perlgirlnj

OP here.  Appreciate everyone who took the time to comment here.  After reading everything in both forums, I went back and looked at the itineraries more closely.  It turns out I didn't like some of the ports on the Oceania itinerary which I thought I would.  That plus 3 sea days (not my favorite) tipped the hand toward Viking.  We'll be booking it tomorrow. 

Any pointers on cabins, location, etc.?  Looking at a probable DV for location reasons.

OP here.  Thanks for all your feedback.  I did listen to it carefully, but pretty sure we've decided on the Viking itinerary.  When I went to research what we'd potentially do in each of the ports, I was not as taken with the Oceania ports as I had thought I would be, and the 3 sea days didn't help.  The Viking itinerary may have more repeat ports but I still like them better than some of the Oceania ones, and that swayed me.  We're still open to an O cruise when the time and itinerary line up right.  Thanks all!

I'm currently looking at two cruises, one Oceania and one Viking.  I've been reading all the x vs. y threads and of course I know it's subjective too.  But I'm still trying to weigh the pros & cons.  Background:  We have cruised the main lines but in recent years, we have cruised Azamara (fine but cramped cabin finally got to me), Windstar (meh), Seabourn (LOVED it) and Crystal (liked it a lot but not as much as Seabourn).  We're looking for a 10-12 day Caribbean cruise in January/February of 2021.

The Oceania cruise is 10 days in and out of Miami on Riviera to Eastern Caribbean.  Miami is a plus in terms of travel, but a minus in terms of there being 3 sea days.  Several of the ports are new to us (St. Barts, Martinique, Puerto Plata) which is a plus, and some are repeats (St Lucia, Antigua, San Juan).  I know the food is a plus on Oceania, and perhaps the cabin size is a minus?  Not really sure.  Not having a formal night is definitely a plus.  Not having included internet is a minus, but we could buy it I assume.  Likewise, drinks--have recently sailed with included adult bevvies, but could/would pay for it via package or one-off.  So that's a neutral, I think.

The Viking cruise is 10 days in and out of San Juan on the Viking Star to Southern Caribbean.  Southern Caribbean is a big plus in terms of weather,  but travel is a bit more difficult.  All of but one the ports are repeats for us, a negative (only new one is Tortola; repeats are San Juan, St. Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados, Dominica, St Martin) but no sea days is a definite plus.  I believe the food would be better on Oceania, but the design of the ship and cabins (which I think are bigger) appeals to me on Viking.  Internet is included, the drink package is reasonably priced.  No formal nights either, a plus.  (Nothing against those who like to dress up--we certainly adhered to Seabourn's and Crystal's dressier vibes, but I'd be happier not having to.)

EDIT:  We generally don't do ship's tours, included or not, so the excursion feature is not high on my list.

I know nobody can come make this WONDERFUL decision for me, but I'm very open to info & opinions.  If there were particular threads I should be reading (other than searching Viking vs Oceania, which I have, I really have), please let me know.  Thanks.

And yes, I will post a version of this on the Oceania boards.

I'm currently looking at two cruises, one Oceania and one Viking.  I've been reading all the x vs. y threads and of course I know it's subjective too.  But I'm still trying to weigh the pros & cons.  Background:  We have cruised the main lines but in recent years, we have cruised Azamara (fine but cramped cabin finally got to me), Windstar (meh), Seabourn (LOVED it) and Crystal (liked it a lot but not as much as Seabourn).  We're looking for a 10-12 day Caribbean cruise in January/February of 2021.

The Oceania cruise is 10 days in and out of Miami on Riviera to Eastern Caribbean.  Miami is a plus in terms of travel, but a minus in terms of there being 3 sea days.  Several of the ports are new to us (St. Barts, Martinique, Puerto Plata) which is a plus, and some are repeats (St Lucia, Antigua, San Juan).  I know the food is a plus on Oceania, and perhaps the cabin size is a minus?  Not really sure.  Not having a formal night is definitely a plus.  Not having included internet is a minus, but we could buy it I assume.  Likewise, drinks--have recently sailed with included adult bevvies, but could/would pay for it via package or one-off.  So that's a neutral, I think.

EDIT:  We generally don't do ship excursions so the cost of Oceania's (which I  understand is high) vs. Viking having an included excursion is not a factor for us.

The Viking cruise is 10 days in and out of San Juan on the Viking Star to Southern Caribbean.  Southern Caribbean is a big plus in terms of weather,  but travel is a bit more difficult.  All of but one the ports are repeats for us, a negative (only new one is Tortola; repeats are San Juan, St. Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia, Barbados, Dominica, St Martin) but no sea days is a definite plus.  I believe the food would be better on Oceania, but the design of the ship and cabins (which I think are bigger) appeals to me on Viking.  Internet is included, the drink package is reasonably priced (can't find pricing for O's drink package at the moment).  No formal nights either, a plus.  (Nothing against those who like to dress up--we certainly adhered to Seabourn's and Crystal's dressier vibes, but I'd be happier not having to.)

With 3 sea days, I'm very interested in learning what the decks are like on those days.  Are chairs hard to come by?  Are drinks hard to come by?  Is there a certain cabin class that has a dedicated quieter deck space?  Should we book a package (O Life w airfare?) or book the pieces separately?

I know nobody can come make this WONDERFUL decision for me, but I'm very open to info & opinions.  If there were particular threads I should be reading (other than searching Viking vs Oceania, which I have, I really have), please let me know.  Thanks.

And yes, I will post a version of this on the Viking boards.

We're traveling to Iceland and Norway mid-June to early July.  Will we need insect repellant for any reason?  I assume we should bring sunscreen--or is this an incorrect assumption?  Does anyone bring binoculars (we are not going bird-watching so it would be only for scenery)?  Any other esoteric things we need to pack beyond standard-cruise and rainy/windy items?

I am reading on the Monte Carlo casino website that there are tours available during the mornings from 9 AM until 1 PM for 17 Euros (40 min). There is no further information. Has anybody taken this tour and can you tell me how much you're able to visit and if one needs to come at a specific time? I am not interested in gaming but am interested in seeing the beautiful building.

Please forgive if double-post.  I'm having trouble getting it to go through.

Yeah, we thought better of it and are coming in the day before.  Thanks. 

We are on a cruise that embarks at Monaco.  The ship leaves at 5 PM.  Let's assume we'd want to be at the port at 3 PM just to be safe.  We are considering a flight which gets into Nice at 10:25 AM that day.  We would take a taxi or other private, direct transportation.  Is this safe & realistic?  Thanks for advice.

PS:  The flight has a plane change at JFK with a 3 hour layover there.  This is the beginning of September.

On 4/18/2019 at 7:32 PM, Danish viking said:

Use airluggage.dk

 

They will bring your luggage to the airport so you can just take the bus into town and explore the city before taking the train og metro to the airport.

Wow, that’s great info.  Our situation is a little different but this still solves a problem I was wrestling with.  Thanks!

We are coming in to Ocean Quay in Copenhagen on Saturday, July 6th.  The ship has an overnight there, so general disembarkation is Sunday, but we plan to disembark Saturday evening to catch an early flight home.  (I've been told that we can pre-arrange this with the cruise line.)  I'd guess that grabbing a taxi would be easy early in the day but not by dinner time.  What does anyone recommend for transportation from the dock to the airport hotel?  Has anyone used a private transfer, and if so, who and how much?  Thank you.

This information has been very helpful to me.  Thanks everyone!

We will be in the port of Akureyri from 8 AM to 7 PM toward the end of June.  We're looking at two options, both through Saga/GeoIceland.  I'm having a hard time choosing!

Option 1:  Lake Myvatn from port

(built as a shore excursion), 5-6 hours. 

Covers the following:

• Goðafoss Waterfall
• Skútustaðagígar Pseudo Craters
• Dimmuborgir Lava Formations
• The Rift Between the Eurasian & American Continents
• Mt. Námafjall

Option 2:  Lake Myvatn Classic

(not specifically for cruisers, would need to walk 10 minutes from port to meeting place & back), 8-9 hours, so from 9 AM to potentially 6 PM (we're in port  until 7 PM and again, a 10 minute walk back to ship.)

Covers the following:

• Godafoss Waterfall
• Skutustadagigar Pseudo Craters
• Dimmuborgir Lava Formations
• The Rift Between the Eurasian & American Continents
• Mt. Namafjall – Hverir mud pools
• Game of Thrones filming locations by Lake Myvatn
• Myvatn Nature Baths (Entry fee NOT included, but there is an hour stop scheduled there and the entry and fee for towel can be added on the booking)

Other things to consider:

• We didn't watch Game of Thrones, so this has no meaning for us.
• We haven't decided about going to Blue Lagoon in Reykjavik yet; obviously if we don't go to BL, then we'd want to do Option 2 here.  The question is if we DO go to BL, is it still worth doing the baths here two days later?  Or should we just do the Myvatn Nature Baths which people rave about, and skip the BL, using the time differently in Reykjavik?  (Other things we're doing in R is a day tour to the South Coast, and a day tour of the Golden Circle, and part of a day seeing some general R sights.  The extra day is the one we'd use for the BL, and if we didn't go there, not entirely sure what we'd do with that day.)

Thoughts, anyone?  Would so appreciate someone making this decision for me!  

This is all so very helpful. I think we're going to go ahead and book this! We will celebrate both our 35th wedding anniversary and my husband's birthday on this cruise. I assume Seabourn is good and making events like this festive.

DH & I are looking at the itinerary below. A few of the ports we've been to, but others are new to us and I don't know what one does in those ports. Has anyone does this itinerary (or close to it) and can advise? I don't need specific excursions, just a general idea of what's the major draw in these towns.

DAY 0: September 09, 2019 Monte Carlo, Monaco (been here before so we're familiar with what to do)

DAY 1: September 10, 2019 Arrives 07:00 AM Departs 02:00 PM Portoferraio (Elba), Italy (also been here before and can't imagine how to fill another day here!)

DAY 2: September 11, 2019 Arrives 08:00 AM Departs 06:00 PM Amalfi, Italy (rent car and drive Amalfi Coast??)

DAY 3: September 12, 2019 Arrives 08:00 AM Departs 05:00 PM Giardini Naxos (Taormina), Italy (???)

DAY 4: September 13, 2019 Arrives 07:00 AM Departs 03:00 PM Mgarr (Victoria), Gozo, Malta (???)

DAY 4: September 13, 2019 Arrives 06:00 PM Valletta, Malta

DAY 5: September 14, 2019 Departs 11:00 PM Valletta, Malta (???)

DAY 6: September 15, 2019 AT SEA

DAY 7: September 16, 2019 Arrives 08:00 AM Departs 05:00 PM Golfo Aranci (Costa Smeralda), Sardinia, Italy (???)

DAY 8: September 17, 2019 Arrives 09:00 AM Departs 06:00 PM Saint Raphael, France (???)

DAY 9: September 18, 2019 Arrives 08:00 AM Departs 06:00 PM Sete, France (???)

DAY 10: September 19, 2019 Arrives 07:00 AM Barcelona, Spain (been here before so I know what to do here as well)

Any thoughts or advise on this itinerary would be most welcome. It's on the Encore, if that matters at all! Thanks.

To answer some of my own questions above...we ended up using Avis and because I am a Chairman member we received an upgrade at the airport to a Range Rover. We drove it for a couple of days and returned it to the Avis city office about a mile from the dock. Again, I think because of the Chairman perks they drove us in our rental directly to the ship’s dock. The Chairman benefits are not always valid internationally so it was a nice surprise to get the same benefits we receive domestically.

We are looking at doing the exact same thing for our cruise in June 2019. Can you give me more information on (1) what you did with the car touring-wise over the couple of days, and (2) was it easy/costly to park it overnight in Rejkyavik? Thanks.

We went to Beach Limerz on Saturday, Dec. 16th. We had made a deposit of $25 pp for PAYG. We took a taxi on our own because we didn't want to be locked in to a specific time. It's quite a gauntlet of drivers you go through before you get to the dispatch stand. Gail told us we were the only reservation that day and in truth, we only saw one other group of 3 or 4 people on the beach, on a different stretch than we were so it was like having a private beach to ourselves. While the BeachLimerz part is compact, the beach (empty) stretches out for ages, so you don't feel hemmed in at all. There were more people at lunch and service was on the relaxed side (e.g slow) but the food was delicious. This place was quiet, serene, secluded, all that and more. If you're looking for music, action, and active service, this isn't the place. But if you want to chill in beauty, by all means, come to Beach Limerz.

Wrap up from OP here:

We thoroughly enjoyed this cruise. We did hear others complain about this and that, but for us, once we were finally on board, we were quite pleased. We had a family emergency on our last port day of San Juan, which was followed by two sea days. Bad timing to be out of pocket. It kind of undid all the great de-stressing that Seabourn had done for us. But all in all, great cruise, great food, service, people, etc. never did meet Henry though I met Mrs Henry doing laundry on our last day. By that time, I was pretty distracted and really needed to get home. Loved our seabourn experience!

Also going to TK Grill Tuesday. See you there!

We’re at beach limerz in Antigua today. We have the beach to ourselves. WiFi only works at the bar/restaurant so we’re briefly plugged in.

Carambola beach barbecue was awesome yesterday. A little bit of a feeding frenzy as they had a hard time keeping up with the lobster demand but no one went away hungry, least of all us!

I’m enjoying seeing familiar faces around the ship. People are so friendly and in good moods! I did hear a few people who felt that the ship wasn’t ready to be out of dry dock but aside from our few hiccups the first day, we’ve been pleased. One couple I met said they had no shower head on the first day and water sprayed all over. There have been carpet dryers in deck 6; don’t know if it was about that.

Enjoy your pre-cruise anticipation, those if you getting ready.

Greetings from Magen’s bay beach which is lovely. A lot of people but we’re down at the far end and it doesn’t feel crowded. We’re here on our own although we did share a ride with others from the ship. After two very nice sea days, it’s nice to feel land!

Thanks for the heads up about the additional plug. Never would have seen that!

We ate our first dinner at the Colonnade and were underwhelmed. Since then, we’ve dined at The Restaurant and have been very pleased. We’ve even had two breakfasts at The Restaurant and liked that a lot. One breakfast at the Colonnade at which there was a table for 3 from the UK behind us, with a very lovely, poised young lady as the third—possibly my fellow poster? I didn’t want to intrude/stalk to ask if it was Able Seaman. If we do meet, btw, my name is Amy.

We’ve met some lovely people from all over. A very nice crowd. There were 52 or so people at Chanukah services the first night, down to 30 or so last night.

I see more and more Christmas decor-beautiful —including a couple of cabin doors.

We haven’t been to the production shows but have enjoyed the music in the smaller venues.

That’s all for now!

OP here. I promised observations so here are a few, keeping in mind, as I said, that we haven’t been on “O” ships before (only on the Legend).

—The ship looks quite lovely, and sometime between last night and this morning, Christmas decorations started appearing. At least I think so; I didn’t notice it on embarking.

—Henry posted about USB ports being new. That’s a plus BUT if you have things that require an American outlet, consider bringing a small power strip and/or a plug adapter. There is ONE US outlet in the room, on the vanity, plus the razor one in the bathroom. The outlet bedside (only one bedside outlet) is European, a problem for a cpap machine. IT helped but it took a long time and made for an unrelaxed evening as we tried to get that sorted out. I also requested a plug adapter to use in the bar cabinet so I could utilize it too. There is a limited number of those so bring your own or get to Seabourn Square early.

—While I was delighted by the bonus OBC due to delayed boarding, it really didn’t make up for the loss of a half day of vacation. They boarded the waiting area by zone and we were not on board until 4 pm. Unpacking, muster, chasing down plugs, cabin snafus (the adjoining door from our cabin to the next one was open and wouldn’t lock—surprise!). Things happen and I’m not blaming anyone, but my vacation was a day shorter than I thought it would be. And my gin didn’t arrive until today, yeah, not a major problem but I wanted a drink while getting unpacked !

—Today was a sea day and everything was up to scratch. The much-debated block party is tonight but it coincides with services for the first night of Chanukah so we will miss it. (Insert joke here about us already seeing a lot of our neighbors due to the adjoining door situation..... just kidding!)

—There is one formal night on our 10 night cruise. Someone was asking about that elsewhere.

Okay, that’s all for now. I’ll add more as I think of it, and welcome others to chime in.

It’s now 1:23 am Eastern time and Sojourn is still in the dry dock...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

How do you track this? Inquiring minds want to know. Is there a webcam I can look at?

So we got a text and email message today, asking us to delay coming to the port, delaying embarkation to 3 pm due to “inclement weather during dry dock”. They arranged a shuttle back and forth to Lincoln Road Mall for those who can’t change their arrival at port. They threw in $50 pp OBC to compensate for the delay/lost lunch/time on board. We’ve now lost our prearranged shuttle from the hotel, which stops running at 1 pm, so a minor inconvenience. Couple that with a piece of delayed luggage—still waiting for it at 10:30 pm—and we’re looking forward to hitting stride on board because we’re not in vacation mood yet. Soon.......

We are getting ready to board the Sojourn on Monday. We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time and we’re excited that it’s almost time. (We’re going to have to wait a little longer, because they told us to come a little later than usual due to the drydock.).

If anyone wants a report on the ship, let me know and I’ll try to post. Keep in mind, though, that I’ve never sailed the “O” class ships before, so what do I know?! [emoji846]

I’ve been reading these boards as time is getting closer, and everyone has been a great resource. Thanks for everyone’s help.

Would love feedback on the Crystal Iceland/Norway itinerary. . . please?

I am looking at a Norway cruise for 2019. Right now I'm comparing an Azamara itinerary for 2019 to a Seabourn itinerary for 2018 (assuming the 2019 itinerary would be similar when it's released; our travel would be in 2019 in both cases). We have previously cruised both lines.

 

Background: We were booked on a Viking Ocean Norway/British Isles cruise for 2017 and had to cancel due to illness in the family. I was really looking forward to trying Viking Ocean. I started looking to re-book but found these two itineraries that I like better than our originally scheduled one. Many of the ports are very familiar to me from having meticulously planned for the trip we didn't end up taking. Some of the ports are unfamiliar however.

 

Azamara:

1-Dep Oslo

2-At Sea

3-Flam 7-2:30/Gundvangen 5-5:30

4-Geiranger 12:30-5:30, arrive Alesund 10PM

5-Wake up in Alesund, dep 5:30 PM

6-At Sea

7-Svolvaer, Lofoten Islands, 8-5; followed by cruising Trollfjord 7-7:30

8-Tromso 9-9

9-Honningsvag 11-9

10-At Sea

11-Bodo 8-4

12-Trondheim 1-8

13-Molde 8-8

14-Olden 8-6

15-Bergen 8-11

16-At Sea

17-Arr Edinburgh

 

Seabourn:

1-Dep Copenhagen

2-At Sea

3-Flam 8-6

4-Cruise Sognefjord, arr Alesund 10-8

5-At Sea

6-Svolvaer, Lofoten Islands 8-5, followed by cruising Trollfjord

7-Tromso 9-5

8-Storstappen Island 5:30-7:30 AM, followed by Honningsvag 11am - 9 pm, followed by cruising North Cape

9-At Sea

10-At Sea

11-Olden 9-6, followed by cruising Nordfjord

12-Cruising Hjelterfjord, followed by Bergen 8-6

13-Stavanger 8-4

14- Skagen, Denmark 10-6

15-Arr Copenhagen

 

Other factors: Have not been to Oslo or Edinburgh but likely to go to Edinburgh at some point when we visit Scotland on a land trip. We have been to Copenhagen fairly recently. Otherwise, these are new ports to us. The ports that I already know what we would do in from our prior-planned trip are: Flam, Svolvaer, Alesund, Tromso, Honingsvag (I think), Bergen, Geiranger (a real hole in the SB itinerary), Molde (eh). I don't know anything about Bodo, Trondheim, Olden, Stavanger or Skagen.

 

Obviously the SB ship is newer, nicer and somewhat higher end. The port times for AZ are better. I don't know which ports are better. Can anybody help sway me one way or the other?

I'm back again, with another itinerary to compare. I think I like this one best of all, but I'm interested in the wisdom of the the cruise critic family!

Crystal:

1-Embark Reykjavik

2--Reykjavik, depart 6 PM

3--Isafjordur, Iceland 8 pm - 6 pm

4--Akureyri, Iceland 8 am - 7 pm

5--At sea

6--At sea

7--Arrive at A, Lofoten Islands 8-8:30 (would get off and rent car or book excursion starting in A)

Ship goes on to Leknes from noon - 6 PM

8--Tromso 9 am - 8 pm

9--Honningsvag 9 am - 10 pm

10--At sea

11--At sea

12--Hellsyit from 7 - 8:30 AM

Ship goes on to Geiranger from 9:30 am - 5 pm

13--Flam 8 am - 6 pm

14--Bergen 8 am - 10 pm

14--At sea

15--Copenhagen arrive 8 am

16--Disembark Copenhagen

I'd be excited to get a taste of Iceland, and the other ports in Norway have great times and present good options. Crystal is a nicer line than Azamara, though the cabin size would be smaller than the suite we were looking at on AZ. Better inclusions too.

Can I tap the CC family again for feedback?