Peregrina651

I will reciprocate.

My husband would be nuts. Only 30 minutes leeway for the what-ifs??? Back-on-board time is 4:30 and the walk was 10 minutes at my pace. You now have 20 minutes leeway for what-ifs -- breakdowns, stragglers, bad weather. How many times have you been held up on a bus tour because of some straggler? A lot to consider.

It shouldn't. Viking is in charge of all the customer-related operations from start to finish. Just like the river cruises that Viking ran in China for 15+ years (till shut down by Covid), a Chinese company owns the ship which it then leases to Viking to run the hotel operation. By Chinese law, the ship must be owned and operated by a Chinese company (same thing as in Russia, Ukraine, Egypt and the US) and most of the crew must be Chinese. The river cruises were marketed by Viking to people in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand -- just as they are doing now for the new Ocean cruises. On the river cruises, senior staff of the hotel operation were Viking veterans, mostly Europeans and completely versed in the ways of Viking. Housekeeping and dining room crew were all Chinese. The kitchen followed menus and recipes set down by headquarters and was run by European-trained Viking chef. The hotel operation was as Viking as any river cruise I've been on since -- and I would expect the same on Yi Dun. In the Chinese tourism sector, Viking has a very good reputation. Pre-Covid, they had a ground operation in China and a team of full-time tourguides/escorts/Cruise Directors (similar to the operation in Egypt). Viking knows its customer base and what they expect. As on the river cruises, I expect that onboard the ship it will be 100% straight from headquarters menus and recipes that we have come to know and enjoy. However, for the land portion, I expect that they will be duplicating what the did on the river cruises (why re-invent the wheel when they already have a well-tuned team in place): Chinese 5* hotels, Chinese restaurants and caterers with 100% Chinese menus.

Maybe you can suss out more information on the owners' website: https://www.vigurisland.com/

I gave them a nudge and the Viking Vesta has been added to the Viking Oceans Roll Call forum. Viking Vesta Roll Calls

IMHO. Plenty of birds and the awesome beauty of the rugged landscape. Isafjordur: Vigur Island Seydisfjordur: Skalanes Nature Center Djupivogur: Fjallaron Glacier boat ride Heimaey: don't do a boat trip in the rain Akureyri: either of the full day tours that cover a selection of natural wonders Sailing in and out of Akureyri, you cross the Arctic Circle. You will receive a certificate in your cabin. However, no seadays on this itinerary hence no ceremony.

A no-show at embarkation will not work. We already have reports in this forum where that has been tried. What happened was that the person who showed up was charged a single supplement before they could board the ship, while Viking kept the $$ from the last minute cancellation of the no show. The guest them had to claim against the insurance to try to get the $$. As already pointed out, removing a name from the booking runs into similar problems as Viking considers any change of passenger to be a cancellation.

Considering that trains aren't running due to the cold, I wonder if there were also issues with computers and servers.

Fjord tours just responded.They only sell standard tickets and seats are randomly assigned. But, we can try to upgrade on the train from Myrdal.

Performance speaks for itself. Many itineraries (especially those that sail only a couple of times a year) and sail dates fill up closer to when they open for booking than when they actually sail. Most ships sail close to full close -- and without last minute fire sales. My May, 2025 had four cabins available when I looked the other day. Viking is not a member of CLIA, which makes it hard for newbies to get used to some of their financial policies. Viking definitely marches to a different drummer. In the end, the onboard experience wins us over.

Details can be found on your Viking Guest Statement and https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/2-230626_BookingAndSaleTermsAndConditions.pdf

THANK YOU!!!!! I didn't know they had Comfort Class available. I booked on the website and there was no mention of it. I just e-mailed them to see if I could adjust my reservation (I don't want to cancel it because it includes my hotel reservation and there were only three rooms left when I booked).

With potato??? As far as I am concerned, it can't be called aioli without both garlic and olive oil. It's false advertising. "Aioli is a garlic and olive oil sauce that originated in the Mediterranean. The exact origins of the sauce are disputed, said to be either from the south of France or eastern Spain regions. The name 'aioli' itself is a compound of the words 'garlic and oil' in Catalan and Provencal languages." (found on chefin.com.au) The Lamb Chops were gone when we sailed on the "Welcome Back"cruise in July, 2021 -- along with my favorite Mussels in Saffron Creme Sauce. ☹️

Sounds great -- was the aioli on the side??? As for the rest of the suggestions, thank you all! I've started to keep a list in anticipation our first Oceans adventure since December, 2021. I'm looking forward to some change of menu. @Clay Clayton -- great idea for a new thread! Thank you!

The e-mail for the Viking Venus is in your final docs. I would e-mail the ship directly and ask them. They will have the most accurate and up-to-date information about the shuttles. The first sailing of 2024 is underway right now and they may not even have arrived in Atla at this point.

oops

What does it say on the harbormaster's website?

Viking has a huge pool of repeat customers. That they fill their cabins early and quickly speaks for itself. Customer retention is not a big worry for Viking. They have the sense to know that they cannot be all things to all people and that some people will be better served by other companies. Since everyone is talking about the rising prices, I checked the prices of the cruises I have booked. I looked only at brochures prices and ignored the booking discounts. Both are 2 week cruises. For 2024 cruise, my DV cabin is $1100 more today and is showing no booking discount; only 4 cabins available. For 2025, the price is $1300 more and no booking discounts; only 3 cabins available.

I thought the Sun was sold so that it could nourish the Chinese cruise industry with a product aimed at the Chinese people. Did this ever happen? Did they ever have any passengers? Or was it prevented by China's slow return to "normal" post pandemic?

Unless you have a flight leaving on disembarkation day, you are not eligible for Viking transfers -- not to pick up a car at the airport, not to a hotel at the airport, not even if you are buying the transfer. Folks have tried and been told no. Yes, there are exceptions but they are for pax for whom the only flights of the day leave before Viking can get them there in time (in others a forced overnight).

Viking has a couple of itineraries that leave Barcelona and sail out through the straights of Gibraltar, stopping at a couple of different ports depending on the itinerary. Valencia Spain: (I can't remember; we took cabs to and from our destination) Cartagena, Spain: No shuttle because it is walking distance. Malaga: A bus waiting area next to the Port Authority. Here's a map. It's much more clear this way. The asterisk marks the pick up spot; the arrow points the direction to the ship. Don't be fooled, it was an 8-10 min ride to the ship from the shuttle stop. Viking also has sailings stopping in Ajaccio, Malta, Algiers, Tunis, Casablanca, Cadiz on the schedule -- of which I can report on Algiers (no shuttle).

LOL. Thanks. I guess I should put my glasses on and engage the brain. Advice for pick-up time: Avoid the rush off the ship. Have a leisurely breakfast (in the Restaurant if is open) and aim for 9-9:30am (depending on what time Viking wants you off the ship by then). You will still have to be out of your cabin at the stated time. Think of it this way, you can wait in traffic or you can wait in comfort on the ship. Do let Viking collect as much of your luggage as possible the night before. As I remember the Tilbury terminal, there was lots of walking and a couple of flights of steps. I can't say about elevators because I wasn't paying attention.

The name I've seen mentioned the most from members I trust the most is Addison Lee. As for arrival time, you tell the company what time you want to be at the dock and they will tell you what time they will pick you up. Plan to arrive at least two and a half hours before sailaway time. But not before 11am (because you want to give the early morning flights a chance to clear check in and get on board). If you need to include meal times in your planning (diabetics, pill timing, etc.) On embarkation day, buffet is usually open Noonish to 2pmish, Pool Grill till 3pmish while light sandwiches can be found until dinner in the Living Room bar and complimentary room service 24/7. I don't know Mamsens hours.

Again, welcome to Cruise Critic -- and to the Viking Oceans forum. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have, or at least point you in the right direction. I'm doing Hong Kong to Tokyo (Far Eastern Horizons) in 2025 (roll call). I was supposed to go in 2021 but that was cancelled (even had our airfare fixed), so I've been keeping an eye on things for a while now. Currently, Viking gets to Japan twice a year, when it moves the Orion from its summer home in Alaska to its winter home in Australia/New Zealand. The repositioning is sold in segments such that you will be on the ship with folks who are doing the whole itinerary or just a couple segments including the HK-Tokyo. Add to the mix that Japan was slow to re-open after the pandemic shut down. The bottom line is that there is not a lot of discussion here about the itinerary. (But the best way to generate discussions is by asking questions.) Another caveat is that "best" is a judgement and what is perfect for me might not be your cup of tea. Here is some information to get you started. Since you are new to Viking: FOR VIKING NEWBIES: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2416372-tips-for-new-viking-ocean-cruisers/page/45/ Start with post #1115. Anything earlier is stale information and will just confuse things. This is a list of roll calls. I haven't updated it recently. All of these roll calls include the the Hong Kong-Tokyo segment. Read them all because you never know where you will find helpful information. 2023 FAR EASTERN HORIZONS Hong Kong to Tokyo DATES: April 13 – April 29, 2023 Viking Orion - Far East & Alaska - April 15-May 20, 2023 Grand Pacific Explorer - Vancouver to Auckland - September 17, 2023 Viking Orion October 10, 2023 Far East Horizons (14 day) & SE Asia Horizons (28 day) 2024 Far East and Alaska April 2024 Viking Orion, April 7, 2024, Far East Horizons, Hong Kong -> Tokyo Viking Orion, February-May 2024, Grand Pacific Explorer Viking Orion-Far Eastern Horizons-October 2024-Tokyo to Hong Kong 2025 Auckland-Vancouver, March 7-June 6, 2025 Viking Orion - April 18, 2025 - Bangkok to Tokyo - South East Asia Horizons (29 days) May 2, 2025 -- Far Eastern Horizons -- Hong Kong to Tokyo

That option is not available to me. I think it is because I work with a travel agent. The only thing I can do on the Account page is to change my password. 😒