Kountess

Check with Steve at the TripInsuranceStore.com.  Many cruisers on this board use him, and I was able to get a policy for our WC, and we'll be onboard for 180 days.

I would like to join everyone in thanking Clay and all the other World Cruise bloggers and posters.  Your commentary and photographs have made this journey come alive for all of us who are following along.  As someone who is waiting in the wings, so to speak, I have especially appreciated the recommendations, advice, and thoughts you have generously shared.  My husband and I will be following in your shoes in about seven months when we board Viking Sky for our world cruise.  Luckily, we'll be going all the way from Ft. Lauderdale to NYC for 180 days. 

I hope someone on our cruise will take the lead in starting a "Live From" thread.  I'll try to add to it, and I'll also be blogging, although I can't imagine being able to keep it up-to-date like Cruising Denise was able to do so well.

Enjoy your memories as you look back on what will likely be a once in a lifetime experience.

14 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Chag Pesach Sameach to all who celebrate Passover.  We joined some of the Jewish guests onboard for Seder this evening. @drjj (who apparently has been leading the Sabbath services) asked Viking if it was possible to have a Seder and other than putting together the program and leading it, the great staff and crew onboard did the rest.

What a wonderful celebration!  I'm amazed that Viking could manage to put together all the traditional foods while sailing along the coast of Africa.  Perhaps the request was made much earlier so they could stock up on essentials.

I'm planning to request a traditional Southern New Year's Day dinner of black-eyed peas and collard greens while we're on our upcoming World Cruise!  We'll see how that goes!

This may not help, but we were in 3044 and had no issues with noise.

These are the tips that I copied from I don't remember where!  We traveled from Myrdal to Flåm since we wanted to ride down the mountain, so keep that (and the tips) in mind.

• For the best experience on the Flåm Railway part of the trip, you’re going to want to get tactical.
• Get to the station early
  • There are no reserved seats on the Flåm Railway, so getting to the station early is absolutely key. At the station in Flåm there were two queues – one for independent travellers (this includes Norway in a Nutshell travellers), and another for passengers from the two cruise ships moored in the fjord. Each group queues up, and 10 or so minutes before the train is due to leave, the guards lower the barriers and let you onto assigned carriages – one set of carriages for the cruise ship passengers/tour groups and another for the independent travellers.
    • Once those barriers go down, it’s a mad dash for seats on the train. If you want a good seat (or even to be sat with your travelling companions) then you need to be near the front of the queue.

• Try to sit on the right-hand side of the train from Flåm to Myrdal
  • The ideal seat on the Flåm Railway from Flåm to Myrdal is on the right-hand side of the train, by a window which opens. The seats are in sets of three on one side of the train and two on the other; you want to be near the window on the three-seater side of the train for the best views.   [The most important thing is to get a window that opens.]
  • If you are on the other side of the train, all is not lost. You’ll be on the best side to see the mighty Kjossfossen waterfall, and there’s still plenty to see for the rest of the journey.
• Don’t bother getting off at Kjossfossen
  • The train stops at the Kjossfossen waterfall for a few minutes – just long enough for a mountain nymph to emerge and tempt unwary travellers away from their tightly-planned itineraries with a mysterious dance set to very loud piped music. The magnificent Kjossfossen is the single most impressive sight on the Flåm Railway. Most people on the train dash for the platform at this point, but if you stay on the train you can see the whole show and take photos of the waterfall over everyone else’s head.  [I did get off the train.]

On 3/31/2024 at 5:14 PM, pavementends said:

Getting foreign currency from AAA is so...last century.

I don't really care that I'm still in the last century, but I found getting foreign currency from AAA to be a great solution for itineraries with multiple currencies.  For Viking Homelands, for example, I wanted a small amount of each currency just to cover tips for guides and drivers and did not want to have to find an ATM at each port.  I prefer to tip in local currency whenever possible.  On other itineraries, however, I always use ATMs.

12 hours ago, UWDawg said:

I finally got around to cleaning up my scan of the 2nd leg of the African deviation itinerary.  Please see attached file, which I augmented with some recent additions of Leisurely Pace versions of some included excursions 

Thank you so much for doing this.  Having access to the list of excursions ahead of time will certainly help in planning for our World Cruise.  Of course, nothing has been announced yet as far as a revised itinerary, but I'm just guessing our itinerary will match yours.

9 hours ago, Penspack said:

I did not make a spreadsheet since there was no need due to how we voted 1,2,3 for each day and we had little time to review. I did not see any spreadsheet posted.

@UWDawg scanned the first set and posted it Here in a WORD file.

@Clay Clayton took pictures of the second set and posted them in several posts starting here. You can scan the photos posted if you want a text or PDF file. 

Thank you so much.  I'm not sure how I missed those posts since I am following this topic so closely, but I appreciate your setting me straight!  I hope you enjoy the new excursions.

On 3/27/2024 at 11:28 AM, Penspack said:

Thanks for the kind words. But you do realize that was 1 spreadsheet out of the thousands I have created…😃 It was one of the rare ones….

I may have totally missed it, but did you create a spreadsheet for the excursions for the revised itinerary around Africa.  My husband and I will be on the 2024-25 World Cruise, and all of the information that current cruisers have generously posted is invaluable to us.  

Even if there is no spreadsheet, a copy of the excursions would be very welcome in case we also take this route!

5 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

We did just that on a previous cruise!!  Both of us with Viking jackets.  Better than losing it

I wasn't really interested in a Viking jacket, so I just asked Guest Services to add my unused OBC to gratuities.  I figured the crew could use the gratuities more than I would ever use a jacket!

1 minute ago, let's go cruising said:

So, yes. I, over two years out still, can we do the Mousa Island Hike AND see Sumburgh Head?

We were on a private tour, so I can't help you with this question.

6 hours ago, let's go cruising said:

Has anyone seen puffins in June on this cruise itinerary? 

Yes, we saw them on June 5 in the Shetland Islands.  There were so many and so easy to see.

Rambling Chronicles: Shetland Islands Tour (stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com)

6 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

Kountess, you have a lovely blog!  Since we are doing BIE in May, in reverse order from what you did, I took the liberty of reading all those posts.  Very informative.  And just seeing what you were wearing in Scotland has me re-thinking what kind of cold weather clothes I need to take!

Thank you for the lovely compliment.  I'm so glad you found the posts helpful.  I have gotten so much helpful information from Cruise Critic posters in the past and am happy to pay it forward.  Enjoy your cruise.

7 minutes ago, LostInQuilts said:

We are in the planning process of our first ever cruise & have decided on the British Isles Explorer cruise. I've been looking at the excursions and we'd really be interested, when in the Orkney Islands, in visiting Skara Brae. Unfortunately, it's not on the list of Viking excursions. Has anyone done a private tour of Skara Brae? Any tour companies that you could recommend? 

Lorna Brown was great, and Skara Brae was one of the places we visited.  Here's my blog post on the day we spent with her.

Rambling Chronicles: Orkney Islands Tour (stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com) 

19 minutes ago, ddeprez said:

Is a guided tour inside LSG included, or just a visit inside?

On our tour in December, our Viking guide gave us a short tour inside using our QuietVox system before letting us wander on our own.  She said she had to speak very quietly, so I don't know if she was supposed to give us a tour or not.  The LSG app sounds like a great idea.

36 minutes ago, LissaKay said:

We are booked on the "Gaudi Architecture and La Sagrada Familia" tour with Viking. Does this enter the LSG? If not, is there an option to get tickets and go on our own, leaving the booked tour at this point? 

Yes, the tour does include the interior of LSG.

Thanks, Clay, for posting the excursion descriptions.  You're the best!

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

No, but here is our completed booking form which will hopefully give you a good idea of the options and costs

Thanks Clay. That's a start.

On 3/3/2024 at 12:29 AM, UWDawg said:

For what it's worth, I scanned the excursion descriptions for the revised ports for the Viking Sky WC (Port Louis, Mauritius to Cape Town, South Africa) and included the summaries in a Word file.

Has anyone scanned the excursion descriptions for the remaining ports?  Future world cruisers are curious!

After our British Isles Explorer cruise, we stayed at the Great Scotland Yard Hotel for five nights.  We loved the hotel and found it to be a in perfect location since it is so close to Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, Churchill War Rooms, etc.  Our ship docked in Greenwich, and we took the Uber Boat by Thames Clipper to the Embankment Pier.  We had planned to get a taxi or Uber from the pier to the hotel, but we ended up walking instead.  It was an easy six minute walk, even with suitcases.  I highly recommend taking the Thames Clipper at some point as the view of London from the river is spectacular.  You could easily take the boat to the dock in Greenwich (unless you are leaving from Tilbury!).

2 hours ago, MexicoLloyd said:

I'm on Viking's 2025 World Cruise (LA to NYC). I'm really enjoying everyone's posts, and getting some great ideas. Would it be possible for someone on the current WC to  send me a link for the optional shore excursions- well, up to London anyway. I'd appreciate it as I want to plan ahead and need to know pricing.  TIA.

I'm also on the 2025 World Cruise.  Clay graciously forwarded me a copy of the shore excursions, which I'm attaching here.

World Voyage - Viking Sky Excursions 2023-24.pdf

In Edinburgh, we only did the included Highlights excursion.

We were on a British Isles Explorer cruise last June as a back-to-back with Viking Homelands.  After returning home, I finished blog posts on each destination.  Several of our tours were with private operators, but the posts might provide some insight into at least a few of your questions.

The posts start on June 5, 2023.  Here's the first one: 

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/new-shore-excursion-options.html

11 minutes ago, Haqdeluxe said:

I believe they pay out your earnings in either multi-grain or rye. 

Oh, no, not that fancy! 🤣 Just plain old white bread (maybe Wonder bread🍞 ?)!!!  I had never heard of them either, but found them in a search for the best CD rates.  We've had CDs there since last May, and they are earning real money!

1 hour ago, WanderingBrit said:

Another reminder that everyone should be at a Credit Union, where 2.5% interest is not uncommon - we don't even live in the same State as our Credit Union 🙂

If anyone has not looked into online banks, the rates are even better.  Our Capital One savings account, which is linked to our checking account, earns 4.35%, and our new Bread Savings account earns 5.15%.  We've been using Capital One since 2014 and have never felt the need for a physical bank.