OnVacationNow

On 10/29/2019 at 5:03 AM, Cyber Kat said:

We are also doing Trade Routes 9/15/2020. Have you joined us in the roll call?  I’m really looking forward to this cruise - such a great itinerary! We are also doing the pre cruise in Oslo and the post cruise in Madrid. 

Haven’t joined the roll call yet...but we will!   

We are on the Sept 15 sailing next year.  We are doing the 2 day pre extension (Oslo and Bergen rail) and staying an extra 2 days in Barcelona at the end.  Spent 2 days in Bruges on a pre extension of our Rhine Getaway River cruise in 2015.  Absolutely love that charming town, but this time we’re thinking of visiting Ghent.  We were late getting into Amsterdam to start our river cruise, so there are many things I’m hoping to see there this time around.  Spent time in London and Paris many years ago (saw Stonehenge when you could still walk right up and touch the rocks!), so based on what I’ve read so far, thinking maybe Winchester Cathedral and either Normandy or Monet Gardens.  Sounds like Falmouth is an often missed port.  I’m hoping the weather holds and we can take a private excursion to visit Port Issac (location of the Doc Martin tv series).  Every time I’ve watched that show I’ve wished I could see that place in person, ...so here’s my chance!  

 This will be our 2nd Viking ocean cruise (coming up in September 2020).  With the exception of Bruges, all of the ports will be new for us.  Would love to hear from anyone who’s done Trade Routes...what were your favorite excursions (included or not), recommendations, etc.?

Thanks for the replies..I had a feeling we wouldn’t know much know until we are on the ship.  And thanks for the photos of the schedule...definitely gives us an idea of what to expect.   So excited now that our cruise is just 3 months away! 

I’ve read a couple threads discussing VO entertainment but haven’t found any info about the schedule for ABBA or Beatles shows, which night includes a movie under the stars, etc.   Our 10 day Mediterranean cruise is coming up in April and it’s almost time to book excursions and dinner reservations.  I’d love to know in advance what the nightly entertainment is —is there a way to find that out?

We did the optional Acropolis and Plaka Walking tour with Viking in spring of 2017, which does include the visit to the Acropolis. I wish I could recall the price for sure, but I believe it was between $49 and $79. We only did a few optional excursions. One was expensive (an all day outing to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle at $179) but the others were less than $79.

We are considering this Viking optional tour in Koper....what did you think of it? Worth the $s? And thanks to everyone for your posts on Empires of the Med excursions! So helpful as we plan our trip for next April.

Loving all the comments re: excursions...very helpful! I’m making lots of notes so I’ll know what to try for when it’s finally time to book (we are Empires Athens-Venice next April, with a few extra days in Venice). Any suggestions re: Athens? We are arriving the day of the cruise and will only have that next full day in Athens, so trying to decide what’s our best option(s). Also...did you do many of the included excursions? Looking forward to the review..and to any/all comments from others who’ve recently been on the Star for this itinerary!

We are Athens-Venice in April 2019. It will be our first ocean cruise (we did Viking River Cruise a couple years ago). Looking forward to your review...especially interested in excursion experiences!

We are going next Spring, too — Venice to Athens!! Anxious to read more about recent experiences of the included excursions, etc. Also, any info on the pre or post stays using Viking...what did you think?