Ready to Sail!

We will be in 3042. Less foot traffic, open sitting area nice to just relax close to “home”. To us best DV deck. On our 1st cruise I accidentally put my cell phone in the washer 1st day leaving Athens. Staff got me a big bag of rice but didn’t work. Good my husband had one to get us through. Senior moment!!

I agree with your husband and that was my concern, not noise.

Well, we really appreciate all the input about this location. But, after a lot of thought decided to go back to a DV on deck 3. Couldn’t get a Starboard but will check often and one may open up. We just decided the PV category wasn’t worth the extra 5K+ to us. We loved being on Deck 3 on our 1st Viking cruise so have moved back to what is familiar and comfortable. We are just back from forward stairs so quick run down one flight and out onto the promenade. Thanks again.

I love being up early to look out with dawn on the horizon to see the twinkle of lights as we slowly approach a new destination. Going up to the Explorer’s a good idea. Thanks.

Sorry, I guess my wording wasn't very clear. Yes, my understanding is that this cabin has a door, not a slider. We have never had a door so would like to try. Choices (very few) on port side are all further forward. There is only port side cabins left on all decks. I like the land side to better see approach to the ports when its early in the moring. No big deal really, and I'm sure location is find. (and yes, I know I can see on TV) We were in 3041 last cruise which is really close to elevators and no noise issues. When I said we moved up I meant we did when we took 5031, from a DV on deck 3.

We just switched our sailing for next February SA cruise. There were very few cabins left on starboard which we wanted so not much choice. We are in 5031. We do like being near the elevators but usually choose a cabin a few doors away. From the deckplan it looks like 5031 is directly across from the entry into the ellevators/stairs. Probably not much we can do if we want to stay on starboard but just curious. Otherwise, happy to move up and try a PV and a door instead of a slider as we have never had one, only sliders. My husband thinks I worry too much abouth trivial matters and he's right but what can I do? It's me! Thanks for any input.

Oops, accidentally posted twice this twice and couldn’t edit it out. Sorry.

The visual of you hauling a cooler into The Restaurant is priceless.

The visual of you carrying a cooler into The Restaurant is priceless. I’m picturing it with a red lid.

Thank you Mich. I have made note of the company and if this is what we decide to do will certainly check with them. We are still almost 10 months away from our sail date right now but final payment due soon. We are just starting to think this trip through as far as pre and post days before we book our air, and of course all options before booking flights. Thank you for suggestion, and information.

We did think about the Falls but just looked at the Viking post cruise options which sounded awfully costly. We will at least consider doing on our own again. I know our daughter regrets not going when she was in Peru but chose Machu Picchu as her highlight and no regrets there. Thanks for the airline info also. We have actually been routed through Seattle on many international flights and to Alaska. We will avoid Atlanta if at all possible. Thank you for all the helpful information. Seems like Viking doesn't have great options so will probably just do on our own even if just to the airport.

The hotel room option is a great suggestion. I had read that Viking might take us to a hospitality room at at a hotel but that doesn't sound any better than being at the airport. The other option I want to explore is leaving the ship the afternoon/evening before (of course on our own arranged shuttle) I will need to talk to Viking about that. Actually my husband left a cruise a day early via helicopter in the Gulf of Alaska due to medical emergency with my FIL, but that's another story for another day and certainly not pre arranged!!! Thank you so much for the information about flights also. I know there are plenty of options to explore. We have mileage program with Delta so try to use whenever possible.

FlyerTalker. You're obviously an expert on this subject and I do appreciate your expertize (and I am not being facetious). I may take a different approach but having booked our flights myself for as long as possible on the internet, I do understand how international travel usually does involve a alternative or partner airline. Most of our international trips have. I haven't gone back to look but am sure you are correct about BA and Delta. At this point in life my initial searches are prioritized by least number of airports, and shortest overall travel time. Hubby and I have agreed over the last 10 years at least that if are to continue travel as long as we can comfort and airport experiences have to be a priority over cost. My initial question was related to Viking and options for either transfers or excursion on Debarkation day which would avoid long day at the BA airport IF we should need to book a late day flight. Just curious, did you work in the travel industry, or just well versed? Again, I am not being snarky.(so easy to misread tones on these sites and I admit when I first read your responses I thought you were mansplaining to me🤣)

I'm back just to add some positive thoughts. I looked at your schedule and think it's pretty good, crowd wise. I only saw one mega ship-NCL Bliss. I see you are all alone in Sitka and it is my favorite port. We have been twice, once via cruise and once on our own for 5 days. Not a lot to do if you stay on land excursions but we really enjoyed the Totem Pole park. Just walking the main street and seeing the Russian church is interesting also. If you haven't done this trip before I really enjoy the Russian shops in both Juneau and Sitka. Both on the main streets. They sell the Russian Lacquer Boxes and the Stacking Dolls. If you are not familiar with the lacquer boxes there are 4 villages in Russian that make them, all painted by hand. I have been fortunate enough to have collected one from each village . 2 I bought in Juneau, 1 in Sitka and 1 in St. Petersburg, Russia. They are one my most treasured possessions. Sorry, probably more information than you need or want but I get hyped about Alaska!!

I didn't take the time to look at the port for the given day but I can tell you this is getting to be a big problem for the Alaskan ports. I am willing to bet that at least one or two of the other ships are large capacity. We have been on 3 inside passage cruises. '91, '03 and '18. 2 have been in early May to beat the crowds. A bonus to that was they had much better weather than our first cruise that was in July. So over a span of about 25 years we have seen more ships/bigger ships doing this itinerary. We live on the west coast so a popular cruise from here but these mega ships are ruining it for travelers and residents of these small port towns. It's a pet peeve of ours. In our opinion these ships are ruining the industry. Look what they've done to ports like Dubronik, and Venice, just to name a couple. We are so happy to see these ports starting to put limits on visitors per day. Sorry, didn't mean to go off on a rant!! Let me end this on a positive note. Of course you will be fine in Glacier Bay and it is spectacular. You will also be fine in Valdez as very few cruise lines go there, if any, and Seward which is mostly a Embarkation/Debarkation port. We were in Seward last June on our own and took a Glacier cruise. Viking was there overnight. We were in line with a couple from the ship and they said the cruise had been wonderful. Not much to do in Seward so the Glacier trip is a highlight we saw lots of wildlife-otters, birds and a a couple of pods of orcas. I would certainly recomment the glacier trip in either Seward or Valdez. We have done cruises in many parts of the world and the Inside Passage in still one of our favorites. Have a great time!

I don't book with Travelocity, I just use it as a research site along with a few others. Get an Idea of what is available and then go directly with the airlines. Delta has a number of non stops to either Altanta or LA which would be our choice since we live in No. Ca. We fly from Sacramento, which will be necessary for either ATL or LAX Your idea of a few days in BA certainly would be worth considering but our cruise is overnight in BA so I think that will be enough for us, getting a day to see the sights on the day we dock. We are senior-seniors! who are at the point that 18 days will probably be pushing our endurance. We are trying to keep it as simple and stress free as possible. Also, I think what I said was the first time I looked on Delta there were no flights other than later in the day. My main concern at this point is not sitting 10-12 hours at an airport so hoping Viking had some options/flexibility with their transfers. I will keep looking and hope to come up with some earlier flights. I couple of you suggested I contact optional transfers at Viking which I will do today. Thank you everyone.

I probably wasn’t clear. What I meant is Viking isn’t offering this as far as I’ve seen. I just haven’t researched independent sources yet but yes, know it is possible and we have done so ourselves. Just wanted to know our options with Viking first. Thank you, good to know it’s an option in BA.

Yes, hanging out in an airport for 10-12 hours isn't an option for us. The time we were allowed to stay on, the ship did not sail until the next day which is the case on this cruise so thought I would ask. Actually spending that time in a meeting room or restaurant doesn't sound much better!

Thanks for the replies. When I first researched flights I only looked on Delta as that is our preference but just went back and looked at Travelocity and they do have a number of early afternoon flights (even one with Delta) So, may not be an issue. I did ask about a day tour that would end at the Airport but was told that isn't an options. Did this from London but not with the cruise line. They took us from London to Stonehenge and then to the ship in Southampton. They also offered reverse with tour to end at the airport. Good deal. Peregrina-I have seen many posts from you over the years and it always catches my eye because you are in Boston. I grew up outside Boston but have been on the west coast for many years now. Whenever I see a reference to Massachusetts I am flooded with a wave of nostalgia for the 50's and 60's in rural New England.

This is just our 2nd Viking Cruise so don't have much experience with them. We haven't booked our air yet but I have researched and flights from Buenos Aires it looks like most options are late, many being around 10:00 pm. If we have transfers with Viking will they allow late Debarkations so as not to be spending hours at the airport? I ask because we had a late flight from a cruise in Tahita and were allowed to stay on board till late afternoon when they took us to the airport. Of course we had to vacate our cabin but we left our luggage in a lounge, and then could use on the facilities, have lunch ect. We are leaning towards booking our own air but purchasing Viking Transfers. Would appreciate input from any of you who have had experience with this issue. I should add I asked a few agents but they couldn't answer and suggested I talk to the air department but I can't do that unless we book with them.

Thanks for all the replies. As I said we haven't had a TA for over 20 years and at our age we don't have a lot of travel years left so we have decided no need to establish with one at this point. I really enjoy all that goes into doing myself and other than maybe missing out on some OBC I do like having control. Certainly pros and cons to both ways so guess we will just stay in our comfort zone. Thank you all. The different replies helped in making the decision.

I haven't used TA in over 25 years. Have been doing all our own bookings for cruises and independent travel and enjoy doing so. But, after reading some of the posts on this forum on the subject I am thinking maybe it might be a better way to go in the future. I do have a question or two about using a TA for our booked (just 3 weeks ago) and another cruise I want to book. We have only done 1 Viking cruise in the past and I did book directly with Viking. If I do turn over our recently booked cruise to a TA (and a furture booking) can I still use My Viking and book our own excursions OnLine when the time comes? We are in DV cabin so feel the need to book ASAP when allowed. Will my information in My Viking be kept up to date and accessible to me? Do most of you who use a TA use one local to you or are you confortable with some of the OnLine agencies? Thanks for any clarification you can give me.

Perfect Linda, thanks so much. I'll check it out.

I was hoping we wouldn't have to wander around looking for a shop but it is an option since we will have time with an overnight in port. Thanks.

We are booked on only our 2nd Viking Ocean cruise. I know we can bring our own liquor on board. Can we also buy a bottle in the on board shop? I can't remember but probably wasn't looking for it last cruise. We have been on about 15 cruises so we have been in many cruise port terminals and we honestly can't recall if they sell liquor in duty free shop. We don't want to bring with us but won't have a chance to buy before we reach our port of embarkation in Valparaiso, Chili, so wondering what our options are.