JollyJacqTar

If you've got both you could ask the "tippee" what they'd prefer?

We go to afternoon tea once on each cruise just to say we’ve done it. On our last 3 week T/A we planned to go after after a late morning/early afternoon excursion as we knew we’d be missing lunch and had an 8.30 booking at Manfredi’s. We’ve got hearty appetites but I think it’s a challenge to fit it in too often 😀 It does seem like the space is a bit under utilised but it’s good to know there are plenty of quiet corners on Viking where you’re not over crowded, and this is just another option.

We felt the same on our last two cruises. I actually used up valuable comment space making this point. And there seems to be less room now (I’m comparing our 2024 survey to the one in 2022) to elaborate on particular points, which was a shame as on our more recent cruise I was prepared to be far more complimentary as the previous one was disappointing. Also I’d rather do the survey after the event when I’m home. After a few weeks of having very little to do, all of a sudden you’ve got to pack up everything for your return and doing a survey seems like one more chore distracting you from enjoying the final day or two of your holiday. I think I’d be far more generous in my appraisal if I wasn’t in a sulky, “don’t want to go home and do my own cooking and cleaning” mood!

On our recent transatlantic trip we had two absolutely banging curries, a Thai red curry chicken and and an Indian Lamb curry (although the Naan served with it was a bit meh!) They were both good and spicy! Would recommend if you see them on the menu!

We also had this problem (toilet filled with foul water) on one occasion overnight on our recent 3 week long cruise. We immediately flushed and it resolved itself but we also reported it. An engineer was outside our room within quarter of an hour and the problem didn’t recur. I was pleased with the way they responded.

Completely off topic - apologies to those seeking info/insights! Every time I’ve seen the topic title “Tender Times in Alta” I’m thinking that it refers to fond reminiscences of a romantic weekend in Norway, soft focus photos of a beautiful couple staring into each others eyes and probably wearing matching cashmere bobble hats. Again, apologies for my flight of fancy!

After I posted the above I talked to my husband about it. We’re not 100% sure but there might have been parts of the uphill journey that you could walk up a road that snaked back and forth, so perhaps quite a bit longer but not as steep and tiring as the stairs. Google maps might clarify this. Also I’m sure the stairs had hand rails and the paths very well maintained.

We did this September 21, so it may not be exactly as we experienced it. We we warned in the previous evening’s port talk that some people might find it challenging as although it’s well laid out with wooden paths and bridges you do have to go downhill which inevitably means you have to come back uphill. My husband is very active and was able to navigate the rather steep stairs back up with ease, I am overweight and far less active but managed well enough by stopping periodically for a breather. However there were a couple people on the tour who were surprised by the level of activity and complained that they “hadn’t been warned” which was nonsense, I think the tour was well described in advance. It’s difficult to offer specific advice as everyone’s capabilities are different. Once back on the coach we headed for Skradin, which was all on a level as far as I remember .We parked in a side street and wandered down to the pretty harbour. There was some time constraint which meant we weren’t there long, but it wasn’t very big. Hope my opinion is useful.

I just came on to say the same. LA was a midpoint stop for us on our cruise and my husband was determined to go on the USS Iowa regardless of where we berthed (he had researched bus journeys if we’d been at the other port) We did the included Viking bus tour in the morning and ambled across in the afternoon to the Iowa.

I’ve had both good and bad experiences. I’m not a vegetarian but don’t eat fish/seafood, and often cook Vegan meals at home for when a family member visits and which everyone eats. Once when there was a Seafood “event” I struggled to find anything in the WC that was suitable for me, finally coming across an sad little area that was labelled “Vegetarian “ This consisted of some Jacket potatoes and boiled cauliflower and broccoli. On the other hand we went late one evening to the WC and both enjoyed a brilliant tofu stir fry that was available as an option. I would class this as the best meal I’ve eaten on a Viking cruise.

Agree with this wholeheartedly, Dishoom is fabulous but definitely book. They do do walk ins but around peak meal times there’s invariably a longish queue.

I bought a couple of these from Flying Tiger really cheaply and they’ve been invaluable. I second your recommendation 😀

Answering part 2 your question, we always get the silver beverage package and my OH would ask for a double shot of cachaça in his Caipirinha as he thought it wasn’t strong enough without but it was still within the price constraint of the SB. I am generally happy with the amount of gin in my go to cocktail, a gimlet, but I am a bit of a lightweight on the drinking front.

We were in 4100 on the Viking Sea (A DV5 not 4 but the first one next to the DV4s) with no problems to report.

I did make a second comment regarding chlorine but thank you.

We’ve only done 3 with Viking. The Mediterranean/Adriatic ones mostly don’t appeal because, living in the U.K., it’s been easy for us to visit many of the destinations independently over the years. That being said I would say my favourite was a 7 day Welcome back cruise, starting and finishing in Malta and visiting a number of Croatian towns which were just lovely.

I’m surprised they didn’t take the chance to incorporate a few single occupancy cabins.

Sorry I didn’t really think it through, I too, would not want to put my email on a public forum. Being an infrequent user of Cruise Critic I didn’t realise there wasn’t a direct message option. Honestly it was just a few amusing (well I thought so 😀) anecdotes I wrote shortly after we got back and of no practical use at all. We wandered about a bit at the top of the escalator, and ended up in the botanical gardens where they had a small zoo, it was 2015 it may not even be there any more. I agree with all the suggestions made thus far, and again enjoy every moment, I am very envious x

@millybess I’ve got some stuff written down about our visit (About 2 typed A4 sheets so not too lengthy) which I would be happy to send you if you’re interested. We went up the Hong Kong escalator which I notice no one else has mentioned and I was suddenly reminded of my scribbles at the time. Do email me if you’d like to see it.

When we travel in Europe we usually just take carry on, or I would follow your lead with a mini kettle. I have found a lot of buffet breakfasts have a flask with “hot water” for tea and is so variable depending on how long since it was filled and how much has been used. On our most recent holiday I remarked to my husband that you could bathe a baby in the hot water they had on offer for tea 😀

Story of my life, I’m a nightmare if I don’t get a decent cuppa in the morning. On Viking I have had success by asking for a pot of tea, made with boiling water and two English Breakfast tea bags. When travelling independently I always have an emergency supply of Yorkshire teabags, just in case and I make good use of google translate to ask for a pot of boiling water (accompanied by frenzied hand gestures to illustrate boiling) I’d rather be thought of as an odd Englishwoman than tearful because I haven’t had my “fix” 😄

The split pea soup at midnight is on my Viking Bingo card. I haven’t managed to do it yet, but I’m making it a priority on my next cruise!

I lived in Hong Kong as a teen, and we visited on holiday 8 years ago. I have nothing to add but you will love it, whatever you do! Enjoy xx

@Rudi-Cruiser I hope you have an enjoyable cruise 😊

I hadn’t seen this topic previously but it was brought to my attention by the recent activity. I love dogs but would definitely not be expecting to see one on a cruise. Should other passengers be made aware that there might be a dog on their particular cruise (in whatever capacity) so they can make a decision to reschedule if it wasn’t something they were comfortable with? As a side note, I mentioned this thread to my husband and he said “Well there’s unlikely to be one on our next cruise as it’s transatlantic “ but I notice that the cruise that prompted this thread was also TA. Getting off the ship with an animal in multiple countries must be an administrative nightmare to organise!