CDR2001

The excursion lists I received show prices, but the prices are for the specific cruise date they sent me. Since I ask for this list months in advance I often see price increases when my excursions are available for booking. 

I’ve been able to get a PDF of excursions early for my itinerary but not for my cruise date. It’s a guideline I use with pricing. Ask the chat agent for a PDF of excursions for an earlier cruise and tell them you understand that the excursions for your exact cruise might be different. I’ve done this for 4 cruises with only one agent confused. I just signed off and tried a different agent with success. 

We just left Invergorden, and I’d say no ATM near the pier. It is a very long pier requiring a bus or shuttle to get to the land side, and it was a residential area as I recall. 

I’m On Saturn now, excursion cancellation deadlines are in the Daily. Example, “The final deadline to book, change or cancel excursions for May8 is 6:00pm on May6.”

Also, I added an excursion less than 24 hours prior, no problem as there were spaces available. I agree that guest services will gladly help you. 

On Saturn now. Our excursion port talk gives very detailed information about bus travel time, free time, even the number of stairs or rough walking involved. However, the day before is a bit late to get that information.  I also wish details were posted prior to booking the excursion. 

35 minutes ago, SailorPaulH said:

Does the shuttle run on disembarkation day, so you can leave ship and be dropped off with your luggage at Harpa...? or is taxi or local bus the only way to do it. 

We took a prebooked taxi. 

If I recall in 2023, luggage wasn’t allowed in the port shuttles. 

Never seen that either.

On previous cruises, I’ve seen folks with a punched card on a lanyard. We use the type of lanyards with a clear pocket, keep a credit card there too, tucked inside our shirts when ashore. 

Yes, we’ve done that. We usually don’t prepay gratuities so we can apply any leftover funds while onboard. 

25 minutes ago, SailorPaulH said:

As you suggested I used the chat feature, and the explanation was something I have never heard of before on Viking Ocean. That included tour does indeed finish after the ship leaves port! Supposedly, a shuttle bus will take you to the next port.

 

In this case, the ship leaves Seydisfjordur at 4 PM. A shuttle bus takes the excursion group to the next port (Akureyri where the ship arrives 8 AM next day!). This seems very weird and I didn't get into the logistics of where you sleep, eat, etc., and just canceled the excursion. We can do a port walk easily enough on our own earlier in the day if we want to.

SailorPaul, we have been to Seydisfjordur, and the included tour was pretty much the same as the self guided tour we did. However, on our Iceland cruise last year, we also had an excursion listed that ended after departure. When we received our tickets onboard, we had a corrected time! I can’t believe the chat agent said you’d be bused to the next port…yes that happens on river ships sometimes, but it is totally impractical, and impossible on ocean!  Someone needs to do some more training before giving an answer that doesn’t make sense. Enjoy Iceland! 

Is your cruise a leg on a longer Viking cruise? Venice might be the port for departing guests on your day 2, with new guests arriving that same day. I know from friends that Viking will offer excursions for passengers who continue on the journey at that mid point. They have said that excursions were announced onboard. I agree that an email to Tellus might clear it up. 

About two weeks before the trip, you will get an email with final cruise E-documents. The emergency contact information for your ship is on page one of a PDF, Phone and email is listed. 

A few weeks ago, my account froze while I was booking excursions…I got a white screen saying payment pending but it never went away. I lost some excursions before I figured out to call Viking for help! The agent booked them for me but some excursions had sold out. My tip…if account freezes, call or do the chat immediately! By the way, my account is STILL frozen, and technical support is “working on it.”  I have escalated to Tellus email, and I continue to call and check on openings. I also have private excursions booked for some ports. It will be a good cruise, I won’t let technology ruin it for us! 

And they are replayed on your TV. I wish they were given 2 days prior to the port so you could change excursions before the 48 hour window, but it’s usually the day/evening before docking. It is very informative, especially if you want details about difficulty and walking time. 

July 2023 prices, I expect that they are $20+ more for 2024.

Akureyri Northern Iceland Natural Treasures $199 Viking 

(We used Saga tours, small van, around $140 I think)

Golden circle $229 Viking

( We used Your day tours, small van, same route, $88).

On our last cruise with Viking, we had purchased our own air.  A few days before the end of the cruise, Viking left a paper in our cabin so we could purchase a transfer. We wanted the latest time, which was 9:30am. On the transfer request form, this email is listed. Try asking them. optional.transfers@vikingcruises.com
 

From my experience, if you are doing an independent shore tour, the company is aware of the back on board time. I confirm with them after checking at the gangway sign. Keep in mind that the times on your invoice are not set in stone. 

I changed an onboard booked cruise to another itinerary and date. I lost nothing, so I guess it depends on the timing of the change. 

“Were any excursions you wanted sold out already?”

I managed to get all of my preferred excursions except one. They have an alert in my booking if availability opens up. I’ll continue to check daily. In any case, my cruise will be great! British Isles Explorer May1. 

The technical support team is supposed to call me when the account problem is resolved. Until then I’m just calling as I make a few excursion changes. 

Kc, I did not log in on two devices, but I had a major payment issue! I couldn’t get past the checkout screen, which displayed a message about payment pending, wait 5 minutes for screen to refresh. I waited, and waited, and nothing happened.  I tried another computer, iPad, phone, E check, two different credit cards, log in, log out, clear cache, changed browser etc…. Nothing worked. I called Viking, and the agent processed the Echeck payment for me. I should have called sooner as I lost some excursions in the 90 minute process. Viking said they’ve had a few other cases like this. The problem persists, and I have an IT ticket pending. I also emailed tellus, hoping someone will call me about this mess. Anyway, moral of the story is if payments don’t go through, call to book via a Viking agent right away! 

Here’s a menu. 

I saw on another website that someone said no petting on the included excursion. 

Vasa museum Stockholm, we also liked the paid Berlin tour.