British Isles Explorer Cruise excursions

[formernuke]

This is great! We're going in April '24 on BIE and this is very helpful!

[Moonlion]

4 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

I wonder how much more we will have to pay over the 2023 prices?

Frankly, my eyes popped out comparing Viking's optional excursion prices with what private tour operators charge.  I've been researching private (non-Viking) excursions for many of the BIE ports and prices are often half of what Viking charges... AND are more comprehensive (longer tours with more sites visited) along with fewer people on the tour.  Yes...some people are worried that a private excursion may not make it back to the ship on time. In my research, the top-rated tour operators are very experienced with ship schedules and it's rare that they don't get pax back to the ship on time. But, everyone has to determine their own level of risk.

[aungrl]

2 hours ago, KBs mum said:

You'll need to buy tickets now (or as soon as available) if interested. Hampton Court flower show has a lot of the same exhibitors but has a bigger site and is a lot less crowded. 

Kew is also worth a visit if interested in horticulture 

 

Have to second the recommendation on Kew Gardens.  One of our favorite places, at any time of year.

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, Moonlion said:

In my research, the top-rated tour operators are very experienced with ship schedules and it's rare that they don't get pax back to the ship on time.

Absolutely agree with this. If these operators regularly had problems with pax missing their ship, I think they’d quickly lose their reputation, if not their business! We’ve had good experiences with private tours and never had a problem getting back for sail away. That said, you’re going to want to do your research and make sure you get a reputable outfit with lots of good reviews.

[CurlerRob]

2 hours ago, Moonlion said:

Frankly, my eyes popped out comparing Viking's optional excursion prices with what private tour operators charge.  

 

In my experience, the standard markup for cruise line tours is anywhere between 2X - 3X. We recently sailed one line where 4X was routine. If Viking is at 2X, it puts them at the competitive end of ship tours.

 

That said, we frequently book private tours, and have never had a missed departure. Our calculation takes into account the "pain" of a possible miss (meaning not before a long passage or somewhere we are not comfortable in navigating ourselves should it become necessary). Problems can occur with either private or ship excursions - sometimes catching up is not what we want to have to take on. 🥌🍺

[margu1241]

10 hours ago, Moonlion said:

Since there's been some interest on this forum for information about British Isles Explorer excursions, I thought I would share the excursions that Viking is offering on our BIE cruise (May 9, 2023 - London to Bergen).  In My Viking Journey, shore excursions for our cruise were posted yesterday much to my surprise (almost 5 months in advance!).  I've attached a spreadsheet with the excursions being offered, times and prices. Of course, no guarantees that the same excursions and times will be available on the other BIE cruises, especially those traveling from Bergen to London. 

 

I also included (in the far right column) the 2022 prices when available.  On average, prices increased about $20 per excursion (usually between $10 to $30) in 2023 compared to 2022. 

 

For future BIE cruisers, hope this helps with your planning!

  

Viking BIE ShoreEx May-9-2023.pdf 115.57 kB · 32 downloads

Moonlion,  when were your excursions originally set to post?   Want to keep an eye out for my cruise in July

thanks,

Patty

[molymoo]

On 10/27/2022 at 1:21 PM, Ceegeefl said:

Thank you so much! We are also doing the pre in Oslo and taking the train. Any recommendations for sights or restaurants in Olso would be greatly appreciated!

Engebret Cafe is lovely.  It is a short (relatively) walk from the Thon Opera and depending on the time of year they have a lovely outdoor seating area.  It is authentic Norwegian fare and the service is wonderful.  It is a bit pricey (you can check out the menu online) but worth every kroner!  We made reservations online prior to our trip but it seemed as though (especially with the outdoor seating area open) they were able to easily accommodate walk-ins.  They will be sure to give you a waitress/waiter who speaks English, but frankly most Norwegians speak English better than most Americans!   

[Moonlion]

9 hours ago, margu1241 said:

Moonlion,  when were your excursions originally set to post?   Want to keep an eye out for my cruise in July

thanks,

Patty

Pre-pandemic, I believe the norm was 90-100 days before departure but will let others who have taken many more Viking ocean cruises than me chime in. The one VOC we took was during the pandemic and excursions were not posted in MVJ until after our DV booking window opened.  Being a "planner," I usually check MVJ a couple of times a week and that's how I discovered, to my surprise, that excursions had been posted. 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Moonlion

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, Moonlion said:

Pre-pandemic, I believe the norm was 90-100 days before departure

 

Pre-pandemic, the goal was to have them posted 120 days prior to departure. Only occasionally would they not be posted before booking opened for all cabins.

 

Post-pandemic, in the early days of the re-start, it was pandemonium. The normal schedule was out the window and many times excursions were not available until well past the time that booking was open for everyone.

 

Today, things seem to finally getting back to the pre-pandemic routine and ease.

[Moonlion]

20 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

Pre-pandemic, the goal was to have them posted 120 days prior to departure.

So it looks like for the 2023 BIE cruises, Viking is posting excursions closer to 150 days prior to departure. 

[janetcbl]

2 hours ago, molymoo said:

Engebret Cafe is lovely.  It is a short (relatively) walk from the Thon Opera and depending on the time of year they have a lovely outdoor seating area.  It is authentic Norwegian fare and the service is wonderful.  It is a bit pricey (you can check out the menu online) but worth every kroner!  We made reservations online prior to our trip but it seemed as though (especially with the outdoor seating area open) they were able to easily accommodate walk-ins.  They will be sure to give you a waitress/waiter who speaks English, but frankly most Norwegians speak English better than most Americans!   

It is a wonderful restaurant, good food and full of history. Our favorite for a special meal when we are in Oslo. Eating outside (in warm!) weather makes it even more special.

[Squawkman]

2 hours ago, molymoo said:

They will be sure to give you a waitress/waiter who speaks English, but frankly most Norwegians speak English better than most Americans!   

My daughter was a high school exchange student in Norway 25 years ago. Unless things have changed, English is required and starts when students enter third grade. For those who follow an academic track in upper high school, a second foreign language is taken along with advanced English. Ironically, she found advanced English very challenging as they covered literature beyond what she had in her high school in the US. 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Squawkman
Added text

[Peregrina651]

27 minutes ago, Moonlion said:

So it looks like for the 2023 BIE cruises, Viking is posting excursions closer to 150 days prior to departure. 

 

Only time will tell if it is a fluke or a glimpse of the future. 😉

[Busy Mum]

On 12/17/2022 at 8:03 AM, mariavii said:

I havent done the BIE, but on our Midnight Sun we did the Highland Park day in Orkney - which is great if you are a whisky person.  It was the tour, a very nice tasting, lunch, a visit to where peat is harvested, and then we hit some historic sites.  Our guide was a hoot and there was additional whisky poured throughout the tour 🙂

 

In Shetland I had tried to book David Malcom, but he was already booked.  Instead we spent a lovely day with his daughter (Kittywake Tours).  We did what is think is the South Mainland Tour.  So many puffins!

 

Hi Mariavii, what an adorable photo.  My DH and I are also looking at Viking's Midnight Sun cruise, we have not cruised with Viking before but we very much like the look of their ships and offerings onboard.  If I could ask, did you enjoy your cruise? Thank you for any advice/help you can provide me.

 

Vicki. 🙂 

[PRH]

April 2023 will be our fourth attempt at this cruise!  So many cancellations!  I noticed that many of the excursion choices have changed from earlier offerings.  Some that I was truly interested in, are no longer.  Was disappointed, for example, that there is no longer a historical/political walking tour in Belfast regarding the troubles, peace walls and murals.  Found an excellent Tours by Locals tour for the 6 of us which includes transportation to/from the port.  This cruise is going to require a lot more investigation as we have vouchers which must be “spent” before embarking and we already have silver spirits.  

[mariavii]

6 hours ago, Busy Mum said:

If I could ask, did you enjoy your cruise? Thank you for any advice/help you can provide me.

Yes!  It was my first Viking cruise (2018)..and honestly I stayed away from cruising because the thought of the mainstream cruise lines horrified me 🙂 We were among the youngest on the ship (Star) but that didn't even register.  The trip had a nice amount of sea days, the scenery was beautiful, and you could be as active or a relaxy as you want. 

 

Best advice...Go!  Otherwise... in geiranger we rented this exta tiny electric car. It was a hoot!  

 

Happy to answer any specific Qs...as are many on this board. 

[Busy Mum]

8 hours ago, mariavii said:

Yes!  It was my first Viking cruise (2018)..and honestly I stayed away from cruising because the thought of the mainstream cruise lines horrified me 🙂 We were among the youngest on the ship (Star) but that didn't even register.  The trip had a nice amount of sea days, the scenery was beautiful, and you could be as active or a relaxy as you want. 

 

Best advice...Go!  Otherwise... in geiranger we rented this exta tiny electric car. It was a hoot!  

 

Happy to answer any specific Qs...as are many on this board. 

Thank you for your reply. I will certainly ask questions as I continue our ‘research’. Hope you have a lovely Christmas & take care. Vicki. 😀

[Moonlion]

On 12/16/2022 at 12:54 PM, Moonlion said:

In My Viking Journey, shore excursions for our cruise were posted yesterday much to my surprise (almost 5 months in advance!). 

Update for our May 9, 2023 BIE cruise:  oddly, all of the optional excursions for the Orkney Islands (Kirkwall) are now showing as "SOLD OUT" in MVJ (however, the included excursion is still available). We're 133 days from sailing so too early for any of the premium cabins to have booked excursions.  None of the excursions in any of the other ports are sold out.  We had something similar happen on our January 2022 cruise when Viking cancelled a port 10 days before departure.  However, we were first notified by email of the port cancellation before the excursions were listed as "sold out" in MVJ.  Curious if any of the other 2023 BIE cruises are seeing this in MVJ?  Any guess what this means?

TIA

[Peregrina651]

53 minutes ago, Moonlion said:

Update for our May 9, 2023 BIE cruise:  oddly, all of the optional excursions for the Orkney Islands (Kirkwall) are now showing as "SOLD OUT" in MVJ (however, the included excursion is still available). We're 133 days from sailing so too early for any of the premium cabins to have booked excursions.  None of the excursions in any of the other ports are sold out.  We had something similar happen on our January 2022 cruise when Viking cancelled a port 10 days before departure.  However, we were first notified by email of the port cancellation before the excursions were listed as "sold out" in MVJ.  Curious if any of the other 2023 BIE cruises are seeing this in MVJ?  Any guess what this means?

TIA

 

@Moonlion  SOLD OUT is sometimes used as a place holder. Since excursions haven't opened, it may mean one of two things: "not going to be offered on this sailing" (which is probably not what is going on here because it is all of the optionals) and "we haven't finalized the contracts yet or some other snafu"  (the more likely answer).

 

[Moonlion]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

@Moonlion  SOLD OUT is sometimes used as a place holder. Since excursions haven't opened, it may mean one of two things: "not going to be offered on this sailing" (which is probably not what is going on here because it is all of the optionals) and "we haven't finalized the contracts yet or some other snafu"  (the more likely answer).

 

Odd, because all these exact same excursions were showing as available just last week.

[Peregrina651]

2 minutes ago, Moonlion said:

Odd, because all these exact same excursions were showing as available just last week.

 

Odd, yes, but not outside of normal and more frequent on this side of the pandemic. Don't freak out until booking starts to open. Things may come and go before that point.

[JerryInIL]

Our August 15 cruise will dock in Stornoway for about 6 hours.  Is anyone familiar with Stornoway?

[LindaS272]

4 hours ago, JerryInIL said:

Our August 15 cruise will dock in Stornoway for about 6 hours.  Is anyone familiar with Stornoway?

Yes. You will want to go out to Callanish to the stone circle there. I’m sure Viking has a tour.

[retiredman]

On 12/16/2022 at 12:54 PM, Moonlion said:

Since there's been some interest on this forum for information about British Isles Explorer excursions, I thought I would share the excursions that Viking is offering on our BIE cruise (May 9, 2023 - London to Bergen).  In My Viking Journey, shore excursions for our cruise were posted yesterday much to my surprise (almost 5 months in advance!).  I've attached a spreadsheet with the excursions being offered, times and prices. Of course, no guarantees that the same excursions and times will be available on the other BIE cruises, especially those traveling from Bergen to London. 

 

I also included (in the far right column) the 2022 prices when available.  On average, prices increased about $20 per excursion (usually between $10 to $30) in 2023 compared to 2022. 

 

For future BIE cruisers, hope this helps with your planning!

  

Viking BIE ShoreEx May-9-2023.pdf 115.57 kB · 70 downloads

I'm curious, you state you are on the May 9th 2023 BIE Cruise? Is that with the Venus? Because we are booked on the April 29th '23 BIE leaving from Tilbury. The Venus will be in Edinburgh on May 9th. Is there another cruise right behind us?

[Heidi13]

23 minutes ago, retiredman said:

I'm curious, you state you are on the May 9th 2023 BIE Cruise? Is that with the Venus? Because we are booked on the April 29th '23 BIE leaving from Tilbury. The Venus will be in Edinburgh on May 9th. Is there another cruise right behind us?

 

The May 9th departure is from Greenwich on the Neptune, with the BIE being the 1st cruise after the World Cruise.