Planning to cruise

We stayed overnight at one port before embarking the next day. Although air was arranged by Viking the independent hotel stay meant we had to do our own transfer to the ship. On the next morning, embarkation day, as we went to breakfast there were lots of people, luggage and Viking land reps at the hotel. It seemed that Viking had taken several lounges for incoming guests and provided refreshments while they waited to board later. I assume they were transferred to the ship later. We left by taxi at an earlier time to suit ourselves.

Many thanks. Good to know.

We did Trade Routes out of Bergen. That was in a starbord room. I would say get the cabin you want with starboard / port sides being one of the lower priorities. As others have said, you dont see much land from balconies anyway. Open decks are much better for viewing. My priority for room selection is grade, deck, forward or aft facing, position on deck, away from stair wells, then which side. Compromises have to be made, it is unlikely that everything will come together. We enjoyed the itinerary. It shows different scenery and countries with the contrasts within Europe, from the north Scandinavia to the warmer southern Latin Med . Le Havre was missed, disappointing those who intended doing the Paris excursion. As we are in the UK it was odd calling at Portsmouth (that we didnt know so well) and Falmouth where we had a few land hoidays. Enjoy the cruise and dont fret too much about side for viewing.

Yes deck 10 and away from the screen. We sat there as it was more sheltered and were not alone. RCT. I had problems here too but thats me. OH found it fine. We sat in the front section - to see! I am always happy with the sound quality on the other 3 ships. I noticed QA was different. I have 2 aids, controlled by an app using bluetooth. The volume was fine and I can control it anyway, up or down (useful if you want to turn some unwanted noise off or down!). My problem was a sort of echo making speech in the talks sometimes a bit garbled and difficult to follow, marring enjoyment. This can happen if there is too much electronic relay. We didnt see any shows in the theatre simply because we were eating or not keen on a particular event.

I see that Viking Venus is in Warnemunde today on its Viking Homelands cruise. We are on its next cruise, the same in the opposite direction, also calling at Warnemunde. We are booked on the included train excursion to Berlin, the on your own option on arrival there. My research shows that places including the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate, things you would wish to see, are closed up for the European Football tournament. I am wondering if the excursions still went ahead and how things are in Berlin for the tourist. Any comments?

Following my last post and only just reading this, maybe the poorer sound quality for us was that we were sitting in the wrong place, on one of the balconies.

I know Im hard of hearing but the sound was often too quiet for me and hard to follow. No subtitles. The night we went, earlyish and still light, it was pretty draughty. People were taking pool towels to wrap round. In fact we watched for a while and gave up. Its probably better in warmer places. Viking Cruises, for example, supplies earphones for sound and a blanket on each lounger although I havent experienced this myself.

The lamb is also available in Club, including the other ships. I too love it and found the quality really good. I asked the MD where it was from. He didnt know. I come from a lamb producing country, I wondered if it was ours.

Just saying thats how I found it. I agree that the new system is much better for hygiene. Also glad to hear that there are now 2 servers per station. That will have speeded things. Clearly they have realised that the one in early days was insufficient at busy times and to get back up. As for the nickname. It wasnt meant to suggest that it is a canteen. It was a strange name change from what was the Lido or Kings Court. The direct translation is worker, and foodhall could be canteen.

In February 2024 we did:- San Juan Walking tour on the evening of embarkation day. Good guide. A reasonable amount of ground covered and a good overview of the city. On the full day in port we then walked the city on our own, having prepared a route beforehand and visiting both castles. Tortola Included panoramic and beach. Good to get a feel for the island. Transport was basic but fun, open sided bench seated mini vans. Hang on and get shaken! The beach visit was short and possibly not the best beach on the island. We are not beach or watersports people, we enjoyed the historic aspects of this cruise itinerary. If a beach visit is your thing you may be better off making alternative plans. St Kitts One of the few paid excursions. The train. A great ride through countryside past villages and former sugar plantations. A rocky ride. We enjoyed this, thought it was worth paying for. St Lucia Included - enjoyed drive around island scenery, though hilly, and a stop at a lovely house and garden in the hills. Paid for - coastal cruise to the Pitons. If like me you want to see the Pitons you do so from the sea. This disappointed as for me it did not go far enough along the coast to see more. Possibly there were time constarints. As I was interested in the natural landscape, the music, free drinks etc were not what I wanted. Depends on personal preferences. Barbados As we had visited a few times and done the main sites we toured on our own. Went to and from the history museum by taxi. Roseau Dominica included Enjoyed tour of the town. Saw views, walked through the interesting botanic gardens and visited a crafts workshop for people with physical or mental disabilites. I was pleased to buy some of the output, gaining some souvenirs and helping the charity. I know that not everyone cared for this or wanted to walk in the gardens - it is not all by bus. Paid for Panoramic Dominica and Jacko Falls. We found it disappointing and maybe not worth paying for. A long drive, not that interesting. Stop at the Falls was a small tourist site at the side of the road. Falls could be seen - just - if you went down a narrow path buf it wasnt easy. Stop was a bit tedious. Antigua Very good tour of the island with a stop to overlook English harbour and visit to Nelsons Dockyard, a historic site with buildings, explanations of the history etc. A must if you like history. St Martin Our least favourite tour. A bus ride through part of the built up area and an overlong stop at a town with a market. St Thomas No tour. Research suggested that the stop was just a souvenir spot. We walked the town on our own but it was not as interesting as other islands.

The Artisans Foodhall, which I have sampled, translates to Workers Canteen. Cunards name posh, no? to relate to another thread. Sorry, I dont know if kedgeree is available but I doubt it. The notices of menu at each serving station were rather small to read. What I do know is that on the only occasion we used the Foodhall / Canteen for breakfast, by the time I had reached the head of the queue at what was apparently the toast station the server said there was no bread. By then I had lost the will and time to queue elesewhere.

We have sailed on Queen Anne. That experience led us to cancel the other cruise we had already booked on her and transfer the deposit to an alternative on QM2. It was not the passnger mix, it was the ship. That's our opinion, clearly there are others who like Queen Anne. Unlike some, we like QM2, possibly more so than the Vistas. We pays our money and takes our choice.

I was on the QA Maiden. A young lady who informed us she was the "Activities Manager" (to be honest I thought it sounded like something from my late father's care home) bounced up to be sociable and have a chat. Being classical music fans who attend concerts at home and very much enjoy the traditional classical concerts and other similar entertainment on the other 3 Cunard ships on which we have sailed many times I asked her when classical music was featuring. She said It's not. All that has gone. Oh just on QA says me. No, across the board. Not good. I'm not keen on pop and much else. Each to their own, I know, but it did seem that something for all tastes is no longer going to be the case. The QR concerts are not revenue earning opportunities. I dont think such an event would work in the QA QR that is a thoroughfare, more so than on the Vistas, and has a bar and noise.