miami mama

It sure does look beautiful and it makes me think it might be warmer than it is. I don't like overpacking (although we seem to all the time) but I also don't like to be cold.

You have talked about rain and wind on the trip and you look to be wearing winter jackets. Just wondering how cold it has been. We are going in just about a month and still can't decide on how heavy of a jacket to bring or to just use the windbreakers (with some lining in them) and layer with shirts and sweaters underneath. Thanks for all of your reporting and pictures. What a wonderful adventure.

The World Cafe on the expedition ships is fabulous. Our next cruise is on Ocean, and although we really enjoy it, it is not quite at the same level.

Heidi13, it may be possible that the OP cannot give an update. Sometimes it is necessary to sign a NDA when an agreement is reached.

Fish is usually good there. The menu does change and at times they might not have a "favorite" on a particular cruise. On an expedition cruise we took, we did speak with the restaurant manager about not being able to order chicken parm (not on the menu for that cruise). He did make a special call to the restaurant asking if the chef would prepare this dish for us and then made sure the restaurant had a table ready for us when we got there. The customer service was far and beyond what we expected.

The Shelter is a little protected area right behind the bow. It is outside of the cabin area. The Hide is a hideaway where storytelling occurs. There is comfortable cozy seating and a cart of alcohol fixings. It feels very private and away from the rest of the ship, During our trip on Octantis, there were several evenings where different crew members told tales of their adventures.

We are doing the Athens 4 day extension also so will be very interested in hearing about your experiences on the excursions and in the city. Please let me know about the hotel and any restaurant recommendations you have. Have a great time.

Defnitely keep checking back to see if something opens up. However, I would also write to tellus and voice your concerns. The change for most of Viking's "Venice" crusies to the Chioggia port was something I'm sure most people didn't expect when they reserved their cruises. Providing additional buses for "Venice on Your Own" would seem to be an easy and necessary fix.

I guess we can always try.

I have been following the responses on the Manfredi's and Chef Table reservation topic and noted the difficulties people are having obtaining reservations at their preferred times. It started me wondering if food from either one of these restaurants would be available for order from room service. Has anyone ordered something such as the Tuscan steak or chicken parm from Manfredi's when ordering from room service? What other items might be ordered off-menu?

There have always been a very generous number of tables for two. Making people share tables doesn't make any sense especially since Viking seemed to take the most care regarding Covid safety procedures in the past.

Same situation for us as with CDNPolar. Viking refunded everything but the cruise cost which we agreed to be held in a voucher. Of course, the incentive to provide us with something more than the actual cost for the cruise was the reason for taking the voucher.

Longterm speaks about this hotel in post #14. Frankly, I am hoping that my extension will be changed over to this hotel from the NJV Athens. I don't like extremely noisy hotels and the NJV is practically surrounded by highways. Noise seems to be a concern for many of the rooms. Would love to hear how you find the Intercontinental.

Thanks for the explanation Cilcianrqts. Have never heard of them and could not imagine why a cracker would be prohibited. Makes sense now.

I am very curious about this as I don't know about Christmas crackers. What would make them a prohibited item?

I, like you Vagabond51, love the planning stage so I understand your frustration. Make sure when you are on MyVikingJourney you check each day in the Excursions section. For our week long cruise next year, Days 3 through 7 have shown up with excursions and I have been able to make decisions on what we want to do. Waiting for Day 2 at this point but also thinking about what we might want to do independently.

Yes that is the thread I remember reading, just got the name wrong on who booked a private car. Thanks for bringing that back up. It is because of that thread I contacted Viking in September to again be assured we would be next to Venice, not in Chiaggio. I will review that thread, post on Tripadvisor and as well as contact our hotel in Venice for a recommendation.

Roll call is a possibility. Thanks millybess.

We come in on the 16th and typically Viking will not consider transfers for those that come in early. Because of the difficulty of getting to Chioggia, we thought to go back to the airport and get a transfer for the 17th. Going back into Venice on the 18th is not very appealing to us knowing half of the time will be on the bus. I know docking at this port effected the amount of time available in Split on a previous cruise. If that occurs, in addition to limiting time in Venice, we will be very disappointed. We were assured the port was right there across from Venice at Marghera. In fact, the agent just couldn't understand why I kept asking the question. Really not looking forward to spending that extra time on travel trying to get to Chioggia, whether it is on our own or doubling back to the airport and going with Viking.

We will be taking the Venice, Adriatic and Greece cruise next year. After confirming with Viking about the port they will be using in Venice (on numerous occasions), we made reservations to come in a day early and spend the night in Venice. We planned on doing a private tour in the morning and then transferring to the port in the afternoon. Today we received an email from Viking informing us that the port will now be in Chiaggio. I am totally frustrated by this as when I called Viking each time I mentioned that the new regulations required cruises to use ports in other areas and I needed to know if Chiaggio was going to be used since I would need to make other arrangements for transportation. I am now looking into car (taxis, etc.) services to facilitate the transfer to the port. I've already looked at tripadvisor about car service between Venice and Chiaggio but have not found anything. I believe longterm had to engage a car service for this very thing so I'm guessing others might have also. Any recommendations for reliable service between the two areas would be greatly appreciated.

Correct Peregrina651, the bag did go through the x-ray but my curlers and flat iron did not raise any concerns (on any of four cruises they have been on). Most hair appliances are most likely ok.

I keep my hair appliances (flatiron and electric curlers) in my carry-on and take the bag with me as I board. No one has ever looked into my luggage as I was boarding.

Checked out the hotel on MVJ and it also says NJV Athens Plaza. Then I went to tripadvisor for the reviews. This hotel is surrounded by highways and many of the reviews talk about the external traffic noise. Even more reviews talk about the tired decor, the small room size, and all of the many broken items in the room. Although this hotel is very located, not sure that makes up for all of the concerns stated in tripadvisor. Viking rethink this one. Without proper rest, this post extension will be torture.

The regional package will do very nicely for our cruise. I will be saving this thread to refer back to when we get closer to our cruise next year. Thanks for the info. I am used to paying the $10/day with ATT. Now $37 will be the bill. Will be able to buy a plan for both of our phones at that rate.

Longterm, thanks for sharing the information on Airolo. I just looked at their website but still have a question. When on a cruise visiting multiple countries, is it possible to change the designated country in the app on a daily basis as the cruise ship moves to the next port?