KentuckyKat

My daughter (18) and I will be on Viking Ocean for the first time one week from today - yikes! We just learned last night that specialty coffees are free on board. That made me wonder what else we do not know. Please give us your "must-do" tips - from activities to favorite ship spaces to don't-miss foods. Any and all ideas appreciated ... I'm taking notes! TIA

I have tentatively booked an evening gondola excursion in Venice for my daughter and I on the first evening of a Viking cruise. I know we are overpaying, but as two novices I really don't care as long as someone tells us where to go and what to do. So here are my fears: (1) will I get sea sick? I don't get sea sick on cruise ships but sometimes on tender boats and other small watercraft. I'd hate to get sick or embarrass my teenage daughter on the first evening of our trip. But we will have just arrived from the US that afternoon, so I'll probably be pretty medicated from the flight anyway (bonine, sea bands...) ;); (2) is it really cold on the water after dark this time of year? The ride starts around 8:00 pm at the end of March. Oh my gosh ... That's like one week from now! :o:eek:;p Any (and all) advice appreciated!

Can anyone give me an estimate of the time it will take my daughter and I to get through customs in Venice and then travel from the airport to the cruise ship? Trying to decide if we could do an evening excursion on our arrival day for a Viking Ocean cruise. TIA! :)

Thanks Pat. We may forego the opera and perhaps set out on our own - it's just such a late night. I'd like the flexibility of not having any commitments.

Hdcmn - if we choose to go to the opera, we will definately poke each other! We are also doing the included tour on Easter and, like you, we plan to just explore from there. Maybe we'll meet up. I'm toying with the idea of a hop-on-hop-off valperetto pass for the day. It seems like there is so much to see. I was in Rome and some Southern cities years (and years) ago but I have never been to Venice and my daughter (18) has never been to Italy.

Thanks so much! Great advice - I'm taking notes!

My daughter and I are considering this same excursion our first night in Venice. Has anyone been on this excursion before? Would you recommend it highly? Or should we just wander through the city or St. Mark's that evening? Or just exploring the ship? My concerns are (1) it's the Saturday night of Easter weekend - would that change the crowd level in the streets? and (2) we are flying in from the states that day so we could be exhausted by the evening. Or we could be running on adrenaline - who knows? But I'd hate to embarrass myself falling asleep during the opera! :o

Thanks so much for the information! Gosh, I never thought about having to go through customs in Paris on the way to Venice. Thanks for mentioning that. Yes, I am pouring over the boards every free moment and trying to take notes - now the question is when will I ever get to review all my notes? Probably not till I get on the plane! :o

My daughter and I will be cruising Florence-Rome in a couple of months on the Viking Sky. We have never sailed on Viking and we have never travelled alone in Europe. She is young and excited. :hearteyes: I am older and starting to panic. :eek: I have so many questions and so little time to figure it all out. First things first ... If we make it to the ship I am hoping everything else will fall into place after that so we booked Viking air -- can anyone tell me what to expect (step-by-step) as far as transportation from the airport to the ship in Venice and vice versa in Rome? Thanks so much! :)

We were going to book a OV porthole room and then saw this 7A navigator's verandah for not much more $$. I have seen pictures of the tiny verandah, but for not much more $$ than a porthole (and for $300-$400 less than a "real" verandah), I can't think of a reason not to book this cabin with my favorite aft view? What do you think -- Side porthole? Or absolutely tiny aft verandah?

Thanks so much for all the replies and advice! We will definitely consider all your experiences in our planning!

We have never cruised with Disney and I don't understand how the dining rotation works. Any information would be helpful because we know VERY little about it. We are thinking of a 7-night cruise on the Fantasy, here are some of my specific questions: (1) Are there 2 or 3 main/traditional dining locations on the Fantasy (seems like we have seen conflicting info.)? (2) Do you know your rotation in advance? (3) Is you rotation random? (4) Do you go to each dining location mutiple times on a 7-day cruise? (5) If you want to do a signature dining once, is there any way to make sure you aren't missing your favorite non-signature location? (6) what if you want to do a signature rest., but don't want to miss an elegant (or whatever it's called) night in a main dining location? (7) It's just DH and I on this cruise - in the past, we have enjoyed assigned dining at a large table where we get to meet and eat with the same group of people each night, is that just not something that happens on Disney cruises? Thanks again and sorry for being such a novice! KK

DH and I usually cruise on the Fantasy-class ships. We enjoy the smaller layout, but we are getting a little bored with the limited evening activities. I want to try an aft balcony for 6-7 nights for a 50th Birthday cruise. We have no preference on ships or destinations, but our dates will be limited. What class ships have the best aft balconies? I would like sun and I remember hearing about ash being a problem on some of the afts. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks.

Over door shoe thing -- will never cruise without one again.

A few good size disposable plastic solo cups for carrying drinks when I don't want to have to come back to the room to deposit a real cup -- like before dinner or when debarking.

Kindle

Small (really small) purse for evening

Shower gel in a scent that I can keep using at home to remind me of the cruise

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