lackcreativity

2 hours ago, farmecologist said:

We always take the room class with the lowest total cost, as we like to travel as cost effective as possible.  

 

The fact that ALL rooms on Viking ocean ships are balconies is enough for us.  That is a huge perk compared to other lines we have been on ( i.e. - no shopping for "deals" only to find the "deal" is for an inside room, etc... )!  

 

 

We do the same. It is also valuable to us that we receive the same lovely service that everyone else receives. Dinner reservations in advance are never a concern for us, and being the final ones to book excursions has had limited impact. We do remain flexible on excursions, and would use an outside vendor if there was ever something we missed that was super important for us. The only time we ever chose that path was in St. Petersburg, but we made those plans well in advance. 

34 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

On a TA cruise in October.  Six days at sea.  Will have to limit the 4:00pm Tea attendance because this is just extra calories each day.  Not that on this many sea days we will need the extra snack.

Sadly, I must agree. As much as we enjoyed Tea Time, it just seems difficult to add it in to any day that include breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Even if we just have a salad for lunch and then go to Tea, I am not hungry at dinner time. Such a dilemma! 

Did you know that on the Viking website Itinerary for an individual cruise, when you view the display of potential excursions in each port you can click on each excursion for a more detailed description?

The Empires of the Mediterranean with Viking was our first ocean cruise. We used the included excursions in most of the ports, supplemented with time on our own and the use of Viking shuttles to return post excursions. For example, in Dubrovnik the included excursions was very good, but we remained after the tour to have lunch and walk the walls on our own.

We did select the optional excursion in Athens to be able to go up to the Acropolis, and an optional one in Koper to go the Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle. Both were good choices for us, in particular because of a personal obsession with castles. Your choices may vary.

The included excursion in Zadar was less than satisfactory, but it was seven years ago and I thought our guide was disappointing. If you like Old Towns and churches (and I do) that is a location very easy to do on your own. If you like natural beauty, the optional excursion to Krka National Park from Zadar seems to be highly regarded on Cruise Critic. 

9 hours ago, CJANDH said:

As I cannot see yet what the included excursions are for my cruise, I was basing my "lame" comment on WanderingBrit's description: Many included excursions will be a bus ride to local sights, with commentary by a guide and stops for photos or exploration.

 

Glad that this may not be as lame as it sounds.

It is possible to view the likely offering of excursions for a given cruise before your exact ones are listed in My Viking Journey. On the Viking website, find your cruise and on the Day by Day listing of ports, click Read More (no excursions on Day 1). Scroll down for a list of possible excursions. One will be labeled Included. You can click on each option for a more detailed description. All the ones shown may not be offered on any given cruise.

Sold Out Excursion Question - Viking Ocean - Cruise Critic Community

Excursion booking - Page 2 - Viking Ocean - Cruise Critic Community

Here are two more, again I didn't preview them, just copied them for you. There are several tricks of the trade for booking excursions, most likely you will find them in these links above, as the Viking crowd is generally a helpful bunch.

Just a few highlights:

Spots on an optional excursion are not yours until paid for, just putting them in your cart does not complete the process.

Sold out excursions frequently have places that open up, so check back frequently.

Even from our Veranda cabins (last to book), we have always been pretty satisfied with our bookings. We missed out on a couple over our five cruises, but overall good.

Read excursions carefully to determine if you will be mostly on a bus for a panoramic tour, or will there be a walking portion. Also, note the difference between "see" a sight versus "visiting" the sight. See most often means from the outside, Visit usually means go inside. For example, you might see the Colosseum from the outside, or you might go inside.

Enjoy your first Viking cruise!

Thanks for great tips and advice on booking optional excursions! - Viking Ocean - Cruise Critic Community

The link above I found just a page or two later than this first page. I didn't really scan much of the thread, but I did want to offer you one example. This is a pretty frequent question, and if you scroll through a number of pages of the Viking thread I am sure you will find a number of others. 

32 minutes ago, Murt22 said:

I agree, but when I did research, I would map out the places to get a feel for the time. Takes time to do - but it gives you a better idea of how much bus time might be involved.

I do that all the time. It's easy enough to do with Google Maps. Enter the destination of your excursion, click on directions, add in the cruise port as the other location and enter. It should come up with the driving time. 

I use this also to gauge how far it is to walk from one place to another in a city. You just need to click on the little walking person figure to switch from driving distance. I don't walk as fast as the little Google person, so I always add some time!

1 hour ago, Travelswithmycamera said:

Thanks for the comparison as I've just cancelled a Viking Cruise for 2025 due to full payment in July of 2024.  No adjustment  for past cruisers, I guess we don't matter to Viking.  Have been considering Vista however I am enlightened by your observations on lack of outdoor access.  I do love Viking for that and we spend most of our time enjoying being outside or having a pre dinner drink in the Explorers Lounge.  We enjoyed the dining room very much on our last Viking cruise except for the drama as the hostess was overridden on her table assignments  by several men hoovering over her.  I will hold off booking till 2025 and cross my fingers for availability on either line.    In the meantime I enjoy reading the reviews and very useful cruise comments.  Thank you.  

Viking does offer an option to past customers to delay the pay-in-full timing when you have another cruise already booked or when you book onboard. Be certain to request it when booking, as sometimes it is not directly offered, but it will be honored when requested. Final payment will be 6 months from sailing in those cases. 

If you wait until 2025 and find the availability you want with Viking, then keep that in mind going forward. Many of us use that strategy to manage our payment dates. In our early days with Viking interest rates were so low it didn't seem like such an issue. Now, a year's worth of earned interest is worth some effort!

8 hours ago, CalTrojan said:

I just got the e-mail below from Viking…. It understates the impact, since Malta was an overnight, and now adds three sea days to existing four sea days, which is just too much.  Given that the North African ports can also be unreliable, this is extremely disappointing.  I’m likely going to cancel, just not worth the fare for a cruise where half of the days will be sea days 😕

 

Since Malta was supposed to be an overnight, will you at least get to spend Christmas Eve visiting there? 

I was originally tempted by this itinerary, but the winter scheduling, the four sea days, and the uncertainty over the North African ports made me decide this was not the one I was hoping to find. This is really an unacceptable circumstance in my opinion.

My advice is based on instinct, not experience, so hopefully others will have more specific advice. If you encounter this problem when your scheduled booking time arrives, immediately call Viking to have an agent handle it for you over the phone. 

Flyer Talker,

Thanks for your input on my comments regarding Viking Air and our upcoming trip from Baltimore to France. Honestly, I was aware of much of what you said. In the past we would drive to Philadelphia or Washington to improve our flight options, but that became very tiresome in itself. I know well that for us there is only one preferred flight to Europe daily from BWI, and it is that British Airways flight to Heathrow. That was what I meant by our "usual" flight.

I know how much some people complain about LHR, but to us, it is familiar. I knew about the long layover, but had planned to check in to the adjacent hotel at the airport for a shower and maybe a nap. That might be less tiring that the three flight itinerary we were assigned by Viking. However, the upcharge of $500+ per person along with the cost of the hotel room was not acceptable for us.

We are not frequent flyers outside of one international trip a year and a couple of trips to Boston. To claim that air travel is in turmoil was an overstatement on my part. Supply and demand is certainly at play in the market now. It may be naive of me to expect to see prices from five years ago in the future! 

On 4/18/2024 at 3:54 PM, CDNPolar said:

 

We have always purchased Air Plus before.  This is the first time we have not and we are anticipating flights to be populated in about 60 days.  That is when we will be looking at all of this, so I am excited to see where this goes with other experience.

We have always purchased Viking Air, but for the first time I felt we did not get any value from it for our trip this June. For the itinerary I wanted, from our usual gateway on our usual British Airways through Heathrow, they wanted to charge us another $500 to $700 pp depending on when we called.

The flights they picked seemed ridiculous: outbound we fly from Baltimore to Detroit to Paris to Lyon, and the return leg is similar to our preferred route (Marseille to LHR to BWI). The only reason we accepted that is based on favorable timing. The trip to France will take place during daytime hours, departing at 10:50 AM. I will accept some inconvenience to avoid those overnight flights in coach! 

My overall point is that since Covid (I know, tired of hearing that) air travel just seems in turmoil. Even our routine trips from Baltimore to Boston are much more expensive than they used to be.

In my mind, Paris deserves much more than just a part of a day. If you think it is likely that you will have a chance to visit on another trip when a longer stay is possible, then select one of the other options. I really like Honfleur, and would look forward to visiting Rouen or Giverny. Obviously, for some Normandy would be their choice.

However, if you think that your chances of seeing Paris are more a "now or never" situation, then I would say go for it! Use google maps to locate the drop off point at Place de la Concorde, and plan what you would like to see. You are basically right along the Seine, so Sainte-Chapelle is about a 30 minute walk, Musee d'Orsay is right across the Siene, and if well planned the Louvre is available for a mini tour. In the opposite direction, it is a 30 minute walk to the Eiffel Tower. It might not be possible to manage the lines to go to the top of the tower, but it is an imposing sight even from the ground. 

In one block on the Boulavard Sainte Germain, we found a cheese shop, a wine shop, and a bakery, along with the butcher and the fish monger, and fruit stand. Maybe you would want to go shopping and have a picnic in one of the several parks nearby. Or just find an appealing cafe and have lunch.  

If you do decide to go to Paris, be forewarned that traffic in route may well diminish your planned 4 hours of free time, so set modest expectations You certainly cannot do it all, but you can do a few special things.  Enjoy whatever you do!

13 minutes ago, mwike said:

I don't say this as a negative to VO as we've been very pleased with our past VO cruises and enjoyed our one river cruise (but didn't like it enough to do another).  Just don't agree with the logic above especially when used to provide insight to a VO vs Oceania cruise.

I do understand the use of Viking River to make assumptions about Viking Ocean. In my opinion, if you like Viking River you will love VO. Of course, that is not universally true, but most often I would bet.

We have only sailed Viking, but are considering Oceania in search of a new itinerary. Before sailing, all you have to evaluate is pictures and videos and comments online. Based on those factors, Oceania seems to have a different feel. I expect we will like Oceania, and loving it would be a bonus!

12 hours ago, odblnt said:

It would have to be a very good itinerary that would woo me away from Viking.

 

That is my sentiment exactly, but unfortunately it seems that we may have reached that point. In our case, the problem is self-inflicted. We don't like cold weather, and we aren't beach fans. The Mediterranean is where my heart lies, and Viking's cruises there are now quite repetitive for us. Oceania has a number of appealing itineraries there, but so far, I haven't been ready to make the switch.

1 hour ago, Lemondrops said:

Thank you for this.  You make an excellent point regarding location.  The excursion we were unable to book was in Naples, so maybe we could book another vendor without too much worry. I hadn't even considered that.  Thank you for your response.

What an odd coincidence, that my random example was the port in question! Years ago, during our land tour days, a case of food poisoning disrupted our travel. To rejoin the group, we had to take the train from Venice to Naples. That was an adventure, but we managed, even though we had to transport all our luggage. Oh, and be wary of random people (pickpockets!) offering to help you with your luggage. But that's another story.

For a shore excursion, seek advice about what you should have with you in the very unlikely event of a missed connection (passport? prescriptions?). Have fun!

You did not mention which excursion in which port you missed booking. To some extent that makes a difference. For instance, if you missed out on an excursion in Naples, and your next stop is in Rome, then booking an outside tour is less of a risk. Taking the train from Naples to Rome is a cinch in comparison to the African island story that was recently in the news.

If you book an outside excursion that offers a liberal refund policy for a cancellation, then if a Viking spot opens you can book it and cancel the other. 

Also, there are certain excursions that may not have the option of last minute openings. The Alhambra in Spain is very strict in giving each cruise ship just a limited number of tickets, and each ticket has the passenger's name linked to the ticket. Even if someone can't use their ticket, it can't be transferred. ( To be honest, I haven't experienced this first hand, but have read it here repeatedly.)  

In Kotor, Montenegro we docked right across from the entrance gate to the Old Town. We could walk off the ship into Rhodes, Greece, Cartagena in Spain, Split in Croatia, Sibenik in Croatia, Copenhagen in Denmark, Bergen in Norway, and Zadar in Croatia. Sometimes Viking docks right in the heart of Barcelona, though we have never done so.  

I can't confirm whether bigger ships can do that as well, or if Viking is always able to get those spots, but it is great when it happens!

We also love the Mediterranean, but are looking for some variety in ports. We have visited most every port there that Viking visits and keep hoping for some new additions.

I am so glad this thread resurfaced, as we are taking this cruise in June. I am really looking forward to it, especially since we are traveling with friends to celebrate their 45 wedding anniversary. It was supposed to be for their 40th, but then Covid and other things intervened.

For the first (and likely only) time, we will be enjoying the luxury version of Viking travel. Our cruise from last year was overbooked, so we accepted a very generous offer to Move Over to a future sailing. One of the perks was an upgrade to the Explorer's Suite for both couples! Future cruises will be back in our budget-luxury category, so this one should be extra special.

1 hour ago, WanderingTravels said:

They recorded a non-cash "private derivatives loss" of $2B in 2023.  That is defined as "the non-cash loss (gain) on the remeasurement of the fair value of the derivatives associated with our Series A Preference Shares, Series B Preference Shares and Series C Preference Shares. Our Series A Preference Shares and Series B Preference Shares are no longer outstanding since the issuance of Series C Preference Shares in 2021. Our Series C Preference Shares will automatically convert to ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering."

 

Without that non-cash loss the company would have reported a $1.1 billion EBITDA, impressive.

Even with my degree in mathematics and my handful of accounting classes, I must admit the first paragraph was a head scratcher. Fortunately, I think I got the last line!

10 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

I think people who only do ship tours lack creativity 😀 In most cases ship tours are over packed, too many per guide and often the most generic. I sometimes do a ship tour but usually regret it while independently booked tours have mostly been top notch. Do research and don’t end up on a bus with 20 to 60 others. If for example I can be lazy and go to the let’s say the Acropolis with 50 people or in a van with 10 people. Same place but the experience is going to be different. It really is not inconvenient to find an independent tour that takes 12 or less. 

My experience with ship's excursions have all been with Viking. I am visiting here in consideration of trying an Oceania cruise. Maybe Oceania excursions are different. On Viking, I have never even seen a bus that holds 60 people, much less been on one. Generally, groups are 30 to 35. And the Acropolis is still the Acropolis. After the group tour, we often wander on our own and return by shuttle. Generally, people on the tours are sociable. We have made friends that way. 

If I am happy with my cruise experience, if it saves me the time and effort of independently booking when I still go to work every day, then shouldn't we both be satisfied?

15 hours ago, pinotlover said:

I believe we all have different degrees of risk aversion based upon on our physical limitations, abilities, and personal choices. Some people won’t cross a street unless mommy Oceania is there to hold their hand. They’ll pay ridiculous prices to stay in Oceania hotels and/or take all O land tours. Other people have different views and ack according. We sometimes take ship tours based on a number criteria. The obsessive fear that some have of missing the ship is rarely one of those. To each their own.

While you profess "To each their own.", I think that you are pretty harsh in your comment about the choices others make. Some people may make those choices because of "obsessive fear", and yet they are still adventurous enough to travel to new places and do so in a way that is comfortable to them. 

We most often use ship's tours and ship's arrangements for pre/post stays. In our case, it is more for convenience or perhaps even laziness if you wish. In our early seventies, we are both still working, and prefer to let someone else handle all the details. That suits us. 

16 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Not disagreeing with you, but travel insurance is so personal to everyone.

 

We don't have pre-existing conditions to worry about, so this strategy works for us.

 

There is also a forum here on CC for insurance and these kinds of topics get discussed in depth.

 

CFAR, pre-existing conditions, single trip, annual plans, etc., etc.

So true, and the need to be clear on one's own requirements is essential. As difficult as it may be to go through all the fine print, that may be what keeps one from posting here after the fact looking for advice/sympathy/outrage when something goes wrong. That's one of the reasons I keep returning here year after year, trying to keep from being the next sad story on Cruise Critic because I didn't know something I should have known!

On 3/31/2024 at 5:28 AM, CDNPolar said:

 

Exactly

 

Aside from the loss of interest - if that is a key concern - there is no penalty to cancel until 120 days and less from the cruise.  So pay in full, and then if you can make a decision not to go in excess of 120 days, then you only lose $100 per person.  You don't even have to buy insurance until the 120 day mark.

Be careful with this strategy if you need coverage for pre-existing conditions. Those circumstances may be different.

14 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

In the post that you quote, I see a figure of $900 pp (a comparison of 900 vs 1200 pp).  Where do you get the figure of $9,000 pp?

 

What am I missing?

I think the claim was $900 per person per day compared to $1200 per person per day for a 30 day cruise, so $300 more for each of 30 days. That's $9,000 then double for two people.