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mariavii

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Everything posted by mariavii

  1. It was the same on the Sky. by the last day of the cruise most of my preferred wines were out (or, in the case of the Gavi, were never available).
  2. Just off the Sky and had an issue with with a dietary restriction. I celebrated my birthday at the Chefs Table. It was the Xiang menu and when making the reservation on board I informed the desk that I cannot have coconut (the granita was coconut). They said it would be no issue and they would most likely swap out w lemon- just let them know. Upon checking in at CT I informed maitre d' and he said to tell the waiter. We sat down and I told the waiter and he said no problem. When the granita course came, my friend and I were both served coconut granita by the runner. I said something and it was swapped out. The dessert course was next and the menu stated "chilled mango cream with pomelo and sugo" and a description that it was light and refreshing. When served it looked like there was toasted coconut on top so I asked and the server was like yes, it's coconut cream and coconut etc etc .. Um.... Luckily a) i noticed and b) they also.served me a birthday cake that was delicious but this put a major damper on my birthday and, for someone with a severe allergy who didn't notice, this could have been catastrophic. I did bring this up the following day with guest services, as this shows a clear lack of training and communication.
  3. On the sky now. $25/day but i was told at living room bar that it now includes drinks up to $18 so champagne is included.
  4. Ugh. I am boarding tomorrow and held off buying SSP because my mom (a TA) wanted to gift it to me once she realized the other celebration options were not to her liking - she wanted to send flowers. So with all the back and forth with her viking rep, when she went to purchase SSP/provide OBC for it she was told it was too late (like when MVJ cuts off).
  5. I was "despairing" that I wouldn't know my cabin until boarding, but just about a week out from my Jan 3 cruise and I got the message. Our V2 guarantee became a confirmed DV2 on level 6. 😀 Yay, closer to the Explorers Lounge🍸!
  6. Yes! It was my first Viking cruise (2018)..and honestly I stayed away from cruising because the thought of the mainstream cruise lines horrified me 🙂 We were among the youngest on the ship (Star) but that didn't even register. The trip had a nice amount of sea days, the scenery was beautiful, and you could be as active or a relaxy as you want. Best advice...Go! Otherwise... in geiranger we rented this exta tiny electric car. It was a hoot! Happy to answer any specific Qs...as are many on this board.
  7. I havent done the BIE, but on our Midnight Sun we did the Highland Park day in Orkney - which is great if you are a whisky person. It was the tour, a very nice tasting, lunch, a visit to where peat is harvested, and then we hit some historic sites. Our guide was a hoot and there was additional whisky poured throughout the tour 🙂 In Shetland I had tried to book David Malcom, but he was already booked. Instead we spent a lovely day with his daughter (Kittywake Tours). We did what is think is the South Mainland Tour. So many puffins!
  8. It's also on Viking's website: https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/my-trip/current-sailings/index.html
  9. On a side note about prohibited items... My ex picked up a very cool hatchet in Norway and when we returned to the ship, we just let security know and they took possession until we disembarked.
  10. It is! I was there on a 20-person bike/barge tour in 2012. There were a negligible amount of tourists. Then we ferried/biked up the up the islands. I fear what the cruise ships will do to this "little Venice." But, for those of you bemoaning the change of docking location, dont look at it as a negative. Venice is at its best in the early morning or late night when the hordes have gone. Not as a day-tripper. make is a pre/post-trip destination or a destination onto itself. Look at the benefits of Chioggia. Its an hour from Padua (worth a visit), A little over an hour from Ferrara (worth a visit) and for nature lovers, it is just north of the Po river delta (and its parks)..a wonderful place if you are a bird watcher (the flamingos!)
  11. Years ago I stayed in the Terminus travelling independently. As far as I recall it was quite lovely with a very good location facing the lake.
  12. I am doing this cruise with the extension so had to get the visa. It was $51.50.
  13. I'm hoping I'm hit by the Upgrade Fairy. Still waiting on assignment for my V2 GTY for Jan 2 cruise. *crossing fingers* I had a pretty crappy 2021 and 2022 and so I'm kicking off 2023 celebrating my 50th in style. And yes, I will be 100% ok with a V2 (previously Ive been in a DV5) ...but a gal can hope, right?
  14. I recognize at least 2 reds from my 2018 Midnight Sun cruise. SSP is $19.99/day. I think that's the same.
  15. The equipment on my Lufthansa long haul flights (to/from FRA/PHL) in January was changed to Eurowings Discovery operated by Finnair. EW is the LH "long haul leisure" arm and as they are expanding they can't get their hands on equipment so they are leasing from Finnair (who has excess aircraft due to Ukraine/Russia). Dealing with AirPlus dept has been up and down. They weren't ticketing when my TA asked 60 days out (said they would 55 days out). Then when we called them 1 day later to explore alternate options, they were like...its ticketed! hmm. the airplus rep confirmed my seats for all 4 flights - yes, i know what the airline giveth, they may take away - but when I looked at MVJ the following day, the long haul seats were gone. Spoke with AirPlus again and they were able to get the PHL-FRA seat back, but were having issues with the return and would have to call LH directly. they would send me and TA updated itinerary when they were set. Yesterday, I still had nothing so my TA called. no seats were in my record for the return, but they looked on the LH site and they were there for all 4 flights. Not sure how much of this issue is technical, EW/Finnair lease, general 'post-covid' travel woes, etc. I never had issues in the past with Viking air, and since this is winter travel I definitely want Viking support once travel starts. I have my travel insurance, silver spirits, and I'll be on vacation. The rest...Ill just roll with whatever the travel gods deal out.
  16. We did not use Viking Air for our Midnight Sun because the best flights at the time for us were Icelandair from BOS via KEF.
  17. I have been to Chioggia on a 21 person bike/barge trip. It is lovely and I would hate to see it ruined by cruise traffic. (Then again, as one of Venetian heritage, it kills me to see the cruise ships in Venice as well.)
  18. At Heathrow our 5 hour layover was barely enough in June!
  19. I am 134 days out and my excursions were loaded a week+ ago. Yes. It lists all the time/s the tour is offered, the length of the tour and the price (along with the info you can usually see on the regular viking website)
  20. I was given the same info re waiting to book but as folks here have said, talk to a real person and you should be able to book. My TA got the flights I wanted for my Jan 2023 cruise. Then yesterday she got email notice that they changed my return to a 2 stop via Montréal on air Canada. Viking told her that my original return flight was canceled. It was not. Another call later and it was fixed but I feel like this will be an ongoing battle for the next 4 months.
  21. Indeed! In one of these threads someone made the comment that the difference between pre-cruise Viking and on-board Viking was staggering. That is so true. All four of my flights are non-codeshare Lufthansa so I only have the one number and the flights appear on the LH website. Just can't do anything with them. Well, as MVJ says...only 145 days to go! Ha!
  22. My red box says October 5, but the Booking Summary page says October 20. I tried to go via Lufthansa site but it wouldn't let me make any changes because it was done "on a different booking platform." Urg. I foresee another call to VAir, and a very nice gift for my TA/Mom. 😉
  23. Success (sort of) with the Air... My TA called her regular non-Air number yesterday just to verify Air vis a vis final payment/air plus payments and when they are due. The guy was super helpful and, of course, verified everything we all already know about booking flights. He also told her how best to get through the automated menus. After another extremely frustrating conversation with the Air folks (who 'surprisingly' had no issue booking my flights - although they insisted the flights my TA had were Air Canada even though they were non-code share Lufthansa flights) she was told we may see the itinerary on MVJ in two weeks or so as it had to go through the airline etc etc. Again my TA was perplexed by that - she typically receives the flight details via email soon after she makes the reservation w Viking Air. She hung up and figured she'd try again today - she obviously wanted to see the itinerary to make sure it was correct. But not 5 min after the call ended, the new itinerary was emailed to both my TA and me. There is a question here.... How long should it be for the flights to show up on MVJ so I can try to change seats?
  24. Thanks! (My TA is also my mother so we are on it!)
  25. My TA was just given some odd info (at least it seemed very odd to both of us) when she called Viking yesterday. This is my 3rd Viking cruise and we did 1 with Viking air and one we booked our own (with a $49 Viking transfer). I have my deposit in for January 3 Treasure/Antiquities cruise. My TA contacted Viking yesterday to start arranging my flights and the Air Rep told her that I cant select flights until 2 months out. She reasked the question a few ways and had him repeat that because it just seemed so incorrect. Even MVJ says the lights would be posted in October, but I have Air Plus and I know for my last cruise we had flights and seats set over 6 months pre-cruise. TA plans to call again today to speak with someone else. Has anyone else heard anything like this?
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