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We took this same cruise last week. Weather is much better and water levels back down. Review is spot on.

We see these boats anchoring in Honfleur and nothing in this RUclips would encourage me to take one…the food looks very formulaic and low quality. Just fly to Charles de Gaulle airport then drive to Normandie, far better. 2.5 hours from CDG airport to Honfleur by car, then eat at L’Endroit for dinner.

Hi. Love your videos and they are so helpful for us first time cruisers. My friends and I have booked a cruise on the icon of the seas for March 2025. To pay for the deluxe drink package, do we all have to pay for the package or we can do it individually. It’s 8 of us 2 in each room. Thank you.

Does anybody know why they don't have laser tag on the icon as of June 22nd?

We just got off the icon yesterday and they did not have any laser tag. I read elsewhere that they had it initially but we checked with guest services and they said that they don't. Does anybody know what happened to laser tag?

I wonder if they have cruises for other than seniors

Is it possible to eat plant-based (vegan) on a Viking cruise?

Can the beds be split into two separate beds?

We are going to Alaska August '24. Can't wait!! But now I'm so confused about where we want to eat lol!!😄

This is a great review and completely reflects our experiences on two Viking River Cruises. On one trip, we had to be bused because the river's water level was too low due to drought. That's the only real complaint we had and that certainly wasn't their fault. However, it would have been nice to get a heads up on the water conditions before we departed. We would probably have elected to wait for a different season.

Hello, I have to book an Alaskan Cruise tomorrow for Sept or Oct! I have a few questions! Our options are the Jewel or Encore/Bliss (itenerary is the same for bliss towards the end of its sailing dates and we definitely want to go to glacier bay! ). The big question is: Do we do Jewel (smaller ship) for the inside passage route as opposed to navigating around it in the bigger ships? The jewel also ends in Seward (ends in Vancouver) and it says "(Ward Cove)" next to Ketchikan, as well as it stops by Hubbard Glacier. Any insight would be much appreciated!

Cruising is like going to Disneyland. No adventure in that.

Northern lights time to go? Whale watch time?

I'm a single traveler and a bit of an introvert. Can you recommend any river cruises where you don't have to share a room and pay the extra supplement because you are on your own. It's unaffordable. I have shared with someone before and it was an experience I never want to have again.

There was an odd reference to wine at dinner. Is wine by the glass at dinner included in the $109 package? I see that it includes 20% off wine by the bottle, but am specifically concerned about by the glass at dinner.

No river cruise ships have laundries usable by guests, there simply isn't the space on the ships. Even when you pay the laundry is taken off the ship to have it done.

An interesting video but very surprised that you didn’t know the various things you say were a surprise. Viking, and all river cruise operators, supply copious information in advance, and, of course, and this is a surprise for someone who uses RUclips, there are many RUclips channels that would have given you a briefing. River cruising is very much a ‘slow’ holiday. Take your time, remember that you’re not on a large, spacious ocean cruise ship, and as you rightly said, just let things flow.

Just a little tip. If you sign up for AARP it will cost you $12 dollars for a year membership. You can purchase Carnival Gift cards for 10 percent off. A 500 dollar gift card will cost you 450. A 100 dollar card will cost you 90. You use these to purchase your drink package or pay for your cruise and save 10 percent more

Ive been wanting to go on a river cruise 😊

As far as reminding the customers about the evals, almost every industry is doing this now. Health care has been doing it for years.

Were on crown princess right now and there playing your videos on the big screen...very cool.

River cruises are like bus tours on water. Every minute of your trip is scripted. You eat every meal at the same time everyday. You're in a group everywhere, you can't do your own thing. The boats have few amenities and no space anywhere. If you want to be lead around like cattle everyday on their schedule then do it.

Why were you surprised about the dining situation? Did you not watch other RUclips videos that explain these things?

I’m going on my first cruise in March, and I’m so excited! I’ve always been nervous because big bodies of water kinda freaks me out, but I’m all about conquering “fears” but the more I plan, the more excited I get! I’m going with my boyfriend and his immediate family. His parents are experienced cruisers, so that does make it smoother for me 😁 leaving from Galveston to the Western Caribbean. So stoked!

oh no! is this the ship that failed health inspection a few months ago? it's hard to remember the name since all the ships sound the same..except for the last word..at first i just thought the name of the ship that failed was margaritaville and made a note to avoid it but then i kept seeing the name pop up and realized "margaritaville at sea" is the redundant part...

Ah..thank you. I lived in Caen [hard to pronounce]..miss my France so much--too old now to return. Sounds like Viking tried to think everything. I'm not one for guided tours, I hope one could wing it on your own. Toured the Louvre in 1971 with a very well-known art historian/teacher firned-of-the-family. He pointed to a large room and said, "See that painting over there [Mona Lisa] we're not going there, we're going to see something important--David.[the painter]" He took me also to large bowls which were Roman telephones with nary a tourist in sight. By the end he had a crowd around him--he was so energetic, without guile. Memories of Normandy and betyond. J’apprécie vraiment le temps que vous avez pris. Merci.

This seems to be aimed at americans and is probably full of the same.

Since river cruises is all about the scenery. What is the point of an interior cabin ? I would think that was for the staff. Balcony on the expensive side. Picture window on the other. Bad weather can't go out and there is nothing to see or do. Bet there is not refund policy do to bad weather at a destination.

The free at sea is a heck of a lot cheaper than say RC drink package. For 3 of us this December on NCL for a week, the "free" beverage package will cost us $457 in gratuities. That's $150 / person.. That equals out to around $22 per person per day.. If you drink 2 drinks a day, it is worth it. My wife and I are going on a 4 night cruise with RC in april, and right now, for just the 2 of us, with tips and all, the drinks package is about $650. Probably not going to be worth it. So $450 for 3 for 7 days, or $650 for 2 for 4 days.. Plus it (ncl) does include 150 minutes of wifi for 1st 2 guests. Where we are in a club balcony for the first 2 guests, we also get 2 specialty dining each. The gratuities on that is $40 for 2 of us.. so $10 per special meal. And those that are saying "OH NCL is nickel and diming you to death" no they arent.. You do NOT have to take the free at sea stuff. You can happily pay per drink like every where else. You dont have to take the special dining etc etc. So please stop with the nickel and diming crap.. It's getting old.

“Icon the Seas”….??

I apologize if you mentioned this, but is THE KEY worth the $? We loved it on Harmony, but so many say no it is not worth the extra cost.

The quantity of food is going down down!

Gotta be 48 inches or taller to get on all the slides sucks my daughter is 46 inches. Also most of the entertainment happens mostly at the same time so you have to pick and choose to much in my opinion. I wish they would do more of the family events earlier like 3/4/5pm but no they start everything at 7ish. And you have to pick and choose

I took my grandson on the Rhine River cruise in July 2023. We were on the lower deck, and it was not great. It had a big picture window but was covered up except for the top (maybe 30 inches). You could see the water when you went through the locks. You could also feel them and hear the ship going over them at night. We were warned to take earplugs, which we used, but you could still hear them. No view at all. The entire level had a sea smell. The room was so tiny, and the bathroom hardly had room to turn around. A large person could not have fit into the shower, or the rest of the area. The elevator does not include the lower deck. The food and service were excellent. We felt rushed for the entire trip. We never had time to see the talks about the next day. We took in an optional activity every day, trying to see as much as possible; therefore, no time to relax and sit on deck. There was some kind of problem with another Viking boat, which changed our schedule one day and meant we had to go pretty fast to reach our next destination. When we got there, we were later than expected. It was a Sunday, and all of the big attractions were closed. We barely had time to walk through part of the village and then there was a scheduled dinner at a restaurant chosen by Viking. The restaurant was very loud, kept serving "shots" throughout the time we were there. A live band played mostly American music and some people danced. The food was not great. That was the extent of what we did in that village. Overall, we were disappointed. It was our first cruise and travel overseas. Being inexperience travelers, we were very surprised that hardly any of the places we went were air conditioned. Unfortunately, there was a heat wave while we were there. I had checked the normal temperature range before we made reservations. I know Viking had no control over the temperature, or the lack of air conditioning. I am just warning those who, like me, had no idea, so they will be prepared.

WAITERS WHO SHOVE A FOOD TRAY RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE/PASSENGERS WHO MAKE RUDE REMARKS ABOUT YOU AS YOU SIT AT THE NEXT TABLE [THEY ARE TOO DRUNK TO NOTICE YOU ARE W/IN EARSHOT]/GAME PLAYERS WHO TAKE OVER TELLING EVERYONE THEY KNOW THE ANSWER FOR THE GROUP WHEN THEY ARE DUMB AS A BRICK//PEOPLE WHO YELL AT YOU WHEN YOU SIT DOWN/SCREAMING THAT THAT SEAT IS RESERVED FOR AN ABSENT PERSON//PEOPLE WHO REMOVE YOUR PLATE AT A TABLE WHEN YOU GET UP TO GET SOMETHING//PEOPLE WHO TELL YOU WHAT YOU SHOULD DO TO CHANGE YOUR APPEARANCE//PEOPLE WHO LOUDLY REMARK THAT YOU SHOULD BE FASTER AT RESERVING RESTAURANTS, ETC.= JUST LOW LIFE. SADLY, SO FEW OF THE UPPER CLASS LEFT.

What are we supposed to wear in July? Do we really need cold weather clothing?

Where is carnival Firenze?!! I am going on her in late 2024

It was disappointing to learn that these folks took a sponsored trip by Holland America and then created a video claiming everything is wonderful without a single point of criticism. Basically this is an ad by these folks for HA. So take it with a large pinch of salt. I wish we had truly independent reviewers we could depend on.

Older people don't use "apps". The cruise lines may think they are being progressive or "streamlining" a process, but not being able to talk to a real person on my vacation is a negative for me. Having to go on a discovery trip to find unmarked resources on a big ship would be another "no" for me.

Not enough people on the ship for $20,000

Don’t like it

You don't need to use your room key to keep your lights on. Even a grocery store card will work. Any card of the right size will work. Euro plug adaptors, besides giving you more outlets, will give you additional USB A, and USB C plugs.

As long as there are enough sheeple stupid enough to let themselves be crammed into these overpriced tubs, cruise lines will keep squeezing. That's just how capitalism works. Cruising used to be an upmarket luxury option for the wealthy. Today it's the preferred option for the fat and lazy wannabes. What the Italian Adria and Riviera used to be in the 60s and 70s, cruise ships are now. The vacation for the cheapskates who mainly want to wallow in the flesh pots and have no ideas or motivation of their own. AND a bane on the independent traveller, because they are like a mobile locust swarm who will overrun destinations and make them completely unenjoyable

Could barely turn around in the bathroom. The balcony barely held two old chairs and was facing another ship most of the time so NO view. Food is POOR and limited. Lines at TSA and long trip a disaster. Could have spent half the money and stayed stateside and had a MUCH better. TIME. Never again.

I wish I knew reservations required for entertainment

Ok! Sounds great, BUT, is the ship whee,chair friendly? Please, don’t bullshit me as I’m a double amputee!

Thanks so much. We have been wondering about these trips.

are there plenty options for vegetarian people? and which are the best free restaurants on the icon?

Are the ships wheelchair. Friendly and compatible?

We just booked our first ever cruise on HAL’s Eurodam for an end of May 2025 Alaska trip. Looking very forward to the more relaxed and laid back atmosphere of Holland America.