SempreMare

Unplugging the towel bar did not change the beep, so probably no relationship The response from my room stewards made me conclude the beep was normal and could not be disabled.

I remember thinking at one point, "Surely someone on Cruise Critic would have posted a complaint about this already" if it happened in every room on every ship. I do have really good hearing. I figured maybe others didn't notice it as much. The steward thought it might have something to do with the heated towel rack being on. I unplugged it. No change. Then, ironically, the day after I plugged it back in, I accidentally contacted the wonderfully very hot towel rack for too long (when keeping the light OFF) and had a mild burn spot on my hand for a couple days. Good idea. Their picture will be on that photo frame of all the officers on deck... 2 ? I considered disabling the speaker in the bathroom ceiling, but that seemed like a step too far. (safety wise) I'll be on the Viking Jupiter next. Has anyone in a PJS on the Viking Jupiter experienced the bathroom light turn-on-BEEP?

Viking Mars , Sept 2022 British Isles Explorer

Has anyone figured out how to silence the loud beep you hear when turning on the bathroom light in a Viking Ocean stateroom ? My workaround on my first Viking cruise (PJS room 7000) was to use the light as little as possible at night right before bed or during the night if I woke up to use the bathroom. The loud beep would 'wake me up' too much. I did ask the room steward to turn off the beep, but he could not. I believe he called maintenance also. Keeping the bathroom door fully shut, then turning on the light before opening the door muffled it some. What is the point of that loud beep?

Yes Please! I believe I still have my semi-public email in my sig but if not it's travelinsurancecompared@gmail.com (From the days when I had a public google doc comparing travel insurance. Now i just call Steve Dasseos & team at Trip Insurance Store and do whatever they recommend for the situation.) Thank you @Squawkman

Why does Viking not list on MyVikingJourney.com (MVJ) - Port arrival and departure times - Which ports are tender ports Especially important to be aware of. Just had my first cruise with tender ports. Tendering seemed to subtract so much time from the already short amount of time-in-port. Not having that logistic info on MyVikingJourney wastes time and creates an unnecessary friction point in simple day to day planning. Would anyone happen to know the name of the Director of IT for Viking? I think I remember the viking complaint email (but don't want to write it incorrectly because I'll lose ability to edit this post.) I want to ask Viking to fix this but want to focus the email on the person who can correct the problem.

Great tip! Edit: Just saw the caveat in a later post that not every Viking agent offers this

I wonder how Viking handled the airfare change costs for people who did not use Viking air?

Oh my goodness! There must be a 12 step grits addiction program to try before embarkation… 😂 Although if Viking changes their menu or does something special I might try to request same.

Clay, my favorite grits tasted in your neck of the woods - the Glenwood Grill's Shrimp & Grits. I was skeptical till I tried it.

To me: I love this. I have used it to significant $ advantage twice in past year. How? 1) I book Business class Intl or Domestic first at the NON-refundable (but since Covid, changeable) rates, saving ~50% off the fully refundable rate. Changeable means voucher or airlines "wallet" credit. Refundable > better than > changeable. 2) I book very early such that the schedules are likely to change by the legal minimum amount (a certain # of hours) to trigger the policy (law?) where the airline must REFUND you, not just give you credit / voucher. On 2 of 4 flights where I needed to change to a different day or wanted to fly to a different city, I was able to do this at $0 change cost. On each of the flights, the schedules changed by more than the x hour(s) that triggers the "must refund" clause. I believe I was notified of the change at least 8 weeks in advance. Plenty of time to shift my plans to adjust. Key point: When the airline (in 1 case, British Airways) asked me to confirm the schedule change, I DID NOT REPLY / did not click on the button till it became clear I wanted to change the time. Had I waited to book closer to my actual date of flight - the cost would have been more - the routing would have been terrible - the connection times available would have been insufficient On my upcoming Viking Homelands, I booked my own flights and there have already been a significant enough schedule change to trigger the "must refund" clause. Refund Example - I needed to change a Los Angeles flight by months from spring to fall.

@CoolBeansVA seconding the Viking's perfectly crisped bacon and Clay's Lyonaise potatoes. @Clay Clayton that pic and your posts clearly demonstrate that you have mastered the Viking Ocean breakfast.

Interesting. What non-fizzy canned / non-canned drinks were you hoping to find?

https://www.expo2025.or.jp/en/ Another Japan consideration - the 2025 World Fair will be in Osaka. I enjoyed Dubai "Expo 2020" so much, I definitely plan to check out what kind of a show Japan puts on for the world.

It's the kind of thing I don't want to think about or acknowledge could actually be a reality. It would create yet another 'black swan' type of event. I've already experienced 5 "once every 100 year" / "rare" / once every 20 year / events in the past 2 years. If HK were just one port an itinerary, not a big deal. Skip the port. But since HK is a starting / ending point, that means canceled flights and lots more time and aggravation on each person should the unlikely (?) event occur. I traveled to HK for work in March 2019. Listening to the HK cab drivers rant about about their political feelings and cultural feelings related to mainland china, the govt and the people, was an eye-opening and memorable travel experience. It did not surprise me when the riots broke out several months after I left.

Interesting. I enjoy adding 1/2 teaspoon of Orange Blossom water to my iced tea. I was wondering if that was an ingredient when posted earlier. I also add rose water to holiday desserts. The foodie in the family asked, "What is that mysterious flavor...." The owner at my middle eastern grocery store says that company, Cortas, was right down the street from where he grew up in Lebanon. Note: Wow looks like Orange Blossom water is one of those "long tail products" where Amazon's markup is significant. I believe I last paid $2.99 for a bottle. It lasts forever.

I wish Viking offered an itinerary that both started and ended in Japan. I have enjoyed Hong Kong in the past, but... - I would prefer more time in Japan vs more time in HK - HK as a starting point gives me a tiny hesitation about itinerary risk, with the US becoming increasingly at odds with China.

Near the Roma Termini, I see this museum: https://www.google.com/maps/place/National+Museum+of+Rome+-+Baths+of+Diocletian/@41.9016812,12.495837,16z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x132f61a6daf8255b:0xd47a34eb0f9a22d5!8m2!3d41.9032036!4d12.4992831!16zL20vMDNzcnp6 Is that the one with the ancient coin collection?

Interesting. Thanks for posting this. How would you compare it to Benadryl? (diphenhydramine) PS: Any chance your user name is related to this?

No trouble at all. The packaging looked like a variation of Benadryl's packaging. I don't believe it's illegal here. It's simply not marketed here. This Benadryl seemed to work at least 2 min faster than the pill version, which for someone going into allergic reaction is HUGE. I learned of this from a restaurant owner in Venice ~ 15 yrs ago. Even though we stated a family member had a seafood allergy and explicitly asked about anchovies, we were served a steak sauce made with anchovies. Anaphylaxis started. The restaurant owner immediately suggested she put this "allergy pill" under her tongue. I hesitated, [ first night, first meal, unknown pill ] but in a moment of desperation we gambled... Worked well. Prevented an epipen injection. We still took a boat to the nearest hospital just in case since her pulse rate was still elevated. Not the ideal way to spend a first night in Venice, but at least the owner was prepared. Edit: @Sunflower & The Scientistif you are able to find sub-lingual Benadryl next time you are in Italy, Could you reply here? I know it was available as recently as ~ 4 yrs ago cos a friend brought me back a box. Not sure about 2023's availability. I checked Dubai and Amsterdam in 2021 / 2022 - neither had it. I was having so much fun on British Isles Explorer I forgot to check for it at all in the UK or Norway..

I purchased a pair (Celestron 8x42) for my first cruise on Holland America to Alaska and loved them. On the longer British Isles Explorer, there was just no room in the suitcase, and was grateful for the Viking ones in the room. But the Celestron’s would have been so much nicer.

Tip that helped me in a "situation": If you get a doctor's letter, include the Doctor's National Provider Identifier (NPI) # under their signature. You can look up your doctor's NPI here https://npidb.org/ I carry a small pharmacy, a little bit of everything in a small bag for common things that can go wrong with head, throat, tummy, respiratory system, etc. when traveling. I always travel with a letter that I authored, signed from my doctor with: [ Jane Doe ] is in overall good health and is suitable to fly. She requires these medications 1) Medication, Dosage, times / day 2) Medication, Dosage, times / day In addition, from time to time, she may need [ all the sore throat, cold, flu, tylenol, etc meds ] [ signature ] <Doctors Name> <Doctor's Title> National Provider Identifier (NPI): I ran out of one of my meds, and tried to get it replaced without first seeing a doctor. The pharmacist at first said, "this is not a prescription" upon seeing the letter. I pointed out that he could look up the doctor's NPI # to verify he's a real doctor. (which I was impressed to see that he actually did verify) I then said confidently but politely, that with the NPI number attached, it's like a prescription. Net: I was able to get my med without the extra step of seeing a doctor first. I was also able to buy without a local doctor's script. a replacement Zithromax (Z-Pak) for my 5 year old expired un-used Z-Pak for my suitcase. I could find no doctor in the US who would refill my expired suitcase Z-Pak (Yes, I understand why.) Related to my tiny traveling pharmacy: I have a note to buy sub-lingual Benadryl next time in Italy. Can't buy it here in the US. It's great for family members with food allergies. Fastest acting OTC thing to give someone having a food allergy attack that I've seen.

looks accurate

Thank you! Tea in the Wintergarden feels as good as it looks in the catalog photos.

You just reminded me of 3 other reasons to not try to anticipate exactly what time I will want to eat: 1) Afternoon Tea in the Wintergarden starting at 3:00 pm After eating all the cute mini-sandwiches, scones, and tiny desserts, I was too full for dinner before 8:30pm, and even then I still felt like I didn't really need it so I just requested tiny portions of things that looked interesting.** 2) Lunch / afternoon Soup Buffet / Seafood buffet in the [ what was the name?] terrace just outside of the World Cafe. This was fun every time it happened. My World Cafe server would give me the heads-up the night before the day of the soup/seafood would occur, I remember unexpectedly enjoying the cold soups, the artistry of the food arrangement, the geometry of the soup bowl layout. The Crate & Barrel CEO (for those who have read that book) would approve 🙂 3) Fun & Games! the 5:30pm (?) trivia games I only joined it once but wanted to try it again **1 - Not eating much that night thanks to afternoon tea turned out to be fortuitous. That night between Stavenger (a replacement port) and Bergen*, we experienced vicious turbulence. It was especially difficult because I was trying to pack up for disembarkation while barely being able to stand upright due to the the ships motion. I was SO exhausted by the time I went to bed, but still couldn't sleep from all the jostling around. The ship was so close to land, I was surprised it could be so turbulent. I kept looking at my phone's Google Maps thinking, "this will stop soon, right?" I broke out the Ginger Pills and Meclizine. The next day on land walking around Bergen, I constantly felt like I needed to right myself / stay upright from turbulence that no longer existed. Bizarre. I needed to remind myself, "I am on solid land. No need to brace for unexpected side-to-side motion". @Heidi13 is this phenomena called sea legs? ** @Twitchly do you recall that night of really bad turbulence? Was it after Stavenger? That must have been doubly difficult for you with a knee injury