We did the May 2023 BIE on Neptune from London to Bergen. We decided to spend 3 days on our own in London, staying near Piccadilly. It was great as we went to play, booked some great tours in London along with surrounding areas, plus some great meals (happy to give you any recommendation of restaurants or tours as London is one of my favorite cities in the world). The cab to Greenwich was super easy; you do have to tender to the ship. As for Pre with Viking, we talked to a couple that did Churchill’s Britain, and I was very jealous that we didn’t do it, but it is always a trade-off.
We did not dock in Dublin, but Dun Laoghaire, which is just outside of Dublin, also had to tender. We did have a fog issue and could tender into port till 10 AM, so Dublin was cut short by 2 hours.
We did not have to skip any ports.
We prefer to fly into London and out of Bergen for couple of reasons. First, I like to spend time in London before the cruise, second I would rather get to Greenwich early and tender on the ship, fixing any dinner reservations or SPA appointments, then spend the afternoon walking around the charming town of Greenwich and the Maritime Museum while our cabin is getting ready then try to tender off ship early in the morning to get to the plane, and third sometimes because of weather getting in and out of Bergen isn’t as easy and I would rather have at the end then causing me to miss part of cruise or vacation. We have been delayed twice in and out of Bergen.
If you want any more info regarding our cruise or copies of Viking Daily please let me know.