Frenchberet

No jeans except in the World Cafe.  
 

Here’s the Viking Dress Code:

During the day, dress is casual including shorts (if the season is warm), slacks or jeans and comfortable shoes for walking tours. Swimsuits, swim shorts, cover-ups and exercise attire should be reserved for the Fitness Center, pool areas and Sports Deck. There are no “formal nights” in the evening; evening dress is “elegant casual” for all dining venues, performances and special events. On these occasions, required attire for ladies includes a dress, skirt or slacks with a sweater or blouse; for gentlemen, trousers and a collared shirt. A tie and jacket are optional; jeans are not permitted. The evening dress excludes World Café where the dress remains casual after 6:00 PM. 

Some shore excursions visit religious sites that require modesty of dress. To avoid being denied entry, we recommend men wear long pants and refrain from sleeveless shirts; and for women, clothing that covers the knees and tops that are not sleeveless or too revealing.

4 hours ago, CKing111 said:

I understand that the Medical Assessment form needs to be submitted at least 45 days prior to our upcoming Expedition embarkation, however is there a restriction on how ‘early’ you can submit the form?

 

We traveled to Antarctica in 2023.  We received the email requesting the medical assessment form from Viking 13 weeks in advance of departure.  We submitted the forms the following week. 

This thread isn’t about bridge tours anymore but I wanted to comment on the survey ratings.  
 

I look at “anything less than a perfect score is a fail” a bit differently.  I think that Viking (and car dealers) are trying to convey their desire to do everything they can to ensure you have a great experience.  I think it’s their hope that you will give them an opportunity to correct whatever you’re unhappy with before you submit negative comments to management.  Speak up before you put pen to paper.

I think it’s a shame that Viking staff members are put in the position of having to monitor the behavior of adults.  The dress code is posted at the entrance to the restaurants.  Just follow the simple rules.  Put on a pair of pants and leave the ball caps in your cabin.  

2 hours ago, z111 said:

Don't you need a vacuum for the compression?

The compression bags I use for packing don’t require a vacuum.  You roll them to squish the air out then zip.  Check Amazon for “Roll Up Travel Compression Bags, Hand Roll Space Saver bags”.

I love compression bags for jackets and other bulky items.  Dress in layers.  Make a packing list and stick to it.  Check out some “expert” packing videos.  I like Rick Steves and the Vivienne Files.  As mentioned, consider checking a bag.  

2 hours ago, SteelCity Cruiser said:

FWIW - all the cruise line tours do the 'rug shop' tours as part of their excursion itinerary and all of the shops are very experienced at the slick sales routines - it is their livelihood afterall.  Some are harder sells than others.  We had the option to duck out of the rug shop demo in Kusadasi and return to our ship when we were there last year which we did since we had seen something similar in Istanbul.

We visited a carpet shop on our included excursion in Kusadasi last month.  It was interesting, part of their culture.  We enjoyed the presentation and the coffee.  No hard sell, we didn’t buy a rug.  Another shop was scheduled for our included excursion in Istanbul but we all told the guide we had just done it the prior day.  No problem, she let us have additional time at the Spice Market.
 

Fyi, Viking did a great job on our 2 day extension in Istanbul.  They kept us busy all day at the Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, underground Cistern (very cool), and a lunch cruise in the Bosphorus, before taking us to the hotel. Very pleased.

We sailed to Antarctica on Viking Octantis February 2023.  There were numerous activities offered off the ship - sub, kayaking, special ops boats, and RIBs.  We signed up for the activities we wanted and received a daily schedule.  The schedule was very well organized and we never felt rushed or bored just hanging around.  On landing days there were multiple trips via RIB to and from the ship.  We were able to do everything we wanted to do.  It was a wonderful trip on a beautiful expedition ship, and we highly recommend it.  

Download the Viking app now.  Once onboard you can easily make dinner reservations for the Chef’s Table or Manfredi’s.  No need to visit Guest Services.  

7 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Telephone is only for this promo because you have to have an existing booking to use it. All other promo codes are supported on the website. If you have a current booking, there is a link in MVJ that can be used to get the same deal without using a telephone. They don’t want randos trying to use the code.

“Randos” 😊

3 hours ago, Squawkman said:

Try AAM24. I ran price and build for this cruise and you can get a DV2 for V2 price. 

Thanks!  I'll try it!

Hi, we’re thinking about booking a last minute cruise “Amazon & Caribbean Adventure” in Nov 24.  The Viking promo is Spring Sale ($25 down & reduced air).  Before we book just wondering if there’s a “better” promo we can take advantage of.  Thanks in advance!

3 hours ago, Murt22 said:

Did you go inside St. Mark's and/or Doge's Palace on the first day? We have an excursion "Unraveling St. Mark’s Square & Doge’s Palace" and wonder if it goes inside Doge's palace. I find the descriptions to be unclear. 

On day 1 we signed up for the included “Highlights of St Mark’s Square”.  Our plan was to do the tour, explore Venice on our own, then take the last boat back to the ship.  We found out that there really wasn’t a “shuttle boat service” and that we had to return to the ship at an assigned time with our group. That left us with only 45 minutes of free time.  So, we decided to ditch the included tour.  We stood in line and purchased tickets to St Mark’s Basilica.  We toured the inside, including the museum that houses the bronze horses brought to Venice from Constantinople.  Very nice.

Day 2 was transfer day and we did the optional tour to Murano and Burano.  

Day 3 we did an optional “Secrets of Doge’s Palace with Early Access”.  We had a small group of 8-10 people and a guided tour inside the rooms, hidden passages, and cells within the palace. It was very interesting.  After the tour we had an hour of free time before returning to the ship.  Overall, not a lot of time in Venice.

3 hours ago, longterm said:

I’d much rather jeans than clouds of cologne, perfume, or powder. Axe body spray will send me to the door.
 

Almost as bad as cigarette or cigar stench. 

Yes, but does it need to be an either/or situation?  Can a man come to dinner wearing pants, leave his ball cap in the room, and not stink?

On 3/4/2024 at 9:57 AM, tobique33040 said:

I agree about the dress code. Geez, they aren’t asking us to come in formal wear. But is it so difficult to at least take your joggers off and put a pair of decent slacks on? We saw a number of people who looked like they just crawled out of bed. I guess some of us are rules followers and others are egocentric, so only what they want matters. I observe, but it doesn’t ruin my holiday thankfully. 
 

We recently did legs 2, 3 & 4  of this itinerary (Rome-Istanbul).  This cruise definitely had a more “relaxed” passenger demographic than our other Viking cruises.  
 

The dress code was posted at the entrance to the restaurant, Chef’s Table and Manfredi’s but there were a number of people who just ignored it.  We observed several adult men wearing jeans and baseball caps in the restaurant and at Manfredi’s.  This puts the staff in an awkward position.  If I was working there, I’d point to the sign and tell them to change their pants and take their darn hats off.  I’d probably get fired.

Never heard of the duck thing, had to look it up.  No sightings in our recent cruise on Saturn but there was a woman who kept taking photos with her stuffed Pikachu doll…

12 hours ago, Piredmus said:

Has anyone taken a Viking Arctic expedition cruise and have a report about it?  I can find lots of reviews about the Antarctic and Great Lakes, but nothing in the north.  If you have any feedback or know of YouTube videos, please provide links of same.  What was the experience like and was it worth the cost for these trips to the Canadian north and Greenland?  Would you recommend the cruises.

 

Thanks.

Are you referring to the itinerary for “Into the Northwest Passage”?  It is a new itinerary for 2025 and looks great.  We did Antarctica on Viking Octantis in 2023 and are looking forward to another adventure on this beautiful expedition ship!

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

Is it just me (or maybe it’s only happening on Sky) but is anyone else missing the chirping birds (or ocean sounds) in the public restrooms onboard?  Sky now has several different sounds-one set might be whales, but there is another that sounds like rutting boar!😳

 

There is another than sounds like it might be some tribal sounds-but it’s mostly children it seems so a bit disturbing at best. 
 

We had “birds” on Saturn when we disembarked in Istanbul two weeks ago.  Maybe Sky’s birds migrated south for the winter?

Ask to speak with the sommelier/wine steward/restaurant manager.

Chocolate cake on Octantis 😋

2 hours ago, kctwinmommy said:

Do you by chance have a picture or know what they were? And were they difficult to book? What did you guys do in Venice? Thanks for any info!

Sorry, I didn’t keep a copy.  I think there were two included walking tours and two optional tours to choose from on transfer day.  No problem booking, just stop at Guest Services.  We chose an optional tour to Murano/Burano, very good.  
 

On our other days in Venice we did an included walking tour, “Highlights of St Mark’s Square”, and an optional tour to the Doge’s Palace.  We booked these during the regular excursion booking process prior to boarding.

The issue with Venice is that you are docked 90 minutes from St. Mark’s Square.  You’re spending 3 hours in transit (by boat) each day which limits the time you can actually spend sightseeing.  Just something to keep in mind.

We just returned from this cruise.  The full itinerary was Barcelona to Istanbul.  We sailed Rome to Istanbul (legs 2, 3 & 4).  Venice and Athens were change-over days where passengers got on and off for a new leg.  Viking offered several included and optional excursions for passengers continuing on.  We received a handout in our cabin a couple of days before the change-over with all the info.  Great cruise, enjoy!

I wouldn’t spend any more time waiting for the person to call you back.  Just call Viking at 1-800-304-9616 and ask your questions.  Have your booking number ready.

Figure 5 pm back on board for a 6 pm departure.

On 3/5/2024 at 8:57 AM, FoggyEthan said:

I'd thought I remembered reading that you have the option to hike without a dog of your own. Do you remember if that was an option?

I don’t recall that option but I suppose you could just walk along.  We shared a dog and passed him back and forth.  They told us it’s a reward for the dogs to be selected for this assignment 😊