loriva

21 hours ago, SempreMare said:

@loriva thought you might be interested.

( @Azulann our cruise had to skip Gdańsk and this amazing excursion because of weather / too much wind to make pulling up to the port safe.  Thanks for your posts and photos!) 

Thanks, @SempreMare, for pointing out @Azulann's wonderful live report.  Brings back memories.  Also, sadness that we missed Gdansk--same shorex booked.  We had the same experience with our CC.com M&G--no response to my email--but never had any contact with the GM.  Loved Assistant CD Francesca--great voice.

We did not have Aarhus on our cruise itinerary, but my sister and I visited it on our Danish Heritage tour after the cruise (after we sent the husbands home).  Driving around Denmark visiting areas where our family lived with the genealogist/guide was a magical experience.  Har det godt for the rest of your travels, @Azulann!

12 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

The $75 will apply.  But what you need to do is contact them with your itinerary's, they suggest 3 acceptable, and see what they can do.  They'll offer one with no upcharge if available, or with an upcharge if necessary.  I haven't done it on the new system yet, but we deviated for our upcoming cruise a few months ago and I gave them my requested flights and got my first choice with an acceptable upcharge and my first choice home with no upcharge.  Last year we were in the process of working flights and I could only get my choice home.  But going they gave me alternatives.  Not sure how that works with them now with the $75 charge.  But here's their guidance: 

https://www.rssc.com/frequently-asked-questions/flight-information

Thanks for the summary of the new procedure.  That was not my question, however.  On these boards, people have suggested calling Regent a week or so in advance of the 210-day mark  to get the names of the carriers with whom Regent has contracts for a particular route.  Then with that information in hand you can prepare itineraries you find acceptable for the call at the 210-day mark.  It was that first call--not actual booking--on which I had the question of the $75 charge.  I've also asked the question on the flight deviation thread, perhaps a more-appropriate place for the query.

Should have thought to ask this question when I called about seat reservations, but I did not.

Does anyone know if you can still call the Regent Air Concierge to obtain the carriers with whom Regent has contract rates for a particular route or routes?  Or does the $75/pp charge apply even to that?

Will give it a try next week and report back my experience.

10 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

Regent doesn't have contract rates on that particular flight.

Does anyone know if you can still call the Regent Air Concierge to obtain the carriers with whom Regent has contract rates for a particular route or routes?  Or does the $75/pp charge apply even to that?

The Regent Air Concierge also told me yesterday that they make seat reservations when they book your flight.  Mine did not show up on the itinerary they sent me (or my TA) so I had to call to get them.  They do not ticket the flight until 60 days out, however, so you might not be able to access your reservation to change seats, etc. until after that date.  This does seem to vary, however.  I was able to access our reservation on British Airways for a flight last September but cannot access the current reservation on Lufthansa--it pops up a message that "this reservation requires payment."  So, you might want to have the seats you desire in hand on your preferred flight options when you (or your TA) call/s the Air Concierge at the 210-day mark.

1 hour ago, flossie009 said:

When I enter Dublin (Dún Laoghaire) as a port of call into the "Find a Cruise" section of the Regent website, it returns 25 possible cruises (https://www.rssc.com/cruises?p=DLG)

 

 

Dublin Port website still lists a number of cruise ships berthing, but no Regent ships 🤔 

 

Interesting!  The OP specifically mentioned booking shorex for a cruise in June 2024 that includes Dublin/Dun Laoghaire.  But the Regent website does not list Dublin (nor any port in Ireland) as among its destinations.  But there is it on 16 June 2024 in the Splendor cruise itinerary!  Weird.

1 hour ago, kjbacon said:

Thanks, Lori! From what I’m reading, you may have been among the last to get to Dublin. That’s a port that I would have liked to visit.

Had not heard Regent dropped Dublin.  The OP mentions stopping in Dun Laoghaire, which is where we anchored and tendered in for Dublin.  DL is a suburb of Dublin.

I remember reading that cruise ships used to be allowed to go down the Liffey River and dock right in Dublin.  That may be what you are thinking.

Hey Karen,

Our itinerary was called "Breathtaking Irish Landscapes" (love the creativity of Regent's marketing department in coming up with names for all its sailing).  Here was our itinerary:

Date    Port of Call    Arrival    Departure
09/17/2022    Southampton –  06:00 PM
09/18/2022    Cruising
09/19/2022    Edinburgh/Newhaven – tender –  08:00 AM    06:00 PM
09/20/2022    Invergordon    09:00 AM    07:00 PM
09/21/2022    Kirkwall –  07:00 AM    05:00 PM
09/22/2022    Ullapool – tender –  07:00 AM    04:00 PM
09/23/2022    Killybegs –  10:00 AM    08:00 PM
09/24/2022    Belfast    10:00 AM    10:00 PM
09/25/2022    Dublin/ Dún Loaghaire – tender -- 07:00 AM    10:00 PM
09/26/2022    Holyhead    08:00 AM    06:00 PM
09/27/2022    Waterford/Ireland -- tender    07:00 AM    05:00 PM
09/28/2022    Portland/Weymouth     12:00 PM    10:00 PM
09/29/2022    Southampton    07:00 AM    --

We missed Edinburgh as the port was closed for the Queen's funeral.  Instead, the Splendor sailed across the English Channel to La Havre for the day--not ideal as it was a Sunday and most things were closed.  Then we had a sea day as we sailed to Invergordon.
 

12 hours ago, snorkle lover said:

Hi Loriva,

 

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to go into all the details of your British Isles cruise. Honestly, now we are wondering if this cruise is really for us. We were on the Splendor in May from Barcelona to London and the bus rides were really starting to get old. I hope I won't get booted off this forum but another option we were considering was  river cruise in Europe ( have done two Danube and Rhine). Since it was a while ago I forget if there were a few ports where we could just walk off the ship. Decisions, decisions and yes a real first world problem :).

Lots of choices in vacation experiences.  We have done both river cruises (Danube, Rhine, and Elbe and planning upper Danube and Douro) and ocean (lots of different cruise lines).  With the increasing popularity of river cruises, it is not a guarantee you'll be able to walk immediately off the ship into town--we've also had to shuttle in some ports (Strasbourg on the Rhine, for example).  Cabins are also much-more cozy and there are fewer choices of food, wine, and entertainment on the much-smaller river ships.  Great information on the river boards on CC.com if you are not already following them.

We had a wonderful time on our BI cruise with Regent.  Part of it is simply the Regent experience--lovely large cabins, great service, lots of fun craft cocktails in the Meridian Lounge, tasty food, etc..  Having had some longish bus rides on our BI cruise, I made sure to do my research prior to the date we could reserve our shorex for our upcoming Med cruise on Splendor.  If we really wanted to go somewhere, we signed up for it regardless of the distance from the port.  For a port like Dubrovnik, we opted to stay close to experience the town itself.  Private or DIY is also an option, although having paid for shorex in Regent's fare, I like to select at least one--even if just a hop-on, hop-off bus ticket.  It's all your choice as long as you do the research to make informed decisions.

Take care,

8 hours ago, snorkle lover said:

Looking for some help on choosing excursions for BI cruise next year. To anybody who has taken this cruise( London to London) were there any particular excursions that you would highly recommend. The ports are ( Newcastle, Edinburgh, Ivergordon, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Dun Laoghaire Ireland, Belfast, Isle Of Man,

Ringaskiddy and Portland. No are not fond of long bus rides unless the excursion is really outstanding. We need to reserve this weekend and hoping for some advice. Thanks so much!

Many--most--of the excursions on the BI itineraries seem to involve long bus rides with just a little time on site.  There are simply long distances between where the ship can dock and the sites.  Invergordon to Lochness was a prime example.  If there is something you're really interested in do a search on Google Maps for the distances involved.

We did not have the exact itinerary as you on our circumnavigation of the British Isles last September on Splendor, but here's what we did on the common ports:

    --Newcastle -- not on our itinerary

     --Edinburgh -- Missed due to the port being closed for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II

     --Invergordon -- Lochness and Urquhart Castle -- long bus ride, scenic but long

    --Kirkwall -- NORTH ORKNEY EXPLORATION -- Standing Stones interesting, scenic, but long bus ride

     --Stornoway -- not on our itinerary

     --Dun Laoghaire is the port for Dublin -- We did the Guiness Experience, then spent the rest of the day on our own going to Temple Bar, a cruise on the Liffey River, and visiting a historic pub.  We took the commuter train (DART) from the Dublin Connolly stop back to the port.  (IHalf of the ship's staff and crew were on our train--very easy to do.)

     --Belfast -- We booked the pubs tour (don't waste the money on the small group version--they were seated right next to us in the same pubs).  On board we also obtained tickets for the Hop-on, Hop-off bus and used it to visit the Titanic Museum and then completed the circuit of the ccity, We had lunch at the St. George's market and then used the Regent-provided shuttle from City Hall to make our pub tour time.

     --Isle Of Man -- not on our itinerary

     --Ringaskiddy -- not on our itinerary

     --Portland -- We had booked the CORFE CASTLE & SCENIC DRIVE but cancelled it after the long bus rides we'd had in other ports (some of which are not on your itinerary).  We took the Regent shuttle into Weymouth, walked around the beach, went to Marks and Spenser for our fix of British foods, and had lunch in a pub.

The best excursion on our sailing was in a port not on your itinerary--Killybegs, Ireland.  It was a long drive to reach the farm with the sheep dog demonstration, but the dogs were so cute--and it was fun seeing the handler put them through their paces.  We also stopped for tea and scones in a historic pub on the way back to the ship.

Hope this helps.

DH and I have sailed with Regent twice (Explorer and Splendor) and Oceania (Riviera) once.  All three were post-COVID.  (Previous cruises were mass-market lines.)

I'd throw in my two cents that the itinerary really matters on which cruise line we might prefer.  We did a Caribbean itinerary for our first Regent cruise on Explorer in Dec 2021-Jan 2022 as well as our Oceania cruise (February 2023).  Both sailed out of Terminal J in Miami, so we drove to each cruise--airfare not a factor.  Since we had been to most of the ports previously, the shorex was not a big factor either.  The included excursions on Regent were so-so--sometimes big buses and long drives.  We booked our own on Oceania and enjoyed them.  The Concierge-level suites on Regent were much larger than Oceania--415 sq. ft. versus 291--but I find the design and layout of both more than sufficient to our needs.  The specialty dining on both (included in the fare on both) is very similar in my view--a steakhouse, an Italian, a French, and a pan-Pacific.  (And the La Reserve experience on Oceania (an extra cost) was superb.)  I found the experience much the same on both lines--although I did prefer Jacques to Chartreuse.  I also give higher marks to the Terrace on Oceania--the choice at the grill is wonderful.  We found service on both lines comparable--always friendly and professional.  So on a Caribbean itinerary--where excursions were not really a factor--I'd say I preferred Oceania.  (Price overall could not be a point of comparison between the two cruises as the Regent cruise was a "Hail Mary" after having three cruises with Regent cancelled due to COVID and having to find something to sail on to use our FCCs and the Oceania cruise was a Florida-residents special, so a very good price.)

Our second Regent sailing was a British Isles itinerary.  While I don't have an Oceania for direct comparison, I'd probably give Regent the nod on this one due to the included international Business air and ease of selecting shorex for the different ports (although I learned to check how far the sites to be visited are from where the ship docks).  (On the included airfare, we could have probably gotten home earlier and with fewer self-paid hotel nights if we had booked independently.  We had to wait three days until Regent had contracted seats with British Airways after Hurricane Nicole prevented our originally scheduled return to Florida.)

We also just completed our first ocean voyage with Viking (the Homelands itinerary) and liked them very much for the ship, accommodations, food (not so much the included wine--but they have a very liberal BYOB policy), service, and excursions.  They'll also be in our calculations going forward.  I'm keeping a spreadsheet to compare costs and experiences, initially with the idea of selecting a new preferred line.  At this point, however, we'll probably just keep with the idea of itinerary first--then finding one of our preferred lines that best suits our timing.  It's nice to have choices even though I think we'll also start cutting back on cruising given the huge price increases we're seeing for 2024 and beyond--double in some cases.

18 hours ago, Azulann said:

Looks like the weather  on the Baltic Sea is not being very cooperative on this sailing. 

Thank you for posting the missed ports and the extra days in other ports. 

I will go into upcoming   cruise "Scenic  Scandinavia"  June 12-22 with an open mind.

I pray we get three stops in Denmark ending in Copenhagen. 🙏

What didi you do in Copenhagen? 

If you have time  could  you   post who the Cruise Director and General Manger is , if you get a chance? 

 I will email them about a meet and mingle in a couple of weeks. 

Enjoy your cruise till the end! 

@AzulannThe CD is Richard Green and the GM is Daciano da Silva.

When I heard about Viking doing Meet and Mingles again, I sent an email to the ship directed to the CD and GM.  It was only 72 hours before our embarkation as the thread on this did not come up until it was almost time for our sailing.  Sadly, I received no response.  Hope your luck is better.

We did the included walking tour in Copenhagen in the morning and the trip to Roskilde for the Viking Ship Museum and Cathedral in the afternoon.  A long day, but both interesting--even for someone who had been to the sites previously (albeit over four decades ago!)

Aalborg also turned out to be excellent and a charming small city.  There was a wonderful brewpub (Sogaards) and found out the beer-tasting excursion Viking offers is offered by the pubs themselves.  It is called the "Beer Walk" and you buy a tasting glass at one pub (Sogaards being one) and then you get vouchers for beers there and at other bars.  It cost DKK 159 (U.S. $23ish) to Viking's $109.  Aalborg is easy to walk around, no guide needed.  Also, Aalborg has the Danish Emigration Archives that has historical documents for Danes who emigrated from Denmark in the late 1800s/early 1900s).  The staff were very nice, but sadly, could not find records on my family (although I had names, birthdates and places, and the year they left Denmark).  But if records do not exist, they cannot be found.

2 hours ago, SempreMare said:

FYI @loriva

that color means “30” knots?

 

note where Aalborg is - middle - vs 

Oslo - top - 

 

thats a lot of time in orange

:: sniff ::

 

on the good, a 16 hour fast ( now - 7 am)

begins to induce autophagy 🧐

Captain Larsen mentioned "gale-force winds" in his announcement prior to departing Aalborg.  The technical definition of that is an "8" on the Beaufort Wind Force scale or 37 kt/43 mph/68 km/h.  I guess we see why he substituted Aalborg for our scheduled Skagen.  (Which is ironic as Aalborg was the port of call on our original itinerary--Viking switched it to Skagen last August.)

Also onboard the Jupiter.

At noon, the captain (Thomas Larsen) announced we would also be skipping Bornholm (Ronne) due to the high winds.  He decided to sail directly to Warnemunde instead of having a third sea day in a row.  We were estimated to arrive at 0900 hours, but the CD (Richard Green, who was confined to his cabin "under the weather" for the start of the cruise) just announced it would be around 0930 hours as we need to wait for another ship to clear our scheduled berth.  We will overnight here.

The excursions team did not lay on any extra excursions for our extra day.  There is a shuttle that will run from the Warnemunde Cruise Terminal to St. Mary's Church (Marienkirken) at Lange Strasse approximately every 20 minutes.  There is also an offer for a free beer at Restaurant Hopfenkeller from 1200-1700 hours.  Not sure if that is every time a Viking ship is in port, or just today.

Just checking the mattress in our stateroom on the Jupiter...

The mattress itself appears to have a top layer of foam--rubber or something similar.  We also have a nice, thick mattress pad.  We did not ask for an extra topper--it is just as a comes.  I'd also rate it as firm, but not hard.  We've had no issues with the comfort.

10 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Wonder if it is just Jupiter or will be rolled out to the other ships and if so, when?  Obviously they need to get performers, etc...  (or have current ones practice new things)

The staff talked as if it were to be shipwide.  They also said rehearsals for the new shows had begun.

An update to my original post from staff on Jupiter:

     --The ABBA Songbook will be folded into a show on the pool deck--a show to allow people to get up and dance.

    --The Beatles show folds into a classic rock show--50s, 60s, and 70s; Stones, Fleetwood Mac, others.

     --There will be a new show, Southern Sounds, which is country western.

     --A second new show will be show tunes--more of a traditional production show onboard cruises.

Variety shows and guest entertainers will also continue.

They announced on Jupiter that the ABBA Songbook is about to be removed from the Viking entertainment program.  No word on what new is coming up.  Will post if they make a similar announcement on The Beatles show.

A quick note from the Viking Jupiter.  Sweden has gone largely cash-free--even buying a pack of gum from a kiosk is done using a contactless credit card.  So if you do wish to tip the guide and drivers in Swedish kroner, get the smallest amount possible.

(And an off-topic item:  The public transit system in Stockholm also now uses contactless credit cards for its ticketing.  You don't buy a ticket but just present your CC at the turnstile or machine on the bus.  If you are over 67 years old, you can go to the SL website and register your CC and obtain the senior fare.  Incredibly easy!)

@SempreMare -- I bought that same brand of oatcakes last September on a British Isles circumnavigation with another cruise line.  I did like them.  But will be in Seattle in July, so you'll need to share the name of the bakery when we see each other next week onboard the Jupiter!  Enjoy Stockholm!!

On 4/22/2022 at 11:10 AM, TayanaLorna said:

Does anyone know why the Jupiter, Orion and Venus Panomax cameras are not updating to current time and location?  I used to enjoy watching them especially when they were in places i want to visit.  The url I am using is viking.panomax.com/ then i enter name of ship.

Thanks for this info!  It worked for me (on Google Chrome).  The Jupiter looks like it has beautiful weather today for its trip toward Stockholm (where we board on Monday!)

On 4/26/2023 at 5:14 PM, sabrefan said:

Going on a Vikings Homeland cruise in June and was wondering what currency others used for tips? A friend of mine did this cruise last year and used U.S. funds for excursion tips but I don’t know how easy it is for tour guides to exchange U.S. $ into their local currency. Appreciate getting the opinions of others on this board.

We leave on the Viking Homelands cruise on Monday.  My financial institution reimburses our ATM fees, so I always get a small amount of local currency wherever we land.  (Pre-COVID, many small vendors and cafes did not accept credit cards, which also made having a small amount of "walking around" money useful.)  Your bank or credit union may do the same and local currency (in a free-market economy) is always preferable.

3 hours ago, Ray4Fun said:

Thank you... Oh the phone must be unlocked? Or locked phone is OK, As in an iPhone 13 and above I am asking to. 

The phone must be unlocked.

24 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

P.S., how was the British Isle cruise and what can’t miss excursions did you choose? How was the weather?

We had a wonderful time overall.  The weather largely cooperated--chilly sometimes, but only rained a few times (Waterford had lots of rain and we had one port call cancelled due to high winds).

We missed our scheduled initial port of Edinburgh as that was the day of the Queen's funeral.  Went to Le Havre, France, instead--which was largely a bust since it was Sunday and most everything was closed.  In Invergordon, we did Lochness and Urquhart Castle--the latter was interesting and also had a nice little cafe and gift shop.  In Kirkwall, we did the Archeological Wonders--the Ring of Brodgar and the Standing Stones of Stenness--plus some nice scenery looking out over the sea.  In Ullapool, we did the West Highlands Drive and wandered around the town--they have a gin distillery (Seven Crofts) and went into the factory shop.  There was also a very well-known fish and chips place there where the lines were insane.  My favorite shorex was in Killybegs--the sheepdog demonstration with a stop at a pub for tea afterwards.  The scenery en route looks like the Ireland of your imagination.  I also walked around the town--there was a nice store selling items from local artisans on Main Street.  Killybegs also had the huge wind turbine blades in port waiting shipment--they are amazing.  In Belfast we used the Hop On-Hop Off bus in the morning to visit the Titanic Museum and then circle around the city.  Regent had a shuttle bus at City Hall, so we used it to go back to the ship after our lunch at the St. George's Market to be ready for the pub tour.  (We did the regular versus the small group--and sat right next to the small group in the pubs.  Not worth the extra cost, IMO.)  We definitely want to go back to Belfast.  In Dublin, we took the first departure of the Guiness tour, then walked from there to Temple Bar and along the River Liffey where we took a bost cruise (booked independently).  Finally, we had a drink in a historic pub and then caught the commuter train from Pearse to Dun Laoghaire, where the ship was docked--an easy trip.  Our port call at Holyhead was cancelled due to high winds.  I took the walking tour in Waterford; DH did the Countryside Drive and Irish Pub--both were enjoyable.  In Portland, we cancelled our booked Corfe Castle and Scenic Drive excursion and took the shuttle from port into town and just walked around.

We learned a valuable lesson on that cruise--use Google Maps to see how far the site to be visited is from the port.  Since we just picked from a list rather than planning excursions ourselves, it was easy to overlook this.  Too many of our excursions ended up being more time sitting on a bus getting there than being there.  There was beautiful scenery en route on many, but some ended up being the guide saying "if it was clear, you could see X on the left."  That was why we ended up cancelling the shorex in Portland--couldn't take another long bus ride.