Baron Barracuda

Visa and Mastercard have no credit risk. Balances are carried on books of issuing banks. Visa collects interchange fee from payment processing. Their earnings are driven by $ volume charged,

So refinancing only 5% of LTD reduces interest expense $60 million thereby increasing EPS $.20 annually. Lots of further upside ahead as they work to de-leverage the balance sheet.

Back on Zenith and Century thanks to chef Roux dining in the MDR was so special we didn't need specialty restaurants.

The Olympic (as well as the other Ocean Liner restaurants on M class) once provided an exquisite fine dining experience which could last three hours.

Same with us on Star Nov/Dec sailing. Viking was very happy to assist. Very well attended by both cc members and ships officers.

DW went ashore in SD with chef at 10am. Returned a couple of hours later. Believe dinner was around 5pm and lasted 4 hours. Only negative is it was held on last night of cruise so she had to rush back later to finish packing.

I personally find this concerning. Recently completed my first post-covid VO cruise where I was extremely relieved to find standards had not slipped from pre-covid days. Can't say the same for most other lines. Reading through CC threads for the various CCL, RCL and NCLH brands I see endless complaints about cutbacks and cost cutting as they seek to satisfy the demands of shareholders (of which I am one). Back in the '90's I was a very happy, satisfied customer of Celebrity when they were privately owned. Ever since their sale to RCL which brought them under public ownership their brand has deteriorated in the interest of maximizing near term earnings. I wish for Viking to avoid a similar fate.

Don't know your embarkation port or where you live but is it possible to return home retrieve US passport and try to join ship at next port?

Government of the Bahamas plans to extend their value added tax (vat) to cruise line private islands effective 3/1/24 according to attached article in The Tribune. No idea of potential impact on Coco Cay but Royal will certainly look to pass tax on to passengers. Private cruise islands set for VAT reform hit | The Tribune (tribune242.com)

Before you book auto train suggest you run the numbers. Friend just took it and said never again due to cost. Flying would have been much cheaper.

Just returned from 33 nights Nov/Dec on a Viking sailing round trip from LA that covered both Hawaii and French Polynesia. Wonderful experience on a smaller (940 passenger) ship. Viking does this itinerary regularly and by Viking standards pricing can be very reasonable. Ignore brochure rates and watch for promo codes.

If she's paying a 100% single supplement are you able to add yourself to reservation as second guest in cabin at no extra cost.? Then since you have another upcoming sailing the fp date on this one should be eligible for 6 months out. After fp you can either have yourself removed or become a no show at embarkation

Had 6am coffee regularly in the living room with a guy from California who booked dv two weeks out as a single for $4k including SS bev pkg. Was very jealous. Thinking back it made sense ship wasn't full. 33 days including Thanksgiving plus competition from two following 17 day Hawaii sailings and another 33 day Polynesia. Hard to find that many cruisers over the holidays.

We were on Nov/Dec with you. Weren't sure what time we be at curb, bags in hand so didn't contact ride share in advance. Reached benches at 9:10, called LYFT and driver picked us up within 15 minutes. Watched airport shuttle pull out while waiting. Later passed it on the highway. A bit of traffic but reached LAX a little after 10am. Cost was around $50. Definitely the way to go.

Last summer we cancelled and rebooked the Grand Hawaii & Polynesia and saved $6k, same sailing, same cabin. The one downside was Viking wouldn't roll our Tripmate policy from one reservation to the other. Replacing policy with another insurer cost me $2k. Still saved money but taught me never to book Tripmate again. Just something to consider when doing price drop calculus.

We actually enjoy late traditional. No need to rush back from shore. Less crowded, better tables available and allows us to see the early show. Then we change, enjoy a couple of cocktails and head off to dinner.

Have been monitoring flights for segment of world cruise in July. EWR to LHR, returning CPH to EWR. Air to Sea is quoting me $1k round trip pp with non-stops both ways. Booking direct with UAL and SAS is over $2.5k. Multiply that for 3 people and it's a big savings.

Royal hasn't built a ship with capacity under 4k since Jewel in '04. No X ship is over 3300. They clearly believe each line serves it's own niche.

Saw DSB a couple of times in Anthem music hall. Close your eyes and you think it's Steve Perry on stage. House bands have always been good as well.

Be careful. We booked PE through Viking Air for a cruise out of LA last year. A few months before sailing checked UAL web site and discovered they had changed planes and new one didn't offer PE. Without notifying us they moved us to middle seats in regular economy all the way in the rear of the plane. Switched to another flight and later same thing happened. Gave up and upgraded to business class knowing that's offered on every plane.

We were on the Star last month for the Grand Hawaii & Polynesian and dw did 7 kitchen tables including the long one where she went shopping with chef. They were the highlight of her cruise. I believe price was $69 for regular classes and $269 for the big one. Each had a different theme (Italian, French, Caribbean, Australian, etc). Attendance is limited to 12. Guest services would be happy to go over details with you.

Bear in mind that boarding for 11:25 flight closes at 11:10. Also some of the gates Delta uses at terminal C are a pretty long walk from check-in. If you're off the ship at 7:30, find your luggage right away, clear CPB without issue, locate your driver quickly and hit no traffic you could possibly be at the airport before 10am. A few drops of rain however can bring traffic to a standstill.

Up until a few months ago my large US online ta showed up to 7 available cabins per category. Then something changed and just for Viking sailings I can no longer see individual cabins. I now start with the Viking site and then call my Viking rep to go over availability

We sailed from San Pedro on the Star back on 11/10. Final cruise docs indicated berth 46 but port of LA website said 93. Someone on our roll call contacted Viking twice, even elevating call to a a supervisor who swore it was 46. As our Uber from LAX drove to the port there was the Star - - - at 93. A number of people went to 46 and unhappily had to double back. When we disembarked 33 days later on 12/10 it was also at 93.