Peregrina651

AGREED! Lousy proofreading.

And will be removed or adjusted at the guest's request. For your consideration: Viking has chosen an "opt out" program; it is spelled out in the FAQ (which is linked to below). Right now, not enough people are opting out of the program for them to consider changing how they are doing things. As long as most of the guests are happy, the policy will stand. What is the tipping policy? Our onboard staff is dedicated to providing you with the best cruise experience possible, and it is customary to give gratuities in recognition of their service. How much you choose to tip is a personal matter and completely at your discretion. To save you worry over whom to tip and how much, we automatically add a discretionary hotel and dining charge of $17.00 USD per guest per day to your shipboard account, which appears on your final invoice at the end of your cruise. This charge will be shared among the onboard staff who helped support and provide your cruise experience, including the waitstaff, stateroom stewards, buffet stewards, galley staff, laundry staff and others. Should you wish to make changes to the gratuity amounts or pay in cash, stop by Guest Services at any time. You may also wish to tip your local excursion guides and/or drivers; we suggest doing so in cash at the end of each tour. For your convenience, you can pre-purchase gratuities at our standard recommended rate in My Viking Journey. This charge will be shared among the onboard staff who helped support and provide for your cruise experience, including your Program Director, waitstaff, stateroom stewards, galley staff, nautical staff and others. (accurate as of the date posted on CC)

CC to the rescue. Check out all of the threads on seasickness for tips on how to control it. Everybody has something to say about it. But most of all, get an MD involved in the conversation.

IMHO, stop second guessing your decision. There are only a handful truly unacceptable cabins and yours is not one of them. Go on the cruise and then based on your experience decide if you want to do something different the next time. Explore the ship. See where the various cabins are. Talk to people. Then use everything you learn to pick a cabin for your next cabin.

"Duck cabins" is new to me. I've always heard the cabins below the waterline referred to as "aquarium class." Live and learn.😉

And caviar

Now we are dating ourselves. But then again, I notice that so far, no one has said, "Laura who?"

Viking specifically mentions jeans but I have not seen anything that bans trainers.

IMHO, as long as it is within the stated dress code (because I am not advocating anarchy), wear what you want as long as it makes you happy! This is your vacation and it is your choice what you wear. If dressing up makes you happy, then do it -- and do it with joy. As to the question, would she feel overdressed, that is something only she can answer. Would she be overdressed? First, I don't like the term "overdressed;" it is judgemental. Let's put it this way, a small number of women chose to wear cocktail dresses -- just as a small number of men choose to wear blazers/sports jackets. All I say don't be like one older couple that I saw on one cruise. They were the most unhappy looking couple I have even seen on a cruise ship. Every night, he wore a double-breasted suit, she wore a cocktail dress and the family jewels. They looked elegant. Each night, they sat alone at their table, stone-faced and stone-cold silent. I don't think I ever saw them talk to one another let alone to anyone at a nearby table. Every night, they looked miserable and unhappy -- and not because of what they wore but what they didn't wear -- a smile.

Read your insurance policy and read Viking's cancellation policy. You may not be covered if you cancel now. Also read the thread Israel traveling, where part of the conversation is about canceling one's cruise.

SWEEET! Congrats! Timing is every thing! You can't plan what you experienced, so you really lucked out.

Another vote for tips included as part of the fare, as is already done in the AUS/NZ/UK markets.

Cannot agree with you on that one -- and I am only talking about the package description, not the per diem price of the package. This Silver Spirits beverage package includes premium wines by the glass, house champagne by the glass, cocktails, aperitifs, and any drink up to £18, throughout the day and anywhere on the ship; The Chef’s Table premium wine pairing; 30% discount on premium beverages above £40 GBP, and 50% discount for premium tasting events Since the drinks package is administered in USD and since those numbers will not change with the fluctuation of the exchange rate, for clarity shouldn't it be stated in USD on the order form? If I am given a description of the how the package works in sterling (or whatever currency), I am going to calculate the dollar equivalents before I go and, for stereling, I am going to come up a maximum drink price covered by the package as something in the area of 21USD, not the 18USD that it actually is -- and I would be annoyed because little things like this bother me. It is easy enough to be given the correct information in the first place, so why not just do it??

Many thanks, @Canberra601 and @Strangford Do you have the URL for where you found these documents? That way folks can always find their way to the most recent edition of the document. Viking may update the document but they don't change the URL -- and they certainly do make it hard to find things on the website. TIA! IMHO, the pitfalls of "dynamic pricing"!? But, all kidding aside, I think that since pricing on board the ship is in USD, that the program description should be stated on the form in USD -- because that is what pax are going to see on the bar menu. The person who got the best exchange rate on the day they bought the package! Viking sets the price and then doesn't worry about the day to day fluctuations of the currency market.

Good point! Can you post a link to the UK version of the same document? And can someone in the AUS/NZ market do the same? That way can serve all readers no matter where they are.

Rivers and Oceans have different policies. The onboard currency for all Viking Oceans ships is US dollars. The onboard currency on Viking Rivers varies depending on the itinerary. In the EU it is euro. In Egypt it is Egyptian pounds, etc. Gratuities are included in the fare in AUS, UK & NZ; you don't have to worry about any of this. US & CA, listen up. 1. Gratuity is calculated on nights not days. 15 days/14 nights. 2. The current rate on VO is $17US per person per night. Times 14 nights per person is $238US ($276 for two people). The tip pool covers the entire hotel staff, not just waiters and stewards. 3. We can pre-pay before leaving home or we can let Viking add the amount to our onboard account automatically. Those who wish to opt out of the scheme or to adjust the amount must do so at Guest Services once they board. Why an opt out system? Because in practice fewer guests opt out. The only folks who have to do some heavy duty math are the Canadians, who, with the fluctuating exchange rates between USD and CAD may save some money by pre-paying in Canadian$$ vs paying in USD once on board -- and neighbors to the north, you are on your own for this one cuz it is beyond my mathematical skill set.

In other words, you don't have to have the drinks package to have access to the premium wines. You can pay for them by the glass. BTW, here's a link to the drinks package description and what is actually covered by the package. https://cms-assets.viking.com/mar_content/global-brand-identity/Onboard_GuestFacing/US_CORP_SilverSpirits-AllProduct-2023.pdf Bookmark this link for future reference. Even if the package changes, the link will remain the same.

I gave you ammunition. It is up to you to decide how to use it --responsibly, of course. 🥴

I don’t remember what we paid two years ago but there are a couple of websites that approximate cab fares. Just Google it.

Bolded thread is in the Ports of Call forum, which get a lot of traffic and making it a very good sources of answers.

Yes, the included excursion is designed as a quick overview and to give folks time to explore on their own. SHOREX: Contact Viking (chat or phone call) and ask if they can send you the most current price list for the West Indies Indies Explorer shore excursions. It might take a few tries because not all of the agents know how to do it. HangUpCallAgain (HUCA) till you find an agent who knows what to do. If you are working with a travel agent, ask them to get it for you. These prices will be close enough to final prices that you should be able to figure your budget. Also, keep in mind that you don't have to use Viking shorex. CC has a section called Ports of Call and there is TripAdvisor, two places where you can find the names of independent tour providers. Services range from coach tour to mini-bus tours to private car with driver. DRINKS PACKAGE: In all of the years following the conversation, I've come to the conclusion that folks buy the package for one of two reasons. One, because it saves them money. The other because they like the convenience 1) of not having to keep track of the bar tab and 2) of being able to try new drinks and not feel obligated to finish a drink they really don't like. If you fall into the first category, then keep in mind what is already complimentary: • wine, beer, soft drinks with lunch and dinner (and juices at breakfast) • all coffees (except if it contains alcohol), teas and hot chocolate available 24/7 • liberal BYOB policy: • • anything in any quantity as long as it is legal, • • maybe consumed anywhere on the ship, • • no corkage fee for wine, • • appropriate drinking glasses/ice on request (mixers are a bar charge or take it from your mini-bar) To do the math, someone else is going to have to supply bar prices because I don't know what the current prices are.

I am following all of the roll calls for the itinerary, scrounging for whatever I can learn. Maybe our paths will cross in 2025.

IMHO, bad idea. I know how the DW feels; once I am in the neighborhood, I just want to get on board. But, you don't want to be there at 10am unless you have to be. For multiple reasons... • Even 10am is not a guaranteed start time for check-in. A lot depends on clearing the disembarking pax and getting the booths manned and set up for check-in. Why walk into the possibility of having to wait around before being able to even start checking in? • Why do you want to deal with the crowd that has been gathering at the terminal (some perhaps since early morning) waiting to board? Give Viking a chance to clear these hungry, cranky, sleep-deprived pax and get them on board. • There is nothing dreamier than managing to arrive at check-in with no one in line in front of you -- and it is a long-shot at 10 am. Eleven a.m. is much more reasonable/civilized if you are control of the timing -- especially if you manage to time it between buses arriving from the airport. BONUS ANSWER: My guess is that even if you clear immigration in San Diego, you will probably have to deal with it again in LA so that customs can have at the baggage you are carrying off the ship.

Viking will start boarding pax no earlier than 10am, no matter what it says on the invoice. They have to clear the ship of departing pax first. Once boarding begins, there is no hanging around waiting for your cabin category to be called; it is first come, first served to check in and board. Also, at 10am, they arestill setting up to handle arrivals. In general, Viking does not like to keep pax sitting in the terminal. The aim is to get guests checked in and on board as quickly as possible. There will be a gang of pax with early morning arrivals waiting to board at 10am. Therefore, don't plan on arriving at the pier before 11am-ish to give the crowd ahead of you to clear. Sitting in your hotel lobby or room is a whole lot better than hanging around a cruise terminal. We cruised through LA at the end of 2021. Our embarkation and disembarkation were in two different locations. We embarked at Outer Harbor #46 (Miner St, San Pedro CA if you are looking for it on a map). Tents were set up in the parking lot for check in. We arrived on our own sometime between 10 and 11 (a bit earlier than planned but traffic from LA was lighter than expected). Check in was slow because of Covid protocols and even then we spent very little time just hanging around waiting to board. Viking does not keep folks sitting in the terminal unless it is absolutely necessary and check in and boarding is first-come-first-served regardless of cabin category. On return, our disembarkation was into one of the cruise terminals, which meant that the next round of guests would be embarking not from a tent but from a cruise terminal -- with full facilities. I can't give details about the facilities because we never saw the arrivals area. Bottom-line: yes, you are excited and want to board your ship but hanging around a cruise terminal is as boring as hanging around an airport. Take advantage of your lovely hotel room and hang around there. Enjoy some real American TV😁. Or take a walk or find the nearest supermarket or liquor store to buy what you could not carry on the airplane. A 10:30am cab should be good timing -- not too much waiting at the hotel and not too much waiting in lines for check in and boarding.

It is one of the bits of data included in the e-docs that are sent to guests about 2 weeks prior to sailing. If you work with a TA, the e-docs may go to your TA to be forwarded to you. Check your Viking invoice; it will show you where your documents are being sent and you can ask your TA to have the edocs sent directly to you.