noe4laj

We are now considering this as we are flying VA and their carry on weight is a miniscile 7kg (15 lb). This way we could do carry on for our ore extension and have the rest waiting upon embarkation.

Our return flight starts in Aukland. It doesn't leave until early evening.

What city will you be departing from? Folks here may be able to point you to a day-storage solution for your luggage. The logistics will depend on distance from port to airport as well.

 

When we arrived in Barcelona at the end of our transatlantic, we did a semi-private day tour.

They picked us up at the port (around 8 AM) and our luggage was stowed in the van. We did a full day tour. We ended up being dropped (with our bags) at our hotel around 4 PM.

 

You could use this method for a day-of departure. You may prefer to go private tour since that will give you the ability to specify what you want to see and the time you would like to be dropped at the airport.

 

You may want to start a separate thread that includes the city in the title---this is being lost in the Business Air thread. That way you might get more helpful responses and suggestions for tour companies in your city.

We've just booked our flights and the return leaves late in the day. They haven't told us yet other than we'd be the last off the ship on debarkation.

So, basically, no one so far has actually experienced a late flight with Viking? Since the ship will be overnighting in Bangkok the day of our departure, maybe they will let us hang out on the ship.

 

 

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I would do that in a heartbeat but my traveling companion would never go for it. They’re always sure we’ll have trouble getting back to airport and miss our flight.

Maybe your best solution could be to take the transfer from the ship to the airport and then either try and see if the business lounge will stow your bags for you, or put them into a luggage locker yourself. This would then give you freedom to visit anywhere you wish, providing of course you are back at the airport at the appropriate time to commence pre-flight procedures.

We will be using Viking Air Business. Does anyone know what the baggage/transfer situation might be for the way home if we are on an evening flight. I’d really prefer to see something on the city than sit at the airport for 12+ hours waiting for our flight.

I am enjoying following the world cruise posts, especially this portion that covers our upcoming Aus/NZ itinerary.

A couple of questions:

I expect we will have some/similar optional tours as the ones the WC is offering. Looking for advice on ones to consider or skip.

We've taken a Viking river cruise but that was for the Christmas markets and I know it is much more casual than their normal offerings. Can anyone recommend must haves for clothing for that part of the world at this time of year? I'm an extremely light packer, so. I need to choose wisely!

L

Viking has free bus service back and forth to the main square in Nuremberg. At least that is what they did when I was there.

We were on Viking...ymmv but my two cents on this:

The coach is only at limited times in the daytime hours. If you are transferring from Prague the transfer is not an early one. We had a delay being transferred making us even later and the service ended by the time we arrived around 5:30 (as was the promised buffet lunch) which meant we didn't eat after breakfast and then they practically held us prisoner on board when we tried to get a taxi to see the market at night.

At first they claimed we had to attend a safety drill which was actually not until the next day (instead an hour of our life wasted listening to cruise director making lame jokes) then they didn't want us to go because of the first night dinner and they said that we would see the market on the tour the next morning.

We and a couple other people had to insist on a taxi. We shared a nice taxi (4 of us) about a 15 min ride ea way, paid about 20€ ea way with tip and prearranged with cabbie to pick us back up when market closed. We were on the Njord. People on the Ageir had better luck escaping. There were only six on our ship that saw the market that night.

Take the Taxi. The market is much prettier at night and the market is large. There is more than 1 clustered there. The next day on tour wouldn't have been enough to see half of it. Market didn't open till nearly the time we had to be on the ship for sail away.

Also, if you like gingerbread, get the dark gingerbread stars at the market. They were different than ones at any other city and the best we had IMO on the trip.

HTH!

L

Our tour left at 8:30, but took a completely different route. We started in the Jewish Quarter and ended at Prague Castle. Didn't include the Powder Tower or the John Lennon Wall (which we never made it to on our own).

Just got back a few days ago from our trip. The Viking included Prague tour was great.

 

It started at 8:30 and went up to the Prague Castle where we spent a considerable amount of time. After that we bused down to the Vitava River where we walked for about 15 minutes to, and then across the Charles Bridge, and then into Old Town Square to see the Astronomical Clock. Our tour ended in the Jewish Quarter - maybe around 1pm. You could then take the bus back to the hotel if you wanted. At that point we (and others) left the tour and bought tickets for the Jewish Museum. After that we walked back to hotel.

 

Depends on how fast you walk, but the hotel is about a 20-30 minute walk from Old Town Square. They are also things to see along the way and my wife likes to window shop so it was not as quick for us as it could have been.

 

The transfer to Nuremburg left the hotel at about 1pm and took about 4 hours. There was one pit stop along the way.

We recently got back from our Viking cruise. You're right, the Dining Room isn't pleasant having everyone crammed in there at 7:00 pm. It is always loud and often hot. Tables were all 6-8 (maybe even a couple of 10s)? Definitely too many people at the end of a long day. We ate in the Aquavit terrace one night. Only six of us up there. So nice and quiet (the limited menu was expanded, so many options to choose from, think bar food mostly but no dessert, which is a bummer). I would've definitely done it again though given the choice of the better menu or the peace and quiet.

That said, the staterooms ARE quiet and you hear little/no corridor traffic. What you DID notice in the corridors quite a few times though was the stench of sewage. I thought I was imagining it, but it was commented on several times by passengers.Definitely disgusting, thank goodness it was intermittent and stopped short of our cabins.

Better yet, they could offer a much longer time period during which passengers could dine. Having everyone arrive at 7:00 PM doesn't sound at all pleasant.

 

I have seen some crew videos for river trips (it was not a Viking ship, but it was a company that assembles crew for river ships) and the crew goes in to dine in the very same dining room as the passengers, just as soon as the passengers are finished. That gives them a strong incentive to rush the meal.

You may want to check in advance on the Jewish Quarter option in Budapest. They cancelled that as an option when we were on our Viking Cruise and replaced it with a horseback show (didn't attend).

Not all of the bus tours in Budapest with Viking stop at Heroes Square. They drove us around it twice and kept right on driving. We didn't get off the bus until we got to Fisherman's Bastion. I wish we had done Budapest on our own instead of being bussed around. We were on the wrong side of the bus for 90% of the sights so didn't even SEE them. The one thing we saw in abundance? Bathrooms. The guide was constantly pointing them out to us.

L

The Viking tour of Budapest is mostly a bus tour. We got off the bus at Heroes Square, Mathias Church (where we went inside) and had some free time at Fisherman's Bastion adjacent to Mathias Church (and the Hilton).

 

Our cruise ended in Budapest. On the last day on the ship we had the bus tour in the morning and I believe they offered an optional Jewish Sights tour in the afternoon. We opted to take a walk down the Vaci Utca to the Central Market instead. If you are starting in Budapest you might want to contact Viking and see if this optional tour is offered on your cruise. I regret having missed the Great Synagogue, but there is only so much you can do in a few days and there is much to see in that city.

 

There is a bus just a couple of blocks from the Hilton that goes to the Pest side . The Viking Rep at the Hotel can give you info about it.

We will be doing the Prague pre-extension. Can you tell me how the tour ended up being?

Also, two other questions we've had, which no one has been able to answer.

1. How accessible was old town square from the hotel Viking uses...walkable vs. taxi?
    
   
2. Approximately what time does Viking pick you up in Prague for the transfer to the ship and how long did the tranfer take?
   

Thanks!

We are using Viking for our pre-cruise Prague extension for our Nov/13 cruise. The extension includes a tour of Prague.

 

CelticMutt gave a brief description of the tour back in May.

 

"We jumped on the bus after another excellent breakfast in the group's dining hall. This really was an excellent overview of the entire city of Prague. We went to the Prague castle and saw most of the sites in Old Town as well including the Charles Bridge the Powder Tower and the John Lennon graffiti wall. The tour let us off right in the main square of old town in front of the Astronomical Clock."

 

I was hoping someone else could elaborate. I'm trying to plan our free time so we try and do some things not covered on the tour.

 

Thanks.