Sunflower & The Scientist

We were responding at the same time with the same thought....expedition ships have done an exceptional job with food in the WC.

Octantis has an amazing selection of wonderful breads fresh out of the oven, at their little bakery section. I am sure you could find what you'd like there, and if you didn't I would guess the baker would make sure you got a crusty crust on your bread.

I don't disagree with that....

We are doing our first river, and I was wondering about that. We have gotten up and moved in the World Cafe when people have been coughing (no covering of their mouth of course) at a table next to us. On river cruises we will kind of be stuck I'm guessing. On our last cruise I could not believe how rude people were coughing with uncovered mouths right next to people. On one excursion at each stop people moved to either the front or back of the bus to get away from one woman who was coughing up a lung the whole time. By the end she was sitting with all vacant seats around her.

I think that many excursions are very dependent on who the tour guide is, so in some cases it would make a rating system a bit difficult. I've been on tours that weren't good at all, but talked to others who had an excellent tour guide and the excursion was great. We had a tour guide on BIE last summer that said she was hung over from the night before and she basically dumped us at a little library. I'm sure other guides would have had much better reviews.

Not always true. There are often people wanting excursions that are sold out. We have gone to the place where a specific excursion is meeting and asked if there is anyone wanting to cancel. It has worked very well for us and the person wanting to cancel. Also, sometimes there are waiting list so cancelling is not a problem.

We have never heard a sales pitch. In fact, we love Viking because we haven't heard sales pitches anywhere onboard unless we've asked for the information. We love port talks but always listen to them on the TV as it's easier and more convenient. They really give a clearer picture of what the port is going to include and how to structure our day.

We were on New Zealand and Australia in very hot weather and I wore a sweatshirt in the living room and World Cafe. I am always cold. My husband found the temps to be quite acceptable. On all our other cruises I've gone prepared with warm clothes but not had to wear them as the temps were not overly cool, in my opinion.

We'd be right behind you! I'm so thankful for this review. This sounds like our worst nightmare.

We did this as well and can't say enough good things about our experience. Arriving at 7:30 AM and expecting have to leave our luggage and come back and check in later, they surprised us by letting us in our room where we were able to take showers and rest for a few minutes before heading out to explore. We were there on Dec. 31 as well. It was crowded for the holiday. For us Waiheke Island was not a good experience as it was over crowded, but we really enjoyed Auckland.

I think this is a great thing for Viking to do. We've had two experiences where people over estimated their abilities and it caused issues. My husband is very athletic and was on a Viking kayak excursion. The kayaks were two person kayaks and a woman was put in his kayak that had never kayaked and should not have been attempting to do the excursion. The waters were rough and he had to do all the work for two people and worry about her not causing any safety issues. It was very unpleasant for him. On another cruise line excursion where we both were snorkeling, an elderly frail woman had snorkeling on her bucket list, which was totally unrealistic. The guys running the excursion were very kind to her and basically carried her for a while, but then had to take her back to shore which messed things up for the rest of us. I don't think our experiences were the norm. Most people recognize what their abilities are. Some "demanding" excursions might not be demanding, but there are those that are!

I think there are a lot of us booking while our TAs are out until the 2nd! We got a good deal...she kept giving us discounts for this and that. We spent the last 24 hours going round and round on which cruise to book and it came down to two by last night. We booked Canada New England Scenic Shores this afternoon. I'm not sure if we'll get the OBC from our TA since she did not book it, but we saved enough to make us happy. We've got a Rhine river cruise coming up in May, and in 2025 we are on for Italy.

We aren't typically last minute people, but we decided to do the $25 holiday sale which ends in two day. We always book through our TA. But we realize she will be out for the next two day. I thought I have seen people say that they booked through Viking and then switched it to their TA. I'm just interested to hear from someone who has done that successfully.

I'm really interested since you actually saw what goes on in the laundry area, how things are done. You mention they sort into different fabric types, and I'm sure temps and colors, but then what happens? Do they put your clothes into an individual bag and throw it in with everyone else's bags in large washers and dryers? Can you tell us more.....thanks!

Wow....that is really concerning information. As Longterm stated, I would not have stopped at no. I would have taken it up with a higher authority. I can't imagine that they do not have a system for storing those medications since there is not a way to do that in staterooms. Yes, liability and all of that, but there are ways a medical facility can handle those issues as long as the medication is legal and properly documented.

We are going to be doing our first river in May. One of the reasons we have not done one sooner is because we didn't relish the dining situation. I am wondering if after a few meals you can kind of gravitate to tables where you avoid people that make the dining experience less desirable. On oceans we pick up pretty quickly people we want to avoid.

My thoughts also....there are always people who hate everything and people who love everything. Often people who hate things are the most vocal.

We fairly frequently fly Alaska Airlines and we've not been able to get lounge access in the past several months. We could a year ago, then they changed.

Agreed! We've recently been having issues with this, especially if we are within the US. It is very frustrating, we don't want to move into a lounge, we just want a comfortable place to go for a couple hour layover. A lot of the airlines FC is lousy to start with, and then you can't get into their lounge. If anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears, however if Jim Avery is sitting in a food court, I'm guessing there aren't any solutions to this!

Thanks for your detailed information.

Thanks so much for your great answers! They were all very helpful and we appreciate all the input...not to mention a few amusing comments!! Thanks....

We will be in Amsterdam on a Viking river cruise in May and have a bunch of questions. I'm not finding a good rivers forum to ask questions outside of the roll call. Since Viking ocean also docks there I would appreciate any information others might have. Is the Movenpick hotel a walkable distance from Anne Frank House? Is the canal shuttle (boats) easily usable, and can we get it from the Movenpick hotel? Are there good (and many) restaurants near the Movenpick hotel Are there advantages to staying at the Pulitzer hotel instead of the Movenpick? Are there any safety issues in Amsterdam, anything to watch out for? Are there any health clubs in the city center that give day passes to a swimming pool?

We haven't been on a Viking Ocean where we have seen that age range. We have seen maybe a very few in their 40's, more in their 50's, but by far the majority in their 60's and 70's. There are a lot of people in their 80's. We are not retired so we always have an eye out for couples in our age range.

We always book Viking Air and we always book business class, so this is disturbing information. Has anyone else had this happen?

We use a local TA with a large travel agency. I agree that you should use someone where you have the same TA (we've had ours for probably 12 years or so) because they develop a relationship with you and know what is a good fit for you. It was our TA who introduced us to Viking because she knew we would love them. I would choose a TA with extensive personal travel experience that is always helpful. Using a TA with a larger agency is good also in that if you have an emergency and your TA is not there for some reason, you are able to speak with someone else. They can't do everything for you, but they can help to a great extent. Also sometimes the TA will give you perks and also deal with problems you may encounter so you don't have to waste your time on issues. I know a lot of people enjoy the time consuming process doing it themselves, but we are not retired and just don't have the time to do everything ourselves.