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On our recent TA, Ft. Lauderdale-Barcelona-Rome, we had the opportunity to have a "Provisioning" tour. We were taken through the stores areas (definitely not passenger areas on decks below A), dry, fresh cooled, frozen, prep, etc. There was even a special chilled area for flowers and arrangements. Conducted by a combination of the Hotel Manager and the Provisioning Manager. Spoke to details of logistics of getting supplied to the ship, where the various commodities came from, etc. It was very interesting to see how the stores are handled and thawed for the kitchens. We did not go to the more mundane stores like toilet paper, etc. but would have liked to have seen that as well. Also did a bridge tour that was conducted personally by the Captain. It was extensive and lasted about an hour and a quarter or more. After a detailed tour of the bridge proper, he took us into his "situation room" where we gathered around a large conference table with work stations. He was at the head of the table with a podium touch screen. He proceeded to walk us through various emergencies that his screen was displayed on a huge flat screen opposite of him. He showed how he could drill down to an individual cabin and monitor the temperature, temperature trends, humidity in any individual cabin along with pulling up live video from anywhere on the ship. He was very engaging with us and entertained any and all questions. Very informative! One thing I found interesting and made perfect sense, in the case of fire in an area, the area is sealed off in the corridors and the pax are evacuated to a clear area via the verandas by opening the partitions and moving the pax down until they can exit through a cabin in a clear area. He also got into some very interesting discussion of how decisions were made for fresh water on board (generate at sea vs. taking on potable water in port) and many other topics.

I assume Octantis is identical to Polaris which I sailed in 2023. The smoking area is very nice. It is located on deck 6 starboard aft. It has nice seating and is covered and has good wind protection from forward, aft and starboard sides. I sailed in summer on the Great Lakes, so heat was not an issue, but I seem to recall a radiant heater mounted on the bulkhead above the seating area. It is far nicer than the smoking areas on the Ocean ships, especially the older ships. Sorry, I don't have a photo.

Thanks, I am aware of Flybus and was planning to use them if I can't get SS transfer. My question still remains, can I expect to be able to obtain a SS transfer under my circumstances. This is an expedition cruise so there are only limited ways to use OBC (La Dame, laundry, spa, boutique, etc.) I have $1200 in OBC and would like to use it all. Edit, we have been to KEF before and are aware of its location, etc.

I have a D2D cruise coming up and have my own air and therefore do not get the airport to hotel transfer included. My flight gets in at a time Silversea will be greeting passengers with included transfers. Will it be possible to purchase the transfer at the airport on arrival? I have a "boatload" of OBC and this would be an ideal way to use some of it. The flight is into KEF and private transfers to the city can be pricey.

Just back from TA Ft. Lauderdale to Rome on Mars. I met several couples on their first trip to Europe and didn't realize that many/most places that you want to use plastic require a PIN. They had never heard of a credit card having a pin and were having significant inconveniences on shore. Make sure you know your PIN or set up a PIN for any cards you plan to use in Europe.

More complex answer, sort of. There is a heavy felt tote in the cabin that various Viking magazines are in. It is not complementary and stays with the cabin. It can be used while on board. We frequently use ours to take clothes to and from the laundry. If you do take it, you will be charged for it. The price is shown on the price list for items in the cabin if you take them.

Doesn't address the OPs question, but as info for others, the binoculars on the expedition ships seem to be of a decent quality.

If Tillan, Estonia was eliminated, that is a real shame. A beautiful city that still holds its medieval charms. The tour was very good, and the city is memorable.

We really enjoyed the included walking tours in Talin and Stavanger.

I have experienced the same, better to start it and have minimal response, than to not and have none.

The Restaurant is smaller on the Expedition ships and the WC is much larger (we never had any issue finding a nice table for breakfast, lunch or dinner) and has a much wider selection and cooked to order items at the Grill within the WC, including steaks, lobster tails, etc. Our experience was after placing your order at the grill, a server would ask where we were sitting and would deliver our food to the table. We found the WC to be a very good dining experience despite our usual preference for a table service venue. There is also a dedicated cold seafood area with a great selection of crab legs, shrimp, mussels, etc. and a large made to order sushi area. We had no problems getting reservations at the Restaurant or Manfredi's on any evening we wanted, at times as late as 5:00pm the day of. After the first day or so, I noticed that pax were gravitating to the WC due to the flexibility, quality and selection. There is Manfredi's on the Expedition ships, just no Chef's table.

As referenced above, and to clarify, only EXPEDITION ships require reservations in the restaurant.

The view count on threads is not updating. Probably linked to lack of notifications.

Blue lagoon is nice. Hard to believe they have built such a successful tourist destination from the effluent of a geothermal plant. Yes, the Blue Lagoon is the "waste water" from a geothermal plant.

The Viking Homelands itinerary is very port intensive and to be honest, you probably won't spend a lot of time in your cabin. We were on port side and had no issues with it. Most of the time while sailing, we were either sleeping, eating or enjoying the public areas of the ship. I don't believe you can go wrong with either side. As for viewing the fjords, most of the transits of the fjords was done in the dark.