Peregrina651

I will say that the signage was good, giving alternative routes, otherwise, we would still be wandering around 'neath the streets of London.  (Yes Bostonian's, that is an oblique reference to Charlie, the man who never returned).

Actually we had a lovely lunch in the cafe at the museum and then wended our way to the London Eye.  It was a slow day and they let us on the Eye early.

Heads up to those using the Underground, lots of clean up and repair work on multiple lines causing station closures. 

Pouring rain all day!  Hanging out at the National Gallery until we head to the London Eye.

Lovely 7:20am flight out of Boston. Landed at dinner time. Passport control was for US passports entirely automated and we were done in no time. No checked luggage to deal with.   Underground to hotel was simple -- and only $2.65pp. Weather yesterday was clear and comfy, low 60s as we wandered out to find dinner. And so

ends Day 1 of our adventure. 

We are near the Earls Court Station, staying at the Twenty Nevern Square Hotel. We stayed here in early 2020 and liked the hotel and its location, so we are back. Piccadilly and District line serve the station, very convenient. 

1 hour ago, CurlerRob said:

I hope the Shetlands are accommodating.

Not so bad for us; we've been with Viking, but it will be a real disappointment for those who haven't been.

My bags are packed. I'm ready to go. I have one more job to do before we walk out the door (in the middle of the night): start this thread (while I still have a real keyboard to type on).

@formernuke covered a lot of ground on his thread, Semi-LIVE from Venus British Isles Explorer 4/19 with Churchill Pre-extension, so check it out as well. It is full of great information and vacation-enducing photos.  Also note that  formernuke did the Churchill extension and took really good notes for anyone who is also doing that extension.

For the search engine, let me name-drop the ports we will be visiting by sharing our schedule:

It's okay to moan and groan here but if we really want to see changes, then we should be flooding the inbox with e-mails asking that there be changes -- and listing those changes we want to see.

 TellUs@vikingcruises.com

3 hours ago, longterm said:

and then if it takes 10 minutes to get on board, we'll be fine.

And if it takes longer??

At least by the time you leave the ship that day,  you will have a better idea of the arrangements at the port  -- and especially the time of the last shuttle back to the ship (especially if it is the only way you can get back to the ship).

19 hours ago, longterm said:

We will be arriving at Rosyth on July 14th on the BIE cruise. I have a question for the knowledgeable sailors on here:

 

According to Apple Maps, Rosyth dockyard is 30 minutes from the royal yacht Britannia. Two questions:

 

1. ls the Rosyth dockyard where Viking will most likely dock the ship, if the itinerary says Rosyth, or will we be farther away? 

 

2. Is it reasonable to assume that we can make the 15-mile journey from the Royal yacht to the Viking ship in a half hour, on a Sunday in Edinburgh?

 

Our ship departs at 5 PM, and I am trying to work out a safe schedule.

 

 Thanks!

Don't forget to allow for the time it will take you to get from the drop off point to the ship.  No one has commented if cabs and Ubers can drop you right at the berth. What if it is a shuttle from drop off point to gangway?

Unless you have already bought the tickets for the wedding and if Viking will allow it (sometimes when air is free there are restrictions), use the cruise air to fly you to Montreal, rent a car to take you to Vermont and back (with plans to drop the car near the dock, not at the airport).

It is called a "deviation" and it will let you fly into Montreal up to 30 days prior to the start of your trip. There is a fee for the deviation and you lose transfers on any deviated leg of the journey.

Otherwise, you need to find out from Viking if they will let will let you book a one-way trip under the free airfare offer.

Booking a RT ticket won't work since once you don't show up in Tampa, the rest of your journey is cancelled.

43 minutes ago, formernuke said:

Sorry!🥴

Actually, I appreciate the heads up. I've learned quite a lot from your live thread that has helped me prepare for our adventure. I'm sorry it is coming to an end.

2 hours ago, formernuke said:

Forgot to mention two things:we docked at Victoria Pier, right in town. Also the weather is spectacular (low 70’s)!

Arrgh, Tom!!  I'm packing now and temps in the 70s has completely blown my packing plan! <tearing-hair-emoji>

45 minutes ago, Squawkman said:

$100pp OBC is minuscule. It would be a nice loyalty perk - really no measurable effect on profit.

I figure that any stockholder benefit will be outstripped by possible dividends (which will be paid whether I sail or not) and the profit I will make when I sell my shares.

No shuttle from Rosyth but I believe that a shuttle runs to the nearby train station.

You should wait for @fruitmachine to reply. They know the city and can tell you how to get into Edinburgh with the least hassle.

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

Beg to differ.  In my experience, if the cruise is being offered with "Free Air", you do not get a reduction in price if you don't take the air provided by Viking.  Seems the OP is getting a "Free Air" promotion.

 

If this has changed, please let me know.

It has not changed. Sorry if my explanation was not clear. Air fare and cruise fare are still separate line items on the invoice and free still means free over and above the stated cruise fare.

AirPlus is the fee we pay to get to get to talk with the Viking Air agents before our flights have been assigned, so that we can be part of the choosing process. I don't know what the fee is and Air Plus is not available for all itineraries.  Also referred to as Custom Air.

Deviation is when you arrive before Day 1 of the itinerary and/or fly out after Day Last of the itinerary. There is a fee for this and their may be additional fare imposed by the airlines,

One last Air fee is a layover fee. That is when you put a more than 24 hour gap into a flight plan.  For instance, if you want to stop in Paris for a few days on your way Athens or Istanbul to board a ship. 

29 minutes ago, DandCSam said:

Surprising the Viking agent didn’t seem to know.

The questions they answer every day, they know the answers to. The question they don't answer every day and that aren't in their database, they have no idea how to answer and don't have the time to research.

2 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

If you do use Viking Air, never purchase Air Plus until you see what Viking has booked. Without it I’ve been able to change my carrier and my airport without the additional costs. If it doesn’t work out, then it is the time to inquire about Air Plus and deviation fees.

 

As usual, I'm the dissenting voice. 

If you want something specific from Viking Air, then I suggest paying the Air Plus fee and booking your flights as early as possible so that you have the most choices and the greatest possibility of getting exactly what you want. Among other things, it saves the months of stress waiting to find out what flights you have been assigned and then the stress of trying to find a viable alternative if the first flights are unacceptable. It is okay to pay a fee for peace of mind.

I also suggest that you do your homework before you talk with Air Plus. Is non-stop to your destination even possible from your home airport? If not, what is your Plan B?

As for a deviation, yes always when you are leaving home. Enough flights are delayed or cancelled these days that we should all plan to arrive early. Heading home deviate only if you want to hang around to see more at that port.

Also, do not think of your airfare as "included" just because it is free because Viking does not think of it that way. Viking prices its cruise fares and its airfares separately; they are separate line items on your invoice. If you cancel the air portion of your booking, you get back what you were charged. If the airfare portion of your flights is $999, Viking takes $999 off your invoice. If you were charged $0 for your flights, they take $0 off your invoice.

TellUs is the better place to ask. TellUs@vikingcruises.com. Include your booking number and your phone number.

4 hours ago, uktog said:

And if you want to pay for a transfer at point the Edinburgh teams run from the disembarking at Newhaven to the New Town and further on 

Arrgh, auto correct does it again.😖  Not teams, trams. Took me a minute.  I could not figure out why footballers would be running from Newhaven to anywhere! 

@formernuke A request for Edinburgh. May 9 would like to know more about the shuttle bus. Where it stops, how often it runs; whatever you can share with us would be appreciated. TIA.

On 4/20/2024 at 5:33 AM, CDNPolar said:

I think if I bought stock, I would want to be a loyal customer.

Bought stock for the stockholders' benefit. Still own the stock even though we haven't sailed with the company in 15 years. Will sell for a hefty profit. It has nothing to with company loyalty; it is just an investment.

Back to OP's original question. How to contact Viking.

E-mail them at TellUs@vikingcruises.com. They will forward your suggestion to the appropriate department.

On 4/23/2024 at 1:26 PM, OneSixtyToOne said:

Juno Beach is part of the Commonwealth excursion. There is a visitor center there staffed by Canadian college students (the same age as those who died there).  It also visits the Pegasus Bridge which was featured in the movie The Longest Day. The museum also has full scale replicas of the gliders used in the assault. The first Allied casualty of D-Day occurred here. Viewing the Bayeux Tapestry is also a stop on the excursion. Since most pax are Americans who want to go to Omaha, this excursion has very few participants. I highly recommend it.

Ditto. Fewer guests do this one, so the experience is more intimate while still being equally as impactful.

3 hours ago, SteelCity Cruiser said:

we used the train service from the port instead of the Viking shuttle. It was 5 pounds for a round trip ticket and runs about every 30 minutes and only took about 15-20 minutes each way.  The train station is a short, easy walk from the dock.  Ticket booths are right inside the station entrance

 

I was wondering about using the train.

I just checked the routing on Google Maps and while it may be a shorter time compared to Viking's shuttle by the Google Maps' estimation, I walk slower than the Google estimation. So for us, it is 50-50 -- and Viking shuttle gets us closer to where we want to be.

Regardless, now that I see what the shuttle schedule is,  I am glad that I booked I booked our tour at the Little Dublin Museum for 11 am, because with the tendering, I don't see us arriving much before 10am, even if we are on the first shuttle at 9am.

Here's the link to Irish Rail for timetables and tickets: https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/