georose

Heidi13. Does this mean you were able to visit Bali?

Your visa should cost $20. https://www.srilankanvisaservice.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAv8PyBRDMARIsAFo4wK1z87Tzh4J8NQoQesCbfZebHPhVXRhf9pVHMUgIovVn-LhdT6oFAjQaAsh1EALw_wcB

1 hour ago, Gigiandbaba said:

What was the name of that cruise-sounds great!!!?

 

We did this in 2016.  It does not exist anymore.  You can build it yourself for 2022 when they return to Istanbul.  There were 4 legs.  Istanbul to Rome, Rome to Barcelona, Barcelona to Bergen and Bergen to Stockholm.  50 days in all.  We are still in awe. 

15 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Our Viking “meddy” cruise from Istanbul to Stockholm was anything but boring.  It was awe inspiring.  

15 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Well, yeah, but many folks, due to financial limitations, would never even consider the possibility of being able to do something like a world cruise or segment thereof, so the "boring" Caribbean cruise you refer to - for lots of people - may well be the 'dream come true' that they might have saved years to afford. It's all relative in the general scheme of things. I'll be doing one of those "boring" Meddy cruises next year - have never been there and so looking forward to it (courtesy of Viking I might add... 🙂)  Those of us who have the means to travel - especially extensively - need to be ever mindful of how fortunate we truly are relative to the general world population. This was brought to my attention in the most profound manner when we were in a Catholic shop in Baltimore after after another one of those "boring" Caribbean cruises (that started and ended in Baltimore). We got talking to one of the employees, who asked us a few things about the cruise. It became quickly evident that even the idea of someday being able to get on a cruise ship was, for this guy, pretty much in the same league as planning a journey to Mars. It was quite humbling and something I never forgot. 

Thank you everyone for your input.  This has become a very interesting discussion.  Like others, we have our preferred cabin and our preferred location and book as early as we can.  

I, too, would like to know how people get last minute deals on Viking.  Viking told us they do not have last minute deals.  They prefer to have vacant cabins in case of issues.  

Chef Wayan is amazing.  Great you have him again.  

On 10/17/2019 at 8:19 AM, CTBob said:

We attended the special tomahawk steak dinner on the pool deck last night and were surprised by it.  The food and service with music provided by King were all Great!  Our thanks to Food Manager John, Head Waiter Jeffrey and Special thanks to Beverage Manager Nikolay who mentioned it to us and also provided the Cherry Crush bourbon drinks.  CTBob

Would that be Nicolai from Croatia?

On 10/8/2019 at 6:07 AM, Clay Clayton said:

Thanks Jim!

I will keep fingers crossed that it is the Asian supplier (and perhaps a one, ahem two-off that the fish was over cooked and dry) and hope that future cruises will have better food. 

The chefs appreciate it when we tell them something is not right with the food...too salty, overcooked, whatever....

8 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Thanks OP for posting that beautiful sunset shot.  It really was a beautiful day for a change.  After all the gloom, rain and fog this region we have crossed is famous for, the sunshine, blue sky, and puffy clouds was great.  It seemed most everyone had a little lift out of the day.  Sort of reminded me of the sky at the opening of the Simpsons...😎  Someone who went ashore at L'anse Aux Meadows will hopefully weigh in with their experiences as we decided on a "Spa Day" for us.  The spa facility onboard is as nice as any seen on any ship and, surprisingly, not used all that much.  Might be its hidden location.  Today is a sea day heading into the St. Lawrence Seaway enroute to Quebec City and Montreal.  Two beautiful cities I am looking forward to exploring.  Now if I can just change Norwegian Kroner for Canadian Dollars....  Hey, a question for our Canadian friends.  While anchored in Canadian waters the crew were allowed to have open only one bar per deck.  Does anyone know or understand the reasoning for such a rule?  This only affected 7 deck as the only bar open was Aquavit all the way aft.  It was still possible for anyone to get a drink anytime they wanted but it did put extra work on the crew as someone ordering a drink in Explorers meant sending a crew member aft to Aquavit to get it.  I can usually follow bureaucrats sometimes twisted reasoning for various laws but for the life of me I cannot make any sense of this bizarre rule.  Seems to be a rule made by someone just because they can.  Any enlightenment?

Sorry, I cannot explain the province of Quebec.  They seem to have their own rules.  

7 hours ago, SantaFe1 said:

So true!  Especially on a World Cruise. Everyone was so disappointed when the Captain announced that the tender platform was flooded and we could not go ashore on Easter Island, a bucket list trip for sure.  But our generous Captain spent the day circumnavigating the island, and we could see the statutes.  That afternoon we ran into him and I told him had had managed to make lemonade from a lemon of a day.  He seemed genuinely pleased.  Then, when we had to skip Casablanca to hurry across the Bay of Biscay two days early to beat out what he described as a tumultuous storm, I actually saw three men arguing with him about  his decision in the World Cafe while he was trying to have his dinner.  Not an easy job! 

How thoughtless some people are!   

On 9/15/2019 at 3:21 PM, Hockeyump said:

Why is this a boo boo?  Viking have no control over the weather.

I was referring to Page 1 of the Viking Daily where it mentions Cruising the South Atlantic.  The ship is in the North Atlantic.  

Looks to me like you are in the North Atlantic, not the South😂😂😂. Viking made a booboo.  

We will be following your incredible adventures.  We are particularly looking forward to the South America segment.  This is a bucket list item.  Enjoy!  

On November 2, 2018 at 1:54 PM, Barb32 said:

Hi, It seems that no one has started a roll call for this trip even though it is only 64 days away. We are also doing the Best of Australia extension and was hoping to hear feed back from anyone who has already done this. We are Barb & Bob from New Jersay.

This is a new trip.  No one has done it yet.  If you go to Facebook and do a search for Travellers who love Viking, you will find like minded people.

Did you mean you were looking at the 2020 World Cruise? It is 245 days, but they have it split into two parts so you could do half.

 

The 2019 World Cruise is only 128 days and might be of more interest, if you like the itinerary. We are doing the 2019, but 2020 was too long and we have been to almost all of the ports. I guess 2020 will be the year we stay home and get a dog.

There are 2 world cruises beginning in 2019. The second one starts later in the year and goes into 2020. Another world cruise starts early 2020. So many world cruises, easy to get confused.

Great info here. Some things we hadn't considered. Thank you. Viking does not refund if you cancel. In Canada we use ManuLife either though Costco or our agent. When we canceled our Caribbean cruise due to the Hurricanes, they transferred the insurance to our Cuba Panama Canal cruise. Easy peasy. No hassles.

Spoiler alert!

We ate at the Chef’s Table 3 times during our Trade Routes of the Middle Ages Cruise. Excellent!

 

Amuse Bouche

Roman Empire Delicacy - romaine & cucumber, goat cheese mousse

 

First course

Gallic Oxtail consumme, julienned vegetables

 

Granita

Medieval “Black & Blue” - vodka, mint & mixed berries

 

Main Course

Renaissance style Lamb Filet, sweet potato mash, glazed carrot medley, quintessential jus

 

Dessert

21st century nut brownie, pecan and walnut, chocolate mirror glaze; pistachio ice cream

Looks delightful!

We have never purchased Viking insurance. The thing about Viking insurance, you can cancel for any reason. More expensive though.

Absolutely!

We actually find most of the included wines to be just fine. Some are not that great. We also have an occasional cocktail. For us, it was not worth getting the SS package.

No, but it doesn't matter. Chef's Table is all about the mystery. Even if you saw the menu, you might not know what it was! Go with the flow. It's just plain fun!

OK I have passepartout blog and Rick and Bev but can you please post the links to Bruce and Kathy? Thanks!!

http://ourwideworld.com/2018/05/05/a-sunny-day-in-london-town/

http://www.rtwwithkathy.com

Is the app the same one that has the information about the artwork?

It's called Viking Voyager.