Peregrina651

You have me wondering if there has been some change in the laundry product used. The last time we were on board (end of 2021), I had a lot of trouble with the fragrance of the laundry detergent (service and laundrette) and was bothered that it lingered for for multiple washings after we got home. But as I said some place, two people can smell the same product and have very different reactions to it.

Two threads are discussing pretty much the same topic and someone has shared the list of tours on the other thread. See (comments 22 and 23):

I like the way they are offering three areas of the city to explore instead of having everyone going to Vatican City. It will save some folks the time and expense if that is where they wanted to be in the first place. Viking is always tweaking things and I would not be surprised if these changes have come about because of guest comments. I'm looking forward to seeing what 2026 and our non-turnaround stop at Civitavecchia has in store for us.

You are right. I was not clear. I was responding to the lecturer's comment about best Roman ruins and did not limit my answer to accessible from Civitavecchia.

The fun begins at 10pm, after the show in the Star Theater. Viking loves celebrations and NYE is one of their best. I think I've been to four of them and each one was slightly different. The first few were in the Atrium/Living Room. The next was a hybrid with the main party in the Atrium and broadcast on the TV screens at the Pool. The latest one we attended was during Covid and it was entirely at the Pool. We were anchored in Cabo San Lucas and at midnight we watched the local fireworks. Jan 1, the party usually continues with some sort of buffet. Some dance and some prefer to cheer them on Fireworks in Mexico Buffet at the Pool In 2021/22, the buffet was set up in the World Cafe because we were only 400 pax

There is no need to stand in line to get through security at the Vatican unless you are planning on going into St. Peter's. Viking has a relationship with one of the shops at the meeting point and the multiple Viking guides/escorts who wait there while their bus-loads tour the area will be happy to point you in the right direction. Viking knows its demographic and understands the importance of having facilities available for us. 😉

For me, it would be a toss up between Ostia and Herculaneum -- both were sea ports but other than that, they were polar opposites. Herculaneum was small, compact and smothered by the eruption of Mt.Vesuvius. Ostia was spread out and and slowly withered away. Our 2026 trip will be with my sister. I know she has been to Italy before (Junior Year Abroad) but I don't know if BIL has. So, it will be their choice what we do the one day that we have. At this point, it is too soon to even think about; who knows what life will bring in the interim.

Thank you. I'm saving your comment for our 2026 cruise which stops in Rome. I was looking for a non-Rome option and it seems that Crotone is not it.

Put it in writing to Viking at tellus@vikingcruises.com. Everyone who wants to see a fragrance-free option should write in and say so.

In the past, the OYO bus dropped you off and picked you up at the Vatican. I assume that it remains the same (but you know what is said about assuming). I do suggest staying with the bus all the way to the Vatican so that you will know exactly where you have to be and at what time you have to be there. Taking the OYO is a good suggestion. It saves the wear and tear of getting to the Civi train station and back (no mad dash to get back on board before they haul up the gangway). It saves the worry that you won't make the train in time. You only have to worry about getting to and from the Borghese. The should make a toilet stop coming and going (but just in case, use the facility at the museum before you head back to the Vatican; toilet at the Vatican is a bit more complicated and the Viking rep will be able to help you find it).

Don, it is entirely possible that on the Northern Lights sailings (which I assume is what you mean when you say "aurora cruise"), Viking changes the dining hours to accommodate the evening excursions to view the Lights. Normal dining hours are 6-9pm and I have never been on a cruise that wasn't open at minimum during those hours. I suggest that the folks you want to hear from are folks who have done this itinerary already. They can tell you what the dining hours were when they took the trip. If you are really lucky, maybe someone saved the Viking dailies and can share them. BTW, pea soup is served most evenings in Mamsen for the late evening crowd. I understand it is delicious.

Smell is personal --just like the comfort of the mattresses and the taste of the food on board. Most of us seem to find the smell of the Viking toiletries and laundry products acceptable but there will always be a few who will find them intolerable. As one who is sensitive to fragrances and perfumes, I suggest that if you are concerned, bring your own tried and true products, at least on your first Viking cruise, until you have a chance to decide for yourself if the Viking products work for you.

There are certain flower-y fragrances used in manufacturing soaps, shampoos, cleaning products, laundry detergent, etc. that I react to with physical symptoms (nothing anaphylactic). I'm the lady in the shampoo aisle opening bottles to sniff them. You may love the smell of your Irish Spring soap or Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo but I have quite the opposite reaction and I can't get away from it fast enough. Nothing personal -- and nothing that I have any control over. Add to that instructions from the dermatologist not to use products with any sort of fragrance in them. My creds established, please let Ms. Cruise that I personally do not have any trouble with the fragrance of any of the personal care products or the laundry detergent used on the ship. In spite of the doctor's instructions, I can't be bothered packing my own shampoo, etc. and I used the Viking products. I can tolerate the smell and they don't cause any flare ups to my skin problem. Still, I am bothered by the fact that the detergent fragrance lingers in my clothing and takes multiple washings to get rid of ocne I get home. The only fragrance on board I do have a problem with was used by the gift shop, sprayed inside a travel bag that I bought. Two years later and in spite of the fact that I store the the bag with an activated charcoal odor eater inside it, it still smells. Hope this helps.

😭 But it is the second ship of the new class. Based on the first few of the first class, I am not ready to give up hope. Viking Vela was floated out at the end November and is due to be turned over sometime in 2024.

Thanks for that info. I was wondering. I have always wanted to do a maiden voyage and just happened to stumble into this one because we were looking for a January cruise that wasn't a 14 hour flight. Now we just have to hope the Vesta is delivered on time.

I just booked Vesta for "Malta" in Jan, 2026. It's also on the schedule for same in March. https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/ships/viking-vesta.html

Interesting.

I can't say anything about dry cleaning but my packing plan is based 100% on letting Viking handle my laundry (I'm on vacation!). I have lost count of how many bags of laundry I have handed over since I first cruised with Viking Oceans in 2016 and I have never had a problem. Nothing lost. Nothing shrunk. Nothing mangled. No complaints.

Can you share the URL for this information?

Viking gives you arrival and departure times. Back on the boat time would normally be 7:30pm. Allow at least half an hour, if not more, to get from Civi train station to ship, especially if you run into the problem that the cab cannot drop you at the dock and you have to wait at the gate for a shuttle to get you to the ship (there is no walking from the gate to the ship) or there are more people waiting for cabs than there are cabs. In Jan 2002, Rome was the coldest weather we encountered in a two week trip -- and it was a biting, to the bone cold.

THANK YOU!!! That is exactly what I was sitting down to write -- and you have said it so much better than I was doing, too. N.B., the 20 day cruise is only being offered on those sailings departing from Shanghai -- so southbound 3 flavors, northbound only 2. If they are simply repeating the old routines from the river days, then the land portions will be fully escorted and include all meals. Breakfast in the hotels was a huge buffet. Lunches were usually family style Chinese cuisine served on huge lazy-suzans. No trouble getting vegetarian. Dinners were either buffet or family-style -- with no ability to predict in advance what it would be. Prior to Covid, the China river cruises did almost exactly what is being proposed here. The river ships turned around every five days. There were at least two sailings in country most days -- the pax on the ship, the pax who just disembarked and then almost simultaneously the pax about to dismbark and this does not include folks doing pre- and post-cruise extensions..To a certain extent, this will be easier because a new group arrives every 10 days. To a certain extent, it won't be because there will be so many people. However, the Viking staff in China is amazingly well trained and the hardest working I have ever seen.They dragged us around China by day and organized the next day by evening. It was rare that two buses were ever at the same venue at the same time; that takes preparation. However, we don't know what the Viking staff did during Covid and no idea how quickly they will be back in rhythm again. There are very few flight plans for North American pax that don't involve some sort of connection to get to China. Flights out of Chicago fly a polar route and some pax on the east coast may fly east bound.

Just keep in mind that port times can change from sailing to sailing.

I figure that what Viking is doing is taking their river cruisetour and replacing the river portion with an ocean portion. That means that they already have the land portion down pat and they are building on it. We did our first Viking cruise on the Yangtze and it has been our golden standard for management and organization ever since.

Here is yet another take on your situation. If it is the Borghese you want, then plan to do it on your own, without depending on Viking. The calendar on MyVikingJourney.com or the latest edition of your Viking Guest Statement will tell you the currently scheduled arrival and departure times. Back on board time is usually 30 minutes before departure. Double the info once you are on board. "On you own" can mean anything from hiring a car and driver to take you from Civi to the Borghese and back to taking the train to Rome and back and using cabs or public transit to get around Rome. Me, I'd be at the top of the gangplank ready to grab the first cab I see on the pier to take me to the Civi train station or else the port shuttle to the front gate, then cab to the train station. In Rome, I'd take a cab because I would too excited to bother with subways and walking. If available and if I have an internet connection, I might consider Uber. But you know best what works for you. BUT, if you decide that heading into Rome is too much, I would heartily recommend either Ostia (Ancient Rome's seaport) or Taquinia (Etruscan Necropolis and quaint hillside town with Etruscan Archeological Museum). Not the Borghese (because nothing else is) but quite fulfilling with somewhat less wear and tear.

I'm with Rob. DV6 above the MDR, just aft of The Atrium, any cabin 3060 to 3073. They are quiet and not a lot of traffic in the corridors. I've done DV4 a couple of times and decided to go back to DV6. I just like it better -- and the few pennies savings doesn't hurt either. The only downside of the location is that the corridors leading out of the Atrium fore and aft must ramp up to the level of the cabins. Ceiling height in cabins is lower than the ceiling height of the Atrium. The ramps may be a challenge for those using walking aids or pushing wheelchairs. Cabins foreward of the Atrium can avoid the ramp using the forward elevators. Cabins aft of the Atrium cannot avoid the ramp (and this includes the two Explorer Suites).