Peregrina651

1 hour ago, AroundWithMAPTravels said:

Looks like Mars is headed there now…

Looks like they are heading to Pamiuut.  I think the two ports on the itinerary are still icebound.  

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

We have met solo's on Viking, but I just mean by percent Viking is not really the line that attracts solo travellers.

 

They were declined?  That is not cool.  We often sit at a four table in the WC because we want to be by the window.  If any other couple want to join, and this is not unusual for us, we certainly welcome them.

 

But I don't see much table sharing on Viking ocean.

 

In the Main Dining Room it is possible to be seated at a shared table. Just ask as you come up to the podium. If they are currently organizing one or if you are willing to wait, it can be done.

1 hour ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

I wanted to start with the Oslo -Bergen train ride, with the thought that it might not be as enjoyable at the end of a long vacation.

We did it at the end of our London to Bergen. We booked our own journey (through Norway in a Nustshell). Stayed overnight in Flam to slow the pace. The train rides were magnificent (and relaxing). I would do again in a heart beat.

9 hours ago, Bunny620 said:

We are booked on the Empires of the Mediterranean cruise in late October.  Going from Athens to Venice.  We didn't book and pre-cruise travel, so I am struggling with what to do Day 1.  Our plane lands like 8 :30 AM, but we can't board the ship until 2 PM.   We have an overnight in Athens on the ship, so there are excursions for Day 2.  But I don't want to just sit around all morning waiting to board the ship.  Also I am not familiar with Athens, so not sure how long it takes to get from "downtown" back to the port ( Piraeus).   What can we / should we do with luggage? Has anyone done this before?

Any suggestions?

If you bought your flights through Viking, they include transfers from the airport to the ship.

If you bought your own flights, you can purchase Viking transfers.

Figuring an hour in the airport (gate to Viking rep (or private car) -- de-plane, walk to border control, lines at border patrol, wait for luggage plus wait for everyone else who was on the plane with you) and then another hour on the bus (car) to the port.

By the time you get there, even if you have made your own arrangements, Viking will have begun boarding guests. In general, Viking does not like to keep folks sitting around in the terminal and they will start boarding guests as soon as departing guests have cleared the ship (mostly it is a foot traffic problem; traffic on the gangway is one-way at a time). Boarding is first-come-first-served regardless of which cabin class you have chosen.

No matter what cabin you are in, the first thing to do, once you have finished with all of the boarding formalities including the life-jacket demo, is to see if your cabin is ready for occupancy; it is better than having to drag your bags around with you. Your invoice may say 2pm, but the housekeeping staff prides itself on having all cabins ready by that time. On our last cruise our DV cabin was ready for occupancy when we got there at 11am. BTW, Viking makes only one announcement about the cabins and that is when all cabins are ready for occupancy.

My sister returned Saturday.  They did get to set foot in Greenland, at the port of Pamiuut (sp?).  It was not safe to enter the two scheduled ports.  They did not get to Newfoundland, again a matter of safety. 

My sister knew the risks but she said she preferred the uncertainty of June to the summer crowds.  Said it was her favorite cruise so far.   

Rebate? Those are the risks you face when you cruise the North Atlantic.  

Thank you @Hanoj for a cogent and well-stated analysis of the state of the industry.

8 hours ago, harbourside said:

Can we get Visa on Arrival in port, or would Viking not allow us on board in Sydney without a visa. 

This is a question that you should be asking of Viking's Australia office directly, to make sure that you have the correct answer -- and make sure that you get it in writing.

Even then, regardless of what answer you get from the Viking's Australia office, I would suggest that you take the conservative approach to planning and make sure that you have all the documents you will need prior to boarding the ship in Sydney. Better safe than sorry; it is a lot of money to invest and then be denied boarding -- and it is a mistake not covered by trip insurance.

2 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Never had suitcases scanned on the gangway.

Most of our cruises have been out of San Pedro, CA and the scanners are at security before you get to the waiting area and then to the gangway and onto the ship.

Guess I'll contact "TellUs".

Every time we board the ship, any bags we carry onto the ship are scanned as we board. In Greenwich a few weeks ago, the scanners were on the dock before we climbed the gangway but the rest of the trip, they were on the ship -- tap your boarding card, drop your bags on the belt and walk through the arches.

Now, I could be wrong (and heavens knows I've been wrong before) and maybe they will accept a shore side scan at San Pedro -- but isn't it wise to be prepared just in case I am right? Your concern is keeping your bags with you.  The more information you have, the less stress.

10 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

I think that everyone wishes that Viking would look at their final payment dates and make a revision to this policy, but I think you will also find that there are differences with other countries - AU and UK - as well.

I don't disagree with you.

Viking did experiment with a 6 month paid in full for most pax back in 2017 but gave up on it in 2018, reverting to the original scheme of 1 year or more except if you book on board or already have a future cruise on the books. I don't know why they experimented or why they reverted back; I only know that they did.

As long as most guests keep coming back under today's terms, I don't think Viking has much incentive to make changes.

Personally, I find the recent steep price increases to be more of a penalty than the loss of interest on payments made 6-12 months in advance.

3 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Haven't seen this one...yet.

We prefer to not use the shore side luggage collection...had a previous BAD experience.

The cart that our luggage was loaded on (along with many others) was dumped into the water at the dock during loading. All of our clothes (shoes, evening wear, nighties) were soaked with filthy port water. The suitcases were ruined. The ship gave us free "overnight" return laundry privileges that took 3 days. For 3 days we were wearing the same clothes that we were wearing when we got on the ship. No OBC, no offer to buy something to wear in the ship's store...just an apology. 

Since then we've always dragged our suitcases with us.

Will we be alone?

Once burned...

As good a reason as any not to want to turn your luggage over to anyone.  

However, with Viking, if your suitcases are too big to fit through the scanners on the gangway, you may have to be separated from your luggage. Better to find out before you pack your bags what you are dealing with. In orher words, you need more info than we can provide; I don't think any of us can tell you the maximum size suitcase a scanner can handle or even if it differs from ship to ship.

I suggest contacting Viking directly.  Use this address, not the call center or chat, tellus@vikingcruises.com.  include your booking number and your phone number. "TellUs" is a higher level of customer service; if they don't have an answer for you, they know who does and will get you an answer. 

9 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

 my guess is that their bean counters decided that forcing final payment very early will help their bottom line,

This is not a new policy for Viking -- and Viking has always marched to the beat of a different drummer. They are not a member of CLIA and are not bound by their policies.

When the company was started up as a river cruise company in the early 1990s, payment was due in the month the cruise was booked. They were only booking one season at a time in those days, not the one to two years in advance that we see today. Regardless of what your sail date was, your payment was due at the end of the month in which you booked. As the company grew, the policy remained the same.

When they started up Viking Oceans, they continued with a similar policy. When we booked in 2014 for a 2016 cruise, we were actually surprised that our payment in full was not due at the end of the month, as we had come to expect. We already knew that Viking did things differently and we also knew that if we wanted to sail with Viking, it would have to be on their terms.

Also note that the UK, Australia and New Zealand markets have different terms and conditions than those in US and Canada that are being discussed here.

And no one is "forcing" anyone to pay early. Those who don't like the policy have plenty of other cruise lines to choose from.

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Newbie question: We've booked the Neptune out of San Pedro, CA. I've seen comments for other ports that "Viking" crew members collect luggage on arrival at the port.

We've sailed out of San Pedro many times and the port's luggage porters collect the luggage.

The question is: which is it in San Pedro? Port personnel or Viking?

For most ports, shoreside services (porters, check in personnel, security, port transportation, etc) are handled by local providers and not by Viking personnel.

Room temperature is up there with food and mattress comfort. They are all every subjective and everyone is going to have a different answer. 

Moreover, just like your house, the room temperature may differ from room to room, venue to venue and deck to deck depending on time of day and where the sun is shining in (or not shining in), and even from ship to ship.

The best bet is to bring a sweater or shawl for "just in case."

4 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Note that you likely will not find stores or street vendors that would accept USD.

Unless things have changed post Covid -- and I suspect they have, the street vendors who flocked around the tour buses were hawking all sorts of things for "one dollar, one dollar" and taking USD for the sale. But, things have changed since Covid and I don't know if this is true any more.

We did use ATMs in China to get cash over and above the yuan we had bought before we left home.  These days, we have a dedicated travel account with a debit card that can only connect to that account (and not any other account that we might have at that bank). We have the card set so that it cannot be used for any retail sales but only for ATM withdrawals.

The bottom-line is that we need more reports from people who have traveled in China since the country has re-opened -- and there aren't a lot of them who are also members of Cruise Critic -- in order to learn more about how things function these days.

I would also suggest asking general questions (such as money questions) in the Ports of Call:Asia forum here on Cruise Critic and specify that you are looking from answers from people who have traveled there post-pandemic (any other information should be considered out-of-date and therefore unreliable).

Cold water, maybe, but necessary advice nonetheless. 

BUT,  you need to let the ship know what time you plan to board so that they can be ready for you. By 6 pm, most pax will have checked in (hopefully) and the ground crew who handle check-in may have gone for the day (barring delayed flights). Don't worry. They have a Plan B for late arrivals.

How to contact the ship? Two weeks before you sail you will receive final documentation from Viking via e-mail. The e-mail will contain two important bits of data: the ship's e-mail address and the ship's phone number.

Don't want to wait until two weeks before sailing to get this ball rolling? Contact Viking at  tellus@vikingcruises.com. Include you booking number and your phone number. Don't bother calling or using chat for this job; this is a job for TellUs.

FYI:

1) dinner is any time between 6-9pm (unlike the river cruises, where dinner for all is one 7pm seating). Complimentary room service is 24/7. Allow half an hour or so for the formalities of check in and boarding.

2) Viking usually opens check in around 10 am; it is first come first served for all cabins. No killing half a day waiting for "your" boarding time.

3) the 2pm time given on your invoice is actually the latest time your cabin will  be available for occupancy. It's a nice fact to know but I've never had to wait that long to at least dump our hand luggage.

Food for thought. What to do with your luggage while you are out and about seeing Venice. You can't drag it around with you if you are planning to visit the inside of any of the buildings -- and honestly, you don't want to drag it around with you even if you aren't doing inside visits.

In the meantime, if you haven't found it yet, check out this thread for new cruisers.  DO NOT start at page 1. That information is outdated (and misleading).  The link will take you to page 66, in the middle of 2022, even some of that information will be outdated because of Covid concerns that are no longer in place. Yes, you will be confused because you are jumping into the middle of multiple conversations. Just keep reading!

Finally, welcome to Cruise Critic, welcome to Viking and welcome to the world of cruising. If you have more questions, ASK!

4 hours ago, ericosmith said:

I actually found a windows app. Not real useful since you can just use a browser.

I tried looking for it in the Microsoft Store on my desktop and did not find one. How long ago did you see this app? Is it still available?

10 hours ago, HUNKY said:

Mjmagee - the app will not allow you to book excursions. You can access myVikingjourney on your phone to book your excursions.

using its internet browser, as there isn't a MyVikingJourney app.

4 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Non-alcoholic coffee drinks are included.

 

Lets clarify this. Non-alcoholic coffee drinks along with teas and hot chocolate are complimentary 24/7, from the bars during operating hours and from the machines in the World Cafe for all guest.

You do not need to buy the drinks package in order to get unlimited access to cappuccinos, lattes and espresso.

House wines, house beers and soft drinks are complimentary at meals but must be purchased outside of those times.

4 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

which covers almost everything except some champagne.

And the very top shelf whisk(e)ys, bourbons, etc.

13 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

FYI Cancellation of optional excursions requires 48 hour notice. If you want to cancel any first or second day pre-paid excursions, you must do that before you board.

You must do it no later then 8 days before you board. There is a one week blackout period prior to boarding when no changes are done.

5 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Not sure if the 3 older ships all have the drawer upgrades.

They -- Star, Sky & Sea -- do not.

I prefer not having the drawers in the closet (but the itinerary determines the ship -- not vice versa -- and I take what I get).

-- I like having 5 feet of uninterrupted hanging space, especially when we are traveling in winter and have winter gear to deal with. 

-- I'm happy hanging all of our shirts, pants and trousers in the closet, and that doesn't happen as easily with the drawers in closet configuration.

-- Also, I can't reach the hanging bar above the drawers at all (I'm 5ft tall), which is another reason I don't like the configuration.

-- Without the drawers, there is plenty of shelf above the hanging rail that DH reaches easily and equally as much room on the floor of the closet for shoes (and winter boots).

But then again, we pack light (1 carry-on, 1 back-pack each) and this also makes a difference no matter which ship we are on.

32 minutes ago, ohiojohn said:

Thank you for your kind insight and food for thought.  Yes you are correct, I am not allowing enough time. So, last week I sent to Viking a transfer request form, which I will follow up in about a week.  I preferred the private car route but do not believe Viking would have our bags ready in the terminal at 6:00am while they are focusing on getting bags into the terminal for the Viking transfer guests.

I have appreciated reading your many comments, as we are refugees from Celebrity and do not know all that we should know after only 2 cruises with Viking.

I'm so glad. Now I can stop worrying about you getting to your gate in time..

On 5/29/2024 at 12:43 PM, ohiojohn said:

 

We are reviewing our options on how to get from the Viking ship at Civitavecchia to FCO Rome's airport after our Viking cruise.

 

The port arrival is Oct 19, 2024 with not many ships in port that day.

 

Our options are to purchase a Viking Transfer or purchase a private car service.

 

Our plane departure to the USA is at 10:30am.

 

We have done Viking transfers before, so we know the routine.

 

If we decide the private route transfer our concern is the luggage may not be available in the terminal for pickup at 7am when the ship docks at 5am.

 

We may not be the strongest retirees to use self disembarkation with our luggage especially since one of us has partial knee surgery last Jan 2024.

 

So my question is, can Viking have our luggage available in the terminal for say a 7:15am private car pickup service ?

 

I know the next question is to ask Vegas for my odds on our bags available in the terminal at say 7am.

Food for thought.

If your invoice said not to book flights before 10 am, it means that Viking expects (and that is not a guarantee) guests to be able to start heading to the airport at 6am --  one hour of drive time arriving plus 3 hours before departure.

You plan to arrive  two hours ahead of departure. Well, actually it is less than two hours, because boarding closes 15-30 minutes ahead of departure and you have to be at the gate by 10am.  Now you are down to an hour and half to check in, hand over your checked bags, get through security, go through border control and walk to your gate.  Is that really enough time?

Viking isn't going to tell us and they are the only reliable source of information in this case. We can guess at why but that only creates rumor and misinformation. 

9 minutes ago, Brookspw70 said:

Any concerns with much wave motion on this cruise? Considering PV3 4016 and that is my only concern. 

You can never predict motion issues for any cruise on any ship at anytime of the year at any point on the globe. Anyone who tells you, "We had no problems on our cruise, you'll be fine" should be be ignored.

The closer you are to the water and the closer you are to the middle of the ship, the less motion is felt. Choosing a cabin is a compromise between the motion you can tolerate and cabin amenities you want, when you can't predict what motion issues might be encountered. Or as the ancestors were fond of saying, "like buying a pig in a poke."

If you are concerned about motion, no matter which cabin you choose, come prepared for motion sickness.