DrKoob

I doubt it. It is showing we are the only ship there that day but can Monte Carlo's small dock handle a ship as big as a Viking Ocean vessel?

I know, but sometimes they take so long and you have to wait a while to get on one.

Thanks for that tip. Never even noticed that. And thrilled that our upcoming 21-day Med cruise only has one tender port—Monte Carlo.

I would do that in a minute! Although Inverness is also an awesome place. But the Tattoo is amazing. Here's some pics from a few years back when we went.

When you type a reply to the thread, look for the line with a paper clip just below where you type. If you click on Choose Files you can choose the photos you want to post. Or you can do what I do and just drag them on the page like I am going to do with this post.

Or we could do the sunset in Cannon Beach, Oregon or the sunrise in Curacao.

Great sunsets. I usually do sunrises. Top is Aruba, bottom Mount Rainier.

I am 100% with you on Dungeness.

Linda, Go try the octopus or squid at Tom Douglas' Lola downtown. So very good.

Sorry, I just can't resist this but what is the fascination with lobster. Every time I have ever had it, it's the butter that I taste. The texture is the same as crab. Give me octopus or squid every time. Reminds me of escargot—I love it, but for the garlic butter sauce. 😀

Most cruise lines charge more for midships and middle decks for a number of reasons including this is the best place to avoid sea sickeness, a nice place to go both up and down on a ship (really important on a MEGA ship), not above or a below a public area that might be NOISY.

We were there in August and had no problems at all tendering in there or in Edinburgh for the Tattoo.

While your second statement is true, the first one may have been true for you but not for many. We are on a 21 day Viking Ocean from Athens to BCN in September. We booked it in early 2020. As past Viking guests we paid for the entire cruise six months in advance (March 2022). But our friends who had never saiiled on Viking had to pay their entire fare on December 31 of 2020. That's more than a year in advance, that's almost two years. We told them they could wait and book later but we were glad they didn't because by September 2021, the cruise was sold out.

Amen to that sir! I use my Chase Saphirre as our travel insurance and for flights so that certainly makes up for the 3% I could have saved.

Do you know why Viking has these policies? Because they can. As someone who deals with and has salied on numerous other cruise lines I can tell you that their ships almost always sell out WAY IN ADVANCE. And once sold, they almost never have cancellations. So if you want to go, you pay early and you use whatever method of payment you choose. If not, you can go elsewhere but most Viking cruisers never do. Jim

Pretty much every other cruise line paid travel agents for both the cancelled cruise and the rebooked cruise (it takes/took time to book both of them). Viking is the only one of the major cruise lines that did not.

From someone who has been to Alaska eight times, this is a no-brainer—neither one. I would take Konigsdam from Vancouver. Two reasons I would skip Euro and Wester. First, Konigsdam is a Pinnacle Class and that's one of the best ships we have ever sailed on. They have everything. Can't wait to sail any of them again. But most importantly, sail out of Vancouver. Here's why: Sailing from Vancouver You get the Canadian Inside Passage. This is a glorious area you sail through on the way to Alaska. Forests full of flora and fauna as well as many Canadian villages will glide by just off the sides of your ship. The waters of the Canadian Inside Passage are smooth as a lake. You won’t feel a thing as you sail to and from Vancouver’s port. When you sail from Vancouver, you don’t have to stop in a Canadian port when you return so you get much more time in the Alaskan ports. Which is why you went on the cruise in the first place. When you sail from Vancouver, the cruise is all about Alaska. The ships are usually slightly smaller and the itineraries are more about our 49th state. Airfares directly to Vancouver can be more expensive than flying to Seattle but you can fly to SEA and take a coach or a train to board a cruise in Vancouver. Sailing from Seattle If you sail out of Seattle, you turn left at Vancouver Island and sail out into the Pacific Ocean. All you see for an entire day is the ocean and Vancouver Island off in the distance. Because you are out in the Pacific for two full days, there is more chance of motion sickness. When you sail from Seattle due to the PVSA Act (a USA law that says a foreign-flagged cruise ship can’t move passengers from one US port directly to another) you have to stop on the evening of your last day in Victoria, BC. Not really enough time to do anything as you don’t usually arrive until around 6:00 pm. Plus you spend the day at sea. You also lose time in the Alaskan ports. When you sail from Seattle, the cruise is all about the cruise. The ships are larger and often have all the cool, new stuff like go-carts, bumper cars, etc. Airfare is usually less expensive going to Seattle from inside the USA. Hope this helps you decide. The only time we ever sail out of Seattle (on our eight trips) is when we take our kids/grandkids. The ships that leave from Seattle have all the kid stuff. But if you want to see Alaska, go from Vancouver. So even though you are asking about two ships out of Seattle, skip them both and go north. Just an alternative for you.

I toyed with idea of doing the bank transfer and saving the 3.3% but to be honest, the credit card I put them on (Chase Sapphire Reserve) pays me 3X points for anything I book with travel so the 3.3% I would have paid almost paid for our air to Europe. Plus if I use that credit card, I then have a full travel insurance coverage on the entire trip at no additional cost.

I honestly don't know if it makes a difference. We are just off a Millennium Pacific Coastal yesterday. Started off on the "free/included" internet which is SURF only. Here's my speed: Was totally useless. Couldn't see attachments in e-mails for 5-10 minutes. Regular websites would not show photos, just text. So I went down and had him switch me over to our "Elite Plus" 240 minutes which he told me was "STREAM." Here's what I got then: When we pulled into San Francisco, I put my Mac onto my iPhone's hotspot and I got this: OFF MY PHONE! So I went back down to complain. Guy tells me this: "Yes, sir. I know it is slow. The problem is that Celebrity gave away free WiFi to everyone but did not increase the bandwidth to the ship so everyone is SLOW! OMG! Seriously. I can not speak to other ships or circumstances but I can to this. I also know that a number of people who needed to fly home from Vancouver into the USA could not do their e-Med tests onboard. They had to wait until they were off the ship and do them in the terminal before they could fly back into the USA. Jim