CDNPolar

Singapore airlines is worth the price, but you are right Zach1213, they are not low price. However, for the CAD price of about $1,500.00 round trip NY to Singapore in a Premium Economy seat, is cheaper for me in Canada than most flights to Europe in Economy. I do however have to get to NY from Toronto first which is not calculated in the price.

You have to check MVJ to see if they are open in advance of the published date. You won’t receive any notification

One TA that we use, clearly states what she takes if we cancel, and if there is not a refund for the fare, she invoices you for the cancelation.

I would not fly that distance in less than Premium Economy. I have done China, Japan, South Africa, Australia, Argentina - all long flights. If you can afford it, do yourself a favour and do at least Premium. You did ask what I would do.... If you already have to do one internal flight in the US, then why not consider Singapore Airlines out of Newark? This is non-stop from New York to Singapore at 19 hours. All seats, if I am understanding correctly are Premium Economy at the base level. If you are only doing one way to Singapore, then you can get a seat on this flight for about $750.00 CDN which is less in USD by about 30%.

If you go to the main Viking site where you booked the cruise, find your cruise and then click on "Itinerary" just under the cruise name and on the left. Then scroll down and click on each day of the itinerary, on the "Read More" and then you will see the shore excursions that COULD be offered. NOW - NOTE that these are not guaranteed. But this will give you some good advance reading before they come available for you to book on MyVikingJourney. They have the disclaimer at the top "Shore excursions vary by each itinerary, and are subject to change." You have to know that this is a sampling and you may see some of these in reality and not others, and you may also see some that are not listed here when they open for booking. Additionally on this screen they do indicate what is an included excursion and that would be the free one when they open for booking. But, again, this is not 100%

As gnome12 said above, be very aware of any internal flights and the luggage size and restrictions. You will / may find that the accepted carryon is restricted in both size and weight from the typical international airline that you fly in on. We have friends on a trip now, and this was one of their challenges, as what they expected to be able to pack was acceptable for flying from USA to Cambodia, but the internal flights that they had they would have had to check everything - including carryon - and then pay additional fees. They worked it out with smaller and lighter bags before leaving home.

One of the reasons we like Viking Ocean and River, is that although you can purchase higher decks at a higher price (for what reason I don't understand) or larger cabins, and there is no separation in the sense that if you pay for this you get to go to this exclusive restaurant. On Viking River, everyone is the same when it comes to the lounge or the dining room. On Viking Ocean everyone has the same opportunity (especially once on board) to book the specialty restaurants. Everyone has the same access to High Tea, to the lounges, etc. And before anyone corrects me on the same access to specialty dining, we have never booked a cabin above the bottom two categories, and we have never booked a restaurant reservation prior to boarding, and we have never had an issue getting reservations when and where we want them. This is why I say that everyone has the same opportunity.

Sorry to hear of your experience, especially for a first time. You seem to have had some "bumps in the road" with a change of pre-hotel and then ports dropped. This happens from time to time where hotels are switched. We were also switched hotels on our Viking Panama and no where near the water in Ft. Lauderdale where we expected to be. Hopefully you will use the vouchers that Viking gave you and give Viking another go....

For a Guarantee Cabin booking? I did not think that Viking offered that until just weeks before sailing? I have never seen the option of a Guarantee Cabin in advance bookings.... am I missing something?

I cannot find if Arch insurance offered by Royal Caribbean covers Canadians? Anyone know?

The best part is you are guaranteed DV4 or higher category. We booked our last cruise 2 weeks out and were a guarantee cabin. We found out cabin assignment on MyVikingJourney before the email came from Viking. Go to you MVJ account and into the booking in question, and go to "Booking Summary" and this is where we found our cabin assignment. It was about 7 days after booking, and about 7 days before sailing, but we were also instructed when we booked that we may not get the assignment until we arrive at port.

I too would like to see these deep discounts. We booked our last cruise (December 2023) two weeks before sailing. We paid full price, no discount, and there were cabins empty when we boarded.

Absolutely good advice. We are Viking enthusiasts and we can sometimes have OBC (Onboard Credit) and sometimes SBC (Shipboard Credit) and they can have completely different rules. The OBC came from our TA and if we added a beverage package or booked excursions in advance of embarkation, the OBC would be automatically applied to those charges. The SBC in our last situation was a "gift" from Viking because of a challenge we had on a previous cruise, but that could only be spent onboard the ship and if we did not use it, it had no cash value. We could however use it for gratuities at the end of the cruise. With Viking, there can be different rules for different credits.

Depends on the relationship between the three and the agreement but I would set that out in advance. If I were travelling with my husband and a third wanted to join us and we were willing to share the cabin, then I would - in advance - tell the third person that they are paying the total price divided by 3. If they said that their fare is half the full fare, I would then say for us to share with you, then you should share equally in the price, of get your own cabin. (Would say that in a more polite way...) I would personally see this like a restaurant bill if you were three for dinner and all three had very similar priced items, then the bill is paid in thirds. But, this depends on your relationship.... and that you need to establish up front before the booking. I would also assume that they would participate equally on any additional charges - such as gratuities - that are charged to the cabin. They would be responsible for their own alcohol, spa, and any other charges that are truly individual.

Please don't take offence to the statement that I am about to make, as I have seen others say the same thing, that they don't travel enough to bother... As an extremely seasoned traveller who travels many times a year for both personal and professional reasons, even if I was only travelling once per year, I would pay for TSA Precheck, Global Entry, Nexus (Canada) as they so make your airport journey easier and faster and less hassle. I am still amazed in Canada using Nexus (Similar to Global Entry) how few people are using this. I walk past lines that are at least 30+ minute waits and I am through security in 2 minutes. Coming home the same thing with immigration and customs. I just don't get it. But, we don't want everyone getting it or the waits would be for everyone.

I think that you will be just as happy in a B Veranda. There is absolutely no difference to view - when there is one - and no difference to the size or layout of the cabin. You also don't have to do any stairs when you are going for breakfast or meals in general. Please do report back as to your experience!

Even in indoor areas, you can tell the difference between those that are heavy footed and those that are not. Some people just walk with more force in each step and any kind of limp will cause a sound just walking too.

We have used Airalo three times now - I think - but only data. Anyone with experience adding voice using your home number and not a temporary number?

I don't have any experience, however just want to say that with insurance you should always be shopping around for better deals, extended coverage, etc.

I believe that if you log into your Nexus account it will show renewal pending. It should also tell you that your current card is valid - with all privileges - during the renewal period. As long as you have started the process your current card will work as it always has.

One of the main countries that I support in my working life is Australia. Australia is dealing with Covid as anyone else is now. There are no entry restrictions, no tests, no quarantine, etc. Just make sure you have your appropriate Visa or ETA or whatever they call it for Australia.

I personally don't have a preference. There are probably flight schedule differences from your home city to the port city when flying weekday to weekend? Never really considered this before, as we just sort of pick the cruise itinerary and the embarkation day is what it is. I hope that folks explain why they choose one or the other to see if there are any reasons to reconsider our dates.

It does. We did not hear joggers, we heard people walking. You could tell by the pace and the noise level. There are some very heavy footed walkers. It was almost like there was give in the deck right above one spot in our cabin because this was the only place that we heard the footstep, and it repeated every 2-3 minutes in the same spot as the person completed the round. Would this have awakened us? Not sure. I am up by 5am anyway and it was usually around 6am that I was hearing this.

No personal experience with that cabin, but have been on 8 Viking Ocean cruises and know the ships well. You are good in a mid-ship cabin for motion. Occasionally Viking will do an evening show on the pool deck on Deck 7 but this is rare and not every night. The only time we experienced that was when we were on the ship over Canada Day July 1st and there was a show that night with music and the Viking Band. It also did not go late - I think it was closed down at 9pm. The only things late on Viking are Torshavn on Deck 2 and the Explorer Lounge on Deck 7. Nothing loud from Explorer Lounge, and you are enough away from it, so you should be good.