Comments

1. tombi says

   January 28, 2014 at 3:00 am

   We have recently come back from a trip on the Aegir from Nuremberg to Budapest (21/12-28/12). We booked the Explorer Suite #340 at a cost of $12,000 for the 7 nights.

   On 25/12 I sent an emails to Viking Cruises while on the cruise….

   My husband and family travel on cruises at least twice
   yearly and always tend to stay in suites as we like the size, additional
   service and always in prime positions on the boats. Our suite on Aegir is
   beautifully laid out, love the decor, the spaciousness , the windows on 2
   sides…lots of light, filled mini bar, coffee machine, 2 flat screen TV’s –
   bedroom and lounge , exceptional service by ALL crew, HOWEVER what came as the
   biggest shock to us is that this suite is situated at the stern above the engine
   room and directly above the propeller. When the boat is cruising ,which is
   mostly at night, it vibrates to the degree in which one cannot sleep due to the
   continual rattling of the whole section on the boat and the varying noise
   levels of the engines below us. The vibrations cause everything in the cabin to
   rattle in fact glasses broke on top the table due to the vibrations. We were
   unable to sleep and escape this horrendous situation. It was throughout the
   night and ear plugs did not work as they increased the sensations of the
   vibrations. We understand that the engine and propellers are situated at the
   stern, however, we thought that with this ship being a year old, the latest
   technology would have not created the above to such a large extent. It seemed apparent,
   chatting to staff members including one of the engineers (who was apologetic
   and embarrassed) that this is a well known problem. One would have thought that
   the most expensive cabins/suites on this ship would not have this devastating
   issue. We have just had 2 nights in which we could not sleep and spent most of
   the nights awake…relief coming only who entering or leaving a ‘lock’
   …….not much time to sleep.

   I had no response so wrote this on 27/1…
   ………we had asked if we could be moved to another cabin just to sleep at
   night, but, unfortunately the ship was full. We then asked our daughter and her
   boyfriend who were in cabin #203 if they would change rooms for the night. We
   had the best sleep in their room since the start of the cruise. They,
   unfortunately, did not! As they said ‘you have to actually spend the night in
   the cabin to really experience the noise and the vibrations……and you paid
   $12,000!….’ I would like the CEO of Viking to spend a night in this suite
   while the ship is moving……even when it isn’t moving …… also he would
   not be impressed with Internet access….we had to leave the room to get it and
   for my husband who needed it, this was very frustrating.

   The pity about all of this is that the staff were fantastic and it is quite
   clear that the fault lies in the design of the ship and these so called suites
   which are clearly positioned in the wrong place. In addition it would really be
   appropriate for the company to spend some more funds on a stronger wifi system
   that could reach these cabins as well.
   We await your response….please take this constructive feedback seriously.
   1/1/2014 …..I wrote

   It is now a week since my last email and have heard nothing from your Head Office.
   I thought I would have heard back from them by now,

   6/1/201….I got a response after I sent another email on 6/1/2014

   Hi Kathy,
   I apologise you haven’t had a reply in regards to your below issues yet, I have forwarded this onto our management and customer relations team who will be in contact with you. I
   sincerely hope these issues didn’t detract from your overall trip too much and
   were able to enjoy the delights of Europe still. If you have any further issues
   that I can help with please don’t hesitate to contact me.
   Kind Regards,
   Chris Bellmon I Viking Cruises I Cruise Consultant

   7/1/2014…I received a call from a Customer Service person who basically said that they have never had anyone complain and offered me 25% discount on my next booking with Viking. I told her it was not about the money it was about admitting there is an issue and that I wanted to hear from someone senior.

   14/1/2014 I receive a call from Liz Sawers (Director of Sales in Australia)and subsequently 2 emails which I had to call as she had not gotten back to me. her emails…

   21/1/2014 Dear Kathy, My apologies for the delay in returning to you. In the interim I have been in contact with our head offices in LA and our Operations Department in Basel, communicating across three time zones requires patience unfortunately, hence the delay.

   In relation to the excessive noise and vibration you described whilst cruising onboard Viking
   Aegir it would appear that these conditions are not a constant, and are not
   evident on all ships. The situation can be exacerbated when certain external
   conditions exist so can be affected by the level of the water, the strength of
   the current, and the speed of the ship, which means that a 100% silent cruise
   can never be guaranteed.

   On the ships where vibrations and noise appear to be more prevalent, our Basel contact
   assures us that the that the Ship Yard has reinforced the bottom of the steel unit of
   the ES, making it more stiff and ridged. The Yard has further carefully lined
   out the height of the rubber elements carrying the steel box, meeting the
   bottom conditions of the steel box, meaning all supports carry the same load.
   These improved insulation measures are being installed this winter while the ships are in the
   docks and will hopefully result in a more quiet and still cruise for future
   passengers onboard.
   I hope that this answers the questions raised during our recent telephone conversation. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you wish to discuss the matter further.
   Kind
   regards,
   Liz Sawers I Viking Cruises I Director Sales, Australia & New
   Zealand

   21/1/2014 my response.
   Hi Liz,
   In response to your email…..
   The vibrations were constant!! The noise was constant!!! The fumes were constant!! I paid $12,000 for 7 sleepless nights and days…… and all you tell me is that they basically have
   accepted that there is a problem. It must be an enormous problem as they are
   now correcting it on their existing fleets and on all new ships these
   cabins are no longer at the rear of the ship. What about me? No apologies, no
   admittance that they knew there was an issue and did nothing about it, no call
   from head Office…. When did you last spend $12,000 ( that is just the
   cruise…not the airfares to and from) on a week’s vacation that was a horrendous
   experience?
   I quote from your email . ‘The situation can be
   exacerbated when certain external conditions exist so can be affected by the
   level of the water, the strength of the current, and the speed of the ship,
   which means that a 100% silent cruise can never be guaranteed’…..my
   daughter was in cabin 230 and had a ‘silent cruise’ throughout and we
   experienced it when we slept in her cabin for a night. Why don’t you get
   clarification from the following staff on our cruise who will be more than
   willing to tell you about the vibrations and noise…..call and speak to
   George (he sleeps on Level 1 and said that he often has to check if the
   ship is moving as there are no vibrations), Mary, Rhadi, the cabin crew on Deck
   3 and the Engineers(both Engineers told us that on every cruise they have the
   same complaints….). So what you are saying is nonsense!

   21/1/2014 (notice how she is now responding promptly)
   Hi Kathy,
   I am so sorry that you are not satisfied with the explanation supplied by our Operations Department. As an overview I note the staff on-board all delivered exemplary service as
   highlighted by you.In your telephone conversation with Linda from our Customer Service Department, our apologies were extended for the inconvenience caused to you by the vibrations and noise experienced on-board Viking Aegir. As a result you were offered future cruise
   credit of 25% of the value of the Cruise, which you described as an insult and
   informed us that you required escalation and an explanation from the management
   team.

   When the matter was escalated , I enquired during our conversation what we could do to appease you, a question that you were unsure about how to answer beyond a wish to find an
   explanation. I believe that we have in all good faith attempted to give you an
   explanation as to what measures are being undertaken to minimise the vibration
   and noise that arose during your journey on Viking Aegir.

   In regards to your reference of the relocation of the Explorer Suites to mid-ship on-board the Longships, our Operations Department in Basel has no knowledge and there are no plans
   available to support this change. If you would like to divulge the source of
   your information I will be happy to investigate further.

   To date we have answered your questions, offered you compensation and requested what further action you would like to see to resolve this situation. Again I ask you the question as to
   what resolution you would like to see in order to fulfil your expectations.
   Kind Regards
   Liz Sawers I Viking Cruises I Director Sales, Australia & New
   Zealand
   DO NOT EVER BOOK THE EXPLORER SUITES!!! The suites on level 3 which have 2 rooms are more than adequate and have no noise, no vibrations, no fumes and you can get wifi !!

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