Viking Homelands (Stockholm <-> Bergen) - 2015 Season

[WilliaFr]

As wished for by almelanson I have set up a new thread for the "Viking Homelands 2015" cruises.

 

This could take over from the various threads which were so successfully contributed to by the maiden voyage passengers. Well done to you guys!

 

2015 Cruises

 

Stockholm to Bergen - May 30'th

 

Bergen to Stockholm - June 13'th

 

Stockholm to Bergen - June 27'th

 

Bergen to Stockholm - July 11'th

 

Stockholm to Bergen - July 25'th

 

This last 2015 cruise will be followed by a "Passage Through Europe" cruise ...

 

Bergen to Barcelona - August 8'th

 

Please feel free to contribute any feedback for the "Viking Homelands 2015" cruises.

Edited June 2, 2015 by WilliaFr

[almelanson]

Willie,

Thank you! We are arriving in Bergen on Jun 13 and looking forward to a great 2 weeks[emoji41].

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[applecruise]

As wished for by almelanson I have set up a new thread for the "Viking Homelands 2015" cruises.

 

This could take over from the various threads which were so successfully contributed to by the maiden voyage passengers. Well done to you guys!

 

2015 Cruises

 

Stockholm to Bergen - May 30'th

 

Bergen to Stockholm - June 13'th

 

Stockholm to Bergen - June 27'th

 

Bergen to Stockholm - July 11'th

 

Stockholm to Bergen - July 25'th

 

This last 2015 cruise will be followed by a "Passage Through Europe" cruise ...

 

Bergen to Barcelona - August 8'th

 

Please feel free to contribute any feedback for the "Viking Homelands 2015" cruises.

 

Has anyone had experiences with either of these tour companies in St. Petersburg?

[WilliaFr]

Willie,

Thank you! We are arriving in Bergen on Jun 13 and looking forward to a great 2 weeks

 

I look forward to reading any updates almelanson as I will be on the Bergen to Stockholm cruise on June 26th 2016.

 

Of particular interest will be information about port arrival & departure times as well as excursion times.

 

Enjoy your two weeks on board!

 

On! On!

[roothy123]

Has anyone had experiences with either of these tour companies in St. Petersburg?

 

There's another thread on St. Petersburg tours in this (Viking Oceans) section. There are also, no doubt, lots of comments in the "Ports of Call" section of Cruise Critic, way below the section you're looking at now.

 

We used Alla in 2012 and loved them. However, from what I read before booking Alla, SPB is similar, and people have been happy with both. I believe they have both been doing tours for a long time, and are good at what they do. I would just try to do a little research into the places they go and if you feel you have a preference for one venue that only one can provide, I'd go with that tour provider. My pictures are here, mid-gallery, plus the gallery that follows this one: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/baltic_cruise_&page=all

 

Allow plenty of time to get off the ship, get through Russian passport check (similar to the airport) and meet your group. LOTS of people get off the ship in St. Petersburg, especially early, and you can't just roll off the ship 10 minutes before meeting your group.

Edited June 3, 2015 by roothy123

[id4elizabeth]

Actually - that's exactly what we did in St Pete. If you get off by yourself ahead of the Viking tour groups, you can be through fairly quickly - took us no more than 10 minutes. The key is to get off before the Viking Shore excursions. Since Viking is a bit disorganized with their shore excursions there's a good 15 to 30 minutes from the time the ship is cleared and the time Viking gets the first tours out the gangway. If you make this wondow, you'll speed right through. However, do not wait for the official announcement that comes over the ship's speakers. Instead wait by the gangway, and the security crew will let you off as soon as it's possible which can be 15 minutes before the official announcement.

 

This approach actually works for all self disembarkation except where there's tendering. When there's tendering you're stuck. Then your best option is to try one at a time to blend in with the first tour group.

[TERRIER1]

Can anyone on board update the situation with TV availability and WiFi? Thanks.

[almelanson]

Has Viking improved the excursion experience?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[621ranger]

I was on the Bergen to Stockholm leg of the cruise and my tv worked fine the whole time. The WiFi was also fine, no slower than what I have at home.

[TERRIER1]

I was on the Bergen to Stockholm leg of the cruise and my tv worked fine the whole time. The WiFi was also fine, no slower than what I have at home.

 

Thanks. I am in a DV cabin and my husband watches the news. This is good news.

[eduguy]

Which deck did you exit from?

[id4elizabeth]

Deck 2 for the maiden, but this changes. On another current thread they are saying deck 1 for this current trip.

[Ukalady]

Currently on board. We've used the Deck 1 exit for all but one port, and that was Deck 2.

 

Wifi is definitely slower than I have at home, but maybe home is just uber fast...I especially notice a "lag" of 30 to 40 seconds when texting (no audio, no video); time of day doesn't seem to matter (I've been working via wifi as "early" as 5 am local time and as "late" as 2 am local). TIP: Definitely do not attempt to email or text photos in full resolution; use an app that sizes images down first and then send them or you'll clog up your sending for a long, long time and your message may still end up undelivered.

 

St. Petersburg--I'll "push" my own favorite, but it's the only one I've used so YMMV: Anastasia Travel. We booked/paid in February for our two-day tour which we enjoyed a couple of days' back. It was a private tour with just Mom and I, our guide (same both days) and our driver (same both days). Not only did we get to see the "usual" stuff, but Anna took us to places that were really special (like a "working" Orthodox church during a service, with full explanations of what was happening and the significance) and we were driven right up to the front of every site we visited and skipped to the front of ticket lines. The best part was getting to talk one-on-one with a Russian resident to better understand their lives and culture. Super--and at $305/person for a private tour for two days, it was *less* than any of the similar group tours.

 

TV: I can't speak to it; haven't watched it at all.

 

Excursion experience: Still rocky for the first few days of this cruise. We signed up on MyVikingJourney for the earliest of the tour times for the included tours and yet our tickets arrive the night before and often reflect a later tour. Easily rectified at Explorer's Desk or, if you want to, just exit with the earlier tour group and get on the bus with them; the guide doesn't look at your specific tour time assignment letter code, just the name of the tour.

 

I'm blogging this trip with lots of details (wait until you see our tips for redecorating your stateroom!) but I'm also *living* this trip so the posting days are a few behind (I'm just doing Helsinki's report today). If you have any questions and you're on the June 13 cruise and need to know *now* write here and I'll try and help or post a question on my blog comment section (I get there more frequently than here while traveling).

Edited June 6, 2015 by Ukalady
clarity