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Peregrina651

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Everything posted by Peregrina651

  1. You can ask for sparkling water instead of or in addition to still water.
  2. In a DV/V, I rearrange the furniture to give us a bit more floor space. I move the chair by the bed closer to the night stand, move the other chair out of the way so I can tuck the coffeetable back into the corner along the party wall and finish by putting the chair in front of the slider as close to the coffeetable as possible. If you need to raise the head of the bed for whatever reason, ask the steward to use a mattress pad folded twice the long way and placed under the mattress at the head if the bed.
  3. I have always taken the stance that each trip is different and each trip calls for a different decision. I have both booked flights thru Viking Air and booked my own, depending on prices and where we are headed. When I do use Viking Air, I pay for "custom air" so that I can have a say in which flights are booked and so that I can have the job done closer to when the airlines opens the travel dates for sale. Since you don't currently have the information you need to make the decision (because it is not available), it will cost you nothing to include Viking Air on your initial booking as it can be removed (and refund if you have already made final payment) once flight information becomes available and you can make an informed decision. You can cancel the air portion anytime up to 70 days prior (??, so ask Viking the exact cut off); funds already paid will be refunded. Sometimes Viking Air is a significant savings and sometimes it isn't, and you don't know until you can compare actual prices.
  4. No, Viking is making it such that at the end of the cruise more people will have non-refundable left in their account, that Viking will not have to return to guests at the end of the cruise.
  5. If it were just a matter of $$, we'd be sailing on Carnival or NCL. Thank you, no. We'd rather stay home. Then Viking opened its Oceans division. It was more expensive than the mainstream lines but under a 1000 pax, no casinos, no kids, free internet, included excursions, no formal nights, no ties & jackets and port heavy itineraries aimed at our age demographic were a big draw. It is the intangibles that keep us coming back.
  6. Just a couple to whet your appetite... Geothermal pools Lake Myvatn and surroundings Goðafoss
  7. I have done Natural Treasures. The decision is six of one, half a dozen the other. There is a lot to see from Akureyri and you can't see it all in one day. They each have a variety of geologic features; it just depends on which you like seeing the most. You can't go wrong with either one.
  8. Someone on another thread suggested Citymapper. Said it gave better routing than the Tfl app (which I already had put on my phone). So I downloaded it to give it a test run. Plus it works for multiple cities not just London.
  9. My son and daughter in law went to Japan pre-pandemic and she is sharing a lot of information with me. They are going back in November and will have even more to report. This is from her report: First of all -- temples do a cool thing where they hand paint and red stamp a sheet that you can buy and put in a book called a Goshuinchou. You can buy the book at most temples and they can either paint directly in them or you can buy a pre-drawn sheet and paste it in later to save time. Tip: if you do this, write down the name of the temple so you can keep track of which inscription goes with which location -- it's surprisingly challenging to Google later if you forget. Also, if you have a small unlined notebook, a lot of sites, including train stations, towers, you name it, also have stamps that you can put in the book as a fun commemoration of the location. This is what she is talking about. (I just hope I remember about this when the time comes)
  10. Viking offers the following optional excursion. We are booked on it in May. Orkney’s Stone Age Duration: 4 hours UNESCO Sightseeing Moderate * A REMOTE ISLAND’S NEOLITHIC PAST Witness untold centuries of human settlement during visits to Orkney’s Neolithic and Viking sites. Take a drive through rolling landscapes, passing prehistoric sites such as the Standing Stones of Stenness, dating to the third millennium BC. Stop at the well-preserved Stone Age settlement of Skara Brae, and explore one of Europe’s most complete Neolithic villages. Older than Stonehenge, it has been called the “Scottish Pompeii” because of its remarkably preserved dwellings. Visit the 17th-century Skaill House, built by Bishop George Graham. All 12 of its lairds have been related during its 400-year history, and the house features memorabilia collected from each generation. Return to your motor coach and continue on this circular route, following the coastline of Scapa Flow.
  11. Keep watching. The website can be the last step of the process.
  12. Agreed! Take the cash. Terms are too restrictive. Everything CDN has said is true. Read the cancellation email carefully and respond before the cutoff date.
  13. No. Sit down with Shorex and tell them what happened -- hot bus, lousy guide, unsafe driver, etc.. Having your group number will help them identify the driver guide and hopefully they will not be working for Viking again. This kind of stuff is why it is so important to fill out the surveys.
  14. Not crazy if it saves the CU money to discontinue the service. Start by figuring out how much you are going to need for tips for tours. That is the minimum amount to bring. Next thing to decide is whether it is better underestimate how much cash you will need or overestimate. If you are planning on traveling to Europe again, then bringing home some euro shouldn't be a problem. We keep a minimum of 100€ on hand so that we don't have to worry about stopping in the airport. I know you said no ATM but I am going to open my big mouth and make a suggestion that you are welcome to ignore. Take baby steps towards ATM usage (if nothing else, you have access in case of emergency (like cash stolen)). Go to AAA for euro but plan to make one visit to an ATM on this trip. Call it a practice run. But first, to protect your nest egg, you want a dedicated travel account with its own debit/ATM card (or better yet, a card for each of you). Open a sub-account at the CU. (I use a CU and had no trouble doing this). Ask that it have its own debit card that is not attached to any of the other accounts that you already have. Ask them to set it up as an ATM-only card. (If they can't figure it out, ask them to set the purchase limit to $0). Set the daily withdrawal rate to $150. Put $500 in the account. When you get to Madrid, go to a nearby bank with an ATM in the lobby. Take out 50 or 100€. When you get home, you can compare the two methods. And if you are staying at the Intercontinental (near the US embassy) in Madrid, go visit the Sorollo Museum. It is just around the corner and it just lovely, small and intimate.
  15. Hope you will join the Far Eastern Horizons roll call for those dates. There are only a couple of us and we surely would enjoy the company. May 2, 2025 -- Far Eastern Horizons -- HK to Tokyo
  16. My go-to person left during COVID. Now I am high and dry.😒
  17. Infinity pool shown above (this one is deeper than 4'8"). The Pool on Deck 7 (right), which is about 2-3 times the size of the Infinity pool -- and not weather dependent; there are people who swim laps here. The pool in the Spa (left). They were talking about the Infinity Pool.
  18. From travel.state.gov: New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA): U.S. citizens traveling to or transiting through New Zealand under the visa waiver program are required to have an NZeTA. This is also true for cruise ship passengers. It can take up to 72 hours to process an NZeTA so apply well in advance of your trip. The NZeTA is valid for multiple visits for up to two years. If your NZeTA application is denied, you will need to apply for a visa. Visit the Embassy of New Zealand website for the most current visa information. International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL): U.S. citizens traveling to New Zealand for tourism, certain student programs, and short-term business trips are required to pay an International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL). This levy is assessed when a person applies for an NZeTA or New Zealand visa. The IVL is not required of passengers that are transiting New Zealand on a transit visa or transit ETA. There is a difference between a NZe TAand a visa. I took the test to see if I could use a NZe TA. I failed the test. Were I going to NZ at this time, I would need to apply for a visa (or to take the test again, taking care that I understand what I'm being asked). Each country sets its own rules and fees for visas. Whether you need a visa at all depends on the passport you carry. The fees you pay also depend on the passport you carry. Note also that what you paid may also include the IVL mentioned on travel.state.gov If you have questions about the visa, you really should ask the New Zealand Consular office in Los Angeles; they may even have a website. They know a lot more about their visas than most of us here -- and not having the right paperwork can cost you your whole trip.
  19. Best to inform Viking at least 30 days before you board, so they can be properly stocked to meet your needs. Gluten-free can be handled on MVJ. Go to Onboard Experience/Preferences and choose Dietary. The stuff I can't eat is not listed on the form. I tell them when I board; I go to the maitre'd and ask them to add it to my profile. https://www.viking.com/myjourney/onboard-experience/preferences/allergies Those with food allergies get special handling at dinner. Breakfast and lunch we have to handle on our own -- I get one of the crew to walk me down the buffet line at lunch to point out the dishes I need to avoid. Some dishes on the buffet are labeled. For dinner in The Restaurant and Manfredi's, we get to choose our meals in advance. The next evening's menu will be in your hands by bedtime. Sometimes they will hand it to you at dinner and sometimes they will leave it at your cabin (different ships have different ways of handling it). Your choices must be turned in by 10 am; follow instructions on the menu. Chef's Table checks the profiles of all diners and plans accordingly.
  20. If you are celiac, keep in mind that the noodles are dunked in a pot of boiling water prior to final preparation. Don't assume that they use different pots for the different types of noodles. Ask.
  21. It was disabled by Cruise Critic when it moved to this platform a few years. Or do you mean on MVJ? In which case, it may be a browser problem or it may not be a 24/7 feature.
  22. ROLL CALLS FOR 2024 (as of this date) April 5, 2024 - British Isle Explorer - Viking Venus British aisles April 17,2024 (Saturn) Viking Venus British Isles Explorer- April 19th 2024 (Venus) May 1, 2024 British Isle Explorer (Saturn) Viking Sky May 06, 2024 British Isles Explorer London to Bergen May 29, 2024 British Isles explorer (Saturn) June 13, 2026, Saturn, British Isles Explorer (Saturn) Viking Sky British Isles Explorer / June 17 - July 1, 2024 British Isle Explorer Neptune Bergen to London June 20, 2024 Viking Sky British Isles Explorer /July 1, 2024-July 14, 2024 (Sky) British Isles Explorer July 4, 2024 - July 18, 2024 (Neptune) July 10-24, 2024 - British Isles (Saturn) Viking Sky- British Isles, July 15-29, 2024 Viking Saturn - July 24, 2024 - British Isles Explorer Viking Sky - British Isles Explorer July 29 - August 12, 2024 (Sky) 2024 September 02 - Viking Venus - British Isles Cruise (Venus) Viking Venus - British Isles Explorer - Sept 2-16, 2024 (Venus)
  23. Best advice: you need some time off from one another each day. You can't be joined at the hip all day long. State it clearly early on in the planning process.
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