dcl999

We’re not back to completely feeling comfortable in crowded places when people are coughing. We spent more time in our cabin and were very happy to have a balcony. Also if I get sick I’ll self isolate and would not want to have a window that did not open.

We ended up booking the ama cruise starting 12/23.This will be our first with ama. We’re looking forward to the experience. We were a little disappointed we couldn’t book one of the larger cabins since we’re celebrating our 50th but we wanted to be on a ship that day. We’re planning to do an independent Jordan trip post cruise. Pre-cruise will be dependent on airfare.

We’re hoping to go to Egypt, preferably December 23 or January 24. We have sailed on a lot of Viking river cruises and never on AMA. AMA’s availability is at a better time for us. I read elsewhere that AMA contracts out both ship and staff in Egypt. I think the new Viking ships are Viking owned. Is the staff Viking employed? Does anyone know about their old ship? This trip is a major milestone trip for us. We don’t want to end up on a tired ship with just decent food, and a poorly trained staff. The sightseeing seems to be similar on both cruise lines.

It’s hard to pass up the the sticky buns in the world café.

For those that give extra to the staff they have face time with, what about all the behind the scene people? It’s our understanding that the automatic tips are distributed to or for the benefit of the crew. Unless someone has gone over and above we’d prefer to add to the general tip. That said, occasionally we’ll talk with one of the crew that has a specific goal and might help out.

KLM has canceled some of the European early morning flights into Amsterdam for November. Fortunately I caught it early and Delta was able to rebook us with reasonable connection times but an overnight in Paris. The message system has worked quite well, especially when we are traveling. Another thing I have been doing is checking where the flights are coming from. If there’s a history of late flights that could make us miss connections I try to keep track of the incoming flight (flightaware).This happened on our last flight from Amsterdam. I messaged with an agent as soon as I knew our flight was delayed enough so we would get stuck. We managed to eliminate a stop and get home earlier.

4 nights left on our cruise. We will not be able to have our 2 and 2 guaranteed specialty restaurants since we don’t like to start a leisurely dinner at 9 pm (and no availability at all some nights) - only have one each. When we inquired this morning we were told some passengers have not been able to get any reservations yet.

We’re currently on Viking Venus. PV category and I logged in the first day reservations were open. We were able to book the optional tours we wanted. Spa appointments were scarce. There were no bookings available for either of the specialty restaurants-guaranteed 2 in each. Contacted Viking and got one for first day. When we got to the ship wanted to add the others. They would not book us a second chef’s table and insisted we cancel the one we had to get preferred menu. Only could get one at Manfredis and that is for a sharing table. There is availability some nights at 8:30 or 9:00. This is the first time there has been a problem getting reservations onboard.

We have our favorite Viking representative and our favorite TA to use. We frequently book directly and then transfer.The first TA gets the commission. I know the layout of the ships and it’s easier to get the cabin we prefer especially when the choices are limited. I almost always book our air - we usually go early and stay late. If we use Viking air I use a TA to make sure we don’t get awful connections from our small town airport.

We’re planning to go to Egypt next winter. We like Viking’s itinerary. The only ship that has availability is the Antares. Has anyone noticed smells or excessive noise? Please share the location of cabins with problems or if it is a ship wide problem. Thanks.

We have also found that it depends on the how many ships are in port and going to the same places. Popular places are frequently mobbed between 9 and 10 and quieter later in the day. Also look at the drive time from the port.

Is there a good place to buy a bottle of liquor near the pier? We’re traveling for several weeks before our cruise and will not be near a liquor store our last night before boarding.

Do staff and/or passengers do anything special for Halloween? We’ll be on Venus for the journey to antiquities.

We had canceled a cruise and received vouchers (too late to get our money back). We wanted to transfer the cruise to a different TA after we rebooked through Viking. Apparently the initial TA gets the credit for booking the cruise. We left the booking with Viking.

We’re flying to Canada in a few weeks, not cruise related but I’ve been keeping up with entry requirements. Canada can require a random COVID test upon entry at Toronto, Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver airports for fully vaccinated travelers. There is mandatory reporting of results and quarantine requirements with heavy penalties for not following through. I don’t know how that will interact with a cruise, especially if you come in a few days early. You can not leave Canada on public transportation if you have received a positive test result until the 10 day quarantine is over. There is an exemption from the random testing if you have a positive COVID test within 180 days that is satisfactorily documented. We’re planning to do a rapid test right before we go and have a printout of our positive COVID test from CVS last month.

We aren’t fans of the alcohol brands provided in the mini bar so we bring a bottle or two when we don’t have the drink package.

We were in Budapest for 2 days pre cruise and one day after boarding. We managed to spend $50 worth of florins but everyone would have taken a credit card except for one taxi driver (he would have taken euros) and a tour guide that we had prearranged to pay in euros (all her company’s tours were priced in euros).

I found the answer to my own question. The terms and conditions for booking offers, that little asterisk on the great deals, can limit the offer to a specific country. The general terms and conditions can also affect bookings.

Scenic has 2 cruises we are interested in. They are substantially cheaper booking on the UK website than the US one. Same cruise code, cabin, etc but at current exchange rates about $1500 or $2000 cheaper on the UK site. Has anyone done this? Any potential problems?

We have medical coverage through GeoBlue. There is also some from our cc. Our cruise/tour also provides some. If needed, who do I call first? Who do I file with first?

We’re getting older. Currently have no preexisting conditions. Our cc and GeoBlue policies provide enough coverage. Are there any policies we can add to cover currently unbooked parts of a trip if we develop a medical condition and need the preexisting condition waiver to cover the rest of our booking. I’ll quite often book a tour or cruise and then 12 months later add air and another tour or cruise. The policies I have seen say from the date of the first payment.

We did the Pompeii excursion. Very interesting. It was difficult walking on the cobblestone paths. You should be very sure footed and have good balance. The cobblestones are about 6-12 inches and rounded. We had time to take a walk into town, find the pedestrian area and stop at the most crowded pizza stand. Does anyone have feedback on Naples Above and Below?

We have only taken a few long shore excursions with long bus rides. Any feedback on this one would be appreciated. It will be November 3rd. It doesn’t seem to be an easy place to get to without a tour. We’re staying a few days in Athens on our own after the cruise. Thanks.

We cruised from Budapest to Amsterdam the end of June. This was the first cruise where we used our balcony most days. Odd numbered cabin on Viking. We were rafted a few days but enjoyed reading on the balcony while cruising during the day and in the evening before bed. Many days we had a lovely balcony view in port. Weather was great.

If you’re on Viking definitely casual and not country club. Lots of shorts and capris. A few casual dresses. I don’t remember any sport coats or dress pants or shirts. Two women wore close to cocktail dresses one night. It may have been a special occasion but they were a definite contrast to the LL Bean type clothes most others were wearing. There’s no need for much jewelry either.