Berlin Bear

On 9/18/2023 at 11:34 AM, BRWolf said:

I too would like to see a discussion about coffee.  Presumably it is a European style not American style, but which brand and the strength of the coffee available in the restaurants is important.  When we lived in Germany there were some German coffees that were way too strong for us but others that were quite good.  Thanks for any insight.

Ok, living in Germany I’ll jump on that one. We found coffee on Viking to be weaker than our normal (not too strong) German coffee brands. So you should be ok.

Not a big fan of Heathrow, but our flight last year from Heathrow to Buenos Aires with BA - booked by Viking - in economy was absolutely fine. Wouldn’t hesitate to use the airline for long haul again.

Dear Mr. Hagen,

Stop ignoring your fellow mainland European citizens / potential customers!
Please make it possible for us to book a Viking cruise either through a Viking office based somewhere on the continent or through our travel agents.

Thank you!

It’s not going to happen, I know. 

5 minutes ago, Critically Cruising said:

If you ever went to one of those "Cheers" knock-off bars, that's what you get with Rick's.  The original you saw in the movie was just a set on the Warner Brothers lot.  This is a restaurant that capitalizes on the old movie to make a new cafe that copies that look.

 

There used to be a "Rick's" in the Hyatt hotel as well, but I think that one closed and was repurposed.

 

Getting out to the Hassan II mosque is one of the more impressive things in Casablanca.  As well as shopping for carpets.

Fully agree. Casablanca was our first port on our first cruise in 2011 and we had no idea what we were doing at the time. We simply took the shuttle bus into town from the industrial port and wandered through the open air market to the mosque which was very impressive. We were incredibly lucky in being able to join a small German-speaking group (there were four of us) to tour the mosque, including the hammam.

13 hours ago, uktog said:

As we are at the Manhattan terminal we have the lovely sail down past everything soon. 
 

Love all the sports on this deck (putting skittles shuffle etc) and lots of people here for the view. This area was closed off on our Northern lights cruise understandably 

 

Envy🤢.

When we sailed from Manhattan on the Viking Sea in October 2018, we were, despite a full ship, completely alone on deck! Made ourselves comfortable on a sofa. We put it down to the fact that our North American sailing companions had seen it all before 😁

6 hours ago, uktog said:

After a night at our local airport hotel we are off!  

Two boomerang retirees (we stop, we are persuaded back to help, we stop, we are back - get the picture) who travel a lot. Over 80 cruises but this is just our second on Viking. Having been loyal to one line in recent years (Azamara) for various reasons we are also using others - mainly itinerary. Our first Viking In Search of Northern lights was a success although we did not get a real Viking experience (remember booking to use the spa pool, spitting in the tubes before a morning coffee, having to stay in your room for 6 hours after a pierside test etc). So very much looking forward to this full experience. 
 

We have our flights through Viking (couldn’t beat the price independently) but have done our own hotels and transfers. 

 

So we are sitting in the BA lounge at Heathrow about to board. First picture from our first flight down to London from Scotland. There are two air corridors into Heathrow- one goes right over Windsor Castle but if you’re lucky you get the city run. To appreciate it, sit on the right hand side as you face the nose (D-F on many planes). Isn’t it a cracking view. If you look closely it’s a Bank Holiday so Tower Bridge is up 😀

 

Did you manage to leave Heathrow before the air traffic control network failure? Keeping my fingers crossed for a safe departure and looking forward to following your travels!

I quite liked this one, seen in Nairobi. Note to myself - try to look busy when sitting 

Well, we’ve certainly gone off topic now, but we’d love to repeat the trip as well. Although we spent 10 days in quarantine, we actually only missed one port - Montevideo. 

8 minutes ago, duquephart said:

 

What does the owner's nationality have to do with how he conducts business?

Nothing at all, of course. I was simply bemoaning the fact that the European owner does not cater for his fellow European citizens - tongue-in-cheek, so to speak

I really like the Viking Ocean product, but I think we must all recognize that the owner has been very smart in choosing such a streamlined business concept (English language passengers only on identical ships). This is not a criticism, it is simply stating a fact.

Still love the ships though!🤩

BTW, shipboy, I believe we were on the Southern Atlantic Crossing together in March 2022.

4 minutes ago, shipboy said:

If you use a VPN to access the UK site, you should be able to bookmark the link and then access it without a VPN. I managed to do that from the UK for the Canadian website 

Ok, thank you. I will try that.

13 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

What country are you in? The website redirects based on ip address. You cannot make online bookings if you are on the European continent. This has to do with contract law of different countries as well as exchange rate of currency. The only places you can book online are US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand(?). All other locations require you to call Viking or book through a travel agent.

Many thanks for your quick and helpful response. Very much appreciated!

I‘ve moaned about this before on these boards, but it’s such a pity that Viking cruises are not marketed or sold in mainland Europe, despite the owner being Norwegian. The two cruises we’ve done up to now have been booked in the UK by telephone.

Oh well, it was worth a try 🙄.

I would love to know where to find this price and build tab that you all talk about!

Whenever I try to type in Viking.com or vikingcruises.co.uk, I am always redirected to vikingcruises.com and there doesn’t seem to be a price and build function there.

any advice?

We’ve done around 25 cruises with TUI Cruises. They use to have a loyalty program but it was suspended in spring 2020. Since then, there have been a number of messages from the company that a new loyalty program would emerge at some point, but this has never materialised 🤷‍♂️. 
By the way, the eighth ship will have a capacity of around 4000 passengers.

9 hours ago, Meander Ingwa said:

the inter-city and the high speed trains have sockets and outlets at the seat

And WiFi

11 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

We were told that the dock was under construction.  There were 3 cruise ships in town, Viking Neptune, Venus and AIDA Luna.  Where we were tendered dropped us off in the middle of Kirkwall.  No shuttle needed.

Ah OK, thanks for this clarification. We were there in June last year and I don’t remember any construction work going on.

Now carry on enjoying your cruise!

13 hours ago, Moonlion said:

Day 10 (May 18th, Kirkwall/Orkney Islands):

Woke up early and went to the World Cafe for coffee and cereal. Lo and behold, the Viking Venus was anchored across from us on our starboard side. This must be the Venus BIE cruise that departed on May 13th from Bergen to London. Hello Venus!

 

We joined our new friends we had “e-met” on the CC roll call for a private excursion of the Orkneys (we also did the Beatles tour with them in Liverpool). This port was odd - Viking only offered an included excursion but no optionals for some reason.  The 2-hour Viking included excursion did not include some of the top Neolithic sites such as Skara Brae which we really wanted to see. Therefore, Michelle arranged with Craigie’s taxi a 4-hour tour (£200 total/£50 pp) that included Ring of Brodgar, Stones of Stenness, Skara Brae (amazing site, not to be missed!), Skaill House, the Brough of Birsay, the Earl’s Palace at Birsay, and the Cliffs of Yesneby (breathtakingly beautiful!). Our driver, Collin, is not an “official” tour guide but he was very knowledgeable about the Orkney Islands and the sites we visited. Orkney is another port that can be cancelled because of bad weather. Craigie’s doesn’t require advance payment; you pay with cash or card after you complete the tour with them. We saw so much in our 4-hour tour! Collin dropped us off in town after tour. We visited the beautiful St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall before walking back to the tender boats (a 5-minute walk). 

Kirkwall is a tender port but we had no problem getting a tender boat to shore and back for our independent excursion. 

We had dinner again tonight at the Chef’s Table. Tonight’s menu was Erling’s Scandinavian Bistro. It’s an “adventurous” menu (some unique Norway dishes). but we really enjoyed it! Some great wine pairings too. 
 

Another delightful day!

 

As a Brit/Liverpudlian, I’m really enjoying your daily reports.

Just a comment on Kirkwall - we’ve visited this port on three separate occasions with two different cruise lines and have never tendered. Always docked and then taken the shuttle bus into town.

7 hours ago, SJD117 said:

TUI Cruises acquired and renamed the Celebrity Mercury in 2010.

Which went on to be Mein Schiff 2 and then Mein Schiff Herz and has now moved to Marella and will reappear as Marelle Voyager

53 minutes ago, Hockeyump said:

I think one of the reasons Viking haven't expanded in to mainland Europe is that they are very much an English language company. Customer serving staff are all able to converse in English, to a greater or lesser extent and to introduce a multitude of other languages would have a comsiderable impact.

While they can fill the cabins I can't see them changing their business model.

 

 

Yes, their business model seems to tend towards streamlining or simplification - identical ships filled with English-speaking passengers. Very cost efficient. I’m not saying this is bad, we enjoy the Viking experience.

However, other comparable English-speaking cruise lines (e.g. Oceania, Regent, Seabourn) are marketed in Europe and can be booked either directly or via travel agencies. Even P&O sell their cruises over here 😅. It is quite odd, given the emphasis on everything Norwegian, that Viking neglects to cater for the European continent. Yes, business model…

I don’t mind having to book directly with Viking, so I guess I will have to set up two strands of communication with the US and UK offices so that I can compare prices and conditions.

The lack of response from other Europeans who are interested in sailing with Viking sort of confirms my feeling that we are a tiny minority!

Thanks for all your responses. 
Unfortunately there are no European travel agents, apart from in the UK, that deal with Viking Ocean cruises. Since Brexit, it has become more difficult for us to book in the UK, although it is still possible if we can provide a UK address (I have willing relatives 😁).

I have no experience of booking travel in the US - neither via a travel agent nor directly. The terms and conditions seem to differ from the EU/UK ones.

I was hoping to hear something from other European (non-UK) Viking customers who have the same „dilemma“ and are willing to share their booking experiences here.

Thanks in advance!

We have so far done two Viking Ocean cruises - loved them, even though the second was blighted by Covid. There is unfortunately no possibility of booking a Viking cruise on mainland Europe, so both of these cruises were booked directly with Viking UK, which worked out really well, although we had to book them with flights and then travel via London. Since Brexit however, I no longer have access to the Viking UK website and will need to provide a UK address to book a further cruise there. This is not a problem as I have family there. The UK terms and conditions are similar to the German ones and the cruise prices generally include flights and gratuities.

So, now we would like to book a cruise for December this year and I’m unsure whether to book in the UK or the US!?

I would be really grateful if any fellow Viking cruisers from mainland Europe could let me know where and how they have managed their bookings. Any insights or advice would be very much appreciated!

Nyhavn, where the canal boat tours start, is also on Kongens Nytorv.

28 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

At Spring tides, the River Mersey has a tidal range of up to 33 ft.

When we were kids we loved running up and down the „tunnels“ to the floating landing stages at the Pier Head when we were taking the ferry across the Mersey. I know, it sounds corny, but I’m old enough to have lived through a time before everything became touristified.

Have a wonderful cruise everyone!

Well this is what I just found „The tides today are 8.3 m, 2.2 m, 8.0 m and 2.6 m. The maximum high tide recorded is 10.3 m.“

If you visit beaches close to Liverpool, the sea may be so far out that you don’t actually see it.

Which reminds me - there is a very interesting, atmospheric sculpture on Crosby beach, just north of Liverpool, called Another Place https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Place_(sculpture). 100 cast iron figures looking out to sea. Depending on the tide, you may be able to see the complete figures or just their heads.

41 minutes ago, PRH said:

The ship docks right near the old city—adjacent to the Engineers & Titanic memorial.  The yellow “tunnel” cover is where you go up to the port—taken from our cabin.

Perfect picture to illustrate why I suggested in my message (#119) above that a good meeting place would be the Museum of Liverpool - it’s that modern white/dark glass building that you can see almost in the middle of the picture. Just a hop, skip and a jump from the ship.
Following the waterfront you can see some red brick buildings. That’s the Albert Dock where there are a number of car parking possibilities.

By the way, the walkway (yellow tunnel) can get incredibly steep at low tide. When we were there last summer there was transport provided for passengers who didn’t fancy the walk.