CurlerRob

This is the Canadian site for Lufthansa, so may differ, but seems clear that you can have 2 x 8kg each in business. https://www.lufthansa.com/ca/en/carry-on-baggage It also matches a more comprehensive list that I obtained from a luggage company (based on economy) - but as you'll know, it's always a must to check the current airline info. 🍺🥌 Carry On Luggage Sizes - All Airlines.pdf

Hopefully this indicates that AC has now dispensed with all of their original Rouge "business class" configurations - at least some of which were standard economy 3 X 3 seating, but with the middle seat left empty! (Even that was better than Rouge coach ...). To be fair, WestJet did the same, and may still for all I know. 🍺🥌

Love that, Andy! One of the better jargon expressions - I suspect there may be some other references less suitable for this board 😁. 🍺🥌

"Protection laws? We don't need no steenking protection laws"! 🤣 From everything I read regarding air travel during the pandemic, the US appeared to have much better consumer protection ... score one for our southern brethren! 🍺🥌

Do have a look at that. I suspect that the Viking rule you were quoted applied to direct bookings with them. It's hard to see how they could prohibit Canadians from working with a US TA - which I would expect defaults to USD. 🍺🥌

We had the same question regarding a trip this June. If you are overnighting in Bergen, as I suspect you are, on our trip I have arranged with Porterservice AS (likely your luggage carrier) to collect our bags late evening (~2130) the night before disembarkation (arrival day in Bergen). There will be no problem taking your bags off at that time and returning to the ship - then you can sleep in a bit. Just email the company and ask. (0600 was not how I wanted to start a long train travel day 👿). 🍺🥌

You will want to check with Viking to understand what fare class they are using with AC. As with most airlines, some fare classes used by cruise lines are not upgradable - and once ticketed, you are bound to the rules of that fare class. Worst case - AC usually has a "bidding" process for upgrades - it will appear some days before your flight. It's never a guarantee that you'll secure the upgrade, but we've had success with it a number of times. Best of luck! 🍺🥌

I can't assist re Viking in particular, but other cruise lines I'm familiar with do not provide a mailing service for goods, as it becomes very complex (charges different by port, labour intensive, etc.). They might be able to help with providing packing stuff - you might ask them directly. Depending on where you are cruising and how much you are buying of something (spices caught my eye), merchants will sometimes offer a shipping service, or at least pack goods well for you to include in your luggage. Regarding "buy here, ship later", be VERY cautious about taking souvenirs or food stuffs off of the ship. Many jurisdictions strictly prohibit that (Oz and NZ for example) and the penalties for doing so are very painful. 🍺🥌

I'm a bit puzzled by your statement. CFAR cancellation under Viking's policy is a voucher - not a refund. Viking underwrites the CFAR part of the policy. TripMate does the "covered reasons" (like illness) part of the cancellation / trip interruption policy, and a small medical coverage. I'm not sure if TripMate is the admin for a CFAR claim, or if it goes directly through Viking. In either event, 90 days is not unusual for a CFAR claim. 🍺🥌

Canadian policy changed late last year (October) - testing requirements removed. Other than some air arrival from China / Hong Kong restrictions, there are no others. https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid 🍺🥌

I presume spellcheck turned something else into "Canada"? 🍺🥌

Not at all. The ship was made watertight with various repairs, including steel plating placed over the broken windows. There have been some pictures posted of this on other threads. Full repairs of the affected cabins, including windows, etc. will require some dock time, which appears to be the subject of this thread. @Heidi13 and @chengkp75 have posted a number of items on this process - check out their past posts if you are interested. 🍺🥌

Thank you. My question was asked in order to confirm that I was properly deconstructing Oceania's OLife + air pricing into it's three components (cruise, air and OLife perk). I do understand the various issues surrounding the perks. 🍺🥌

Thx. I had interpreted “air credit” as some form of credit after booking. The $750 was a currency conversion to keep everything in CAD. It was actually $600 USD which should be more familiar. Good catch. 🍺🥌

I'm unclear on why taking the air credit is a better value overall. A sample cruise had OLife with air at $11,099 pp, cruise only fare at $10,049. That difference is $1,050 pp. The OBC offer in OLife was $750 per stateroom, or $375 pp. What appears to be the air allowance calculates as $675 pp. Would the air credit be more than the $675 when purchasing OLife with air? If not, I can't see the reason for not just buying cruise only or cruise with OLife (non-air) as best fits the individual. I'm not sure what I'm missing in the strategy ... 🍺🥌

You'll see above that we nixed that one in favour of the June 2023 NYC - Bergen, so I expect we'll connect on the first leg! 🍺🥌

We actually didn't take that trip - cancelled it in favour of a 2023 NYC to Bergen longer one, so no input on 5007 specifically. We have stayed in 5024 - same category, just a bit further aft nearer the elevators. (We had no noise issues at all.) 5024 was just fine - just suffers from the proximity of the closet to the bed that all the V and DV cabins do - nothing significant. 🍺🥌

Viking has a strange "thing" about not showing these. I found a post that offered a work around, but it's frankly more work than it's worth: "If you do a booking hold, with no deposit yet, you receive an invoice with the port times. You have a few days to decide whether you want to go on the trip before a deposit is due." Another option is to ask a TA. And if it helps, this is an old one from 2022 - may not be valid now, but might give you some idea. 🍺🥌

I'm confused and don't want to mislead you. What cruise are you on / considering? As far as I know, the provision of coat, pants and boots is a feature restricted to the expedition ships, when sailing in the Antarctic. Your reference to the Arctic Circle and "Northern Lights" seems to suggest a Viking Ocean voyage in Norway - which does not provide clothing as part of the fare. (Or perhaps the Aussies are being treated better than us 😈). 🍺🥌

You may be somewhat misinformed. Viking gives a 3.3% discount for payments made electronically from your bank account (as opposed to by credit card). The discount applies to all payments, such as deposit and PIF. Their PIF dates are indeed rigorous by industry standards - normally 12 months in advance unless you have another booking, in which case you can usually get the PIF date reduced to 6 months. The PIF dates are not the same as the cancellation penalty approach. Initial cancellation penalties kick in a different times depending on the trip - usually $100 up to 120 days for shorter voyages, $1000 up to 180 days for longer. 🍺🥌

A few thoughts on "must see/do" items: Sydney Bridge Climb (if you are active and don't mind heights) Slow (not fast) ferry to Manly - then walk the Marine Parade North and/or South head Sydney Aquarium Fortune of War pub - oldest in Sydney (NOT a fancy restaurant) The Little Snail restaurant - Darling Harbour

The polar expeditions are currently in Antarctica only on the expedition ships (perhaps the high Arctic in the future). These are the only cruises that provide clothing. If you look up any of the roll calls for the two expedition ships - Octantis and Polaris, you'll find a number of discussions regarding the supplied clothing and what pax chose to bring in the way of personal clothing. In general, the supplied parkas were very warm and well-reviewed (and you get to keep them!) 🍺🥌

Wish I could give multiple likes ... 🍺🥌

My experience across a number of cruise lines and multiple locations around the world is that each of those lines suffered from inconsistencies and limitations, depending on location, weather, cruise line usage policies and gremlins in the ether ... We have seen internet service that ranged from fabulous to abysmal on the same line during the same trip. Our only Viking experience was a 2019 northern TA. The Viking service was above average in my experience, but certainly subject to the issues above. I'd love to know the line that can offer consistent, world-wide, high-quality service ... 🍺🥌

And this is the only justification you should ever need. Your money, your choice. Thanks for posting your view. 🍺🥌