MSEm

Thanks for the replies.  Think we will look at doing a Wine Tour transfer from Ship to Airport.

I will contact tour company after Jan1.

We have used the complementary laundry.  I would fix the laundry before going to bed or before we left for breakfast. Our cabin steward would turn in our laundry. Many time laundry was returned late afternoon or early evening. items were folded or on a hanger. If we were not in the cabin, folded laundry was placed on the bed and hanging items were in the closet.

One of the perks we really used. 

We will have an 11 PM flight out of Santiago, Chile on Feb 24.  Any suggestions for a good tour/transfer from Ship to airport.  I really do not want to be waiting in the airport for 12-14 hours.

Thanks for all the great info.

Thanks to all for the replies, especially UWDawg for all the pics and menus.

I will have several menus to help with making CT reservations  Can you still make your reservation with the Viking phone app or on the TV screen when you board the ship?

Thanks again for all the answers

Looking forward to our Feb 2023 South American cruise.

I am looking for a recent listing of the Chef's Table dinner menu.

I know the menu changes every 2 to 3 nights but trying to learn which menus are offered on the different nights.

Thanks for any help on the current listed menus.

We were booked on New Zealand to Sydney in March 2020.  We flew in early to New Zealand for 3 nights. Stayed at the Hilton. At that time you could walk out of the Hilton "back doors" to the Viking Ship.

We did 2 days for touring in the Auckland area. It gave us time to adjust to the time change and to enjoy the Auckland area.

Unfortunately are cruise was stopped by Covid. We docked at Melbourne and were allowed to bus directly from the ship to airport to fly home. Viking did an excellent job getting everyone home.

We are planning on Sydney to Bali in Feb/March 2024. We plan to fly into Melbourne before going to Sydney for the cruise.

You need to look if a cancellation or delay refund is by (A) Future Cruise Credit or (B) cash.

The type of refund may be what is causing the problem.

I used to also purchase a non cruise insurance, but insurance cost is linked to age.

For a recent cruise I  priced an independent insurance to the cost of Viking's.  The cost of the independent insurance was $2000 more than the cost of Viking group insurance.

Also the coverage you receive for purchasing insurance when making the cruise deposit covers more that insurance purchased with final payment or just before travel.

Just a few things to check when purchasing cruise insurance. 

If you book your air separately but also book Viking Transfer to/from airport and ship YOU must complete your flight arrival form.  That form list your name, ship, and flight arrival info.  That form gets you on the  Viking Airport greeter list of guest to get transferred from the airport to the ship or hotel.

johneb2

Great questions and also great answers.  We will be on the same cruise, Feb 7, 2022. Had original booked for Feb 2021, but cruise was canceled.

Looking forward to meeting on board.

The pool side grill may also be open during  lunch.  You may also order from the room service menu. On our last cruise it was after 3 pm before we were able to board.  The Buffet was closed but the grill was open. We ordered 1 sandwich and a large salad and 1 soup to split. Room service arrived within 15 minutes

I suggest that you talk with your Doctor about your upcoming trip.  Several times my Dr prescribed antibiotics to be filled and carried with us on the trip. The Dr gave us instructions on when and how to  take the medicine..  We also reviewed our vaccinations. Dr wanted to be sure that we were up to date on all vaccinations, such as tetanus, pneumonia and other vaccinations.

On our British Isle cruise we departed Bergen at 6 AM on Delta. We did the "Be in the Living Room by 2 AM. There were 4 or 5 tour buses of passengers from our ship to the airport for the 6 AM flight.

No Delta check-in personnel arrived until 5:30 am. The pilot announced that our departure would be delayed until all passengers were checked-in, cleared customs and were on board the plane. Our flights was delayed about 25 minutes waiting for guest to board the plane.

Also make sure you have at least 2 1/2 hours for any connecting flights from Amsterdam. It's a very big airport with lots of walking. You will also have to clear custom before going to your connecting flight.

Our Trades Routes cruise ended in Berge.  We had booked our own flights. ATL is our home airport. We were booked on a Delta flight that departed about 10:30 am. We purchased Viking transfer to the airport.

Luggage was taken from the hall way. We had to identify our luggage for it to be put on the bus.

At the airport luggage was taken off the bus.  Porters were available to get luggage into the airport.

We departed the ship about 2 hours before our flight departure time.

We also will purchase wine and/or local beer when in port. Purchasing local wine and beers allows us to enjoy very local wines and beers that are not on the beverage list. Viking allows guest to bring beverages on board to be consumed. We enjoy purchasing a local wine or beer to enjoy during the afternoon and evening.

Also each person in a cabin must purchase the SSBP. We find that it is cheaper for us to purchase a glass or wine or beer from the menu than to cost of the SSBP.

Also you can bring any beverages on board to consume while sailing. We often will purchase wine or beer when in ports to enjoy at dinner or in the afternoon while cruising.

Remember that both persons in a cabin must purchase the SSBP.  We do not purchase the SSBP. We have found that it is cheaper for us to order wine or beer from the menu if we want a non-included wine or beer.   If you are drinking several mixed drinks each afternoon or evening then it may be better to purchase the SSBP.

Late summer and fall is hurricane season. If you are cruising in the Caribbean or Atlantic you may have rough seas and miss ports because of storms.

Contact Guest Services on board. They will be able to help you. 

Do not try to complete before you leave home.

Have a great trip.

I always carry my favorite dryer sheets for the dryer. Bring your own, dryer sheets are Not supplied on the ship.

W@e did this cruise in April 2022 and enjoyed our prestay in Madrid. The included tour highlight for us was the Museum tour. Our guide was a history/art major. She was very informative on the time period a painting was painted. She also told us would to look for in the paintings by the many different artist.

One advantage of our April 2022 cruise was the lack o crowds.

Train trip from Madrid to Barcelona:

We were bused to the train station and when to the VIP waiting room. There were snacks and drinks available. The Train trip was in first class which included a hot breakfast for us.

The only major problem was our 2 buses from the train and 3 other full buses arrived at the same time to the ship. We all had to take a covid test before getting on the ship. We had taken a covid test before we left the hotel but we all had to take another covid test before getting on the ship.

When we finally got on the ship;2 1/2 hours after arriving at the port, the only place to get something to eat was the pool grill.  We ordered room service which was delivered within 1 minutes.

Our cabin steward was at our cabin within 5 minutes thanked us for taking the cruise so that he did not get layed off.

Enjoy your cruise.

Can you use Luggage Forward for shipping luggage to the ship and not shipping luggage home?  We will be on a 5 day pre-tour before boarding the ship in Feb 2023. It would be very nice not to have extra luggage on the pre-tour.

True my inovice  and MVJ both showed the date that shore excursions would be available for me to book.  I checked 3-4 times a day for the next six weeks and excursions were NOT open to book. When excursions did open, it was after 6 pm and before 10 pm 6 weeks late.. I checked every day at 8am, noon, 6 pm, and 10 pm.

When I checked at 10 pm 6 weeks after my "booking" date 1/2 of the excursions were filled.

To philw1776

We agree with you on being "shut out" of booking shore excursioins.  We were in a PS suite. At 6 pm 2

6 weeks after excursiond were to "open" we were shut out of excursions.  I had check at 6 pm, and bookings were not open.  At 10 pm about 1/2 of the excursions we wanted to book were filled. No email or text from Viking that the shore excursions were opening.

from CruiseCritic Reviews:

"Viking Cruises' latest oceangoing ship, Viking Neptune, will make a splash when it enters service in December 2022"

From the above, the Viking Neptune is scheduled to enter service in December 2022.

Hopefully it will be ready for December 2022.

We will be on this cruise in Feb 2023.  How cold will it be in Patagonia?  Will i need a heavy coast?

Thinking we will send some suitcases by a forwarding service to avoid hauling clothes not need for our trip to the falls at the beginning of the trip.

Also any other good info for this cruise?

Thanks to all,