aungrl

Yes, please. Post the review comparing V and SB here, as I'm guessing everyone who was interested in your cost analysis will be interested in this, as well. Thanks for creating a new thread for this one. Very helpful to see it laid out this way.

This is a serious question, not sarcastic or a jab at all. When you say "privacy benefits" vs. "security", what is the difference? (Maybe also a dumb question, but I tend to conflate those two concepts in my head when it comes to online activity.)

I would appreciate it if you would post the comparison here on the Viking board, and I'm sure others would, as well. Thanks for doing all this legwork. I'll check into what's happening with Oceania on July 1, as I wasn't aware.

Yes! Totally forgot to mention this - truly iconic.

Second both of these. We lived in the Chicago area for four years and these were the top two things we took visitors to experience. But there are so many wonderful things to see and do that it's easy to tailor a couple of days to your own interests. People fall into two or three camps in terms of "best deep dish pizza" in Chicago, and I'm firmly in the Giordano's camp. There's one within easy walking distance of Millennium park, just off Randolph.

Couldn't agree more! And Oia is where my friend was "based" during his time on Santorini. Our first and second trips to Italy were land trips, and we have wonderful memories of Venice, Florence, and Rome from those visits. It's very different than visiting briefly on a cruise ship; particularly, as you note, when it comes to Venice. One other example. We were fortunate many many years ago to visit Egypt for three weeks. (I was working for a large financial services firm that required two weeks off for everyone, regardless of role, back in the day, and I tacked on a third week with special permission. My husband was self-employed and managed to make it work.) The trip did include a 5-day cruise up a part of the Nile, but the immersion in the rest for the country really impacted both of us, and cemented our view that the best travel is, as you say, a combination of both land and sea.

Exactly.

My husband and I felt the same way, for probably the same reason. No desire to return. On the other hand, a friend of mine was on Santorini for a week for the wedding of a friend, on "the other side", as he puts it, and avoided the donkeys, the tourist shops, and all of that. And says it's one of his favorite places.

Almost the exact same thing happened to me. And this happens all the time. Totally creepy.

Several. I'm on iPad so can't get it to copy and paste in, sorry!

Just got this promotion on email this morning, good through June 30. SUMMER SALE: Up to FREE Airfare DOUBLE Past Guest Discount: Save up to $800* Offer Code SUM23

I was wondering if the phone was somehow listening to your breakfast conversation and "reading" bits and pieces of it into the forum....sort of like when I attempt to get my car to actually capture an intelligible text message by saying it out loud, only by accident instead of on purpose.

That top photo is mesmerizing! I just keep staring at it. You should frame it when you get home.

Yes, I looked forward to each of these!

So excited for you! Can't help you with the specific questions, but will be watching as others weigh in, since this particular itinerary is at the very top of our list. We've been up and down the other side of South America a couple of times over the years, but never this coast/the Chilean fjords. Unfortunately, we couldn't take advantage of this offer, which is probably one of the lowest prices/best combination of add-ons that we're likely to see in awhile. I hope you'll have the time to post occasionally (or frequently) as you go!

Really enjoying your updates and photos so far! Internet seems to be working pretty well at this point. Looking forward to hearing all about Day 3.

Well, we definitely don't want to give him a job at this stage! But yes, email on it's way.

Seriously, Mike needs to sell these bags. (If I keep saying it enough times, maybe it will happen! 😉)

Could not agree more! I've actually back-tracked from DC area to Chicago in order to catch the ORD-LHR daytime flight, when BOS-LHR wasn't available. Flying across in the day time makes all the difference for me in terms of avoiding jet lag. (People always argue that I'm 'wasting a day' on the airplane. For me, at least, I waste the first day anyway if I fly overnight because I feel yucky.)

We were on this sailing back in September of 2018, and it remains one of our all-time favorite cruises. We had wonderful weather, mostly smooth(ish) seas, and we made all of the ports. There's was some confusion at one port regarding our ability to dock due to a supply ship having our berth - I believe this was in the Faroe Islands - but the captain managed to find a spot elsewhere on the island, and buses picked us up there for our shore excursions. The weather, combined with not missing any ports, made all the difference, I'm sure. (We spoke so highly of this trip to friends of ours that they booked the trip for two weeks later in September, I believe for the following year. Their experience was absolutely the opposite of ours, with miserable weather, high and rough seas, and missed ports.)

I don't meet your criteria, having never done either of these excursions with Viking. However, we've been to Rome a number of times. Keeping in mind @TayanaLorna summary of how to interpret the Viking excursion summaries, which in our experience is spot on, you might want to research each of the sites that you will either drive by, or get to actually go in to, on these two excursions, and then choose the one that lets you actually visit those things that are most important/appealing to you. For us, one of the highlights of every trip to Rome is a visit to the Forum, especially when we can arrange to go in the evening, but that's entirely personal preference. Just be sure to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain backwards over your shoulder to ensure you get to return to the city someday!

Such a great offer! Great that you could take advantage of it.

Sorry, I thread jumped and didn't see all of your other posts before I wrote the one above. I'm glad that you have been able to resolve so much of it so quickly, and I hope the credit card company gives you some satisfaction now that you've filed the dispute.

So so sorry to hear this. As a long-time (decades) AA flyer, I was following this thread closely and couldn't imagine how what you were describing could have happened. I hate it for you that this what it turned out to be. All good luck in getting it resolved, and please come back and let us know how it worked out.

Very excited to follow along! Have a fabulous voyage.