Murt22

We book our excursions on Saturday and in preparing for that, I have been going to the website often to look at the excursions. I have found the website down as much as i have found it up. I have really never seen so much "maintenance" on a website. Obviously, it is random - so some can say that they don't have the problem, but have anyone had this issue? I know there is no solution to this problem - but I find it frustrating and hope the website is available during our booking time as I am missing some things to stay home to do it.

We thought about that - but how do you get back to the ship?

Thank you so much for the information - debating on doing the Venice on your own which has a longer time in Venice - but if we can't pre-order our tickets, we may be in the same boat - so to speak - as doing the paid excursion that includes St Mark's.

Did you go inside St. Mark's and/or Doge's Palace on the first day? We have an excursion "Unraveling St. Mark’s Square & Doge’s Palace" and wonder if it goes inside Doge's palace. I find the descriptions to be unclear.

While sitting on our balcony while sailing to see a glacier, overheard our neighbors bragging about how they were glad to be in Florida during Covid because they didn't have all the rules, etc. One of them was hacking and hacking. The next day, we came out of our room to see the whole medical team standing in front of their door - and there was a do not disturb on their door- and suddenly our cabin steward was wearing a mask...hmmmm.

We are on the reverse cruise that starts in Istanbul, but we start in Athens -so Venice and Rome are our turnaround days. We knew this would not give us enough time in Rome, so we are going early to Rome and then flying to Athens to catch the cruise. The Venice discussion is on point for us as well - we don't book our excursions for 5 weeks - so the information in this thread is very informative.

I like control of my air flights, so choose to book exactly what we want, cabin class, seats, routes, connections, etc. I'm sure it costs more, but with the too close connection times, multiple stops, terrible times, etc. it is worth it to us, especially if we are planning activities the first day.

Favorite outfit seen on our Alaskan cruise was a pastel seersucker suit with shorts worn by a lovely white - haired man with a handle bar mustache.

Our 22 day cruise includes Sunday embarkation at Athens, Sunday visit to Venice and Rome. After we originally were going to do the pre-tour in Athens and realized that it really only included a hotel(and transport). We decided to cancel our Viking Air and pre-tour and book our own pre-tour. We are flying to Rome a week before the cruise and will do all the sites then fly to Athens and do the sites, then embark on the cruise. We are planning on doing Ostia in Rome if available. We are also planning on staying overnight in Florence so we can do as much as possible. Venice is another issue - but still working on that. I haven't been any of these places before and have no idea if I will ever get there again.

In Italy, you must use your passport for ID when picking up tickets, etc. if you booked anything on your own. Not sure about other countries - but a photocopy or driver's license is not sufficient.

Thank you so much for the information. I did just book a walking tour that would require we stay overnight so I have been researching the hotels. I don't know what excursions will be offered for our cruise but we do want to do the museums closed on Monday.

What is the normal time that you must be on-board after excursions if the ship is scheduled to leave at 6pm?

Sorry about that, but thanks for the response. I hope you are able to cruise in the future.

Did you do this? We have exactly the same situation in September and have been trying to figure out the best option.

Thanks for the detailed info. If we want to go inside the museums, we would have to do it on sail away day which adds a layer of risk. I need to do more research on what we really want to do. I do appreciate the answer.