A few things from the Sept 3 sailing

[DianeLikesToTravel]

Internet worked most of the time although frequently it was slow. Still, I appreciated the fact that we didn't pay extra to have it and there are American style sockets.

 

I used a hotel card instead of my cabin card in the slot so we could charge our devices while out.

 

I brought a shoe rack with me to attach to the closet pole. It's the velcro-on-top type of rack. Had nine narrow pockets and netting in the back so things didn't fall through. Handy for storing additional things. I had heard there wasn't enough drawer space in the V cabin, but there was enough for both of us even without the shoe rack. I bought the light-weight shoe rack at Ikea for $5 and it fit easily in my luggage.

 

I brought with me two magnetic clips that we used on the wall to display our dailies and tour tickets. No need to clutter the desk.

 

I brought dryer sheets with me as we knew we would do laundry and the ship does not provide softener. The laundry facilities on level 3 were more crowded than on level 5. Low rent vs. high rent districts? One day there were seven people in the small laundry room on level 3 at the same time. There are three washers and three dryers. One person had both ironing boards down and was ironing/folding. It was all I could do to keep from laughing. It reminded me of a Marx Brothers movie where they keep fitting lots of people into a ship cabin until they are piled up one over the other.

 

IMHO, the best entertainment was the local bouzouki player out at the pool the night we were in Corfu. He was amazing! I also enjoyed the ABBA show in the theater with the ship's troupe and the local Spanish singers the night we were in Barcelona. It would be great if Viking offered more local entertainment. I did not enjoy "The Rat Pack" or the opening show in the theater with their troupe. The singers are talented, but the production missed the mark. We did not go to any other shows offered.

 

The gelato bar was good. Mostly simple flavors: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and a few others.

 

We dined at Manfreddi's once and enjoyed it. They had a killer chocolate dessert that we nicknamed "Death By Chocolate." We dined only once in The Restaurant and enjoyed it. We had all other meals in the World Cafe. So much choice and excellent service. Weather permitting we dined al fresco--those table were very popular. In fact, the World Cafe seemed to be popular every time we were there.

 

Viking provided little touches such as greeting us at the gangplank after a tour with wet towels and once with glasses of champagne. Bottled water was provided as we disembarked for tours or even if we were going out independently. On the one day rain was forecast they provided umbrellas.

 

Give Viking a year to iron out the kinks of this new endeavor and it will be even more incredible. This truly was an experience of a lifetime.

 

I'll post more as I think of things.

[DianeLikesToTravel]

The Marx Brothers movie I referenced is "A Night at the Opera." Here is a link to the youtube clip:

[DianeLikesToTravel]

I'll add things here as I think of them.

 

(1) I was traveling with a friend. Viking had a hard time separating our accounts as we were using our own credit cards. Everything was added or deleted to my account. We had to stop by the Explorer's Desk four times to get our accounts adjusted. This would not be a problem for a couple, but an issue for two single people traveling together.

 

(2) I usually get the best exchange rate by using ATMs, but not this time. Many of the banks we tried to use for withdrawals were giving exchange rates of $1.19 or $1.20 for a euro when the bank rates were $1.12 or $1.13. One bank wanted to charge an additional $5 for the privilege. We used our credit cards as much as possible to limit withdrawals.

 

(3) Mosquitoes. I bought a bottle of Permethrin at a travel store and sprayed most of my clothing, front and back, about a week before traveling. The spray is supposed to last for several washings. As a result, I had only two mosquito bites and the critters had a field day with Rosemary. She had bites all over her body. As I am highly susceptible to mosquitoes, so I guess the product worked well.

 

(4) Cabin beds. The beds were okay; not quite as good as I'd read from other cruisers. Linens on the pillows and duvets were soft but the fitted sheets were coarse. If you ask for a top sheet, that will also be coarse; I asked for one and returned it. The mattresses were okay--nothing special.

[Dauntless]

Thanks for the info about friends traveling together. A friend and I are making a Homelands cruise next year and I was wondering how that was handled with 2 different credit cards(1 for each). If you booked the included or other excursions through Viking, did you have to do it individually or could it be booked together and charged to each individual? I know someone had mentioned that it was difficult to coordinated dining times with different parties traveling together until they arrived at the ship and everything could be work out. As for the excursions, we live in different cities and won't be together at time of booking, so I'm wondering how to approach this. We are planning on 1 paid excursion through the ship and most of the included excursions. Since you were in the same type cabin we have, when were you able to prebook and how many before you boarded? That being said, when it comes to the included excursions, was it difficult to arrange those when you boarded? I want to make sure we're on the same excursion at the same time. We will be on deck 3 so thanks for the laundry info. Our first cruise so if I sound lost, I am. Let me know anything you can think of that might be beneficial. Thanks---Dauntless

[id4elizabeth]

We actually found it hard to do the reverse. Sometimes my DH and I wanted to go on an included tour at different times and take different optional excursions and they would put us together and ignore the second request. I had to jump through hoops to get different optional excursions if they were at the same time. I never could get them to understand that one of us might want a morning included tour, but the other one wanted the same tour in the afternoon. My DH just showed up in the afternoon with his morning ticket - the afternoon tours are seldom full. They tend to assume if you're in the same cabin, you'll want the same excursion.

 

If you wait to sign up until you board for included tours, I'd do that as soon as you board - they will do whatever it takes to see you get on an included tour, but be aware it might not be at the time you want. Optional tours I'd try and do ahead of time, as some of these more popular ones do sell out.

[eaglewatchers]

Thanks for the info about friends traveling together. A friend and I are making a Homelands cruise next year and I was wondering how that was handled with 2 different credit cards(1 for each). If you booked the included or other excursions through Viking, did you have to do it individually or could it be booked together and charged to each individual? I know someone had mentioned that it was difficult to coordinated dining times with different parties traveling together until they arrived at the ship and everything could be work out. As for the excursions, we live in different cities and won't be together at time of booking, so I'm wondering how to approach this. We are planning on 1 paid excursion through the ship and most of the included excursions. Since you were in the same type cabin we have, when were you able to prebook and how many before you boarded? That being said, when it comes to the included excursions, was it difficult to arrange those when you boarded? I want to make sure we're on the same excursion at the same time. We will be on deck 3 so thanks for the laundry info. Our first cruise so if I sound lost, I am. Let me know anything you can think of that might be beneficial. Thanks---Dauntless

 

Dauntless,

I would not recommend making all your bookings at the last minute , i.e. once on board. You can always try to CHANGE them or "fix" an error, but who wants to stand in line if you can take care of it in advance?

 

Your level of cabin will have access to online prebooking of excursions a certain number of days before you depart. I suggest that you simply get on the PHONE with your friends and do it at the same time. IF you book an INCLUDED excursion for the SAME departure time (you will choose from available times in a dropdown menu), you can go together. You will just MEET UP and WALK together when the group gathers at the departure time. The Viking Daily tells you WHEN to be ready in the public areas with your excursion ticket (and usually with your little listening device). You hear an announcement to proceed to the debarkation area for your excursion. If you and your friends STICK TOGETHER as you walk off the ship, you can stay together. They group people as they walk off. If they rtry to separate you, just say you are together.

 

As for going on a different excursion from your "roommate" (spouse, significant other, whatever), here is a link to a post about how to accomplish this using the online system. It is a bit tricky, but we did it for several ports. In some cases, we did not want to pay for the second one of us to do something expensive that was only important to ONE of us. In other cases, we were VERY interested in TWO DIFFERENT things! I never had trouble making friends with others while on an excursion "alone."

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2175015

 

PS. Find out your booking date and plan an EARLY MORNING phone call with your friends. I think it opens up at 6 am Eastern or something like that(?) Since you are in the "last" group to sign up, being early will help with availability of some time slots, etc. Of course, it is POSSIBLE that an excursion time slot could disappear after you submit your choice and before your friends do, but it's not likely. Also be aware: Putting them in your "shopping cart" does NOT complete the booking! I is complete when you complete the purchase ( credit card).

 

Another bit of advice: use a credit card for your excursions that will be able to accept refunds during and after the cruise. They ONLY refund to the original card you used to book excursions, not necessarily the one you use for your onboard account. We had a couple that were cancelled, and the money eventually went back on that same card. When we changed a paid one, they refunded (3 weeks or so later) to that card and charged the "new" replacement excursion to it as well. Of course the "new" excursion went through on the card right away!

 

Don't worry... the people on board are helpful. I am just suggesting that you do what you can in advance because it is fun to plan and then spend your on board time enjoying sights, not worrying about changes.

 

(It was our first cruise, too!)

 

**Edit: I forgot to say... your My Viking Journey account -- the online booking system-- has EACH person enter a credit card for their charges. That should solve your two cards issue.

 

*** another edit: The online system has you "shop" for the included excursions as if you were buying them, There just isn;t any charge. You still have to complete the shopping!

Edited September 23, 2015 by eaglewatchers

[roothy123]

Dauntless,

-- the online booking system-- has EACH person enter a credit card for their charges. That should solve your two cards issue.

 

 

My husband says to add that the way to solve the popularity of ship laundry rooms is to go during dinner times - and I say early morning. Best time to iron is NOT the day you board. I just bring stuff that doesn't need ironing, but perhaps I'm more casual than most...

[DianeLikesToTravel]

I thought we would not be able to book excursions until we boarded, but we were able to book 60 days out. I noticed this 55 days prior. For included excursions I was able to book online for both of us since no money changed hands.

 

We both wanted to take a paid excursion in Split and tried booking separately, but that wasn't working, so I called Viking and worked that out by telephone. The rep told me my friend did not have a credit card on file, so I paid for both of us. (My friend lives in England and we Skyped once a week as the date got closer, so communications were limited mostly to emails.)

 

There was one day where we wanted to take different paid excursions. That also required a telephone calls.

 

Once onboard we wanted to change the Split tour from the $89 tour to Krka Falls to the $149 Krka Falls tour (good tour, but not worth the extra $60). I had paid for both, but they refunded one of the tickets to Rosemary's account, so we had to go to the desk to work that out since I paid for both originally. The nice thing about changing onboard is that I got full credit immediately for the original two tickets and did not need to wait 6-8 weeks for a refund. They add all your ship charges and credits and you owe the balance at the bottom.

 

Rosemary had some onboard charges that went to my account and we dealt with them as they occurred. This is something that Viking needs to work on.

[Viking Cruises]

Dear DianeLikesToTravel,

 

Welcome home! We have enjoyed reading your posts and are happy to hear you enjoyed your recent cruise aboard Viking Star. We find guest comments instrumental in making improvements and the feedback you have provided in your posts is appreciated. If you are interested in discussing your experience further, please contact us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

We look forward to welcoming you aboard again in the future!

 

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

 

I thought we would not be able to book excursions until we boarded, but we were able to book 60 days out. I noticed this 55 days prior. For included excursions I was able to book online for both of us since no money changed hands.

 

We both wanted to take a paid excursion in Split and tried booking separately, but that wasn't working, so I called Viking and worked that out by telephone. The rep told me my friend did not have a credit card on file, so I paid for both of us. (My friend lives in England and we Skyped once a week as the date got closer, so communications were limited mostly to emails.)

 

There was one day where we wanted to take different paid excursions. That also required a telephone calls.

 

Once onboard we wanted to change the Split tour from the $89 tour to Krka Falls to the $149 Krka Falls tour (good tour, but not worth the extra $60). I had paid for both, but they refunded one of the tickets to Rosemary's account, so we had to go to the desk to work that out since I paid for both originally. The nice thing about changing onboard is that I got full credit immediately for the original two tickets and did not need to wait 6-8 weeks for a refund. They add all your ship charges and credits and you owe the balance at the bottom.

 

Rosemary had some onboard charges that went to my account and we dealt with them as they occurred. This is something that Viking needs to work on.