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?

Yes. This was April 2017. It was our first Viking cruise. We were the first ship to cross the Kiel canal for the season. The local citizens were all lining the banks welcoming us!

On a Viking cruise in 2017 we missed Porto due to rough seas. When we booked a trip a BTB a few months later for 2019 I asked our travel agent (NOW EX) to ask for compensation. She told me that she contacted her Viking business agent and nothing could be done. I politely called Viking and the gentleman who answered this random call said he would see what he could do. A few minutes later he came back on the line and said he researched this and found that we had a pending reservation and if he credited us $800 PER PERSON on this new cruise would that make us happy? I said" thank you so very much" and quickly ended the call before he changed his mind!

We started cruising only 7-8 years ago after enjoying many years of European and Caribbean vacations. Our first cruise was on Oceania Sirena from Athens to Rome and thoroughly enjoyed it. We found the food in the main restaurant and in the Asian restaurant to be fantastic and much better than Viking. Since then we have taken 4 Viking cruises and have also been very pleased. Due to age, health, etc. we no longer plan cruises a year or more in advance. We are having trouble finding an itinerary in April 2024 that is not sold out or redundant. We are considering going back to Oceania or to Regent as they have many cruises that are visiting different ports and are available. We will miss the crew on Viking as they were superior from top to bottom compared to Oceania. We will also miss the covered pool and the fellow passengers who we relate to better. We are fortunate to have this dilemma!

We had a 6:30 AM flight from Bergen on Delta this past July. We did not use Viking Air but towards the end of the cruise, Viking sent us a not asking id we wanted to purchase a transfer, I believe it was $50.00 per person. We left our luggage outside our stateroom at 10pm the previous night. We were told to meetn in the Atrium at 2:45AM. They called our group and we went to shore where we were met by a group of young men that each took a passenger and helped us find our luggage and took it to the bus. We boarded the bus for 30-45 ride to the airport. When we arrived another group unloaded the bags and helped us find them. We then walked directly into the terminal and got in line. We were on line at 4Am and was the first group. Then the fun began. Delta had only two agents to check in the passengers who did not have elite status. One of the agents had computer problems and we had to manually write our name, passport number, address, etc on a piece of paper that she then typed into the computer to get us boarding passes. Viking staff was very frustrated and tried to intervene to get the lines moving but were not successful. A long line through passport control and a very thorough TSA check had us scrambling. After TSA a long walk, including through a duty free store, had us at the gate and we were the third to last couple to board!

To clarify - this was a credit taken off our invoice, NOT an onboard credit!

On a Viking cruise in 2018 we were unable to stop in Porto due to rough seas. Upon returning I spoke with my (now former) travel agent to see if she could get us a small credit as we were considering a 2019 cruise. She said she spoke with the Viking business agent and there was nothing they could do. I called Viking and explained that we missed a port that we were very much looking forward to. He asked if we would be satisfied with $800 PER PERSON, if we booked a cruise within one year. Satisfied? I was elated and proceeded to book a new cruise with my new agent. It doesn't hurt to try. Tell them how much you enjoyed your 1st Viking experience and are looking forward to additional cruises. You may get lucky and get a sympathetic Viking ear!

I am considering a BTB on the Orion in March-April 2023. On March 18th it is doing Secrets of Southeast Asia departing Bali and arriving in Singapore on April 1st. I cannot find where is goes from April 1 -15. On the 15th it leaves Hong Kong and heads to Vancouver. Any thoughts? Thank you

On our July "Into the Midnight Sun" cruise, the Captain was extraordinary. He had the entire audience very entertained with his tremendous sense of humor during the first night welcome and crew introduction. He was very visible and approachable during the entire crew. He passed by our table in the World Cafe during the second week of the cruise and said hello and asked if everything was going well and what could he do to make it better. My wife asked him why they only blew the ship's horn occasionally when leaving port. He explained that in some ports the locals encourage it while at others they don't. My wife replied that she enjoyed hearing it. He immediately pulled out his phone and said "I am with a lovely lady who enjoys hearing the ship's horn, please accommodate her". Seconds later the ship echoed for what seemed like minutes with the lovely sound. He bowed and said "Your wish is my command"!

Additionally, would like to see some new itineraries. With 10(?) Ocean ships I think Viking has to get more creative if they want to keep us repeat customers to keep buying the product. Obviously the "Norway" itinerary keeps selling and attracts new customers. I look at Oceania routes and with 1/2 the vessels they go to some interesting ports. We did a 23 day Viking cruise in 2017 (Barcelona, Baltics & Beyond) and for us it was a perfect amount of time to be on vacation.