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LIVE from "Iceland's Natural Beauty" -- All Sailings, 2021

Peregrina651

By Peregrina651,
in Viking Ocean

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Clay Clayton "Live from...." Rare

Clay Clayton

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, patchicago said:

On the Iceland cruise I’m traveling with a friend so asked for separate beds. We could use the extra room….tell me how you got upgraded from a DV to a PV! 

Not the OP but we were offered an upgrade (from DV to PV) vis email on our Asian Discovery cruise about a month before the cruise. It was $199pp for 12 nights.  We took it. 
 

We were offered similar upgrade on what turned out to be a half transatlantic in March 2020 for $299pp.  We didn’t take that. The little bit of extra room, in room minibar and pressing weren’t worth it to us. After many folks canceled and we sailed half full, we asked about upgrading and they wanted more!  
 

 

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Dukefan

Dukefan

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31 minutes ago, patchicago said:

On the Iceland cruise I’m traveling with a friend so asked for separate beds. We could use the extra room….tell me how you got upgraded from a DV to a PV! 

One strategy is as the cruise date gets closer to watch the cruise on the Viking sales site.  If a room in a category you want becomes open, either you or your travel agent call Viking and ask what it would cost to upgrade.   If they say, full fare different, then tell them if they offer a reduced difference to contact you.   They do this randomly often times without even asking. For example, on our Vikings Homeland Cruise we were upgraded from a PV1 to a PS1 for a fraction of the actual cost difference at the last minute.  The downside even though we got a better cabin for a fraction of the cost difference, it happened too late for us to get the extra early booking advantages of a higher cabin for the specialty restaurants, the excursions and spa bookings.

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patchicago

patchicago

Posted
Posted
50 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Not the OP but we were offered an upgrade (from DV to PV) vis email on our Asian Discovery cruise about a month before the cruise. It was $199pp for 12 nights.  We took it. 
 

We were offered similar upgrade on what turned out to be a half transatlantic in March 2020 for $299pp.  We didn’t take that. The little bit of extra room, in room minibar and pressing weren’t worth it to us. After many folks canceled and we sailed half full, we asked about upgrading and they wanted more!  
 

 

 

16 minutes ago, Dukefan said:

One strategy is as the cruise date gets closer to watch the cruise on the Viking sales site.  If a room in a category you want becomes open, either you or your travel agent call Viking and ask what it would cost to upgrade.   If they say, full fare different, then tell them if they offer a reduced difference to contact you.   They do this randomly often times without even asking. For example, on our Vikings Homeland Cruise we were upgraded from a PV1 to a PS1 for a fraction of the actual cost difference at the last minute.  The downside even though we got a better cabin for a fraction of the cost difference, it happened too late for us to get the extra early booking advantages of a higher cabin for the specialty restaurants, the excursions and spa bookings.

I’m so excited, I’ve never quoted  two posts at the same time.

Thank you both for the feedback. I may ask my TA to inquire about upgrading the week before we sail on 8/3. In the meantime I’ll try to figure out how much $$ I think it’s worth to me.

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SantaFe1

SantaFe1

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2 hours ago, VI_Lounger said:

Is it safe to re-think packing the heavier weight Helly jacket or better safe than sorry in Iceland. I'm just surprised by the big change in temps from what I've been watching the past few weeks. All good news but hate to drag that jacket around if I can get by with a lightweight with a vest/layers! 

All the northern Icelanders are walking around in shorts and tank tops this afternoon.  Which I had some.  I am reduced to wearing my husband’s Kon Tiki Tee shirt to keep cool.   But nothing is safe.  Bring a bit of everything.

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DaveSJ711

DaveSJ711

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2 hours ago, Dukefan said:

You folks in Iceland now are really lucking out, record high temperatures in many areas including Northern Iceland are possible today - temperatures in the high 70's!

We’re about to board our flight back to the US and the “record high temperatures” that await us in Seattle (108 degrees yesterday). I’ll take last week’s cool Iceland temps any day of the week.

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gramfrog

gramfrog

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Posted

If anyone takes either the Elves excursion on day five, or the Beluga Whale excursion, dear seven, could you please give your feedback?  And has anyone taken the Horseback excursion on Day 2 (Reykjavik)?  We are booking today (hallelujah!) and this is getting pricey haha

 

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vslparis

vslparis

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2 hours ago, Seaharvest said:

I am not sure why my comments didn’t come through last time so I will try again. I asked that question earlier and some nice person answered, sorry I don’t remember who, and said no. I too was hoping they had been retrofitted.  I have some hanging shelves I am bringing. 

 

2 hours ago, Dukefan said:

You folks in Iceland now are really lucking out, record high temperatures in many areas including Northern Iceland are possible today - temperatures in the high 70's!

Yes, we have been very lucky.  In Akureryri today there were blue skies and some clouds , about 70 F  for a high.  Great weather for touring . But as every guide so far has told us, the weather could be totally different the next day. We did the Northern Iceland’s Natural Treasure tour and the scenery was awe- inspiring. From the unique lave formation at Dimmuborgir ( watch out for those trickster Yule Lads 😉),  to the snowcapped mountains, the bubbling sulphur hots springs and the powerful Godafoss waterfall it was a day to take in the power and beauty of nature in Iceland.

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VI_Lounger

VI_Lounger

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Posted
1 hour ago, vslparis said:

 

Yes, we have been very lucky.  In Akureryri today there were blue skies and some clouds , about 70 F  for a high.  Great weather for touring . But as every guide so far has told us, the weather could be totally different the next day. We did the Northern Iceland’s Natural Treasure tour and the scenery was awe- inspiring. From the unique lave formation at Dimmuborgir ( watch out for those trickster Yule Lads 😉),  to the snowcapped mountains, the bubbling sulphur hots springs and the powerful Godafoss waterfall it was a day to take in the power and beauty of nature in Iceland.

So glad to read your report. We cancelled the whale excursion we'd booked for this stop when the National Treasure excursion finally opened up for us, so now I'm even more excited about our decision that this was the tour for us to see the beauty of Iceland!

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Dukefan

Dukefan

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, vslparis said:

 

Yes, we have been very lucky.  In Akureryri today there were blue skies and some clouds , about 70 F  for a high.  Great weather for touring . But as every guide so far has told us, the weather could be totally different the next day. We did the Northern Iceland’s Natural Treasure tour and the scenery was awe- inspiring. From the unique lave formation at Dimmuborgir ( watch out for those trickster Yule Lads 😉),  to the snowcapped mountains, the bubbling sulphur hots springs and the powerful Godafoss waterfall it was a day to take in the power and beauty of nature in Iceland.

We are booked on this same excursion on July 13th.  I hope we are fortunate enough to have weather even close to what you experienced.  We are really enjoying the posts from you pioneers and are so longing forward to following in your footsteps.  Wishing you continued success on your adventure!

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TayanaLorna

TayanaLorna

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Posted
3 hours ago, patchicago said:

On the Iceland cruise I’m traveling with a friend so asked for separate beds. We could use the extra room….tell me how you got upgraded from a DV to a PV! 

About 5 days before we were to depart, our Viking agent emailed us with an offer to upgrade to PV for a cost equal to half of what we would have paid if we chose a PV when we booked originally. We went from a DV6 to a PV1 and the room was fabulous.  We hoped the same thing would happen for South America but being the very first season on that itinerary, it was booked to capacity.  

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ValarieDennis

ValarieDennis

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, FoggyEthan said:

Just a quick reminder that I'm trying to collect notes from the sailings at the following location:

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rJqx62oEB9Ty8LckUD5NfSUM8HYyC_fs?usp=sharing

 

Feedback and corrections welcome.

-- Ethan

 

Thanks so much for taking time out of your vacation to do this for us:)

 

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Snit13

Snit13

Posted
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1 hour ago, ValarieDennis said:

Thanks so much for taking time out of your vacation to do this for us:)

 

Menu quite interesting.  Are you permitted to order more than one item as you are on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean?  On occasion when I don't see something I want to enjoy the waiters will get me what I want from another restaurant on the ship or allow me to have multiple starters instead of main course.  Not really a picky eater and love to try new things but certain foods don't agree with me.  One in our party of 4 eats Plant Based and NO oils.  She will not have an issue but may need to have a dish prepared differently.  Chef on more than one cruise came to table to assist cruisers with menu choices for the following night.

I would imagine with Vikings excellent reputation they may too be flexible.

If I order something I have never had is it ok to send it back and get another item in its place?

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librarylady19

librarylady19

Posted
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4 hours ago, SantaFe1 said:

All the northern Icelanders are walking around in shorts and tank tops this afternoon.  Which I had some.  I am reduced to wearing my husband’s Kon Tiki Tee shirt to keep cool.   But nothing is safe.  Bring a bit of everything.

That’s my plan! You can always buy tshirts but jackets are expensive. 

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patchicago

patchicago

Posted
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1 hour ago, TayanaLorna said:

About 5 days before we were to depart, our Viking agent emailed us with an offer to upgrade to PV for a cost equal to half of what we would have paid if we chose a PV when we booked originally. We went from a DV6 to a PV1 and the room was fabulous.  We hoped the same thing would happen for South America but being the very first season on that itinerary, it was booked to capacity.  

Thanks for the reply. I booked one of the DV1 cabins on Level 7 and am hard pressed to give it up. The only other cabins on that level are PS2s and none of those are available. Plus I’m guessing that would be a pretty big jump in price. If they offered me one of those at $400pp I would jump all over it.

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Clay Clayton "Live from...." Rare

Clay Clayton

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, TayanaLorna said:

About 5 days before we were to depart, our Viking agent emailed us with an offer to upgrade to PV for a cost equal to half of what we would have paid if we chose a PV when we booked originally. We went from a DV6 to a PV1 and the room was fabulous.  We hoped the same thing would happen for South America but being the very first season on that itinerary, it was booked to capacity.  

That is the deal we were offered to move from our DV to a PH but since we had booked on a $1000 off promo for the DV, the PV upgrade was very expensive. 

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trhattan

trhattan

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On 6/27/2021 at 8:56 AM, FoggyEthan said:

Someone on "Il Libro del Viso" mentioned that there are midges at the Geysir on the Golden Circle. There will probably be many more if you take the nature tour from Akureyri. They don't bite, but there can be so many that they are always in your mouth, nose, etc. People may want to consider buying a bug net for your face and bringing a wide brimmed hat for the net to go over and stay off your face.

you can keep them out of your mouth & nose by wearing your covid mask.

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