OneSixtyToOne

I have a feeling this is the quid pro quo that the cruise lines have negotiated with the government to allow them to dock. The rug shops that Viking visits are subsidized by the government.

We book just to have a time slot then onboard review the menus and change accordingly. We always get our preferred menu.

The Polaris is an expedition ship and the “entertainment” revolved around science and nature lectures, movies, and some sort of one person show by the cruise director. I throughly enjoyed it as opposed to the typical ocean cruise with less than stellar Broadway productions and C level comics. It’s Torstein’s vision of a thinking man’s cruise and I’m onboard with it.

If traveling in the EU you’ll get an entry stamp and an exit stamp, even then some entry is automated and there are no longer stamps. Also our last time entering the UK it was automated and there were no stamps.

Last summer we took the London Walks tour of the British Museum. We had visited before but the tour guide really did a great job showing us the highlights and telling marvelous stories about the museum itself that I never knew. We’ve taken at least 10 of their tours over many visits and we highly recommend them.

Chile required everyone to go through agricultural inspection when leaving the ship. if you ever drive cross country into California they do the same. It’s to protect the agriculture industry from invasive insects.

Agree. Specially restaurants are overrated. We tend to dine at the World Cafe. With port talks, enrichment lectures, trivia, shows, etc. we prefer to be on our own schedule, not at the mercy of the waitstaff servicing us in a timely manner. On our expedition cruise we cancelled both night’s advanced reservations because the World Cafe was the best food we have had at sea.

For what it’s worth every time we pre-booked dining reservations they have ALWAYS opened early. I think there is something wrong with how they are calculating times (daylight savings vs non-daylight saving, GMT, or something else.) On the other hand, I have found that excursions always open exactly on time. There is a disconnect somewhere, possible because dining is directly hooked into the ship’s reservation system? The ship’s system and the website system don’t always sych up. Once we boarded and they had no record of our reservations. I was told there are issues between them. Always check your reservations when you board.

I don’t believe Warren Buffett has ever invested in an IPO. He looks for a proven track record for a company and buys when he considers it undervalued and always holds it for the long term. Here is his view of IPOs: “They found that the two-thirds of the companies failed to generate sufficient earnings to justify day one stock price.” https://acquirersmultiple.com/2023/08/warren-buffett-why-ipos-can-be-painful-for-investors/

IMO off season Mediterranean is the perfect time to go and these deals are really good. Temperatures in the high 50s low 60s are ideal for excursions. We took the Journey to Antiquities last Jan-Feb any absolutely loved it. Our tour guide in Athens explained how in the summer you can’t stay on the Acropolis for more than a few minutes. We had a few days of rain but we dealt with it. It was much better than dealing with 90-100 degree heat without shade. In some ports we were the only ship docking. Minimal crowds are a big plus in my book.

In general, no. They are always exceptions. However you must reserve your included excursions in advance. You can't just expect to arrive on the ship on the first day and get a seat. Viking needs to schedule the resources needed to handle everyone who signed up. I've read on other websites that some people didn't know they needed to reserve their included excursions and complained when there wasn't room.

I wrote this in another thread. Viking is Norwegian flagged and Norway / EU does have the equivalent of the ADA. If a ship docks in US waters, it must comply. There is however a broad exemption that anything that interferes with ship safety is exempt.

A good 2nd day

We visited Monet’s garden on a Viking River cruise and arrived right at opening. We had a great guide and she took us right to the pond before anyone else arrived.

It appears that presently the discount is “baked in” the price. If you go to the website the “Spring Sale” with “reduced air” banner appears without any promo code. This late in the year additional 2024 discounts seem unlikely unless some sailings are undersold.