Lilyskittymom

33 minutes ago, deec said:

Ship Boy according to Amazon that is what I have :)!

I have an Otterbox Magsafe hard case that's a little finicky, but it works.  I checked the reviews before I bought it. Some are definitely better than others.

Maria

6 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Yes I see it now Maria.  Thank you!  I had already read Peregrina's review in post 48 but somehow had missed that link (probably because it was posted by OneSixtytoOne).

Appreciate your taking the time!

Let me know if you have any other questions.  We really loved the cruise.

Maria

6 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Thank you! 

Which ones did you take?

Which ones did you enjoy and which were not worth it?  (Including the Includeds too)

If you go back to page 2, post 48, you'll see the review I posted in another thread.

Maria

7 hours ago, Hazel52 said:

Does anyone have a list of excursions (from past years) that includes pricing for this itinerary? I'm reading about options on Viking's website but they don't list prices until we can book and need to have a better idea of things before then. 

 

Thanks!

These are the excursions, and prices, from our cruise in April 2023.  Hope this helps with your planning.  Just a note - we docked in Yokohama, not central Tokyo.  Yokohama is a very nice port area, but it took over an hour to drive into Tokyo.

Hong Kong

Postcards of Hong Kong – Included

Hong Kong Walking Tour - $59

Bamboo Monastery & Walled Village - $59

Hong Kong Cultural Discovery - $59

Kowloon Highlights - $59

Taipei (Keelung)

Taipei in Brief - Included

Best of Taipei - $149

Sky Lantern Ceremony & Old Town of Jiufen - $119

Landscapes & Lanterns - $69

Reflexology & Massage - $99

Highlights of Taipei - $99

Yangmingshan National Park & Hot Springs - $99

Nagasaki

Scenic Nagasaki – Included

The Atomic Bomb Museum & Peace Park - $109

Historic Highlights of Nagasaki - $159

Arita & Imari Pottery - $149

Glover Garden & Mt. Inasa Observatory - $249

Battleship Island - $99

Kagoshima

Kagoshima Scenic Ride – Included

Highlights of Kagoshima & Surroundings - $199

Ibusuki Sand Bath Experience - $169

Sakurajima Volcano & Arimura Lava Observatory - $109

Chiran Samurai District & Peace Museum - $129

Beppu

Steaming Sights of Beppu – Included

Yabakei Gorge - $109

Shinto Shrine & Natural Treasures - $99

Buddhas, Castle & Monkeys - $149

Private Hot Spring Bath - $289

The Hells of Beppu - $99

Hiroshima

Postcards of Hiroshima – Included

Itsukushima Island & Its Shrine - $99

Ultimate Hiroshima - $149

Kintaikyo Bridge & Iwakuni Castle - $89

Mitaki Temple & Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park - $99

Hiroshima Castle & Shukkei-en Garden - $79

Japanese Dining Experience - $99

Osaka

Osaka City Tour – Included

Ancient Kyoto - $149

Sights of Kyoto - $169

Best of Kyoto - $159

Timeless Traditions of Kyoto - $259

Osaka Highlights - $99

Shimizu

Stunning Vistas of Shimizu - Included

Highlights of Mt. Fuji - $159

Kunozan Tosho-gu Shrine & Nihondaira - $99

Shiraito Falls & Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha - $99

Tokaido Hiroshige Art Museum & Miho no Matsubara - $99

Tokyo (Yokohama)

Tokyo Panorama – Included

Tokyo Highlights - $149

Traditions of Japan - $199

The Temples of Kamakura - $149

Yokohama Highlights - $79

An Evening in Tokyo - $89

Geisha Performance & Dinner - $229

16 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

@Lilyskittymom and @Clay Clayton, with your permission, I would like to copy your responses to Cattom into the thread that Maria mentions at the end of her comments, Everything "Far Eastern Horizons": Hong Kong to Tokyo

 

It is actually because of some off-line conversation with Cattom, that I remember some old notes that I had started in 2020 and found the link to the thread that I had started way back when.

No problem.  I'll probably chime in on that page when people have questions.

Maria

18 hours ago, Cattom said:

I was wondering if you'd be willing to share what tours you did or if you used private companies?  I'm working on my spreadsheets right now.  As there are just two of us, I'm finding that the prices are even higher than the Viking prices.  They would be good if we were a small group.  We're on the Grand Pacific from Vancouver to Aukland September-December 2024.

Thanks in advance!

A little back story on our cruise.  We were originally booked for Hong Kong to Vancouver but had to shorten it to Tokyo when my husband started having medical problems and couldn't be gone that long.  We had quite a bit of money to spend on a cabin upgrade and excursions.

Since we could book our excursions earlier with the upgrade, we had no problem getting what we wanted and there was no need to look for outside tours.  But there were local guides meeting people who booked private tours at every port.  Clay's suggestion of goodwill guides is something we would have done if it had been necessary.

We did a combination of included and paid excursions and generally liked everything, with the exception of the included tour in Kagoshima, the Kagoshima Scenic Ride.  It was a rainy day so the stop at the scenic overlook was soggy and the trip to the local museum was ok, but literally something you could find in any city, anywhere in the world.  A private tour would have been a better choice.

I'm not going to get into a lot of detail on the excursions because the descriptions were accurate.  Here's what we did.  Hong Kong - we flew into HK a day early, took the ferry across the harbor, and the tram to Victoria Peak, on our own. We enjoyed the views and the walk down one of the hiking trails.  The next day we took the Hong Kong Walking Tour, which was a nice representation of the city.  Afterwards, we wandered the area near the port, which is home to the largest shopping mall in HK.

In Taipei, we did the Highlights of Taipei.  Since we didn't have a lot of time in port, this was a good tour for us. 

In Nagasaki we went on the Atomic Bomb Museum and Park.  The museums in Nagasaki and Hiroshima are very different, and I'd recommend going to both of them if that's where your interest lies.  It was a very good tour.  The Glover Gardens are a short uphill walk from the ship and was definitely worth the visit.  In addition to the main house, and the gardens, there was a museum that had costumes and floats used for local festivals - very interesting.

In Beppu, we did the Steaming Sites of Beppu, which was very interesting.  If you'd like to go to an onsen, look for one close to the port - they're everywhere.  The Viking onsen tour is robbery. I wanted to go to an onsen, but would have had to go to one a bit further away because I have large visible tattoos.  Yes, there are tattoo friendly onsens in Beppu especially.  A Google search will find them.  Instead, we took the Viking shuttle bus (most ports had one) to the area near the train station.  From there, we wandered through shopping areas and stopped at some small neighborhood shrines and temples (Google maps is your friend).

Ultimate Hiroshima was wonderful, with its visit to their Atomic Bomb Museum and Park, and the trip to Miyajima Island.  The island was really worth going to - very quaint and lovely.  Again, the Atomic Bomb Museum is very different from Nagasaki's.  We were in port until noon the next day and went on a walk along the water the morning we left.

In Osaka, we were on Sights of Kyoto, another wonderful all day tour.  Food on the all day tours was always very good and at local Japanese restaurants.  

Shimizu took us to Highlights of Mt Fuji, another all day tour that took us to the 5th station of Mt Fuji, the furthest you can go by vehicle up the mountain.  Fuji-san wasn't visible when we pulled into port the evening prior, but we were treated to unobstructed views of the mountain the next day - a rare occurrence in April.

Tokyo had us docked at the port of Yokohama, and while the port area is very nice, it was a 1+ hour drive to Tokyo, so the Tokyo Panorama tour wasn't as good as it could have been because we spent 2.5 hours driving.  We did go back for An Evening in Tokyo, which was very nice.  The views from the Skytree and the way the streets are lit up at night was amazing.  Viking guides were available to help people navigate the subway system, for anyone who wanted to head out on their own.  Hopefully you'll be docked in Tokyo itself, which would put you so much closer to the city.

Overall, this was a wonderful cruise and makes me want to go back to Japan.  We were warmly welcomed, and sent off, from the all the ports.  The port areas themselves are surrounded by parks and are well taken care of.  International ATMs can be found at 7-11 and Lawson. Perfectly safe; I got Yen there a couple of times. And the stores are everywhere especially near the ports.  If you don't know about the wonders of 7-11, Lawson and Family Mart, look it up before you go.  They're not the sad version of 7-11 we have in the US.  

There's also another page called Everything "Far Eastern Horizons": Hong Kong to Tokyo that is being started back up again.  It's worth looking into.

Hope this helps.

Maria

3 hours ago, Penspack said:

This was the description of our excursion as well.

You can prepurchase. We did not. We got there, got in standby line, then got on shuttle to Arizona. It is run very efficiently.

And the earlier you go, the better.  We've been travelling to Hawaii for 25+ years and generally go early and hit the standby line.  My comment was mostly to address the comment that Viking offered no tour at the Arizona Memorial, just a drop off at the Visitor's center.  That's exactly how it works there for everyone.  You can easily spend the entire day at the National Valor in the Pacific National Monument, which includes the USS Arizona and USS Missouri.

In the past, tour groups were able to reserve tickets to go out to the Arizona Memorial.  This left very few tickets for people showing up on their own.  That isn't the case any more; everyone needs to prepurchase a ticket.  Tickets can be purchased online, for a $1 fee per ticket, or you can try your luck in the standby line.  They're available 24 hours, starting at 3pm HST, or 8 weeks in advance.  There are no private tours of the memorial.  The best Viking can do is get you there.  The museum is very good, but you really want to go to the memorial.

4 hours ago, cruising denise said:

There is also a great free app, Turboscan, which will create PDFs with your phone's camera, and easily allow you to send them.

 

Probably the newer phones have built-in features but considering I just upgraded today from my old iPhone 8 to a 14, I wouldn't know.....😅

Under the Notes app on iPhones is the ability to scan a document.  It's under the camera icon in Notes.  I upgraded from a 7 to a 14, just a little bit of a learning curve!

Maria

18 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

I am following all of the roll calls for the itinerary, scrounging for whatever I can learn.

 

Maybe our paths will cross in 2025.

We did Hong Kong to Tokyo this past April and loved it.  If you have any questions, please ask.

Maria

Most phones are capable of doing photo to pdf (yes, you have to do each page) and saving it as a single document.  Email it to yourself and you're done.

Maria

16 hours ago, cruising denise said:

Thank you both so much for this.  We will definitely plan to go on our own, and be able to take our time.  

We spend time on Oahu every year and are familiar with the procedure to get tickets to the Arizona. You may have already researched this, but in case you haven't, I'd suggest you go to the USS Arizona website https://www.nps.gov/perl/uss-arizona-memorial-programs.htm Tickets are required to take the boat out to the memorial, but are not needed to enter the museum site.  Tickets are available at either 24 hrs prior (at 3pm Hawaii time the day prior) or 8 weeks in advance.  If you try to get tickets the day prior, be sure you've setup your account ahead of time and are logged in a couple minutes ahead of time; they go fast.  Don't worry if you can't get a ticket, you can walk up to the ranger's desk at the auditorium and get on the wait list - but be aware that you could be waiting a while.  My best advice is to get there early to avoid big crowds.  There's a lot there to see and occupy your time. 

Maria

4 hours ago, Mickey111 said:

We have reservations for chefs table but no indication of the menu on those days. Can they be changed if we don’t like the menu eg soft shell crabs or octopus etc?

Many people wait until they're onboard to book the Chef's Table so they can look at the menus first.  It's very easy to make, change or cancel your reservation.  On our latest cruise, we made reservations in advance.. Ended up keeping one and changing the other.  Easy process; do it sooner to get a better choice of times.

Maria

26 minutes ago, bison2013 said:

are bathing caps required in the Nordic Spa facilities or in the pool?

No.

9 minutes ago, deec said:

I miss the felt pouches!

We actually got one a couple months ago.  They're out there.

Maria

9 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Oh I'm so so sorry Cathy.

It is just a shame that there are so many selfish, inconsiderate people traveling on Viking cruises these days.   We are getting on the Saturn in NYC in a couple weeks - and that is our biggest fear - namely, all those coughing, hacking people on buses.   We've seen it before on post-COVID cruises, but have somehow been lucky and managed to avoid COVID (and we are fully (6) vaccinated/boosted even).

But - we do want to see things, so we'll just do our best to avoid those people!

My suggestion is to also avoid the Star Theater.  Lectures and port talks can be watched from your room, which is what we did when we were on Octantis, in Antarctica last December.  We were on Far Eastern Horizons (Hong Kong to Tokyo) on the Orion last month.  By the end of the 2 weeks there were plenty of people coughing. While there were a good number of people wearing masks, the people who needed to be masked weren't.  They definitely had Covid tests onboard because the woman in the cabin next door to us asked to be tested and was positive.  Both she and her husband quarantined for a number of days, based on Japan's requirements.  My husband tested positive when we got home and, 11 days after his first symptoms, had major surgery.  His surgeon wasn't concerned. Do what you need to do to protect yourself.  

Maria

Maria

13 hours ago, THR said:

Hi all,

 

Sorry if there is a thread on this topic; I couldn't seem to find it. And this one is quite gigantic so I didn't want to go through every page.

 

I believe we are the true definition of new cruisers. We are on the Midnight Sun in June and not only is our first viking cruise, it is our first ever cruise.

 

We're a little lost on the subject of excursions and I would love to seek

advice and views on the excursion options.

 

I note that opinions on the included excursions are fairly divisive, so we were wondering whether the consensus is to:

• Book the extra cost ones
• Book your own via local operators
• Just do your own thing on shore.

 

I note that the Viking ones seem to be a lot more expensive than the book your own local options; but I am not sure whether the additional expense is justified as it is more convenient (due to Viking arranging, not having to work out where to meet the operators, ensuring you're back on time, etc.).

 

We won't necessarily do extra cost at every port as some included might be okay; and I guess we won't necessarily want to do an excursion at each port either.

 

Thanks for any advice 🙂

 

You've gotten a lot of good information on planning excursions.  I'd like to add to look at recent roll calls for information on outside tour operators. Many people make plans and invite others to join them.  Someone might get back to you with feedback, if you ask.

Maria

28 minutes ago, Margaretwelker said:

I’ve called Viking to get a copy of what their excursions are like but no luck there. They said they would be released to me about 30 or 60 days before the trip. I am a single traveler, so entry-level cabin. Can anyone please take a photo or send to me an example of what the excursions are like? I imagine the free excursions are just a bus ride around the city. Would this be correct?

Have you looked on the Viking website?  Click on each day of the itinerary and a list of possible excursions pop up.  It'll show the length, difficulty and other info for each excursion.

Maria

6 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

I'll suggest that whatever device you use the most is the easiest, regardless if it is a cell phone or camera.

 

Although I haven't had a cell phone since I retired, DW has an iphone and I find it terrible to use for taking photos. I have used cameras for about 50 years, so find either of my full frame cameras are much easier than a phone. 

I use both. The iPhone is for photos I can immediately post on social media and the Canon mirrorless is for photos I want to play with and possibly have printed.  Yes, it largely depends on what you intend on doing with the photos.  Either way, there are classes you can take that will give you insight on how to compose photos, especially when doing travel photography.  My local community college teaches a variety of classes, for phones and cameras, as does the school district.  You can find online classes, too.

Hint: One of the easiest things you can do to make your phone photos look good is to learn how to straighten them so the horizon is actually horizontal. 

Maria

Any idea where Orion will be between April 1st of this year, after they finish Secrets of Southeast Asia in Singapore, and April 15th, when they show up in Hong Kong for Far Eastern Horizons and Far East and Alaska?

Maria

28 minutes ago, cruising denise said:

Thanks, Maria - very interesting.  A once in a lifetime experience, must have been.  I see you were on Cultural Cuba in 2019 - we went on that cruise in early November that year - when did you go?  We were so happy we went while the window was open.  I see you also made Waterways of the Tsars, which we originally had booked for last summer....

I'm considering going back to work in Antarctica in a year or two.

2019 was a good year for travel - Cuba in January and Russia in July.  We really enjoyed Russia for the same reason we liked China - they have a similar format where Viking guides travel with you. Unfortunately, both itineraries are off the table.

Maria

18 hours ago, cruising denise said:

Wow, thanks for sharing your experiences.  I'm thinking maybe seeing the Penguin Parade on Phillip Island will satisfy my longing to see penguins!!  What were you doing at McMurdo?

I was a Lieutenant with the Antarctic Fire Department.  McMurdo is the largest research station on the continent with a summer population that can be as high as 1,200 people.  Only about 20% are researchers.  The rest of us are there to keep the lights on, the water flowing, the vehicles running, and the airfields operational.  It's an amazing place to work with it's own unique set of challenges.

Maria

I'm just finishing up Endurance, and agree that it's very well written.  In addition, I worked at McMurdo Station, Antarctica from October 2021 - March 2022 and have been on one of the Viking Antarctica cruises.  Both Antarctica experiences are very different, but the Viking trip was a wonderful experience all around.  Great ship, great crew, landings, scenery and I saw more penguins than I would have ever seen at McMurdo.  Just being in Antarctica makes it worthwhile.

Maria

16 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

Could be except....would they do a complete repair job in Santiago??? Know they did a quickie patch job right after the incident in Usuhaia. Hmmmm....🤔

They'd have to order windows, furnishings, etc.  I'm sure there are many places in the world, between Santiago and Toronto, where they can get the work done and they likely had to schedule it in advance.  Just thinking.

8 hours ago, CharTrav said:

Returned safely from down under last Wednesday.  Flight home felt like Groundhog Day -- leave Melbourne on Wednesday at 1pm, arrive SFO at 7:30am same day, and arrive home that evening at 9pm.  How many hours was that??? Alot.... Body hasn't quite recovered from the time shift even tho I did just fine traveling from here to Auckland.  Don't know why.  Maybe cuz I kept telling myself I was only 6 hrs away from my time zone which happens to be .... yesterday. 🙃 Great trip too!  Anyway -- have just finished updating the consolidated schedule spreadsheet and posted it in the usual spot.  Schedules for both VO and VE have been updated.

 

For VO:

• Saturn: fully scheduled thru Sept '24
• Sea, Sky, Jupiter, Venus, Neptune:  fully scheduled thru Aug '25
• Star:  fully scheduled thru Sept '25 with a 22 day gap starting 11Nov24 in Barcelona.  Not sure what will be happening here. Maintenance? ??
• Orion: fully scheduled thru Sept '25
• Mars:  fully scheduled thru Oct '25

 

For VE 

• Polaris:  schedule updated for both 2023 and 2024 thru Oct '24.  In the case of 2023, have a gap between 1Apr (in Santiago) and 3May (in Toronto).  Clearly need a new cruise to fill this gap.
• Octantis: no schedule changes; still fully scheduled thru Sept '24.

 

If you have a copy of the 2023-2025 edition, use the link provided on the ReadMe tab to download a fresh copy of this file. If this is your first time downloading this file -- use this link instead -- https://www.dropbox.com/s/koar44ane0avi7u/Viking Ocean %26 Expedition Cruises (2023 to 2025).xlsm?dl=0.  No DropBox account required to download the file. 

The gap for Polaris might be to make repairs from the rogue wave incident in the Drake Passage.  

Maria