Peregrina651

Here is the link to the document Frenchberet shared. https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/14-PreCruiseRequirement-All-US_CAN_UK_AU_NZ.pdf The telephone number for your ship is included in the final cruise documents that were sent out 14 days prior to sailing.

Forget the call center. Contact Viking at tellus@vikingcruises.com. This is a few rungs up the customer service ladder. Give them the booking number and your phone number. Explain everything that you have told us here and ask them figure out how you can continue to manage the booking for your parents. Tell them how upset, disappointed and frustrated you are with how things are being handled. In the meantime, you do need to set up an account for the Viking guest portal. It is called MyVikingJourney.com and you can click here to reach it. You will need the booking number of your parents' cruise as part of the set up. Viking will have no idea if you are setting it up or your parents. MVJ is where you can manage/learn a lot things. Most importantly, it is the place where you go to book optional tours and to reserve seats on the included tours (they are included but you have to indicate that you are actually taking the tour and pick a time since there are multiple departure times). Booking opens by cabin category and the date when you can begin booking is on your Viking Guest Statement. Wishing your parents a wonderful cruise.

Hear! Hear!

It's not about the loss of square footage in the room; it is well less than a one percent difference, too small a number to lose sleep over. The issue is the ill-placed obstruction in the middle of the only way to get from one end of the cabin to the other. I worry about stubbing my toe on the damned thing in the middle of the night -- plus the awkward dance every time traverse the cabin.

Telling the crew that you tipped double seems awkward to me. A thank you note to the entire crew telling them how much you appreciated all that they did to make your time on board a delight is a different story. Another way is positive comments of appreciation for the entire crew and for specific crew members in guest surveys and in notes to heads of departments (in which you can ask the head to share your note with their team).

If you don't get an answer here, you might try asking in the CC help forum found here: Need Help Using the Forums? Check Here! Start a new topic. Some of the folks who hang out there are very savvy.

You still need a device like the one shown above to turn the QuietVox into a BlueTooth transmitter. Dad will need a BlueTooth headset of some sort (one ear is all you need; then he can wear his hearing aid in the other ear) and both Mom and Dad will need to pair their in-ear devices with the transmitter. Test the pairing before you go. We figured out how to plug it into the TV to test it.

Sorry if that is the way you see it, as judging you personally (which I was not), but I stand by what I said without apology.

You have yet to sail with Viking, hence you are judging them based on the comments of a very small, yet very vocal, percentage of the folks who actually sail on the ships. "Snob" is the last word I would use to describe the Viking guests I have sailed with over the last 13 years. Diverse, yes but snobs, for the most part, no (there are always exceptions). All cruise lines have dress codes. People want guidelines for dress so that they know what to pack and can dress appropriately. Many people just want to fit in. They want to know what they can leave home and what they should plan on packing. Viking Oceans has three clearly enforced rules for the dining rooms: no jeans, men's shirts must have collars and no shorts. Beyond that there is a lot of freedom of choice. If you don't want to "dress" for dinner, you don't have to; you get the same menu in the World Cafe as you in the main dining room without the fuss of service. If that is the way you feel about it, I don't understand why you are choosing to sail with Viking. You seem to have your mind made up already. That is not a good beginning.

A possible issue in all of the DV cabins, I would think.

There is nothing worse when traveling than being cold and wet.

That is why I said to contact Viking by e-mail. The chat/call-center folks don't have all the answers. The folks answer your e-mail will take the time to contact the appropriate department and get back to you with an answer. Actually, he was right. Viking only offers transfers to the airport and only if you have a flight that day -- and they are very strict about these procedures. If you are staying on in the disembarkation port after the cruise, you are responsible for your own transfers, even if you bought your flights through Viking -- unless you are doing a Viking post-cruise extension, in which case ship to hotel and hotel to airport transfers are included in the package.

Dee, tried out a bluetooth device in January (on the Nile cruise) and loved it, although DH complained that his headset ran of juice and that he should have carried a wired set with him. (I have two headsets because I use one to listen to books and I never want to be out of listening time). I was thrilled to get rid of the lanyard and the wires. This is what we used and even though it is out of stock and not likely to return, I'm sharing the link. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B5GNVXDT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I know nothing technical about these things and just bought the one that a trust geek here CC used. BTW, once you have paired them to a headset, make sure to label whose is whose.

I'm with CCWineLover on this one. Every cruise has a different vibe. Morever, it is possible to find a line in front of you at any point during the dinner hours; once the doors open, it moves quickly. Everyone of those people rushing to line up for dinner before the dining room is open has a different reason for why they do it (some are dietary reasons, some are health, some are habit). Regardless, the main dining room is dining room is open from 6-9pm and there is nothing that says you have to be seated at 6pm. You can show up at anytime you want. (DH and I like a sushi appetizer at 6pm in the World Cafe and dinner at 7, 7:30). On the other hand, Manfredi's and Chef's Table require timed reservations; they are not open seating. They also do walk up seating, which is hit or miss. Some nights they have last minute openings and other nights they don't.

Vince, there are sometimes when you just have to take your question directly to Viking. This is one of them. You want it straight from the horses mouth. They will be able to give you the most up-to-date information of what is being planned (not what has happened and may be changing). Like the investment ads, past performance is not a predictor of future results and Viking is constantly tweaking things as they learn what works and what doesn't. Skip the chat and the call center and start with tellus@vikingcruises.com (they are higher up the customer service ladder). Make sure to include your booking number and your telephone number.

On that note, what time does the morning rush taper off (note I did not say "end")? What is a good time to set off to Tilbury by car?

@Jukebo1x, you are right. I wasn't quite clear in my last post. But CCWineLover was quite correct in what he posted and there is no reason to delete what he wrote. In fact, he took the time to find the correct roll call and to post the link so that OP could find what they were looking for. Not many people do that. As to deleting the thread or any of the posts, it is a tempest in a teapot. No harm has been done and it is a waste of management's time to bother with such a trivial request. Let them concentrate their effort on more egregious infractions. Personally, it you want to talk Trade Routes (which is a great idea), I would start a new thread here in the Viking Oceans forum that indicates you are starting the thread with the object of collecting information relevant to the itinerary (without regard to the date it is sailing). That way you will attract the attention of folks who have already done the itinerary (and they are the ones with the answers). Make sure to list the ports of call in the first paragraph; people like to share information about ports they have done if it wasn't while doing the Trade Routes itinerary. You start it, and I'll be there. I've already done 5 of the ports with Viking.

Irritating? Now there is an understatement!

London is an easy place to do on your own if you are comfortable with making your own arrangements from start to finish. Otherwise, the cost of the extension makes it a viable option and Viking handles all the logistics from airport to ship. However, two nights gives you only one full day to tour London. The first day will be eaten into by getting to the hotel, waiting for your room to be available and, in my case, a good nap to make up for not sleeping well on the flight. Day three typically will be spent getting to the ship; you will be on the road well before noon. In other words, you may want to consider doing it on your own just to add a night or two. (And yes, you can still book your air through Viking; it will cost an extra $100pp for what they call a deviation). If you are traveling light enough that you can manage your own bags, Tilbury can be done by public transportation. Google gives step-by-step directions. Get a cab from the Tilbury station to the ship. We have done it from Tilbury to London and would do it again. If you don't want to use public transit, there are plenty of hire options -- of which flagging a cab is the most expensive. A few years ago, we found a place near the Earls Court tube station, on the Picadilly line. I was hoping for a Marriott/Bonvoy hotel for the points but the reviews were all terrible. Somewhere the light bulb went on and I started looking for a cheaper hotel with positive reviews with an eye to booking a more expensive room in that hotel. The plan worked: best room in a lesser hotel. There are a number of them in the area we wanted to stay in. We booked a hotel on Nevern Square and hope to be back in the same room in May. BTW, we took the tube a couple of stops to the V&A -- and had the best meal of our stay in their Cafe.

No matter where you are traveling, it is best to have a change of clothing in hand (i.e. in your carry-ons) because you never know when the airlines are going to lose your luggage. For disembarkation, unless you want to wrangle all of your luggage off the ship yourself, luggage is put outside your stateroom the night before, so you will need something to carry what you slept in the night before and all of the things that should not be in your checked luggage (meds, electronics, passports, etc.). It does not make a difference if you are on post-extension; you will still be putting your luggage out the night before and you will still have things that you will be carrying off the ship in the morning. No matter where you are headed, airport or hotel, you will be gathering your own suitcases in the terminal and getting them to the bus.

@Jukebo1x, you misread what CCWine wrote. He said there is one roll call and it has several replies. He did not say that there are several roll calls. Moreover, he posted a link to that roll call so that anyone who reads this thread can find it.

Can we re-phrase this? Typically, with Viking, you have to be back on the ship no later than 30 minutes before departure. If you do leave a tour in the middle, be sure to let your guide know that you are leaving the group (so they don't hang around waiting for you to return).

Me, too! Just sitting here reading about is starting to freak me out.

Don't worry about it. It is too late to delete at this point. The 20 minute edit period has closed. This thread will eventually sink to the bottom of the pile with no harm done.

Not always. DH was wearing black jeans when we headed to dinner (everything else was in the laundry and we weren't really paying attention). We were turned away. DH took it gracefully.