anthonyy7

Thanks, I ended up booking 3042 for Antarctica. We don't sail until Jan 2026

As of January, Hagia Sophia is now 25 euros to enter the upper level where you can look down. The main level is now off limits to visitors 24/7. You really miss alot here and I don't know if its worth the line and cost. Expect lines to get the tickets here and guides can't skip the lines here. I don't think guides are even allowed inside now and you need a scarf which they sell for 30TL. There will be people selling tickets to those in line at a slightly higher price if you don't want to wait in line. Make sure to note the prayer times for the Blue Mosque so you know when to go and the visitor entrance is not inside the courtyard but outside to the right as your facing the entrance. Cistern will have a long line as well unfortunately and this is really the only place where having a guide would help as they can skip the line. Istanbul is very walkable even without the tram. Make sure to leave plenty of time for the bazaar, its big and don't worry about getting lost. If you do just ask someone where the exit is or walk until you find the outer edge and follow it til you see exit.

We were in Istanbul recently and it was quite busy. Ticket prices are have gone up significantly and Hagia Sophia is no longer free as of January. It's €25 and you can only view from top level, the lower is now off limits. Topkapi use to have separate prices depending what you want to see now its all included in 1 larger price. You really don't need a guide for Istanbul, its easily walkable and easy to locate things.

I used welcome pickups in Feb to/from the airport and highly recommend. Make sure to have Whatsapp on your phone so you can text with your driver. It takes about 45-1 hour with no traffic to reach the airport. Once you reach the airport you'll go through security immediately prior to the check in desks. After check in you head to immigration and then security again. If your flying to the US direct from Istanbul, expect another security check at the gate ie. full pat down and all your bags looked through. The new airport is very nice but very large.

Thanks I just booked 3042

I'm trying to figure out if I should pay extra $$ to move up a category and be closer midship. Cabin 3020 or 3042. Would there be a big difference if there were rough seas between the two?

Thank you for the info on cabin 3042. I was more worried about the elevator noise than the shop with limited hours. I'm thinking about choosing that for our Antarctica sailing vs 3020 just to be closer to midship but I don't know if there will be much difference in movement to justify the extra category cost.

We recently sailed Red Wing to New Orleans on Viking (Oct 14-28). First the Starlink Wifi was always a constant 150M download no matter where we were at or time of day. Kudos to them for fast reliable Wifi. I have 2 hotpots, ATT and Tmobile and used both heavily while in each port. Both ATT and Tmobile worked fine while in port and a little bit after sail away depending if its a big metro area or not. Not as fast as the ship Wifi but for work purposes I needed a secure connection. I think I avg 5M-30M depending on the port. In the end it all worked out beautifully since it was a working vacation with amazing scenery! The room had a phone and you could make calls on that if you needed a voice line.

How is the internet onboard and the cell service along the Mississippi?

Just back from Bordeaux with Uniworld.... beautiful ship and nice itinerary. I think I love Bordeaux more than Paris now 🙂