duquephart

12 minutes ago, PRH said:

If you’re interested in the political history of Belfast, I highly recommend Tours by Locals Frank (Francis).  He is excellent, picks you up at the ship in his Mercedes van and you will see and hear far more than Viking.  Our 23 year old nephew who was with us on this cruise was blown away.  Frank lived through the Troubles and is a historian—he really does give a fairly balanced account of what happened and where things stand now.

Watch The Wind that Shakes the Barley.

10 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Very true on the gym and spa hours, but if I am not mistaken, I have always understood that after the spa and gym closes for the night, it is available to some crew.

I may be wrong with this, but this is what I understand.  

Do we care what happens after it closes?

4 minutes ago, JM0115 said:

Pulpit Rock cruise.

With Rodne. 

1 hour ago, mwike said:

 

I simply do not like the fact that Viking adds something to the bill and imposes a burden upon me if I want to remove the charge.  If they really wanted the charge to be optional, one would be able to remove the charge via the app or through the TV interface.  

 

And there you have it!

6 minutes ago, LAKaye said:

Wow, you were able to request and get a kettle in your stateroom?  

A lot depends on whether or not you are OK with the included. We always have bee  and the package, given that, never pencils out.

You need not wait for "gratuities" to be added.

42 minutes ago, OKCowboy said:

While on a Panama Canal cruise with Silver Spirits, I developed a throat infection requiring antibiotics prescribed by the ship doctor. I had to stop drinking alcohol halfway through the cruise. Given the reasonable cost of drinks and wine/beer at meals, I don't recommend even though it's cheaper than many other cruise lines drink packages.

It's cheaper because you have already paid for included wine/beer.

Once you know about them you know about them. But they are basically sprung upon first timers - in which case the price is not the price.

54 minutes ago, molymoo said:

Gratuities are optional ... you are perfectly free to ask that the charge be removed from your bill if you do not wish to participate in the practice.  There are just as many complaints from those where gratuities are "included" in the price of the cruise ... you're never going to make everyone happy.

 

The point is that they are not mentioned at the time of booking.

26 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

We love the Star Theatre and even though it is not a "big show" we have always been entertained with the evening show.  

 

The only complaint that we have is there is not enough variety of show material across the Ocean itineraries.  It is kind of like when you fly a lot, you have watched every movie on the plane that you are interested in and you are forced to watch something again on your next flight.

 

With Viking, we have seen the Abba and other standard performances a few times now and would like some variety.  The only variety with this is a different crew of four (2 female and 2 male) performing the show.

 

We have found the Cruise Director led reviews very good and there will usually be one of these.  We have also had magicians, and other types of entertainment brought on board for some variety.

 

We only look at this as 45 minutes after dinner before we go to bed.  We don't have high expectations for this entertainment which is why we are generally always entertained and content with the show.

 

We have only been to Torshavn once with friends that we were travelling with and we were good with the Viking Band and singers, because they also perform on the Star Theatre stage, but we found the venue itself to be claustrophobically small and low ceilings.  It was too tightly packed and too loud for our tastes.

 

We do like the guitarist, the pianist, and the strings that rotate from the Living Room to the Explorer Lounge at night.

I have yet to be "forced to watch" a movie on an airplane. On which airline does this typically occur? 

Indeed. But at least you know what you're getting - or not getting. With Viking you pay the price and are later informed that there is more to pay ("gratuities").

If you go to Tuscany you will have an opportunity to find out what a farce Viking's "Bistecca Fiorentina" is.

6 minutes ago, mklions said:

When booking in the UK gratuities are included in the price, why is it different for US guests?

British consumer protection laws require the total price upfront. No need to be upfront with US customers.

The price is the price. Imagine that!

11 minutes ago, LisaDee said:

 

Michael was disembarking at the end of our cruise to go back home, I’m not sure how long he has off.  He recently got married so was excited to return to see his wife.  On the 2nd to last night he headlined the 9pm show in the Star Theater.  The band backed him up and he played both acoustic and electric guitar with songs from Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Cash, Proclaimers and others.  It was fantastic.

Led Zeppelin and Johnny Cash. Now there's a trick.

Cheerleaders being what they are -------------------------

Should also (maybe) be mentioned that for most folks there is two beers and four drinks in your mini bar that are "free."

"You can go to any bar, any time, any place, for any reason, and get what you want."

With or without the package. This has been pointed out dozens of times. The package is only a payment plan and has NOTHING TO DO with choices or availability.

Tomato Juice.

I think that's the brand of TJ as well. Very good.

4 hours ago, Squawkman said:

Next time you have lunch or dinner in the WC, look for orange amongst the cans of Coke and Sprite. Also have seen iced tea in cans there.

Soft drink options in mini-bar

Haven't seen orange yet.

There was, or you could get, tonic. I'd have them stock two rums, two gins, two cokes, two tonics. Then either a G & T or a Cuba Libre (or two) before bed.

31 minutes ago, longterm said:

I'd recommend the Dubrovnik walk on the wall around the Old City, but will note that it's not for people with a fear of heights (as I have), and does involve 1,080 steps if you do the entire 1.2 miles around the town. Having said that, I made it all the way around, despite my fear, and definitely plan to do it again.

In Kotor we found a great rug shop called Silk and Silky; we plan to revisit it when we do the Barcelona->Istanbul cruise in 2026. 

I don't recall if you said you'd be stopping in Sicily, but if you are docking in Messina, and if you're a fan of the Godfather movies, the excursion into the hills above Messina, to some filming sites from the Godfather movies, was a highlight for us.

In Athens, we took the post-extension and visited Delphi and Mycenae, both of which were some of my favorite spots to visit. Also, in Athens, the Acropolis Museum is easily my favorite archaeological museum and is a must-see. Also in Athens, a visit to the Plaza district is well worth a few hours.

Please tell us what was special about the rug shop.