Kountess

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.

It won't help you for 2026, but we are doing the reverse itinerary starting in Fort Lauderdale in October 2025.

8 minutes ago, snookie1 said:

So I just found this Viator tour and see that there is no tour running when we will be there on May 5, 2024.  (Or any other Saturday, Sunday, or Monday in May.)  So we can opt for a small group tour from Viator, I suppose; we'll have to see what Viking offers.

Just out of curiosity, I looked at Viator and saw this tour - Chauffeur Driven Tour of Beautiful County Wicklow.  It sounds like the one we did, and it does show availability on May 5, with one price for up to three people.  The price has definitely gone up since 2022, however!

2 hours ago, longterm said:

We're doing the BIE starting on July 4th; I've already booked 4 private tours for this trip, might be interested in this one if you can recall its name on Viator or any other info that might help me find it. We've had great luck with Viator tours, both in England and in France, and I in fact have one booked for us on our BIE cruise.

Luckily, I still had my email confirmation from Viator.  Our guide was Dairine Nuttall, and here's 

a snapshot of the confirmation.  She was willing to do or go anywhere we wanted, and you may be able to contact her directly.

We had signed up for the Discover County Wicklow excursion last year, but it was cancelled after embarking on our cruise.  We ended up booking a private tour through Viatour that was fabulous.  If you're curious, this is the post in my blog for that day:

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/tour-county-wicklow.html 

1 minute ago, cruising denise said:

Hello!  Like Steve and Debby, we are on the Sky.  Our blog is at:

 

https://eddieanddeniseworldcruise.blogspot.com/

I did find your blog earlier, and I am enjoying both yours and Steve and Debby's immensely!  I may not comment, but rest assured that I appreciate your posts and the effort that goes into keeping up a blog.  I am getting lots of tips that I will refer to as I plan for our world cruise.

15 minutes ago, HUNKY said:

I was on Saturn, deck 3, DV6, cabin 3056.

 

It was nice to be on a deck where we passed through the atrium on our way to the elevators, instead of a plain passageway.

I agree.  We love the DV6 cabins on Deck 3.  We were just in 3044 on the Neptune and are booked in 3040 on the Sky for our upcoming world cruise.  Last year, we had a guarantee cabin and were in a DV4.  We much prefer Deck 3.

I don't think you can go wrong with almost any itinerary, but we absolutely loved Viking Homelands.  The Scandinavian ports were so interesting, and I fell in love with Norway.  This was our first Viking cruise, and we followed that with British Isles Explorer, also wonderful as you discovered.

59 minutes ago, Penspack said:

https://drsla-wc.blogspot.com/

I love your posts so far.  It will be fun to travel vicariously with you this year.

22 hours ago, Penspack said:

We are not the Neptune, but if interested, my signature has a link to my blog for our current WC adventures on the Sky...

I cannot seem to find the link to your blog.  I'd love to follow along since we'll be on the Sky next year for the WC.

22 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

We go on Feb. 14.  It is easy for us to fly to LA and cruise from there.  
But since I am in The Virtual Explorers Lounge, I have a question, I don’t know where else to ask.  We always fly to Europe business class. We have always taken the two seats in the middle, which means we each have a different aisle to enter and exit.  And this has proved difficult for me with a bad shoulder to get my carry on up in the bin with my husband on the other aisle.  So we have booked our flights to London in May with two business class aisles, front and back to each other, like 7A and 8A.  Anyone have an opinion on this?  I can still change seats. TIA

My husband and I have done this twice, and it has worked well for us. Just check to see the configuration of the seat you choose. Usually, one seat angles close to the window, while the one behind angles closer to the aisle. The one closest to the window is more private but a little harder to get in and out of. You'll be spending lots of time together on the ship, so this will be your alone time!

Last year on our Viking Homelands cruise, we did not go to Berlin and were in our cabin when the folks returned after a very long day.  From our balcony, I watched the Viking staff assemble, and they were dancing long before the passengers arrived and looked to be having fun. I enjoyed watching it and thought it was a nice Viking touch.

I would highly recommend the NIN tour.  My husband and I did a one-day roundtrip from Bergen last year, and it was one of the highlights of our trip.  We were on a back-to-back Viking Homelands-British Isles Explorer cruise, so we were docked in Bergen for three nights and had a full day to do the NIN.  I am a huge rail fan and was mostly looking forward to the Flam railway.  As it turned out, my favorite part of the NIN was the cruise on Nærøyfjord.

I posted about the trip in my blog in case you'd like to read about our experience.  If you decide to do a roundtrip, just make sure you get on the right bus after the fjord cruise!

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/norway-in-nutshell-part-i.html

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/norway-in-nutshell-part-ii.html

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/norway-in-nutshell-part-iii.html

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/norway-in-nutshell-part-iv.html

58 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

I’d do the latter two options (layers & rain gear). The rain coat will be good for wind as well.

I agree with multiple layers and rain gear.  We did the BIE in early June and still used some layers under a rain coat most days, even if it wasn't raining.  A wool hat, scarf and gloves were also very welcome.

9 hours ago, ericosmith said:

I'm curious why you decided to do the loop in this direction rather than catching the bus in Voss and taking the boat to Flam?

We thought it would be more scenic going down the mountain from Myrdal to Flam on the Flam Railway. If you go in this direction, just make sure to catch the right bus in Gundvangen (see blog post NIN IV)!

4 minutes ago, ericosmith said:

Back to the train...  I'm planning on Bergen-Voss-Gudvangen-Flam-Myrdal-Bergen.  I know for example that I can book Flam to Bergen but I would prefer to book separate tickets to allow a bit more time in between.  Is there any reason why this wouldn't be a good option?

My husband and I traveled Bergen-Myrdal-Flam-Gudvangen-Voss-Bergen last year, and it was a very long, but wonderful day.  To have more time in between, I believe you would need to spend the night in Flam, which wouldn't be a bad idea.  You can get an idea of timing and options on the Norway in a Nutshell website.  You could then book with them or book your own separate tickets.

I just finished updating my blog about our trip in case you'd like to read about our experience.

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/norway-in-nutshell-part-i.html

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/norway-in-nutshell-part-ii.html

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/norway-in-nutshell-part-iii.html

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/norway-in-nutshell-part-iv.html

On 3/20/2023 at 5:17 PM, cruisewiscrrq said:

We are docking in Eidefjord.  So no chance to walk to flam railway!  Don’t think I want to rent a car either.  Will either win excursion lottery or do NiN out of Bergen just the two of us.  So much cheaper out of Bergen we will have extra $ for later in cruise.  I am still curious about our chances of booking in DV, when  we are allowed 67 days out?

If you have the opportunity to take a NIN out of Bergen, I would highly recommend doing so.  My husband and I did that last year, and it was one of the main highlights of our trip.  We were on a back-to-back Viking Homelands-British Isles Explorer cruise, so we were docked in Bergen for three nights and had a full day to do the NIN.  I am a huge rail fan and was mostly looking forward to the Flam railway.  As it turned out, my favorite part of the NIN was the cruise on Nærøyfjord.

I just finished updating my blog about the trip in case you'd like to read about our experience.  If you decide to go this way, just make sure you get on the right bus after the fjord cruise!

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/norway-in-nutshell-part-i.html

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/norway-in-nutshell-part-ii.html

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/norway-in-nutshell-part-iii.html

https://stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com/2022/06/norway-in-nutshell-part-iv.html

We did an all-day, round-trip NIN tour from Bergen, and it was one of the highlights of our trip.  The train left Bergen at 8:30 am, and we did not return to Bergen until 9:00 pm.  It was a long day, but so worth it.