Which date is embarkation which date is Sail away?

[SempreMare]

hi there

 

Firsts Viking cruise - British Isles Explorer

 

Which date and time is embarkation & which date is Sail away? ( see pic below)

 

Are those always the same day on Viking cruises?

 

Trying to figure out what day I should schedule check out from my hotel. If the Viking cruise includes hotel the night before, ( I thought it did) where would I see that?

 

I booked this eons ago and I’m recovering from a painful rotator cuff repair surgery so do not remember…

 

 

Edited June 20, 2022 by SempreMare

[TayanaLorna]

Most Viking cruises board the first day and depart 6ish pm on the second day but not all of them.  Our TA from Barcelona had us boarding and leaving on the same day.  Your itinerary is showing Greenwich September 13 and 14 so you board after 11 am on the 13th.  And its in Greenwich not London.  Unless you reserved and paid for a Viking pre extension, Viking does not give you a hotel room for the night before you board.  

[sugarside]

We Brits would consider Greenwich to be classed as London as it is one of the boroughs of the  area.

Historically a part of London is The City of London and is basically the area with a history going back beyond the romans.North of the river around the Guild Hall and St. paul’s.The area where the great fire of London was.

It is a separate entity with its own police force and council.

Greenwich is well connected travel wise to central London .

[Karry66]

We’re on this cruise and are checking out of our Greenwich hotel 13 September and boarding the Mars.  Sailaway will be later in the afternoon 14, September.  See you on Mars!

[CCWineLover]

We are on Venus July 15.  This means we board in Greenwich July 15.  There are some tours that go out that evening.  You STAY onboard the ship the first night.  We leave Greenwich on July 16.  There are tours on the 16th and the schedule shows us leaving Greenwich at 3 PM.

 

Your own schedule should tell you exact time that you leave Greenwich (or planned time).  As someone earlier said, the confusion likely is because Viking refers to it as "London"

 

Netting it out, you spend your first afternoon/evening/night onboard, stay onboard the next day and leave in the afternoon of the next day.  No hotel involved.

[FetaCheese]

Next cruise Dec. 2022, ship sails evening of day of embarkation.  But really appreciated Dec. 2021 Greek Odyssey cruise sailing on day 2 (scheduled), since flights were cancelled/changed 3 times, and arrived in ATH airport after 6 p.m., day of embarkation, and got on ship at 8:30.  Would have missed ship.

[SempreMare]

When I tap on “ calendar “ in

My Viking journey,

 

Day 2 London (Greenwich) clearly shows departure at 4 PM.

 

however, nowhere on either

Day 1 London (Greenwich)

or

Day 2 London (Greenwich)

Is embarkation ever mentioned.

 

So odd.  How would someone know that they could embark on day one instead of the day of departure?
 

Will it appear on my calendar at some point in the future?

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, SempreMare said:

When I tap on “ calendar “ in

My Viking journey,

 

Day 2 London (Greenwich) clearly shows departure at 4 PM.

 

however, nowhere on either

Day 1 London (Greenwich)

or

Day 2 London (Greenwich)

Is embarkation ever mentioned.

 

So odd.  How would someone know that they could embark on day one instead of the day of departure?
 

Will it appear on my calendar at some point in the future?

 

The embarkation is adequately discussed in the FAQ. You can board the vessel from 11:00 until 2 hrs prior to departure. 

 

If you have paid for the entire cruise, I'll suggest it is a reasonable expectation that you can embark the vessel on day one. This is consistent throughout the entire industry.

 

On you pax statement, in the itinerary section, I expect it also mentions "Embark Viking .........." on day 1. 

[SempreMare]

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

On you pax statement, in the itinerary section, I expect it also mentions "Embark Viking .........." on day 1. 

Thank you @Heidi13

 

THAT Pdf is where i saw the level of detail needed for planning / deciding Do I cancel viking air or  Book my own

 

Odd the online calendar has so much less information.

I wish I could access the latest version of that PDF online without going through my travel advisor.

 

I would probably remember the FAQ better but right now,

post hot air balloon crash landing

post fully torn rotator cuff repair surgery,

arm and shoulder immobilized,

it feels like someone is standing over my shoulder injecting a needle directly into my shoulder bone. 

 

I'm just trying to not make a colossal mistake.

[Heidi13]

8 hours ago, SempreMare said:

Thank you @Heidi13

 

THAT Pdf is where i saw the level of detail needed for planning / deciding Do I cancel viking air or  Book my own

 

Odd the online calendar has so much less information.

I wish I could access the latest version of that PDF online without going through my travel advisor.

 

I would probably remember the FAQ better but right now,

post hot air balloon crash landing

post fully torn rotator cuff repair surgery,

arm and shoulder immobilized,

it feels like someone is standing over my shoulder injecting a needle directly into my shoulder bone. 

 

I'm just trying to not make a colossal mistake.

 

Anytime you make a change to a booking, your TA should receive an update copy of the Pax Statement, which they should then forward to you. Therefore, you should always have the latest copy in your records.

 

Personally, I have all the versions saved in my files, so can review, noting any changes.

 

With your current recuperation from injury, I suggest that in addition to considering the cost of Viking Air and independent air, you also consider the risks. If you are unable to travel, if you book Viking Air, everything is refunded based on the cancellation policy, or the RFG.

 

We just cancelled a Trans-Atlantic and had not used Viking Air, as we booked the flights with points. Had we used Viking Air, we would already have the value in FCV's, or cash, since we were > 120 days. However, I need to spend a couple of hours getting through to British Airways on the phone to cancel the flights, to get the points returned and will then have to submit claims to our Visa card to get the money back for the taxes.