SoDakPirate

My favorite was Southeast Asia which began in Bangkok and proceeded to Cambodia, Vietnam and ended in Hong Kong. We experienced so many new things that are so very different from the European cities and ports we commonly visit.

I have read and enjoyed your daily post on the Oceania board. We have sailed Oceania sirena about 7-8 years ago and had a great time-especially the food. Since then We have been with Viking 4 times and will sail with them again in May 2024. I do think that Oceania offers a wider choice of itineraries and Viking needs to up their game to give us loyalists more options. In your recap you didn’t mention the difference in excursions. I know you mostly toured the visited ports on your own and that is why there was no comparison. We are not as savvy or knowledgeable to plan our own so we rely on Vikings included tours and augment them with some optionals and occasionally a semi private tour. In this arena Viking is a big winner. The most glaring big big win is with Vikings crew. They outshone Oceania at every level including room stewards, bartenders, restaurant staff, guest services, and accessibility and friendliness of officers. Truly appreciate all the work you put in to this for your fellow cruisers Doc.!

I would like to see 22-23 day itineraries. On our first Viking cruise in 2017 we went from Barcelona to Stockholm and it was the perfect length. Allowed for many ports and a few sea days and ample time for everything.

As mentioned earlier an alternative to paying by echeck and getting the 3.3% discount is to use a credit card with cash back. There are many of them. Wells Fargo has the autograph card which gives you 3% on all travel related purchases at home and abroad. It includes the cruise fare, airline costs, restaurants, gas etc. It rebates 1% on everything else. It does have a 3% foreign transaction fee but the cash back would lessen the fee. The cash back is credited back monthly to pay your statement or to go to a checking or savings account

Has anyone heard of FlexiPax Insurance Company? Received a ridiculously low quote. The quote came from a highly rated trip insurance broker. Though I would solicit opinions before contacting them. Thank you

I did not enjoy some of the ports: Orkney and Shetland Islands and Olden where the optional tour to the Kjenndal Glacier was mostly spent in traffic on a small road where cars and busses constantly had to back up to let vehicles pass. Once you got to the glacier it was nothing. I may be nit-picking but the message I was trying to convey is that each of our experiences are so very subjective.

We will be doing trade routes next May and looking forward to it even though we have been to many of the ports. A little disappointed that the stops in Porto and Bruges are only 6-8 hours. Ironic how many people’s favorite (into the midnight Sun) was our least favorite of our 4 previous cruises.

Clay: I apologize if this question was asked and answered in the 14 pages. Were the outside decks open in front of the Explorer's Lounge on either or both decks 7& 8? I believe I have read reports that they were closed but that may have pertained to only one cruise. Thank you

We have been to Madrid twice and Barcelona 3-4 times. This is just a short extension to get us to Spain ahead of sailing date. We have several connections to get to Europe and lots of opportunities for delays and cancellations. Will definitely get to Museo Sorolla. Thanks!

We did a 23 day Viking cruise from Barcelona to Stockholm (included St. Petersburg). This is no longer offered but if you find a cruise that sails through the archipelago to Stockholm it is awesome! Even better if it ends in Stockholm and you can spend a few extra days.

Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam are so very different from all the European countries we have visited. Great included and optional tours.

We did this tour in April 2019 and loved it! For visas we used Genvisa which was recommended by Viking. Their service was excellent as was their constant communication. They may be more expensive but for us it was worth it. If you can, I would strongly recommend the pre extension in Bangkok. Our flights did not arrive until just before midnight and it was nice just to see a friendly face and a bus. The Shangri-La Hotel is fantastic. Located right on the river with great views. The breakfast buffet was extensive with Asian and Western choices with dining on a terrace on the river. The included tour was also very good. We did mostly the included tours on this trip and they were quite good. Sihanoukville is a reality check. Leaving the luxury of your ship you are immediately shocked by congestion and squalor. However the included tour showed some different sides of this city and it's residents. In Ho Chi Minh City we did the included and the optional HCM by night and puppet show. A great experience of this congested city which included a vist to a Pho sidewalk restaurant. Whether you take tis or not, try and see the city at night. We did a private group tour of the Mekong Delta. More about this at the end. In Hue we only did the included city tour which went out to the beach also. Enjoyed it. Ha Long Bay is striking and the included Junk cruise was also quite good. In Hong Kong we did the included and the Lantau option. Both excellent. We had the great fortune to be staying in Hong Kong a few extra days and we were staying on the ship and spending the next two weeks in Busan, Taiwan and Japan so we did some city exploring, etc. I would urge you to join a roll call for this cruise. We were able to add ourselves to their Mekong Delta trip for a ridiculous cost of $92 each! This group also did a tour of rural sihanoukville, the HCM puppet show & Dinner cruise and Ha Long Bay cruise and seaplane. I don't know the cost of these. The tour company used was Shore Excursions by Asia. Once you join or start a group tour, Shore Excursions deals independently with each guest so their is no worrying about collecting/paying a fellow guest for their portion of the trip. We have been on 5 Viking cruises and this was my favorite!

Thank you all so very much. Great to hear, Squawkman!

On the Trade Routes of the Middle Ages, Viking offers a pre Madrid extension that transfers you by train to Barcelona where the cruise begins. Does Viking porter rolling suitcases and stow them on the train or is each passenger responsible for carrying their luggage through the large train station and putting it on the train car near their seat?

When using the Price and Build tab for a specific voyage are the staterooms shown the only ones available for a specific class or are these the ones Viking wants to sell first?