We had a cheap meal just before departure and just after arrival in Stockholm-City.
So we have booked only the Lunch-buffet (is also cheaper than the evening buffet and during lunch time is less music- and show-action onboard what you can miss then) in the big buffet-restaurant at the front. This was the most chaotic experience... .
We was exactly there 3 min before our booked time (12:30), the entrance-lady give us a table-number and we was searching it through mass of people... . Chaotic and full like on a german christmas-market. Then - not to believe - it was still actually with Covid-19 restrictiones (wear masks f you to the buffet) - there was a table with 6 seats and we should take seat number 5 + 6 - together and directly beside with 4 foreign people ! Also the other tables around was full with mi xed foreign people. So we walked all the way back through the mass of people to the entrance of the buffet-restaurant and i have massive protestet loud and strong that we need our own private table in a calm quiete corner and can not sit with other people on the same table together. Then the lady there give us another 6er table around the corner, very quiete and calm and OK and for us alone. Behind our table was another section without any people and maybe 40 or 50 more free available tables. But why they press all people together with others on 6er tables ?????????? Totally crazy and absolute negative ! So maybe 300 people pressed on the first 60 tables together - and in the last section very behind around the corner all tables stay always free !!! And the most other people accept this to share a table for 1,5 or 2 hours eating together with foreign people, maybe also talking all the time in another language and complete without any privacy. There was 2, 3 other people trying protesting like we have done it - but all the others - eating like students in a 15min break between 2 lessons in the university-mensa-hall... .
But the tables - why are there nearly all tables with 6 seats ??? 97% of the people are travelling with 2 people or alone. Families or mini-groups was really nearly not to find. And furthermore very negative: You must hurry up in the first 20, 30 minutes for to get all the good / better food-things. You have time 90-120min for eating, but after this first 20, 30min only very basic food like potatos and basic meat will be renewed... . So f.ex. Kaviar, exclusive salads, better vegetables like f.ex. Brocoli - be fast or other people will get it only. We have seen this problem directly after seating and then we has taken fast all what we wanted to eat – but it is absolute chaotic and superfull of people, 60, 70 or more people between the stations for the food always at the same time – everybody has panic not to get the wished food etc. . After ca. 40 min nearly nothing is anymore on the buffet... - also desserts, cakes, fruits, ice etc. - all empty, finished or away.
Further negative point: There was 3 scandinavian male waiters waiting in our corner all the time that somebody has finished a part of the meal. Then very fast they started „a race“ who bring our used plates away 1 second after a plate was empty ! So maybe in our part of the restaurant there was 3 waiters for 5 or 6 tables – only for to bring away the used plates – during all the 2 hours !!! So the crew is very uneffiecency placed – at the entrance of the restaurant only 1 lady with many many people waiting normally – and around the corner some waiters has nothing to do all the time... .
So there are 2 ways for to eat onboard in the buffet restaurant:
A) You are happy with sitting for 1-2 hours together on a 6-er table very narrow with 3 or 4 foreign persons and eating basic-food in a loud chaotic full hall similar like in a train-station is what you like – then the Buffet will be OK for you. (There is no space for to collect the better food on the table, so in practice you will eat here normally only the basic food...)
OR B) If you are a big and strong person and with a very loud voice to discuss hardly with the lady at the entrance to get a quiete calm private good table with sea-view around the corner and then furthermore you are fast to take all good high-quality-food between masses of people on the buffet-stations quickly - THEN you will have a very good big quality-meal for (prebooked) 27,- Euro including softdrinks, juice, beer and wine so much as you can want.
If A) and B) both is NOT a good a good choice for you – then go better before the cruise in a supermarket in Stockholm, buy some sandwiches, fruits, drinks etc. and eat and drink it inside your cabin or on the sundeck. Because all other options onboard means extremly high prices for only a few food. And with the saved money you can go in a restaurant in Stocholm before and after the cruise.
Furthermore there is theoretic a space left side of the buffet for another „a la carte Restaurant“ - but this was always closed and the tables there also not in use = more lost unused space !!!
So my urgent advices to Viking Line:
- 95% of all the 6er tables move out and replacing them with 2er tables.
- Use of the complete restaurant (including the a la carte tables and the big section behind the right corner) for the buffet. -
- Fill up again all the food-stations during the complete time, then nobody needs to hurry up, needs to be fast, taking food in panic etc. .
- Check the waiters there, much too much expensive crew in the buffet-restaurant !
There is a big
halfclosed terrace-area midships with the DJ playing playing music next day daytime – but there was never any person, always a very big and complete empty area with a lot of cheap plastic-seats... also in the evening before. So here maybe the best solution would be to rebuilt this area into anything else... .
Then the last hours in the afternoon we was again sitting in the Vista Room Lounge, live-music and shows are continues all the time. There is a nice funny thing with a glass-floor at one side of the Lounge – but because of loud playing of some kids for longtime there all people moved to the other side of the Lounge... . Why the architects has placed this glass-floor here ? In an area which is not allowed after 22:00 for kids ?
Anywhere midships f.ex. nearby the elevators or the kids-playrooms would be much better... .
Many people in maritime forums are always sceptical aganist the
quality of ships built in China.
But here on Viking Glory i have really not seen any quality problems, all seems to be good and well processed and to be of a good quality. The problems are in the inside-layout responsible by the european design- and architects, these people has made a number of mistakes and bad-planned things. so in summary the ferry is the 3rd biggest worldwide, but the public-spaces are really small and partly in practice unused and it feels complicated to walk around inside the ferry.
So we arrived in time in Stockholm and
it was a really nice 23 hours-cruise on a nice ferry – but some things as written was really not positive... . Also i am wondering how is the situation onboard if the ferry is full with ca. 2000 people (theoretic it could be 2800) if we calculate 930 cabins x 2 persons + 140 one-way-day-cruisers Turku/Aaland-Stocholm without cabin onboard. If it is warm and sunny ca. 40 people find a comfortable seat on the after sun-deck and max. 100 people in the Vista Lounge – but then all the other ca. 1860 people has no good possibility for hanging around the 23 hours... .
And already during our really not good booked cruise with only a few hundred people onboard the Vista Lounge was overloaded during the shows with many standing people already... .
Correction: There is a reception-desk on deck 9 ! But many people and me too has not seen it !