janetcbl

For the Optional Excursions, it is safest to only load one or two and then pay, repeat with the next one or two, etc. If you wait until after you load all of them, you risk someone taking the one that is just sitting in your cart.

Did the same on our Panama Canal cruise. Otherwise, the ship’s temperatures were fine, IMO.

DC also includes Husavik, an interesting town and the setting for the movie ‘ “Eurovision Song Contest”, recently still available on Netflix. More important it is a center for whale watching, has a fine Whale Museum, and is the oldest settlement in Iceland. NT consists of some important natural geological sites, Lake Myvatn, Dimmuborgi, etc. DC includes some of these sites as well. Both would be great!

You are absolutely correct. On our last Mars trip my favorite Austrian wine (Gruner Veltliner) was available. Never saw it on any of our previous trips and will be curious to see if it is available on upcoming Mars trip in a couple months.

No charge to do your own laundry. Detergent is automatically added by pressing a button. Dryer sheets are discouraged due to some people’s allergies. My husband does our laundry on vacation and never had a problem getting a machine early in the morning, Laundry service is wonderful! Returned quickly, beautifully wrapped like a present or on hangers. A real included perk for PJS and above; extra charge (reasonable, IMO) for everyone else.

Floyen is closer to the center in Bergen and more popular. You can ride the funicular up, hike around the top or back to town (good path). There is a restaurant on top (currently undergoing renovations). Ulriken is out of town (a bus ride or cab is probably necessary). If I remember correctly you ride a cable car up. There is a restaurant on top. It is a very long hike back to town or some very ambitious people have hiked to Floyen - I have no idea how that is done.

When we had the SSBP package we asked for a particular wine in the restaurant which was then kept available for us each night. We ate at the same table so the waiter got to know this and he brought it without asking. I don’t know how it works if you ask for a different special wine each evening or eat infrequently in the Restaurant.

That is great news! Tallinn is a fascinating city!

Just my opinion: The Flam Railroad (Eidfjord), Pulpit Rock (Stavanger), Behind the Scenes at the Munch Museum (Oslo, if you like the art of Munch), Full Day Classical Oslo ( if you have never been to Oslo and don’t want to explore on your own-it covers a lot of ground). People enjoyed the long day in Berlin (if you haven’t been there previously). It really all depends on what your interests are; do some research and then decide.

The only reason we don’t pay gratuities in advance is we have often had excursions cancelled and end up wit a lot of extra OBC, which is helpful in paying for gratuities at the end of the trip.

Once you are on board, if there is enough time between excursions, you are sometimes ( and I emphasize “sometimes”) able to book a second one.

Consider this a winner! Have been to both places; Tallinn is definitely more interesting and a fascinating city, especially the walled Old Town. Don’t miss the tower. Enjoy!

The Golden Circle is the most popular tour and probably a good suggestion for a first time visitor to Iceland. It includes Skogfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir. The first is a waterfall, the second a Geysir and the third is where the first parliament was held and where the North American and Eurasian plates come together (they have been growing apart- and you can see down in many places.) Many companies have this tour from Reykjavik.

Gdańsk on Foot (Included), Behind Closed Doors at the Munch Museum (if you like art and Munch’s work), Flam RR or Voss, Geilo and Bergen RR. Just my opinion…there are many others and some places just wander on your own, after doing some studying of the port.

Have you checked out what is available in Helsinki? If you have never been there before there is much to do/see. The market, art museum, history museum, sculptures, a “Rock” church, a great book store, cafes, walking tours, etc. It is one of my favorite cities!

Viking boarding location was the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. We tendered to get to the ship. We stayed at the Hampton Inn Canal Park (upscale Hampton Inn!)…lots of restaurants in the vicinity.

If I remember correctly there are a couple of restaurants and I think there is a fresh fish booth with fish sandwiches.

Warnemunde is an easy walking area. We spent part of the Sunday we were there walking the beach, enjoying all the families there and wandering the town. A “typical” beach town, lots of shops selling ice cream, etc. looked as though we had been transported back to the 1950s. Rostock is a fascinating town…we had a guided tour and then wandered on our own. Easy trip back to Warnemunde.

Absolutely right. I forgot this…a favorite place for lunch!

On our Expedition ship this past summer reservations were required in the Restaurant, ‘tho you could just show up and and would have to wait a bit.

We were on the Mars Panama Canal cruise. Food was fine…different people have different tastes. Sometimes all we wanted was a waffle (Mamsens), sometimes more exotic (Chef’s Table). We certainly never went away hungry! There is the World Cafe (a buffet that also has a Grill (good lobster tails), an Oriental area (good sushi) and everything else you would expect…my favorite-the gelato bar. The Restaurant serves more upscale servings; sit down service, menus are posted daily. The Library area has the early morning coffee/pastry bar. Mamsens has sandwiches, waffles, soup and a limited hot sandwich choice. The 2 speciality restaurants are the Chef’s Table, rotating International menus and Manfredis (Italian cuisine). The latter two and the Restaurant usually require reservations, depending on the passenger load. Tea is served most afternoons at 4:00. I.E., you will not starve on Viking!

There may also be tours of certain areas of the ship: the Bridge, the Kitchen and the Laundry. Ask at Guest Services because they are not usually advertised.

From a website I follow, there are restaurants In Longyearbyen as well as what looks like a great bakery.

The Nordica is a nice hotel, but not centrally located. There are some okay restaurants in the area, but we took the bus (the hotel use to give you a transportation pass) to downtown for dinner. If you are eligible, the Executive Suite is one of the best I have encountered.