Port times for Stockholm and Tallinn?

We are on the July 25, 2015 Stockholm to Bergen Homelands cruise. Our calendar under "My Viking Journey" shows us departing the port of Stockholm at 2 p.m. on July 26. Not sure how they can schedule many of the wonderful Stockholm excursions if they are not spending the full day there. What do your calendars show?

Also, our calendar shows us docking in Tallinn 7 - 8 a.m. but there is no departure time. Anyone check this out yet?

Thanks!

http://www.portoftallinn.com/static/files/65.Cruise%20Ship%20Schedule%202014%20-%20Tallinn.pdf

Sorry, I'm not going to Tallinn, but the link above will get you to the port of Tallinn's cruise ship schedule for 2014. They have not yet posted a 2015 schedule, but if you still don't have an answer by April, when European cruises ramp up, you might want to look there.

Keep in mind that ocean cruise docking times sometimes vary a bit. I don't think they're as precise as river cruise schedules. Also, I don't know if Viking's scheduled times are arrival times or the times they expect to be tied up and letting people off the ship. That varies a bit from cruise line to cruise line, so it's hard to predict just when you'll be off the ship.

If you're arranging a private tour, the companies almost always know how to monitor the ship's arrival (and docking location, if there's more than one - don't think so for Tallinn, though) and they will wait for you if the ship is late.

For Stockholm, I bet all the tours will go out early! That's generally the case for timing of shore excursions, anyway (morning departures rather than afternoon) so they'll work it out with the tour companies there.

Re shore excursions in the am - they didn't do this for the maiden Barcelona shore excursions. We leave Barcelona in early afternoon, and the only excursion you can sign up for is the typical "panorama" bus tour. Quite a few other optional tours were originally available and we had booked and PAID for one of them that left the ship at 9:00 am and got back a half an hour before ship would leave. But then Viking decided that there would not be enough time to insure the tour would return to the ship in time, so they cancelled our optional tour as well as all the other optional ones. (Apparently leaving an hour earlier either didn't occur to them or was too much trouble.) And in a typical Viking example of excellent customer communication, we were not contacted by Viking about this - only found out when I noticed that the booked and paid for tour disappeared from the "My Calendar" page. I called and after much checking they confirmed the tour had been cancelled. So now I have an on-board credit (not a refund to my credit card).

I know this sounds very negative, but it's just meant to say not to count on Viking to make the most of your time in port. No doubt they will offer you something as an included tour, but this may not make the most of your time. My suggestion is to investigate other private options for these shorter port days.

Yes, I think you're right. I'm going to do the included tours only if they work for me and don't interfere with other things I might want to do. Luckily our short day is Kusadasi, and I'm fine with simply taking the included tour to Ephesus and calling it a day. I was planning to go to Ephesus anyway (however that can be done, given that it's 40 or so minutes away) so for me, there won't be any disappointment for that port!

For Barcelona, perhaps the tour operator couldn't move the tours up early enough to get you back earlier, and our new Captain didn't want to risk leaving late due to tides/schedule/whatever. If I were in your situation, I would probably just do Barcelona on my own, starting early, as it's not a hard city for doing that. I am planning to blow off the included excursion in Santorini and just do what I want that day.

Since we're on the 50-day cruise, we're actually in Barcelona for 2 1/2 days. We're doing the included panorama bus tour and the Gaudi architectural optional tour in the afternoon on day 1. On day 2, when we originally signed up for the cruise all the Barcelona tours were offered on the Viking website (and still are) for "turn around" days, but when the final list of excursions came out, Viking decided not to offer ANY tours on Day 2. So, we had to find our own tours. We were originally going to Montserrat with Viking's optional touvon day 3, but then Viking cancelled that, so we had to rearrange our day 2 to take a private tour to Montserrat. On the half day on Day 3, we'll just explore some area in Barcelona on our own.

My point really, is that you can't just go on this cruise and expect that Viking is going to have you covered. We've been on 3 Viking river cruises and with a few exceptions, you could just sit back and have Viking take care of everything and come away thinking you've seen most everything on your bucket list. That's why we signed on. But, so far at least, we've found we had to do a WHOLE LOT more planning and private tours than we thought we would. I know we're going to have a great time on the trip, but the all inclusive idea that Viking has on their River Cruises, and no nickel and diming isn't setting up that way.

I still think they're offering a lot for the money, at least compared to my past ocean cruise experiences. Ocean cruising with 900 people is just a different beast from river cruising. They are learning as they go.

We have been on only one Rivers cruise and that was in China. They kept us busy the entire day and I expected that to be the case for foreigners in China. To the contrary, Oceans offers an included excursion but most of those are for a very limited number of hours, often 2-3 hours. Viking may be marketing more time in port than other cruise lines but clearly the traveler needs to do a significant amount of planning to make use of that time. This may be a point of contention for those booking based solely on having Viking river cruise experience.

I'm flabbergasted that the excursion cancellations result in a ship credit. Between excursions involuntarily cancelled by Viking and our own voluntary cancellations, we are up to over $1000 based largely on the cancelled St Petersburg 2 day tour that could not accommodate an evening activity. There better not be a host of limitations on how the ship credit can be applied especially regarding the involuntary cancellations.

Lastly, as to value for the money, we deemed the included tour to be of interest in only one half the port stops. That leaves us buying a Viking or outside optional tour and the cruise prices ratchets up. And I don't think we are fussy travelers.

We were told that any optional paid for excursions cancelled at least 30 days in advance would be refunded. I am really surprised to hear that they are only offering shipboard credit. Not that you should need to - but I would be pushing back via a filed online complaint on that one...one of the excursions we booked we are still on the fence about.....so I am now wondering....

As far as included excursions, we are taking some, but in a number of smaller port towns where you can just walk into from the ship, we prefer to DIY so having days that aren't completely organized works for us....but a lot of people like organized tours, and agree that most offered aren't full day coverage....but then again, most paid excursions regardless of cruise line aren't either.

There have been some pretty big disappointments for sure on this maiden voyage, but I still believe that is going to be a great experience.....

I want to be clear about the cancelled tours going on our ship board account. We're talking about $350 in our case, and I know I will spend that in the spa, particularly since they've jacked up those prices! I have NOT called Viking to ask for a refund back onto my credit card. I was just surprised that that's how they chose to handle it. If I wanted the credit card refund, I'm sure they'd do that if I called since they are the ones who cancelled.

Was most surprised (and annoyed) that they didn't inform me that they had cancelled the tours that I had already booked for Barcelona in the first place. If I hadn't happened to notice on My Calander that the tours had been dropped, my whole plan for Barcelona would have been screwed and I wouldn't have been able to reorganize as I have, augmenting with a private tour.

Don't forget the on board credit can also be used for the gratuities.

Okay got it. And no doubt that the additional costing for gratuities, drinks, and spa will more than gobble that credit up!!!

I am glad that you caught those cancellations - and really bad communication on Viking for the way you found out. Would not have set real well here either. Barcelona is such a great city - we spent several days there in Early November, and will be going in early to spend time there this time as well.

Forgive me if I sound like a know-it-all, but it occurs to me in reading some of the threads under the Viking Oceans section that there are some first time ocean cruisers. If so, you may not realize that ocean lines generally require passengers to be back on the ship (or at the tender spot) at least a half hour before departure. Some lines require a whole hour. I'm guessing that Viking will go with the half hour, since they only have to get up to 928 passengers on board, ramps up, ties off, etc. - but who knows? In any case, if you're planning any private excursions, you'll need to make sure you don't rush up to the ship at the posted departure time!

algaes, we also took Viking Rivers' China land and cruise package. That was a finely orchestrated trip involving land, buses, planes and a boat in which so much was crammed in that even I was totally happy with the amount of things I saw!

Well, guess what - I got a call from Viking - yes, they called me! They called about the cancellatons of our tours and apparently they are going to credit back my credit card and NOT just give me an on board credit. So if you're someone who has cancelled tours, check your credit card in 4 to 5 days and you should see a credit. I think we were contacted because we booked directly through Viking and didn't go through a travel agent.

They also informed me that they had to cancel another tour we had signed up for - it was for the afternoon of the third day we're in Bergen - May 17th. We had signed up to go up a mountain whose name I can't remember now. We're not too concerned about this one though as that's the day of the Christening 'celebration' and the town parade. Didn't think to ask why they were cancelling it, since we aren't leaving port until midnight, so the timing can't be the issue. Perhaps it conflicts with the Christening and they want us all to attend that. Anyway, if you signed up for an afternoon tour for that day you might want to check it.

Also, a statement I had previously posted is incorrect. According to the person I talked to this afternoon told me you cannot use an onboard credit to pay for gratuities. Onboard credits can only be made for purchases on the ship, such as spa services, drinks, shop purchases, salon services, etc - not gratuities.

Glad to hear that they are taking the initiative crediting your card. I must admit tho that I have never heard of being unable to use OBC for gratuities before.

From what I have read, the 17th of May in Bergen is a big deal to all who live in country. It sounds as if transportation through the city is pretty difficult with all the parades and people. I think we might be in for A pretty big party......

Yep - that's why I'm not upset about them canceling the tour. The mountain cogwheel rail line might be closed that day too - who knows. I wish I had thought to ask, but didn't.

We are on the July 25, 2015 Stockholm to Bergen Homelands cruise. Our calendar under "My Viking Journey" shows us departing the port of Stockholm at 2 p.m. on July 26. Not sure how they can schedule many of the wonderful Stockholm excursions if they are not spending the full day there. What do your calendars show?

Also, our calendar shows us docking in Tallinn 7 - 8 a.m. but there is no departure time. Anyone check this out yet?

Thanks!

Let me start by saying that this will be my first cruise. I will not be on this cruise but I am making the cruise later and this is the information I was given by Viking. They do leave Stockholm on Day 2 at 14:00. The included excursion is offered on that day. I am not sure where your cabin is but we are on the lowest class. Because of our position in the pecking order, I feel we need to board as soon as possible on Day 1 and get our shore excursions and dining arrangements taken care of and as our cabin will not be available until 15:00, I guess will grab something for lunch and head out until they decide when the muster drill takes place. I'm assuming it will be sometime before dinner, giving most passengers a chance to check in, as Viking is scheduling their air travelers to arrive on that day. Due to this understanding, we have chosen to arrive a few days early in order to see Stockholm and made our own air and hotel due to the inflated prices Viking was charging. Though we were quoted a price with a $1,000 discount, I was able to find a cheaper price online for the same seat Viking was promising. Our hotel of comparable value to Vikings offering we were able to book for a little over half of what Viking was charging. This way we'll be able to hit the spots the cruise is offering but with a substantial savings, even though we are having to arrange our transfers.

As for Tallinn, my information say arrival is at 8:00 with the included excursion taking 4 hours and scheduled departure at almost midnight. That leaves plenty of time for further investigation of the city. Since we haven't been given starting times for the excursions from the ship and the town is rather compact, I'm planning on making use of public transportation to see some of the things the ship excursions are offering.

Let me state again that I am not an experienced cruiser and we all know that Viking is getting their feet wet in this type of cruising so some things are bound to be adjusted as time draws closer but this seems to be the right decisions for me at this time. I hope this info has helped for your inquiry.

Reading the itinerary on their Web site much more closely, I do see that on Day 2 the ship will "depart in the early afternoon for a scenic cruise through the Stockholm archipelago." We are going into Stockholm two days early on our own so should see much of what we want. Would like to go to Icebar the evening of Day 1 though. Hope we'll be able to get back off ship that evening without conflicting with muster. Wonder if they will provide shuttle from pier to Gamla Stan. Looking forward to hearing about experiences of CC posters on early cruises.

Re muster drills, it has been my experience that they're usually done right before departing, unless that's late at night, in which case cruise lines tend to do the drill right before dinner. However, I THINK a cruise line has 24 hours after departing to hold one, so it COULD be scheduled the next day. The cruise line I mostly use, however, never does it post-departure, so I'm guessing Viking won't either. When we've stayed overnight on the ship and departed mid-afternoon the next day, the drill was held an hour or so pre-departure. For days the ship departed at 6 pm, it was held at 5 pm. The drill tends to be scheduled when most people are boarded (one reason cruisers are asked to be on board 1 to 3 hours pre-departure on embarkation day) and at a time when most people will not be eating or sleeping! If you're on two or more legs, you may not have to do the drill after the initial boarding and drill on first leg - not sure how that works. We've never done a back to back cruise - and obviously never cruised the Star!

As a new cruiser, you are doing the right things, Dauntless. I always check the prices of the cruise line's airfare, hotel and transfers. The price of those things are usually arranged a long time pre-cruise, and usually apply to blocks of cities rather than individual situations. They generally are not a good deal for me but for others who really want the convenience of not having to do any research and/or don't want to have to worry about anything they may worthwhile.

Shuttles are pretty variable. When we visited Tallinn, there was a shuttle to within walking distance of the main sights of old Tallinn. I spent the whole day there, and my husband took a tram to the zoo from the shuttle location. (Tallinn's zoo has something a bit unusual - snow leopards.)

In Stockholm, we disembarked the ship and went directly to the airport, so I don't know if there's a shuttle offered by the port or cruise line. However, I read that it's easy to take a bus - but helpful to know which docking location you'll be assigned to as there are multiple ones, spaced out a bit.

I love taking public transportation, but of course, it requires a little more preparation, as you normally need local currency, and not in large denominations!

I found inyourpocket.com to be a great online source for info on Baltic ports, including the detailed guides you can download. tomsportguides.com are also good.

And yep, it will be great when April finally rolls around and some of the folks who have posted here let us know what they thought of their cruise!