ReaderGirl57

Same in July 2023

We were there this past July. It’s an easy walk from where the ship docks to the center of town. They may run a short shuttle from the ship to the end of the dock if there is a cargo ship loading/unloading in the same area. Torshavn itself is quite small.

Plus one! 😊

We docked there in July on the Viking Jupiter. There were two or three other ships in port.

We did the Vigur Island tour in Isafjordur and the Skalanes Nature Center in Seydisfjordur - both were excellent especially if you want to see puffins in the wild. The boat for Vigur is right near where the ship docks. In Akureryi, we did a small group tour (maybe 12 people?) with Saga Travel. We saw the Godafoss waterfall, Lake Mývatn, lava fields, geothermal pools, and the rift between the Eurasian and American continents. Our guide was an Icelandic actor who has appeared in Trapped on Netflix and the sights were amazing. Enjoy your trip!

We took a Baltic Cruise with Oceania in 2022 and a cruise to Norway, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland with Viking this past July. The lines are certainly comparable, although we liked the more informal atmosphere and the ship’s decor on Viking. What really stood out on Viking, though, were the lectures. Our ship had a historian, a naturalist, an astronomer, and a visiting lecturer, all of whom gave interesting and informative talks on the places we were visiting. On Oceania, even though we were visiting places that were very much in the news, they had one person who gave a couple of lectures on Scandinavian film. The lectures on Viking were always packed so, although I know some people might not care about this at all, it is important to some. My husband and I have just decided to book another cruise with Viking.

We did a Viking excursion hike in Gerainger and poles were provided by the company that did the hike.

For anyone who has done the Empires of the Mediterranean cruise from Venice to Athens, do you recall how late the ship stayed in port - especially in Zadar, Dubrovnik, and Kotor? Thank you!

Starry Starry Night was a big hit for Don MacLean.

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We are just off the Jupiter and we had 4 shows from the Viking Vocalists. “Decades” was songs from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. The 50s and 70s were pretty good, but the 60s featured Burt Bacharach and Andy Williams, which isn’t exactly what I think of when I think of the 60s. “Duets” was famous musical partnerships. Think “Endless Love”, “I Got You Babe”, etc. “Stage Door” featured songs from the West End and Broadway and “Southern Sounds” was country and western. The performers were talented if not exceptional, but very sweet and enthusiastic which goes a long way in my mind. Our cruise director was Edward Garth and he did a cabaret performance one night which was my favorite. Out assistant cruise director Rosie also performed one night and they brought in a classical guitarist named Mark Hussey for two shows as well. He was quite good. Since this was our first Viking Cruise, I would have been happy with ABBA and the Beatles, but we enjoyed the shows.

We are just off this same cruise on the Jupiter - from Bergen to Reykjavik. We ate in the World Cafe almost exclusively - if you sit on the starboard side near the stern you may encounter Julian who is wonderful about keeping your wine glass filled. This was our first Viking Cruise and will most likely not be our last. Except for the dealings with the home office pre-cruise (difficult to say the least), we loved everything about it - especially the friendliness of the staff, the excellent enrichment lectures, and the delicious food (well except for the watered down orange juice). It’s a great itinerary. Even the on and off rain for the entire Norwegian portion didn’t matter in the end. And we were able to visit the Faroes! As the captain said - “The Faroes are sort of like the Loch Ness Monster: often talked about but seldom seen.” But the seas were calm and we didn’t need our Dramamine in the end. I look forward to your postings so I can relive what was a fabulous cruise!

Oh good - I booked that as well. Thanks!

Peregrina, I love your puffin picture!! Do you remember where it was taken? I made a special effort to book Vigur Island because I read that there are lots of puffins there!

My husband and I are on the same cruise in a DV6 so I was part of the mad dash for excursions on May 10 as well. I agree, it was very stressful. And this is a cruise where many of the smaller ports don’t have the infrastructure to book tours privately, especially post-Covid, so you are really at Viking’s mercy. The excursion booking went live at exactly 3 PM EDT - I was set to go with my first excursion and kept refreshing the screen until it popped up. I went with the strategy of booking the one that I thought might sell out first and that I wanted the most (Vigur Island) and paying for that immediately as I had read on Cruise Critic (thank you all!) that just because it’s in your cart doesn’t mean it’s reserved for you. I then booked the others that I really wanted and finished up with ones that were less important to me. Booked the included tours in Reykjavik and Seydisfjordur last. I only missed out on the all day tour in Akureyri but I had tried to book that last as I knew I could book a similar small group tour with Saga Travel that hit the same spots. I thought I had booked the Vestmanna Sea Cliffs in the Faroe Islands for us both but it turned out that between putting it in my cart and actually paying for it, there was only one spot left, which I hadn’t realized before paying. So I had to go back, cancel my spot and book us in at our second choice time. I used the chat function to ask when I would get my money back for the spot I canceled and was told 21 days as well. But, lo and behold, it appeared on my credit card this morning. So I think that’s just their standard response - you may get your refund earlier. This is our first cruise with Viking. We’ve only done two other cruises - a HAL Alaska cruise in 2006 with our kids and an Oceania Baltic Cruise last year. I mostly used Tours by Locals for the Baltic Cruise, or we just explored on our own, but we did do a couple of Oceania excursions and they were easy to book. This was crazy. If not for all the advice on Cruise Critic, I would never have mapped out my strategy in such detail, but there has to be a better way, although I’m not sure what it is. If we ever cruised with Viking again, I would seriously consider a PV just to avoid this - although I hate to spend the extra money on a cabin that we will just use to sleep in. This is a trip that was postponed twice due to Covid so we are really looking forward to it!

Margaret Thatcher once showed up at a royal event wearing a dress that clashed with the Queen’s. When she sent a message to the palace suggesting that they coordinate their outfits ahead of time in the future, the reply came back that “Her Majesty does not notice what other people are wearing.” I try to be like the Queen.

We just stayed at 71 Nyhavn, a converted old warehouse right on the waterfront. Delicious breakfast, friendly staff, and a great location.

Dominique Nicolle. Very personable - always out and about chatting and pointing people in the right direction.

We thought the ship looked beautiful and saw no signs of wear and tear. They had applied new varnish to the railings on and about the pool deck right before we boarded, so I think they must try to keep up with things like that.

Thanks, Mauibabes! We don’t eat Asian, so Red Ginger was out - but we ate at Toscana last night and my husband had the lasagna. He said it was excellent!

I’m sorry - I thought I had answered your question. The WiFi on board is terrible. We are on a Deluxe Ocean View on Deck 7. There are three European outlets - one on each side of the bed and one at the desk. There are two US outlets at the desk, but they are so close together that we have been able to use only one at a time. There is also a US outlet in the bathroom, but it appears to be I’m only for shavers.

We are first timers but the food has been excellent. The only miss was my husband’s steak at the Polo Grill last night - not the best cut. But we have absolutely no complaints. We loved Jacques and the Terrace Cafe and Waves are great. And no lines!

I was talking to one of the officers last night at the Captain’s cocktail party. He said there were 330 passengers. He also said that the Marina cruises to the Baltic in 2023 had all been rerouted to other parts of Northern Europe and that Oceania was only doing a few Baltic cruises next summer on one of its smaller ships.

Definitely before boarding - can’t remember about online check in - sorry!

I’m on the Marina now for a Baltic Cruise. According to our waiter last night, the ship is a bit less than one-third full - and it feels like it. Yesterday was embarkation day and all the staff was masked. But they must have received a new directive overnight because today, only about 5% are masked. I’ve seen a couple of masks on guests, but not many. We had to show proof of vaccination to board, but no one asked about Covid tests. Fingers crossed we all stay healthy.