Azulann

Yes, that s the name.

When you are on the main page of app, which shows cruise lines and how to book a cruise.. I did find the Cruise Critic boards and you are right, there is our Viking Forum

I usually wear only cotton and linen , so love, love the iron and ironing board.WhenI unpack I press my linen trousers and tops. I did notice eon last cruise in June they now have nice laundry baskets , perfect for its purpose to and from your stateroom.

I heard back from sending them a message on my app on iPhone they replied in two minutes. They said it is a new app and they are loading more cruise lines including Viking in the near future. At least they are very prompt in relying. So may be we are part of a beta testing? 😀

I dug around on this app. It is from the UK . When I went to profile , they wanted me to fill out my info with Country : United Kingdom shows up . Also they do not list Viking ocean cruise line except on CC boards.

HA , weather in the 50”s will be balmy coming from MN where it will be below zero Feb. we will be doing a guided excursion on Santorini. Other Gr ports will be to visit ruins and museums . It will be 11 day cruise from Athens. My sister had never been to Greece . I have been to half the the ports twice and the other half will be new to me. I do have the luxury to sail in off season and not in the height of tourist season and the heat of summer. Love being retired

So glad I booked Viking Greek Odyssey cruise for Feb 2025, the "quiet season." yea no tourists but all the sites will be open on this 11 day cruise. I have been to Santorini twice, First time on a a Celebrity ship ,We explored Fira for the whole morning. By the time we were ready to take cable car down, there were five ship in Caldera. We instead walked down donkey trail. It was Sept 2008 and temp was 100 degrees. Next time we ported there, I stayed on the ship and had sea day. This future cruise I will do a Viking excursion to Oia and wine tasting and see more of the island, but again will need to take cable car down but probably we will be the only cruise ship in caldera.

Ok, I downloaded the app on my iPhone. Needed to use my email address instead of my old user name Azulann. Let’s see what moniker I get now . I see it is the same !‼️

I received an email this morning about their new app. I see it also includes planing, and researching cruises, plus the CC boards/forums. I will get it later today from the Apple Store and give it a try. Being able to private messages is a great feature. thanks for the heads up.

They will take your photo as part of check in . No worries 😉

A toast to both of you, Clay and Mike!🥂 Looking forward to hearing about about your adventures on the World Journey beginning in Jan 2024. I had so enjoyed following your adventures since you retired. I read your Word Press blog as you lived a nomad life traveling through Europe and South America. I love your trip reports of your cruises on Viking her on Cruise Critic. You two are an example of "Seize the day" attitude to life's opportunities, true explorers. Will you two be taking more than your standard red carryon luggages for this marvelous trip? 😀 BTW, the Virtual Explorers Lounge is the perfect place to announce this upcoming wonderful journey. It will be here before yo know it...

I bought wonderful shawls(cashmere and silk) on Mykonos for my daughter in-laws and myself. Lovely leather purses on Rhodes. Greek icon in Athens in little store in Platka neighborhood. Lovely 18 k gold charm in Kusadasi Turkey .Gave them as Christmas presents to family.

True story: My cousin and his wife recently retired. After the pandemic, they ask their two adult children( spouses and their three children) if they wanted any inheritance when cousin and wife died, or they could take the whole family to Denmark (the land of our ancestors) for two weeks. Family voted to do the land trip which they did in 2022. The memories they have priceless. 🥰

So happy for you ! 🥳 Relax and enjoy picking your excursions and reading up on the canal history and the wonderful ports and countries you will visit. Would love to hear a trip report , if you have time ,once your cruise has begun.

Having read the whole article, it seems the cost rather that drought conditions has changes this particular itinerary on a Royal Caribbean ship. I remember when I did research many years ago before our full transit 15 day cruise from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego, that the fee for cruise ship is based on per bed basis. Don't know if they still use that method, but as Chief said above, cruise ships are money makers for the canal. Also all the water used for the locks and Lake Gatun is fresh water relying on the rain fall during the rainy season in the mountains of Panama. With climate change bringing a new normal to our planet ,drought in the tropics is an also a contributing factor to cruising in the future. Go now and do not put off this most amazing cruise through a wonder of the world: the Panama Canal.

Congratulations on your special cruise to celebrate your anniversary. I hope you have posted on the Viking roll call forum for your cruise and there you will find others who are on the same cruise. Coming from Australia to sail our Great Lakes will be a unique trip. Every Aussie I have met over the years on both on land vacations or cruises are the friendliest people who enjoy a good time. Cheers to both of you 🥂

I have been to Athens twice before. It will be my sister's first time for Greece.I do need to visit the Acropolis museum. It was closed the day I was there during a previous cruise. We plan to fly in two days early and book our own hotel. Do some private tours , then board ship for cruise and then do post two day extension with Viking. Thanks for the tip about Kostas from George Taxi.

We are booked to do this two day post extension in Feb. 2025. I will let you know. 😂 Seriously, I expect Viking to do something with passengers on disembarkation day because check in into hotel isn't t until afternoon. We did 2 day post extension in Barcelona ;and again in Copenhagen this past June. On disembarkation day, we got a nice bus tour overview of Barcelona with at least three photo stops before we got to the hotel We had a guide on board. In Copenhagen we had a two hr waking tour which started at our post hotel and then returned to hotel. Our rooms were ready around 2pm. I expect the Athens 2 day post extension will follow one of the above options. On day two we only had a the Viking rep in lobby to guide us with maps etc about what we wanted to do, no organized tours.

My favorite was Scenic Scandinavia(June2023) starting in Stockholm and ending in Copenhagen. We arrived three days early to explore Stockholm and took the post extension in Copenhagen. I would go again but they no longer offer this itinerary. First time exploring the Baltic region and now I need to go to Norway and could repeat any Baltic ports again.

As a loyal Viking cruiser who some years ago came from Celebrity , I would only be interested in Europa ships because of their design . I will wait for trip reviews by actual passengers too. None of the other lines have open views of the water and sky in the common areas like Viking ships. I would expect service would be great just like Viking .

Good for you and Mike! on your trip to Norway, try to go to Sweden also and take a ferry to Mariehamn Arland Island . that little piece of earth stole my heart. Spreadsheet and all, a WC if it is a possibility, make it a reality.🤞 My only regret is I did not go to Scandinavia when I was younger.But it was so much more expensive than cruising or land trip in the Italy, Greece, Turkey or Spain. Silly me I could have used a spreadsheet to figure it out and plan way ahead. 🙂

Clay, Again thank your final remarks about you so much for your trip report ! I appreciate your final moments about the changing menu on your cruise and the Manfredi's experience . Serving 11 people at table is a work of art to make sure all the food arrives on time and is well prepared. Sorry the food was not good. What March 2025 cruise have you booked ? Is it by any chance the Northern Light cruise on their brand new ship?

I never get tired of looking at the wake ! Beautiful, serene , and mesmerizing 💕

All of the above, historical, modern sprinkled with personal stories to make the building under discussion come alive. I too loved the Chicago river cruise with architect guides. On my recent cruise, guides always pointed out the various type of aritchecture of buildings we were seeing and some stories behind the building of the structure from thatched roofs of cottages in Drager DK, to Swedish red summer house, Hanseatic houses and churches in various towns, to modern buildings and bridges in Copenhagen. Go for it Clay,👍🏻

Clay, I have so enjoyed your trip report. Your itineary is awesome. Your pictures and description of your excursions were so informative. Oslo's modern buildings are beautiful. I do want to go to Norway and of course back to Denmark,and even Sweden again. I wishI was 20 years younger. I think I might do a land trip if I find a good tour company that goes to where I want to visit. Thanks again and look forward to next cruise report in the future.