Peregrina651

Quoting a New York Times article fromn April, 2022: Unless you have no other choice, an all-in-one, single-drum, washer-dryer combo is almost never the best way to do your laundry. We spent 10 hours looking into 13 models, and couldn’t find a model that works anywhere near as quickly as a separate washer and dryer. And no, it does not fold the clothing for you. That is just advertising hype.

In 2010, China visas meant two trips to the consulate (which was in New York City). Between drive time, parking, gas and the hassle of driving in NYC, using a visa service was cheaper and less stressful than going ourselves.

If I can get a visa online or at the airport, then I don't need a visa service. However, if getting the visa involves presenting myself at a consulate passport in hand, then I'm happy to let a service stand in line for me. Jl

I don't do comfort check and I don't give them a credit card in advance. The only only thing that you have to do before you arrive on the dock is to fill out or update the PASSENGER INFORMATION FORM and that has to be done soon after you book.

Since your questions are not Viking specific, don't forget the Ports of Call section of these boards. If you are packing light, you can get to Tilbury entirely on public transportation. Google will help you with the specifics. Otherwise, hopefully, folks will share the name of their favorite limo companies.

Call Viking Air immediately and get it fixed before they ticket your flights -- and even if they have been ticketed, try not to take NO for an answer. They are the ones who made the change, not you.

All DV cabins book at the same time. You have the same chances as any other DV cabin of getting the shorex you want.

With a couple of exceptions, in Europe, I have always felt that, if you are comfortable doing it, you can stay longer for the same amount of money if you make your own plans. Outside of Europe, I'm happy to let Viking take care me and the details.

@RBachmann I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have but not here (it is off topic). We can move the discussion to the 2023 thread linked to above, so other folks can chime in as well, or you can email me (my email is in my signature).

Decide on what you want to see in each of these cities and then look at hotels that are somewhat in the middle of all of them. If you are sightseeing on your own, figure on two major sights per day to give yourself plenty of time explore the sights and to wander/wonder around the neighborhoods. Old/historic Barcelona is particularly amenable to such wandering.

And why would I want to make you do anything other than smile over your choice of vacation? BTW, there is a way to deal with a 450ish day wait: book another cruise for the interim. (Since you have another cruise on the books already you can ask for final payment to be 6 months prior to departure.) I'm in the same boat (468 days wait🥴) and I'm looking for something to fill in the time.

You have chosen wisely, Grasshopper. You will love it. Three weeks of pampering! Who could ask for more!?

Other places to find river reviews: --Post a new topic in the River Cruising forum asking for comments on the Viking shorex for the stops on your itinerary, naming the stops, because multiple itineraries stop in the same places and offer the itineraries. People are more apt to respond if they don't have to look up the ports for themselves. And doesn't matter what itinerary people were on, you only want to here their thoughts on the shorex. -- Go to the Viking website and make a list of all the itineraries that include any of your stops. Next go to the Viking River rolls forum and look for the 2022 roll calls for these itineraries, starting with your itinerary (if this itinerary existed for 2022). River roll calls are by year not by sailing. Start with post Covid roll calls; the pre Covid do not reflect the current state of affairs. Then find the roll call for your itinerary and year -- and join the conversation. -- CruiseCritic search function is not very dependable. Better to hunt on your own.

Referrals is closed to discussion but the information is current and relevant to all and should remain where it is. For me, the problem with stickies is where do you stop? River cruising has a dozen not so important stickies that have to be scrolled through each time you visit. I stopped visiting there. Those one dozen stickies could have easily been set up as one stickies with a dozen links to articles.

Wait until it gets to be about a month before your cruise or Viking sends you an email to do it. Requirements are constantly changing. Read here: https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/14-PreCruiseRequirement-All-US_CAN_UK_AU_NZ.pdf Scroll down to find the countries you will be visiting to see if they require anything. Viking updates this document frequently. Why go through the hassle if you don't have to.

You can keep on hoping but it will not change the fact that Viking routinely does not explain its operational decisions. Personally, I feel it is because they have figured out that any explanation is grist for the rumor mill. If they say nothing at all, there is nothing to correct later on.

I cannot agree with you more. In fact, it reminded me that I wanted to delete my account and I have now done so and uninstalled the app.

Viking now requires it only for a couple of itineraries. They are listed on the pre-departure pdf, which can be linked to on My Viking Journey. Personally, I would not register on the site unless required to do so by Viking or your airline.

Heads up, something to keep an eye on: I am hearing in the chatter that not all of the FREE airfare offers can be upgraded.

However, Viking transfers are only available on Day 1 and Day Last of the itinerary. If you book with Viking and choose to arrive early and/or stay late, there is an extra fee for the "deviation" plus you lose access to transfers on any deviated arrival/departure. If you book your own flights, you may buy transfers only if your flights are scheduled to arrive on Day 1 and/or depart on Day Last. They have been very strict with this policy. They will only transfer you if are have flights that arrive or depart on transfer days -- and the are wise to all the tricks. In spite of these policies, we still, like CDNPOLAR, decide on a trip by trip basis who is booking our flights. BUT, we always start with Viking Air on our booking, especially if it is a really good air deal. If you wait to add air, it will be at the brochure price and not the deal in place when you booked.

Check flights out of Bergen to Icelamd. There aren't a lot of them. Figure that you will be on an early one. Viking wants you off the ship by 10am, earlier if they can. They will allow a good 2 to 3 hours at the airport before departure.

Snowing at home. Not snowing on Viking vacation. 😁

Viking has multiple cruise itineraries in the Med, so it will help if you tell us what ports you want to know about. Regardless of the itinerary, Viking offers the same excursions in a given port. Tell us the ports and if we have visited with Viking, we will respond with gusto.

Yes, but, unless they have updated the form since last I looked, there is no place to list other allergies or food issues on the form. Even so, my first stop is the maitre d' or guest services to register my issues.

Bravo! You are one intrepid voyager! Here is my advice for getting the most out of these boards. Be aggressive. Don't wait for things to come to you. You'll miss a lot of good info from folks who have moved on. Go after everything you can find. Look for every single roll call you can find that covers the dates you will be on the ship and get involved in every single one of them. Introduce yourself. Ask questions. (I keep a list of everyone who introduces themselves just so I can keep things straight). Now the hard part. Search this forum for every single thread you can find that has anything to do with your cruise. You can't depend on the search function for this because it just isn't very good at finding things. Start on page 1 of this forum and scroll down, bookmarking or copying and pasting links as you go. You are going to have a great cruise.