CCWineLover

My wife and I (in our 60's) enjoyed our 2 VOC's so much that we booked several more while on board the last one.

Per your concerns about "having fun", I think that everyone's definition of fun might be different.  You should probably try to decide what things are most important to you since you won't likely find every top item on any one cruise line.  There are pluses and minuses to all of them.

We'd been on other cruise lines (that start with 'N') and didn't care for the loud parties (i.e. balcony issues on the previous post!), noisy casinos, waiting in line to get on/off the ship, boorish behavior, getting nickeled and dimed for everything, and more.  I swore I would never do a cruise again - until friends took a Viking Ocean Cruise and highly recommended them... for us and our interests.   Again - that might not be the right cruise line for everyone of you.   If you are "a bit put off by Viking's casino/kids/formal nights policy ... I think those are all good things, in moderation.  Photographers never bothered me", then perhaps Viking isn't for you.

Viking does have a very loyal fan group I have seen and now know why.  They have indeed become much more popular in just the last year, so they must have hit a good market niche with the product.

This list came from a poster in a Viking Forum and I'm sorry I don't remember who to credit, but it was so appropriate.  Hoping this gives you more insight. 

WHY TRY VIKING OCEAN CRUISES:

Try it because you are tired of mindless entertainment.

Try it because you don't need a casino.

Try it because you are sick and tired of the nickel-and-diming.

Try it because you can live without other people's children.

Try it because you are more interested in the ports of call than in partying until dawn.

Try it because you are never asked to pose for photos.

Try it because you are never asked to pose for photos.

Try it because you like cruising among friendly people.

Try it because you are invited to BYO wine, beer, or other potables.

Try it because you don't have to hide in your room to drink your BYO.

Try it because there is no corkage fee in the dining rooms.

Try is because specialty dining is included.

Try it because there is no formal night.

Try is because there is no bang-bang music

Try is because there are nooks and crannies everywhere to read, relax, and just be.

Try it because the tables in the cafe are set with silverware and napkins and a beverage server comes to take your beverage order as soon as you sit down.

Try it because room service will deliver delicious coffee and juice, even on debarkation day, within 10 minutes of your call.

Try it because room service is included and you can even have the free beer & wine at meal time delivered to your room.

Try it because the free spa area is ubelievable!

 

Take Viking because the staff can't help enough.  If you have an issue they are quick, efficient, and do their job with a smile.

Take Viking because even the service at the buffet is better than any other cruise ship.

Take it because you love the regular English tea in the afternoon.

Try it because you never have to wait much at all to leave or return to the ship.

Try it because everyone, including the crew, greets you with a smile.

Try it because you are a guest, not just a wallet.

Try it because there are no inches of golf tables blocking the Atrium.

Try it because you'll be sailing with 900+ people rather than 2500+.

Try it because there is no karaoke.

Try it because there is no bingo.

Try it because people do not need to reserve/hog lounge chairs in the pool area or open decks.

Try it because you will not see a flaming Baked Alaska parade

Try it because of the Resident Historian and Enrichment programs.

Try it because you'll never have to see a napkin waving waiter sing-along at dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, Danish viking said:

According to the port Authority website all the Viking ships (pun intended 🙂 ) are scheduled to dock at Langelinie in all the season.

That includes Viking Sun, Viking Sky, Viking Sea and Viking Jupiter. 

 

Thank you Danish Viking.  Interesting.  It was Viking Cruises that told me, in response to my query about where we dock, that we are at Oceankaj (May 8-9).  Perhaps that is because we are overnighting?  and need certain supply loading facilities?

The quote from Viking:  " Typically Viking docks at one of two locations in Copenhagen, and is currently showing docking to: Oceankaj Cruise Terminal, Oceanvej, Free Port, 2150 Copenhagen. This location is just 5 miles North of city center, and taxis are available for transportation. "

Hello Danish Viking - you have been so helpful with your great information!

We are arriving in Copenhagen in early May - and just got word that we are likely arriving at the Oceankaj cruise port which they say is 5 miles away and advise us to take taxi's into the city center.

We have purchased a Copenhagen Card to be picked up at the Visitor Center or Tivoli Gardens upon our arrival, which we thought would be at Langelinie Pier (20 some minute walk or #26 bus ).   We are on Viking Jupiter on 8 May.

Do you know if there are public transit options to get to the City from the distant pier?  Or are we "stuck" with expensive taxi's?

Thank you for any insight.    Also - how much time then to allow for travel from this distant pier.

49 minutes ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

I actually recommend taking one!  On Orion in the Living Room we kept trying to charge our tablets and phones while reading. There are plenty of outlets, but most of them did not work!!!  Finally I was chatting with a couple who had been on Orion for a very long time...thinking they must have taken about every cruise it offered since March (!) and they said the trick was having an adaptor.  Plug in with an adaptor and they charged just fine. They had experimented and found that they needed to use an adaptor to get reliable charges.  Next time...we're taking an adaptor. 

 

To clear things up: 

Using the direct USB to charge your devices is and always will be slower than using the electrical power outlet. (Several of the USB outlets are located on the light stands and walls).    Viking provides both.  I did experience that using the USB was slower than using the electrical outlet, but sometimes more convenient.   Note that even Apple recommends this:  " Your iPhone will charge fastest from a power outlet, rather than via a USB port. Apple's official advice "for the quickest charge" is to "connect the device to a power outlet using the USB cable that came with the device and an Apple USB power adapter. "

1 hour ago, fabnfortysomething said:

assume you are also referring to the time zones you pass through on the cruise

it seems on Baltic cruises there is a card on your bed more nights than not reminding to put clocks forward or back an hour

 

however it is only an hour unlike the several hours at a go involved in airplane flight across the Atlantic which leads to jet lag

 

the Baltics also tends to be a port intensive itinerary so if possible pace yourself so you don't end the cruise exhausted!

 

Agree with you regarding port intensive itineraries in the Baltics!  On our recent cruise there, interestingly enough, many people really pushed it the first week of the cruise, going out and seeing everything possible - sort of like kids in a candy store!  Then the 2nd half of the cruise, things slowed down quite a bit 🙂 - as evidenced by people cancelling reservations for dinner and hanging out by the pool in the afternoon!  

So pacing yourself is definitely a good idea!!

10 hours ago, Redsky5292 said:

For those of you who have done the Baltic Sea cruise how did you deal with the jet lag and the time changes on ship?  We cannot fly in a day or two early due to work constraints. We are embarking in Copenhagen and flying in from Boston, MA.

 

At least you are coming from the East Coast so not too many time zones.  We took a Baltic Cruise our of Stockholm last year - flew from SFO and got in via connection in Amsterdam around 2 PM.  The key is the make sure to keep moving and stay up until it gets dark, to help reset the body clock.   We also try to get some sunlight on the plane when it gets closer to Europe and the sun comes up.  Then the excitement of the upcoming cruise takes over on day 1 and we are fine after that!  We don't try to do much that first evening.

10 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We are booked on the Venice to Athens cruise on the Viking Sea next year. When we booked all of the DV cabins were sold out so it made our decision easy, a PV was our choice. The PV3 was also sold out so went for the PV1 which was only $100pp more than the PV2. This is also our first VO cruise.

 

You'll enjoy the PV1 for your first VO Cruise! 

Interesting, we've found that the PV3's often seem to book up quite quickly, compared to the other rooms.  There are not as many of them but they are popular - ever though they are forward in the ship.   Am surprised all the DV cabins were sold out - there are 90 something DV2's and probably as many DV4's.    Just got off the Viking SEA on a PV3 - loved the ship and the captain/staff as well. 

6 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Agree (as usual!) with Peregrina. We have been pleased with a TA who provides the max OBC that Viking allows. It is usually enough to cover the daily service charges with some left over to cover the bar bill. 

 

While we weren’t on Viking for our Baltic cruise last September, we did seem to follow them around in most ports.  I would suggest that you prepare yourself mentally for large crowds at the typical tourist spots-Catherine’s Palace, etc.  There seemed to be Rome size hoards everywhere we went even though we thought we had improved our chances of a more sedate experience by booking in mid September. 

 

You might want to look at TAP Portuguese Airlines especially if you are paying to fly business class. They are bringing on the new Airbus 330neo with full lie flatbseats from a number of new USA cities. I know San Francisco is on the list so depending on how flights between Denver and there are it might work for you. They usually have a fare much less than other airlines and allow for an up to five day stopover in either Lisbon or Porto (both are great places to visit). They have nice flights to/from Copenhagen-not sure where else in the Baltics they fly. 

 

We were here very pleased with Hey Russia! for our two days in St Petersburg. We booked this along with 10 others we met on the rollcall for our cruise. That really is the best place to get great info to plan your trip. Everywhere else we did it completely independently using local transportation. 

 

Feel free to email me at BigNCBear@aol.com if you have any questions. 

 

Another agreement with Peregrina's advice.   We did the Homelands cruise the last 2 weeks of May in 2018 and thoroughly enjoyed it.   We specifically chose to go the Stockholm to Bergen route.  We wanted to spend time on the front end of the trip in Stockholm (several days) and felt we'd be ready to get home when we finished the cruise.  However, in retrospect, given our fantastic weather, we wish we'd done a post cruise on the train to Oslo and seen that.  Check out some of the other Homelands and Into the Midnight Sun Roll Call discussions about that.

There were some crowds that we expected (in St. Petersburg).   In Tallinn it was crowded in the AM with all the cruise passengers, but we spent the whole afternoon walking about the city without many people at all, since they'd all gone back to their ships. 

We did not do Viking Air as we flew from San Francisco to Stockholm on KLM via Amsterdam (much better pricing and we didn't have to pay that $100 pp fee for not going direct to the cruise ship).  We love KLM and also Schiphol Airport.  Interesting notes, Clay, however, on TAP.  We may have to try them next time when we do a cruise out of Lisbon and Rome.  I had heard their new planes are quite nice - especially in business class.

Stockholm, however, was our favorite city of all.   As stated we only regretted not spending more time in Norway, Bergen, and seeing Oslo - so we are considering doing the Into the Midnight Sun cruise!

On 3/14/2019 at 1:12 PM, Vineyard View said:

Becki, thank you!

 

So you were able to have a good view of the Statue of Liberty on your sail away, or do you recommend making that a separate plan? 

 

I made reservations on Dominica for a private tour. We will make several nature stops (waterfalls, pool) that sound lovely. Did you experience the gorge swim during any of your trips, and if so would you consider that a challenging swim? Will be taking my waterproof Teevas on this trip! 

We are looking forward to our first time in Bermuda. I am still leaning towards catamaran in St Martin and St Kitts. 

I don’t want to overplan the ports. I will have my list of options with us and really want to just wing it some depending on the mood and weather. 

 

Also so thank you Auntiewerewolf for the tip on the Intrepid Museum! 

 

I appreciate all all of these tips!

 

Your trip sounds wonderful!  Thought I'd add that we just finished the West Indies Explorer cruise.  So sorry for those who had the broken train in St. Kitts.  We took it and had an absolute blast!  I think it also makes a difference, by chance, who you have in the car with you.  I had to laugh - because, yes, many of were saying they were making those rum drinks pretty strong!  We had a fun party though.  Thoroughly enjoyed it.   Unexpectedly, we also thoroughly enjoyed Dominica.  It had indeed seen some severe damage from the hurricane in 2017 but was quite lush.  We took a chance and did the Viking excursion of Tubing down a River.  Turned out to be one of the highlights of our cruise!  Absolutely fantastic - and got us out of our comfort zone - so fun - and it was a good group and a great set of guides.  I would recommend that highly.   Others you all mention - we did the Baths at Virgin Gorda, which sadly, was a bit crowded and we had some folks on our tour group who shouldn't have done this tour (mobility issues) which really slowed folks on the single file trails and trek through the boulders.  But the waters were fantastic to swim in and the views quite stunning.  

Glad to hear about Bermuda and Hamilton.  We are on a Viking Cruise next year that will be stopping there and good to know you can walk into town. Haven't been there in eons but it was quite beautiful!

4 hours ago, the_dylaness said:

We have re-decided.

 

We will go with a midship DV4 (as recommended by so many on this board!)  We almost chose a DV6 but were concerned about proximity to atrium near the preferred aft stairwell and about goings on below our cabin in public spaces.

 

We will save about $800 choosing this room instead. We'll add the silver spirit package and still come out several hundred ahead.  We realized we cared a little more about the ability to go to the bar, order drinks, socialize, dance, etc. than the availability of it in a mini bar.  I don't know if it will come out ahead financially but it's not uncommon for us to have a couple of cocktails and even if we don't quite "break even" I think I just like the convenience factor.  We enjoy the "tabless" experiences we have had on Crystal, Seabourn, and SS, and this will make our Viking cruise that much more luxurious in our eyes.

 

Thanks to everyone for the great advice!

 

Excellent decision!   That's what we enjoy about Viking - there are many choices for everyone's different interests.

6 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

 

Can anyone post pictures of the differences?

 

Thanks, OneSixtyToOne - I was going to ask the same thing...

Pictures of the Planetarium inside and pictures of the reduced 8th floor portion of Explorers lounge.

If none by April when we board in Barcelona, I'll post some.

As for warmer weather cruises, we just finished a Viking Caribbean cruise - where it was around 85 degrees most of the time in February.  So nice.   Needless to say, it was quite relaxed for dress.  We did see a few sportscoats in the Chef's Table restaurant and Manfredi's but not many other places.   I preferred wearing nice shorts and a golf shirt to the World Cafe, which is more informal - and that seemed to be the men's dress of choice on this warm weather cruise.  I would caution, however, that some of the rooms on the Viking can be quite cool (over air-conditioned?), so having a sweater proved to be a good move.  (Especially the Star Theatre and the Wintergarden).

Had another thought just now - perhaps it was more formal on this cruise since it was the Caribbean.  We had been on a Viking Homelands cruise last May and even though we had unusually warm weather for the Baltics, people dressed a little nicer.  Not sure, but perhaps that is just the more European way (the ship had quite a number of folks from Europe onboard) than American.

On 3/3/2019 at 11:16 AM, Annarundel said:

We have always gotten our "formal" invitation to the Meet and Mingle while on the ship.  In the evenings when we received our Viking Daily we would also have a very nice formal invitation waiting for us.

 

We did our first ever Meet & Mingle on our recent Viking Sea cruise.  Fortunately just about everyone showed up to the Wintergarden, but more sitting than mingling 🙂  

As far as notification, we never received any when we boarded and there was nothing ever in any of the Viking Dailys.  Since I had heard it often occurs on the first or second night at sea, I asked our room steward to keep an eye and also asked the Viking Cruise desk.  The invite then appeared on the day of the M&M in our stateroom.  Most everyone else received it when they boarded.  I would assume that things happen when there are several invites where invitations sometimes get missed, so just make sure to keep on top of it, and keep asking.  Slipups do happen! 

Oh - and it was quite well worth it!  We had excellent sparkling, red&white wines, and appetizers along with the chance to meet and talk with the Cruise Director, some staff, and about 5 of the officers, which we weren't expecting!  What a treat.

2 hours ago, Focused1 said:

 

Just got off of the Orion and attended one of the planetarium shows (had reservations for 3 different shows but cancelled after attending the first). As others have stated, it is merely a small domed theater with canned productions (whales/dolphins, journey through space, northern lights) shown on the dome.  The seats are ill-placed as one must strain the neck to view the dome even though the seats are slightly reclined. After seeing the northern lights production which seemed more like a children’s documentary with computer generated animation, we decided there were better things to do on the ship. 

 

Thank you Focused1 for sharing.  Yes, it is a disappointment, but better to know now.

Perhaps there will be some changes - we can only hope.

As you say, there is so much to do on the ship, no need to waste any time doing things that are not that worthwhile.

3 hours ago, Little Monty said:

 

hello CCWineLover

 

We were on Orion in January and I wrote a review after. This is an extract from that review;

 

*we attended the Mars presentation in the planetarium dome. We assumed it would be some sort of documentary about man’s progress towards a Mars landing etc. Unfortunately it was a ‘movie’ (for the want of a better word) with actors pretending to be astronauts pretending to go to Mars. It was terrible. They lock the door when the movie starts .. we assume this is to keep those attending in, rather than late arrivals out

 

Obviously just our opinion .. we didn't back back for seconds so can't comment on the other movies / whatever they are called. We did seriously consider walking out half way through but thought we would only disturb others (who may well have been enjoying the experience).

 

You get tickets from Guest Services.

 

We sat at the very back but even then it was uncomfortable looking up at the screen on the ceiling as the seat did not recline back far enough - again in our opinion.

 

There was no 'expert' in the room to talk about astronomy etc - just a guy who locked the door and pushed the 'play' button.

 

 

Personally - the whole experience was disappointing.

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences.  It is sad that this was disappointing. 

I enjoy astronomy a lot, and is a shame that Viking built this just to put on a 2nd rate show.

Perhaps with enough reviews they will attempt to make things better.  Trying to be positive!

I've seen nothing but very bad reviews & comments on CruiseCritic of the planetarium on the Orion and Jupiter.  Can anyone comment who has been to the planetarium on why?   Is it the programs?  The seats?  The astronomy specialists?

Was this a big mistake for Viking?   Are there things that could be changed? 

I was looking forward to this on our upcoming cruise on Jupiter, as I very much enjoy astronomy, but now I'm not so sure.

 

How do they have people attend?  I heard you have to sign up for tickets?  Where/when?   What are examples of the programs they have had?   I heard another comment that "they lost the last rows of seating" ?  

 

Thanks to those who can provide some insight as to whether this is a worthwhile cruise experience!

On 3/5/2019 at 9:04 AM, Crewbie said:

Thanks for this, AryMay! Sounds like you had a great experience overall and the information is definitely useful. I hope you don't mind my tagging in with a few additional comments from my December Star Princess experience. (Pre-emptive comment: When planning for South America, consider downloading WhatsApp as lots of vendors use it and it was invaluable for real-time communication.)

 

Santiago - We were in-transit on this day and took a ship tour. Regrettably underwhelmed, and a mistake on my part: When planning, remember that stated tour capacity is not the same as number of people taking the same tour. You can be in a group at tour capacity... along with the 5 other groups at the same capacity on the same itinerary. Keep in mind that San Antonio port is still around 90 minutes away from Santiago, and maybe look for excursions and/or independent vendors that provide a focused experience.

 

Puerto Montt - Seconding Denis Purtov. Great correspondence; very clear. We had a great day with our guide, and traveling in a small minibus meant that our group could skip forward when all the ship buses were at the falls and catch a few extra sights. Puerto Varas was pleasant, but the highlights were definitely with the nature, for me. (Max group size 16; $65 pp; additional park entry fee and lunch)

 

Punta Arenas - We pinned our hopes on El Pedral and Volunteer Point and decided against Magdalena Island. If you're looking for alternatives, we thought that Punta Arenas was pretty walkable. We wound up using Tour Guide Ushuaia taking its Fort Bulnes and City Tour. Being the holiday season, we ran into a brief hiccup with guides, but TGU coordinator Edgar is exceptionally organized and responsive and we ultimately had a great day. I was very glad to have a guide to help navigate entry/ticketing into the Park of the Strait of Magellan/Fort; the Fort/City combo is logically done since the park didn't open until late morning. I'd wanted to visit the park from the get-go and wasn't disappointed - it's more a collection of sites connected by short car distances, but the main historic museum is very new and informative (lots of Spanish, but a good amount of English) and the Fort is interesting. There's a viewpoint a short walk past the Fort which is very lovely. Revisiting walkability - there was more than enough time after the tour's end for me to walk back to the square and then over down to the "Punta Arenas" sign. (Max group size 10; $126 pp inclusive Park of Strait of Magellan entry; additional expenditure for any other museums and food/lunch)

 

Ushuaia - We took two excursions with Gerardo Germain; he was great and also very good with our camera in taking photos! Seconding AryMay on getting out of Ushuaia and including a view of the Lake District; the scenery is simply amazing. Tierra del Fuego National Park is worth it, but I'd recommend smaller vendors as they can make a few more stops with more flexibility. Also keep in mind that any cruise ships will keep a steady flow of excursions to the Park. (Charges per vehicle, per excursion; does not include any park entry or meal costs).

 

Falkland Islands - Volunteer Point. Amazing. Magellanic, gentoo, and king penguins; stretch of lovely white sand beach. The ride is rough; four passengers to a vehicle means that someone will be in the middle seat for the ride. The cruiselines and independent vendors all go to the same place with the same itinerary - try to book with an independent vendor (we used Estancia Excursions) for a greatly cheaper price. They do fill up! ($200USD or 140GBP pp inclusive of bag lunch)

 

Puerto Madryn - Seconding El Pedral as an option. A shorter distance than Punta Tombo or the Peninsula. Book directly for half the cost of a comparable ship excursion to Punta Ninfas; their communication style is definitely more no-frills in advance, but the trip is absolutely worth it. Puerto Madryn itself has a walkable main beach strip, but that's after the fact. ($120 payable to hostess at site inclusive of lunch)

 

Montevideo - There's a very walkable circuit for do-it-yourself (this again was a port where I was able to walk back to the square with plenty of time after our tour). Tour Guide Ushuaia has a City Tour and Barbecue option - the barbecue (with ample food, wine, and spending time on the back patio of our guide's home with his entire family) was definitely a lasting memory for our entire group. (Approximately $90 pp with roughly 17 group size; inclusive of lunch)

 

Buenos Aires - We booked with Cultura Cercana and had a very pleasant day. Though we had booked a 12-capacity group, we were very surprised to find that our group of 12 was placed in a full-sized coach (with an expert driver). By the end of the tour we similarly were very grateful for this air-conditioned refuge; the heat and humidity definitely kept a cap on our energy. Cultura Cercana had the best and most coherent correspondence of all my communication in advance. I do recommend in any planning to try to enumerate any specific stops desired - a difficult thing to identify since we were first-timers, but there are specific things like the Flora Generalis, the El Ateneo Grand Splendid, or a little more time on Palermo that might be worth inquiring about. ($65 pp at group size of 12, not inclusive of lunch)

 

We also took a debarkation ship's tour to the Tigre Delta - this was a more pleasant surprise than Santiago. Stops were very brief, but the river tour was interesting and with decent room for passengers to get a seat on the single-level, covered ship (large windows with good views). 

 

 

Thank you both for such wonderful reviews and information.  We are taking a cruise Santiago to Buenos Aires this December and going to nearly every port you mention so it was with great interest that I read carefully all your reports!  Glad you enjoyed your trip!

Thank you so much, doxielover47 for this amazing list of tour details.  I imagine this will help many many people who are taking the South America trips upcoming!  

Quick question for you - did you have any concerns or were there any "close calls" in getting back to the ship before sailing?  That is the only thing that concerns me about doing private tours - if you miss the ship, it could be quite costly!!

Wonderful job!

On 2/27/2019 at 1:03 PM, Marguerite-a-Ville said:

Looking at the deck diagram on the Viking website, there is a shaded area underneath the Deck 5 PV1 cabins.  Is this an obstructed view?

 

 

 

We just got off the Viking Sea recently, and when I saw this post, I remembered shooting a picture looking up at that overhang from the pier.  Not sure if this will help you - as I'm sure it is a judgment thing.  Personally I think that on the 5th deck you are just fine.  We had booked some future cruises with the on-board cruise consultant, who did inform us that she'd heard reports of noise from the 6th floor rooms below the World Cafe from some customers, but it really is all subjective.  We like the 5th deck - high enough but not underneath any activity oriented space.  Anyways, hope the picture helps you.

 

2 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

We are on Jupiter for South America.  Santiago to BA January 24, 2020.

Hi TayanaLoma -   it does look like a great itinerary!  We are doing that exact Santiago to BA on Dec 21, 2019.

I will try to post things we discover along the way for those that follow.  It still seems a long time from now to be sure.

Are you doing any pre or post cruise sightseeing or are you doing Viking Air?

We are also taking the Viking Jupiter in a few weeks out of Barcelona so it will be fun to see how the "new" ship is!

3 hours ago, doxielover47 said:

Bitburg Boy, if you are interested in a couple other private tours let me know. We did all private or small tours on our South America trip and all of them were very good. I'm not sure which ports are included in your itinerary, but the one we had in Puerto Montt in the Lakes area of Chile was a taxi tour and was exceptional and I would highly recommend it. We were a bit unsure of doing the taxi tours as we had never done any like that before, but they turned out to be favorites of ours. I had found them in another poster's blog. Let me know if you would like information on these. I'd be happy to share them with you.

 

 

 

Hi Doxielover47:  Thank you for the insight.  We are on the Jupiter this coming December Santiago to Buenos Aires and Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Ushuala, Falklands, Puerto Madryn, Montevideo are other ports).   We also would be interested in any info you have on the taxi tours you took or any other South America tips.

On 3/2/2019 at 8:02 PM, camnjoss said:

We too are on the April 25th Jupiter sailing. We love the small ships. We love the opportunity it gives to get to know folks.

See you all soon.

Hi Camnjoss -

That's great!  Glad to see another Californian.  Will see you aboard then in Barcelona!  Don't forget to sign up for the Meet & Mingle over on the April 25th Jupiter Roll call.    Ditto for HockeyMom44!   See you all - getting close now.

14 hours ago, Dauntless said:

 

Let me say that if you have had these foods before and didn't like them, don't go with an attitude.  I do like salmon anyway I have had it but on the Northern European menu it is featured.  Both of us were not fans of previous salmon but we honestly did not even taste it in the dish it was featured--or so it appeared from menu description.  Theses are sampling presentations and so you aren't eating 'chicken fried steak' portions.  This is the experience that you might not do at home(I'm one of those because serving this way usually comes with a hefty price tag at gourmet restaurants and I don't want to stretch the t be disappointed).  For the price it's worth the adventure since you're on an "explore's' adventure.  There is plenty of other food around if you want other options. once you leave.

 

Yes, Dauntless, we agree with you.  The Chef's Table is great since it is an experience we don't normally have at home, and being on a cruise like Viking's is a great chance to try things you wouldn't normally have - plus it's fun to learn about the different preparations and different wine pairings.  A truly enjoyable experience everytime we've eaten there.

As for the portions, we found there was plenty for us to fill up.  Of course, for those who eat more volume, one can always go to the World Cafe afterwards and get more food and/or do room service.

I always try to book the Chef's table early, and find that we can get additional reservations in the back half of the cruises when people who don't like the experience, cancel out of their reservations.

20 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I assumed "Hamlet" had something to do with it.    (Thanks for being a teacher.  Totally underappreciated in our country.) 

 

I'll throw one more thing out there, if you have an entire day.  What we actually did was take a fully day tour outside Copenhagen with Hamlet Tours (yup, that's their name).  Their "Grand Day Trip Around Copenhagen" visits Kronborg Castle, Frederiksborg Palace, the Viking Museum, and Roskilde Cathedral.   It's a long day, and they really are squeezing a lot in (and certainly one could easily use more time at each stop), but unless you think you'll be back to Denmark any time soon, it's a way to see several fabulous sites.  (I have to say, they spent more time at Kronborg than my wife and I would have allocated to it, given the other sites.)

 

https://hamlettours.com/grand-day-trip-around-copenhagen/

 

 

This sounds interesting!  Hits all the items.  We are staying 2 days in Copenhagen after finishing our cruise in mid-May.  Might be less hassle doing this for a day and then just walking around in Copenhagen for a day, then dealing with buses and trains on our own.   We are staying at the Crowne Plaza near the airport since we leave for home early in the AM.

Here are pics I took last week of the Mexican meal at Chef's Table aboard the SEA.   The Short Ribs in Mole, along with the Chocolat Dessert.   Quite excellent!   And of course, we had excellent service as well and some very good wines to pair with the meal.  Hope this whets your appetite.