Squawkman

I thought this might be a good place to share this info as Nile cruises are alive and well.

Viking is running promo - see the details and promo code at 

2 hours ago, 20Cruise20 said:

Lunch was at a local restaurant. (Pretty sure that we were seated at tables for four.) A served buffet with a choice of drinks

 May I ask exactly what is a “served buffet”? Never heard that term before. TIA

Hate to be the one to tell you this, but Egypt cruises are going on as usual (at least on Viking) as there is an active roll call here on CC where folks are anticipating their Egypt cruises for this winter. Other than canceling pre or post extensions to Jerusalem, cruises are going on. Unless you had CFAR insurance, I don’t think any other cruise line would treat you differently.

We did one Princess cruise with 2 other couples in 2016 prior to cruising with Viking Ocean (we did a Viking River before than). After experiencing our first Viking Ocean in 2018, we stick with Viking. We completed 6 ocean and 5 river with 3 more ocean and 1 more river booked through 2025.

11 hours ago, sjde said:

Hmmm, it won't let me check any of the options.

Strange - try rebooting or using a different machine to access MVJ. 

In MVJ, go to Onboard Experience, then Preferences, then Stateroom Preferences, then check distilled water. This works 59% of the time - so just ask your room steward if it’s not there when you check into your cabin.

8 hours ago, MikeyB said:

 

Sorry to say FV23 is not combinable with any other offers.  It might be with EBD but as we know that offer generally means nothing.

And the cruise consultant admitted that some offers are combinable. 

Thanks for the info.

Viking provides free distilled water which you can order before or when you board.

6 hours ago, MikeyB said:

I should have added that my TA already said  "no"  because Viking doesn't combine promos.

But from my past experience I know they do.

 

Getting a straight answer is hard to do.

 

 

I’ve combined promos pre-covid - thanks for keeping us informed.

1 hour ago, Teryle said:

FV23 My Viking rep says not combinable with other promo or certificates or coupons.

Mikey - did you have better luck using both promos?

We were assigned 3008 when we were quarantined in April, 2022. As we were directly above the Star Theatre, we heard the Abba show a few times - and since we quarantined, we couldn’t leave.

MAMA MIA!

6 hours ago, deec said:

received a promo for those who have a Viking Cruise booked...$1000 off for 15 days or more $500 for shorter cruises, $25 deposit .  FV23

 

Is the $500 or $1,000 off per person or per couple?

TIA

3 hours ago, deec said:

received a promo for those who have a Viking Cruise booked...$1000 off for 15 days or more $500 for shorter cruises, $25 deposit .  FV23

 

How do you use the code? I tride using price & build but it didn’t work. Thanks!

The info on VV is available on your cabin TV. I have found making reservations is much better in person than using VV. 

3 hours ago, BigAl666 said:

 

I didn't know about the "welcome back" discount, which is certainly nice - but as I book 12+ months in advance it wouldn't apply to me.

It would apply. You just have to make the booking within 2 weeks of disembarkation - you can take the cruise anytime. You get an additional $200 per person OBC above any other discounts for each cruise booked. The amount is the same for river or ocean and long or short cruise. If you’re interested, I can email you his name and extension.

1 hour ago, Buckwheel said:

Free air sounds good and probably lures people in; realistically it's not much of a benefit. It would be nice if Viking offered a discount in lieu of not using their "free air" which isn't free unless you want to risk not arriving on time.

We’ve completed a total of 11 Viking ocean and river cruises and never had a problem with free or reduced air that Viking didn’t resolve satisfactorily. There are also risks in not using Viking air. Case in point:  we returned from a cruise 2 weeks ago where there were technical issues with the ship that resulted in a 5 hour delay in disembarkation. Most had to have flights rescheduled, and those who did air on their own were on their own to reschedule as well. Free air has served us well and realistically is a great benefit for us.

This just in…

Call Viking at 866‑730‑2765 or contact your travel advisor

1 WEEK ONLY  SAVE ON WINTER RHINE & MISSISSIPPI RIVER VOYAGES

FREE Airfare Plus, FREE Stateroom Upgrade ASK FOR OFFER: FLS CHECK AVAILABILITY ENDS NOV 10, 2023

FEATURED RIVER VOYAGES

NEW ITINERARY Treasures of the Rhine   Basel to Amsterdam FREE Airfare Plus, FREE Stateroom Upgrade Departures: Jan–Feb 2024 ASK FOR OFFER: FLS 10 DAYS 8 TOURS $2,499* FROM LEARN MORE PRICE & BUILD   New Orleans &  Southern Charms   New Orleans to New Orleans FREE Airfare Plus, FREE Stateroom Upgrade Departures: Dec 2023 ASK FOR OFFER: FLS 8 DAYS 6 TOURS $2,799* FROM LEARN MORE PRICE & BUILD

*per person Offer FLS: Offer valid on bookings made from Nov 4 to Nov 10, 2023. FREE stateroom upgrade within category, Veranda to Deluxe Veranda (V1-DV1) plus FREE airfare valid on Jan-Feb 2024 departures of Treasures of the Rhine; Dec 2023 departures of New Orleans & Southern Charms. Call for details. Prices are in US dollars and for US residents only. Air does not have to be purchased to get cruise/tour offer. All fares reflect cruise taxes, port taxes and fees. Additional restrictions may apply. Airfares vary on other itineraries, gateways and departures. Air offers not valid on Alaska, Hawaii, San Juan and Mexico City; call for details. Pay in full by Nov 30, 2023 or at time of booking if within 120 days of departure. Offer expires Nov 10, 2023.

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5 hours ago, Frisky070802 said:

There is trivia on sea days, but I’d you care enough about trivia to ask about it, you may be disappointed. 

Please explain your response. We found that depending on who was running it, it was good or not so good. The Viking Daily tells you who that will be.

FWIW, we just got off the Star and had trivia and/or name that tune almost every day. On port days, we had both - one afternoon and one evening.

11 minutes ago, JerryInIL said:

Definitely check before boarding, but it is disabled after boarding.  Does Viking Voyager show excursion availability onboard?

No. The you need to stop by guest services.

16 minutes ago, Crestawave said:

 Is that something that you do once aboard or is that something you can do pre cruise?

Only once you’re aboard. Also note, in the example I gave previously, Viking did meet their obligation as we did have a free excursion booked before embarkation - but it wasn’t our preferred free one. 

1 minute ago, Reaniel said:

 

Just want to ask the more seasoned cruisers with Viking - do they ever add more slots to the non-included excursion?  Or is it a fixed number for each sailing, and the only way for a sold-out excursion to become available again is if someone had cancelled?

We just returned from a cruise where one port had 3 choices for the included excursion. The one we wanted was sold out before DVs had a chance. We put our cabin on the wait list, as did others - and a second group was established. I’m fairly sure the same goes for non-included excursions.

14 minutes ago, Selion said:

Try curbside check-in/baggage drop.  They are operated by a 3rd party, even though the counters have airlines' logos on them.  We had dropped off baggage with curbside counters hours before the 4-hour threshold with at least 2 different airlines, and one of those was at FLL.  The curbside people will gladly take them.

thanks - this is helpful as we will be flying home from FLL again in January and it is likely we will be there early again.

20 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Question:  Would the contents of your checked bag be good for cabin screening?  No liquids, no sharps etc.  Because any bag in the concourse would have to have gone through TSA screening.  Plus, the size would have had to fit through the x-ray machines.

 

In other words, no checked luggage to the lounge.

 

So you wait outside the security zone.

 

 

Thank you - our checked luggage would not pass screening - we had the Viking welcome bottle of wine in there 😊

We had a situation with a direct flight (FLL -> EWR) last week where Viking got us to the airport 5 hours before flight time. I was told by United we could check baggage until 4 hours before the flight. Question: if I had lounge privileges, how would our to-be-checked luggage be handled? Would I need to schlep it with us to the lounge?