CDNPolar

2 minutes ago, LittleTinker said:

I haven't found a cruise line yet who takes alcohol from us as we board from ports.

 

They rely on people being honest and handing it in

I have seen on returning from excursions bag search after XRay and alcohol taken...

Wow!  Exciting for you and family!

Getting out and seeing the world is the most amazing thing!

Thanks for sharing.

Aside from your questions now, we will expect a full review when you return.

8 hours ago, Fouremco said:

That's surprising, as I've found decent perks for all of our cruises booked with them. In addition to the annual 2% cash back, the gift card or OBC for our last three bookings have been $925, $215. and $975. That works out to 10.00%, 7.73% and 10.75% of the booking prices. We've received similar amounts/percentages with all of our bookings. Maybe we've just been lucky with the cruises we've chosen, as we've never based our selection on the available perks.

Yes, if you are booking cruises and packages that this agency actually represents, then the savings are significant.

Agreed.

The challenge is that our preferred line is not bookable through this TA.

13 hours ago, geocruiser said:

I am not worried about how much  commission the TA makes.  My concerns are with what I am paying.  

I was not suggesting that a TA would not get you this because it would decrease their commission, I said that since they ARE getting a commission this is part of their job to get you that price reduction if it is available.

15 hours ago, CruisingAlong4Now said:

I'm only interested in insuring expenses that are uncapped and potentially ruinous.  This excludes direct cruise expenses. 

Agree with you here.  
 

I cannot tell you how many people I know that never buy medical when they travel.

"Oh, I am healthy and don't expect to get sick."

Yeah, well, you are also the one that is zip-lining, parasailing, and other extreme sports, which by the way, most medical insurance does NOT cover accidents or injury from these sports.

You could also fall anywhere and break a limb.  You don't have to have a pre-existing condition to need medical insurance when you travel.

5 hours ago, LittleTinker said:

You can always take it on board, they just dont let you take it to your cabin

Some cruise lines yes, will take it from you at boarding, but some allow you to bring liquor or wine with you.  Some ocean lines do, and many river cruises do.

16 hours ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

Hopefully they didn’t surrender the table.

Far too many people knuckle under to the boorish pressure of the self-selected “special” folks.

For example, on VO whoever said that a towel (or a book) on a lounger “holds” the lounger for someone??

For the very first time after several River Cruises, we wanted to sit in the Aquavit on a Viking ship because I had been sick, but was feeling better, and just did not want to sit with 6 or 8 others...

We had looked in the Aquavit a few nights around the time of the port talk and all the tables were reserved with some small thing on the table.

This night in particular, we thought we scored as there was one table of four that was seemingly open so we grabbed it.

Shortly after we sat there was a bit of a "situation" as apparently a party of four had typically reserved this every day and they were late back from excursion and did not claim the table before us.  

We were asked by crew if we would move to a table for two instead - which was by all accounts also reserved with stuff on the table but the crew removed the stuff.  We objected that the table we were at was "un-reserved" and the table that they were moving to had someones stuff on it, but the crew insisted that this was fine.

We moved, and the party of four took their table.

This was totally about the self-selected special people that are on these ships and feel entitled over others.

I do wish that these venues would be first come first served similar to when the dining room opens.

However on that note, it is not uncommon for one of a party to leave the port talk before it is over to be first in line when the dining room opens so that they can get "their table".

13 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I don't believe the common perception that when you book air through the cruise line they will take care of you when things go wrong.  

Agree with you on this, but with Viking I have personally witnessed others with major flight issues that Viking did take care of for those that they booked for.  Others were on their own.

If you are flying with Viking Air, there is a 24 hour emergency line that you are given that if any flight delay or issue then they take over for you...

I have not had to use this myself, but as I mentioned, I have seen and talked to many on Viking cruises that Viking has stepped in and taken care of flight issues.  This is one benefit of Viking Air.

Can't wait to experience this on the Viking Expedition Ships!

The thing is to me that rarely are we comparing apples to apples.

Viking inclusions may not be what someone wants, but then Crystal extra charges may be something one wants.

I think that for us we started cruising on Viking and loved it and we stick with Viking.

We also find here on CC that most people - not all - are brand loyal.

I personally think that a decision for a cruise should start with two things:

1) The Itinerary

2) The TOTAL budget - everything that you can spend including air and even pre/post extensions

Once you have these two things figured out then apply them to the different lines and make a choice.

Never been hot on Viking Ocean, but on Viking River I find the dining room and the lounge to be almost unbearably hot especially at dinner and after dinner.

27 minutes ago, CruiseMom88 said:

Thank you!  Glad to have joined!  Have a great day! 🙂

Since you started this discussion and this is your first cruise, when do you leave?

I can sense the excitement in your words....

We love, love, love cruising.  Hope you will too!

1 hour ago, Janie1229 said:

I will likely purchase my own air. Here's the breakdown per Viking: $100pp extra for the air "deviation" (not flying in same day as Viking would schedule); $250pp extra for being able to see all the schedules and book what I want and $554pp extra because the flight I want is outside the contract Viking has with airline. 

 

 

Just know that Viking is not trying to charge you more than what you can get on your own...

Viking first has rates that are contract and what you want is outside the contract rates.  

Also outside the contract rates are any flights that are a deviation from the arriving the day of embarkation and departing the day of disembarkation.

Then there is the charge to use Viking Air.

I am not suggesting that you don't know all this at this point but want to clarify for others reading this discussion.

If you are within the Viking contract rates, then often the Viking air is a great deal.

We have free air coming up and we are just going economy on 7 hour flights.  We decided to go with the flow and just take the offer.

13 hours ago, CruiseMom88 said:

Thank you for the warm welcome!  Appreciate the advice.  Yes ... it's been great! I've been saving up my questions.  We sail in August and am ready to ask questions.  Everyone has been extremely friendly and helpful.  🙂🙏

This is the place for you to ask and get great information!

Welcome!

18 hours ago, Senga said:

We just returned from a 3 week trip to Bruges, England, Norway, Shetland Islands and Iceland.  We used Airalo and had far better success than previous Europe trips.  Almost all locations had 5G service and, when we were docked, I was able to access the data without leaving the ship which wasn't the case on our similar itinerary last year nor our Mediterranean cruise in September.

Not saying that this is or was the case, but something to consider....

If you have ships Wifi engaged on your phone and you are also accessing the eSIM data, sometimes it does not work well because your phone is moving from one to the other.

I find that when in port, and the eSIM data is accessible that I must disable the ship Wifi connection for everything to work properly.

On 6/20/2024 at 7:00 AM, SeaandSky5 said:

I can confirm that my husband (retired police officer) was denied a tourist visa - no reason given, no appeal allowed for this decision. We applied in October in person at the Embassy and were told to return two weeks later to collect our passports and visas. Our cruise was mid November. We paid over $200 each for the visas. I received my visa. My husband was spoken to by an administrator, was handed his passport, told he would not be granted a visa, and shown the door. We were shocked. We asked questions around why this was happening and were told no details would be provided. 
Fortunately, we were arriving in Egypt by cruise ship so we were hopeful that the ship would handle transit visas for passengers. We applied for full visas because the rules had recently changed for Canadian citizens and we wanted to be sure we could enter the country in the event rules changed again and tourists arriving by cruise ship needed a visa. Our cruise line did not indicate we needed an Egyptian visa to board. The entire process was extremely stressful. In the end, all that effort, cost (including a 6 hour drive to Ottawa, return - twice) was not even necessary because our passports were collected onboard and transit visas were stamped to allow us to enter at the various Egyptian ports. 
It was a later poster who confirmed that they had also been denied- they were military and I have heard from another couple that they were also denied visas without explanation and they were also police officers. 
Honestly, it’s so difficult to get a straight answer from anyone. The Embassy or Consulate will not tell you that police or military will be denied and your cruise line will not give you any information other than directing you to the required documentation for the countries you’re visiting. I’m a planner so wanted to get all required visas in advance. Don’t get me started on the process for Saudi Arabia 🫣.

I wish you luck with this. If you’re not arriving to Egypt by air or land, your ship will likely handle your transit visa. If you are flying to Egypt you will require a tourist visa. If you,  or members of your travel party are military, police or retired from those professions, the likelihood of tourist visas being granted is slim. Hope this information is helpful. 

It is good to have real life experiences...

Thank you for this.

@FlyerTalker Do you have any advice here?

13 minutes ago, Rorygirl4528 said:

I will only fly non stop to Amsterdam. I called Viking air plus and talked to them about booking my flight. I gave them the flight information and the dates I wanted to fly( coming into Amsterdam 4 days before river cruise). They could do it but told me there would be both the $100 and $150 change fee pp. that’s $500! Said “no thank you” and booked myself with Delta. Cheaper than what Viking could do.

You are best to check what Viking charges and what you can get on your own.  Often the cheapest option wins!  But, sometimes the convenience of doing it through Viking wins.

Your situation does not make sense because you are not doing a Viking pre-extension and the pp charge is because you are outside of Viking contract rates.  The Viking airfares are good if you are sticking to arriving the day the cruise departs.

1 minute ago, Squawkman said:

We usually sit in the balcony where there are always blankets available.

Forgot about those.... yes.

22 hours ago, ssawjo said:

That is a better idea.  Did not know that would be allowed.  Definitely frowned upon on other cruise lines.  We will doing our first Viking Ocean next year, that is why I am asking.  Would like to avoid buying a drink package if the cost of a cocktail is reasonable.  Thanks.

Our friends have a bottle of gin in their cabin and they make the drink there and walk to whatever bar, lounge, or restaurant with the drink in their hand.  No issues with alcohol in any shape or form on a Viking ship.

21 hours ago, duquephart said:

Every time I see that Mai Tai description my blood pressure goes up five points.

You should have Viking create and name your Mai Tai recipe after you!  Then we can all enjoy what would be the real thing.

Agree with all the above.

I typically exist in short sleeves on the ship and am happy.

My husband needs long sleeves.

Agree with the Star Theatre being cooler...

Great to hear and see your review of Viking.  We have always loved Viking Customer Service.

4 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

This info is from 2019 so perhaps it’s changed but we used ApplePay on our phones and never changed any currency. My Visa card is the default credit card loaded into ApplePay and we used it at restaurants, convenience stores, food stalls, souvenir shops, and a barber shop.  Admittedly, our number of uses was small as we had prepaid a Chinese travel agency for an individual tour before we joined the Viking pre extension so most of the time we didn’t have to pay directly.  

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

 

 

The bottom-line is that we need more reports from people who have traveled in China since the country has re-opened -- and there aren't a lot of them who are also members of Cruise Critic -- in order to learn more about how things function these days.

 

I would also suggest asking general questions (such as money questions) in the Ports of Call:Asia forum here on Cruise Critic and specify that you are looking from answers from people who have traveled there post-pandemic (any other information should be considered out-of-date and therefore unreliable).

From Clay's response above, I would think that if this was with Viking they are taking you to places that accept foreign cards.

My husband is Chinese and we have family in China and my response above is first hand experience.

If you are wandering in the Hutong in Beijing which is all locals, you would be hard pressed to find merchants taking foreign cards and Apple Pay.

Perhaps my/our knowledge and experience is in more remote areas and less touristy areas of China.

Looking forward to others experiences.

5 hours ago, pontac said:

Many of the cruises that feature hotels at the beginning and end are also available  to book just the cruise element. Another that comes to mind is the Douro which many lines start with a few days in Lisbon before a long coach ride from Lisbon to Porto where the boat is.

Hmmmm... interesting.  We did the Douro on Viking and there was not an option to only book the cruise portion.  

I am going to look for that option in the future as perhaps it is offered by other cruise lines.

For the Douro however, the two nights in Lisbon were a nice welcome and get acclimated  to the time zone for us.  We do prefer the whole experience to be on the ship however.