loum140

Thanks so much for that info. We only have the one day and really want to go. We will now be able to schedule much better thanks to your help.

We will be in London on a Sunday and would like to visit Canterbury Cathedral. Is it possible to get a tour on a Sunday or is that not possible if services are being held?

Hmmmm...

At the airport, waiting for flight - hope it's nothing serious. Too late to turn back now!

Safe travels Elizabeth. See you in a few days! Marsha

Here is a question for those who have already booked their excursions with Viking. When you booked, did Viking provide the time and duration of the excursion specifically for those that are included? I would like to take one of Viking's included excursions and also book one on my own for the same day and will not be able to do so unless I know the time. Thanks.

It was a few weeks ago, but I believe the answer is "yes". There is a time provided. In fact once you choose something it's immediately put on your "calendar" with the time frame blocked off. We were contacted two weeks ago by Viking because one of their excursions was over-subscribed so they shifted us to the same one departing a half hour later. No big deal for us.

Thanks. I am confused about the dining. When we originally booked we were told that it was flexible dining. Must we select an early or late reservation slot for the Restaurant? What if we do that and just want to show up when we feel like it? I truly do not understand the fixed and flexible dining aspect. We have only sailed Oceania and Azamara which are flexible.

We are also used to the Oceania system and like flexible dining -- especially on days that we will not get back to the ship until 7-7:30 (Rome and Florence). So when our dining window opened we selected flexible dining. We can show up in the Restaurant at any time but would have to wait on line to be seated. Like Oceania, the only time we had to choose a specific time was for the specialty restaurants.

Also - a packet of small magnets. I don't know about the walls on Viking Star, but on all the Oceania ships the walls are metal (even though they look like wood) and these magnets are useful for hanging up excursion info, dinner reservations and other reminders so you don't have to clutter up the desk/dressing table. And a few index cards to write down stateroom numbers of people you're on tour with and/or might need to contact while on board.

Here's one for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel -- a mirror! This really works and saves your neck muscles. Also, my guide book for Italy recommends binoculars to get "up close and personal" with frescos and mosaics. (Not really sure how large the ones we get in our stateroom from Viking, but we're taking small opera glasses which are easy to carry.)

SO, does anyone know anything about the waffle samples (where, when), or did I dream that?

Hi Roothy -- you didn't imagine it. I noticed it yesterday in My Viking Journey under the heading "Entertainment". There will be a daily Waffle Hour in the Explorers' Lounge offering samples. (Probably when DH and I are off the ship exploring our ports of call!!!!!) Marsha

Spoke with customer service yesterday about another matter, then brought up question of dress in dining venues. I told them my DH is not bringing a sport coat for our Ist/Bar segments. They said it was fine, even for Captain's Farewell Dinner.

Also Viking is providing L'Occitane toiletries in staterooms.

Just an FYI -- we were advised by Viking that our included tour in Santorini was oversubscribed for the 9:30 a.m. departure so they were moving us to a 10 a.m. departure. Not a big deal for us.

Re: the boat tour on the Bosporus -- we took this a few months ago. It's really nice and you get the opportunity for great photos of the Dolmabache Palace as seen from the water.

We have the same issue. Our friends are in a DV cabin, so were able to sign up a few days ahead of us, so selected a table for 6-8, since we all enjoy meeting others ( the 4 of us met on a Viking river cruise). But there was no way online to link our reservation together. We have asked our TA to have Viking intervene. Otherwise, we will meet with the maitre d' when we board.

 

Becki

Sounds like a good plan.

Booking was really easy. We got most of our dining choices though sea days were pretty much booked up for the specialty restaurants. Had to work around our tours - included, private and Viking optional. We like to eat around 7-7:15, so many dining times were either too early or too late for our taste. But we managed. Wonder how this will work with any evening activities?

Still, our 2 segments of this cruise are very port intensive with only 2 sea days, many of our private tours return to the ship late afternoon/early evening and our days in Rome and Florence don't return until 7 or 7:30 pm. I did not book for those days, but hoping we can make changes once on board if necessary.

Re: included excursions, I was very surprised to see that we are confirmed with fairly early departures. I guess I just assumed that we would be shut out of the first buses and given later departure times.

Thanks, Lou and Marsha.

 

I did that, too, just to get the work out. Kathy and Matt are joining us!

Great! Sounds like fun -- but we'll be in Croatia by then. Marsha

I would suggest that you email Viking to ask about the amount of time in Pompeii for each tour and that you post the question about the distance to the Casino in Monte Carlo and to the tram in Dubrovnik on the Ports of Call boards on Cruise Critic.

Loum140 - when you printed your calendar pages, did they print each day on a single page? When I try to print them, each day prints on two pages - the header with the port name on one page and the schedule itself on another. I reported this "bug" to Viking - maybe they fixed it?

Hi Elizabeth: I asked Lou to print the calendar pages out at work as my computer was being "debugged". He said they were running to 2 pages each so he decided to eliminate the part that carried over -- which was everything after 10 p.m. Other than that each page printed out from header to 10 pm. Hope that helps. Marsha

Thanks Bear Music for the heads up. I also booked all our excursions in about 15 minutes.

BTW - I also printed out the My Calendar pages and as I suspected, the excursions have been included on each page. Marsha

We're in a DV and can book excursions Feb. 7 and restaurants some time after that. I just don't remember the exact date. I'm more concerned about the excursions we want to take than dinners.

We are cruising 2015 but no port times. Where are you seeing the port times? Thanks.

I think it's under My Calendar. It has arrival and departure times blocked in, then I'm guessing when you purchase options or book included tours or make dinner reservations they will appear and you can print out each page to carry with you??? Anyway, I hope that's how it will work.

Got the email invitation, BUT.......when I tried to submit it got an error message. So I followed algaes advice and I'm in! Of course I can't make reservations just yet, but it's promising! Yay!

Marsha, Lou, Bear_Music and everyone else in the path of the upcoming Northeaster stay safe! This is when you hope the weather people are wrong as usual....

Kathy

Kathy: Thanks for the good wishes. We have a light dusting right now but tonight???

Are you still in Fla. or back home in NJ? Marsha

also in regards to them dropping the price due to lowering of fuel costs ....have you ever heard of any cruise line or airline doing that?

Kathy

Hi Kathy: It actually did happen to us on a Viking River Cruise about 10 years ago. We paid a fuel surcharge when we booked, then the price of fuel dropped and we got the surcharge back as sbc. Marsha

we are looking at Alla and TJ Tours....both have something a little different from the other. TJ offers an extra hour in the Hermitage which is attractive to us.

Alla offers the Canal cruise...which I have read to be a great experience.

Any thoughts on this?

Just a thought -- the Hermitage is amazing. On our visit there I could hardly take in everything we were seeing -- especially the Impressionists. I wanted to linger in several rooms, but with a guided tour you have to keep up with the group. And there's just so much that after awhile my head was spinning. If we had more time I would have welcomed a second visit -- on another day.

Yes, everything you've heard about the canal cruise is true. You get wonderful views of so many of St. Petersburg's buildings, churches, Palaces, bridges, statues, etc. And we had something extra. There was a young boy - 9-10 years old - who ran along the embankment following our route, waving and turning cartwheels.

Whatever you choose - enjoy!

Loum140 - we've been to St Pete before too (6 days) and are kind of struggling with what to see/do there this time. So, we're curious what did you go see on its tour with Alla? Are you going this far on the Star? If so, what are you going to do this time?

Hi Elizabeth: We're only doing 2 segments this time -- Istanbul to Barcelona.

For St. Petersburg here's what we decided on:

1. Inside tour of the Church on Spilled Blood

2. The Victory Monument and Memorial Hall to the Heroes of the Siege of Leningrad. (wonderful and very moving memorial/museum) Sadly we were the only visitors........

3. The Cruiser Aurora which fired the shot that signaled the storming of the Winter Palace and start of the 1917 Revolution

4. The Russian Museum (exclusively Russian artists)

5. The Yusupov Palace (famous for murder of Rasputin)

6. A canal cruise - purely for relaxation

Our lunches were in cafes frequented by locals.

There's so much to see in St. Petersburg. Good luck!

Marsha

Just wanted to tell those considering Alla Tours that a few years ago we (group of 6) were making a return visit (2 day port stop) to St. Petersburg. Since we had previously seen the major attractions, each of us selected another place we wanted to include on our tour and submitted the request to the major tour companies in Russia. Some offered only their stock tours, some ignored us. But Alla worked with us noting museum closings and traffic issues. As a result the tour was a spectacular success at a very reasonable price for a 2 day visit. I recommend Alla 100%.