Athens Greece extension (pre-cruise or post-cruise) question ...

[YWW]

We are boarding the Viking Sky in a couple of weeks from Barcelona to Athens Greece and we've tagged on a 4-day extension staying at the NJV Athens Plaza Hotel in Athens (it was originally at the Athens Hilton but changed recently due to Hilton doing major renovation). In the Viking 4-day itinerary, it says we'll visit Acropolis' Parthenon as well as the Acropolis Museum on the first day, then day 2 to visit Mycenae and Epidaurus in the Peloponnese peninsula. Day 3 on our own and day 4 to visit Delphi. We asked Viking customer service whether tickets were included to go into these places and the answer was NO. Agent said Viking never provides tickets to any attractions unless it says so in the description. She then provided us with 2 online ticket booking sites to buy tickets in advance to visit these locations or get tickets at the location. For those of you who have done the extension in Athens, what was your experience with booking or buying the tickets? Did Viking provide any tickets at all to enter any of the described sites? Thanks.

[CCWineLover]

Following as we are doing this exact post-extension next March.  I wondered the same thing.

[RonWY]

That is not true. We did the extension in January, and any site they us to included admission. Parthenon and museum are known to be great visits, but for us a real highlight was Delphi. Only downside to Delphi is a long drive. 

Edited May 27, 2023 by RonWY

[The Other Tom]

12 hours ago, RonWY said:

That is not true. We did the extension in January, and any site they <sent> us to included admission.

I've seen way too many posts where one Viking agent says something that's not true.  I don't know why Viking can't get their act together.

[lackcreativity]

5 hours ago, The Other Tom said:

I've seen way too many posts where one Viking agent says something that's not true.  I don't know why Viking can't get their act together.

But she was so helpful in her wrongness! She even provided online sites to buy the tickets! 

 

I am not familiar with this extension, but I went to the Viking website to read the description and I certainly got the impression that Day 2 and Day 4 were actual excursions that would include the tickets. The description describes "you will" not "you can", and in my mind, that sure sounds like Viking provides the tickets, and in one case, lunch. However, my impressions will not get you through the gate if I am mistaken. Good luck!

[CCWineLover]

Time to HUCA   (Hang up, Call Again) !

[Geri c]

We did this cruise in May, 2022 including Athens 4 day extension.  It was fabulous!!   Viking rep and tour guide were excellent.  Tickets were included for all entrances during excursions.  I know you’ll enjoy the whole trip.  

[Fieldofdreams]

7 hours ago, Geri c said:

We did this cruise in May, 2022 including Athens 4 day extension.  It was fabulous!!   Viking rep and tour guide were excellent.  Tickets were included for all entrances during excursions.  I know you’ll enjoy the whole trip.  

Geri c - Thanks for the clarification I could not imagine Viking not including tickets on this type of excursion.

[CCWineLover]

14 hours ago, Fieldofdreams said:

Geri c - Thanks for the clarification I could not imagine Viking not including tickets on this type of excursion.

We probably should still get confirmation from a reliable Viking source.  I will have our Travel Agent do the research, contact, and leg work to see what the deal is.

[YWW]

Thanks guys for clarifying. It makes sense tickets should be included based on Viking's description. I called my travel agent afterwards to confirm what the Viking rep said. My TA was absolutely shocked to hear what Viking told me. She'll try to get hold of the Viking supervisor after the holiday. Our biggest concern now is the upcoming strikes throughout Europe and UK airports. We are keeping our fingers crossed our flights won't be impacted. 🤞

[OneSixtyToOne]

On 5/27/2023 at 10:02 PM, CCWineLover said:

Following as we are doing this exact post-extension next March.  I wondered the same thing.

We did the Classic Greece pre-extension in Athens last January (see my writeup) everything is included. You enter the venues with the tour guide, who pays all the entrance fees.
 

One thing to note, the extension does the exact Acropolis tour as the optional excursion “Full Acropolis Experience”

offered on the ship when docked in Athens. We mistakenly booked it believing it was different but were able to change to another excursion at the last minute.

There is overlap with the excursions offered while docked in Athens with those included in the post-cruise extension. Read the descriptions carefully. Also the free day on the extension may change so be careful if you plan to book an independent tour on the free day. I cover this in my writeup.

 

BTW Delphi is not to be missed. 

Edited May 30, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[CCWineLover]

24 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

We did the Classic Greece pre-extension in Athens last January (see my writeup) everything is included. You enter the venues with the tour guide, who pays all the entrance fees.
 

One thing to note, the extension does the exact Acropolis tour as the optional excursion “Full Acropolis Experience”

offered on the ship when docked in Athens. We mistakenly booked it believing it was different but were able to change to another excursion at the last minute.

There is overlap with the excursions offered while docked in Athens with those included in the post-cruise extension. Read the descriptions carefully. Also the free day on the extension may change so be careful if you plan to book an independent tour on the free day. I cover this in my writeup.

 

BTW Delphi is not to be missed. 

Thanks, Joe!  It actually was your writeup than inspired us to do this extension, as we've never done a Viking Ocean pre or post extension before (always done our own on every cruise).

[Fieldofdreams]

1 hour ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

We did the Classic Greece pre-extension in Athens last January (see my writeup) everything is included. You enter the venues with the tour guide, who pays all the entrance fees.
 

One thing to note, the extension does the exact Acropolis tour as the optional excursion “Full Acropolis Experience”

offered on the ship when docked in Athens. We mistakenly booked it believing it was different but were able to change to another excursion at the last minute.

There is overlap with the excursions offered while docked in Athens with those included in the post-cruise extension. Read the descriptions carefully. Also the free day on the extension may change so be careful if you plan to book an independent tour on the free day. I cover this in my writeup.

 

BTW Delphi is not to be missed. 

Thanks Joe - I was wondering the same about the included excursion in Athens and if there was any overlap. Appreciate you sharing.

[miami mama]

This extension is a great value for the money. We really enjoyed ourselves. The guides were knowledgeable, friendly and supportive. Do not hestiate to make any special requests as they will try their best to accommodate you if at all possible. 

Delphi may be quite a distance from Athens, but the ride is absolutely beautiful. This part of the trip is the absolute highlight. 

We happened to be there on their independence day. That was our free day in Athens and we were able to view their parade participants (lots of military hardware and people in uniform) and be whoaed by the flyover of military aircraft. The city was in a joyous, celebratory mood and it was such a delight to be walking around the old city. We ate lunch in a small family restaurant, had a delicous lunch of fried cod and mashed potatoes with garlic (traditional independence dish) and a small bottle of ouzo. It was all such a treat. 

[kctwinmommy]

Glad the search feature gave me a post that actually helped! We just booked this today, as a pre-extension, and it sounds like we made a good choice! Not 100% sure on which hotel we'll be in, as someone mentioned, the website says NJV, but our itinerary paperwork says Hilton. And like the poster said, the Hilton is closed until 2024. Of course, it's possible it opens in early 2024, and then we are there. We'll see!

 

We opted for this extension since this is our first Viking cruise, and we already planned on coming in at least a day or two early anyway. Having the Viking rep and help if needed will be a great way to get our feet grounded, if you know what I mean, before we jump on the ship. And like someone else commented, can be a great way to meet other passengers for our cruise.

[longterm]

On 5/27/2023 at 3:20 PM, YWW said:

...we'll visit Acropolis' Parthenon as well as the Acropolis Museum on the first day, then day 2 to visit Mycenae and Epidaurus in the Peloponnese peninsula. Day 3 on our own and day 4 to visit Delphi. We asked Viking customer service whether tickets were included to go into these places and the answer was NO. 

We did this extension in May of 2022, and everything was included--tickets into the Acropolis, the Museum (the finest archaeological museum I've ever visited), as well as the other sites. We were also treated to a meal on the way back from Delphi, at a nice Greek restaurant; I don't recall whether there were any other provided meals (other than breakfasts each morning and a travel box of breakfast for the day we flew out of Athens).

 

The extension was well worth the price, although we weren't crazy about the Intercontinental Hotel where we stayed (restaurant was mediocre at best, and overpriced). Delphi is one of my favorite sites that I've visited in many years, and Mycenae was also a great place to visit.

I don't know where the Viking rep got his or her information, but we've never had to buy tickets to enter a site when on a Viking excursion, whether it was Rothenburg in Germany, Pompeii, the walled city in Dubrovnik, or the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna.

Edited June 18, 2023 by longterm