flare3192

In the past I have seen an email address to contact Viking about issues. I have been looking through here and can't find it so wondered if someone could please provide it. This email is usually answered by a department that resolves issues and I would like to contact them. Thank you

we were surprised last night to get the offer but there was no availability to replace the cruise until next year or 2025. We really needed more time to figure out how we could do it so they found others. it is only a week before the cruise and we are leaving in 4 days. We had scheduled things a walking tour of the amalfi coast after so we would have had to still go but change the air -- where we fly into and the date. Then we had other private guides in some of the ports -- they could be cancelled without penalty but these people have kept their schedule for us and I was not sure about cancelling. If we had only scheduled the cruise it would have been great but it would have been a huge headache to try to reschedule everything. But I wish I had considered this post more carefully earlier. We could have been ready to change.

thanks we have chosen ecoventura

we will be on the sky and I wondered if they have really good masseuses. If you have had a massage that was great would you please share the name of the masseuse? Thank you

I don't see a place to ask this question so if there is a place to direct me to, please let me know We would like to go to the Galapagos. I would like some feedback on the following ships Aqua Mare Origin, Theory, Evolve Infinity Evolution Elite of information on another cruise ship we should consider. We want excellent guides with a good command of English. We also would like a nice ship with comfortable cabins. A balcony might be nice. Thank you

This is basically our first cruise. We know about the included tips and leaving something extra for a person you feel deserves it. My question is for the tours -- if you take an included tour do you tip and, if so, how much. If you take a tour that you pay additional for do you tip and how much? If anyone is taking separate tours such as through tours by locals or viator do you tip and how much. We are doing a combination of all of these tours and I am trying to figure a budget for them. Also do you only tip in euros or is US dollars acceptable. We will be in Turkey, Greece, Croatia, Montenegro and Italy. Thank you for your input.

Do men wear hawaiian shirts to dinner with regular pants?

We are leaving the ship a day early and we had to get permission to do that. You may need to let Viking know you are planning to get off overnight.

cdnpolar we were on a river cruise where someone fell and was taken to the hospital. His wife was very upset as they did not have trip insurance and Medicare does not cover you out of the US (yes there are a few limited plans that have some coverage) Most policies have a preexisting condition waiver if the policy is purchased within a short time of putting any money down -- usually 2 to 3 weeks. Most of the policies require you to cover the complete cost of your trip for this but there are a few that do not per Steve at the trip insurance store. There are also some policies like geoblue which only covers medical. I do not have experience with it but have considered it. L do purchase trip insurance but I do not always cover the total cost of the trip. In that case I am aware that I could lose some of the cost of the trip and accept that. What I most want is to not incur additional unexpected costs due to illness, accident or transportation (airline) issues

it appears that Viking sells back to back cruises as one cruise. On the turnover day they do not have tours as they are too busy getting ready for new people and getting people who terminate in the city off. This happens in Athens, Venice and Rome. In Rome you can get off and do an excursion on your own. I am stuck with Venice which docks in Chioggia and has no excursions for the full day we are there and no easy way to do any excursions on our own as those all start from Venice. I have read that some people get off the ship and spend the two nights in Venice to be able to do things but that is both expensive and an inconvenience to pack for two days. I keep hoping Viking will do something for us.

We are on a Viking cruise from Istanbul to Rome in May. Since shore excursion descriptions have recently been made available I have looked at them. We arrive in Chioggia at noon on May 24 and leave at 5:00 pm on May 26. There are shore excursions for the day we arrive and the day we depart but nothing for the middle day-- not even transportation to Venice if we wanted. I am new to this and have tried finding things to do there with tours by locals and trip advisor and have found nothing. Would like swome ideas/input here if someone has any experience with this. Thank you

We have a cruise with the free included air. We paid for the air plus. Once ticketed we were able to upgrade the ticket to business and I could use miles -- which I did not have enough of -- or cash. The air was ticketed immediately and was on the itinerary I wanted. After that it was under my control and I could pick seats, pay for comfort or business upgrades. But that was done directly with the airline. Originally business was not available but as I watched it it did become available in the airline app and we took advantage of it. That said I usually prefer to book my own directly.

i would like the original op to give an update

thank you for this we are also new to viking and did not realize when we booked it that it is three different segments and people will come on or leave in Athens and Venice. We have arranged a driver for Athens for the two days so not a big issue but the amount of time in Venice is something I do not look forward to. It is a ot of time and it does not appear you can book alternate excursions as the docking information is up in the air. Chiggia has no companies dong excursions. Someone has told me to plan a down day so that will probably be here. Lets hope Viking does something for people on for the long haus

We will be on a cruise departing from Istanbul. We fly in two nights early and stay in old town. We thought we would take a taxi to the cruise ship with our luggage but after reading this I am wondering about that -- however with the crowding on the trams and with luggage I am still leaning to a taxi service and would like feedback on that. The day we board the ship we did not plan to do anything else Have to leave the hotel by noon.

what about leggings for women with a tunic top -- is this allowed?

Perhaps this has been addressed but with 29 pages things are hard to find -- Since this an expedition cruise are you expected to bring other clothes for dinner? I am planning to bring 3 layers for top and bottom and would like to be able to use some of those clothes for dinner -- double duty -- is this allowed? Or do I need to bring a nicer top and additional slacks for dinner? Are leggings with a tunic top allowed? There is a lot of extra clothing for this cruise and I am trying to do all carry on. This past summer our checked bag with all our cold weather items for Norway were delayed 12 days. One more question for the boat -- what types of shoes are needed for the boat -- not the excursions -- would running shoes be ok? Do you need heavier duty ones? Sorry -- another question -- are regular sunglasses ok or do you need glacier ones ? Thank you to all who have gone before and help us.

From what I have read, one of the main reasons you use their boots is that yours have been other places and they do not want to introduce any foreign things into Antarctica that you have on those boots. Also you have water landings and their boots are designed for that. I am not someone who likes to walk around in my hiking boots unless on a hike so I have been wondering if I really need them on the ship or if other shoes will do. Would appreciate someone answering that question also

where?

We are going to Antarctica in January and looking into buying gloves and sun protection. If you have been, please let us know what did and did not work for you. Were mittens better than gloves? Did you use hand warmers? Which gloves did you buy that you liked? Did you use your regular sunglasses or did you get glacier specific sunglasses? If you did purchase sunglasses are you able to use them at home or are they too dark? Did you purchase polarized or non polarized? Thank you

LindaS The expeditions thread has gotten so long at 29 pages that it is difficult to find anything which is why I started this. I thought a thread related to the gear you need to have or not have would be useful.And perhaps things brought but not needed or things needed but not brought would help more than me. The roll call for the trip is very inactive

Thought I would start a thread here for tips and recommendations on things needed for an Antarctica cruise. Right now I am looking for glasses and considering ski goggles but would like recommendations -- gloves, glove liners, socks, etc. If you have been there what did you bring that worked for you. What did you bring that you wish you didn't? Any information would be helpful

Thank you all for your responses. We did go ahead and book it -- as far as the air we are hoping to upgrade at least one way to comfort class -- it is available. When we looked at it, the deal is such that both my husband and I would be essentially saving $500 an hour. We figure we are paying about half what it would normally cost so we did it. We expect to have to accept being miserable on the flights. It has been a long time since we flew that far in coach. The cabin is assigned and we are about halfway in the dv 3 area. As far as Atlas goes, we almost did it to Norway this year but changed our plans as the reports of the company were awful. The did change presidents a little while ago so hopefully it will get better but we are not willing to try them yet. As far as hurtigrutin -- their new ships look very nice and they have a good reputation -- but they would have been significantly more for us. I read the article on Quark which is sobering -- it appears to have been an accident which can happen anywhere -- a tragedy to be sure.

we would like to go to Antartica and a good deal came up but we have to decide by the morning so I am asking for any and all feedback from people regarding this decision. Viking includes air but we are at their mercy and would not know anything until booked and paid for with the short time frame we would lose our money if we cancelled. Ther are no upgrades to business or comfort available and the flight back is 10 hours on United -- a carrier I haven't flown in 30 years or more. We also can't pick the cabin -- Viking will assign. the price is really good and if we waited until next year it would cost double for the trip so this option is attractive. Would appreciate any information. We have not cruised with Viking before but will be going with them to the Mediterranean in May. Thank you

Amazon sells Marius Lillunn blankets so you may want to look there -- it would not be the same pattern as Viking but may be the same material, weight etc. If you are an Amazon Prime member you could order one and send it back if it is not to your liking. I got there by following the link on this site someone posted but you could just do a search on Amazon