north before this trip.

 

[grasshopper]

DW and I took an UnCruise in the Gulf of California just before the pandemic. Very active, lots of fun.

Ms G and I have done the Sea of Cortez with UnCruise twice, this is a great trip and so so close to home for us.

UnCruise Costa Rica/Panama is the the same stuff just more of it. I would have liked to have transited the canal during the day.

UnCruise the Hawaiian cruise is a great way to see lots of islands and do lots of fun stuff. If you like sea turtles you will love it.

We have done 6 UnCruises and have never been disappointed.

 

[OldShooter]

Viking runs sales all the time. Free airfare, free excursions, etc. Get on their mailing list and you'll see them. ...

Be careful what you wish for. We did the Russia cruise with them 12 years ago and even now not a week goes by without some Viking advertising arriving. Sometimes two pieces on the same day. It is beyond annoying.

I hate their phony "sales" too. Everything is a sale, and it is impossible to know whether you are getting their best deal or not. It's like beans and walnut shells, except its sale offerings and 4-color advertising pieces. You never know.

 

[Golden sunsets]

We've always done Viking River cruises, but we'd like to try Uniworld for true luxury next.

 

[OldConch]

Ms G and I have done the Sea of Cortez with UnCruise twice, this is a great trip and so so close to home for us.

UnCruise Costa Rica/Panama is the the same stuff just more of it. I would have liked to have transited the canal during the day.

UnCruise the Hawaiian cruise is a great way to see lots of islands and do lots of fun stuff. If you like sea turtles you will love it.

We have done 6 UnCruises and have never been disappointed.

Thanks for this info. Just put in a request for a Feb22 Sea of Cortes trip.

 

[Sarpy]

Another Tauck river cruise fan. We did a French river cruise and it was first class all the way. I'd love to do another one and take some friends.