CCWineLover

Thank you so VERY much for your very detailed review. I am following carefully since we will be doing this exact thing next year. Gave me some very good information - although as you say, it could all change over time (hopefully for the better). I had been thinking that at least in good weather it might be a wonderful water taxi ride to Venice with lots of great views to take pictures. May I ask what side of the taxi did you sit on? Was there a queue waiting when you wanted to get back to Venice? Did you use Google off-line maps or something else? Thanks again!

We did see our first dog on a Viking Cruise this past Dec/Jan - coincidentally also on the Star on our FLL Panama Canal cruise. It was I think a German Shephard. It was a true support dog - very well trained. Quiet, obediant, NEVER on the chairs or seats. Always at the foot of its owner. The owner appeared to have extremely poor sight (near blind). Perhaps as more and more older people are traveling on Viking, this will be more prevalent. I personally have no problem with true support dogs, but the whole "emotional" support aspect is a bit too much for us. Holding your dog on the Explorer's lounge chair? That is going too far.

I do remember seeing that Cameo as well! Great job! Season 2, Episode 1, The Baltic on Viking Sky https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7311382/?ref_=ttep_ep1 available to watch on BritBox, or Amazon Prime BritBox

\Having been on multiple Viking ocean cruises, I can confidently state: - Washers/Dryers are on the Port Side - There are 4 of them in each set up - They are on Decks 3, 4, 5, 6 - Deck 3 is usually least crowded, deck 6 the most (since it supports 7 and 8 as well) Note; sometimes one or more of the washers and/or dryers are down for maintenance!

Thirsty is right! and on a Friday evening no less.... That sounds like a good brew. Having spent a lot of time in Seattle, I'm somewhat partial to Georgetown Brewing's Bodhizafa IPA. It's a 90 IBU at 6.9 % but quite enjoyable. Always like to try new beers though.

Andy - Being an IPA lover, what is your choice tonight for your hoppy West Coast IPA?

Good point, Jim! Hadn't thought of that - but no doubt given some of the self-entitled elitist personalities that exist (even on Viking cruises), that certainly would amplify it. I change my mind to being against it. The cons outweigh the pros.

That would be great for you and I, right Dee?

On Thanksgiving Day, 2021, we visited Nice/Eze/Monaco on Viking Sea. We anchored and tendered in to Villefranch-Sur-Mer. It was not that bad a tender. The town looked very nice to walk around. Learned it was made famous (infamous?) by the Rolling Stones . https://www.purefrance.com/en/blog/villefranche-sur-mer-and-the-rolling-stones Some shots.

Lorna - On our B2B in Dec 2021 (which you were on the final leg), some of the entertainment was repeated but the food items were different. Specialty lunches/brunches etc were unique. Chef's Table runs on a monthly schedule and I did get to see that schedule at the beginning. They had about 6 different menus rotated through the whole month, usually changing every 3 days, but a couple of 2 days ones in there. So we were able to try lots more menus than just a single leg would. Here is the Dec 2021 CT Menu Cycle that Viking share with me, as an example, from the Viking Sea.

They must be popular! We haven't seen one since pre-COVID - had enough of them. Good news is that leaves time to do something else - like the Explorer's Lounge, or catching up on the taped shows on the lectures or port talks or more.

Book it! That's a good price and TAP is pretty good. Do it soon as prices seem to be going up and up.

Thanks, Lorna. I see however, that 4030 is right in front of the elevator. The DV3's I asked about are up the road a bit and beyond the wall that ends at the stairwell, so I don't think that would be an issue for those rooms.

Thank you much!

Was on the TA on the Sea December 2021 Barcelona-San Juan. We were very fortunate to get to see Funchal/Madeira. It was an unexpected treat - such an amazing place. Reminded me a bit of Hawaii (the Big Island). Our guide even then told us many of the natives went to Hawaii in the late 1800's / early 1900's to work in the fields, and brought the ukulele with them, along with their Portuguese food dishes. Interesting story, if true.

We are considering one of the two pairs of DV3 rooms on Deck 5 on Viking Ocean. They are located just forward of the front stairs. Port: 5024/5026 Starboard: 5025/5027 They are squished in between PS1's and PV2's. The price is right and it seems like it'd be nice to be close to the stairs to get to Explorer's Lounge, but not too close. Does anyone have any experience with any of these 4 rooms? Thanks!

Lorna - We did 5 nights and 4 full days in Rome last November before getting a hire to Civitavecchia. If you can at all make it work, to to stay 4 or 5 nights. With 4, that's really only 3 days and one is a tiring day. We did the Vatican on our first full day and were dead tired by 4 PM. 5 nights (4 days) is ideal if you can swing it. Looking forward to seeing Venice. All the people complaining about Chioggia - but since we've not been there at all, we aren't that concerned. The world is changing. Just the chance to see Venice and spend some time is one of the major reasons we are doing the B2B cruises.

Great idea! We'd definitely be interested in sharing a van to return to the ship on Day 2. Keep us in mind. Kent and Pam

We never saw this happen. We had cabin luggage and stowed it just fine. Never heard that story before. Perhaps it applies to the very small planes however. We had plenty of space in business class, above and below.

Fantastic plans! We are doing this same 3 day B2B stayover in Venice next February, so please keep us updated on our your plans work out! What hotel, gondola, museums, restaurants, and more. Sounds like it would be well worth it.

We also flew TAP in business class. Intra-Europe was better than expected, as was the quite nice flight and service from Lisbon to San Francisco on the newer A321 neo. That flight was a dream. We are doing TAP again at end of this year.

You should check out the thread that jc522 started. There is a lot of good information on the Venice situation. I am finding it very valuable as we will also be doing 3 days in Venice next February.

This is easily THE best and most comprehensive review of the Bergen-Oslo train. It should answer hundreds of the questions everyone is always asking! you are to be commended and thanked! Much appreciated.

Agree! I put in the feedback that Viking should add Closed Caption. We also had the volume as high as it would go. Had Viking person come and look at it. He said, whether true or not, that they have implemented a max volume due to so many complaints from people that passengers in adjoining cabins were blasting their TV's so loud (probably lots of hard of hearing folks on Viking). I do remember in our first years with Viking Ocean before COVID, we suffered from neighbors who had the TV too loud, but that's changed in our past cruises. So maybe it is true. Makes sense in that regard, but please add closed caption then.

Hi Hobson1754 and Lorna: We are also doing legs 2 and 3 next February/March (Rome-Venice; Venice-Athens). We have some familiarity with this Viking Mediterranean segment trips schedules. Last year we boarded in Rome and went to Barcelona (and then on to San Juan). Livorno (Florence) This was our first port after Rome Livorno. It is NOT a turnover port, but you stay overnight and have 2 full days. We did excursions both days. Day 1 we just did the included tour to Pizza. We wanted to do Lucca, but it was sold out. (This was back when you had to do Viking excursions - no independent). 2nd day we did the full day Florence tour. So you'll have 2 full days. Rome Rome, however, is just a day on Viking's schedule. When we board in Rome (actually Civitavecchia), we leave that evening. We met people who went from Venice to Barcelona and they did a full day tour in Rome that day. We knew that if you board in Rome (ore disembark), the only way to see Rome is to do Viking's extensions or do it yourself. We did 4 days in Rome on our own ahead of time - and loved it. We took a car hire service (reasonable price) during the boarding day from Rome to Civitavecchia. It took 90 minutes with no traffic. Long ways. Keep that in mind. Venice We also had friends who did the stay onboard in Venice (3 days in Chioggia). Things are still in such flux that any excursions "listed" in Viking's website may or may not be offered. Our hope is to do Viking excursions on day 1, perhaps do it yourself on day 2, and walk around Chioggia on the short day 3. I'm intrigued as someone said Chioggia was really quite a nice place to visit, eat, etc. and not touristy! Viking may/likely offer some excursions onboard on day for those who are continuing through (while some passengers disembark and others get onboard). However, my understanding is that hose wouldn't be known or available until once we are on board. People on this thread have also seemed to confirm this. That's why we'll stay flexible on day 2. Hope that helps! See you onboard next February. Kent