CDNPolar

Our experience very similar - very easy.

Someone will hit me up for this comment, but you just have to let what you perceive to be snarky roll off... Text based communication is so often mis-interpreted and it is part of being in these forums. I piss people off on a regular basis and I get "snarky" comments back and life goes on. Take everything at face value and not so personally. What it comes down to is what value is this forum to you? That only you can decide. Leaving the forum does not impact or hurt anyone other than yourself if there could otherwise be value to you. I agree with leaving facebook, but CC has a very specific purpose and there is MUCH knowledge on this site that I for one will stick around for.

We are not currently practicing vegans, however we were 100% vegan on two Viking cruises - one ocean and one river. On ocean, when listed as a dietary guest, each night we received the next day's Restaurant menu at our cabin. The deal was to circle what you wanted to eat and they would modify the dish to your dietary requirement. On our river cruise we really lucked out as one of the cooks came from a specialty in vegetarian cooking. We were a group of 8 travelling together. Each meal, the manager came to us with a menu and he circled what they would modify for us, OR, there was the option of the cook's special dish each day that would be prepared for us. We almost always took the special dish and our 6 friends more than once made comment that they wished that they said they were vegan. The meals that this cook prepared for us were outstanding. No, I don't believe that Viking have an actual vegan menu, however we have always found them very agreeable to meet our needs. This is our individual experience. We abandoned full vegan diet because we travel so much and to areas of the world that it is near impossible to find food that will accommodate. We spent over an hour one day searching the centre of Tokyo for a vegan noodle house. It was incredibly hard in Japan to find anything remotely vegan. In the APAC region, every soup is bone broth and meat or seafood exists in some small way in every dish. Oyster sauce and fish sauce and on and on. We are functionally vegetarians now that eat meat when we travel. In short, I believe that Viking would one day serve themselves well to have a standard vegan menu because we would definitely look at it and order from it, but until then, if you advise them in advance they are incredibly accommodating. One thing: Email tellus@vikingcruises.com 60+ days in advance of your cruise to let them know the dietary needs. "Tellus" will alert your ship and on the ocean ships they have a dietary manager. You can meet with the dietary manager on boarding. They will know in advance who you are. It is advisable to alert in advance so they can prepare with the appropriate supplies.

Yeah, my bad... not unlike me to mix up acronyms. ESS = EES

One included per port.

Global Entry and Nexus. Would make sense.

Yes, I have now found this too. I was actually hopeful that NEXUS information is connected, but that is probably only available to the US boarder agents.

We did this cruise in early May and for the same reasons you are looking at October. Crowds are less and the temperatures will be more agreeable. We actually tend to travel "shoulder season" as we prefer to put on a sweater than roast.... Good date choice.

Apparently these two - ESS and ETIAS are not redundant as I do more research. https://travel-europe.europa.eu/key-differences-between-etias-and-ees-2023-06-06_en Read this link above and it will compare and explain the two. Both are necessary and the ESS will come into play before ETIAS. Am I the only one in Canada that did not know about the ESS? Question for my fellow Canadians: If you have NEXUS, your finger prints are on file. Are our finger prints linked and part of our Canadian Passport biometric data? If this is the case, and we are a Canadian with NEXUS, we may not have to go through the line and have photos and finger prints taken when ESS comes into operation?

Just read the site link: https://travel-europe.europa.eu/key-differences-between-etias-and-ees-2023-06-06_en Holy crap Batman? I guess that I am out of touch as I have only been following the ETIAS. Thanks for this.

But when is ESS coming into operation?

The ESS site clearly states that the ESS is currently not in operation. The ETIAS site claims that it will be in operation in 2024 and we have been expecting this. This is the first I have heard of the ESS and there is no information on the ESS site when it will be in operation. Asking again - are these two systems ESS and ETIAS not redundant?

Interesting discussion going on in the Viking forum. This discussion has entered a new level of discussion talking about ESS (Exit Entry System) and that it will be on top of the ETIAS? The ESS will require you to submit your finger prints on arrival to an EU country? https://travel-europe.europa.eu/ees_en The ESS system states on the web site that it is not operational right now but does not give any detail as to when it will be operational. Are these two not redundant? ESS and ETIAS?

I am confused about the ESS vs. ETIAS? On the ETIAS sites - which has been known for some time - there is no mention of ESS or finger prints, just biometric passport? Are you suggesting that with this ESS system that my next flight landing in the EU will require me to queue and provide my fingerprints? This seems a bit backwards, because the quote above mentions finger prints taken at the point of applying for the visa? I cannot imagine that this ESS system would allow me to board a flight in Canada, travel to the UK and then be denied because there was a problem with my finger prints? Why is this ESS requirement not tied to the ETIAS and why are they not "talking to each other"? This all seems somewhat redundant? Don't get me wrong, I have no issue with the ETIAS and you can all have my finger prints, because I have NEXUS and you have to provide your finger prints and Iris scan to that that card... There is nothing hidden by a traveller today anywhere that you go. Scan that biometric passport and your life is on display for the border agent in any country.

Clay, we had the same problem where a voucher was applied and we had previously been told that it would not. We specifically asked that the voucher not be applied to a booking because we were making this booking further out and we were going to book something sooner and would like it attached to the earlier booking. We were told that we could specify this and the voucher would not be applied. When we got our invoice, the voucher was applied. We called back, and it did not matter the arguing, and even though the escalated customer service agent admitted that in the notes we were given wrong information, they would not remove the voucher. If you have any voucher on the books with Viking be VERY CAREFUL that you understand what is happening with that voucher and the rules around it. If ever presented with the option of refund vs. 125% deal like Viking did during covid, I would not always opt for refund. The 25% lift is almost always in Viking's favour.

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I think that you should call Hurtigruten and ask. The Hurtigruten forum is very underused on CC and you may wait forever to see a response. I have done a couple of searches - both on CC and Hurtigruten sites. The only thing I come up with is this, and I would imagine if they have pet cabins, then they have facilities that are for the dogs. Probably not allowed in lounges or restaurants however. Is Hurtigruten dog friendly? Which ships have pet cabins? All Norwegian coastal ships have pet cabins with the exception of MS Nordlys, MS Midnatsol and MS Kong Harald. Unfortunately, Hurtigruten Explorer ships (MS Midnatsol, MS Fram, MS Spitsbergen, MS Nordstjernen and MS Roald Amundsen) don't have pet cabins.

We are sailing from Bucharest to Budapest embarking Viking Ullur on August 16th. We understand the possibility of being bussed around a bridge, or potentially moved from hotel to hotel depending on the severity of the water levels. What we don't know is this: Is there anyway to have an advance crystal ball view of what the water levels are going to be in one month's time? If the water levels are extremely low because of all this heat, what happens? How does Viking handle this kind of situation? We have only done one river cruise before and all went to plan. We just want to be ready with our 'expectations' in check.

Sorry - did not intend to challenge anything that you were saying. I too agree with what you were saying.... I think that I was just adding to your observations and my thoughts...

As in the work world, "casual" is interpreted differently by everyone. What is casual to one is dressy to another. Viking is a casual dress cruise line. There is no need for "formal" attire at anytime on Viking. I think that we just have to accept that casual is interpreted differently by different people. I don't see any reason that men cannot wear shorts if they are proper walking shorts and not a bathing suit or sports/running shorts. Proper walking shorts paired with a collared polo / golf shirt is fine. Just no muscle shirts on the men because the last thing I want to see beside me while eating any meal is flabby arms and armpit hair. We tend to dress a bit nicer for dinner, if we are going to The Restaurant, Manfredi's or The Chef's Table, but not for the World Cafe. We like to come back from the day, shower, and dress in a slightly more elevated fashion as we see this as a night out and this just makes us feel better. I grew up in the times that you dressed to go to theatre and to get on a airplane, and although I love that the expectation is not that high anymore, I am shocked sometimes at what some folks do wear, especially on an aircraft.

Thanks to all the posters here... I have researched and read and re-read almost everything and the only thing I have not done is tried to contact US border services directly. All the information suggests that I can update my passport online, even though I was told by the US border agent that I must present in person. We will see. I will do the update online when the time comes and deal with the fallout after. When that time comes it will only require a quick trip to remedy the situation if necessary and no appointment is necessary for updates.

No, we had our cruise booked and then a promo came out with free air. We called and rebooked and got the free air. The only requirement was that we had to book new dates, so we booked 2 weeks earlier departure but we saved 4K and there was no penalty and we did NOT cancel - we kept the same booking number.

European flour is naturally lower in protein and gluten. Many people with gluten intolerances can manage European flour and breads... If you bring home a recipe that is written to use European flour, it won't turn out the same in USA or Canada if you are using flour bought in USA or Canada.

I recall from our first cruise on Viking when it seemed difficult to have any kind of dietary restriction recognized to now when I feel that Viking take great pride in being able to offer some kind of consideration for special diet requirements. I don't see them offering huge menus of specialized foods, but they are making strides.

Oh, how glorious! I did not realize that the success cake was gluten free! I don't myself have to concern myself GF, but try to stay away from processed flour and other highly processed foods... so I LOVE the success cake and just one more reason to indulge!