ericosmith

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For the record...just flew this 3 weeks ago. DTW to KEF direct leaving DTW at 8:30 arriving KEFat 6:30am the following morning. KEF to BGO direct leaving KEF at 10:15am arriving BGO at 2:35 My question is if I pay Viking their add on fees for selecting my own flights and dates will they book me with a stop over in Iceland that is easily doable on the Icelandair website but with a considerably higher cost than the Viking cost.

Coming from Detroit and went through Reykjavik on our first aborted attempt as it was the least expensive and most direct connection. I realize I'll have to pay the Viking fee but wondering if they'll even allow the stopover.

We had to cancel our first ever Viking cruise Bergen to Reykjavik on boarding day do to a death in the family. We have a previously booked British Isles cruise departing from Bergen next summer. I'd still like to see some of Iceland and Norway but airfares next summer are currently about double what Viking is offering. I'm told that Viking will book Icelandair but does anyone know whether they will book it with a stopover in Reykjavik?

The Sunset bar is expensive for what you get. As an example soft drinks come in a tiny plastic cup for $3 and there are no free refills.

If you take the full northern route you pass through the town of Rincon. There are several resturants and bars there.

Just there a couple of weeks ago and it's basically etched glass with clear borders. It's an easy 5 minute walk from the hotel to the terminal. Most, but not all, of it is undercover and through a parking ramp. No need to wait on a shuttle. As I recall we left around 4:30am and they were already serving breakfast.

Two reasons I booked on my own. First, it saves quite a bit of money. Second, the trains they book are locals with no advance seat selection. By booking myself I picked long distance trains that gave me a bit more time between segments and I was able to preselect forward facing seats in the middle of a window.

Unfortunately I got called home do to a death in the family the day after arriving in Bergen. I'm hoping to make it happen next year. I would never attempt to do it on a port stop. Only if staying in Bergen the night before and the night after.

The Sunset Bar is probably the closest. There is a board but it's not like the airport, it's just a chalk board that they write on. Your best bet is to go to a site like Flight Award and search for SXM. https://flightaware.com/live/airport/TNCM. That will give you all of the arrival times and aircraft types. There aren't many really big planes landing there anymore. A couple of A330s are the only twin aisle planes.

I booked a room there through VRBO a couple of years ago.

I'm not sure those comments don't apply. Check out the map. https://satellitemap.space/

There's nothing much to see there. A row of exhibits and a gift shop. It's one of those places where they obviously kick back to the tour companies to stop there.

Be aware that the interior roads have some pretty wicked hills. The best ride is the road that completely circles the island. It is flat and just a little over 8 miles. It gets you away from the hustle and crowds downtown.

You don't need a tour to bike on Mackinaw Island. You can't turn your head without seeing a bike rental shop.

I was under the impression that Viking has moved to Starlink. That would make the equator moot. Even so, there are very few Starlink satellites in this area: https://satellitemap.space/?constellation=starlink#

Curious why it was a terrible choice?

I've been on three American Queen boats on various rivers and I would not ever even look at Viking for a river cruise. American river cruising is about enjoying small towns and having a laid back vacation reflecting a simpler time. It's about dropping the boarding ramp in the middle of a park and being able to wander around without having to plan shore excursions. One look at that river boat and it just doesn't fit that model. I'd gladly board it for my next cruise someplace else, just not on an American river.

Thanks for all the great information. At this point I think I'm going to cancel my original tour and try to find one that leaves a bit later. I'm rather surprised that no company seems to really cater to cruise ship passengers. They all have a long list of pickup points so it's impossible to know what time a pickup from the ship would actually happen. As far as the terminal we are scheduled to dock at 315 which appears to be the further location as the Prima is at 312 which is shown in the pictures.

Our ship is scheduled to arrive at 8:00 and I scheduled a tour that has a pickup from 8:00 to 8:30. When I booked they said it would be no problem. The new owner says they can't guarantee if we aren't at the pickup point by 8:30. Two questions for those cruising previously...what has been the normal time that you've been able to disembark upon arrival? How far is it from the ship to the pickup point for prior tours? I can always switch to a big bus tour with a later pickup but I preferred my booked small group tour.

I booked the Golden Circle with them before they were sold and they indicated that my 8:00 cruise ship arrival would not be a problem. Now they tell me they can't guarantee my pickup. I guess I'll need to find another tour. I like the smaller group but there aren't a lot of those options.

You'll find two types of trains. The blue ones allow seat selection. There's regular and their version of first class. In either case you can see whether the face forward or two the rear and where they are in relationship to the windows. I just picked two seats that faced forward and were in the middle of a window.

With a bit of research, it's not difficult to book all of the tickets yourself and select the times that work best. It saves quite a bit of money but also allows you to do seat selection on some of the trains. I've got all my tickets booked for about 3 weeks from now so we'll see how it goes. In my case I'm doing Bergen, Voss, Gudvangen, Myrdal, Bergen. The times just seemed to work out better.

Is it on one ticket or two?

We did the rope bridge a few years ago and the line was huge, even in the pouring rain. Not sure I would spend the time waiting if I were to do it over.