Mr. Baloo

Since everything is so technical these days… does the app keep count of the drinks you ordered each day?

Thanks Lee! waiting for Whittier car rental place to open back up so we can see if we do the train or rent a car.

looks like a lot of recommendations for the Bering Sea Crab Fishing tour... so.. exactly how rough is that boat ride.... I am not prone,..... but wife is, and if I recommend something that she get sick on....

Well called Avis Alaska and they were no help. Guess we will book a backup and wait to see if it opens up for Avis in Whittier.

Thought I would put this in a separate message, but overall, part of my DIY planning of a pre land portion of a 7 night Princess cruise out of Whittier. We are bouncing around the ideas of how to get to the port. We know Princess has a shuttle bus from the airport, and our Anchorage Hotel, has airport transfers, so we could easily navigate that. But... thinking of changing up our hotel reservations to include more "out of Anchorage" nights. (Saw some videos about how Anchorage may not be the safest place on earth). Maybe rent a VRBO in Girdwood or out by Kenai Fiords. That brings us to car rental return. What car companies have a car return in Whittier? If we do this, driving back to Anchorage to return car on departure day isn't favored. AVIS shows up on Google maps, however when I call them, no one knows anything? Thanks Baloo

Hi everyone, Awesome thread... will have to find the time to catch up.. However, I wanted to offer up this information we just learned. Specially since I read a few pages back that some people were prone to sea sickness. Cruise seasick patches... my wife is prone to sea sickness. We just returned from a Viking Ocean cruise to Greece and Croatia.. no sea sick issues with patch.. but, when we returned.. we just removed her last patch.. well.. she had sea sick issues on land after removing the patch.. We were told from a medical professional afterwards... to just leave the last patch on and let it slowly expend all of its medication.. which in affect, weens you off of the medication. Note to file.. Happy Cruising!!!

Thanks everyone. As recommended, been reading and posting over on trip advisor too. I think I agree with the post to do our own thing. how is taking the train from anchorage to Whittier? Specifically in Whittier, how is luggage handled? Or is the train station close enough to walk? If so, is walkway smooth enough to roll luggage? thanks in advance Baloo

Hello, Fresh off a Viking Ocean cruise to Greece and Croatia, now it is time to plan out our first Alaskan Cruise. Need a little help planning out my pre cruise land portion in the Anchorage area. I really have no idea of what is doable and what is not. How many days should we fly in early? We didn't book the land and sea with Princess. First time going to Alaska, and have know idea how long it takes to get from place to place. So, I will just give you my initial thoughts and we can go from there. Looking at the Princess land portion of the combined trip.. you would stay in 3 different hotels for 3 different nights.. that doesn't sound like fun to me. Yes, I want to visit Denali National Park, but would rather drive on out in one day and spend some time in all its glory. Being from Louisiana, I am sure we will be happy just seeing the countryside. I have seen wildlife before, so seeing a bear is not a necessity... Wants... See Denali, eat some crab legs and halibut, maybe a bicycle tour??? 360 view train ride.... heck.. see the area and eat some local food... then.. after a couple of days... head to the port and board the trip. Like another poster said, since we will be seeing coastal towns and glaciers on our cruise... may as well see the mountain side on the land portion of the trip. Thanks in advance for all your tips and comments.

That was it! Thanks!!

Just back from an ocean cruise on Viking. It was great! I was going to take a picture of the shower fixture, cause I thought it was awesome!.. But, managed to forget to do so. Would anyone possibly know, or remember the brand name? I would love to have that when we redo our bathroom. Thanks Baloo

3 days pre cruise in Athens. Staying at Marriott which is closer to port than acropolis. Too far to walk into town center. What is the best way to get back to hotel after an evening of walking shopping and eating? Uber has spoiled us on getting from random points to random points at various times. TIA

Curious… why would it matter which way you are facing?

Was looking forward to the Osso buco…..

Are the wine lists pretty similar ship to ship?

Thanks Clay, much appreciated! Probably just trying to find something to worry about.... 😃

I would love to see some of these for the Mediterranean as we will be on the Empires of the Mediterranean in September. that said, I know, for the most part, things like special buffet nights fall on the same night of the cruise. But maybe things are different on Viking, our first time. Thinking that would be helpful in reserving the fancy restaurants as I would want to go there on the seafood night etc etc. Anyway, can copies of these be found online somewhere? or any schedules to be found? Thanks! Baloo

Interesting that Viking picks a hotel so far off the beaten path. Haven’t seen much about this hotel on the boards. looking for advice, tips, and anything you learned on your stay there. Restaurants nearby? Hotel amenities? Hotel restaurant and bar? Thanks.

What beers are normally on the Eastern Europe cruises?

I find this discussion a little discouraging. Something I would expect form the larger cruise lines but not what I am expecting on my first Viking cruise this fall. Cooking is an art, not a science. Baking, well, that is science.

Thinking this is more of an Italian Margarita than the traditional Mexican one with limes. Good to know that they have lime juice for the daquiri though.....