CDNPolar

I would say Port. We always look at the direction of the ship and then choose the side of the ship that is most often looking at the coast. I like this because when I get up I will peek out the cabin window to see where we are. Now, with that said, even with a balcony we typically don't spend time in our cabin for anything but sleeping and showering. We are on deck regardless of the weather. Even in Antarctica we were on deck for hours at a time because of the channels we were sailing through. You have suck a limited view from your cabin balcony or window.

I get this... but I have been with Rogers for ever and ever and we have really good packages. I am not going to change provider for a trip.

Only Viking can tell you when the transfer to the ship will take place from the hotel in Buda. Email tellus@vikingcruises.com and give them your booking number and ask. Here is my experience with this sort of thing. If you are in Buda, you are not far from the ship as it will be docked on the Pest side of the river. You can board earlier than your embarkation time and have a light (limited) buffet lunch usually starting at Noon. You can use the lounge and the sundeck at your leisure. Generally if you are boarding earlier than your cabin is ready, my experience is that they give you a card with your cabin number on it and you are asked to keep that on your table in the lounge, or dining room face up. As cabins are ready they walk through the common areas looking for you and then escort you to your cabin. You can also leave the ship at anytime and return later. You don't have to stay on the ship if your cabin is not ready. If there are multiple people at your hotel, Viking will likely arrange your transfer in the early afternoon but more likely right after checkout time. It does not make sense to transport people to the ship earlier. If your checkout is 11am, then transport at Noon. If Noon then transport at 1pm. Email tellus@vikingcruises.com and ask and chances are they have a firm time as this transport is always pre-arranged.

Paul, welcome to Cruise Critic. I know you know this now, and no offence intended, but I have never purchased a vacation of any kind without some sort of cancelation insurance. We think we are of good health and then something like this happens out of the blue. Just to clarify.... no, no activities on the ship during the day while others are on excursion. I have seen many wheelchairs on Viking ships with individuals that are self-propelling in their chair to ones that had to have full assistance. On these same cruises, I have seen the individuals in wheelchairs go on all excursions. You may however have some difficulty as river ships "raft" at some ports and you could be walking through one, two, or three other ships to get on and off your ship. My recollection is that the elevator does in fact go to deck 1 on Viking Longships. It does not on any go to the sundeck. Hopefully however your cabin is on deck 2 or 3? Can your wife walk or use crutches at all to embark and disembark? You may find that Viking crew will assist to some degree helping you with the wheelchair on and off the ship. For the tour busses, your wife will have to be able to mount the stairs to the bus on her own. Good luck!

@Janie1229 I have only used my bank in Canada to get my Euros and they don't deal in coins at all, so the lowest denomination that I can get is a 5 Euro note. Not sure if you can get coins in advance or not where you are. Check with the bank that you use or check with a foreign currency exchange. How much in coins? Depends on how often you are going to the loo! Haha. In my experience, most excursions offer restroom breaks that don't cost anything. I say MOST. Also in my experience - the Nile for instance - our tour guide handled the payment to the restroom for the entire tour bus. I have had many times that I have had to pay and generally is is 1 Euro or less. Sometimes if it is a person that is taking the cash, they have change. Sometimes however it is an automated turnstile but we have seen these accept Apple Pay and tap credit cards too. The train station in Amsterdam had auto turnstiles that you could tap pay or insert a euro coin. Restroom Hack: If you are out and about on your own - without an excursion group - and you are in a commercial area, look for the American chains like Burger King, McDonalds, and Starbucks as they generally always offer the facilities at no charge like at home.

I am very much the same as @Mike07 and some things are trivial to me and the payment deadline is one of those for me. We have found our way around this and that is to always have one more Viking cruise booked in the future - that you can move further in the future as time goes on - and therefore keep the six months payment terms. We also started our cruising lifestyle with Viking over 8 years ago and have just thought that this was industry standard. When we booked our first Viking trip, and the payment terms were 12 months out, we just accepted it not knowing any different. We found our way around longer payment terms and have been happy since. I think - with all due respect - the number of people that leave Viking or don't return to Viking because of this are small in numbers. This is just my opinion. We all make decisions everyday about things like this. To me the lost interest on my payment to Viking is a small concern. The fact is that whether you are paying 12 months out or 6 months out, the first penalty is not until 120 days. This is what I look at. We can cancel for any reason without CFAR insurance up to 120 days out and get all our money back except the $25pp deposit. But if you are strategic about it, you move that $25pp deposit to another sailing further out and then you have lost nothing.

Probably not. Try some of the ancient mountain areas of China where the Monks live. There is not a railing in sight or any kind of safe keeping for the visitors. You are at the mercy of your knees and feet not giving way or stumbling.

Yes, I have been on that deck and runners are a challenge, but for us in the deck 3 cabins we have never been disturbed by people walking. But overall agree with you.

We sailed with Hurtigruten. We did our research, and Viking had just started sailing to Antarctic but Hurtigruten had been sailing there for almost 20 years at the point of time we booked. We felt "safe" with a company that had been doing this for so many years, but especially for the expedition / excursion part of the trip. And, I have to tell you that we were endlessly impressed with the expedition team on our ship. Knowledgable, friendly, personable, and experienced. Now, it is obvious that we have not experienced Viking's Antarctica product, BUT we have ascertained from reading a number of reviews that because of the age range Viking attracts, that their expedition excursions can be less demanding. One thing I will say is that we were exhausted each day. This trip was a physical workout. Viking has a great option of getting into the boats in the Hanger, but there is something about getting into kayaks and zodiacs from the side of the ship and not in the comfort of the Hanger. Here is my review of the cruise: Additionally, here is a link to our personal movie from this trip. This is NOT a monetized site and I am not trying to drive traffic....

I have only sailed one Uniworld, but have looked at many YouTube videos of Uniworld river ships. Although I would say that the ones I am familiar with do not have actual designated "tracks" that you walk on, you can certainly still walk laps around the outside of the ship. I would say that no, chairs are not in the way as crew would generally always prefer clear walking paths. I would also suggest that the best time - track or not - is early in the day and not when the sun deck is fully populated.

Well, not to bring this up again, but how many of us have seen people come to the World Cafe in the morning in their bathrobe and slippers with PJ's on. This is not your home breakfast room.

This would be okay, as long as they imposed limits on how often you could book. I think on our December cruise the whole problem with the table hogging in the Aquavit was also aggravated by the fact that it was cold and the outside section was not in use.

I have silicone ear plugs that are beside my bed at home and while travelling. If ever there is noise, these pop in and I am asleep again in minutes. These are not the ones that airlines give you, these are proper silicone discs that mold to your ear. Noise, whether your partner snoring or hull noise are not a problem.

Some dining room crew turn people away. Some don't. My thought is read the dress code and try to conform. If you push the limit and you get turned away, then it is only yourself that you have to blame. My feeling is that regardless of the colour, if you call them "jeans" they are jeans. This will be a forever debated topic and folks will forever push the limits that will not agree with many people's tolerances.

For all who know me, you know we love Viking. BUT, when it came to Antarctica, we chose a different cruise line because Viking was - IMO - just way too overpriced. We actually sailed on this other line for about half the price of Viking per person. Our cabin was very comfortable and as comfortable as a Viking cabin. Now, dining was one restaurant with a small Bistro type thing as an alternative, and a so called specialty restaurant that you could not get a reservation at if your life depended on it. The food was very good, but not as good or near as many choices in venue or food as Viking. BUT, we were on this cruise for the destination and not the luxury of the ship. This made our decision and we would do it again for the same reason.