CDNPolar

... and the PV water supply is safe throughout the city in the restaurants and bars... This is a plus for us.

We have priced other lines, but to date all our cruising - River and Ocean - except one River Cruise (Egypt Nile) have been on Viking. Why? We just like the product. Simple. I know that this might get debated here, but we really like the almost all included pricing of Viking. We know the ships, we know the product, we like the service. We do price around but so far have not jumped on anything. We tend to fall back to Viking. For Ocean we do want to look at bigger ships, but we LOVE the no children on Viking so if on a bigger ship we would look for an adults only section / concierge section of the ship. (Off topic) And back to topic - Viking do fill their ships and for those that don't like the deposit and payment policy, they don't have to book, but Viking are not suffering because of this group not booking. I look at this perhaps from the wrong lens. We are not wealthy, but we save well in advance for our travels. I can pay the full fare if necessary one year out, but as I have stated, we have always been 6 months payment because of future cruises booked. I know that if you are paying 12 months out that there is interest lost on that cash over that period if it was in a bank or an investment, but in reality it is not that much loss - in my mind. AND, there are no penalties until 120 days out except the $100 pp if you cancel outright. Which means cancel before 120 days and get back your full payment. To us, we are ok with this.

PV is in my mind the Gay Mecca of Mexico. It is the only destination in Mexico that I care to travel to. We have been there 3 or 4 times now, cannot remember, but not on a cruise, always an all inclusive resort. You can walk openly in the streets holding hands and no one cares. You have "zones" in PV North Zone Nuevo Vallarta Marina Vallarta Hotel Zone Downtown Puerto Vallarta Romantic Zone - Old Town South Zone I would suggest you target the Romantic Zone which is the most populated gay area, where the gay beach is and most of the hotels that cater to the gay clients. This is is also where all the restaurants, and shops and interest is in my mind. We stay at the Sheraton Buganvilias Resort (Google Map it) and then we walk south daily into the Zona Romantica and focus our time between the Sheraton and the Old Town. To us, this is where all the fun and interest is. We love Polo's Seafood Restaurant: https://mariscospolos.wixsite.com/polosrestaurant. The seafood platter for two is amazing. Have fun! You will likely want to return for a week at a resort.

We just (or I just - I am the driving force here) want a window that opens. On River cruises on Viking if you don't have a French Balcony or a Veranda cabin, then you are in what I call "the basement" cabins and the window is shoulder height and does not open. The window is shoulder height because everything below your shoulders is under the water line. Perhaps it is a claustrophobic thing, but I need the ability to open a window. This also somewhat came from Covid where on the ship stuck in Australia and all those people in inside cabins for weeks with no windows. I have sailed on Viking in the basement, and the cabin was fine. I just don't choose to be in that category because I want an opening window. Oh, and as a side note, we never sit in the room, we are only there to shower, change, or sleep. The only time our window is open or we are looking out is when the other is in the shower. If we are not sleeping we are on deck or in the lounge.

We were the couple that knew Viking from their TV ads specifically on PBS TV. We never booked a cruise before and we just accepted the payment policy and thought that this was standard. Re the comment about 6 months payment, this is ONLY if you have at least one cruise currently booked with deposit. We now are going to hit our 9th or 10th cruise with Viking and we always have one cruise booked in the future which maintains the 6 month full payment option. I also think that this option may be limited to USA and Canada, and may not apply to other countries? In any case, we are taking advantage of the active $25 deposit now for the future cruises as it reduces the money we have to have on file with Viking to get 6 month payment terms. You can also before full payment move that deposit to another cruise altogether or different dates with no penalty.... so we do placeholders. We intend to do that cruise, but we may move it before we do it... The other thing about Viking and their payment terms? People pay it. Yes, you see the odd person on CC that say they won't book with Viking because of this, but then tell me why we have to book 18+ months in advance to get the cabin category we want? Because Viking fill their ships. They don't have to lower the payment terms.

Exactly! The fact that cruise ships are being inclusive and offering "us" a meeting point or venue to get acquainted is great. Perhaps they are off on their terminology by a decade or 4 is beside the point. We don't attend these gatherings on any ship anyway. When I bring up to my husband when I see it on the daily schedule, his answer is a question, Why? We make friends with friendly people on the cruise ship and don't care if they are straight or gay and any derivation of the alphabet of 2SLBGTQ+.

This is a complicated one. We are doing a land tour of Vietnam and Cambodia in January, and I do know that there are differences if you are arriving or moving through a border by land, air, or sea. We are air across country borders so we are good with electronic Visas, and we are not reentering any country so we only need single entry. I don't find that your US Government sites give specific information. In my mind, your cruise line should have the right answers for these questions? Obtaining the Visa is always your responsibility, but your cruise line should be able to give you the correct requirements, because they would likely deny you boarding if you cannot show the right Visas. I get your concern because navigating and finding government sites whether it be the US or Cambodia or Vietnam, can be complicated and confusing. If you are navigating this without the help of the cruise line, my advice is to ONLY use the official web sites of the Cambodian and Vietnamese governments to understand the requirements for Americans entering the country. You will find a breakdown of electronic vs. paper Visa depending on how you are entering the country. Note as well that one of the two - don't remember now - only issues for 30 days from application where the other is 90 days. So in other words, with the one, you kind of have to apply close to your trip departure. Also I do think that both countries require your Passport to be valid for 6 months after the end of your trip.

I am just looking at the Canadian government site that I use for all travel requirements. Roatan is listed as not required. Panama is listed as recommended. Generally speaking, and this is just my opinion of what I have read in the past, that vaccines like Yellow Fever are required if you are going deep into rural or jungle areas of the country. Not necessarily for a one day cruise excursion. We went to both of these last year and our doctor said no requirement for Yellow Fever for these countries, but that was last year. I would also suspect that the cruise line is going to alert you - even though this is your responsibility - as they don't want to deny boarding or disembarkation if you don't have the required shots.

OMGoodness! This "addiction" is that serious? Haha.

How I wish this was the case. After now 8 Viking cruises, we have tried to email back the person that booked us or call them and they are gone from Viking. Or, they just don't respond. You are lucky that you have been able to maintain the same Viking agent.

Yeah - did not know that you could store at the cruise ship terminal but Vancouver is a large one so that makes sense. If you have never been to Van before there is so much to see and do in that city. You won't lack for things to do. A guided tour is always our choice. I would look at a tour like this and then wander... Granville Island is a fav spot of mine and also Gastown... actually anywhere in downtown Van and surrounding area...

Simple answer. Yes

Hopefully. I have never used an airline service like this before. My bookings have all been with private cars and my arrival and I have missed pickups because I was longer than my stated pick up time.

Vancouver airport does have baggage storage and that could be an option. You could alternatively book in advance a DAY ROOM at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel. These generally are 4, 6, or 8 hour rates. (I don't know the rates, but rooms are available for checkin and your chosen stay time between 8am and 7pm). The day room option allows you to keep your luggage with you and you can then just relax and use the hotel facilities for the day. Personally I would go to Viator and look for a day tour of Vancouver and surrounding area that would allow you to bring your bags with you. (Hopefully you don't have too much luggage). This would likely have to be a private tour where your luggage is considered as most day tour vehicles may not have room for a lot of luggage, especially if it is a shared tour. You could either get a pick up from the cruise terminal, or take your luggage to the airport, drop it at the storage area, then go on a Viator tour from the airport. Or, take the SkyTrain to the airport, drop your luggage, and then SkyTrain back to the Vancouver downtown and just wander for the day. There is much to see and do if you have never been to Vancouver before.

I have not used this service, but have arranged many pick up services that state this 15 minute wait time. In cases where I have arranged this kind of pick up you have to state the time that you think you will have your luggage and clear all customs and immigration and be ready to get in the vehicle. This is the time that they will wait 15 minutes. I don't understand these services and stopped using them because even if your flight is on time, you are FLYING INTO TORONTO - the worst airport in the world for luggage. I always expect at least 60 minutes at the luggage carousel and that is even when I am flying business and my bags are priority, and then you still have to pass customs leaving the luggage hall. What however if your flight is delayed from taking off... then you are right out of the time and you then are on the hook to pay for the ride. I think that you must contact Emirates if they are the one organizing your pick up and discuss how to navigate this.

Perhaps I should not have used an actual percent. I just personally feel that many people would miss a charge like this on their account, and if they do then I don't think they have a care in the world about what they are paying for.

He argued with me because I stated that I wanted the published price of $25 not $34 per person. He was not having that at all, but you are correct, the shore excursions are in CAD and not changed to USD when you check out.

I hope you get the support you need here. I don't have the personal knowledge to help out but I am sure that there are many here that can share their experiences.

Wow... this was a smokers cruise! I am on that deck frequently and never seen more than one, perhaps two people there at any time. Yeah - it is a nice little area as long as you are not on a cold weather cruise. ...and gonna say that it is in the same location on all Viking Ocean ships...

I just had a frustrating call with tellus@viking when they called me back from an email that I sent. They did not get my concern or challenge. I am Canadian, and interact when booking a Viking cruise with the Canadian site and all prices, cruise, airfare, SS, etc., are quoted in Canadian dollars and I pay a Canadian amount. When I go into MVJ and look at my cruise, I go into Preferences ( I Think ) and SSBP is there and it plainly states that it is $25 pp per night on the ship. BUT when I add to my cart, it calculates to $34 pp per night. This was the point of my call. The Viking rep proudly told me that when on the booking site all prices are in CAD currency but when on MVJ, the prices are quoted in USD, and hence the conversion to $34 pp per night. All fair and good EXCEPT, no where on MVJ in the SSBP description or quote of price does it state the price is in USD. And no where when I go to check out does it tell me that it converted to CAD currency. The Viking rep told me that I just have to know this... and accept this. I thanked him and hung up. Point being they need to specify currency because when you are onboard the ship, sometimes prices quoted or charged are in USD and sometimes in Euros. All confusing. A little piece on the "e" in Wiskey - depends on where you come from... So why do you see the name of the liquor spelled both as “whiskey” and as “whisky?” No, it’s not due to a spelling error or typo. It is generally spelled “whiskey”—with an e—in the United States and Ireland. It is spelled “whisky”—without the e—in Scotland and Canada, which are both well known for their whisk(e)y, and in several other countries.

Not trying to be argumentative here, but I think the % of guests that don't notice a charge like this on their final bill is very low and less than 1%. On some of our cruises the gratuities have been close to $600.00 USD for the two of us, and I tell you I notice that on the bill. On longer cruises that we have taken it has been in excess of $800 USD. I don't necessarily agree with the add to my bill and for me I wish that Viking would just incorporate it into the cost of the cruise. Gratuities for US and Canada are automatically added to the bill. I have asked for clarification on how and when it is paid that Viking avoids answering. I have made my feelings known to Viking about this and they avoid any kind of definitive answer or solution. We have just decided to accept it and pay it and move on. I now incorporate the gratuity into my budgeting for the cruise.

If your bags are not checked through and you have to pick them up on arrival in Toronto, then you will have to stay in arrivals, because typically the baggage/checkin agents are only there 2'ish hours before the flight. If your flight is 6am you might get lucky and have your airline checkin counter open at 4am, but you may be waiting for that to open if the first flight is later than 6am. Typically an airline will only allow you to drop bags between 2 and 4 hours before a flight. With US Customs closing at 9pm and not being able to check your bags until the morning, you are definitely relegated to crashing in arrivals, and these areas are not the most comfortable in the airport.

We only paid far in advance the once. We have always had one additional future Viking cruise on hold (deposit) and when you do that you get 6 month payment terms in Canada and the USA. This used to mean however that you gave Viking $500 pp or $1000.00 in deposit. So, we have taken advantage of the $25 deposit and have a future cruise booked now for 2025 and we will book something further out as soon as dates allow and hope that the $25 deposit is still a promo... then we continue to have 6 month payment from sailing.

Canadians can as well... we tend to be very good tippers. I have known servers in popular restaurants to take home $300+ per night in tips and in Canada (Ontario) we pay them a decent hourly wage which is $16.55 per hour.

Know all that... we pay the final added gratuities and we typically tip anywhere from another $60-$100 (sometimes more) bucks on board directly to individuals. And of course to the guides and bus drivers daily... Tipping is as much a Canadian thing as it is an American thing.