20231229 AAAA Trip - Traveling home, trip wrap-up, and cruise comparison

2023 Alaska, Asia, Australia, Arabian Peninsula Trip 
Day 104-105/105 - The long, long, long road home and Viking vs Oceania

Ugh. 3:45 a.m. sure is early. But when you have to disembark the ship by 5 a.m. and want to grab a bite before you hit the road, that's when the alarm goes off. To be very clear on what this "day" is, 3:45 a.m. on Friday in Abu Dhabi, UAE (Gulf Standard Time UTC +4) is the same as 6:45 p.m. on Thursday in The Villages, Florida (Eastern Standard Time UTC -5).

We grabbed a quick breakfast at Waves Grill before tossing the last items into the carry-on and heading to the gangway. We were ready to go after boarding the bus at 4:50, but the bus wasn't.

The disembarkation letter we received in the stateroom was unambiguous – be there before 5 a.m. so the bus could leave.  For four privileged individuals, however, they couldn’t seem to get their act together and kept an entire bus full of more than 30 passengers waiting until 5:30. OK, I get that people make mistakes. When they boarded, the entire bus applauded. They angrily yelled, “Oh, and I suppose you’re all bloody perfect?”  Wow – you inconvenience more than 30 people and you’re the one with the attitude. Unbelievable.

This was an issue for us as the drive from the Abu Dhabi cruise port to the Dubai airport was just about two hours, leaving us under two hours to get checked in, bags checked, clear security and get to our gate. That’s cutting it a little close for international travel.

About an hour into the drive, the color started to appear in the sky

The Burj Khalifa, looking dominating as usual

Zipping past the Museum of the Future

The sun was up by the time we reached Dubai

We got our bags checked, got our boarding passes, cleared security, and had just a couple of minutes before they started boarding.

Since we were flying Business Class, our bags got tagged as “Priority”. Woo! (more on that later…)

Our Airbus A330 from Dubai to Istanbul and Boing 777-300 from Istanbul to Washington Dulles had lay-flat seating

We launched just a few minutes late but arrived on time in Istanbul about five hours later. The flight was uneventful. We both stayed awake, trying to start the time shift for our bodies.

The airport in Istanbul is gorgeous with terrific high-end shopping

The Turkish Air Lounge is amazing. It offers views of the airport and a great selection of freshly prepared gourmet food

We only had about 30 minutes here because our gate was about a 20-minute walk away. Of course, we were already through security, but at our gate, we had to go through additional security screening. They checked our passports and boarding passes at a security station. We walked about six feet farther and they needed to check passports a second time and he applied a sticker to our boarding pass. Then, we walked about 20 feet farther where they checked our passports a third time and then needed to hand-inspect all our carry-on luggage. This meant opening up our bags as they sorted through all the contents. Wow. All this meant we were boarding so we walked from there onto the aircraft and got settled in for our 11-hour flight to Washington Dulles.

We launched just a few minutes late out of Istanbul. We took in some movies and Arlona read on her Kindle before eventually succumbing to exhaustion. She slept for perhaps four hours. I slept for perhaps an hour a couple, or three times, but never went into deep sleep.

Let me say that the service on Turkish Air was fabulous. Attentive flight attendants, outstanding food (the broiled salmon was delicious), comfy seats (as airline seats go), and on-time arrivals. – it was all good. We landed at Dulles at 7:30, about 15 minutes late, but still with plenty of time before our 10 p.m. departure to Orlando – or so we thought.

We have Global Entry and it makes Customs a breeze. We walked up to the Global Entry stations. It instructed each of us to look at the camera. A few seconds later, it turned green and said “Proceed”. We walked up to the officer. He looked at his screen, looked at us, asked if we had anything to declare (no), and said “Welcome home.” Customs took about two minutes. Woo!

We made our way to baggage claim as you have to pick up, and then recheck luggage after clearing Customs. I don’t get it, but whatever. Back to the “Priority” luggage tags. It appears that “Priority” means staying on the plane as long as possible because it took more than an hour for our bags to finally appear on the luggage conveyor. We kept watching as bag after bag came up the conveyor and dropped on the belt. Our bags finally came out at 8:45 p.m. Wow.  We walked out and stopped at the United recheck area (our final leg was on United) where we dropped the bags and got our boarding passes. Of course, our connection was a long walk, train, and a long walk away. We arrived at the gate and were boarding about five minutes later.

This flight on United was nowhere near as comfortable as Turkish Air. Tighter seats with less padded were not a welcome choice after being up for so long, but that’s all the Boing 737 Max 8 has.

We were given a glass of sparkling wine before departure

We arrived early in Orlando at 12:21 p.m. Unlike Dulles, our bags came out quickly.

Waiting for our driver to arrive

Our driver arrived right on time at 1 a.m. and we made the relatively traffic-free ride home, arriving at 2:10 a.m.

Our awesome neighbors had been taking in our mail – we broke the bag! We unpacked necessities like toothbrushes and got ready for bed. Still a little wired from travel, we watched TV for about 30 minutes, eventually drifting off to sleep a little after 3 a.m.

To recap the travel day all using local time here in The Villages, Florida, we departed the ship at 7:50 p.m. on Thursday and walked into the house at 2:10 a.m. on Saturday – 30 hours and 20 minutes later.

Let’s reflect a little on this trip. 

Departed home: September 16, 2023

Returned home: December 30, 2023

Days traveled: 105

Continents: 4 - North America, Asia, Australia, Europe (Thanks, Istanbul airport!)

Countries: 13 (or 14) – Canada, USA, Japan, China (Taiwan & Hong Kong), Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey – now officially “Türkiye” (OK, that’s weak – it was just in the airport)

Equator crossings: two - one by cruise ship, one by plane

Miles flown: 18,077

Miles sailed: 20,004

Total miles traveled: 38,081 or about 1-1/3 times around the earth

Calories consumed: Nope

Flights in red, cruises in green

We saw lots of amazing places on this trip. It’s always hard to define a favorite and each place has its own charm and special things. 

Some favorite things in no particular order:

• The Pattaya, Thailand elephant preserve and being in the pond bathing the elephants
• Being escorted out of Dutch Harbor, Alaska by 50+ humpback whales
• Walking the Sydney Harbor Bridge
• Sailing into Sydney Harbor at sunrise
• The Hells of Beppu, Japan hot springs
• Singapore – we could spend more time here
• Dubai architecture and engineering
• Borobudur Temple in Indonesia
• The world is much smaller than you realize and people are decent all over (see the stories about my two cousins in Australia and Arlona’s phone being returned, meeting people on this trip who will also be on our Africa cruise next November, sailing with a bunch of other Villagers that we didn’t know before we met them halfway around the world)
• The positive attitude of the Japanese people to use Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a symbol of peace
• Seeing Mt. Fuji, even without the snowy cap
• Seeing a volcanic eruption with smoke and ash in Kagoshima, Japan
• Seeing Komodo dragons
• Arlona climbing through the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam and understanding what soldiers endured
• Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef
• Meeting some incredibly nice people all over the world

We have now visited 61 countries. Just for the record, we visited Türkiye on our world cruise in 2022, so we already counted it. We’ve been on all seven continents including setting foot on the Antarctic continent in 2022. I’ve visited 44 US states and Arlona has visited 39. We have plans next summer to get both of our totals to 48 and that will leave us with Oregon and West Virginia to complete the 50. With our currently booked travel, we will hit around 85 countries by 2025, closing in on our target of at least 100 countries visited. Of course, I will be blogging about all that in the future.

Finally, lots of folks have asked us for a comparison of Viking Ocean and Oceania – direct competitors in the luxury cruise space. Having sailed on both within two weeks of each other, here are our thoughts.

Ship

Both companies have nicely sized ships. The Oceania Riviera is one of two larger ships with 1,250 passengers. That’s about 1/3 larger than the 930 that Viking’s ocean vessels can hold. Other Oceania ships hold 684 passengers. Both companies have tastefully designed the ships, albeit with distinctly different design aesthetics. Oceania is more typically “cruise shipy” with glitz and glamor, whereas Viking goes for a cleaner Scandinavian design. The upside is that it looks great. The downside is that the cool seating usually isn’t terribly comfortable. Still, both ships are great and easy to navigate.

Verdict: Tie

Stateroom

Both companies have similarly sized rooms. I will talk about the basic veranda rooms to as much as possible compare apples to apples. Both companies have good room layouts. Oceania gets the nod for more storage unless you’re on a newer Viking ship with drawers in the closet. Viking offers side chairs and a proper desk work surface with a chair. Oceania has a sofa but more of a vanity desk with a hassock-style seat that doesn’t work well for sitting and writing. Viking’s veranda chairs are curved and not comfortable – Oceania’s are padded and comfy. We thought Oceania’s bed was terrifically comfortable. Viking’s was a little hard for our taste but was improved when our cabin steward installed an egg-crate topper.  Here’s where the comparison really varies – the bathroom. Oceania has a tub – good if you want one. But that comes with a price. The vanity is small and the shower is smaller. If you’re over 6’2”, you’ll be bumping the rainhead shower with your head. If you’re wider, like me, you can’t turn around or bend over in the shower. Even worse, the toilet is wedged at an angle between the shower and the vanity. It was awful. I will never, ever, book this class of cabin on Oceania again. In contrast, Viking’s bathrooms are terrific. The shower, while not huge, is plenty big with ample room to effectively wash. The toilet has plenty of room. The vanity is generously sized. The floor is heated and the mirror is also heated and fog-free.

Verdict: Viking

Crew

Both cruise lines hire the best crew. I can say that with rare exceptions, every crew member we met on both sailings was terrific. There is a difference, though. We felt that on Oceania, while everyone was welcoming and friendly, we were just passengers. Other than a couple of bartenders, no one learned what we liked or wanted. Every day was a new day with requests for sodas and such. That is a direct contrast to Viking where after the second or third day on a ship, multiple crew members were calling us by name – and not just us – nearly everyone. They knew we wanted soda when we walked into the buffet. They knew what wine we wanted with dinner. It sounds like a little thing but we felt more like Garry & Arlona on Viking and more like Room 7014 on Oceania.

Verdict: Viking

Food

Our view of Viking food was definitely skewed by our world cruise and inaugural sailing on the expedition ship, Polaris. On both, they pulled out all the stops and it was amazing. On this last sailing, however, the fare was more typical Viking and that meant very good. The main restaurant, while slow for our preferred pacing, offers very good food. The buffet, we felt, was even better, offering most of the same choices as The Restaurant plus more and the ability to sample different things. The Italian restaurant, Manfredi’s is also very good with a nice menu. Chef’s Table offers fixed menu wine and food pairings and a menu that changes every three days. Mamsen’s offers lighter fare and late-night food. They also have a pool grill for dogs, burgers, fish, wings, and such. Viking offers two private dining rooms where you can seat ten and order from either specialty restaurant at no cost.

Oceania’s food was wonderful. The buffet always had a tasty fare of outstanding quality. It includes a grill station with lobster, steaks, and such for dinner and burgers, dogs, and more for lunch. The main restaurant was equally as good with decent meal pacing and great food. The larger ships like Riviera have four included specialty restaurants – The Polo Grill Steakhouse, Red Ginger Asian Fusion, Toscana Italian, and Jacques French. All four of them were absolutely fabulous. Impeccable service, amazingly delicious food, and great pacing – except for Toscana which was slow. Oceania bills itself as having the best food at sea and we’re having a hard time arguing with that. They also have a private dining room for up to ten where you can order from any restaurant, but they charge $300 for that privilege. Finally, they have the Waves grill near the pool for eggs and pastries for breakfast, burgers, dogs, sandwiches in the afternoon and dinner, and pizza at night.

Verdict: Oceania

Bars

Both companies offer several bars with different personalities. Viking includes beer and wine, coffee, tea, and soft drinks with lunch and dinner and unlimited bottled water. Oceania includes unlimited soft drinks and bottled water. 

Viking’s drink package, Silver Spirits, is around $25/day per person and updates your package to unlimited soft drinks and premium spirits, beer, and wine by the glass.

Oceania has two drink packages, House Select and Prestige.  House Select essentially mimics Viking's free offering with beer and wine with meals but also adds some cocktails with meals as well for $39.95/day per person. For $69.95/day per person, Prestige gives you unlimited beer, wine, and spirits at all venues, all day. Oceania’s selection of spirits absolutely blows Viking’s away with a much wider variety of choices. If you book your cruise with their Simply More plan, the House Select is included so the Prestige is an upgrade for $30/day per person.

Another difference is service style. If you’re on a package with Viking, they swipe your card on the first or second day and from then on, just a nod of the head gets you what you want. On Oceania, you have to get your card out for every single drink – another less personal touch in our opinion.

Summary: Viking – better bartenders, better pricing; Oceania – better liquor choices

Verdict: Viking

Technology

Let’s talk Internet. Viking’s sucks. But…Oceania makes Viking’s look stellar. Arlona couldn’t download a book on her Kindle at all on Oceania – even with their recent Starlink implementation. We couldn’t reach websites a lot. It was horrible. Plus, you’re limited to one device at a time per person. Finally, they charge you $9.90/day per person if you want to stream anything at all, even Snapchat or YouTube videos. Viking says they limit you to one device but we could connect more than one per person, and everything worked, eventually.

In 2023, all cruise lines have an app that you download on your mobile device. It typically can show you the ship layout, menus, daily schedules, and your account – typical stuff.  Viking has one and it mostly works, but needs a major overhaul. Even so, it is vastly superior to Oceania’s app because…they don’t have one! Seriously! That forced us to have to carry the printed Daily Currents around the ship if we wanted to know what was going on.

Verdict: Viking

Communication

Both basically suck. Period. Trying to get answers from their land-based operations is awful. Viking is better on-ship and will get you answers – Oceania, not so much.

Verdict Viking by a slim margin

Entertainment and activities

This really comes down to personal style. Viking is all about enrichment and lectures and offers shows and activities to appease people. Oceania has a lot of daily activities to get people exploring the ship and involved and talking with others. The nightly shows are similar on each with cruise ship singers. How you will like each really depends on you.

Verdict: Tie

Loyalty

This one is easy – Oceania. They have a loyalty program. It’s weird because you get one point per cruise for up to 24 days with more points for longer cruises. You need to be on Oceania for a ton of days before receiving any real benefits, but at least it’s there.

Viking offers nothing other than a very small discount for past cruisers. The fact that we’ve cruised 284 days on Viking has no impact on any future cruise. The benefits you get on this cruise are 100% based on the amount of money you are spending on this cruise.

Verdict: Oceania

All this comes down to this: gun to our head – we can only book one more cruise and it has to be Viking or Oceania. Which do we book? Unless there was a compelling itinerary on Oceania, it would be Viking. But for you - if you're all about the food - it's hard to beat Oceania.

So that’s it for this 105-day adventure. We have a Caribbean week on NCL coming up in February, Galapagos and Machu Pichu on Celebrity in June, our first Viking river cruise from Bucharest to Amsterdam in August, a bus tour of the American West, a circumnavigation of Africa late in 2024 into 2025 on Seaborn, and Viking again for Mumbai to Bangkok including the Taj Mahal and Angkor Wat later in 2025 all booked. 

Thanks for traveling along with us. I’ll be blogging again soon.