Peregrina651

oops. changed my mind. sorry.

No, ask Viking to send you a copy --- but keep in mind that these times can differ from sail date to sail date. Example, cruises embarking at Greenwich, England are dependent on the river tides for arrival and departure. Our sailing is leaving at 2pm in the afternoon on Day 2 but other sail dates may get a full day in London before departing on Day 2.

NO! You are not too young! Age is a state of mind, not a number. And all the other stuff you mentioned doesn't matter either; it's nobody's business but your own and nobody is going to ask you about it. Don't let the word "luxury" mislead you. Although Viking is labeled by the list makers as "luxury," it is not a luxury cruise line; there are no white gloves or butlers on the ship, no exclusive bars or lounges, no formal evenings, no jackets and ties required, etc. Once you leave your cabin, no one knows what cabin you are in unless you tell them and everyone on board is treated as if they are traveling in the Owner's Suite. If Viking were a true "luxury" cruise line, I would have long since stopped sailing with them.

More correctly stated, Pacific Time. Regardless if is daylight standard time or not, it is by what you see on your clock, without having to worry if it is standard or daylight savings. The only folks who will run into trouble are states (AZ, HI) and countries that don't use DST or countries that change clocks on a different schedule than the US; there will be a period of confusion when just looking at the clock will not help Also, if you have logged in before Noon Pacific Time, you may have to refresh your screen after noon to see that excursions have open. The screen may not automatically change at opening time

Best to ask this one of Viking directly since it seems that prices are changing. Call them or use the chat. Since prices may vary from port to port, make sure that you have your booking number or port information handy. British Isle cruises for the most part dock at Greenwich. Your port of disembarkation will be shown on your Viking invoice. Also a good place to ask questions about British Isles Explorer cruise is https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2858648-british-isles-explorer-cruise/page/9/#comment-66515158 because there are lots of folks who are doing or have done that itinerary.

Yes! A shame to do that to the diet coke.

Bummer! What a mess. That was not normal for Viking. Contact Viking at tellus@vikingcruises.com and tell them what you just told us and ask for compensation for the cab to the airport. Include your booking number and a phone number in the email.

Okay, I'm only guessing but there is a good chance that the change was out of Viking's control. Like the port saying that they don't have a berth for them.

If on December 17 you are sold out of a particular excursion, I suggest emailing Viking (TellUs@vikingcruises.com) and tell them how disappointed you are that such and such excursion is sold out and that you hope that they will be adding more seats. Don't forget to include your booking number on the e-mail. Viking doesn't keep waiting lists, so they have no idea if there is unfulfilled demand unless we out and out tell them. (Yes, I know, dumb system -- but it is the system we have to work with). Then, check the shorex daily to see if any seats have become available (twice daily if it is something you really, really want). Viking will probably not contact you to say that seats have been added. MVJ closes to transactions 7 days before embarkation; at that point, you will have to wait until you board to see if any seats have opened up. Also, on MVJ, even if it says sold out, click on the excursion just to double check that it really is sold out in all time slots.

Post #1 of the thread cited specifically said: Viking has made changes to their internet service program launching first on the Saturn.

They sure do! https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel.html

Excellent! Thank you for the update.

Note that the Viking price offer is a limited offer. It does not mean that you can choose any flights you want at that price but that you can choose from the flights they are offering at that price.

I learned on our very first Viking adventure that the fee charged for Viking Air Plus was worth every penny -- especially as I listened to other pax complaining about getting up in the middle of the night so they could make the crack of dawn flight they were scheduled for or how many stops they would be making instead of flying non-stop. I'm already spending thousands of dollars for my vacation, so why quibble over the fee if it will make things easier and less stressful. Following these boards, I have learned a whole lot more about dealing with Viking Air and Viking Air Plus. • I always add Viking Air when I book to lock in the air pricing; I know that if I try to add it later, it will cost more. Once the air is locked, so is the upgrade to premium-econ or business. Also, very easy to cancel as long as it is done before flights are ticketed. • I do not add the Air Plus fee at booking. TA will add it when and if we are actually flying Viking Air. • I book flights somewhere between 300-275 days before our return home date (just to make sure that all of the airlines have had a chance to open booking for the dates I am looking at). • Always plan to arrive a day or more early. Viking will charge you a deviation fee and you will lose your transfers -- but it sure beats the stress of arriving late because of airline delays. • No matter what and even working with a travel agent, doing your own research is paramount -- which nowadays is quite simple. Even if you aren't booking your own flights, you need to have an idea of what is out there, what you find acceptable and what is absolutely not acceptable (connecting flights under two hours!! regardless of what the airline charts say is not acceptable -- and especially if you have to go through customs). • If price is your criterion for choosing between Viking and OYO (on your own), you cannot get around doing the math before you choose. Sometimes booking through Viking is cheaper and sometimes OYO is cheaper. It depends on where you are flying from and to and what Viking has contracted with the various airlines. So much to think about when making flight arrangements.

Although not always, so it is important to check prices, if saving $$ is your goal. Example: SantaFe1 and I are on the same May, 2024 cruise. We both book business class and we both book well in advance. She saved 30% using Viking Air and I saved 40% booking on my own. So much depends on where you are coming from and where you are headed to, that you need to run a price check each time you book. That said, there are times when you may choose to use Viking Air regardless of savings. We did when we did the Nile River cruise this past January. At that point in time, I was concerned about possible cancellations and I wanted everything on my Viking invoice.

A few caveats and explanations. Viking issues tickets around 60 days out. Once ticketed, if a passenger makes changes to the flight arrangement, there may be a fee, if they can make the change at all. As SantaFe1 has done, a passenger may request (and pay for?) early ticketing. Even if posted on MVJ, the flight plan is not final until it is ticketed. Anyone -- Viking, passenger, airline -- is able to make changes before ticketing. There are advantages to early ticketing and there are disadvantages to early ticketing (which I leave to others to explain because I've never done it).

Exactly.

Ask them to make it fresh for you.

I fast-forwarded through it and I thought that it was entirely out of place. I felt it was asking the audience to go easy on them because they had already suffered enough. Still, if i was going to comment on what they had to say in their review, I had to watch the whole thing. My guess is that showing all the delicious looking the food would not necessarily convey the point they were trying to make.

Glad you got it all straightened out. Just one question. Did you send your e-mail to TellUs@viking.com or to TellUs@vikingcruises.com? I have have always used the latter because I was under the impression that the former would not work. However, if they both work and actually end up in the same inbox, all the better.

I can't believe that I watched the whole thing! But if I was going to criticize, I figured the least I could do was to watch it. I'm not a huge fan of vanity videos and I don't spend my days tracking them down and watching them. I think maybe I have sat through two or three of these things and only because they were a topic of discussion here. My take away is as follows: • in spite of not liking the food and the beds, they gave an over-all rating of 5-stars • in spite of not liking the food and the beds, they have booked another Viking cruise. • in spite of not liking the food and the beds, they spoke highly of Viking and urged others to give them a try • I feel that they didn't do their homework in some areas such that their expectations were not based in reality -- like not knowing in advance that their spa service actually already included a tip (something they could have highlighted had they known) • they kept referring to Viking as a luxury cruise line; Viking has never made that claim. • this was a long cruise for them -- 15 days • they never mentioned the demographic of the ship -- and they are much younger than the demographic that Viking markets to • as for the food, they called it as they saw it. Some of it was based on their unfounded expectations but some of it was actually problems encountered (such as running out of room service menu items toward the end of the cruise). • I don't need to know that they cruise because they can't have kids; I do need to know how many cruises they have done and on what cruise lines they have already sailed. Not sure I need to know how much they spent on the vacation either. • they only spoke about the cruise itself; nothing about their pre-cruise experience, did not mention if they used Viking Air or did a cruise extension. To be honest, once they got past their superfluous intro, I thought they did a good job of narrating and editing their piece -- not great, just good. I thought they were fairly balanced in their comments and their criticisms and I did not feel as though they had some sort of axe to grind. I actually found it to be an enthusiastic endorsement of Viking, especially considering that their major criticisms were about two very important areas of any travel experience -- beds and food.

Food is highly subjective. Bed comfort is highly subjective. What else did the reviewer have to say? What did other reviewers have to say? You can't judge anything on just one review and you have to keep in mind that no cruise-line can please all of the people all of the time. Still, as noted in the last post, Viking ships fill up quickly.

Thank you! After skimming the PDF, I wanted to see what it looked like in action so googled for videos. Very helpful.

Thank you! Your explanations are always edifying and always appreciated.

Even after a roll call is started, it is good to check every now and then to make sure someone hasn't started a second roll call. It does happen sometimes.