Queenie1603

In England - It would be great if Viking docked at Newcastle or Hull. The first Viking raid took place on Lindisfarne (Holy Island) and the nearby Farne Islands offer the chance to see puffins and seals in galore in May/June. With Bamburgh Castle nearby. Then of course there is Durham and York (still bearing its Viking name of Yorvik) with their grand Norman cathedrals and medieval towns. There is so much history along the North East coast of England and Viking loves history. Newcastle and Hull are both ferry ports and other cruise lines use Newcastle. So logistically it’s goer.

We did this cruise last year in August. We did book an excursion to the Doge’s Palace that we enjoyed very much. We didn’t bother with the included tour to Venice the next day as I couldn’t face another trip to Venice from where the ship docked (Chioggia). I was fortunate to enjoy many cruises into Venice when you could walk in from where the ships used to dock. Those days are gone. We were a good 100 min boat ride to St Marks Square. We enjoyed walking around Chioggia and the ship was a peaceful dream as so empty for most of the day. The infinity pool all to myself. There were overland excursions to offer, I think one was to Verona. In hindsight I think we may have taken that. I think it all depends where the ship docks. Other places may be nearer Venice or train stations.

Fantastic. I’m sure you’ll have a fab time.

Hi, we are now onboard the Viking Sky and all the speciality restaurants requests I made through guest services have been honoured and showing in my On board reservations. We were only able to make one booking for the Restaurant but will just turn up when we fancy eating and see what happens. I still don’t know why there booking service didn’t work this time.

I promised I’d post an update. We sail on Saturday. I contacted Customer Services again yesterday as I hadn’t heard anything. This morning I woke to find an email saying they were pleased to advise that they were able to accommodate all my dining requests. My Journey hasn’t updated to reflect this but at least I have the email. l have spent a lot of time trying to sort this out. The system isn’t working for some reason. I did make me wonder whether I should use a TA next time so they can sort it out!

I emailed customer services when I stared having the same probs described here. I sent them a list of my requests and this morning I received an email to say all my request have been met. Nothing has changed in my Cruise dairy yet but it does seem that something has happened. We board the Sky on Saturday so fingers crossed.

I am sure it will work out OK in the end. Viking could have been more upfront about the booking issue. May be customer services didn’t know there was an issue. I was told I was late booking where as, like our excursions I was ready to book on the day they came available. We have booked a PV so should have had 7 days grace before the DV bookings became available and are cruising for 14 days. Apart from two visits to the daily visits I made to ‘my journey’ they were never available and on the two occasions they were the only sittings were at 9 pm and one of those was on the last night! My expectations would be that Viking would have communicated the problem and how it will be resolved. I’ll find out on Saturday when we board the Sky and post here.

This seems to be a general problem this time. I am still waiting to hear back from customer services who promised to sort it out. We are due to Board the Sky next Saturday (6 August). We are in PV so not just DV who cannot make proper reservations. I had no probs with Excursions.

I’m still waiting to hear back from customer services regarding my requests. I will post here when I get a response or what the situation is when we board. I really don’t want to spend my time having to sort this when we board with all the others who are having the same problem when I could be relaxing with a cocktail and enjoying my holiday. 😬

Moonlion is quite right if you want to see Puffins. The best time is May/June in Shetland and the Orkneys. Fingers crossed they are there. I live in the North East of England and our seabird population has been decimated by bird flu. It has been so upsetting seeing so many dead birds including in our puffin colonies. I’m sure you’ll have a great time, you’ll certainly hear a broad range of accents during your cruise including the Welsh language when you visit Anglesey. Cheers 🍺

Spring is a fab time to come to the U.K. It is usually very verdant and nature is busting out everywhere. The weather is never predicable in the U.K. last week we had the hottest day on record at 40 (104F) degrees. On Tuesday it didn’t rise above 15 (59F) degrees. So def bring layers and rain gear. You are primarily in Scotland so visit https://www.visitscotland.com website. Scotland is usually colder than England especially on the East Coast. There is a lot of Viking history in the places you are visiting as the cruise visits the areas the Vikings had strongholds apart from Dover and London. August is the main school holiday season so it can be busy. September is also a good time to come. There is lots to do in Liverpool, including heritage stuff and the Beatles. Belfast is also great, the Titanic Experience is excellent https://www.titanicbelfast.com/experiences/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw54iXBhCXARIsADWpsG_zSb2Nr57-62qDMFE0T-XaH-IyMqsQeeM86xWIHclrP0zo8byto4YaAkLiEALw_wcB Dublin is also a fab place. I’ve only been to Dover to catch a ferry as it’s our main ferry port to France. It’s famous for its castle. Dover is not too far from Canterbury- with a medieval cathedral. I hope you enjoy visiting the U.K. I don’t know how long you’ll be docked in Liverpool. If you have a late sailing you might have time to get a train over from Liverpool to York. Well worth a visit. It’s history is Roman, Viking, Medieval walls surround the city and it has a beautiful Cathedral (Minster)

There is definitely a problem with their pre cruise dining bookings.

in response to Photopro2 we will be on the Viking Sky. Sailing from Rome on the 6th August. I initially thought it was a computer glitch. I was able to book all our excursions with no problem and even managed to book the 1st night in the Dining Room very early on. I appreeciate covid will have had an impact on all the dining areas but not sure how this is panning out now as in the UK Resturant appear back to normal re spacing etc!

Its not just DV staterooms. We are in a Penthouse Deluxe and were only able to make two reservations for a two week cruise. I only saw reservations on the My Journey open twice and was only able to make one reservation each time both at 9 pm and one of those was on the last night! I was told that the reservation had been open but I challenged that as I checked daily when the reservations were supposed to open for the Penthouse DV. Not a happy bunny as we have two reservations for each Spec Restaurant each week. I contacted a lady in Customer Services who told me to contact them personally 2 weeks before the ship sails only to find out she was out of office until after the ship will have sailed. We are due to board the ship in 6th August. Still waiting to hear from Viking if my specific requests will be honoured. Let see what happens.

Thank you for your Blog. We are doing what was your first leg of your cruise as our second 7 days in August so all feedback really useful. My husband and I love Crete and would highly recommended the Heraklion Museum, it is full of all the amazing Artefacts from the Minoan culture found at Knossos. Truly amazing. It’s possible to walk up to to the Museum from the Cruise Terminal or it’s a shot taxi ride. If it’s a tour option it’s well worth doing. Otherwise Book in advance to avoid the queues but very spacious and air conditioned inside.https://heraklionmuseum.gr/language/en/home/