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Thanks for the info on setting up a Meet & Mingle. Also Bcorre2 please post to good and bad of any excursions. We will be taking this in Sept. Glad we are flying in early to Duluth. Our flight into Duluth changed from a 3 PM arrival to a 6 PM arrival.. Will drop off luggage as soon as possible on Sept 12, then go to museum or the aquarium.

Thank you for posting about the above tours. Think we will pass on the wine/beer/cheese tour. We do not like sweet wines nor flavored beers. Maybe we will pass a quick store selling some local beers or cheeses.

Does Viking host Meet & Mingle on the Polaris? We will be sailing on the Sept 12, 2023 Duluth to Toronto cruise. Flying into Duluth on Sept 11. Glad we are flying in 1 day early, Our flight was changed and now arrives in Duluth at 6:30 pm.

ropomo, Thanks for the info on the World Cafe. Please post about the excursions. The Pros and Cons for the shore trips. We are looking forward to our Sept 12, 2023 cruise Duluth to Toronto.

Thank you for the info on the Dining Room size. We are on the Great Lakes cruise. Most of the days the ship will leave port by pm. We will probably eat most of the dinners in the Dining Room. I really enjoy having the evening meal served.

We are scheduled for the Great Lakes Duluth to Toronto beginning Sept 12, 2023. MVJ shows we may book Manfredi's and The Restaurant. How small is The Restaurant. How many people can it seat? Are we still having to make a reservation to dine in The Restaurant? Thank for any info on the dining on Polaris.

Would love a Sea of Cotez and Mexico. Also Overnight in San Fran, LA and San Diego. Looked at Viking Hawaii but too many days at sea with no overnights in Hawaii. It would be nice if Viking reduces the sea days and added some overnights in Hawaii ports.

I agree with DrHemlock. Use your travel ATM card 2 to 3 weeks before you travel. This will insure that the card is working. Also inform the card issuer for when and where you are traveling. We have a Travel checking account. MDH and I each have a debit card with different numbers.

Most transfers to the hotel after a cruise is between 8:30- 9:00 AM. Usually check in at the hotels is between 1-3 pm. I would suggest that you purchase your Westminster Abbey tour for the afternoon. The morning can be very crowded with both school groups and other tour groups in Westminster Abbey. Have a wonderful cruise and stay in London.

You should be able to find excursions in MVJ (My Viking Journey). You should be able to review the excursions that may be offered. We did this cruise in Feb 2023. One of the highlights was the pre-tour going to Iguazu Falls and our Falklands Island Bluff Cove Penguin trip. Bluff Cove has King and Gentoo Penguins.We lucked out with mild breezes, calm seas, mid 50's temp and BLUE SKY. Out flight from Santiago was 11:10 pm. Viking was able to set up a Santiago bus tour with stop at a Artist shop village. Then we went to the Marriott where Viking had a ballroom reserved with snacks, water & coffee. Also a place to storage carryon luggage. Checked luggage went directly from the ship to the airport. We did not receive info on the transfer/tour until day 3 on the cruise. I could not get any info on the transfer/tour from Viking before the cruise. Enjoy to cruise

Agree we do like the small bars at the sink. The small bars do last for 2 weeks.

I usually do our air and not use Viking. We are booked on the Great Lakes Duluth to Toronto for Sept 2023. It included "free air" We had Delta vouchers (from changes and cancelled flights during Covid shut down) that were close to use or lose the vouchers. I booked Atlanta to Minneapolis to Duluth. Depart ATL about 11:45 am. Arrive in Duluth at 4:30 pm on same day. Depart Toronto non stop to Atlanta at 11:50 AM on the day we depart ship. Viking sent us a schedule: Depart Atlanta at 6:46 PM day before we board the ship. Fly to LAX with 4 2/1 hour layover. Depart LAX at 12:20 AM to Minneapolis with 2 1/2 layover. Depart MSP at 9 AM to arrive in Duluth at 10:30am. Depart Toronto at about 7 AM to ATL.

We carry a plastic soap dish and a small plastic bin both with suction cups for the shower. It allows us to keep my hair shampoo & conditioner and a razor in the shower. My husband also prefers a real bar of soap. Have a soap dish in the shower is a must for us. We also use command hooks in the cabin.

We use WhatsApp when traveling overseas. Make sure you invite people to join you on WhatsApp before you leave. We find it to be very fast for text and voice calls. We also used it to sent some pics to family. We keep phones in Airplane mode. Usually no problem when off the ship conneting to WiFi. Most of the tour buses have had wifi. I have successfully connected with WhatsApp to send text & pics while on tour bus.

If you have any mobility issues use the mobility transport services. In 2006 we went to Germany for my husband's back-surgery. Mobility services got us through the airport in record quick time..The wheelchair attendant knew how to get us pass the waiting crowds. Also I would request mobility services in Amsterdam when departing Bergen with an Amsterdam connection. It is a very long walk from arrivals from Bergen to the international departure gates. Also you must go through passport control.

We did the South American cruise in Feb 2023. Our flight from Santiago was 11:10 pm. We did not use Viking Air but purchased transfers for $59 per person. I could not find out any information about arrangements for late night flights. When we were on board Viking told us that they were working to arrange something for late night flights. On day 3 of the cruise, we received a notice on the arrangements. Viking had a tour of Santiago City with a visit to an Artist sales village. All items were made by Chilean artist such as jewelry, knit and leather goods, painting, etc. We departed the ship about 9 AM. Drive to Santiago was about 1 1/2 hours. We arrived at the Marriott about 2 pm. There was a ball room for Viking guest with pastries, water, tea, coffee. Marriott was selling hot sandwichs with chips and 1 bottle of cold water. Also there was a Marriott restaurant that some people. Also Viking had a luggage hold area in the room. We departed the hotel about 7:30 pm. When we arrived at the airport all luggage was in a holding area with luggage carts. We had made a reservation at the airport hotel. We cancelled the hotel reservation, Holiday Inn Express. We could not get into the room until 3 pm without paying another $225. Decided that $500 to use a room for 5 hours was more than we were willing to pay. Viking did a very good job making arrangements for all of the guest on the late night flights.

Because of our age, O Cruise insurance is cheaper than purchasing through others. When we were younger, we purchased insurance with a 3rd party. Often it was better coverage at a lower price. Also we could cover pre or post tour stays and air flights in 1 insurance policy. Just need to double check what is being quoted. Without my questions about price and what was covered, I would not have all of my trip covered. That could result in problems if I needed to file a claim for cancellation

Thanks for the help. I will let Viking take my picture at the port and my Credit card will be scanned at the port. Viking has my Passport info and other personnel info.

Had TA go back to O. "Yes" I was correct that the addition of the O pre-tour does increase the cost of the insurance. I am being quoted the increased price for the insurance. I want to see an invoice showing Cruise, pre-tour and the insurance before I make a deposit. Next time I may very well just book directly and skip the TA.

We are adding a pre-tour to an O booking. The TA is quoting the same cost for O trip insurance with or without the added O Pre-tour. She states that is the quoted price from O. This does not seem correct to me.

I went to MVJ and my cruise. I could not find a link for Comfort Check-in. Where did Viking hide the Comfort Check-in?

Talk with the Chef about your dietary needs. I seem to remember seeing 1 or 2 options for low/no sugar options.

Thanks to all, especially WNCruiser. This is a very nice update from my last Jupiter cruise.

We will soon be on the Viking Jupiter. Are there USB charging ports on both sides of the bed? 110V Electrical outlets by the bed?

To Request a transfer: click on the Air Transfer hot link (Air Transfer Request) on the Air page in MVJ. You fill out the form and then must email or fax an image of the completed form. We always do our own air (I refuse to have 2 layover and plane changes from Atlanta to Europe.) One connection a cruiseline gave me was ATL to MSP to JFK to Paris. You can request Transfer for arrival or for departure. We usually arrive 1 or 2 days early so we only book the transfer for departure from the ship. Cost has be $49 or $59 per person.