millybess

We had a Viking excursion booked for Kyoto (Kobe) and then decided we could see much more and take the bullet train if we toured on our own. Once your voyage gets closer, and if you're interested, we can post our tour map.

This is our plan for Tokyo Day 1 with a guide: Asakusa (Senso-ji temple) Ueno park Yanaka Monzen-Nakacho or Skytree Day 2 independently: Tokyo National Museum Day 3 with a guide: Imperial Palace Meiji-jingu Shrine Shibuya Crossing or Yoyogi park Kyu Asakura On our own, we plan on cruising the Sumida River in the evening and visiting Nihonbashi and possibly cruising on the canals. I want to find one of the three year-round Christmas stores in Tokyo and Messybill has a camera store in mind where he can find a particular lens he's looking for.

And when you are dealing with Viking land, that says it all. If you can find your way through that difficulty without too much stress, it’s worth it.

Thank you. We've been and would recommend Corral de la Moreria. I just thought because Spain is your homeland, you might have a better recommendation. 🙂

Right. I think @hutch1994 is referencing an ES.

We have a lot of Euros, but we're giving them to one of our sons who is doing an extended European trip this summer. How about HKD or Yen? What do you think?

Yes.

Our cruise will be ending in Vancouver. We tip out-front staff at the end. Given our disembarkation location, should we tip in Canadian $, U.S. $?

I agree with you. We often change our reserved time for one reason or another. I disagree about booking a higher level cabin in order to gain more restaurant reservations. I can't imagine paying thousands more $ so that I could eat in one of their specialty restaurants. I think that if one books a higher level cabin, it's probably because of square footage and location. I'm glad they posted this information on their website. It's not often Viking updates their website with relevant information, unfortunately.

We were fortunate enough to go to St. Petersburg with Viking. Nothing compares to the palaces in and around St. Petersburg. Even without that experience, the Madrid Royal Palace was underwhelming -- fairly drab and lots of stairs.

It really does vary by ship/chef. We had lobster tail and chateaubriand on Sea in January and it was incredibly delicious. I could have eaten that every night.

Yes, Corral de la Moreria. If you book directly on their website, you will get a better table. But if @Torquato has a recommendation, take that one over mine.

I think that's right. We often arrive and there are a lot of empty tables. I think they keep them open for those who weren't able to book online.

The OBC would pay, or at least contribute, to the gratuities at the end. Or you could splurge on a Viking jacket!

I can't find a "Dinner Reservation" thread to post this on so I'll post it here. I was just on MVJ and I noticed that they have now added this to the dinner reservation site: "In case reservations are fully booked, they can be made directly on board the ship." 🙂

Yes, as you know, we did the show/dinner also. No, definitely not Michelin Star, but fun. We did enjoy the Tuk Tuk tour. Did you get to the Palace? It's easy for us to get to Madrid from Toronto also. I just wish it was as easy for us to get to San Juan.

Thanks @SantaFe1 So that begs this question: If we have a dinner reservation on May 2nd, do we get to eat there twice? It's not important, but it is interesting to understand how the ship handles that.

It sounds like you might have had our table. I'm glad you were able to get in. It did make for good photos. I had read here previously that if you book it yourself on their website rather than through a tour you will get the best tables. Is that what you did?

I'm interested in why you wouldn't do Alaska again. Is it because there are too many cruise ships?

We're still interested in the answer -- does May 2nd happen twice? We thought @Heidi13 and/or @Jim Avery might know the answer. But if anyone else wants to chime in........

I agree, and thanks for starting it.

Yes, it was because of you and Lorna that we booked Carrington in Barbados. Had a great time with him and learned so much about the culture. We are very excited about our upcoming trip and we're very busy preparing for it. We'll post on @Peregrina651 Far East thread when we have a chance. We return mid-May. Enjoy your next adventure!!

I just looked at sailings in 2024 and there’s $4500 difference between a PV1 and a DV4, so it seems you got a deal.

That’s great! We’ve heard numerous complaints about him, so maybe he’s changed his tune.

You would need to give us more information. What is the itinerary and the length of the voyage? With a PV you have extra space Free pressing Earlier choices of excursions, dining and spa -- although that's neither here nor there. Are you comparing a PV1 to a DV6? Much more information is required.