RPapaMarshall

Good to run into fellow World Travelers on the Orion this spring.

#MyVikingStory

55 minutes ago, BobCatter said:

Do any of you remember if there is a scanner in the little computer area on the ship?

No scanners in the computer area, but our friends at guest services will probably be glad to help you out.

14 hours ago, DJVKN said:

Not sure if anyone is still monitoring this board but I have a question.

If you sent luggage using Luggage Forward did you include an air tag or tile in the suitcase or box for tracking? TIA!

Diana

We decided against using them. However we were able to track progress of our bags from Idaho to FLL using the UPS app.

11 hours ago, ericosmith said:

Or...you can use a password manager that will automatically fill forms with your credit card info and your name and address.  Usually two clicks and it's done.

In addition to securely maintaining CC info, a good password manager is pretty much essential these days. The extra security of being able to easily use unique and complex passwords (or pass phrases) 1sW3llw0rthThEe$$0rt.

So...about stateroom storage: We've recently spent a wonderful week on the Orion in Alaska. And this time I actually remembered to bring my measuring tape. Attached is a listing of the storage spaces in a DV stateroom.

Of note: Our stateroom had a drawer unit in one side of the closet. Last year we were on the Sea and our DV didn't have this unit. I'm not sure if Viking is retrofitting but if this is significant for you I'd suggest doing a bit of research if your ship is one of the older ones.

Enjoy,

Randy

DV Stateroom Storage - Orion.pdf

22 hours ago, T.Light said:

I believe the Daily is available through the Viking Voyager app.

Also, the Daily provided on the Voyager app is only a subset of the actual daily. It doesn't include the port information. Nor does it include the operating hours for restaurants, shops, bars.  Once again, we see that Viking struggles with Technology, especially customer-facing technology.

On 9/8/2023 at 7:53 AM, Mackdogmolly said:

Thanks! Very informative. One question from this Vermont girl. Should I bring my own real maple syrup for those waffles?

With waffles this good and flavorful one wonders why one would need syrup at all.

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

Question for all you who booked port side staterooms:

 

If you had it to do over would you pick one on the starboard side instead?   
 

Mike and I are 99% ready to book the Jan 24 WC on Sky and at the moment can have a select a DV on either side.  Typically we would pick starboard on a cruise heading west as we prefer a shady balcony to a sunny one and have found generally the room stays cooler on the side of the ship that doesn't face south or west during the heat of the day. 
 

Our conundrum is that the starboard side rooms still available tend to be located immediately adjacent to the elevator lobbies so we worry about the potential for noise.  
 

TIA for your thoughts as to how problematic the heat and sun on the port side (likely to be deck 4 or 5 midship-ish) was for y'all. 

Hey Clay! So glad you're getting to do this cruise!

I think side matters a whole lot less on a world cruise. You'll spend a significant amount of time heading northish to southish and back again and much of your east-west time will be spent at or below the equator. So you're going to get some sun and some shade no matter which side you're on. 

I'd focus more on location (fore/aft) and what's above/below than side. 

One additional thought. I'd avoid staterooms too close to the laundry room - my sense is that door is a bit loud and the laundry will be used all hours.

Just received a copy of Martha Boone's new book!  Can't wait to settle down with it. She's a great writer and an interesting and engaging fellow World traveler. 

One of the great, but seldom mentioned, things about Viking is the relaxed good humor of the typical Viking passenger. Thanks to y'all for making my day!

On 8/7/2023 at 7:30 PM, Frisky070802 said:

Good point!  But it’s really not a good look. Then again, Viking IT has fallen over in many respects. 

I am often less than impressed by the Viking back office. On 3/31 (day 99 of the recent world cruise) we received an email with hints about packing for our world cruise - along with a link to a 'suggested packing list' that included (among other things) 1 suit and 4 sport coats. I'm sure the list was appropriate at some point in the dim distant past, but it certainly didn't match the packing lists of virtually all of the passengers on the current voyage.

6 minutes ago, RPapaMarshall said:

I keep my card in the 'card pouch' attached to the back of my phone (it works without having to remove the card from the pouch). For our last cruise my wife got a "badge holder" from Amazon. Her intention was to hook the holder to a lanyard, but she ended up just sticking it in her pocket.  This is one such, but being Amazon there are hundreds of other options. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Vertical-Holders-Sealable-Waterproof-Proximity/dp/B0888QJYKM/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=2OWDOQG11FVML&keywords=card%2Blanyard%2Bholder&qid=1690044360&sprefix=card%2Blany%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

 

And here's the card holder I use on my phone:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LYPPPUU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

21 hours ago, Mickey111 said:

We’re cruising soon in September do we get cruise cards? Best way to carry them? I have a small cross body bag I usually take on holiday

I keep my card in the 'card pouch' attached to the back of my phone (it works without having to remove the card from the pouch). For our last cruise my wife got a "badge holder" from Amazon. Her intention was to hook the holder to a lanyard, but she ended up just sticking it in her pocket.  This is one such, but being Amazon there are hundreds of other options. 

https://www.amazon.com/Vertical-Holders-Sealable-Waterproof-Proximity/dp/B0888QJYKM/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=2OWDOQG11FVML&keywords=card%2Blanyard%2Bholder&qid=1690044360&sprefix=card%2Blany%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

On 5/16/2023 at 7:42 AM, mbviking2023 said:

 

Viking won't do that for you.  But there are endless ways to book small groups on your own.  We prefer small groups as well - for ALL those reasons you outlined.  Couple all of those points with two or three busses going to the same destinations and now you're in a mob.

 

• The most popular is Viator, but it's my least favorite. Not great customer service.
• Tours By Locals is another good one and you have more flexibility that way.
• In the Middle East - Memphis Tours does a great job in various countries.  We went to Luxor with @BeckySt and Memphis.  She and Bill did a lot of private tours.
• In Jordan we had great success with Jordan Horizons Travel.
• In Israel we used Guided Tours Israel.
• In New Zealand there are many, we booked a private with Hawkes Bay Scenic Tours
• We did a private tour in Rome with @Aspen&Birch but I don't know the company.  Rome was so crowded by itself - couldn't begin to imagine how miserable it would have been in a mob of Vikings.

 

The best solution we found was to google "Shore Excursions CityNameHere" to find a list of providers specializing in that region.  They are usually professionals, having done it for many years.

 

We found 6 - 8 was ideal, but @mstadleraz booked a great Israel tour with about 20, split into two busses for the two days.  We had 12 in our group and it was one of the best tours ever.

 

We couldn't imagine visiting Luxor or Petra or Israel with mobs of people in a group.  

 

Once you book something, put a blurb here and you'll fill out the 6 or 8 that you need.

 

And another pro-tip for the future.  Pick up a Mee Audio Connect Air device and a pair of ear buds.  You'll never need to carry that nasty cord for the QuietVox again!  Freedom!

I agree with everything MBVIKING said!

Especially his recommendation for Memphis Tours - Best Tour Ever!

And... Check out Shore Excursions Group.

I got an email today from Gail Carruth. Many of us will remember Gail and Brad from the pre-cruise Roll Call. They were active participants but had to cancel due to health reasons.

They have been able to unwind most of their plans with one exception.

They have tickets to a concert at the Sydney Opera House on Thursday, Feb 16 7:00 pm.

I don't have the full program but the title piece is Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade.

If someone would like to attend that concert Gail asks that you contact her at gailcarruth@gmail.com.

We and (I believe) several others are also going. 

Thanks, Randy

If I'm calculating right that's ~181 feet south of the equator.

Which means depending on where your stateroom is and where the tech is you could have been north, south, or right on at this point.

Pretty Cool!

On 1/10/2023 at 10:58 AM, mstadleraz said:

I am posting this on both the Roll Call and here. Just attempting to confirm the M&G will be today in the Explorers Lounge at 1700. Please respond if that is the case.

ACCKKKK!!!  Just now catching up on the Roll Call. Sorry we missed the M&G!

Yesterday's post (WC002) is up: http://qrco.de/TLight/ 

Thanks Daryl for setting this up.

New site to go along with morning coffee on the balcony!

Quick question.

We were on the Sea last January and never figured out how to get ship-wide announcements to play in our stateroom.  Is this possible?  How?  Thanks!

On 4/24/2018 at 7:43 AM, broker1217 said:

Zoom in on the control panel image to see the words that correspond with the symbols for the laundry equipment:

 

http://www.speedqueencommercial.com/media/780118/stackwasherdryer_quantum_stainless_am16-0070.pdf

I too got the 404 with this address but I did a bit more digging and found some translations. They aren't probably an exact match, but I'm sure the descriptions will fill in the blanks.

Washer User's Guide.pdf Dryer User's Guide.pdf

2 minutes ago, RPapaMarshall said:

Here's an interior shot of the LSF. If the columns look like trees branching, that's very intentional.

 

5 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

What a different included tour you had then ours last Fall on a Viking extension.  I did enjoy it and fortunately knew in advance the sights we would visit so our private sightseeing would exclude them.  Great photos of LSF outside.  Too bad you did not go inside.  That Gaudi house looks like Casa Mila.  Our guide told us that is his favorite inside tour of all the Gaudi properties.

Except for the LSF your guide was right.  We really enjoyed a tour of the house - and especially the roof-scape.

On 8/15/2018 at 3:02 PM, CharTrav said:

Temp scanners?? What am I missing here? There'a gotta be a joke or punch line here somewhere![emoji1]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I just found this board and am working to catch up. I found this practice in 2018 to be, well, prophetic.

On 1/1/2022 at 7:38 AM, DJVKN said:

@GKTV32162 Garry, thank you for your blog post. Very enlightening. Thanks for the picture of a DV closet and how you utilized it. I have seen many pictures of the cabin but either the closet doors are always closed or empty. It's nice to see one in use. We were originally in a DV cabin but after cruising in a PV to Iceland, we changed cabins.  (We were on the same sailing as you to Iceland but never ran into you) Look forward to meeting you and Arlona in LA. 

Diana and Myron

Don't know if you caught a comment later in this roll call, but the later Viking ships have a set of drawers in the closet. They've raised the bar on half of the closet to accommodate and so have done away with the overhead shelf on that half - but we think that's a good trade-off.