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As @CDNPolar implies above, since you have a 2024 cruise booked, you should be able to now book your Nile cruise for fall 2025 and ask for final payment to be 6 months in advance meaning early 2025. We have done this many times. You must ask for this push out before making a deposit. You can also get a 6 month final payment if you book just after getting off another Viking cruise. And in either case any Viking cruise - ocean, river, or expedition- counts.

The Viking veranda cabins have more floorspace than the French balcony ones. If you look at the photos on their website, the veranda cabins have room next to the bed for a chair while the French balcony ones do not. Yes, we spend most of our time out of the cabin, but it is nice to not be squished on that side of the bed. We have been in both.

I did this excursion (through the lens) last year and agree it was great. The tour leader took us to different spots with different challenges (panoramic vistas, bubbling mud pots and steam, backlit basalt cliffs, etc) and discussed composition, camera settings, etc. You could listen and follow or wander on your own at each stop. The lunch was simple soup and sides but very, very good.

I've been on Viking cruises on the Seine and in Bourdeaux region as well as the Rhine/Danube. The 3 markets use slightly different ships in length, but the designs are very similar. The Bordeaux ships had more tables for 4 and fewer larger tables, but none of the 3 had any tables for 2 in the dining room.

The only 2 places to eat on Viking river ships are the main dining room and the Acquavit terrace at the bow. There are a few tables for 2 up there, but there are none in the main dining room. Dinner is served by waiters at both locations. Breakfast has a buffet as does the Acquavit at lunch. I've read that some people go to the Acquavit way before dinner in order to get one of the smaller tables. We always just went to the dining room. Most of the tables there are for 6, but some are much larger back towards the kitchen. When we ate there, we sat across from each other and there was little interaction with neighbors. You can't see the kitchen from anywhere.

Usually it is turn in before breakfast, get it back the following afternoon. There might be an expedite option for a 50% surcharge; I can't remember.

It is clear that the apple app and the android app are 2 completely different things.

I guess it is some sort of front-end that ties into Chrome in the back end. More than a shortcut but less than a full blown app. If you click on "App details in store" under APP Info in Settings, it tries to take you to a page in Play Store for the app but fails. But if it is a bad app, why does Chrome keep telling us to install it. And I have "only install from play store" turned on, so where did it come from? Very strange.

Viking.

I sent email to Cruise Critic thru the Contact Us option asking about the Android "app" (the Cruise Critic Community app, not the My Cruiseline app some people were talking about). The response is that there is not an app, just a way to create an item on the tablet that goes straight to the boards thru the default browser. Like a shortcut. This explains why when the app freezes, Android tells me Chrome is not responding. I suspect that the reason that the "app" appears snappier is that the instance of the browser is using less memory. So people who stick to the browser to access Cruise Critic are not missing anything. I uninstalled the "app". The next time I went to Cruise Critic thru Chrome, the banner came back recommending to install the app. Is everyone using the "app" using Chrome?

In case you are looking for lots of crab: we did this tour but thru the cruieline: https://alaskashoreexcursions.com/ketchikan/silverking-lodge-adventure-seafeast-tour There were 8 to a table. The food is served family style with all the food in the middle of the table. We couldn't finish all the food and left crab uneaten. It was really tasty. It was very rustic and other than tongs to grab the food and crackers to open the crab legs, you ate with your fingers.

If you go to cruisecritic.com as opposed to boards.cruisecritic.com, you also get ads and ways to book cruises. The Android app that @1985rz1, @photopro2 and I are talking about takes you directly to the boards. Just like thru a browser, you can get to the main Cruise Critic page if you want to.

If you change a trip but keep the same booking number, the policy follows along and you don't have to buy a new one. For example, you have a river cruise in 2024 going to Bordeaux and you want to change to a Grand European cruise later. You call Viking and tell them what you want to do, and they change it. We have only done this more than 120 days in advance so before penalties kick in. This might not be allowed closer in. You can also do this changing from ocean to river and vice versa. If the new cruise costs more, you pay the difference. If it costs less, you get a refund. However, if you cancel a cruise, its insurance policy is gone. If you later, even in the same call, book a different cruise, you have to buy a 2nd policy. How you phrase it makes a difference.

On my tablet it is faster than using my browser.

I'm not sure what you mean by adding Viking; I'm using the app to read and respond in the Viking forum. All the categories look the same. And if I use a browser instead, it knows what I've already read in the app. Instantly.

Here's a screenshot of the bottom of the app.

But if I go to the Play Store, it doesn't show up in a search, and if I check my installed apps within the Play Store, it isn't listed. Very odd.

Hunh. I downloaded the app when prompted while I was using Chrome browser on my Android tablet (in the US). It looks just like it does when using a browser. It took me straight to the forums when I opened it. When I check the app in Settings, it says it was downloaded from Google Play Store.

We took our ship's excursion and it turned out to be with Gastineau Guiding who only have small boats. And as @donaldsc says, one of the best excursion guides ever.

Yes, I forgot to say optical. Software zoom doesn't cut it.

I have been amazed at how well my Pixel 7 does in suboptimal conditions such as thru the window of a moving bus. But if you want wildlife photos, like whale watching, I would still take a camera with as long of a zoom as possible. It doesn't have to be a big DSLR; I have a mirrorless bridge camera that goes to 400mm and did pretty well. There are several threads on the Digital Photography board here on CC that discuss this very topic.

Our cruiseline, the same one you are on, used Major Marine for the Resurrection Bay cruise. We decided to eat at Glacier Brewhouse the morning after our arrival in Anchorage. The only reservations available for that day were 4:30 or before, or after 8:30. Boo. Then we realized that we hadn't adjusted to the time change yet, and 4:30 in Alaska was our normal dinner time at home. We were seated at 4:30, and were glad we got there when we did as a large tour group of around 30 people was taken to a back room, which I'm sure impacted the kitchen for later diners. The food was great as was the beer selection.

Captain Richard Svardmark

They have one italian cooking class scheduled, bridge tours, bayeux tapestry tours, and at least one wine tasting. We did not ask for details on the latter. Be sure to go to Guest Services as soon as you board to ask and sign up.

Some tips for those on the southbound trips for Hubbard viewing day. The Viking Daily says we are to start entering Disenchantment Bay at 1 pm. People started taking seats in Explorer's Lounge at 9:30 this morning. At 10 am the ship is cruising relatively close to the shore. The view out the port side would be spectacular if we didn't have these dang clouds. I know this because we had clear weather the last time we did this cruise with Viking. Now we just see peeks (of peaks and glaciers) thru the clouds. So if you have a cabin the port side, you would have a great view. If you have a starboard cabin, ignore the front of Explorers and head to the little part that looks out the port side. You can always stand in the front when the ship reaches the glacier. But the view on the port side will be great until exiting the bay. Assuming no clouds.