Looking for advice, etc. on the "Iberian Explorer" cruise....

[OnTheJourney]

Has anyone done this? I'm booked on it for '21. One thing that caught my attention is the relatively short time in port for a few of the stops, i.e. for Murcia (Cartagena) we're only in from 12-6. Vigo is 8-2, as is Portsmouth. Other cruises I've done are longer than 6 hours in port. Just wondering about it....   

 

OK..just checked with my agent - short times are due to the trip being a repositioning cruise. Still, hoping there are shore excursions tailored to the shorter port visits. I'd still like some feedback on this trip.  Hopefully some members out there have done this one....

Edited December 16, 2019 by OnTheJourney

[Peregrina651]

Right, this is a repositioning cruise and they have allowed a week to do it, so fewer ports and fewer hours in those ports (except for Malaga where we have 10 hours) and lots of time at sea making way to Tilbury. This particular itinerary has sailed only a couple of times, repositioning a ship from the Med to London to do the "Northern Lights" itinerary--and I can't remember if they started NL in 2018 or 2019.

 

The excursions  offered are listed on the Viking website.  The only one we have booked is the one to Santiago de Compostela. We are planning on doing the other ports on our own or will book something once we board.

 

Note that the ship docks in Malaga not Granada and Cartagena not Murcia. Although even that is confusing because in Spain, the name of the capital city of a province and the province may be the same. Malaga, Granada and Murcia are both the name of the province and the capital city -- like New York, New York.  The cities of Granada and Murcia are both inland. Also, note that Granada is nestled in the mountains, an hour's drive from the tallest peak on the peninsula (~11,000ft) and in January, it will be colder than the coastal cities of Cartagena and Murcia.

 

 

 

 

[JenRonn1104]

Hi.  We did this cruise this year (2019) and had a lovely time.  The times in port are short but it was so  nice to get away right after the holidays which are a busy time for us both personally and work wise.  We flew in two days early and spent those days enjoying Barcelona, one of our favorite cities.  We were lucky enough to be there for the Festival of the Three Kings.  

 

There are plenty of excursions even with the short port times.  In Portsmouth, we just took the shuttle over to the Dockyard and did the dockyard exploration ourselves.  So much to see there.  We had a great time.  

 

Let me know if I can answer any other questions about this itinerary.  Enjoy your trip next year!

 

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, JenRonn1104 said:

Hi.  We did this cruise this year (2019) and had a lovely time.  The times in port are short but it was so  nice to get away right after the holidays which are a busy time for us both personally and work wise.  We flew in two days early and spent those days enjoying Barcelona, one of our favorite cities.  We were lucky enough to be there for the Festival of the Three Kings.  

 

There are plenty of excursions even with the short port times.  In Portsmouth, we just took the shuttle over to the Dockyard and did the dockyard exploration ourselves.  So much to see there.  We had a great time.  

 

Let me know if I can answer any other questions about this itinerary.  Enjoy your trip next year!

 

 

We have been to the "Three Kings" parade in Barcelona twice now and we will be in Malaga on parade day (January 5) but probably will not get to see it. The parade starts at 6pm and we have to be back on the ship by 6:30pm. The 2021 sailing is late January, so they will miss the parade --and the Christmas holiday crowds.

[OnTheJourney]

I'm fine with missing the Holiday crowds...have enough of that with Christmas shopping!!  I'm sure we'd love the parade though....

Edited December 19, 2019 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

On 12/17/2019 at 8:00 AM, JenRonn1104 said:

Hi.  We did this cruise this year (2019) and had a lovely time.  The times in port are short but it was so  nice to get away right after the holidays which are a busy time for us both personally and work wise.  We flew in two days early and spent those days enjoying Barcelona, one of our favorite cities.  We were lucky enough to be there for the Festival of the Three Kings.  

 

There are plenty of excursions even with the short port times.  In Portsmouth, we just took the shuttle over to the Dockyard and did the dockyard exploration ourselves.  So much to see there.  We had a great time.  

 

Let me know if I can answer any other questions about this itinerary.  Enjoy your trip next year!

 

 

Thanks...as we get a bit closer I might 'pick your brain', so-to-speak as some questions arise. It'll be interesting to see how Viking handles this being that there is a day in between the end of the inaugural cruise (to Barcelona) and the beginning of this Iberian trip. I'm sure there will be more pax doing B2B (but never did one with a day in between sailings). 

Edited December 19, 2019 by OnTheJourney

[JenRonn1104]

14 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Thanks...as we get a bit closer I might 'pick your brain', so-to-speak as some questions arise. It'll be interesting to see how Viking handles this being that there is a day in between the end of the inaugural cruise (to Barcelona) and the beginning of this Iberian trip. I'm sure there will be more pax doing B2B (but never did one with a day in between sailings). 

 

Absolutely, anytime you need to pick my brain I am usually around.  🙂  There are a lot of lovely hotels in Barcelona for that in between night.  I would book that as early as possible.  There are a lot of hotel recommendations for Barcelona in the Ports of Call threads.  

 

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to everyone!

[OnTheJourney]

Good point about booking a room early, especially since - outside of regular tourist trade - there is the possibility of several hundred Sky guests that will be looking to do the same. Happy Holidays to you as well 🙂  

[Peregrina651]

27 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Good point about booking a room early, especially since - outside of regular tourist trade - there is the possibility of several hundred Sky guests that will be looking to do the same. Happy Holidays to you as well 🙂  

 

Are you sure that they will be throwing you off the ship for that day?

[OnTheJourney]

Good point....hadn't thought of that...would be great if we could stay on. We know nothing about this cruise other than when it is. Several agents I talked to suspect that there will be no pre-cruise extensions offered - makes sense with it not being a regularly scheduled sailing. 

 

Edited December 21, 2019 by OnTheJourney