Ukalady

I've done one riverboat cruise (I know, it doesn't really count, right?) and one 15-day ocean cruise. Both were on Viking. Both had at least one free excursion at each port, both had wine with lunch and dinner at no extra cost, custom coffee specialty drinks at no cost, we had full run at any restaurant on the ship (two specialty restaurants required reservations--but there was no cost for any dining at them). Both had free wifi. On the Viking Star, there was *full* access to the ThermalSuite (snow room, sauna, Japanese soaking tub, specialty pool, steam room, etc.) with no requirement of having to have a spa appointment/treatment. And yes, I *loved* that thermal suite!

I'm investigating last-minute trips for this year (like Celebrity and Princess) and guess my previous experience must have been atypical of most lines, huh? It seems as if you get free ship tap water or iced tea only unless you buy a classic or premium drink package. Am I correct? And I can't figure out how to determine if there's free access to any of the spa suites without buying a spa service. Do any lines have such a thing?

I'm guessing you get what you pay for, but I want to figure out, if I choose a "less expensive" line, how to be able to know what's included. Can you help me?

--Is dining throughout a ship typically free or do I need to check each line. What language would I look for to be able to determine that?

--Same question for access to spa areas? And, yes, I've seen that some lines seem to have a spa access package, similar to a drink package... But are there any lines where anyone is welcome to the spa thermal suite areas?

--Are *any* excursions typically free? I can't find mention of excursion costs on cruise line sites. Maybe that doesn't show up until you book a cruise? If you choose no ship-arranged excursions, do you always end up in the last group for tendering, if tendering is required at that port?

--Wifi is needed for us--not to stream movies or music but because we're self-employed and need to be able to stay in touch with the office and send files back to employees. How do I find out the cost and speed/data limits of wifi programs on each line so I can compare and find out if the data plan is a necessity for us?

Thanks for any guidance. I look forward to trying a non-top-of-the-line cruise company (like those last-minute offerings at any lines), but I'm not quite sure how to figure out what's included and what is not.

Okay, after my "everything is quiet," forum entry, I have to get back to you all with an update:

The pool area started playing loud, brassy music two days' ago. I was on one of the sea-facing lounges from 1 to 5 pm and the music coming from behind me was overly loud and very noticeable. Another passenger noted that, "the music has changed today." It did. I don't like it this way...I guess I could complain but I've found that lounge is too conducive to gazing and then falling into a nap, not writing on my iPad on my lap--so I've moved my writing station to the second floor Atrium with full-height tables.

Besides at this location, Ivana brings me hot mochas...but I *did* like the lemonade which Endy brought me in the pool area. Hmmm...good thing this is a ship with lots of choices.

...Back to writing up Helsinki....or maybe heading to the Thermal Suite for a quick steam room/snow grotto back-and-forth before getting ready for dinner at The Chef's Table. Just a tough life, you know ;)

Currently on board. We've used the Deck 1 exit for all but one port, and that was Deck 2.

Wifi is definitely slower than I have at home, but maybe home is just uber fast...I especially notice a "lag" of 30 to 40 seconds when texting (no audio, no video); time of day doesn't seem to matter (I've been working via wifi as "early" as 5 am local time and as "late" as 2 am local). TIP: Definitely do not attempt to email or text photos in full resolution; use an app that sizes images down first and then send them or you'll clog up your sending for a long, long time and your message may still end up undelivered.

St. Petersburg--I'll "push" my own favorite, but it's the only one I've used so YMMV: Anastasia Travel. We booked/paid in February for our two-day tour which we enjoyed a couple of days' back. It was a private tour with just Mom and I, our guide (same both days) and our driver (same both days). Not only did we get to see the "usual" stuff, but Anna took us to places that were really special (like a "working" Orthodox church during a service, with full explanations of what was happening and the significance) and we were driven right up to the front of every site we visited and skipped to the front of ticket lines. The best part was getting to talk one-on-one with a Russian resident to better understand their lives and culture. Super--and at $305/person for a private tour for two days, it was *less* than any of the similar group tours.

TV: I can't speak to it; haven't watched it at all.

Excursion experience: Still rocky for the first few days of this cruise. We signed up on MyVikingJourney for the earliest of the tour times for the included tours and yet our tickets arrive the night before and often reflect a later tour. Easily rectified at Explorer's Desk or, if you want to, just exit with the earlier tour group and get on the bus with them; the guide doesn't look at your specific tour time assignment letter code, just the name of the tour.

I'm blogging this trip with lots of details (wait until you see our tips for redecorating your stateroom!) but I'm also *living* this trip so the posting days are a few behind (I'm just doing Helsinki's report today). If you have any questions and you're on the June 13 cruise and need to know *now* write here and I'll try and help or post a question on my blog comment section (I get there more frequently than here while traveling).

As far as music, I'm sitting in the upper pool area as I write this (just aft of the Wintergarden). The music has been non-stop the whole time I've been here, about 2 hours. At first it was "pop" music (original artists) like Billy Joel. For the past hour, though, it's been Hawaiian (because of the pool proximity?); also original artists, like Amy Hanalei Gilliom.

It's not too loud (well, maybe that's because I have a penchant for Hawaiian)...but it's definitely there.

In the rest of the ship, the Restaurant does have a "canned" type of music. But it's not too noticeable.

As others have said, this is a very quiet ship. There are lots and lots of places to go and be almost entirely by yourself. If you like a quiet atmosphere, check out the Explorers' Lounge, Mamsens (right next to it).

A side note: listen for the bird twittering sounds in the ladies restroom just off of the World Cafe. 'Not sure if they have the same recorded sounds in the other restrooms, but that one sure has it! (Maybe I need to make it a cruise goal to check out all the restroom for bird noises?)

I'm at the airport on the first leg of our May 30 "Viking Homelands" cruise on the Star and am I excited! Yes, I've read everything on these boards for the past several months about the very real challenges for passengers on this new ocean cruise line, but I'm still thinking it's going to be really special.

I've just a few posts up there at this point but plan on oodles of details and photos as I did last year when I did my river cruise blog. You can "subscribe" to get email updates when I put up something new. I'll be posting as someone completely new to ocean cruising--new ship, new cruise line, new passenger. Oh, boy!

Here it is: http://oceancruisenewbie.com

I'm at the airport on the first leg of our May 30 "Viking Homelands" cruise on the Star and am I excited! Yes, I've read everything on these boards for the past several months about the very real challenges for passengers on this new ocean cruise line, but I'm still thinking it's going to be really special.

I've just a few posts up there at this point but plan on oodles of details and photos as I did last year when I did my river cruise blog. You can "subscribe" to get email updates when I put up something new. I'll be posting as someone completely new to ocean cruising--new ship, new cruise line, new passenger. Oh, boy!

Here it is: http://oceancruisenewbie.com

This was perfect for Mom and I, Roothy123. Yes, there may be a sticky for cruise newbies on CC, but your very detailed post gave me the information I need for a first-time ocean cruise in comparison with the only other "cruise" we've experienced: a Viking river cruise. As such, your post is unique and exceedingly valuable.

I'll add one tip: I make PDFs of all the travel documents and upload them to my Dropbox account. This way they're accessible to me from anywhere I travel where I have wireless; even if I lose my device, the information remains accessible. It's also there for family members back home to refer to if need should arrive.

Mahalo nui loa, once again, for a very thoughtful post.

Your plan is NOT feasible. Please do not attempt it. You will be disappointed and/or miss the ship if you do.

Thanks, LadyVol1--that's just the kind of info and feedback I was looking for about Berlin. I'm disappointed, of course; I'd rather have had more truly "on your own" time there in a single chunk. I'd envisioned it as more of the Viking River "on your own" excursions where they get you to a location, hand you a map with a little verbal background, then leave you off and tell you when/where to meet to head back. That's the kind of thing we really enjoy doing (just ask me about our plans on our own for Aalborg!).

So, do you think the excursion was worthwhile in light of the lack of free time and time taken to get to Berlin? We're really not interested in the Warnemunde or castle excursions from that port (we're pretty "castled out" after last year's 15-day river cruise--and, yes, I know they're all different, but still...). Was the drive there interesting (see passing countryside or just roads/suburbs?) We have oodles of stamina and a bus ride is fine with us...but I *do* want to get a "feet on the ground" feel for the vibrant city Berlin seems to be... None of the "paid" Berlin excursions fit our style, either...

In short, would you do it again?

P.S. 'Already have our euros for "necessary" stops.

Could someone there please ask if any passengers took the "Berlin Your Way" included tour to Berlin?

We're traveling with Viking Star beginning May 30 and I have everything pretty well planned *except* for Berlin.

Thanks for your help!

--Please ask those taking the "Berlin Your Way" passengers what time they arrived in Berlin. Was travel via bus?

--Please ask those same pax if they had the option to be dropped off before the short "orientation" tour and skip it? Was that tour in the bus or on the ground?

--Where was the end of day meeting point (I won't hold you to it, I understand it may be totally different when we get there; I'm just trying to get an idea) and at what time?

Mom and I are hoping to be able to join up with the well-respected four-hour "Berlin Insider" walking tour (http://www.insidertour.com/tours.php...le/Tourdetails) which begins at 10 am on the west side (near S+U Zoologischer Garten train station) or at 10:30 am on the east side (near Hakescher Market train station). Your answers will help us know if it's a possibility.

Mahalo nui loa!

We leave next week, 5/29 for this same river cruise with Viking on the Bragi but starting in Budapest.

I'm jealous:D

I'd do this same itinerary all over again--it was that much fun!

Good thing I really, really like my sweater, matching hat and gloves. Looks very Norwegian. Wore the hat on our balcony tonight.

Oh, I'm really looking forward to shopping for a Norwegian sweater, id4elizabeth. Where did you find yours? Cost? I'm looking for a "trim fit" one (even if it doesn't fit me after all the great food I'm anticipating on the Star...at least I have several months to offload the extra treat inches before I'll need the sweater next fall...) with a bit of style to it.

I'm also looking forward to answers to CrusinSubMan's tax refund question...although we head out via Frankfurt (from Oslo), I *know* from previous experience there's not enough time to make that paperwork exchange happen there. And, besides, I'd really like to pack *away* that new Norwegian sweater, not have it accessible in my carry-on to prove its existence and

newness...

If you're looking for possible port times/arrivals/departures for Viking's "Grand European Tour," I've posted each four-page "Viking Daily" for the itinerary; this is from our trip in August 2014 on the Viking Atla.

I understand things change from year to year and even on the same itinerary in the same year, but I would have found a lot of this really helpful when planning our own trip and hope you do, too.

https://rivercruisenewbie.wordpress.com/2015/05/17/here-are-your-viking-daily-news-sheets-for-the-entire-cruise/

Finally...after lots of requests and squeezing out some time this afternoon (as I prep a new blog for our upcoming Viking Oceans cruise), I've scanned and created PDFs of each of the "Viking Daily" news sheets for our August 2014 Budapest to Amsterdam cruise with Viking Rivers.

Go here: https://rivercruisenewbie.wordpress.com/2015/05/17/here-are-your-viking-daily-news-sheets-for-the-entire-cruise/

'Hope this helps other river cruise newbies see a bit about what a river cruise is like.

To see *all* of my posts--from planning to travel and, most recently, what Viking does well and not so well--look for the "previous posts" section on the right.

On to more writing and planning. Gee, if only someone'd pay me for this!:roll eyes:

I would NOT let anyone know you are an independent traveller..

Great advice, id4elizabeth. Thanks so much!

When you maiden voyage passengers get to the Warnemunde/Berlin port would you please check into these questions for me? We're traveling with Viking Star beginning May 30 and I have everything pretty well planned *except* for Berlin.

Thanks for your help!

--Please ask those taking the "Berlin Your Way" passengers what time they arrived in Berlin. Was travel via bus?

--Please ask those same pax if they had the option to be dropped off before the short "orientation" tour and skip it? Was that tour in the bus or on the ground?

--Where was the end of day meeting point (I won't hold you to it, I understand it may be totally different when we get there; I'm just trying to get an idea) and at what time?

Mom and I are hoping to be able to join up with the well-respected four-hour "Berlin Insider" walking tour (http://www.insidertour.com/tours.php/cat/27/id/40/title/Tourdetails) which begins at 10 am on the west side (near S+U Zoologischer Garten train station) or at 10:30 am on the east side (near Hakescher Market train station). Your answers will help us know if it's a possibility.

Mahalo nui loa!

For über-efficiency, I also keep a copy of the "all-my-trip-info-in-one-PDF-file" on Dropbox so if the USB is lost (egads!), I have it safely in the cloud for accessing from anywhere there is a connection.

P.S. I do *not* organize my spice cupboard or hubby's sock drawer; it's just a travel Type A thing ;)

Here's an update to purchasing the Komfort upgrade separately. I spent some time on a live chat with Camilla from NSB Customer Service (the train folks).

It *is* possible to upgrade our Viking-arranged "standard" seating for Komfort, but here are the catches:

--You have to have your booking number from the Viking reservation (not your trip reservation, but the booking number Viking received when it purchased the "group" reservation for the train trip. I've requested this from our TA; we'll see if it happens. ;)

--You have to telephone NSB (no email/website possible) to buy the upgrade.

--You might be able to buy an upgrade that morning at the station--but they sell out and this is summer and this is tourist season and...you get it.

If you do have the Komfort seating, I asked if the area for seating was near enough that we could sidle up to "our" Viking tour guide/other pax as the train ride neared its ending so we could be together for the transfer. Here's the interchange:

Me: Are the standard and Komfort level seating areas far from each other? The cruise line is telling us they like to keep all the passengers in one section so they can transfer more easily at trip's end. Would it be practical for us to travel in Komfort and then, a short while before the trip's end, go to the "standard" section to re-join the group?

Camilla: The Komfort seats are in car number 1 or 8, so how far depends on where the rest of the group has got seats.

Me: If I found out where the rest of the group was, is it physically possible to easily move to their area at trip's end?

Camilla: No, it's not. We can't change it.

Me: Hmmm...okay, then. I have some thinking to do...

By the way she said we are not in Komfort class and that is not available as an option... I wonder why not?

I get it, cassandra44--it sounds like a lot of miscommunication between original booking and today's "reality."

FWIW, I have this just received from my TA regarding my question about the Komfort class booking (I'd asked if it was possible for us to pay a premium to book it for the Bergen>Oslo train trip):

Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding your clients’ upgrade request for the rail transport on the Oslo and Bergen Rail extension. The standard seating is the only class of service Viking Cruises can provide during this extension package. While we cannot prevent pax from booking/upgrading to Komfort service on their own upon arrival, we also do not recommend that pax do this as it greatly increases the chance that they will miss our staff. Our staff greets and escorts our passengers as a group in one class of service to make transfers more efficient and to be readily available if any issues arise during the transfer process. Furthermore, we cannot preclude the possibility that our staff may make last minute travel decisions that would prevent them from easily getting in touch with passengers in a different class of service. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.

Hmmm...I'm not really that worried about "issues" during the transfer process so I'm inquiring of NSB.no whether we can purchase an upgraded Komfort seat the morning of the trip...I'll keep you posted.

My concern now is reservations for Bergen Express when we disembark the Star. We have no ticket or Oslo tour information or transfer details from the Radisson to the airport.

(We are on the one day tour also.) Tell me, Did you receive any of that info in your docs?.

Our docs (for the two-day extension, but I'm guessing it's similar to yours but with our additional day in Bergen) show the hotel accommodations (name of hotel, yes, a Radisson Blu at both cities) and then the comment: Your local Viking Host will have further information for you so you can explore Bergen & Oslo and confirm your transfer to the airport for your departure."

This is what happened with our Viking River pre- and post-cruise extensions as well; when we checked into the hotel, we were told of the tour time(s) as well as details about the airport transfer. These were not listed in our Viking River paperwork but only given to us at the hotel at the Viking "desk" there.

Also, cassandra44, we, too, are wondering if the train is booked at Komfort class and, if not, if there is an upgrade possibility we can make now to ensure it is.

We pack small flashlights.

Don't laugh, but we always make our small flashlights the LED headlamp kind. I figure if there's an emergency on the plane, on the ship or out and about, it's really nice to have your hands totally free yet still have plenty of light ahead of you. You can always simply carry the headlamp type in your hand, too, but having hands-free is a feature we really appreciate. I start every trip with one in my carry-on for my flight and then transfer it as the trip goes on to wherever I need it.

Or log in to MyVikingJourney and I'll bet you find it there! ;)

As two forty-somethings, my wife and I have struggled to do much dancing on board. We and several of the other younger couples finally managed to get the band in Torshavn to play some "rock and roll" two nights ago. It was their 11 to 11:45 set and we (six of us) were the only ones in the place. We pleaded and they played: " I Will Survive", "Mama Mia" and the like. Not disco or super good dancing music, but better than "Moon River". The band is matched to the waltzing generation and we were happy to get the slightly faster paced music out of them that we did.

Well, while Mom is a few decades older, she is definitely *not* a waltzer, so I hope our May 30 "Viking Homelands" features some similarly like-minded folks who request lively music!

(I'm asking on behalf of Mom--who really enjoys live music and dancing; count me out on the dancing part!)

Is there any venue on the Star with a small, informal dance floor and live music? I'm not talking about the "show" entertainment. Mom really enjoyed the piano guy on our Viking River Cruise last year--every evening he played and folks danced, laughed, talked, etc. and single ladies danced with each other (not every part of a "couple" likes to dance). It was one of those jazzed-up pianos with various sounds/effects so a variety of music could be played on it. Can Mom look forward to anything like that on the Star? (crossing my fingers for her)

Well, I'm forewarned...but you can count on me to give an honest review of the tour/service, etc. after our early-June tour with Anastasia. And if it's in any way "less than" you'll hear about it!

Can't wait to board tomorrow!

The vicarious-thrill-seekers among us can't wait, either, id4elizabeth!