janetcbl

3 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Janet - it was $69 pp for us on the Mars cruise that we are both on right now.  Hoping you got to go to one - the Cooking Class that is.  The Bridge, Kitchen, Laundry tours are free, first come first served.  Bridge tour is at discretion of the Captain and cannot be guaranteed.

Exactly! I did the Norwegian Food Class…it was good fun and delicious.  Are you continuing to NYC or leaving at Reykjavík? We attended the reception for NYC passengers (230?) of us today. Happy to continue the journey!

16 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Are you confusing the shore excursion and the much less expensive at-sea day activity (which cannot be booked until you board the ship)?  It is my understanding that the shorex version is booked just like every other shorex excursion.

The Cooking Class I was referring to in another CC entry is booked on board at Guest Services, just as the Kitchen, Laundry and Bridge Behind the Scenes experiences are done, There is a charge for the Cooking Class as you are eating food and you get to keep the special apron.

1 hour ago, puppymama1 said:

Did you just walk out of the airport and follow signs to find the taxi line?  I know the 07000 taxis are recommended… do you just look for them in the line or do you just take the first taxi at the head of the line?  Thanks!

We are asked out the door, saw the line of taxis, told the first one in line where we were going, and off we went. Really much easier than I had anticipated .

8 hours ago, deec said:

thanks so much for your thoughts about the excursions...I really want to see some Puffins we are going next year late  June...fingers crossed.  We really enjoy the nature focused cruises.

Check dates when Vigur Island is off limits to tours due to eider ducks nesting. We are on Viking now and the excursion is not offered due to the nesting ducks. By late June you should be okay. You can Google the approximate dates to check.

10 hours ago, puppymama1 said:

We are embarking on our British Isles cruise in Bergen in August.  We are staying at the Clarion Havnekontoret hotel the night before embarkation. We picked this hotel because we had previously read that we could walk to the ship from the hotel.  Can someone tell me which direction we would go when we come out the front door of the hotel and about how long of a walk it will be?  Thanks!

Turn right walk to the street by the water, turn right, keep to your left near the docked ships and walk straight. Impossible to get lost.

We did this 10 days ago. Took a taxi from the airport (no need to book ahead). I can’t remember the cost, but it was less than the airport bus for two people. The hotel is delightful! Great staff and interesting rooms, We ate dinner and breakfast (both included in May, don’t know about June) as we had been in Bergen many times and had “done” some of the interesting restaurants. Food was good and well prepared. They also serve an afternoon “fika” of tea, coffee, pastries, etc. And even with luggage we were able to walk to the ship. Enjoy!

7 hours ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

gloves..

Respectfully disagree….I used gloves when walking in the early morning ( for exercise) this week in Norway.

12 hours ago, SailorPaulH said:

 

On our Viking Homelands cruise in 2022, our ship Jupiter docked on the west side of Akershus Fortress (in view of Aker Brygge). Meanwhile the Venus was docked on the east side (in view of Oslo Opera House). Easy walking distance (from either docking location) to nearby Aker Brygge, Sentrum and Bjorvika areas. Plenty of public transport options available (ferry, bus, tram and the "T-Bane") - you can buy a Ruter pass for a day (or more) that you can use on these transport options.

And our Homelands we spent one night on the Aker Brygge side; then the Mars moved to the Opera House side for the second night. 

It is really up to you, whether you choose a V or a more expensive cabin, depending on what is important to you and what special perks you enjoy. We have had everything from a DV to a PJS and found that a PV suits us just fine: earlier time to choose excursions which is important to us (PV), not so important included laundry (PJS). Dining choices makes no difference as you can usually get whatever time you want once you are onboard ( people book their full share of CT and Manfredis and then discover they prefer the WC or Restaurant and cancel CT and M. 

22 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Janet - yes, they are fantastic!  We've done about 5 of them before.  All good and all a bit different.  Did the Norwegian one on the Barcelona to Bergen cruise on Mars.   Got the Apron !!  I actually use those at home.  So glad you liked it.

 

For those wondering, you sign up at Guest Services and it is like an excursion (with an excursion paper ticket) - cost $69 pp.

 

Hopefully see you in Narvik Train on Wednesday - and also the Meet & Mingle on Friday!

 

Kent

Going on the Ofoten Railroad and Navvy Trek tomorrow (I need my head examined!). Looking forward to the Meet & Mingle on Friday!  Jan

7 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Janet - irony is, we watched that recorded presentation on the Viking Mars TV in the list of enrichment lectures just a few days ago before we arrived in Bergen.  Just checked to see if still available on our Bergen to  Reykjavik Mars cruise and it is not.  Glad we saw it. Quite interesting!

On the Mars now and for the first time I signed up for one of the Cooking Classes ( and I do not enjoy cooking). A great experience: lots of fun, excellent delightful chef guided us, learned about how many things are handled aboard ship, a tour of the kitchen and an outstanding lunch, with minimal work on the ten passengers who took the class. Highly recommend the experience!

We asked to have mattress toppers added  to our beds yesterday on the Mars….made all the difference last night sleeping. Good addition!

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Viking Air Plus is a service that you pay for to Viking.

 

If you cannot find flights that you like that do not have this upcharge, then you can opt for Viking Air Plus.

 

Viking Air Plus will cost you per person and that can be either $100pp or $150pp.

 

What we do now is we wait like you have to see the flights chosen and alternative offered.  If there is no alternative that we like, then we go to Google Flights and airline websites and we research what we want in flights.  We have 2 or even 3 options.  Then we call Viking Air Plus (different number from Viking reservations, but they can connect you.)

 

Give Viking Air department your top choice and let them look it up.

 

Using Viking Air Plus does NOT eliminate the possibility of an Up-Charge.  

 

The flights you have been given now are part of Viking's air contract with specific airlines.  Some of the alternate choices with an Up-Charge are outside of Viking's air contract so that is why there is an additional charge.

 

Flights you choose yourself may come with Up-Charges.

 

We also before calling Air Plus, look at our choices and decide if we want to book the air ourselves.  If the price is comparable, or we can get the flights we want and Viking are asking for an Up-Charge, then we book ourselves.

 

If you book yourselves, you lose the included Viking transfers to and from the airport.

Exactly! Could not have said it any better myself!

We are on a Viking ship now and have book and have booked two excursions for a single day. We left enough time between the two for a quick lunch in the WC or Pool Grill. No problem.
 

On a recent Viking Cruise, the Chief Engineer gave a presentation, with video, of the Engine Room and  the activities at a program in the Aula (?) for everyone. Other Behind the Scenes programs in person that we had were the Kitchen, Bridge and Laundry.

20 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Look for the Viking Mars in Bergen if you are still there.  Our waiter told us you'll still be there.  We arrive/dock by 7 AM on tomorrow, Friday morning the 24th at the berth next to Neptune.  Save some sun for us!

Saw you there (Mars) this morning. Sorry about the weather, but this afternoon and tomorrow should be okay. Look forward to boarding tomorrow!

Germany: a long time on the bus to get to Berlin. We stayed visited Rostock (interesting city!) and in the afternoon enjoyed the beach town experience of Warnemunde.

Helsinki: the  Temppeliaukion Church, Ateneum (if you enjoy art museums), Market Square, Suomenlinna and Esplanadi.

56 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

Guest Services - as soon as you can after boarding.

They may also offer behind the scenes of the kitchen and laundry, both very interesting. I think it depends how many sea days your cruise has; the more sea days, the more “Behind the Scene Tours.” We also got a “tour” of the engine room via a talk with photos in the Theater. 

12 hours ago, Twitchly said:

These days we just take carryons. If you don’t mind wearing the same few outfits for a couple weeks, it’s not that hard to do. On our last cruise I didn’t bother to bring jeans — just a couple pairs of black pants I could wear on excursions and in the no-jeans dining venues. Our carryons were adequate for our 3-week trip (we spent an extra week onshore beforehand).
 

The biggest tradeoff is having to do laundry more often when you have fewer clothes. We packed enough to go a week between laundering, which meant washing underthings in the sink or shower in between times. 
 

Or you could pay a bit extra and have Viking do your laundry. 

Exactly how we handle it! No lost luggage and black pants go with anything.

5 hours ago, kaisatsu said:

There are nearly a dozen countries with ports in this area, and they all have their own alcohol laws. it could be good to narrow the scope a bit if you’re looking at specific locations.
 

If you’re asking specifically about drinking on the ship while it’s in port, I can’t recall any restrictions mentioned here. Norway has laws that limit alcohol serving before noon, but I’ve never tested this while I was on a cruise. I’m usually off the ship while it’s in port and not much of a morning drinker.

Not sure how accurate my info is now ( it was a few years ago), but cruise ships docked in Norwegian ports had to abide by the country’s hours for serving liquor. 

26 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Hi Clay - good to know.  We will be on Mars tomorrow in Barcelona headed to Bergen, then staying on Mars for Bergen to Iceland.  Will hopefully get to meet the two Leo's!

Kent

And we are looking forward to meeting you in Bergen. Safe travels…..and take good care of the ship for all of us who will be boarding in Norway.😁

5 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I fully understand your concerns with this, but for an excursion like this we have breakfast late and then lunch when we return.  We work around the times.  

 

I understand the concern of food going ashore but for us, in a case like this we will grab a banana or piece of fruit at breakfast and take it with us.  We have been known to grab a couple of croissants or muffins.  We always travel with many extra ziplock bags - our travel saving grace - and the food goes in those and in our backpack.

 

We did get quite sternly reprimanded in one country - don't remember which one - by the bus driver for eating on the bus.

Be careful taking fruit into some countries. It is often not allowed and penalties can be severe. Discovered this the hard way when, as a tour guide, one of the people on my tour didn’t listen and the results were unpleasant.

Thank you Clay for your beautiful updates…your posts were often a highlight of my day. Enjoy London and safe journey home.

May I add  my thanks to all of you WC travelers for “taking us along”. If we couldn’t be onboard in person, we could enjoy the trip vicariously. We join the Mars in Bergen in 19 days; wonder if there will be any remaining WC passengers going on to NYC?

31 minutes ago, wrldtrvllr said:

I apologize if this has already been asked and answered but would like opinions on cruising southern Norway fjords end of September/early October vs May/June?  Would love to see northern lights. (Have cruised Alaska in May, July, and September and thought May was the best due to the most snow coverage, long days, less rain but am anxious to hurry up and see Norway and decision is between fall 2024 and early summer 2025). Looking at MSC and furthest north it goes is Alesund.

Kiel Germany | Copenhagen Denmark | Hellesylt Norway | Alesund Norway | Flaam Norway | Kiel Germany 

 

Thank you.

That far south in Norway, the answer is no Northern lights…you get sunlight many hours during the day. The only time to see Northern lights is midwinter, preferably far North.