Mullet62

Appreciate the response. Which shore excursions did you do when in Israel?

Considering booking the above cruise for December, 2023. Would like to communicate with anyone that has done this cruise regarding time frame of cruise (weather) and itinerary. Have sailed on Viking Ocean 4 times so  familiar with ships. Thanks, SG

Wife and I are considering this itinerary in January, 2021 for our 50th. Would like to hear comments from folks just completing the trip on Viking Star. Sailed on Star before so familiar with the ship and service. Specifically, interested in where ship docked in ports, comments on shore excursions. Did any ports have shuttles. Best things to do in Portsmouth, recommended hotel extensions in London and transfer to Heathrow. Did anyone stay in London longer than 3 days and if anyone used a rental car would like to know the procedure. Can email mulletmasters@aol.com. Many Thanks!

7 hours ago, Mitina said:

 

Great info!   You remember where you purchased the skip the line ticket book?

Thanks much. 

 

We bought them at the Kerameikos museum, but you can get them at most of the sites. There are some available on line but the package was actually cheaper once we got to Athens. If you go to the Ancient Agora, the gate close to the Acropolis is closed during winter. You will have to enter the gate near the Stoa of Attalos.

1 hour ago, Ready to Sail! said:

We are doing the 4 day extention  pre cruise.  Were there options on the Metro passes? Not a big deal to buy a 4 day but we really would only need a 3 day.  Our last day is the trip to Delphi ending at the ship for embarkation.  We just booked our excursions this morning and there is still no details in MVJ about the extention schedule other than the days being listed as days 1-4 Athens,  or instructions regarding the arrival transfer.  Nor is it included on the calendar.  Did you get this information with your documents? Will it ever show up in MVJ?  

Ours was post cruise. There are options for the subway, but it was actually cheaper to get a 4 or 5 day as to day passes. Prices may have changed. Google how to use Athens metro and cost. There are also some utube videos as well. I had to call Viking about 4 times to get a good explanation regarding what was happening on the extension. I think the only thing in the Docs was that we were staying at the Hilton. The hotel will have a city map. 

If you are doing the 4 day extension you will get a guided tour of both the Acropolis and Acropolis Museum. It was not included for the 2 day. We did the 4 day. Your guide for the 4 day should be the same person every day for your group. Just be warned the guide may or may not be knowledgeable about every rock on the hill. This excursion will be done in conjunction with the bus transfer from the ship to the hotel. Many people booked the  Acropolis tour for the Athens port excursion not knowing the tour was included in the 4 day extension.  We bought the 4 day pass for the metro (15 Euros each and a book of site skip the line tickets for 16 euros each). The subway is user friendly and we went to the Plaka every evening for dinner. On our non-excursion day we did the Kerameikos museum, the Agora and Agora Museum, Hadrian's Library, Roman Agora, had lunch, wandered the shops and sites of the Plaka and caught the guard changing at the Parliament Building then back to the hotel. I did a lot of research prior to the trip and was comfortable negotiating the sites. 

Call Viking, they can tell you. You might want to consider the full acropolis tour. Museum is awesome. That one I know is guided. Viking had a shuttle that ran from the port to the Temple of Zeus. After the tour, we had time to wander the temple grounds, then walked to the Ancient Agora wandered around and went to the Angora museum, had lunch at DiaDos right outside the Angora gate and caught the shuttle back to the ship. Nice to know, bathrooms are at all these locations. 

2 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

We took the train to the Vatican about a year ago.  You get off at the S. Pietro station, which is around 45 minutes from Civitavecchia.  The Vatican is a few blocks walk from the train station.

 

You can buy a ticket called BIRG at the CV train station.  It's 12 Euros per person, and give you 24 hours of unlimited train travel between CV and Rome, Rome Metro, and Rome buses.  This ticket does not include express trains to Rome, only the lowest two levels of service.

 

We bought one ticket that included the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel.  No ticket was required for the St. Peter's basilica.

Thanks so much.

Anyone used the train from the port to the Saint Peter's Station? Is it user friendly? Also best place to buy Skip the Line tickets for Sistine Chapel, museums and Saint Peters. I know the Vatican museum has them, but you have to buy 2 separate tickets and they are not refundable.

May have but did not notice. Mom and Pop operation.

4 hours ago, Ready to Sail! said:

I edited this post to correct a couple of spelling errors and after I saved it all these A's came up at the end of each sentence.  Very weird.  The first time there was only one so I went back to edit again and take the one out and then all the others came up.  I don't dare try again!!!

There is a little restaurant called Pita Pan right around the corner from the Hilton. Sort of their fast food versions of gyros. We ate there twice,  good food, decent wine and not too expensive.  There is a little grocery store about 1/4 mile further down where you can by wine instead of the $18 a glass at the Hilton.

21 hours ago, Ready to Sail! said:

I have a question regarding the sail in to Kotor.  From looking at maps I am assuming we will pass with the island on port side, and of course we are on Starboard.  Is is close enough to get a good look and picture?  Should I plan on getting out on deck so I don't miss it?  We are leaving at 11pm so sail out not a good option.  That leads to another question. Do Viking ships have cameras on the front of the ships  to watch on the cabin TVs?

We slept in for the cruise in. But to get a good photo you may have to go up to the sport's deck or track on deck 2. Better view going out. Weather was cool so everyone piled in the explorer longe and grabbed a seat and a drink to enjoy the cruise back out to the Adriatic.

On 1/17/2019 at 9:39 AM, travelgenie said:

We are cruising the Star in the fall, Venice to Athens. After several Viking river cruises, this will be our first ocean experience with them. Our port stops will be Venice, Koper, Zadar, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Katakolon, Santorini and ending in Athens.  We have cruised out of Venice twice with other lines, so I am familiar with that situation but am wondering the docking locations of these stops. The convenience and possibility of exploring on our own? Long bus trips with ships excursions? While I appreciate the port intensive itinerary, I am now questioning the process of the up early, long bus rides, rushed tour, very little or no free time, that we just experienced on our last river cruise this past fall. To be fair, our fall river cruise was impacted from extreme low water levels, the reason for the long bus rides and condensed tours. Having booked the Empires of the Med prior to our river cruise, it is still too fresh in my mind and the thoughts of getting back on a bus is not pleasant at the moment. I would appreciate any feedback and suggestions concerning this itinerary.

 We took that cruise last March with the Tuscany and 4 day Athens extensions. I'm a bit of a history nut so did a lot of research before the cruise. Koper and Zadar were weathered out as well as Katakolon....but they added Split. Venice, Dubrovnik and Athens had shuttles. Tours: We did the opera in Venice which was kind of neat. The included tour in Dubrovnik, explored on our own, then but tickets to walk the wall.Take the included Koper tour then explore and/or take a walk up to the old castle. In Corfu we did the Palace of Achilles and city tour. It was better than just the included city tour. On Santorini, we opted for the ancient city and Oia/Theria tour. The ruins are interesting. If you have only the one day do the ultimate acropolis then go to the old Agora and walk it and go to the museum if there is a  shuttle. We did the museum and when they dropped us off at the shuttle point and we went to the temple of Zeus right across the street. Then go to the old Agora , walk the grounds and go to the Stoa museum. Right outside the entry gate is a restaurant call DiaDio's. Good house wine and get the seafood plate. Enough to share. The metro is user friendly too. Carry plenty of 1 and 50 cent euro coins. Bathrooms are rare and they cost.

No, Still debating....Looked at what there was to do in Civitavecchia. There is an old fort, a no cost museum, couple of churches and several decent restaurants for lunch. Might just hang there. Been to Rome twice and not sure if the 3 hour travel is worth it to see 1 or 2 things we have seen before.

We are Steve and Janice Garner. Did Empires of the Mediterranean last March on Viking Star. We loved the trip so much we booked again on Jupiter doing back to back Journey to Antiquities and Iconic Western Mediterranean this time. We may be looking to do a private Rome Tour while everyone is loading and unloading. Any recommendations on a tour company in Civitavecchia? Would like to hear from anyone that has done Viking shore excursions in Monte Carlo, Marseille, Sete' and Barcelona as to suggestions on the best tour to take.

Anyone out there have copies of the Viking Daily for the above cruise either March/April 2017? Also, what hotels are used for the post-tour Athens by Viking?

Anyone out there have copies of the Viking Daily for the above cruise either March/April 2017?

The wife and I are doing this cruise about the same time in 2018. What is the weather like? What was your airline route and time of travel. Thanks

Great stuff! Really helps and gives us some idea about the ship. I really appreciate the info. The Viking Office said they could not provide it.

Booked this cruise with the Ultimate Italy: Tuscany and Classic Greece pre/post add ons. Would like to know if some out there has a PDF of the Viking Star Daily of this itinerary and feedback on the pre/post trip extensions. Thanks!