hbgal

OzNaiNai,

Yes, I saw that you would be on the same route but on another cruise line. We have not been on Viking River but did take a Viking Ocean cruise last summer "Into the Midnight Sun", Norway, Scotland & England. We thought it was very good. 

With concern we saw a bit about the wildfires in Australia on the news last night. We have some empathy for the situation since California at times is plagued by wildfires. We have been fortunate that they are not in our immediate area but we have friends & relatives who have lost homes to wildfires. 

I remember the first time I saw snow as a teenager and the first time I was someplace while it was snowing when I was much older. We live near the ocean but the closest mountain with snow is only about a 2 hour drive away. You can surf in the ocean in the morning then be snow skiing in the afternoon on the same day. 

Safe travels! 

Glad I found this roll call! Interesting posts. Thanks to all for the contributions.

We are sailing on 3/31 on AMASerena from Basel to Amsterdam. Our flight is to Zurich a few days early so we can spend 3 nights in Lucerne. Weather report says some rain & snow there. A bit different for a gal from the southern California beach area (although we are getting much more rain than normal). 

This is the only place I have found that addresses the current water levels on the Rhine. I am hoping we will have no interruptions. 

Scottish pounds are issued by the Scottish banks and English notes by the Bank of England. You can google and it will tell you about not being legal tender etc etc (which I feel would only complicate things on here! ;))

 

They are exactly the same to all intents and purposes - same value but the big difference though is that English banknotes are accepted everywhere in Scotland and England but the Scottish notes are not readily accepted and in fact are often refused in England. So to be on the safe side, if you get Scottish notes in Scotland and don't intend spending them here, just ask for English banknotes in your change etc. (When we travel the DH waits to get to the bureau de change airside at the airport to get English Banknotes. The bureau de change landslide issues Scottish notes.). The coins are all the same but may have different designs on them, no issues with them.

 

Tour guides will accept either both! HAHA!

Thanks! So cool to get personalized answers here.

Thank you for the wonderful advice. We always tip in the local currency for all the reasons you stated above. We have Scottish pounds in our pockets and we are ready to spend them [emoji3].

 

 

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I could probably find this out on line but quicker for me to ask here! Are Scottish pounds different from British pounds? I'm thinking the local currency we get in Lerwick, Kirkwall, Edinburgh can be used in London.

I was wondering about tipping as well so I asked Miss Google:

"Hopefully you will plan to go on a tour while in Norway. As with other services in Norway, the tour’s price includes a gratuity. However, if your tour guide is exceptionally friendly and helpful, he or she will certainly appreciate a tip if you want to give one. A tip to a tour guide is never expected, but definitely always appreciated."

 

Here's more info on tipping in Norway: http://www.whototip.net/tipping-in-norway

Interesting website. Advice on tipping all over the world. I have it bookmarked. Thanks.

Nola, As a starting point, the Viking cruise documents recommend tipping for shore excursions in the local equivalent of 2 euros per person per day for guides and 1 euro per person per day for drivers. I would round that up to 2 British pounds per day per person for guides and 1 pound per person for drivers. In Norwegian money, probably 20 Kr per day per person for guides and 10 Kr per person for drivers. You can, of course, vary from those amounts as you see fit. Hope this helps.

Thanks. I have not gone over the cruise docs for some time so I had better review soon! Very helpful.

Nola

Nola

 

Well, today changed my answer. Here’s why:

 

We took the Viking shore excursion “Royal Yacht Britannia and Ultimate Edinburgh” and our guide was FABULOUS. After 6 hours only a handful of people gave her a gratuity.

 

So my answer is that they will appreciate anything you give them. Percentage? 10%? So for two people on a tour that cost $300, $30if the guide was really good/excellent. Less if average. None if you felt that the guide didn’t really add to the experience.

 

But after a 6 hour tour where she basically talked the whole time about the history and culture, with fun facts and dates to NOT give her a tip - to me - is unacceptable. Just my opinion.

 

Russ

Russ,

Thanks and I agree with you completely! Your info has been so helpful. I know it will add to our experience starting next week! Enjoy your time in London too.

Nola

HBG

 

Currency in UK (England and Scotland) is the British pound, Norway is the Norwegian kroner. We tipped our Scottish guides in Euro and it was gratefully accepted and appreciated.

 

Tipping is always a personal choice; some people choose not to tip at all others tip what they feel is appropriate. With one exception we tipped our guides/drivers. Keep in mind: most of these people rely on tourism and tourists for their livelihood and work hard to provide you with a wonderful service. In response it seems only appropriate to acknowledge their service with a gratuity.

 

To specifically answer your question: I would tip more for a smaller group tour and a longer tour than I would for a larger tour or shorter tour. Having said that our guides today were excellent and gave a full bus load of us a great experience, which we felt merited a bit more.

 

 

 

Again, it’s totally personal. Vague, but I hope this helps.

 

Russ

Thanks, Russ. I was looking more for a percentage perhaps only so I could have an idea of how much cash I should get from the ATM upon arrival in Norway. We do tip more than the customary when we get great service. Important to support the locals who add so much to our experiences.

Nola

Regarding local currency, you mentioned using cash for tips. What is the customary amount for tipping local guides. We are not shoppers so probably would need cash only for tips

Loving all the info we are receiving from those on this trip now.

Hi Russ, thanks for responding. We are signed up for the King Crab Safari too. Glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Any problems with sea sickness on the smaller fishing boat or RIB?

Along this line, I would like to know if the ship suffered any rough seas and, if so, how stable it felt. I have never had sea sickness but wonder if I should go prepared with some preventive stuff.

Nola

Thanks, Russ! We do plan to layer. Wondered if enough rain to consider shoe protection such as travel galoshes.

Russ (like your name - my dad & brother were Russ!),

Thanks for taking the time to provide all this great info for us. We sail from Bergen on 6/30 on the Star. Trying to get al our ducks in a row! I have not seen much here on the weather. From the forecasts I am getting online, it looks like we will have quite a few days of rain/showers. How has it been for you? I'm coming up with temps ranging from a high of 75 in Geiranger to a daytime high of 51 in Lofoten (Leknes).

Nola