JM0115

7 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

Per the FAQs for all Viking cruises - River, Ocean, and Expedition - your air itinerary will now be emailed to you and displayed in MVJ 150 days before departure rather than what was the practice before of 90 days. Very useful I'm sure to all of us. However - and I've just confirmed this with a LiveChat agent because I couldn't find it anywhere in the FAQs - tickets will still be issued approx 70 days before departure.

 

If somebody wants to repost this on the Viking River & Viking Expedition forum feel free.  

@CharTrav if you have Air Plus can't you book as far as 310 days before?

21 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Norway just delayed the environmental requirements that (as I understand it) drove the changes that resulted in Vela. So I wonder if like the ferry service Owner mentioned in this article he is mad. 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidnikel/2024/08/28/norway-allows-cruise-ships-in-world-heritage-fjords-until-2032/

Whats a few billion?!?

34 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

We'll be sailing from London / Greenwich next May on the Sky and are beginning to look at flights.  We’re not using Viking Air and would appreciate the experience of those who have sailed from Greenwich.  From NY we can fly non-stop into either LHR or LGW.  Is one a better choice than the other?  Once there VO has offered us transfers at $40pp which seems significantly cheaper than Uber or black car.   How early do shuttles begin running and with what frequency?  UAL flies into LHR pretty much hourly and I was hoping to find that sweet spot of arriving early, but not too early and not having a long wait for shuttle.  At least at the end of our journey in NY 43 days later dd will hopefully be waiting for us at pier (if not it will be a long walk home).

I would highly recommend going a day early. I try not to fly in the day of the cruise in case something happens.

I should know the answer to this after being on Viking so many times, and I tried to find the answer in CC but could not find the exact answer. Are "sneakers", black shoes with white soles, okay in the Restaurant for dinner? I see nothing on the Viking site regarding shoes except for now flip flops or sandals for men.   PS This is a question for males.

4 minutes ago, millybess said:

We have often considered Luggage Forward.  But there are many restrictions on contents and I believe you have to send your luggage unlocked.  At one time they had a restriction on AirTags.

 

We will probably have to use them for a 2026 cruise, so I'm interested in reading about recent experiences.

We had AirTags in ours and followed the journey of our bag. It was at a bar for a couple of weeks at one point! 😀

18 minutes ago, lovetosew said:

Because I am traveling solo, I am considering the service of Luggage Forward and was wondering if anyone had any comments on the service. It would be wonderful to have my bag waiting for me in my cabin when I arrive on ship.

They are very good at what they do but it is not inexpensive.

17 minutes ago, DCThunder said:

Later this year I will be flying form SYD to LAX on Fiji Airways and connecting to an American LAX to CLT flight.  Fiji is a OneWorld partner of AA.  I know I have to clear Customs in LAX, but can I then recheck my luggage for the CLT flight without exiting the security zone?  I have a 12 hour layover in LAX and the last thing I want to do is schlep luggage around and wait to check in again.  I just want to go to the Admirals Club, get a shower and see where I go from there before the red-eye home.

Here is what someone said on a different but similar situation: "Since you bought it as one ticket (either through Qantas, AA, or another OneWorld partner), your bag should be tagged all the way through SLC when you check in at Sydney's airport. You will need to pick it up at baggage claim during the customs process at LAX (as u/Interjet256 mentioned), but afterward, you should be able to drop off your bag. As you leave customs, to the left is the exit if LAX is your final destination, and to your right is the bag drop off for those with connecting flights."   My comments:  It is important that you check it all the way through so you can drop it at the recheck area without having to check it in for the LAX to CLT flight.

12 minutes ago, DCThunder said:

Later this year I will be flying form SYD to LAX on Fiji Airways and connecting to an American LAX to CLT flight.  Fiji is a OneWorld partner of AA.  I know I have to clear Customs in LAX, but can I then recheck my luggage for the CLT flight without exiting the security zone?  I have a 12 hour layover in LAX and the last thing I want to do is schlep luggage around and wait to check in again.  I just want to go to the Admirals Club, get a shower and see where I go from there before the red-eye home.

Normally you can recheck your bag just as you leave customs but before you leave the secure area. However, since it is 12 hrs they may say it is too early to recheck your bag.  Is this on a single ticket or separate tickets? No matter what you will have to pick up your bag before you go through customs in LAX. Maybe someone else can more definitively say whether or not you can recheck your bag 12 hrs before the flight.

16 minutes ago, forgap said:

We have many days (200+) on Regent and we have tried Oceania, Ponant, Celebrity, and NCL.  We have enjoyed the all inclusive aspect of Regent but lately the fares have become eye-watering.  Add to that, Regent is not so inclusive anymore as they have moved to more a la carte options.  So, we are thinking of trying Viking in 2025.  

 

I have a few questions that I hope you Viking veterans can answer!

1.  Is the $17per day tip that is added on to the cruise per cabin or per passenger?

2.  We are looking at a Penthouse Veranda that includes alcohol in the cabin and welcome champagne.  Can the mini fridge be stocked with champagne and wine as needed?  Do the mini bottles of alcohol include digestif types of booze such as cointreau or brandy?

3.  Is the alcohol package worth it?  We like a pre dinner drink but we never over do it, except my nature is to try to get my money's worth!

 

That's it for now.  Any insider tips are welcome!

Vikng has some of the cheapest drinks packages in the industry. If you drink a couple of cocktails a day it is worth it even if you only drink the free beer and wine at meals. The $17 per day is added to the amount owed during the cruise per person per day. The fridge will be restocked with tiny alcohol bottles but not with Champagne or wine. Not exactly sure which tiny bottles they are using now. The PV is nice for room size vs V but not really necessary unless you can afford the upgrade!

11 minutes ago, ChrisB123 said:

Okay, not earth shaking questions but new to Viking and leaving in 19 days on the Sky for the Homelands cruise. On another site, people have started getting they're tags and some paperwork. Some say the TA gets it and sends it along to your home address. My TA hasn't received it and that sometimes they just send it to your home.  I'm just curious as to how other customers received theirs.  Also, hubby and I have traveled on another line for many years and we would always get a tote bag with "coupons," in it on our bed when we checked in, does Viking do this?  Like I said, not earth shaking but we are SO close and after waiting over 500 days for this cruise, my head is in overdrive. 🤪

Send a message to Tellus at Viking dot com

2 minutes ago, Balbar21011 said:

Thank you for the ABS24 code!  Do you know when it expires?

I believe it is August 31st unless extended.

1 hour ago, farmecologist said:

Strange...it isn't working on any of our devices, apple or otherwise.

I wonder if the CrowdStrike issue has affected Viking? I cannot log in on any device currently.

Once you try Viking you won’t want to go back to the big ships!

7 minutes ago, lovetosew said:

I have not seen any information on room service from Manfredi's.  Is it possible or do we all need to wait like cattle for a reservation to the restaurant?

No room service from Manfredi’s but the spaghetti bolognese is excellent! Caesar salad too!

On 2/12/2024 at 9:19 PM, DaKahuna said:

I neglected earlier to post pictures of our ‘snacks’ in Galaxy Cafe.

 

My DW’s tempura udon

 

 

and my yakitori 

 

Does anyone have a menu for Galazy? What do things cost? Any discount for YC members?

20 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

Someone on my blog commented as to why we were eating dinner in The World Cafe instead of The Restaurant. Here's what I told them: 

 

We have switched to the buffet for our dinners for a couple of reasons. The Restaurant on Viking ships seems really LOUD to us! I think it's the low ceilings. We also find we eat a lot more when we go to the MDR. They bring bread, we eat it. They take our order, and we wait. We eat more bread, and they bring the appetizer. We eat it, and we wait for the entrée and eat more bread. And of course, we have to eat what they bring. So we eat more or less of something because we do or not not like because we don't want to waste it.

 

At the buffet (which on a Viking ship serves pretty much the same food as the MDR) we can take a little of this and a little of that.

 

And to be honest, I am past the dressing-up stage. If we were still on a ship that REALLY dressed up, I might be into that. It would be fun to get my tux out again. But here people just put on hard-soled shoes (which I hardly ever wear anymore) and better pants and shirts (I live in shorts and tee shirts) I will take a pass. We will still put on that stuff for the specialty restaurants but that's about it.

I agree 100%. On our World Cruise we literally ate over 400 meals in the World Cafe! I think we ate in The Restaurant only 4 or 5 times over the 150 days! We were in the minority though.

11 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Last week I disembarked from Viking Mars and was quite curious about the rooms that face the elevator and stairs lobby.  This was because our room 5028 showed on the Viking Web Site deck plans as facing the elevator lobby.  Pleasantly surprised that it didn't!  Great room, great location.  Being the analytic person I am, and having an unexpected sea day due to ice flows from Greenland, I decided to chart out (with pictures) all the elevator lobbies forward & aft, and the aft stairs.  I did indeed find that the Viking web site deck plans are off, with respect to location vis a vis the lobbies.  (Notable incorrect diagram is deck 8 which sits exactly above deck 7 room by room and Explorers Lounge - somehow they shifted deck 8 on the plan quite a bit).

Pictures all show port side rooms (even numbered), but the same situation exists for corresponding starboard side rooms (odd numbered).

I hope that this helps people in their plans. 🙂

Viking Ocean Cabins Facing Elevators+Stairs.pdf 973.95 kB · 2 downloads Viking Ocean Cruises - Deck Plans 3-8.pdf 1.04 MB · 2 downloads

 

Nice analysis. Thank you.  Looks like I will be seeing you on the Hawaii Sojourn in Jan!

We will be doing the same in Jan.  Uber or Lyft.

3 minutes ago, Brookspw70 said:

New to Viking but trying to book asap for British Isles in 8/2025. 
 

I need help on abbreviations, ES1 vs ES2, etc.

 

What is the difference between DV1-6?  Same for PVs. 
 

Is a PV worth it for the extra room alone on a 15 day cruise? Or, what are the other benefits?

 

My non-educated opinion is that the higher the deck the better (for the view) but I’m not seeing that this is necessarily the case from reading the cabin review thread. 
 

What is the major difference between the experience aft, mid, or what we the front is called?

 

I sincerely appreciate your help. 

The numbers are just for relative and subjective location on the ship. All DVs are the same as are all PVs or any other class of stateroom. V and DV are the same room size and layout  just slightly different ammenities. Some people like the higher floors as they are closer to the pool, Explorer Lounge, and some people think the view is better (and the higher rooms are away from the life rafts). Some like lower levels for less waviness. Sane with mid ship- less movement. Worth it is subjective- PV has significantly more room and storage but DV is a very nice room. As you go up in category you getting more advanced booking for excursions and dining but many people say they got what they wanted regardless.

Just now, Mike07 said:

 

 

Just pulled the policy limits on my annual plan and it caps trips at 90 days. Fortunately, that's about 60-70 days more than I ever would need.

In that case I’m not sure what is possible other than Tripmate? When we went on a WC I believe we had to get Tripmate through Viking but not sure if this is still the case or not?

6 minutes ago, RlyLvn said:

We are considering the Viking Sky World Cruise from LA to London in January, 120 days. 
We cruise several times a year with 36 days being our longest cruise. 
 

Does anyone have any tips/resources for the best option for a World Cruise. 
 

Viking has Trip protection but I would like to compare that with other options and overall coverage amounts. 

Health coverage is priority as well as cancellation protection. 

Any feedback is welcome. 
 

Thanks a lot,

Dee

It's difficult to find travel insurance for that long a trip. One option is annual trip insurance. 

3 minutes ago, mnocket said:

Yeah, I always travel in a day or two early.  Since I'll be leaving DEN in January, I'm going 2-days early (I'm always surprised at how easily DIA is disrupted by light snow).  Nothing I can do about a snowstorm, but absent that, I'd hate to miss my connection because it was too tight.  Unfortunately, as things stand now, the alternatives are either hugely more expensive or result in a 6+ hr connection.

Good move! Anything can happen in CO! 

1 minute ago, mnocket said:

In my case, not really domestic travel, but a domestic connection leading to an international flight.  Specifically, departing Denver and traveling to Buenos Aires with a connection in either Dallas or Miami. The connection times are about 1hr15m.  Since fixing a missed connection on this itinerary isn't easy, I'm worried this connection is too tight. Thoughts on this specific case and connection times in general?

I’d be nervous with 1 hr but as long as you are going to the cruise embarkation city at least 1 day if not 2-3 days early it probably would be ok to have only the 1 hr connection time.

Just now, Zach1213 said:

I'm really curious what sources you were finding that say you do need one, because I would recommend people stay away from whatever the hell website that is. Not only do you not need one, but it's not even a transit in an immigration sense...you are entering the Schengen Zone in Frankfurt, which covers both Germany and Norway. Transit visas usually apply when you're going from Country A to Country C via Country B...in this case, as far as immigration is concerned, you're going from Country A to Country B via Country B. 

 

 

In most cases, true. And in OP's case (for tourism or for business), true. But sometimes US citizens do need visas to go to the Schengen Zone (which is different than the EU). For example, if you plan to work there, or study there for an extended period, or spend more than the allotted visa-free time. Like I said, these don't apply to OP, but there are cases where US citizens would need a true visa (not just an ETIAS) to go to EU and/or Schengen. 

Yes you are right. I was just referring to tourists less than 90 days.

You do not need any visa if you are a US citizen anywhere in the EU.