FionaGal

At the DV level it helps to make your one reservation as early in the cruise as possible.  Then you can make an additional reservation after you’ve used that one.  On our first cruise we made a special occasion reservation late in our week and were told we couldn’t make another one because we already had one waiting.  We learned for the next one to book early in the week and then got another one too.  

Not exactly late December, but we sailed Dec 1-8 from Rome to Barcelona.  The Mediterranean was calm with a few evenings of very gentle movement on board.  Temps were mild, pretty much 60 in every port.  The locals were dressed more heavily than the tourists, with winter clothes.  A light packable down jacket was just right.  Crowds in Rome were considerably lighter than in July when we were last there, and the temps were a huge improvement.  We learned our lesson not to travel in summer!

I think there is an issue with invitations being received.  We never got one for our July cruise and only found out from others we had already connected with on FB.  (And DH was the one who started the roll call)

We were on the Sky in Dec in DV 4 #4052.  No drawers in closet.

Glad you got your answer!

On 12/9/2018 at 7:15 PM, Peregrina651 said:

 

Even in November, I would be bringing the winter coat, because the the weather can turn on a dime and I'm not happy touring unless I am warm (the weather can be cold but not me). I made a mistake on a day trip last year and did not dress warmly enough and I was miserable for the whole tour. We are traveling in March and I will be bringing a winter coat and Uggs.

My suggestion would be a light weight winter coat, like packable down, with a scarf if needed.   We checked temps from home and although the highs were all about 60, the mornings were definitely colder.  If you take the Montserrat excursion from Barcelona, it can be much colder and windier due to elevation.  We were on the Dec 2-9 sailing and had great weather with only one day of on/off drizzle.  Always better to have a coat than wish you did.  (We arrived in Rome one day early and were surprised that everyone seemed to be in winter mode with fur lined hoods even though it was 63.  At home we would still be seeing t shirts.)

And I believe Mamsen’s is the only place you can get Success cake. We had heard so many raves about it we had to try it. It was amazing. (They have other choices too.)

We were on the Orion in July (Italy and hot). The few afternoons we went to the pool there were maybe 10 people at once in the water, mostly standing by the edge with drinks. It ranged from about 4 feet to maybe 6 feet. The infinity pool was usually more crowded, although it’s a smaller pool. We were hoping to give it a try but stuck with the regular pool and the spa. The spa was our favorite place for afternoons.

We were on the Orion in July and experienced the planetarium. It wasn’t really being used as a planetarium but as a domed 3D movie theater. Two different movies were available, one was about the NASA program and the other was about the midnight sun (and darkness) in Norway. Somewhat entertaining, but we had hoped for a true planetarium and some astronomy lessons. Maybe that will come in the future. The overall cruise experience and ship were fabulous, but the planetarium was a bit of a let down for us.

We had the same experience with the Meet & Mingle in July. No invitation, and my husband was the starter of the roll call for our cruise (and first to sign up for the M & M). We had met some other couples on the ship and one group texted the invitation to our small group. We did go, but only 8 of us were there. The crew/staff outnumbered us by far. Very nice drinks & hors doerves!

Our cruise isn't for 400 days. When will they start listing the shore excursions so we can decide which we're interested in?

Linda

This might have been mentioned already, but you can view some likely excursions (but no prices for optional) if you go to the Itinerary tab on the specific cruise page on Viking‘s website. Click on the specific port and you’ll get a preview of excursions to read while you wait for them to show up on My Viking Journey.

Our OBC given by our TA was applied to optional excursions at the time we booked them. We had a small OBC from Viking for booking another cruise while onboard, and that was applied to our gratuities. Both worked for us.

Here’s a short version of the Mexico menu:

Tostadas de Pulpo (octopus on tostada chip), Tamalito de Pollo (don’t remember much), Nogales con Limon (icy prickly pear and lemon), Short rib with mole sauce, Chocolate en Texturas.

Hubby was not able to get a photo or scanned copy to load here. We enjoyed some courses, others just ok. I guess it’s supposed to be a dining adventure!

Fabulous photos, thanks for sharing!

I believe we are the second voyage after the shakedown cruise. The observatory or planetarium offers two different 3D movies. The evening showings are “Journey to Space” and the afternoon showing is “Under the Arctic Sky”. We saw both and personally liked the Arctic theme better. If you go, we suggest avoiding the bottom seats. There are still a number of seating areas around the dome, but I have nothing to compare it to since this is our first cruise. You get tickets for the movies at guest services and they were easy to get when we asked on our second day. It seemed a lot of guests didn’t even know about the planetarium.

About our favorite spots on the ship: we loved watching our first sail away (from Venice for us) on deck 8. Very cool view of the city as we left! We also enjoyed the hot/cold features in the spa and our breakfasts in the world cafe. The ship is beautiful wherever you go.

Oh no!! (Just kidding.) That means we’re halfway through with our cruise. It’s been fabulous so far and the ship is beautiful, just like the other Ocean ships I understand. We have 3 more ports to go then a few days off the ship in Rome.

July 1 for us! Can’t wait!

Our flight leaves the day before but we fly during the night and arrive on the morning of Day 1. I believe this is common for flights to Europe.

Well - today was my day to book excursions - and as I expected - not many choices. Almost all sold out on a busy Homeland cruise including some included tours. You would think that they could have figured this one out by now. I know that they will add some of the included back - so they say but if I wanted to chose an optional - I would not have much choice. Times that were left in some cases were horrible - afternoon or early morning.

 

I will plan my own excursions - half way there already but I will think twice before booking Viking again. This itinerary is exactly what I wanted and I have no regrets. That said, this is a complicated itinerary and paying for and having the cruise line help with excursions is lacking.

May I ask what cabin level you have? We’re in the DV level and wondering about our chances when our booking window opens on another cruise soon.

Actually, in all the minibar discussions so far, iced tea has not come up. Someone is going to have to ask. I don't think that it will be a minbar item per se because bottled iced tea isn't on the minibar man's cart. If it can be done, it will probably come through the room steward.

 

However, iced tea is available self-serve in the World Cafe and can always be gotten at the bars (no charge, just like coffee). If you can get an empty bottle, you can keep yourself in iced tea.

Good to know! We’ll be fine with getting our own.

We were hoping there might be an option to get iced tea, either bottled or a pitcher with our mini bar. Has anyone asked for this?