Excursion Selection

At the risk of sounding like a know-it-all, I thought I would remind those who will be selecting complimentary excursions that there are different time choices for those excursions. It doesn't come right out and hit you at first, but there's an arrow next to the word "Time" that, when clicked, lists available time choices. For our cruise (Venice to Istanbul) there were generally two morning choices and one afternoon choice. We're in a deluxe veranda, and there was lots of availability when I booked. For the non-complimentary excursions (generally in the morning), you'll be asked to pay pre-cruise, but can cancel with refund up until a certain day/time. If there are two or more of you on your cruise reservation, you can also book for just one person.

Also, for Manfredi's and Chef's Table, there are different choices accessed by clicking drop down boxes. I believe the sequence of selections is restaurant, preference for table size, date (it shows port as well as calendar date), and time (15 minute increments for Manfredi's). If you can't find a time you like at that point, you can go back and manipulate things (e.g. table size) until you do. If you reserve and change your mind, you can cancel and reserve something else. It was easy; took 5 minutes, not counting the time I spent looking at the itinerary to see when the sea day was, when I might want to dine with a view (Kotor, Santorini), stay in town late (Dubrovnik, Istanbul) or whatever.

Thanks for the tips!

You can get more dinner reservations by simply walking up to Manfredi's or Chef's Table in person as soon as you get on board. We ate at Manfredis five times... and loved them all!

I feel my waist expanding....

We always got an extra rezzie or two on Oceania by doing just that, so I'm not surprised to hear Viking is doing it too. Those two lines are now in direct competition I suspect....

Did you go to World Cafe much for dinner? Do they have any of the Manfredi foods there? What kind of "cooked up right there" foods do they have for dinner? My husband and I love eating al fresco, and hopefully in late September in the Med it will still be warm enough to do that. If not, I always bring a sweater, so should be OK unless it's really windy. Also, at dinner at World Cafe, do you have to get your own drink or does someone come around to ask if you want something? (I usually just drink water, and sometimes decaf coffee after the meal....)

I feel my waist expanding....

 

We always got an extra rezzie or two on Oceania by doing just that, so I'm not surprised to hear Viking is doing it too. Those two lines are now in direct competition I suspect....

 

Did you go to World Cafe much for dinner? Do they have any of the Manfredi foods there? What kind of "cooked up right there" foods do they have for dinner? My husband and I love eating al fresco, and hopefully in late September in the Med it will still be warm enough to do that. If not, I always bring a sweater, so should be OK unless it's really windy. Also, at dinner at World Cafe, do you have to get your own drink or does someone come around to ask if you want something? (I usually just drink water, and sometimes decaf coffee after the meal....)

We ate at World Cafe a lot. It is less formal, and I often did not want to "sit" for 1.5-2 hr at the end of the day. We ate outside when we could. It was often windy. Watch out for seagulls when in/near port!! They'll literally eat your lunch (got mine). The servers cleaned it up and reset the table VERY fast!

World Cafe dinner had most of the Restaurant foods and more--- like crab and HUGE prawns, sushi ALL the time! not as many Manfredis. We only ate in sitdown "The Restaurant" once, deciding we'd rather have the buffet flexibility for the same food. We also hoped for al fresco option where possible. If we wanted full service, we did Manfredi's. There is often a regiional hot entree in WorldCaf, too, like sausages and sauerkraut on our Germany day.

In World Cafe, they swarm to bring you beverages (endless wine, beer, water, ice tea, whatever) as soon as you sit. They also refill and clear constantly. Very attentive and friendly, even though you can getup and scout the food at will. Talk to the gentleman in the officer uniform to get the full explanation of how the two "sides" of WorldCaf differ. He is usually hanging out near the doors to the Aquavit terrace if he is not supervising something. He was very helpful. Most food is the same on both sides, but once you know which areas differ, you can scout quickly at both lunch and dinner. They sneak made to order fresh pastas and grill items at lunchtime in the "hot" area on both sides. That is where I sampled some things that I later saw downstairs at Manfredi's/Chef's.

Don't miss at World Cafe: made to order omelets and excellent eggs benedict (ham or salmon) at breakfast. Also waffles at bread station-- MTO of course.

Whatever you want, ALWAYS ask. If you don't see something you want. Chances are, they'll find or make it for you. We asked for some butter for crab legs and instantly had drawn butter. Same with granola at breakfast when it is not out on the cereal station. Add grilled prawns to your lunch salad by stopping at the "hot" station and asking for some.

Kudos to the people on the maiden voyage for the ever-present ice tea. Also-- ask for ICE water if you want ice. Not a problem. They typically pour "still water" from a carafe at the table.

BTW, burgers at pool grill are also great... especially if you return late from an excursion and world cafe is about to close. Hours vary. Watch Viking Daily.

Take your "comfy" clothes, a windbreaker to be able to sit outside, and a visor in case of sunshine in your face as you eat :)

Have fun!

roothy, thanks for the info on excursions and thanks everyone for the info on dining. How long before pre-cruise can you go on to reserve times of the excursions, 3 months out, 6 months?

roothy, thanks for the info on excursions and thanks everyone for the info on dining. How long before pre-cruise can you go on to reserve times of the excursions, 3 months out, 6 months?

The answer to this question (for excursions AND dining) depends upon your stateroom category. If you've gone on myvikingjourney.com and established an account for your cruise, the site will give you a message how far out you can book. For me, in a deluxe veranda, I think it was 60 days pre-cruise for dining and 67 for excursions. People in suites can book earlier, veranda folks a little later (for excursions anyway), and not sure of the categories in-between. There's a chart on the main Viking site (maybe under FAQs? not sure) that outlines that information. If you want the exact dates you can call Viking or use a calendar. I think the excursion info itself was loaded maybe in late spring for our late September cruise, so we could at least read the descriptions and possibly get the prices, just not reserve. In our case, I didn't notice any changes once the booking window opened up other than a few paid excursions added that weren't there before.

If you're picky about the specialty restaurant reservations, I would go on the site as early as possible to book. I booked most of my excursions a few days after my booking window opened, and spaces for the complimentary excursions were wide open. Just remember to click the arrow to get all available times. There was one paid excursion in Venice that was full by that time. It was mostly a walking tour, with provided transportation to the start of it. (Venice is such a pain!) We board in Venice and take off at midnight the same day, with no complimentary excursion, so I suppose many people who were flying to Venice the same day booked that excursion. I checked about a week later and one other excursion was full - perhaps an all day one in Kotor? I forget.

Eaglewatchers, thanks for the additional info on World Cafe. You sound just like my husband, and I'm half as bad. We once did a 12 day cruise and the only time we made it to the main restaurant was the first day for the emergency drill! I DO prefer more variety, but sometimes my husband has a way of convincing me to forego the nice but drawn out meals so many people enjoy.