Moonlion

On our last VOC (February 2024), we booked Viking's North Pacific Passage (22 nights) while onboard. We received the following onboard booking discounts: $400 pp past guest discount, $400 pp onboard booking discount, $100 pp onboard credit for the cruise we were on. Total discount came to $1800 per couple plus the 6-month final payment. Of note, we had booked this same cruise (different dates) in December 2023 using Viking's future cruise discount promotion. The onboard discounts were significantly better than the previous discounts we had received plus there was a price drop between Dec '23 and Feb '24. Once onboard, we could not cancel and then rebook the same dates and get the onboard booking discounts. We had to book different dates (which ended up working out better for us) to get the onboard discounts, and then cancel the original dates through out TA.

We got this exact same notice before our February 12, 2024 South America & Chilean Fjords cruise. The reason you can't cancel excursions "within the first two days of sailing" is because of Viking's 48 hour cancellation policy for paid excursions. We were able to cancel all booked excursions after that, and book any included or optional excursions while onboard that were not sold out. Hope this helps.

We did the "Walking the Nature Trails of Mousa Island" excursion on our May '23 BIE cruise and didn't find it to be demanding (both of us in our 60s). If you are of normal mobility, you should be fine. The most challenging part of hike was not slipping on the mud and avoiding stepping in the sheep "poo."

We only did the Igloo Hotel and thus can't comment on Glamping in Tromso. We felt our overnight in the Igloo Hotel was a "once in a lifetime adventure," Glad we did it (especially since our best aurora experience occurred that night) but don't feel the need to repeat if we return to Alta. The hotel itself is truly beautiful and unique, entirely made of ice including the beds. As such, there are no toilet facilities or electrical outlets in the Igloo. However, the lodge is very close, maybe 20 feet from the entrance to the Igloo. I kept my coat and boots near the ice bed when I needed to get up in the middle of the night to use the lodge facilities. The ice beds include a foam and reindeer skin padding and they provide sleeping bags. They recommend that you wear a base layer (long underwear), warm socks and cap to sleep. My husband and I shared a double sleeping bag and were quite warm despite the sub zero temperature inside the Igloo.

Given the big bucks for the Viking optional excursions, it would also be nice to be able to read customer reviews of the excursions, as you can for private tours. But why would Viking promote this? Keeping clients in the dark as to the quality of the excursions is in their best interest (sorry to sound so cynical).

The people at Viking who organize and contract the tours may have this information but, if you call Viking, the call reps don't know much more than the description provided on the website. We had called Viking to get more information about an optional excursion we had booked on our 2022 cruise. The call rep and supervisor couldn't provide any additional information beyond what was already published. They basically just read back to me the online description. I asked if they could contact the excursion organizers at Viking for the information, and they said that was not possible. I ended up canceling the excursion.

Word of advice: wake up early! The views of the Cliffs of Dover started before 6 AM on our Greenwich to Bergen cruise. We were still jet lagged so just happened to wake up early that morning. There were no announcements from the Cruise Director or Bridge.

Also, in our experience, the starboard side usually docked next to the port (go figure). When docking, we would have preferred to be on the port side of ship.

On our London to Bergen BIE cruise, we were on the starboard side and had beautiful views of the Cliffs of Dover when sailing into Dover in the early morning. Perhaps the port side would give you land views when sailing in the opposite direction.

On the Neptune in May '23, we found the lasagna inedible. The bechamel was thin and hard as a rock (who makes bechamel that way?), some kind of mushy, tasteless meat filling and no ricotta that I could detect. Fortunately, we ordered it as a side dish - took two bites and that was it.

Dennis, you can often get an idea of when Viking thinks passengers will (reasonably) be able to disembark ship by looking at their shore excursions times. On the day we arrived in Bergen, the earliest shore excursion time was 8:30 AM including the "included" excursion.

On our May '23 BIE cruise, Greenwich to Bergen, we did arrive by 8 AM, but I wasn't aware when they opened the gang plank to allow passengers to disembark that morning (e.g., the staff need to set up the card readers, metal detector, etc.). After our cruise, we stayed a night in Bergen at the Thon Orion hotel which is very close to the cruise terminal, and it took about 10 minutes by taxi to get to the train station with traffic. It could be cutting it close if Viking staff are delayed by 10-15 minutes in opening the gang plank for some reason.

We had the Osso Bucco on the Neptune on our May 2023 BIE cruise. Hopefully, Viking hasn't phased it out across all ships.

No more Osso Bucco??? That was my favorite main dish at Manfredis.

Ha ha, I clip grocery coupons for $1 😜

We were on the Neptune in May and asked the bartenders to make "classic" margaritas for us, i.e., with tequila, triple sec or another orange liquor and fresh lime juice. They did, and the margaritas were perfect! Soon, all the bartenders learned of our preference and brought us classic margaritas. We never received a margarita with lemon juice. I think the bartenders will make pretty much any cocktail you ask for if you tell them what you want. The staff really aim to please!

Another genuine question for those in the know: is there a licensing agency in the US or elsewhere that certifies that a dog has received the necessary training and is a "registered service animal," and ideally a way that establishments can verify (e.g., a QR code or something)? I ask because we know a couple with a pet dog (which I know for a fact is not a trained service animal) who were able to purchase a vest and certificates claiming the dog is a service animal. They use it so the dog can go to restaurants or stay in hotels with them. I'm guessing the restaurants and hotels have to accommodate this couple's pet if there isn't some real certification or licensing available for them to verify.

They look pretty similar across ships at least in same year. I posted the wine list on the Neptune for our May 2023 British Isles Explorer cruise - copied here:

Ya sure it was just the Beatles tour 😆? (sorry, couldn't help myself)

We did it on our own. Mad Day Out with Ian Doyle. Great tour.

Unfortunately, not on the Neptune British Isles Explorer cruise this May. I even asked the Living Room bartender but no luck.

On our May '23 BIE cruise on the Neptune, we couldn't see Chefs Table menus in advance. However, the day we boarded, we went to the Manfredis reservation desk and could view all 5 Chefs Table menus for our cruise including the dates. Once onboard, we had no problem booking Chefs Table and Manfredis on the days and times we wanted.

We also skipped the comfort check-in and it took at most 5 minutes for the on site check-in including taking the photo. The only advantage I can see of comfort check-in is that your selfie photo may look better than what the Viking check-in agent takes of you 🤣

Yes! We went to Edinburgh and did on our own (no Viking or independent tours). We toured the Royal Yacht Britannia and then Ubered to the top of the Royal Mile and walked down. Great day!

We took the Bergen to Oslo train at the end of May. We booked independently, not with Viking's extension. Here is my promised report. We booked the "Plus" seats (aka "Komfort Class") directly through the Vy.no site. We thought the Plus seat were definitely worth it if going independently since the cost was not that much more than the standard seats (about $25 extra per ticket). However, if going on a Viking extension that includes the train, I'm not sure it would be worth it to purchase two Plus seats since the standard seats seem comfortable enough. The Plus seats are in car #1, at the front of the train in the Bergen to Oslo direction. Therefore, there's minimal foot traffic through the car with people going to and from the dining car. Other advantages included: slightly wider seats (maybe 1/2 to 3/4 inch); much more legroom (about a foot more than the standard seats); a nice table for working or eating that is not obtrusive given the huge amount of legroom; fewer people booked in the Plus car; and a coffee/expresso machine available all day. The Plus car in general seemed less crowded and packed. There's been a lot of discussion about which side of train has the more scenic views. To be honest, there were great views on both sides of train so I wouldn't worry about it too much. However, I thought the edge went to the right side if facing forward in the Bergen to Oslo direction (see my notes below). In the Plus car, most of the forward facing seats are on the left side of train in the Bergen to Oslo direction; most of the seats on the right sight are rear facing. On the left side, some of the best forward facing seats without a wall obstructing the views are: 29/30; 33/34; and 41/42. On the right side, the best forward facing seats without obstruction are: seats 11/12 and 3/4 (however, seats 3/4 are the back of the train right next to the WC). All the seats in the standard cars are forward facing in the Bergen to Oslo direction. Not sure if they would be rear facing in the Oslo to Bergen direction. We took the 11:43 AM train (May 25th) which was a good decision since we spent one night in Bergen after disembarking from our BIE cruise on May 23rd. We got to sleep in a bit, had a fabulous, relaxing breakfast at the Thon Orion Hotel and then took a cab to the train station ($20). The train left exactly on time and arrived in Oslo at 7:05 PM. There was still plenty of daylight in Oslo when we arrived. In fact, at this time of year, it didn't get dark in Oslo until after 10 PM! My notes: No Wifi on train; train almost empty at Bergen but was about 3/4 full at end of trip especially in the standard cars; Dining car was busy but we could find seats both times we went (fairly decent selection of food items - try the meatballs); WC is very similar to airplane toilets in size and cleanliness First hour (11:45 AM to 12:45 PM): about 85% of time is spent going through tunnels; best views are on the left but you only see glimpses of scenery between tunnels Second hour (12:45-1:45 PM): about 25% of time in tunnels; starting to see snow-clad mountains; nice scenery both sides but more spectacular on right side Third hour (1:45-2:45 PM): almost half the time spent going through tunnels or across bridges with more limited views; beautiful snow-clad mountains on both sides but more panoramic views on the right side; it was so white and bright, we needed sunglasses! 2:25 PM: reached Finse station; at 1200 meters; the highest elevation on trip Fourth hour (2;45-3:45 PM): few tunnels; starting to leave mountains and seeing more farmland and rural areas; lots of rivers, lakes, green hills and dense trees in distant mountains; left side more scenic Fifth hour (3:45-4:45 PM): trees lining tracks, beautiful, glittering lakes; gorgeous views on both sides; right side more scenic towards the end of the fifth hour Sixth hour (4:45-5:45 PM): farmland, lakes, very green; best views alternate between the right and left sides 5:45-6:30 PM: better scenery on the left; more industrial and built up the closer we got to Oslo Last half hour: more tunnels again; industrial and urban