SempreMare

FYI for those with flights planned with connections via Amsterdam Schiphol Keep an eye out for communications about flight cancellations. Connections via certain cities might be more likely to be affected by "Green Cap". TripIt has always been the first to alert me of a flight cancellation, long before the airline contacted me. It would throw an alert to my iPhone, something like below: " KLM Flight 123 can no longer be monitored. Contact the airlines..." this might be a TripIt Pro feature https://www.routesonline.com/news/29/breaking-news/298753/klm-outlines-potential-network-reduction-due-to-schiphol-green-cap/

I just realized my May 2023 Viking Homelands cruise on the Viking Jupiter concludes in Bergen on May 15, an ideal time to stay in Norway for Constitution Day* , May 17. Has anyone here ever experienced Norway on Constitution Day? Any thoughts on what would be the best Norwegian City for taking in Constitution Day festivities? * "The Constitution of Norway was signed at Eidsvoll on 17 May 1814. The constitution declared Norway to be an independent kingdom in an attempt to avoid being ceded to Sweden after Denmark–Norway's devastating defeat in the Napoleonic Wars." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_Day_(Norway)

I was enjoying re-living the British Isles Explorer in my mind while looking at photos, and came across this one. I had just checked into the Thor Oslo Opera hotel after a long but beautiful day on the Bergen - Oslo train in the post cruise extension. Decided to take a 15 min brisk walk from that hotel via the downtown shopping pedestrian streets to the Grand Cafe for an early dinner. The very first thing I saw was this sign. For some reason it made me laugh out loud. I wondered what Mr. Hagen would think.

This is THE reason why every time I have received a booster, I asked really nicely if the technician would re-write all the info from my original card onto a new card in addition to the new the booster info. I simply explained that I was certain I would lose one at some point or have my purse stolen, and I travel places where originals are required. Now I have 3 different 100% authentic vaccination cards. 1 for my purse 1 in my home gun safe 1 in my suitcase

Agreed - I would have same problem with a GoPro because I am much less familiar with it. Plus I'd rather have access to photos that are immediately useful on all the picture frames than video that requires editing. Taking good iPhone photos usually requires little of my energy or concentration. But YMMV. Taking great iPhone photos does require prep. I can't claim I'm there yet. I recently discovered Jefferson Graham's podcast iPhone Photo Show https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/iphonephotoshow/id1601122274 REPLAY: 5o Top Tips for iPhone Photography Their Sept 9 episode above would have been useful for me ;-).

Do you recall which one you use? Is this a special USB stick with an iPhone lightning port? Great advice! I'll add that to my Day Before Leaving check list. I had the opposite problem upon returning BTW. Mail delivery service never resumed till 4 days later I phoned USPS Customer Service and asked, "Why has my mail delivery never re-started?" This is the first time I've had problems with hold mail. Thank you for the tip @CDR2001!

Jim, I don't even have a Facebook account. That's like saying, "Put down your camera." I enjoy re-living vacations and remembering special places via photos too much for that. PLUS.... Long after a trip, I love how: 1) iOS Photos creates trip photo collections, without any extra work from me, and re-surfaces them Ex: It recently showed me "Best moments from Keukenhof (Netherlands)" with music 2) Same thing but with Amazon Echo devices. I keep a redundant (to iCloud) cloud backup of photos via Amazon Photos app, at no charge thanks to Amazon Prime membership. When in the kitchen chopping an onion, I can ask, "Alexa, show my photos taken in Norway." And it does! 3) I can send selected photos to family and friend's smart Picture Frames. ex: My favorite Auntie could automatically see my favorite 20 photos that I send to her picture frame via the app, all while sitting in her favorite chair, without doing anything. I did encounter 2 Viking cruisers on excursions who took more photos than I. Both were using my previous favorite travel camera - Canon Elph PowerShots. Now I just use my iPhone.

=== 2) Keeping my iPhone 13 Pro Max charged for an entire day was challenging My iPhone 13 Pro Max battery life is currently at 90% of "Maximum Capacity". { Settings --> Battery --> Battery Health } Things I did to create battery drain when away from the ship: 2a) Starred and "hearted" locations I would love to visit again with Google Maps. Ex: I really wanted to see the National Gallery of Ireland during Dublin's post-excursion free time. However, after I walked there, I learned they had 'sold out' of the free reservations. Had I planned the day on my own, I would have pre-reserved a reservation. But it didn't occur to me to do that after a cruise excursion. Please learn from my mistake ;-). So I "starred" and "hearted" that as a favorite in Google Maps for next time I'm there. Plan B: I had a GREAT time at the nearby O'Donoghue's Bar where an adorable bartender and patron perched at the end of the bar proceeded to debate what I should try given I like Sam Adams. I totally enjoyed what they recommended, something new from Guinness. Plus a really decent non-alcoholic beer from Guinness. Lesson learned: Always remember what you hear the local Viking guide describe as a "good street for pubs and to hang out / people watch" before you venture off on your own. Those locations make good Plan B's when you have an hour to chill before needing to be back on the ship. 2b) Took lots of photos 2c) Backed up photos { Photos app --> Swipe up to see your iCloud sync backup status } 2d) Looked at urgent videos. Ex: I had created a US Postal Service hold mail request before I left. Home video security alerted me that my postal carrier was still delivering email, despite the hold mail request. While on the ship, I couldn't get the video to play, so I wasn't sure what the security alert was about. Correcting this took 2 time-sucking phone calls to USPS customer service line. I needed to take the time to correct this since I didn't want my thyroid med to be sitting out in Texas heat for a week after delivery. To charge my phone when away from ship, I used: a) Wireless MagSafe chargers It's been widely documented that MagSafe wireless chargers aren't as efficient as wired chargers. I can vouch this is true. Ex: Even with a MagSafe wireless charger attached, during a breakfast at World Cafe when I ate outside and took a bunch of pics as we approached port, my phone battery would drain from 100% to 92%. As soon as the ship was close enough to port to get a cellular signal, I'd turn off phone WiFi to escape the ship's restrictions on photo backups / upload. MagSafe battery chargers just helped the phone discharge slower. They only actually increased the battery % if I paused upload of iCloud photo backup. But in terms of usability, MagSafe chargers sure are easy to snap on, snap off, and keep attached while taking photos b) Old thin chargers / power banks that require a lightning cable Really awkward to take photos with, but they do actually slowly charge the battery, even under the loads described above. I have several really thin power banks with built-in Lightning cables. Wish I had purchased more of these since I can't find them anymore. Like this only thinner.

=== 1) iPhone photos backup I was never able to completely back up my iPhone photos to iCloud at any point during the cruise. I can replace my phone if I lose it tomorrow. I can’t replace trip pictures not yet uploaded to iCloud. Before the trip, I did not think on-ship WiFi speed or off-ship cellular speeds would be important as long as a) WiFi was fast enough to get Google Maps directions, send urgent emails, etc. b) I didn't get sick and had to be isolated in-room. I already downloaded my favorite music playlists for when in the shower or chilling in room. I already downloaded a couple movies for the plane. I have zero interest in watching Netflix when on vacation, unless I am sick and need the distraction while in room isolation. However, what I didn't realize was: Viking ship's WiFi completely blocks iPhotos backup. (this was confirmed by a Viking staff I sat next to on a tender boat.) Initially was not obvious. On my iPhone, the status "backing up photos..." Is still shown. But zero progress appears to be made. OK no problem, Plan B: I'll just use 5G cellular speeds when in bigger city ports. Nope. Viking staff I sat next to on a tender boat enlightened me as to why I was experiencing sloggy slow upload speeds: While pax with UK cellular contracts can enjoy true 5G speeds, my US cell ATT international "day pass" service speed is CAPPED at 1.5 Mbps. I tried switching to 4G, to LTE, etc. Doesn't matter. 1.5 Mbps was too slow to backup my new photos while off the ship. The Viking staff member showed he could get 80 Mbps while on the tender boat. I could only get 1.5 Mbps, connected to the same network. Could someone from the US with Verizon or T-Mobile reply with their experience? I would switch to Verizon if their situation was better. Plan C : I'd always check if the Excursion Bus provided WiFi. Maybe.... 20% actually did. A couple drivers said the bus provided WiFi. However, sometimes the WiFi would let me connect to the router but it would not actually provide internet access. BTW, Edinburgh Scotland buses won my Best Buses prize. Edinburgh busses had: 1) Most comfortable seats 2) Bus WiFi that actually worked* 3) USB charging port near the seat Maybe... 4) I think they had the best seat belts too, including shoulder straps. Several buses had these. Plan D / BTN (Better Than Nothing): Use the sloggy slow 1.5 Mbps and backup whatever possible over 1.5 Mbps cellular. Problems with BTN Plan : - That was never fast enough to catch up with the # of photos I took. Always had several hundred photos not backed up. - Backing up photos over slow cellular creates a constant huge battery drain. After the cruise ended, thanks to the Thon Hotel Opera's 80 Mbps WiFi speed in Oslo, I was able finally to get all of my trip pictures backed up to iCloud.

I thoroughly enjoyed the British Isles Explorer itinerary on my first cruise with Viking. This topic is about problems I experienced but did not anticipate or solve during the cruise. If you don't take a lot of iPhone photos, these first 2 problems probably would not affect you.

Kudos to Viking and the leader(s) who made that decision.

My main worry about that itinerary change would be the risk of the Isle of Man being completely dropped from the itinerary due. It seems like that happens to the smaller ports like Ullapool and Shetland Islands on the British Isles Explorer I just completed. Plus Belfast was a favorite port.

Could someone recommend a reliable Bergen airport transfer service for an early morning transfer? From: Bergen Havn To: Bergen airport ? Last weekend I saw fellow Viking passengers struggling with their luggage: in the rain in the early morning darkness outside of the Oslo airport following the Viking post-cruise extension transport to the airport. That surprised me. I thought I'd read that a Viking post-cruise extension or Viking Air benefit was: "luggage porterage is included". Had I not I shipped my luggage due to rotator cuff tear repair surgery, I would have experienced significant problems at this point in the journey. Next up: Stockholm to Bergen, Viking Homelands, in 2023. I do not plan on using Viking Air. After Bergen debarkation, I will fly directly home. Return flight from Bergen will likely be very early. 6:00 am flight departure. My thoughts on how to deal with luggage are below. Could you please double check my thinking? 1) I should not ship my luggage since I won't be staying in a post cruise hotel, either on my own or part of a Viking extension. I did find information online about the Bergen cruise terminal luggage storage lockers. I'd guess those lockers advertised are probably not for big luggage. I have emailed someone at Bergen Havn with the question: "Could I store 2 pieces of large luggage with you for a next day DHL pickup?" However my guess is: Bergen Havn personnel is not used to doing this. "this" = having DHL show up to retrieve a cruise passenger's luggage for shipment back home. Even if someone at Bergen Havn replies with, "Yes, it's possible", I'd guess trying to do this would create a situation at high risk for error. 2) I realize I'd need to personally request and pay for additional help with luggage from any transfer service. ex: I would request the transfer service to include luggage transport to the gate checkin counter. Not just luggage dropoff at the curb as is standard with most airport checkins. 3) Pack 2 lighter suitcases instead of 1 heavy suitcase. 4) I really really don't want to risk another rotator cuff tear. This surgery's recovery has involved more pain than I ever thought I could endure. Though I can tell it worked, so am thrilled about that. Key to preventing a re-tear: a) No more hot air balloon ride crash landings in Holland. Or anywhere ;-). From now on, I'll be happy just with watching hot air balloon ride YouTubes 🙂 ! b) Avoid sudden weight-bearing jerking movements - the kind that travel seems to require. ex:. I must carefully , with attention to angles of motion, move heavy luggage from floor to bed. By Viking Homelands time in 2023, I should be doing lots of weight-bearing exercises again, hopefully to include squats and military presses. The biggest chance for choosing to do something 'dumb' and risking injury: on debarkation day when sleep-deprived and exhausted from final packing wave the night before.

How fun! Darn it, I wish I could have been aboard to experience that! (though I'd guess it must have been also a time of apprehension since I'd assume this was pandemic related) Agreed! In fact, my first thought was, "I love the crew! It would be a kick to be able to interact with them here vs being alone!"

100% agree. That was my biggest challenge with Viking hours of operation. 8pm - midnight was exactly when I wanted to use both the spa and work out room. I also heard that those facilities are for staff use after 8:00 pm. I would prefer both staff and guests could the spa and workout facilities *any time* . Instead of staff only after 8:00pm. The night I really wanted to use the workout room after 8:00pm it was 9:00pm and there was only 1 staff member in the entire workout room. I came close to asking if he minded if I join him but didn't... I found both spa and workout room to be sparsely utilized. Ex: on a SEA day ! , from 4:00pm - 5:00pm, I was the only femalle in the women's thermal spa and cold plunge tub that made me scream. Maybe everyone was having tea? Still, I expected it to be crowded. Not completely empty. In the larger pool, snow grotto, ice bucket area, I was the only person for the first 30 min, then 2 other women joined.

My Brit Movie Tour guide mentioned that also. He said that during the Thor? Filming that Chris Hemsworth did something similar and would just show up at local bars, etc. What a cool place to live. Greenwich seems to have layers of interesting things to do and see.

2 post trip FYIs related to Luggage Forward: 1) Viking provided no luggage porterage between the bus and airport terminal on our last day. Is this typical? This was extra difficult on people since it was raining in Oslo the morning of our transfer. I would have really struggled with luggage given my injured shoulder. 2) I definitely would have missed my connection in Chicago using the the Viking Air-created itinerary connection if I had checked my bags instead of shipped them. But yea, the cost is huge.

For those arriving or departing Greenwich, I totally enjoyed this tour: https://britmovietours.com/bookings/greenwich-tour-of-film-locations/ We walked area in Greenwich around the Royal Navy College, both sides of that creepy tunnel under the Thames, to see how it has provided a backdrop for an a stunning # of films. The guide was excellent. As we walked, he illustrated the tour via a notebook of movie scene printouts to show how the scene was created. Plus he shared all sorts of interesting trivia. Ex: While Skyfall was filmed, the music students in the college engaged in devious hijinks by softly playing the classic Bond theme from inside the building while filming was being attempted outside, confusing the film crew who had to debug the 'situation'. I created a list of movies to watch / re-watch that will all look different now that I walked the scenes. Four weddings and a Funeral, the film that changed British filmmaking, made Hugh Grant a star 28 weeks Later - Jeremy Renner, Idris Elba One of the 'escape' scenes was filmed in that Greenwich foot tunnel under the thames Layer Cake The Dark Knight rises Batman begins first then the dark knight Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger tides Thor The Duchess Keira Knightley Gulliver’s travels Skyfall Four weddings and a funeral The Mummy returns Muppets most wanted The Man from Uncle Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey the first one and Jude Law Les Miserables Now you’ve seen me - II

Huge ❤️ thanks ❤️ to the Chicago couple from the Viking British Isles Explorer cruise also on the Copenhagen to Chicago flight who pointed me in the right direction to get to my gate on the new (re-booked via Viking) extra 3'rd leg of my flight home. The connection time arranged via Viking Air seemed insufficient if there were ANY delays, and there are frequently delays when I travel via Chicago. I ended out with 1 hr 15 min to go from: arrival the Chicago International terminal 5 to: an American Airlines domestic terminal 3 flight late on a Saturday night, which is not a particularly heavy travel time. I: Cleared immigration where the Chicago Global Entry lines probably took longer than the regular passport lines. The machine readers did not work like they do in most cities so they had this strange semi-manual blue card process. Re-cleared physical security scans. Race-walked in between all the humans. By the time I reached my domestic gate, the BIG "FLIGHT CLOSED" sign was already on the screen and the darkened gate was empty except for the agent + maybe 1 other person. I could see the plane was still parked. I did not want to spend the night in Chicago and must have looked dejected at the thought. The gate agent sighed and said "Ma'am are you supposed to be on this flight?" I just nodded, looked sad, and tried to catch my breath. He sighed and motioned for me to come over. They re-opened the gate door! The heavens opened and angels sang. Circling back to other questions / comments, YES I did pay for Viking Air Plus. YES I did request to be ticketed with what Viking showed me when I agreed on the price. YES My direct connection LHR --> Austin flight still existed. It was NOT canceled as part of any flight cancelation. Just to mess with my feelings about this a little more 😥, TripIt app kept sending me cheerful announcements about my old itinerary... how on those flights were. ...All while I was many more hours away from getting home on an itinerary I would never have selected at any price discount. For others traveling through Chicago, I definitely would have missed the connection if I had ANY checked luggage to pull off the conveyor belt and re-check. I shipped my luggage via Luggage Forward which also made the 1 hour 15 min actual connection time possible. Summary: The business class ticketing I agreed to when I approved payment was: 2 flights with a real business class on both flights arriving on a Saturday at 4:35pm The ticketing I ended out with was: 3 flights long one segment in coach seating one segment with an insufficient connection time at a frequently delayed hub - though the cause of last nights delay was SAS's fault, not Chicago arriving Saturday at 11:00pm issued by a carrier (SAS) that has declared Bankruptcy in the US. I overheard a lunchtime discussion at this at the historic Engrebret restaurant our Oslo tour guide recommended. Something about concerns re: whether or not the judge would accept the bankruptcy. Wonder what was the actual cost to Viking of my changed booking via SAS vs my original booking via British Airways...

That logic seems... twisted. I might not be a 'foodie', but I still want to eat delicious food. I very much appreciate that there's an app called Yelp to give me advice on where to find it.

LOVED 🥰 the Bergen to Olso train ride. Spent a lot of time in the car where the bicycles are stored to take pictures from either side of the train Depending on what was more beautiful in the moment

Is there an App or Website that gives city-specific advice re: Best picture taking locations? I know I’ve heard a recommendation before on a particularly good one, but can’t recall the name… Also situation specific advice ex: Right now am on the Bergen to Oslo train unfortunately on the right side left side would definitely have been a better choice for a morning ride

Viking switched us from the one other hotel in Oslo to the Thon Hotel Opera in Oslo. I overheard one passenger say they were not happy with the switch. I asked the bergen hotel receptionist who said he was from Oslo about it. He replied, “It’s not the nicest hotel is Oslo, but it is very centrally located.” Hmmm…

Thanks Twitchly! our Oslo hotel will be the Thon Hotel Opera https://maps.app.goo.gl/t54hM9kHP5DCACMx6?g_st=ic

@Twitchly do you have any Bergen to Oslo train riding advice? Will the train have USB ports for keeping my iphone charged while taking photos? iphone battery 🪫 life has been a challenge on this trip.