Richbutnot

We tendered into Amalfi this week.

The Sirena showed the World Cup final in the lounge a couple of weeks ago, so there is a chance.

We are looking at SDTs for excursions in Alicante, Cartagena and Palma. Each tour requires a minimum of 14 people. Is it common for tours to be cancelled due to lack of participation? Do they give enough notice to book something else? I do not wish to recruit others for the excursion via the roll call.

Book a massage somewhere that has shower facilities and hang out at the beach for a bit. Try Spa del Sol. 

On 8/16/2022 at 9:37 AM, Belgian fry said:

We went to the Mémorial ACTe (memorial-acte.fr), which deals with the history of slavery in the Caribbean. It was very well done and very moving.

Hi,

How did you get to Memorial ACTe from the cruise pier? Taxi or walk? If you walked, were there sidewalks the whole way?

Thanks

We looked at a similar trip a couple of years ago. IIRC, there are problems getting into some of the ports and wildlife viewing would be limited to long day trips to game preserves. Instead, we booked a land trip that included Capetown and wine country, Victoria Falls and two stops each in Kenya and Tanzania. Best trip ever! If you want to see wildlife, that's the way to go.

Getting ready to book our excursions for May. Does anyone know of any Viking or private excursion that doesn't involve taking the cable car back down to the tender dock at the end? That includes any boat tours that leave and return to the tender pier. All the Viking tour descriptions include cable car tickets to get back down, even the ones that start with a drive up the hill on a bus. Trying to avoid standing in line for an hour or more to get back down, and we aren't going to walk the donkey path. There will be three other ships in port that day. Thanks

I can't answer about Copenhagen, but in San Juan Viking wanted $50 a person to transfer to the airport on a bus. We got an Uber which picked us up 20 feet from the bus for $15. And when we got to the airport we weren't in line with 40 other people just getting off a bus.

We had to show the booklet to get through port security to board the ship in San Juan.

17 hours ago, travelpanther said:

Philw1776 - Thank you for sharing.  My husband and I usually travel independently (skip the group walks, bus tours), but I thought some of the excursions might be worth doing with Viking.  I have already made a plan for most of the ports and wanted to add on with some of the more interesting Viking excursions.  I appreciate your input!    

We took the Homelands cruise in August and just got back from the West Indies Explorer yesterday. My advice is going to go against everything you will read on these boards, but if you are truly independent travelers then you should skip most of the Viking paid excursions and all of the included ones. We had excursions booked in every port ahead of time and ended up cancelling six of them. We much prefer doing our own thing at our own pace.

We started in Bergen and did the Funicular on our own before boarding. We took the included Bergen tour the next day which was terrible. A bus drive to a few scenic spots for photo stops. This is what prompted us to cancel the included tours.

Stavanger - We walked around town on our own. Easy to navigate.

Eidfjord - Got a map from the visitor center at the pier and took a beautiful walk through the woods to a lake and then up a hill past some farms. Very peaceful and we had the path to ourselves.

Aalborg - Took a paid excursion to Voergaard Manor House. This was very good.

Copenhagen - Had the included walking tour booked, but the port talk convinced us to cancel it after they said there would be a brief 15 minute photo stop at the Little Mermaid statue. Really, 15 minutes to take a picture of a statue? We ended up walking around on our own and visited an art museum.

Berlin - Skipped the long train ride and walked around the lovely local town on our own.

Gdansk - Took the paid tour to the concentration camp which was excellent. However, the tour of Gdansk and included dinner were bad.

Tallin - Took the paid chocolate tour which was OK, but the group we were with ruined it. They had a bowl of chocolate on the table with enough candy for everyone to get a least 10 pieces each, however the feeding frenzy that ensued left my wife and I with two pieces each. It was embarrassing to see grown adults attack candy like little kids at Halloween.

St Petersburg - Took a 2 day tour with TJ Travel that was the highlight of the trip. Just 8 of us in the van and we saw twice as much as the Viking tour for half the price.

Helsinki and Stockholm - walked around on our own. Viking provides a free shuttle to town.

Is there a better port to buy duty free liquor on the West Indies Explorer? Thanks

It's called Overnight Oats and it's very good. Google it.

We are taking this same cruise in May. We booked private excursions in Koper, Kotor, Corfu, Katakolon and Athens. Zadar and Dubrovnik we will explore on our own. Plan on taking the including tour in Santorini which is mainly transportation and explore on our own. We are also spending five nights in Venice before, and five nights in Crete after, both on our own.

We took the Homelands cruise in August and were not at all impressed with the Viking excursions, included or paid. We booked many ahead of time and ended up cancelling six. We are experienced travelers and prefer to do our own thing at our own pace.

There are plenty of tour operators in each of these ports that can easily be researched and booked on line. The tours we booked are just for the two of us in a sedan. Trip Advisor is excellent for finding them. Use google maps satellite view to figure out the docking location. The tour operators know where you will be docked.

About as slow as old fashioned dial-up.

We took a taxi from the airport to a hotel close to the cruise terminal for $57 USD. It is fixed priced in NOK, but that't what was charged on my credit card. There were a line of them waiting, they take credit cards, and the trip was quick and relaxed.

That is not how I read it. They booked a room for 1 night before they fly home - hence the courtesy of allowing to leave the baggage. Massage is booked on day of arrival without a stay.

That’s what it sounds like to me.

We have a winner! :D

To answer my own question, we booked massages at the Intercontinental Spa for that morning. The concierge will allow us to store our luggage and use the facilities since we are booked there for one night before we leave.

We are taking the Marina cruise out of Tahiti at the end of February. Our plane lands at 0615 after 22 hours of travel time. We can't board the ship until 1300 and we're looking for suggestions on what to do to fill the time. Something that won't take a lot of energy and brain power since we will be jet lagged, yet will keep us awake.

Thanks

I've always use Cruise Compete to get the best rate from several agencies and book my own air. I ended up booking my last three cruises through the same agent so I'm just going direct to her next time.