PasadenaDave

Cairo was chaotic, but an amazing experience. Giza wasn’t all that crowded, less than say Athens. Most of the many other temples and sites were at times empty it seemed. I think about 6 or 8 of our 52 passengers had a stomach issue which impacted their cruise to some extent. I would estimate that most of us felt some impact from the food, including me, but it didn’t keep me from participating in all of the excursions, even night excursions after full days exploring. I was impacted at Petra, but that was due to allergies as the wind was strong and the olive trees to which I am allergic were in high pollen time. I had this impact in Turkey and Greece the year before. My impact limited my full exploration at Petra, I did walk beyond the Treasury so I saw the major areas and I took a golf cart out due to my exhaustion level from allergies as well as the length of the trip with no sea days

We have only done two Viking Cruises, Ocean Istanbul to Venice and River-Nile Cruise. Both of these cruises are port intensive and we were exhausted. We actually wished to have had a sea day to lie about and read. We are not entertainment types and we do enjoy sea days. We did a Hawaii from San Pedro on Princess in 2018 in which at least half of the days were at sea which we loved. We do read a lot and laying on the sofa with a book is a joy....especially with the sea outside your balcony door.

The last thing we need is another tote.

Following, we will be there for two nights following a cruise from Auckland. I think we dock at White Bay (Viking) so proximity to Circular Quay isn’t important. Daughter and SIL stayed near Hyde Park in 2019. It appears that Hyde Park area is less expensive than Circular Quay. It seems like everything is fairly convenient. I’m not certain any benefits for being on the harbor as we are “on the harbor “ for an entire cruise!

As respects flights and changes, it makes a huge difference if your “home” airport is a major airport. Our international airport is LAX one hour away, we can fly almost anywhere with only one change of plane. When we returned from Jordan last April, we got home sooner than some on our trip who left at the same time but due to their living where they do, in this case Florida and Missouri, we actually arrived at LAX before they arrived at their home airport despite the longer flight. They had to change planes twice versus once for us. I’m not throwing shade on those who live in more remote places, I’m just pointing out the reality.

We get many and yesterday a huge book from Tauk, although we have never inquired about them.

If you don't mind sharing, what ship and line are you on? I ask that with the thought in mind that we like small ships with no casino and entertainment is not an issue as we stick our heads into books at night

This subject was mentioned on the "Done with LA Office" Thread. I thought it deserved a thread of its own. We are not longtime Viking People having done only Istanbul to Venice and the Nile River with Auckland to Sydney scheduled next winter. We consider the two journey's we have taken to be our major bucket list trips and to a certain extent, future tips might not be as awe inspiring, but that doesn't mean that we don't look forward to them. We have on our horizon the British Isles to Bergen and possibly the Bergen to Barcelona repositioning itinerary. We doubt that we will have an opportunity for the Treasures of the Tsar Cruise as I think Russia will be a challenging place for tourists for a considerable period of time. I think that as we get through a few more cruises that we may go to the land such as a journey through Italy with 5 days in Rome, 2 in Florence, 3 in Naples and 3 in Sicily. We loathe bus tours with the up and out and frequent change of hotel which is why we like cruises where the hotel goes with us. We doubt that we will ever do another 1,000 passenger plus cruise except for possibly a Vancouver to home (Los Angeles) on Princess due to it being convenient and not so bad given four days at sea with no port challenges with large ships. Your thoughts?

I found both in the Mediterranean and on the Nile that the included beers at lunch whether they be a lager, a Pilsner, of dark to be enjoyable. They are not Bud or a gawd awful light beer, but a decent European beer without a huge alcohol content which is appreciated in a a beer at lunch. I am at the point at 60 that I rarely have a heavy IPA at lunch unless they serve an 8 ounce pour otherwise my afternoons are for laying around. Yes I have become a lightweight. Seriously, the beers are like I would get in London in 1990 when the better beer was in Europe. Remember Heineken in Europe is better than what you get in North America. Also it is poured from a tap. Beer lovers like to try new stuff…..except for IPA snobs and even they once tried an IPA after drinking Bud.

Many people who you speak with “in” the Los Angeles office are working remotely. The agent with whom we worked with recently was in Arizona and you could hear the occasional barking dog. This is standard now in the travel industry

Perhaps a little more clarity is needed given the comments. 1. We had a great cruise 2. I am glad to have received the refund. 3. When Viking tells me in person that the refund will be made automatically I believe them. 4. I warn others to check their credit card statements ALWAYS. 5. The ship should have notified corporate of the cancellation. 6. A refund is a return of monies paid and while I should not have had to follow up on the refund, that is part and parcel of business today and yes I deal with it. 7. Goodwill which I was told why I was receiving the payment (differs from the accounting term) generally is for an apology for a mistake or a missed port or turn around mid-Ocean. 8. Goodwill is also an accounting term but I was told goodwill before it showed up on the check. 9. I recognize that during the pandemic it was a challenge getting refunds. The pandemic is over but companies have not staffed up to handle the load now. 10. Big business falls over themselves appearing to be nice and using phrases such as "as a courtesy", "as recognition for being a loyal customer", "goodwill". This is in place of the correct phrase which is "We are sorry that you had to follow up on your refund and we will strive to do better in the future." 11. Viking Egypt is different from Viking Ocean but we found the service on ship and on excursions to be excellent. What differs is the communication between ship and corporate. 12. I dealt with conflict in my working years, I dislike conflict but it is necessary and fortunately I have the time to follow up on petty things such as a $548 refund which is not a petty sum for anyone. 13. Yes, I am privileged in the era, geography and parentage of my birth and upbringing. Signing Off

I had posted on another thread about my experience seeking a refund for a Viking cancelled excursion. For those who didn't see it, we were on the Nile cruise in April 2023 and had a fabulous trip. They offer a sunrise balloon excursion in Luxor which tends to get cancelled due to winds. Historically this could only be booked on board. We learned in early March that the practice had changed and we were able to book the excursion $548 for two prior to leaving the US. We did to ensure that we could join the excursion. We were some of those who miss out on the excursion due to weather and we were told on the ship that refunds would be made in the manner in which they were paid. Upon receipt of our May credit card statement there was no refund of the balloon excursion. We called Viking and were told that they would have to verify with the ship that the excursion was cancelled. To their credit, we received a phone call within 36 hours and were told that they would mail a check in two weeks as a "Goodwill" gesture. We did receive a check and it does state RF Goodwill. I am at a loss as to how this is a goodwill gesture? There is nothing goodwill about a refund of a cancelled excursion. We had to follow up and make a call to get a refund which just does not make sense. I completely understand the challenges of hiring qualified people today and training them after the pandemic but this was handled poorly

Thanks very much

Thank you for all of your posts from your challenging cruise. I did follow it at the time but since we booked this same cruise a week ago I have a few questions. We are doing the same direction getting on the boat December 19. We arrive from Los Angeles the day before and from what I can tell, that will be ample time for Auckland given the proximity of the boat. Counting the day we arrive, we will have three days there, one night in a hotel and one on the ship. My question is the end in Sydney. We arrive on New Years Day and leave the ship on the second. Do you advise one night extra in Sydney or two? I think we might be able to get an evening flight back to LAX which would allow us a partial day from the ship, the day we get off the ship and a partial day when we fly home. Prior Viking journey's are last year Istanbul to Venice and last month the Nile including Jerusalem and Jordan. Thank you

We sailed on HAL after Viking. We asked ourselves why did we sail on a big ship? That to us says it all.

Clay once again thank you for taking us along. I will see what land adventures that you and Mike get yourselves into on Instagram until July 19. We just booked Auckland to Sydney on Orion December 19 to January 2. We had strayed from Viking last September on HAL Quebec to Boston and concur about large ships. Having sailed the Nile on the Ra last month with only 50 passengers, a ship of 900 will feel immense. Thanks again Dave

I saw Andy’s post on his blog and commented there. I continue to have the experience that Princess and HAL come nowhere near what Viking provides and I say this despite having to follow up to be refunded a Viking cancelled excursion. today we booked New Zealand to Australia for next December. The agent was working from home in Arizona. She was most helpful and found our information from past cruises in the system quickly. We were satisfied with the service despite what the cost of flights are now, but that isn’t Viking as I regularly fly to Sacramento on Southwest and prices are up 40% since March

Do you suggest doing a pre cruise in Auckland on your own? It seems with a compact city and language similar to North American English that paying extra for a Viking pre cruise doesn’t seem necessary.

Galataport is the cruise terminal. This is in the city which is huge. I’m not certain what you cal “the city itself”. Istanbul is very congested and sometimes it can take forever to go only a few miles.

Holiday Inn is to NCL as Hilton is to Viking?

Clay and Mike, I am following you again. Today I frequently doze off as yesterday we flew Amman-LHR-LAX. We did Viking Nile on the Ra with pre cruise in Jerusalem and post in Jordan

Well I just had two drinks with lunch. Both Stella’s. We are alongside in Aswan Egypt on the RA. We flew to Abu Simbel and back today

You are being redundant as a martini contains gin, anything else is another drink

This was inexcusable. Follow manufacturers specifications especially when dealing with pressurized items

I equate the overpriced gondola ride to sitting next to the stage at Moulin Rouge....AMAZING. I have to add that we had the bonus to to on the musicians gondola so it was just the two of us. I think we were in many videos posted on Instagram based on the number of cameras aimed at our boat