KBs mum

I've got a travelscoot, but only use it if taking our car. It's too much of a hassle otherwise, so I use a lightweight folding wheelchair for travel instead. It has to be approved via a fitness to travel form for Viking, and a similar form for airlines

Accessibility depends on the specific needs of the person. Scooters may not be allowed, but have had no problems with my lightweight folding wheelchair. Years of experience as somebody with a spinal injury means that with help from husband I/we can cope in any hotel room. Viking is as good as any other accommodation provider

The descriptions are so vague as to be useless, a proper accessibility statement for each is needed. I use a wheelchair, distance on a level surface is no problem, a short distance on gravel is. For a lot of people the reverse is true.

I agree with those who ask that people do basic research and are then realistic about their capabilities. Having bought a lightweight folding wheelchair and after checking transport compatibility, it's annoying to have to wait for people too stubborn to accept they need mobility equipment

We don't book group excursions unless we have to. We see more of the things we are interested in by being independent, and being able to stop to rest whenever we need to

We completely agree, a lot of companies used covid as an opportunity to refit, redecorate, refresh the offer ready for when trade resumed, Viking seemed to go the other way. We will only book with Viking if there is a very good offer on, they are charging premium prices for what is now allmost a budget package holiday product. The crew seem good, but among the hotel staff only the room stewards and bar staff were as good as before covid. We've noticed a lot more than usual availability for the next couple of years, and more offers from Viking UK ( call centre is now overseas, and nowhere near as good as it was)

Only if the OP is particularly unlucky! We encountered a notable political pillock there. The division bell repeater apparently no longer causes a mass exodus 😁

There's normally a desk with a mirror that can be used as a dressing table

We had noticed a very gradual but steady decline in 'quality' over the years prior to covid, after covid other companies have maintained or improved their offer, but Viking have declined, particularly in the catering offer, and the unwelcome increase in loud music in all the lounges. They seem to have abandoned their port intensive ethos in favour of short stops to sell tours, we get the impression they are now aiming at the mass market demographic rather than the premium/luxury denographic

The main issue is the ramp to get off the ship, it is steps, not a slope. There are areas on the ship you may have problems in, the accommodation corridors are narrow, access is based on a transport chair width. Also the accessible rooms and toilets are ADA compliant rather than the higher European and British standards. The crew are not guaranteed to be available to help you get on and off the ship or buses, in Europe accessible transport is available, but lifts are not built into every bus as standard. Most of the historic areas will have cobbles, some wheelchairs are fine on these, some aren't. There is no definate answer about accessibility. European accessibility legislation requires adaptations where feasible, given the historic infrastructure, so access is not guaranteed. Google Streetview is the best resource to see what the ground surfaces are like

Pay commission at a bureau de change, or get a chip and pin card and accept that some market stall type vendors man not accept card payments

All card machines can produce a signature verification slip, but the cashier may need to call a supervisor for authorisation to do so. ATM machines need PIN, and it's useful to have a card with a contactless chip

We take £100 of local, and cards. The cash is just a backup, we usually have most of it left, so we keep it for next time or exchange it for the next currency we need. Can allways use a cash machine in a bank if not keen on independent ATMs. Lots of places now prefer cards, cash is a hassle to bank and to keep a change float. Don't worry about tips, most of Europe hasn't got a tipping culture, it is OK not to, if you haven't got any change or were underwhelmed. Most people on the excursions know this and won't tip

A lot of European countries have accessibility regulations that exceed the ADA, but we also have historical infrastructure that we value. We could remove it to improve access, but then what would you visit? If the building or street has protection under planning regulations because of being of historic importance then they are not required to provide access if doing so would damage or alter anything original. Any essential places, such as grocery shops, chemist's, Doctor's surgerys are allways acessible. Viking excursion descriptions are hopeless regarding surfaces, steps, slopes and distances. For this reason we make our own arrangements after research. Google Streetview and the website for where you are visiting are best. I use a wheelchair and haven't noticed any difference between modern buildings in Europe and the US, however disabled/acessible toilets and hotel rooms in the US fall far short of the requirements in the UK. Trains in the UK are hopeless, though. So far we've found Australia and New Zealand to be better than the US, in Europe Germany and Austria are good. Italy is problematic, purely because of the terrain and historical layouts.

The mush left after the juice has been extracted

Exactly

I once encountered fresh squeezed made from concentrate! The concentrate was made from freshly squeezed fruit, apparently. I gave up on it as a bad idea

I knew about powdered, it's an ingredient in some cheap drinks. It's dried pulp or juice, similar idea as powdered milk. Long life is the juice in cartons, a brand name in the UK is tropicana, but most stores do own brand. 'Bits' are the bits of the fruit flesh that are in non filtered juice, they aren't bits of pulp

Arrive a few days prior, and visit sites independently. Viking dislike independence, they don't get a cut of the payments

Had a nasty experience with powdered on Venus. Hadn't occurred to us that it was a possibility. Even the long life with bits in cartons would have been comparatively OK

As far as I know, 48 hours in advance has allways been the cut off for cancellations, booking can happen anytime. We have only booked a few ships tours, as we find a lot of time is wasted on them, and they are expensive

Tipping here isn't routine or expected, so it's not something the visitor has to worry about, of course you can tip if you want to, but if you don't have change not tipping is fine. However, be sure to thank the person, an email to their company is a nice and useful thing to do

Also, avoid having £50 notes, smaller shops often won't take them due to not having much change and the risk of forgeries. Scottish notes, particularly £20s may not be accepted in England. Probably will be, but be aware of the possibility

Get £ and € in 10s, there is no need for anything smaller, shops can do change. It is useful but not essential to have coins for public toilets. Most transactions are tap and pay card payments now

They are better than no binoculars, but not better than our relatively inexpensive and lightweight 'travel' binoculars. I've got some mini binoculars that were a TA freebie that are nearly as good as the Viking ones