2cruisecats

SYDNEY Tour Options We were in Sydney 3 days on our own so covered a lot of the sites. A tour of the Sydney Opera was one of our "must do's". Easy to book on your own but I think Viking also offers it as an excursion. There are stairs & more stairs but the Opera guide will direct you to elevator if needed. After the Opera House tour, have a nice lunch or drink on the patio and watch the ships. Then tour the botanical gardens "next door". That whole area is very nice. We sat in the garden & watched the first sail in of a Virgin ship. (Helicopters were flying with it to film the sail in and then the ship got grounded in the harbour!) They got to dock at The Rocks while the Viking ship was in an industrial area. Viking did provided a shuttle. The Rocks is another great place to tour, esp on a weekend with the local artisans market. The larger cruise ships tend to dock here. First full day on board I booked a massage and then added myself to the Included Panoramic Sydney tour that afternoon. It did go out of the city centre to a couple of good lookout spots and then on to Bondi Beach. Take it if you want to see Bondi Beach. Otherwise I'm sure there are better excursions. My DH did the full day optional Blue Mountain excursion which he said was great.

You could probably get assistance from them on yourAustralia post-cruise too. We met a couple from Nova Scotia (actually, my University town!) at the Clay Cliffs in NZ who were doing a 5 week Australia/New Zealand Tour arranged by our First Light advisor! They said they really enjoyed Tasmania and recommended spending a few days there.

Melbourne, Laneways & Alleys -- Not a Viking excursion as it was sold out, so we did it on our own with a little help from CC Australian contacts. Starts about a 10 minute walk from shuttle drop off point (Melbourne Skydeck?). We had a great time following the map checking out the interesting sights (yes, do walk to the end of the Alleys. Great graffiti and mini gardens.). Took a ton of pix, stopped for lunch and wandered some more before a final coffee stop next to a great chocolate shop.Lots of people watching that day. Aussies love coffee & chocolate. So many interesting little shops and sights. Or if you want to visit the botanical gardens, it's about a 20 minute walk form the drop-off. (Using our phone for direction assist did help on this tour.) walk-arcades-lanes.pdf (melbourne.vic.gov.au) Melbourne city street art and graffiti tour - Walking Maps

Yes, we used First Light Travel. They focus on Australia, New Zealand and nearby Islands. Our contact was Danielle. Fantastic to deal with. We will be using this company again when we head back to Australia/NZ. We liked that they listen to what you want and not just "here's the top 10 things you must do in ..." unlike the first company we tried for our upcoming Iceland trip. Enjoy your time down under. If you want anymore info, let me know .... Linda (Check out their FB page. Lots of reviews & pix. We submitted a review in January for the NZ portion of our trip)

BritoMart was a great location. We had several v good meals in nearby restaurants. Did you eat at Ghost Street (off hotel alley & Asian Fusion) ? $40 for a transfer from Chateau Frontenac to the ship? Heck, if it wasn't for luggage & all those steps you could walk it. Quebec City is a fav place. We got stranded there a number of times during winter storms when we were driving from Ottawa home to the Maritimes for Christmas. It is so pretty in the winter. We too tend to do our own pre & post cruise arrangements, book our own trains in Norway and stay in a different hotel than is being used by the cruise line. It does take a bit more effort. We just finalized our Iceland pre-cruise -- 2 weeks in the Westfjords. Now, when we do our Expedition trip next year, we'll let Viking do those arrangements!

Yes, a self pre-cruise in Auckland is quite easy to do and a great way to get over that long flight. Highly recommend it. In November we did 3 weeks pre-cruise in NZ/AUstralia, starting with a few days in Auckland. We stayed at the Britomart, a v short walk to where the cruise ships dock & the ferry terminal. We wandered the city & discovered the Art Gallery -- a great place to visit on a rainy day. Next day we "hiked" out to the War Memorial Museum. Great exhibit on NZ history and the surrounding park is lovely. The Museum is built on a dormant volcano. Another day we booked a wine tour on Waiheke Island. We took the ferry (about a 10 minute walk from our hotel) and were picked up on arrival by our guide -- 8 of us in a min-van. We enjoyed the Island so much & plan to stay there for a few days when we head back to NZ in a few years. (Auckland seemed about a year behind us in Covid recovery. ) We then flew to Nelson on the South Island where we picked up a car for 2 weeks. We ended in Christchurch and flew to Sydney for a few days before starting our cruise. (Interesting note - everyday we were in Auckland we had rain at some point. Coming back from a beautiful sunny day on Waiheke Island we sailed into the Auckland rain. Crazy. Our time in NZ South Island was arranged with the help of a great NZ travel group.)

I think we'd all be very interested in hearing your thoughts on Explora and Scenic Ocean after your travels. We've an Ocean and 2 Expeditions booked but always interested in other options.

Two cruises ago, a gentleman sat beside us and I started coughing. He said I should be isolating. I should have told him to go and shower off his cologne. Instead, I had my dh run to the cabin for my inhaler as a gasped and hacked and headed to the washroom. Our kind waiter moved us & food & drink to another table away from the sickening smell. I don't think the guy even realized the problem. I now carry the inhaler with me on board. I do have a fear that some day a cologne or perfume will kill me.

As suggested, I also posted on the Viking Forum .... There is also another post on this Forum that I just saw -- same question. There doesn't seem to be a lot of info on the excursion but most agree it is demanding. and then there is this thread

Thank You! Great info. We have until April 4th to decide. Yes, I've left this investigation a little late as we've been focusing on the 10 day self-drive tour of the Westfjords we're dong ahead of the cruise. Email coming -- love to see your pix.

Here's the description provided for the tour -- " scenic drive to the Dimmuborgir lava fields, known for their dramatic rock formations, with some reaching up to 65 feet high. Continue to Dettifoss, Europe’s most powerful waterfall, and admire its cascade of water as it tumbles into the Jökulsárgljúfur. At the Hljóðaklettar—or Whispering Cliffs—marvel at the craters and basalt columns, formed by the flood waves of the Vatnajökull ice cap. After a delicious two-course lunch, head to Húsavík on the shores of Skjálfandi."

The Diamond Circle excursion (Viking - Iceland’s Natural Beauty cruise) is listed as a full day and a demanding excursion. From the description, it seems more moderate? If you have done this excursion, did you find it demanding? And, if demanding, what made it demanding — length of walking or difficult terrain or ..? Trying to decide between Diamond Circle (preferred) and Northern Iceland’s Natural Treasures, another full day excursion but listed as moderate.

Iceland’s Natural Beauty Cruise - In Akureyri, The Diamond Circle excursion is listed as a full day and a demanding excursion. From the description, it seems more moderate? If you have done this excursion, did you find it demanding? And, if demanding, what made it demanding — length of walking or difficult terrain or ..? Trying to decide between Diamond Circle (preferred) and Northern Iceland’s Natural Treasures, another full day excursion but listed as moderate.

The word MODIFY is very important! We recently modified our Far Eastern Horizons booking into an Expedition booking. Same booking number & did not lose any of the onboard discounts/advantages. Logged into my MVJ a few days later and the change already made to our account.

My DH and I can't agree on a favourite cruise with Viking. His choice is Homelands, our first Viking cruise. When we did this cruise, it still included St Petersburg which was a great memory for me, being able to compare it to a student trip in the 70s. My favourite would be In The Wake of The Vikings. Yes, crossing the North Atlantic in the fall can mean missed ports and rough seas. We missed Shetlands and one Greenland stop but the captain made up for that day with a great fjord cruise to a fab glacier. The Faroes was a wonderful. L'Anse aux Meadows was a rough tender ride but we made it! (Friends who did this on Princess warned us that NFLD was often skipped.) One we can both agree on -- Into the Midnight Sun. Fabulous cruise but missed the Shetlands on this one too. And if you are looking for a river cruise, check out the Grand European. (But take some time in Prague and Budapest too).