philw1776

Never. Many extensions.

Viking Ocean has no sails

I draw a firm line at Canada Geese

My thoughts.
Sometimes I have a dry cough. I should do the cough into elbow thing and do so but were I to have a senior moment and forget, I suggest that a concerned passenger catch my eye and mime coughing into elbow with a smile. I should return the gesture with a smile and thumbs up.

It's also easy onboard to leave the table if you have a coughing fit, say from swallowing the wrong way, and go outside, cough up a lung and return when back to normal.

Perhaps it was Miss Piggy using one of the stalls?

Pre COVID was on Silversea pre-cruise Denali. No matter what we did a couple constantly nose blowing somehow sat behind or in front of us every day. No room to move. Another woman destroyed the bus bathroom every day. Had to make pit stops so driver & guide could clean the bus bathroom. On the train trip to the ship she destroyed the train bathroom.  

Point being we finally arrive at ship, late. In a line checking in. Of course we are verbally asked and required to sign a form saying we don't have a cold, diarrhea,, etc. and of course we're across from these folks who said "No problems."  Thankfully the ship was big enough 630 passengers to avoid them and we did not catch anything. 

Not blaming folks for being sick but apparently few of us are going to admit they're sick boarding a cruise ship.

Sad.  Always had fun telling nearby crew members, "There's a bird trapped in the men's room!"

I took covid vouchers at 25% and made out fine, but due to the risks cited above and other uncontrollable events I would never do so again.

STRAIGHT CASH HOMIE!

No more Covid checks based on my last 4 cruises in both areas

Here's a tip from a veteran Viking cruiser who has sailed Transatlantic with Viking...
Sailing East to West I wear my baseball cap FOREWARD for dinner in the Restaurant.
Sailing West to East I wear my baseball cap BACKWARDS for dinner in the Restaurant.
Hope this helps!

Did not go to Berlin.  Mollie steam RR instead.
Bus on scenic Flam was great fun with the tunnels and underground roundabouts and scenery with waterfalls. However it was a long trip. Not a fan of bus rides but the uniqueness here was great.

LOVED the Flamsbana train ride despite heavy rain.

We be doing the homies cruise again this year. No 2 days in St Petersburg (it is wonderful), no Finland (meh) and no Tallinn (bummer). The changes make it fun but Why no Tallinn?
Photo album from our cruise...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/seacoast_nh/albums/72157682140797852/

Clearly we've never met!

Easy walk

18 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

IMO....anyone who votes for Viking as being better than Seabourn, Silversea or Regent....has never sailed on Seabourn, Silversea or Regent.

 

Viking is a premium line, even though they try to position themselves in the luxury segment.

 

Ready for the slings and arrows.

 

 

I could imagine that Regent & maybe Seabourn could be better but I have sailed on Silversea several times, enjoyed the cruises but prefer Viking. I have made several cruise critic posts comparing the two in detail. I would sail on Silversea again but my 1st choice is Viking.

2 hours ago, shadowlover said:

we are 176 days out and the excursions have been posted to review with all of the times and prices!

170 days out PV cabin no excursions posted. Homelands cruise 1 August.

I had a PV and lost out on excursions because we were a mid 2 week leg on a 6 week cruise. A serious disadvantage IMO. Gonna check with TA on future bookings.

My takes from our cruise last year. Ignore crossouts.

Did Churchills War Museum on our own pre-cruise. Outstanding. Also took 2 hour boat ride on thames, well worth it.

D2: SUN  JUN 25  London                                                                      

TOWER OF LONDON   4H   9AM-1PM  

It was OK but not great. Glad to have seen it.

ROYAL GREENWICH BY FOOT  1.5 HR  2PM-3:30PM

 Missed it but should be worth taking. Love Greenwich

D4: TUE  JUN 27    Edinburgh, Scotland   TENDER                                            

EDINBURGH HIGHLIGHTS  3H  9AM-12AM

Disappointing bus tour. Just get a view of the castle. 

ROYAL YACHT BRITANNIA  2PM   ON OUR OWN

 Long walk on our own in the rain. OUTSTANDING!!!

D5: WED  JUN 28   Orkney Islands, Scotland               TENDER                                           

ORKNEY’S STONE AGE  4H  10AM-2PM   
Into archaeology. Scenic, informative & fun!
Orkney is much prettier than Shetland. Take this tour.

D6: THUR  JUN 29  Shetland Islands, Scotland                              

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE SHETLANDS  4H  9:15AM-1:30PM   

Into archaeology. Scenic, informative & fun!                                           

D9: SUN JULY 2     Honningsvag, Norway

DRIVE TO NORTH CAPE  3.5HR   8:45AM-12:15PM

 Scenic bus ride climbing to the top. Great vistas. Museum at top is OK.

D10: MON  JULY 3  TromsØ, Norway                                                   

PORTALS TO THE ARCTIC   3.5HR  8:30AM-12PM

Great tour. Enjoyed the ride to the mountaintop & views. Arctic museum was fun.  You could just walk to museum on your own from the ship.

WALKING TOUR OF TROMSØ   1.5HR   2:30PM-4PM

Decent. Not great but we enjoyed it. 

D11: TUE  JULY 4   Lofoten, Norway                                                 

LOFOTEN VIKING EXPERIENCE   3.5H   9:15AM-12:45PM    

Fun & interesting re-enactments. Scenic setting. Lofoten is very scenic.                         

PANORAMIC LOFOTEN   2.5HR   2:45PM-5:15PM                 

OK to do. Terrible guide for us. Vistas well worth seeing as you walk outside the bus.

D13: THUR  JULY 6  Geiranger, Norway                                            

KYAKING GEIRANGERFJORD   3H   9AM-12PM

We cancelled because of rain forecast but rain never came.

EAGLE’S BEND OVERLOOK & PANORAMIC DRIVE  3H  1:45PM-4:45PM
Very nice. Interesting stops & superb vistas.  Do not miss this.
Also do not miss the sail in and sail out with myriad waterfalls.

D14: FRI JULY 7   Bergen, Norway                                                                   

FJORDS CRUISE  3.5H  10AM  1:30PM            BOOK ON OUR OWN

We did FUNICULAR on our own. Easy. Great vistas.

Ah, thanks.  For some reason that bottom selection was off screen on my MAC.

1 hour ago, Twitchly said:

This. We found out about a month after booking, many months before sailing. I don’t recall getting an email, but we were using a travel agent and things tended to get lost. Checking My Viking Journey will tell you your room assignment. 

I have 2 cruises booked. On one I have an assigned cabin. On the other GTY. I cannot find my cabin # on MVJ even on my one that was assigned on booking.

My updated invoice shows the earlier excursion selection date but the specialty restaurant booking date remains as originally stated, much later. Hope it's so. Hate having to check every day or missing and no Manfredi's before 8:30PM.

Any word on changes to specialty restaurant bookings? Last 2 week cruise despite being in a PV we could not get any bookings before 8:30PM, even when onboard. Complained to desk at Chef's Table at dinnertime and they said they'd squeeze us in and they did. Place was full. Manfredi's was a no go for us.

14 hours ago, Frenchberet said:

We will be traveling there soon… I give up, why did you bring the salmon?  Snack or did you need it to feed something?  

Did not know that these homes were now available. Ephesus along with Pompeii is a top favorite for me. Gotta go again. Will bring along lots of left over salmon from breakfast. Those who've been there know why.

Watch out for any tours that end at rug merchants. Do not enter the building.

Viking used to dock at Chalon-sur-Saone for their Southern France cruises. Instead for the last several years they dock in Lyon spending several days dockside stationary instead of river cruising. The cruise from Chalon-sur-Saone to Lyon was wonderful and docking there meant WAY less bus time than from Lyon to and fro from Beaune and the vineyards. I believe that other cruise lines, e.g. Uniworld do dock at Chalon-sur-Saone.  Admittedly it is an industrialized un-attractive port  but the single night there on boarding day with Beaune & vineyard tours the following morning minimizes time there and provides much quicker tour access plus a nice river cruise experience to Lyon.