CDNPolar

We have done Viking Homelands and it was a wonderful cruise and created great memories as well. BUT, when we booked it included Finland, St. Petersburg, and Estonia, which were all dropped because of the Ukraine war. The cruise was still spectacular in every way.

We did the Douro cruise and it was one of our most memorable cruises with Viking - now at 7 with Viking. Our bus ride to Porto was a day excursion on route, so it was not like a deadhead ride from one city to another. I hope that you enjoy this cruise and that this portion does not harm your experience. We have done a few cruises now with Viking where there is hotel at the beginning, the end, or both and they have all been great for their own reasons. We just came off Passage to Eastern Europe that had a one night stay in Bucharest and a two night stay after in Budapest. All was good with this.

Would you provide more information? Do you mean FREE AIR as part of the Viking Cruise price? Or, are you talking about an airfare with a price attached to it above and beyond the cruise fare? Free air is a deal that you don't want to pass up, and if you want to upgrade to premium or business, generally that is available, but best to pay for Air Plus and do that. Why would you do your own air when air is included. If you are talking about air that has a price above the cruise fare, then it could be a good deal or you may be able to get a better price booking the air on your own. We have done and still do both - we book air through Viking and we book on our own. It all depends on if we can get the air we want through Viking. Even if we are paying Viking for the air, we use Air Plus and go to the Air Plus agent with the airline, and schedule of flights we want. If you book on your own, then you potentially have the responsibility to book your own transfers to and from the ship (or pay Viking to be included in their transfers) and you have to deal with cancelations and changes to your air on your own.

Our first Viking Cruise was Empires of the Mediterranean, and we still reflect on what a great Viking experience that was. We love Viking River and Ocean, but I would start personally with Ocean.

Like above, we book the lowest cabin available and have never missed on an included excursion. If you cannot book online for any reason, reach out to Viking or at the very least speak with Guest Services the day you board and indicate the excursions you want. Our experience is that Viking rarely fills an entire bus every seat, so there is generally always a spot. Where you want to book in advance is if there is a meal or entrance fee to somewhere, but even still I believe that there is great flexibility.

The sad reality of this situation is that this confusing and not well communicated roll out of a new date and requirement for Canadians is going to cause a lot of stress for all those travelling to Egypt in the near future. I would suggest as a precautionary step to investigate your cancelation and trip interruption insurance to see if they will cover you for cancelation if you cannot get a Visa because of these new pending requirements? I know that cancelation insurance that we hold and have purchased in the past have a Visa clause both as an inclusion in the insurance and as an exclusion. You will have to figure out whether you have a claim based on this or not. For those that may have paid for their cruise also check when penalties kick in, as often you pay in advance but actual penalties don't kick in until perhaps 120 days from sailing. If I were in this situation with an Egypt trip coming up in the next few months I would be investigating all these options and making sure I know key dates so that I could make a decision. I would also investigate revising the dates of my sailing to a later date to ensure that I could comply with the new regulations. I am certain that all cruise companies are just now becoming aware of this and the Canadian market is much smaller to them, but they should be starting to investigate this too. They don't want you to lose out, but this is out of their control also.

The fact that the e-application method still accepts dates beyond October 1st, will not mean that the e-visa will be valid. It is an operating system currently and I would not rely on a visa being granted for a future date as a "grandfathered" valid visa. What gnome12 says...

Don't know where you are located geographically, but if you are in USA or Canada, the penalties kick in at 120 days from the cruise embarkation. In my mind, if someone is going to cancel they will do it close to this timeframe. Even after making full payment before this date they can get back all but $100 per person if they cancel 121+ days out. Now - before others come in and correct me on this, this would pertain to an 8-12'ish day cruise. Deposits and cancellations periods will be different for longer cruises, and if you are not in Canada or the USA then the penalty periods and penalties may be different.

Thank you Jazzbeau

Don't wait for your tour group to get in touch with you. Be proactive with this because you may find yourself out of time. Generally speaking, although a tour group or TA or other organization (cruise line) may assist, it is ultimately your responsibility to have the necessary documents to travel. Jump on this September 4th as that is the change over date.

I think that the key message here is "until September 3, 2023" all is as it has been. Once that date hits then all changes. Hopefully they have it wrong.... yes.... This will certainly mess up some peoples travel plans if it is what they are stating.

Thanks!

Wow... I hope this all works out for you and that you get to see Egypt. You would think that there would be a grace period or grandfathered period that if you are travelling the same weekend that this goes into effect that you would be allowed to continue your trip as planned. Good luck with this!

To be honest, I don't think that we ever found out what the drinks package consisted of or what the price was... we asked several times of our TA in advance of the trip and never got an actual answer. Our decision - as I think I previously stated - was regardless, not to get a package as there would be close to half of the voyage on the Drake Passage and we probably would not drink during that period especially if the seas were rough, which they were.

As of Sunday September 3, 2023, Canadians can no longer get their Visa online or on arrival in Egypt. As of Sunday, Canadians travelling to Egypt will have to visit Egypt's embassy or a consulate in Canada to apply for a visa before they leave the country, according to Global Affairs Canada's travel page for Egypt. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/egypt-canadian-traveller-visas-1.6951919

As per the article: As of Sunday, Canadians travelling to Egypt will have to visit Egypt's embassy or a consulate in Canada to apply for a visa before they leave the country, according to Global Affairs Canada's travel page for Egypt. NO MORE online Visas or Visas on arrival in Egypt. This would be this coming Sunday September 3, 2023 https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/egypt-canadian-traveller-visas-1.6951919

The challenge that I have experienced with email is I ask for a written response, and they insist on calling me instead. I have refused calls asking for written and it is like pulling teeth to get them to write a response.

We are already booked with friends on Across the Bay of Bengal for March of 2025. It is our tenth wedding anniversary cruise and friends have committed, otherwise perhaps that could have happened.

We are a few years from a world cruise yet with both of us still working, but hope to meet. you one day on a Viking ship!

We did not consider Ramadan and our Ramadan started a few days into our cruise. We did not experience any challenge with the crew on the ship as far as energy levels and there was an overall very good vibe on the ship. The crew did appreciate us acknowledging Ramadan for sure. Ramadan DID impact some things that we did. We arrived at the museum in Cairo and it was closed early because of Ramadan, so we missed that completely. This we were a bit shocked that the organizers did not catch. This was an optional excursion that we paid for and we were refunded, but still, we did not get to the museum. We also had a much later start on one evening excursion, again because of Ramadan. I would say in general, you will find the crew and guides the same, but schedules may need to be adjusted. I will probably get hit on for this comment, as it may not be the norm, but crew told us that they are very strict with sunrise to sunset for the first few days and then they start to become loose with the time as the days go on. Our only impact was open close times for excursions.

We are Viking loyal for the most part, and on Ocean, unless we are travelling with friends we always take a table for two, but like some other comments here, the tables are so close you can barely squeeze between them and you are almost sitting together. It can sometimes be awkward not to chat with those beside you. I have worked in sales and taught sales all my career and a big part of that is talking to people. I can do it at work, but don't want to in my personal and vacation life... But, I have learned that it can be enjoyable to make new friends especially when you are forced to. I also find that some will talk your ear off and you don't have to say a word, and others are quiet if you are quiet.

You are going to love it.

We have a YouTube channel with all our cruise movies and people are amazed that we do all our video and still photography with the iPhone.

My personal daily routine is: Morning fast walk - 45 minutes Evening fast walk - 45 minutes Daily strength with dumbbells 10lb to 30lb - alternating arms, legs, etc. giving rest periods Daily range of motion exercises and stretching Squats and hip mobility exercises

Would love to start this topic of conversation and not only for the 55+ but anyone who is interested to participate in the discussion. I am so shocked at the number of people that I cruise with on Ocean or River Cruises, that struggle just getting on and off the busses. These folks are not only almost incapable of mounting these stairs, they are panting out of breath when they do reach the top of 4 or 5 stairs. I constantly see people opt not to go past the first bench and miss the best of the tour because they are incapable of walking more than a few minutes. I am NOT calling people out here that have real physical and health issues, and I am not suggesting that they should not be on a cruise ship or trying to participate in an excursion. What I would love for this thread is to share what exercise routines you engage in to ensure that you can maximize your mobility and be able to participate fully in the activities that we pay so much money for.... I am a firm believer that we have to take control of our mobility, range of motion, and loss of muscle mass while we age. We tend to be very sedentary in our lifestyles (in general) and then we are faced with a 10 day cruise that almost kills us from the activity levels required. How do we combat this and stay in shape longer?