Uncomfortable on board

Experienced river cruise travelers, we took the 12-day Ukraine trip “Footsteps of the Cossacks” on the Viking Lavrinenkov with Viking River Cruises, Sept. 24-Oct. 6, 2007.

The cost was about $2,900 without airfare, and we also had several discounts given at different times. Most shore excursions were included, the exceptions being concerts, wine tasting, etc.

We traveled from Kiev to Yalta and back on the Dnieper River. The trip was interesting and informative. The staff, crew and guides were competent and spoke excellent English. However, the ship had several problems.

The cabins were quite small, ours being number 326. Two people could not pass each other between the beds, and if someone were “large,” he or she would have trouble in the bathroom.

The bed pillows were very lumpy and flat.

There wasn’t a comfortable place to sit in the cabin.

The weather was quite warm and so were the cabins. The air-conditioning did not work properly; most everyone complained about the heat in the cabins. When they made the cabins colder, the dining room became so cold that people complained. We felt that people could have put on sweaters in the dining room, but that did not seem to be acceptable.

There also was no comfortable place to sit on the ship. The library did not have many chairs, and it too was hot, with poor lighting. The bars were not conducive to reading. There were chairs on the upper deck but not much shade. There were some chairs on the outside of the lower decks but not many.

The tours were quite good, however there was no daily briefing beforehand. The guides gave the information on the buses, which made it hard to take notes.

The food was good, with good choices. There was open seating and a good buffet for breakfast. Lunch and dinner had assigned seating, which worked well.

Lastly, this is the first ship we have been on that did not conduct a life vest and lifeboat station drill. The ship did have a brief meeting to show how to put on a life vest. In the cabin, instructions for an emergency stated to stay in the cabin until a crew member told us what to do. Most of the crew did not speak English, however.

With a more comfortable ship and better briefings, this would have been an excellent trip.

WALTER & CLARE FREEDMAN
Englewood, CO

ITN sent a copy of the above letter to Viking River Cruises (5700 Canoga Ave., Ste. 200, Woodland Hills, CA 91367) and received the following reply.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the letter from Mr. and Mrs. Walter Freedman.

Our records show that, although they had originally requested a Past Passenger discount, this was the first time we had the opportunity to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Freedman aboard a Viking River Cruises journey. We are delighted that they found their journey interesting and informative and that they enjoyed the cuisine and dining arrangements.

We also are extremely gratified to learn that the Freedmans found the staff, crew and guides to be competent as well as excellent English speakers. Customer service is extremely important to us, and we feel that our extraordinary staff is what really sets us apart from other travel providers.

Our records also show that the Freedmans did complain about the air-conditioning once, about a week into their journey, and that another party in the adjoining cabin made a similar complaint at the same time. We received no other complaints about the air-conditioning on that voyage.

Staterooms on the Viking Lavrin­en­kov do not have individual climate controls; the temperature is controlled from one central location. Therefore, from time to time passengers may have the misconception that the air-conditioning is broken when it’s not. We regret that the Freedmans felt uncomfortable at any point during their voyage.

We are especially sorry that the Freedmans did not choose to request assistance with their pillows until after they returned home. Every member of our staff is trained and empowered to do everything possible to ensure that all our guests have a comfortable journey, and we would have been more than happy to accommodate the Freedmans in that regard.

We do change linens and pillows throughout the ships on a regular basis, and we have plenty of extra pillows of varying types for passengers who prefer something different.

As far as stateroom size is concerned, as with virtually all cruise ships some of the staterooms are larger than others. This particular ship offers some deluxe staterooms, with hotel-style beds and separate desk and seating areas, as well as more economical standard staterooms with twin beds. Every stateroom, regardless of size, has river-view picture windows that open so guests can enjoy the view and the breeze.

The Freedmans booked a category C stateroom. A photo of such a cabin and a diagram of the floor plan is shown in every relevant brochure and is also included on our website. We also show photos and diagrams of the other stateroom categories so that potential guests may compare them before making their choice.

It looks as though the Freedmans booked their Ukraine voyage through a travel agent in Colorado, so unfortunately we aren’t sure what materials they saw when working with their agent.

The category C stateroom is designed so that the beds function as seating during the daytime. They do not fold up, but padding on the wall next to each bed is there to function as a backrest for guests when they sit on their beds.

The ship’s common areas include a sun deck, three promenade decks, two restaurants, a lounge and two bars (all with panoramic windows) plus an, admittedly, small library (not a reading room) where books can be borrowed.

Most guests find seating that is to their liking for the times when they are on the ship and not enjoying a shore excursion, whether it is on the sun deck or in one of the indoor lounge areas.

One further item that I would like to address is the issue of ship safety. The safety of our guests and crew is our absolute number-one priority, and nothing is left to chance in this regard.

Because our ships do not sail on the open sea, we are not required to conduct formal safety drills as an ocean cruise liner must. We do provide written safety instructions in all cabins, along with deck diagrams to remind passengers where to go in the event an emergency evacuation is necessary.

We have a safety session with passengers at the beginning of every voyage to demonstrate the use of the life vests provided in every stateroom, as the Freedmans described in their letter.

Additionally, every member of the ship’s crew is trained in shipboard emergency procedures before beginning work with Viking River Cruises and is required to receive recurring training throughout the cruise season to ensure they have a clear understanding of where to go and whom to assist during an actual emergency.

We hope that the Freedmans will choose to travel with us again, and if they do we hope they will not feel shy about requesting assistance from any member of our staff about anything they like, no matter how small.

JOOST OUENDAG, Vice President of Land Operations, Viking River Cruises