Peregrina651

Welcome to Cruise Critic and to Viking Oceans! I agree! The search function is lacking,especially for what you are trying to do. Since there are only a couple of sailings a year of this year itinerary, even with a 'search', it is hard to find information about "Trade Routes." Here are some tips that will help you find more information and to get more answers here. • Give us a list of ports on the itinerary. Very few people are going to take the time to go to the Viking website to look for the information in order to answer your question. But if you list the ports you are interested in, folks will give you answers. • Many different itineraries may visit a given port but the tour offerings will be the same. Therefore, when looking for information about excursions, your audience is not limited to folks who have taken "Trade Routes," it is everyone who has been to Barcelona and everybody who has been to Malaga and everybody who has been to Cartagena, etc., etc. • While you are waiting for answers, try 'searching' for information by port. The kind of information you are looking for is buried in the posts, not in the titles of threads; therefore, set the search function to respond with more than just thread titles. Answers can be buried in the strangest places. Let the search function, as weak as it may be, do some of the work for you. • Depending how exhaustively you are willing to search, don't for get the roll call forums. You never know what you will find in the roll calls. • Finally, a lot has changed since the pandemic and information/details for ports prior to the pandemic hiatus and early re-start (2021-early 2022) may no longer be accurate.

Also my favorite time of the year to sail the Med. I have been there when the weather was cold and miserable and I have been there when weather was in the 60s, sometimes even on the same trip. I need more than a windbreaker to be a happy camper. If my feet are cold, forget it; my solution is Uggs-style boots My go-to layer is a cashmere cardigan -- thin and packable but warm and breathable. Hat, scarf and gloves, too.

The find your roll call doesn't always work, especially if the person who started it did not format the date correctly. More accurate is a manual search. There is a separate cruise Critic forum for roll calls; I'd givevthe link but i can't do it on this tablet. Find the Viking Roll Call forum, then find the ship you are sailing on, then scan the list for your sail date. If you don't find one in the list, then no one has started a roll call for that date. There is no official list kept. Because many people don'tuse the find your roll call tool (I didn't even know it was still working). Some choose to follow the thread only (aka lurk) while others enjoy chatting with fellow members. If you are a chatter, then read what has been posted so far and them jump in by introducing yourself. Also, choose to "follow" the roll call (chose daily notification to get one email a day with the last 24 hours worth of posts).

Okay, then, enjoy your V-8! 142 is still within the realm of possibility; ES doesn't start booking for another 5 days. The group they don't want to cross swords with are the PVs, who are a feisty bunch.

Well, they do and they don't. It probably has more to do with the Australian laws and regulations that govern commerce and banking than with the currency itself. And it has to do with computer software and the credit card companies. But don't worry,Viking will take your money, one way or another.

It is not required to register a credit card in advance and therefore I don't. I don't want my credit card info sitting on Viking servers any longer than necessary. It takes less than a minute at check-in to swipe the credit card.

Shorex booking opens at 147 days for OS, 137 for ES, etc. Mine have loaded in for May BIE, so I am surprised that yours are so delayed. Therefore, I have to ask one of those forehead smacking questions -- and don't want to know the answer. Readers, when you check to see if shorex have loaded in, do you only look at Day1 or do you check other Days as well? There are almost never tours on Day 1 and it will say that there are no excursion to be seen, just as it has been saying all along; to really know if shorex have been loaded in, one should check at least one other in-port Day. (And for the record, yes, sometimes I forget to check beyond Day 1, which is why I'm asking.) Note for first timers: shorex load in and are available to all guests regardless of cabin category at the same time. It is only the ability to book that is staggered by cabin category OS, ES, PS, PV, DV & V, ignoring the numbers.

I knew that all premium beverages were available to all people at any time, I just didn't know that some folks thought that the only way to access the premium pours was with the package.

Thank you. I didn't know about that one.

Viking Vela and https://www.vikingcruises.com/press/press-releases/2023-11-30-viking-marks-float-out-of-newest-ocean-ship.html

]?What time do they land? What time is sailaway? Guests must check in no later than 2 hours before sailing? Figure 2 to 2.5 hours for travel time including getting to and from the various stations -- longer if you have to stand in line for tickets. This does not include airplane seat to exiting international arrivals luggage in hand -- and I have no idea how much time to allow. After you figure out the number of hours between landing in Rome and latest check in time and after you subtract the time you will spend getting to and from Rome, the question becomes how much time do you have to see Rome and is that a reasonable amount of time considering the effort to get there and then to the ship. Yes, I ask the hard questions but your friends need to understand the upsides and the downside before they make their decision. Since budget is an issue, they should check out trains from the airport into Rome and then Rome to Civitavecchia. Trenitalia.com. The site is in English. Trains are faster than buses and don't have to worry about traffic. You do have to worry about strikes, however. They are usually announced in advance. BUT, the big stumbling block is the luggage. Viking contracts shoreside services from local companies and each port has its own way of operating. Contrary to what has been said, just because someone in Barcelona was able to hand their luggage over to Viking and then not get on the bus, does not mean that the same will happen in Rome. Each port is different. Best to ask Viking directly via Tellus@vikingcruises.com -- and even then be prepared to hear upon arrival in Rome that it can't be done. Finally one last thought. If your friends have not been ticketed, it may not be too late to change their arrival date without a ticket change penalty but with the addition of a deviation fee.

Plus, you can shop for local beers and wines in the ports of call and bring them on board. Also note that your BYO can be consumed anywhere on the ship; you don't need to hide in your cabin. There is no corkage fee in the dining rooms and the bars will happily provide you with glasses and ice; mixers supplied at the going rate (free during meals and regular charge outside of meals).

Some things to note. Cabin square footage includes the balcony. ES cabin interiors are all exactly the same. It is the only the balconies that differ in size. Vela and Vesta are a new class of ship. We don't know how many more are to be built. The new class is longer (more cabins) and wider (slightly bigger cabins), but still under a 1000 guests. Priority access to stateroom time. Well, that is what they put in the brochure but the crew is working to have all cabins available as close to 2pm as possible. Viking makes only one announcement that cabins are ready and that is when they are ALL ready. However, guests, especially PV, DV & V, can and should go to their cabins to see if they are ready as soon as they board. Why carry all your hand-luggage around with you if you don't have to?

I agree with the above. But they just made a major timing change and I can't help but wonder if they also made a change to the lead time for uploading the shorex. The only way we will learn is if folks, especially those with bookings for July and after, start reporting how many days out shorex we're loaded in for their upcoming adventure.

Normally, if the tour start time is listed on MVJ as 8:30am, you will be on your bus, ready to leave by 8:30 am. The meeting time will figure in the amount of time needed to tender to the dock. The time to get to the bus is not taken from the length of the tour.

Thanks for the link. I've been keeping a list of BIE threads in this forum since I booked the trip way back when. I know these things get lost quickly but I also know that they are full of helpful information from folks who have already done BIE. BIE Cruise Questions - Ports, London extension Random thoughts about our British Isles cruise British Isles Explorer Cruise excursions https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2862566-viking-british-isles-cruise-tips-for-others-going-on-this-cruise/page/6/#comment-64571383 British Isles Explorer Past Cruisers - Questions British Isles Explorer Cruise Favorite British Isles Explorer port souvenirs Live thread: Onboard Neptune now - British Isles Explorer See especially posts #132 and 136 British Isles Explorer 2023 - terrific video diary! "Churchill's Britain": pre-excursion on BIE cruise Advice on British Isles Explorer excursions

I agree with CurlerRob. Contact the folks at TellUs. They will probably call you to answer your questions. if you don't like the answers you get, ask to speak to a supervisor and so on until you find some who knows what they are talking about. If you work with a travel agent, get them involved in finding the right person for you to talk to.

What about just moving the booking? Or will they roll the penalty into the new booking?

First, check with Viking. Ask them what the deadline is for cancelling Viking Air. I think it is 70 days out but safer to get the info from Viking. Then, make the new flights before cancelling the Viking flights.

We did this one with Viking and loved it! After visiting the Necropolises with the guide, once we got to the town, we did the museum on our own and then wandered aimless around the town -- and stopped in one of the bar/cafes for a warm drink. Hope you enjoy your morning in Tarquinia as much as we did.

My money is on Noon, even though there is the whole ship to turn around. (At the same time, you should be warned that there is a reason I am not a gambler.) Check the room when you board, it might be far enough along that you can leave your bags in the room rather than having to drag them to lunch with you.

Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, Viking tries not to have guests hanging around the terminal and will begin boarding once the departing guests have cleared the gangway. Check in and boarding is first-come-first served and not by cabin category. Cabin ready time is a latest time. Check your cabin when you board. Fleet-wide goal is to have all cabins ready by 2pm. There is only one shipwide announcement regarding cabins and that is when all of the cabins are ready. Your cabin stewards will be on the watch for you. They want to introduce themselves and to give you a tour of your cabin, answer your question and find out if you have any request (extra towels, extra/different pillows, special requests for the mini-fridge, etc.)

So much for that guess

Lots of places close on Easter Sunday. Ostia and the Etruscan Necropolises may have on that list.

We went with Viking. Loved the tour and the town.