Need quick help, first post

[Microman123]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

Hi there - echoing others . . .

This is definitely a 14 night (15 day) cruise, as are many of Viking's Ocean cruises.

Maximum a TA can give for this trip is $300 pp.   TA's can offer less.

PV cabins are wonderful!  We decided to "upgrade" on this trip and do a PV and are so glad we did - so much more room.  But everyone has their own priorities and preferences.

 

We are obviously wine lovers, living in Paso Robles, and enjoy many great wines from that region.  We are not "wine snobs" in any way and enjoy many styles and types of wines.  And we enjoy trying new wines.   We have been very pleasantly surprised on this trip with the included wines.  In the past we've done Silver Spirits, but they have greatly diminished the availability of wines by the glass on this package compared to before. SSBP seems to be more used and beneficial for the many hard liquor cocktail drinkers, not the wine drinkers.

 

Unlike some, we've found on this cruise some very interesting wines and blends.  My wife loves the included sparkling wine and also one of the Chardonnay blends.  I prefer red, and while not totally in the league of Paso Robles IMHO, many are not bad at all.  We enjoyed the Chilean Cabernet and the French Syrah-Grenache blend the most, and some of the Portugal and Spanish wines are also quite good although I've never heard of them before.  I was not happy with the Viking stock in 2021-2023 post COVID but they seem to have elevated the included wines.  Not only that, if the "wine of the day" is not what you want, you ask the waiter or server for your favorite (perhaps from a day or two ago) and they will go find it for you.  (Which they never did before).  That is a game breaker for us!  When you like an included wine, take a picture of the bottle and then you can show it to the waiter in the future!

Happy tasting!

 

Pulled into Bergen this morning - typical weather - rain, mist, overcast - reminds me so much of Seattle!   Had a wonderful included walking tour in the morning.  Nice that Viking now has 2 includeds here - one for bus people and one for walkers.

Here we are pulling into Bergen a few hours ago, with the Neptune already in port.

We are doing this cruise in reverse the end of August. Question - did you embark in Barcelona or Tarragona? Thanks

[Mlb4chris]

3 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Hi there - echoing others . . .

This is definitely a 14 night (15 day) cruise, as are many of Viking's Ocean cruises.

Maximum a TA can give for this trip is $300 pp.   TA's can offer less.

PV cabins are wonderful!  We decided to "upgrade" on this trip and do a PV and are so glad we did - so much more room.  But everyone has their own priorities and preferences.

 

We are obviously wine lovers, living in Paso Robles, and enjoy many great wines from that region.  We are not "wine snobs" in any way and enjoy many styles and types of wines.  And we enjoy trying new wines.   We have been very pleasantly surprised on this trip with the included wines.  In the past we've done Silver Spirits, but they have greatly diminished the availability of wines by the glass on this package compared to before. SSBP seems to be more used and beneficial for the many hard liquor cocktail drinkers, not the wine drinkers.

 

Unlike some, we've found on this cruise some very interesting wines and blends.  My wife loves the included sparkling wine and also one of the Chardonnay blends.  I prefer red, and while not totally in the league of Paso Robles IMHO, many are not bad at all.  We enjoyed the Chilean Cabernet and the French Syrah-Grenache blend the most, and some of the Portugal and Spanish wines are also quite good although I've never heard of them before.  I was not happy with the Viking stock in 2021-2023 post COVID but they seem to have elevated the included wines.  Not only that, if the "wine of the day" is not what you want, you ask the waiter or server for your favorite (perhaps from a day or two ago) and they will go find it for you.  (Which they never did before).  That is a game breaker for us!  When you like an included wine, take a picture of the bottle and then you can show it to the waiter in the future!

Happy tasting!

 

Pulled into Bergen this morning - typical weather - rain, mist, overcast - reminds me so much of Seattle!   Had a wonderful included walking tour in the morning.  Nice that Viking now has 2 includeds here - one for bus people and one for walkers.

Here we are pulling into Bergen a few hours ago, with the Neptune already in port.

omg, i can't wait and it seems so far away.  i booked yesterday, PV1 #5097 and was happy with mu $400 OBC, probably use on the SS package but still need to pencil out.  we don't drink hard stuff but definitely enjoy our share of wine and bubbles. i love paso wines and those from edna valley (tho i get a little tired of Pinot and Chard here). definitely not wine snobs either but my current paso favs are Paix Sur Terre and McPrice among others.   thank you for your (and everyone else's) response.  i'm doing my best to not go down the rabbit hole of board reading and planning yet but i don't think i'll be able to stay away😆. 

[CCWineLover]

4 hours ago, Microman123 said:

We are doing this cruise in reverse the end of August. Question - did you embark in Barcelona or Tarragona? Thanks

We boarded in Barcelona.  Stayed overnight.  Left the next day at 6 PM.  No Tarragona.

 

On a previous trip (which OneSixtytoOne was on) we boarded in Barcelona, had to leave the dock before midnight and sailed to Tarragona, where we spent the day before leaving that evening to head to Cartagena.  Actually Tarragona was a pleasant surprise to see and walk around.

[lisaatric]

On 5/24/2024 at 12:03 PM, Mlb4chris said:

omg, i can't wait and it seems so far away.  i booked yesterday, PV1 #5097 and was happy with mu $400 OBC, probably use on the SS package but still need to pencil out.  we don't drink hard stuff but definitely enjoy our share of wine and bubbles. i love paso wines and those from edna valley (tho i get a little tired of Pinot and Chard here). definitely not wine snobs either but my current paso favs are Paix Sur Terre and McPrice among others.   thank you for your (and everyone else's) response.  i'm doing my best to not go down the rabbit hole of board reading and planning yet but i don't think i'll be able to stay away😆. 

We’re on that trip as well. Leaving from Barcelona on 5/19. I’m beyond excited!