Sturmin

Thanks Sturmin. Can't remember whether you were on Viking or another cruise line. Interesting comment about clearing customs in Paris. We are currently scheduled to go through there, although I had paid for CUSTOM AIR through Viking because I wanted to know exactly where I would be sitting and was not willing to take potluck on Air France. I had them use Delta where I could choose seats. Now 50 days out I find that they have rebooked me on Air France and told that I can PAY to get assigned seats prior to 24 hrs. prior to flight or just take potluck. GRRRR.

 

Interested in your comments about the excursions...especially since I have booked two of them and had considered another that you mentioned.

 

And, did you find it easy to make monetary exchanges or were you able to use US currency or credit cards for most everything??

 

And most importantly, I think I recall that you were going in November. How was the temperature? The website says that in March we will have low 50's to mid 60's. I can handle that. I will not be too happy if we have a lot of rain though.

 

Thanks for the reply.

We were on the Viking Sea, Athens to Venice, from Dec 4th to the 13th. We also had custom air and had a good experience with them. Another couple who went with us, also with custom air, started out with a screwed up flights. I called and asked for help and had a rep fix their flight plan. I believe there are gaps in Vikings training/experience levels in customer service levels. With custom air, as long as you aren't ticketed yet, call and change the flight plan and then ask to be ticketed if paid in full.

We got Euros before leaving from Bank of ND, they charged a flat fee of $25, and then the current exchange rate. Supposedly can do better at Europe bank ATMs, but I go over to relax and want no worries. I did use an ATM in Dubrovnik to get Kuna's, but wouldn't have needed to. Everyplace took credit cards including the fee for walking the wall.

Our weather was great for December. We were low 60's everyday except for Venice, mid 40's and cold fog. The cruise before ours had a lot of rain according to the crew so just luck of the draw. We really enjoyed the lack of crowds at all the ports. We saw one other cruise ship, NCL Spirit, in Katolona.

Missing the sail in to Venice due to fog was disappointing, but I thought Viking did an excellent job compensating. Anyone who booked air with them, Viking arrange all the travel arrangements for missed flights and transfers. Independent travelers were also helped, but to a lesser degree I believe. We paid for air deviation and were bussed to the port of Venice and then walked to our hotel. There was room for improvement, but having to organize the whole thing from buses to people to help guesses at the airport, train station and both ports, I have no complaints.

How was your trip? Do you have any recommendations to do or what you would not recommend?

We had a wonderful trip with a few hiccups. Missed connection in CDG, thanks to french immigration and poor air france service. Fog in Venice so we couldn't sail in and missed one day in Venice.

Included excursions were a bit hit and miss. We had two guides that were teachers and were rather dry. We left as soon as we found the shuttle pickup spot and verified the last shuttle pickup. Don't be late for the shuttles, they leave right on time. (I'm always a bit early. It was nice not waiting for 15 minutes in case someone is late.) Other guides were very good. My favorite port was Kotor. We climbed to the fortress and took a path to an old small chapel below the wall. On the way down we took the lesser traveled path and ended up on the opposite wall. Enjoyed Athens and the Acropolis. Great guide in Santorini, but should have taken the Akrotiri excavation excursion. Olympia was fun, but not enough time to walk around the grounds. Again, once we had meeting time we left the group to explore on our own. Guide was fine, but wanted as much time to explore as possible. Corfu, poor guide so walked the town. New fortress was closed but enjoyed old fortress and shopping in the town. Kotor great with a good guide. Dubrovnik, good guide but left early since only short time there. Walked the wall and then shared a pizza at Mea Culpa. Excellent food and best beer of the trip. Zadar took excursion to Krka Park. Excellent with a good meal to follow. Once we found meeting time we left the group to enjoy the park on our own. Enjoyed taking our time and having the boardwalk to ourselves. Koper Slovenia we took included excursion but friends did Castle and Cave. They said it was excellent. Venice spent two extra days on our own. We enjoyed every second of Venice. Most ports we tried to eat at a local restaurant. Usually we had an appetizer and drinks. Great experiences at all except in Santorini. Ate right above the cable car and would not recommend at all. Poor service and overpriced. Any other questions just ask😄.

Thank you for the comparison. Our first cruise was with Norwegian. Their nickel and diming and constant sales pitches put us off cruising for years. Other than that I'd say they were fairly even with Carnival overall with plus and minuses for each. Sad to hear RC has the same business practices. Still, if the price is right I'd have to find out about RC for myself:).

First cruise ever that planning is not falling into place.

 

Booked ES for the first time, not sure we thought this through.

Pre-cruise hotel booked.

Return hotel booked.

 

Now the frustration - 3rd person needs to cancel

Can't find affordable airfare from our wonderful 2 horse town in the middle of nowhere. I am not paying $500+ to fly locally to Ft. Lauderdale/Miami.

We will need to drive 3-4 hours to a larger airport, pay to park and probably stay overnight due to flight times.

Not especially what we wanted to do.

 

Trying to decide how long to wait to book air for mid-April 2017.

 

Definitely not sure cruising over Easter was a good idea either. I have OCD when it comes to planning so this is driving me crazy. lol

 

Any suggestions from you more experienced cruisers???

A couple of suggestions. First, the best pricing from many of the regional airports is around a 100 to 90 days out in my experience(may vary by area). Keep an eye on pricing until then and watch for prices drops. Once it drops, book immediately. Second, check the flexible dates. Sometimes flying in two days early and staying two days later, not only pays for your motel costs but food with cash left over. An example from our last trip, one day early and leaving when ship arrived was appx $800 pp, arriving 2 days early and leaving two days later was $350 pp. It paid for an extra three days of vacation plus money left over. Hope this helps but no guarantees either way:)

We are on this cruise in reverse order one week from today. We will probably stick with the included tour as this is the first time at any of the ports and enjoy exploring the cities on our own. When we return I will gladly answer any questions you have and may try a short review if time allows. Only worries now is the weather and connections for the plane ride over.

If you haven't found it check this travel blog.

http://www.fromthedeckchair.com/2016/09/20/viking-star-transatlantic-days-1-and-2/

First of all, thank you for all the info and doing your over review. Curious if Viking provides a shuttle bus to central Athens or do you need to use public transportation if you do the city on your own. I think I have seen past threads/posts of someone saying there was a shuttle and someone else saying there wasn't.

Thank you for taking the time to do this review. I enjoy other people perspectives of where I've been and info on where I want to go. Also helps pass the time until the next cruise/vacation🙂.

Following along. Not from Canada, but sometimes it seems few people from the US realize that😄. Congratulation to you and the happy couple.

P.S. It is called "pop" in the northern tier of the US as well.

Thank you for another review. I still assert that Carnival has some of the best reviewers. Congratulations on Patti's retirement.

Thank you for the Live report from the Sea. We are doing same itinerary and ship in under three months. Interested in your experiences with the upcoming excursions. Any must does or any avoid at all costs. Thanks in advance.

Thank you for your Live Review. Another new bucket list cruise. Someday after the kids are out of the house.

Thank you for your review. Really enjoyed your Rhine Getaway as well. We're not following in your footsteps this year, but hopefully someday will do this itinerary.

We are sailing this itinerary in a few months. In your opinion, are there any must do excursions or any don't waste your time on. Thank you for taking the time to answer questions and live review.

Dave & Amy

Hi Kath, only two weeks until you leave. Add 100 days for us.

Hotel Flora was great, no complaints. Can't have a better location. Their breakfast wasn't great, but was good and filling.

Viking has a rep there at the hotel to help you. They also offered the Mt. Pilatus tour on the ship when we cruised. Not sure if they still do.

We walked to the Transportation Museum so I can't help you with the public transport question, but I think I remember seeing bus stops right by it. We stopped and looked at the public areas of the museum, but didn't pay to go in. We walked the wall that morning and then toured the Catholic Church after a concert. We then just continued walking around the lake until we ran into the museum. Nice pathway with benches spaced along the way, but may waste to much time walking. We enjoyed the walk though. Viking rep will be of assistance.

We never used the Viking rep like we should have. He probably would have helped make better use of our time. We really just enjoyed walking the old town and exploring the churches and the train station. There is a tunnel on the corner to cross under the street to the station. There are quite a few stores there including groceries. Two days is not enough time so set your priorities and enjoy what you can.

Have a fun trip.

Thank you for your review.

Thank you for another review. Trying to wait patiently for our upcoming cruise by reading all the great Vista reviews. Carnival seems to have the best people for doing reviews/blogs:)

Per Viking Info from November 2014, At 9:00AM we take you from ship to Lucerne. The driving time is appx 1 1/2hrs. Upon arrival, you will stop at Lion Monument for photos. Then to motel for short restoom stop. At 11:00 AM enjoy a guided walking tour of city center for appx 2hrs. Check in time is 3:00 PM.

Day 2 on your own. Viking concierge available 8-12 & 2-6.

Day 3 Viking will pick you up appx 3 - 3 1/2 hrs prior to your flight. Drive time to Zurich is 60 to 75 minutes.

Hope this helps.

I'll look for our disembarking information when I get home. I think it was around 9:00. Bus ride was less then an hour. Stopped at the Lion and then onto the Hotel to drop off luggage, followed by 2hr walking tour. Was ready for food when done.

Thanks for your review. I have enjoyed all or your great reviews and this one is no exception. We Hope to do a similar itinerary later this year.

I must be going crazy. Maybe it was another passenger that also is writing up a trip report. Too many things to keep straight in my head when I'm trying to finalize our trip's details. One more month to go for us!

Look at LoutheGlue review of the Vista. About page 7 of his review.

Looks like a fun ship with a great itinerary. Thanks for the review.

1) Read cruisinskier review on this board. Lot of info and great pics.

2) The first night or two, make sure you have a snack with you in your room. Both my wife and I woke up staving at about 2AM the first night and 5AM second night.

3) The ship does not exchange currency, but will make change for large bills for tipping.

4) Take a map of the Rhine castles. Some ships have free ones. Ours did not.

5) If you drink beer, they have about four or five kinds with the meal, but will serve what's on tap unless asked for bottled beer. Kolsh was excellent.

6) Don't always sit, with your group. Half the fun was meeting other great river cruisers. Lot of intersting people and stories.

7) We enjoyed climbing the Cologne cathedral spire. It closes at 4:30 to start the climb. After this we watched for towers to climb. Heidelberg Lutheran church had one, Strasbourg cathedral also and Speyer cathedral, we were too late at Speyer.

8) Have fun.

Great to see you on the Regal. Looking forward to your review if you do one. I know lot of work w/no compensation except gratitude of fellow cruisers.

Merry Christmas,

Dave & Amy

Just off the Regal. At most, 50% of the men had jackets. Of the rest, half had ties and the other half only had button down dress shirts. Food in MDR was, in my opinion, kind of blah. Only reason we kept returning was for our great table mates. Missed one night for crab shack which was great.