TayanaLorna

I guess my point was that if someone is looking to save on B2B cruises they need to look for ones that are sold with 2, 3 or 3 legs. It's a bit of research to do. One has to start with one ship, like the Saturn we were on, and look at sailing dates and duration. They are not advertised as Grand Voyages. I notice many of the TA's list something like FLL to Barcelona, then a cruise from FLL to Rome with the same departure date in FLL. Many repositioning cruises are like that. Now if the longer cruise is cheaper then adding the cost of the 2 shorter cruises, I don't know. That would be homework for someone looking to save. But I agree, considering 2 totally unrelated cruises with different arrival/departure dates, days on land independently or different ships as B2B really sucks.

On a Med/Adriatic cruise this past winter we booked Legs 2 & 3 (Rome to Athens) of a 4 Leg cruise from Barcelona to Istanbul. It was sold as a 2 week cruise called Italy, the Adriatic & Greece. When i realized it was part of a 4 leg cruise, i looked up the cost of each leg sold separately and the cost of our 2 legs was less then if each leg added together. Another surprise was that when excursion booking came available we were able to reserve for our entire 2 weeks which was before the folks who came on board for leg 3. We also got a reservation at each specialty restaurant for each week which was a jump on other guests.

Gerainger, Norway Lofoten Islands Every port in Iceland Puerto Varas, Chile Barcelona Kotor Taormina Buenas Aires Bergen

No no, matching PJ's are only for movie night in the main pool area.

I dare anyone to wear a thong swimsuit with a see-through cover up in the MDR. Now that would be entertainment.

I use windy.com and it works fine. I get tired of having to download an app to access stuff. I also like windfinder.com and enter specific locations that i frequent.

The Off Road Excursion to Volunteer Point is demanding due to being jostled and bounced around in a 4 wheel drive vehicle on a rough road. Not recommended for folks with lower back issues or those whose hips cannot brace the body against the side by side movement.

Core products 95% and 55% respectively. Ocean and river or river and ocean - i couldn't fund which was what.

I grew up in Chicago when there were very distinct ethnic neighborhoods with locally run restaurants - Chinese, German, Polish, Italian, Swedish, Greek, Korean... Now i live in Puerto Rico where the "asian" restaurants feature fried chicken and french fries and most ethnic restaurants do not exist. I love Puerto Rican food but i am so happy to dine on a Viking ship and have other choices even if they are not up to that localities standard.

I chuckled at your description of your dining friend. We had friends like that at our table so we began avoiding having meals with them. Then we had to stop asking them how their meal was when we would see them in passing because we would still have to listen to a complete review.

They open at noon pacific time but check earlier. When you invite others they do not have to confirm. It just appears on their MVJ calendar. Everyone must be in the same cabin category - DV or PV etc. I have done this several times. Only problem I ever had was trying to invite 3 other couples. System will only take a reservation for 6 tops.

I have noticed that new itineraries are very popular and often pricey. And yes, the fare and availability improves after a couple years or so. Also it looks like the new Vela will be sailing this cruise. Viking regulars like to try out new ships. Wasn't that I, A &G cruise just awesome! Our next cruise - Panama Canal FLL to FLL won't be nearly as exciting or port intensive. But we are looking forward to more new places and lots of sea days to enjoy the ship.

Just a warning that stated arrival time and departure time for Chioggia/Venice can change. Ours changed a week before. There are many factors not under Vikings control - tides, wind, rainfall. Rainfall, higher then normal tides and a southerly wind caused an Acqua Alta event and even closed the Mose barriers for a time. This was early March.

So it is very wise to reserve a cruise date and stateroom then get the Guest Statement and read EVERY SINGLE PAGE before paying the deposit. I always read my Guest Statement generally to be sure the dates, stateroom and general itinerary are correct but now will specifically look for any fine print itinerary changes.

@MikeyB I was specifically watching this cruise due to the 2 days in Malta and the day in Casablanca. You are saying Viking altered the itinerary but left the days/ports the same on their promo website?

Its nice to get the luggage tag package. Ours goes to our TA then to us. Usually have it 2 weeks before cruise. More important is the Final Document email that you will receive a week before cruise. It tells you where the ship is docked - important if you don't have transfer - and gives you emergency contact info. As a newbie, know that no matter what time your stateroom access, you can board at 11 am, have lunch and explore the ship until your room is ready. Enjoy your cruise.

@kctwinmommy posted the best medical certification form that i saw here in post #8. The scuba or PADI forms contain medical condition questions totally irrelevant to snorkeling. Absent any definitive answer from Viking or their providing us with a specific paper to complete, i will create my own form based on this form posted by kctwinmommy and bring it to my MD to complete. I've snorkeled extensively for decades. Physical abilities required are a decent aerobic capacity, the ability to breathe in and out through the mouth, an awareness of ones surroundings, ability to climb out of water on a ladder and a lack of water fear/anxiety. A medical statement saying the person does not have (or has under control with medication) cardiac disease, respiratory ailments, mental issues, anxiety disease or serious mobility issues should suffice. I would bring it to Guest Services when I board, tell them the excursion it is for and ask if it suffices. If it is not good enough, i cancel excursion.

What i always do when wondering about travel distances is consult Google Maps. I can almost always determine where the ship will be docked and then find the location of the excursion. Then I do a find directions and it tells me the distance and driving time to get there, Monteverde Cloud Forest certainly sounds like a place that would be on Google Maps. I am doing the FLL to FLL Panama Canal cruise and researching excursion lengths, locations and time spent in bus to decide if the time spent actually on the excursion is worth it to me. If lunch is included plan on that being 1 hours time.

Just looked at all the potential snorkeling trips for our Panama Canal cruise FLL to FLL. Only Belize Snorkel Barrier Reef requires a Certificate of Fitness. Cozumel's Scuba excursion says a liability waiver must be signed. Insurance requirements maybe? If it says Certificate required and I book the trip, will bring certificate. They aren't going to know anything at corporate.

I have never had a lack of staff offering to help me and i do not use a mobility device on board the ship. Just watch out for other passengers who are not paying attention to their surroundings.

I get this screen first also. I enter email and get code in my email. The next screen allows me to enter code OR to enter my password . My password manager will not do auto fill with it set up this way. So I have to get the code or go to my password manager and copy/paste password. Both options require me to leave the log in screen and then return with code or password. Its a real pain. Meanwhile back to Promos...

Took the Santiago to Buenas Aires - Around Cape Horn cruise in 2020 on the Jupiter and it was a fantastic 18 days. Saw lots of wildlife but on land excursions. Really loved our scenic cruising days through Chilean Patagonia so much that we want to go back for the expedition ship cruise as it spends the majority of its days in the fjords. I see the big difference between the Jupiter and the expedition ship cruise in the number of ports visited. The Jupiter has more pirts. The stops are a combination of cities (Santiago/Valparaiso, Montevideo and Buenas Aires) and small towns with nature/wildlife excursions options. Even the smaller ports of Puerto Montt, Ushuaia, Puerto Madryn and the Falklands are awesome. Compare each itinerary for ports visited, number of sea days and number of scenic cruising days to get an idea. On the Jupiter ocean cruise you do get up close to a glacier but not in a Zodiac. We also had a Chilean pilot on board for rounding the horn. The day we did it was quite calm and we did get close but that is not always the case. Each cruise has a different niche.

Totally off topic - @millybess. You and messybill have the same dog picture just different angle. Now how can that be?

My new phone does not have a jack for headphones. Can only use blue tooth. But then I never Facetime and have never ever called anyone while on vacation. However what a great way for staff to let speaker squakers know they are being rude.

Its yours to drink at the restaurant, in a lounge, on your balcony with whomever you wish. However i don't think V would take kindly to ordering individual drinks for others.