Peregrina651

13 minutes ago, SailorPaulH said:

Norway and Djupivogur and Westman Islands replacing

6 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

I also was hesitant of what shore excursions will be available on the alternate route.

Both Djupivogur and Westmann Island are regular stops on the Iceland circumnavigation, so it is not like Viking has not visited either port before. The big attraction at Djupivogur is the Fjarslaron (sp) Glacier Zodiac boat ride. It is a long ride to the site but the countryside is beautiful and the up close-ish and personal experience with the glacier is worth it.

Sometimes there are photos that I want to save for the photo albums I put together (just in case I don't get a good photo or the weather is lousy). And I like to print the calendar to a pdf file just in case.

I get the impression the OP did not have a chance to write them down in his long conversation with Viking.  

No converter needed on the ships; in hotels, maybe.   There are both120v outlets in the cabin and 220v outlets.  There are also USB outlets.

Most cell phones and cameras can be charged using either 120v or 220v (but need an adapter for the 220 outlet).  Confirm the device specs before you try to use 220v outlet; it will need a plug adapter.  

The Viking FAQ has more info.

Don't use hairdryers or other high wattage devices in the bathroom plug meant for shavers; it will blow the fuse.

From my notes for  upcoming BIE:

Starting 8 days prior to your journey, Viking becomes read only.  We can access the booking but no changes, no transactions.  By Day 1, the information is gone from the MVJ  accounts. Viking sends us multiple e-mails --some go directly to us, some directly to our Travel Agents to be forwarded to us and some to both of us. Some TAs forget to forward the e-mails; so give your TA a heads up and let them know that you want all of the e-mails forwarded to you.   

If there is anything that you want to save from MVJ, do it before you leave home.  

The two oldest ships are Star and Sea, neither of which has made it to its 10th anniversary.  Sun has already been sold to a company in China and is being leased back to Viking for its new China itineraries.  

My first thought was that all of you merchant mariners are just going to have to come out of retirement to give Viking hand. 😉 and ducking for cover.

2 hours ago, BluebonnetTexan said:

Budapest is one of my favorites. I first went there on a business trip in 2015, I think, and determined that it was a place I wanted to bring my husband to visit also. We did the Grand European Viking River cruise starting in Budapest with their extension as our retirement trip in 2017. Along with colleagues showing us the town, we also enjoyed the Viking excursions and recommendations they made. We will be there again when we do Passage to Eastern Europe in 2025 and plan to spend extra days in Bucharest, Budapest, and add Prague if we can.

I LOVED Passage to Eastern Europe.

The Prague extension isn't long enough to soak up the city. It is easy enough to take the train from Prague to Budapest if you extebnd on your own. Or arrive a few days prior to the extension, if you opt for that route.

As for Bucharest, to this day I regret not having been able to extend our time there. I know.  I will just have to go again!

I'm not surprised.

You can build lots of small ships or one big ship. Viking is doing the former. Time has shown that there is a niche for smaller, quieter ships -- and  Viking seems very eager to fill that demand.

38 minutes ago, natshala said:

Viking offers a pre cruise extension in Budapest for our December river cruise (yes, I know I’m on VO). Just wondering whether anyone has done this and if there’s enough to do in Budapest to make it worthwhile. The hotel looks amazing. Thanks!

 

Check out the River Cruising forum. You will find a whole lot more information there than here.https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/115-river-cruising/

BTW, there are river cruise roll calls as well. They are done by year and itinerary rather than for a single sailing and are more focused on the specific itinerary. Viking River roll calls have their own sub-forum. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/851-viking-river-roll-calls/

If you do the extension, considering arriving early to have even more time in Budapest.

In truth, no matter where you are coming from and where you are headed, the airlines used will depend on which airlines Viking currently has contracts with, which may be different from what was used on past flights.

10 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Yes I see it now Maria.  Thank you!  I had already read Peregrina's review in post 48 but somehow had missed that link (probably because it was posted by OneSixtytoOne).

Appreciate your taking the time!

Sorry for the confusion. Post 48 is not my review; I haven't sailed yet. Giving credit where credit is due, it is Maria's review that I posted with her permission.

This is post# 48 on page 2.

On 3/17/2024 at 8:34 PM, Peregrina651 said:

 

This is the second relevant post, written by @Lilyskittymom. I've edited to highlight the ports and "tour names". The author has promised to hang around to answer questions:

 

A little back story on our cruise.  We were originally booked for Hong Kong to Vancouver but had to shorten it to Tokyo when my husband started having medical problems and couldn't be gone that long.  We had quite a bit of money to spend on a cabin upgrade and excursions.

 

Since we could book our excursions earlier with the upgrade, we had no problem getting what we wanted and there was no need to look for outside tours.  But there were local guides meeting people who booked private tours at every port.  Clay's suggestion of goodwill guides is something we would have done if it had been necessary.

 

We did a combination of included and paid excursions and generally liked everything, with the exception of the included tour in Kagoshima, the "Kagoshima Scenic Ride".  It was a rainy day so the stop at the scenic overlook was soggy and the trip to the local museum was ok, but literally something you could find in any city, anywhere in the world.  A private tour would have been a better choice.

 

I'm not going to get into a lot of detail on the excursions because the descriptions were accurate.  Here's what we did.  Hong Kong - we flew into HK a day early, took the ferry across the harbor, and the tram to Victoria Peak, on our own. We enjoyed the views and the walk down one of the hiking trails.  The next day we took the Hong Kong Walking Tour, which was a nice representation of the city.  Afterwards, we wandered the area near the port, which is home to the largest shopping mall in HK.

 

In Taipei, we did the "Highlights of Taipei".  Since we didn't have a lot of time in port, this was a good tour for us. 

 

In Nagasaki we went on the "Atomic Bomb Museum and Park".  The museums in Nagasaki and Hiroshima are very different, and I'd recommend going to both of them if that's where your interest lies.  It was a very good tour.  The Glover Gardens are a short uphill walk from the ship and was definitely worth the visit.  In addition to the main house, and the gardens, there was a museum that had costumes and floats used for local festivals - very interesting.

 

In Beppu, we did the Steaming Sites of Beppu, which was very interesting.  If you'd like to go to an onsen, look for one close to the port - they're everywhere.  The Viking onsen tour is robbery. I wanted to go to an onsen, but would have had to go to one a bit further away because I have large visible tattoos.  Yes, there are tattoo friendly onsens in Beppu especially.  A Google search will find them.  Instead, we took the Viking shuttle bus (most ports had one) to the area near the train station.  From there, we wandered through shopping areas and stopped at some small neighborhood shrines and temples (Google maps is your friend).

 

"Ultimate Hiroshima" was wonderful, with its visit to their Atomic Bomb Museum and Park, and the trip to Miyajima Island.  The island was really worth going to - very quaint and lovely.  Again, the Atomic Bomb Museum is very different from Nagasaki's.  We were in port until noon the next day and went on a walk along the water the morning we left.

 

In Osaka, we were on "Sights of Kyoto", another wonderful all day tour.  Food on the all day tours was always very good and at local Japanese restaurants.  

 

Shimizu took us to "Highlights of Mt Fuji", another all day tour that took us to the 5th station of Mt Fuji, the furthest you can go by vehicle up the mountain.  Fuji-san wasn't visible when we pulled into port the evening prior, but we were treated to unobstructed views of the mountain the next day - a rare occurrence in April.

 

Tokyo had us docked at the port of Yokohama, and while the port area is very nice, it was a 1+ hour drive to Tokyo, so the "Tokyo Panorama tour" wasn't as good as it could have been because we spent 2.5 hours driving.  We did go back for "An Evening in Tokyo," which was very nice.  The views from the Skytree and the way the streets are lit up at night was amazing.  Viking guides were available to help people navigate the subway system, for anyone who wanted to head out on their own.  Hopefully you'll be docked in Tokyo itself, which would put you so much closer to the city.

 

Overall, this was a wonderful cruise and makes me want to go back to Japan.  We were warmly welcomed, and sent off, from the all the ports.  The port areas themselves are surrounded by parks and are well taken care of.  International ATMs can be found at 7-11 and Lawson. Perfectly safe; I got Yen there a couple of times. And the stores are everywhere especially near the ports.  If you don't know about the wonders of 7-11, Lawson and Family Mart, look it up before you go.  They're not the sad version of 7-11 we have in the US.  

 

 

Hmm, I think the photo from the Observatory, along with some photos I googled,  answers my question.  Even though the EYE website claims that on a clear day you can see to Windsor Castle, we aren't going to see anything  but the tallest buildings -- if we can even figure out which was is Greenwich.

That means I can book my EYE appointment any day I want. 👀

Today's stupid question.

On a clear day, can the Viking ships docked at Greenwich be seen from the top of the EYE?

If not, Londoners, where is a good high place to go to get pictures of the ship. 

Thanks everybody.

6 hours ago, deec said:

Viking's new offerings in China will certainly test the "land tour" option.  I know Viking Rivers offered a similar product ( we were booked and then Covid descended) on the Yangtze River that included pandas, terra cotta warriors and Tibet as part of the tour BUT I am skeptical about how Viking will coordinate  moving 900 passengers from an Ocean ship  through multiple airports and hotels? 

Dee, I'm really sorry that you missed the river cruise.

We did the river cruise in 2010. Viking's China team has been my gold standard ever since; they were a well-oiled machine with never a missed beat. The river vessel carried around 300 pax. I can't remember how many buses we were but the guide-escorts knew how to stagger arrival times at the various venues such that we were not tripping over one another, including at meals. In country, we were spread over multiple scheduled flights. The guide-escorts were great at getting us through security and on to the plane, with almost no waiting in the lounge area. In other words, they had the people moving down to a science. Most importantly, the our escorts knew where the good bathrooms were -- but even then, you need to bring your own supplies -- tp and sanitizer. (For more details, see the RiverCruising thread called Viking China Part 2)

I do agree with you however, that managing 900 vs 300 is a concern but I think Viking's China office is up to the task. There are many hotel options in China and Viking will probably use more than one hotel in each city.  Viking has been visiting these cities  on a regular basis for well over 10 years. 

Moreover, I would not be surprised to learn that they have opted less than full capacity at the start of the venture -- similar to the Welcome Back Cruises of 2021, which carried less than 500 pax.

4 hours ago, mwike said:

Heck, feeding 900 people in China won't be the easiest to arrange and certainly won't be easy to do in a manner that satisfies most.  

What makes you say that? Viking has been already spent over 10 years in China taking boatloads of guests to Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an and Tibet. They already know where to take people for meals. Just know in advance that if you don't like Chinese food, then you should not be considering this itinerary.

In China, most of the meals were included even for the land-based portion. Breakfast buffets at the various hotels were huge and varied, catering to many different cultures and their breakfasting preferences. Lunches and dinners were in hotels and other venues that catered to large touring groups. Food was local cuisine served family style on lazy-susans. Sometimes it was buffet. These were venues that served the group tours industry and they operated 7 days a week; they have plenty of experience at serving large groups of people in a timely fashion. 

Viking has been doing business in China since the mid-2000s and is well respected. They work with local staff, all of whom are trained in the hospitality. They know what they are doing and they understand the audience they are working with.

What a bummer that the invoice spoiled the surprise!

52 minutes ago, longterm said:

Us too. Easy to book; fortunately, we haven't had to actually file a claim, so I don't know how their resolutions go--probably no better than most insurance companies.

 

 

We claimed against the insurance in 2007 for a cellphone dropped and subsequently stolen.  No problems.  Filed claim; received our check.  But that was a long time ago and it was a small claim.  The insurance company is still way ahead in the relationship -- we've paid them way more than they have paid us. 

18 minutes ago, molymoo said:

Sorry A, having trouble finding email ... probably need a site tutorial as I have not posted much recently.  We will be leaving from NYC on June 22 and heading for Reykjavik.  Would be fun to meet your sister should it be possible.  Thanks for the information and the pics!

E

😞 Not the same sailing. She'll be disembarking in NYC as you board.

Here's my email:  peregrina651- cc7 @ yahoo.com (remove all 3 spaces but keep the hyphen).

Depending on your device, you may or may not see signature files.

E, I wonder if you will be on board with my sister? Email me; it's in my signature. 

Whale watching the "demanding " can be as simple as getting on and off the boat, but I'm just guessing. 

The day before we left for Iceland, I received a cortisone injection for a painful and frozen shoulder.  It took another 3 days before I could dress myself.  We took the zodiac glacier tour. Fortunately,  I was fairly mobile before we reached Djupivogur. 

The bus ride to the glacier is 2+ hours each way with a pit stop. 

This is definitely not for the wheelchair dependent. The path to the water is au natural  -- rocky, uneven, steep, not paved.  I can't remember if anyone used aids.  I was too busy watching where I was putting my feet. 

Getting into the zodiac requires that, dressed in the waterproof safety gear they supply (see photo above) you sit on the edge of the raft, height around 30? inches, and swing your feet up and over into the boat.  You may then have to walk to your position on the side of the raft. They load from the rear and fill seats front to back. I was concerned about my shoulder but in the end I was able to do all that was required of me. You sit on the edge of the raft; think blow up swimming pool.  Minimal hand holds.

AND, it was amazing,thrilling and everything I hoped it would be.

I've tried to cover the physical challenge and I hope the more folks can add more details. 

I will try to remember to add photos later.

2 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

I don’t understand why education is free in Scandinavia but you have to pay for the toilets.

Old customs die hard.   Once upon a time, in days of yore, when some of us were children, one tipped the attendant in the restroom or cloakroom (especially at fancy hotels, theaters and concert halls). I remember toilets in the department stores and airport with coin slots on the stall doors. Users needed a coin to unlock the stall. In some places, the coin was returned at the end of the transaction.  One paid for what one used.

There is no such thing as a free lunch.  Education is not free; it is paid for by the citizens out of the very high taxes paid.  Everyone chips in to ensure that all children, future taxpayers, have access to education. Same way it is done in the US.

1 hour ago, sk99 said:

Yes, I know that. That is why I asked… In Holyhead there are 2 included tours: Beaumaris and Scenic Anglesey. PRH mentioned they went to both, hence my question about how it was possible…

It is possible that at the time that PRH was sailing, one of those two was an optional excursion not an included and now for 2024 is being offered as an included.  

3 hours ago, Hockeyump said:

Viking does not permit two included tours in the same port. That's probably the reason for the error message.

My bad! Hockeyump is absolutely right.  Thanks for catching my error.  My eyes skipped right over the word included.  It is one included per port, no matter how many days there are in that port. 

I was able to book two tours in port because one of those tours was an optional tour.