PatriciaF

Hmmmm...something else to this mix...as a Canadian ( no restrictions for travel to Cuba) do we also fall into the American restrictions since departing from an American Port, Miami on Viking Ocean? I assume so and thus need to be covered under a people to people Visa such as Viking Oceans likely will have. Thus all passengers , Canadians included, have to use the ship's excursions which fall under those restrictions and thus no beach stuff or wandering on own!

From reading the info on TripAdvisor for our land based trip, several non-US citizens noted if they flew through a US airport to get to Cuba they had to comply with the US regulations and the visa.

Other than in and out of the airport, no one ever looked at our visa. It was taken by immigration when we left the country. And my husband had to get a pricier special visa as he was born in Cuba and left in 1960.

After reading all this, I am thinking of cancelling my 2019 cruise to Alaska. I was planning on taking my neice, who will only be 21. I will be 51. We just did a Carribean cruise with Regent, and that was our main complaint. Well, that and the few snobs we encountered!

I think for me they ask for collared shirts at night--but that was not enforced on our cruise in December 2016. Saw lots of jeans in the dining room too. I would think Alaska would be pretty casual too. Don't cancel.

Can you just get your own Cuba visa through a service like Cuba Travel Services? My husband and I went to Cuba for a week and got our visas through them. They were also selling them at the Alaska Air desk for the non-stop LAX to HAV flight.

http://www.cubatravelservices.com

Don't bother to shop around for better prices for cigars or rum--same prices every where including the airport.

We used it a few months ago and it was satisfactory. Execucar, our prior go to for transfer to LAX and return, dropped its lower rate vehicle. We booked with PRIMETIME for the cheaper rate. Picked up by a black Lincoln towncar--but the driver didn't have his seat belt fastened and was tinkering with his cell phone most of the drive.

Can you please tell me if the included tours are similar to the Viking River Cruise tour experience? For instance, do you stay with the same tour guide and group each time the ship docks?

 

We've only sailed to China on Viking River Cruises and that's how they do it so I'm wondering how it works on the Viking Ocean.

 

Thank you

No--there is not a tour guide assigned to your group like on Viking River China. Each port will have a different guide--but we did see the same guide we had in Athens in Olympia (Olympus)--but she wasn't our guide. Guide were good to excellent.

Try it because the free spa area is unbelievable!

I always check EZ Air, sometimes use it and sometimes don't. It depends on the available flights and on my other pre-cruise arrangements. The benefit of using it is supposed to be that Princess is insuring your arrival. If your plane is delayed and you miss your sailing time, then supposedly if you booked with EZ Air, Princess will arrange and pay for you to get on the ship at it's next stop. If you're flying in a day early, that's not important. But if you are flying in and getting directly on the ship, then it is a nice guarantee. I haven't had to call them yet to see what they will do.

To me this is the biggest plus for EZ Air or other cruise lines airfare options. We were recently on a Viking Sea cruise and we couldn't dock as planned for the last day. Viking rebooked all those who had booked airfare through them and even paid for a hotel night if necessary. If you had done it on your own, you needed to do it yourself. At least it has fast and free internet. We were spending two nights after the cruise, so it didn't bother us and it was so cold, we were all little glad that we didn't have two full days to walk around in the cold. FYI--this was in Venice--were the port is often fogged in in the winter according to locals.

A few weeks before departing you will get a package with your baggage tags and a booklet that has all this information in it.

We did all the included tours on our Empires of Sea cruise in December. Primarily walking tours of the historic old towns--which was what we were interested in.

BUT--you are right--the bus tours have about 40 people on them and the walking only tours perhaps a little less. With the audiovox headset it is easy to listen but wander a bit away from the group.

I am not sure if anything in the Caribbean has an excursion you might be interested in--I know we have been on enough of them that other than doing a small group snorkel excursion, we are usually just DIY.

Hi, we plan a cruise from LA to Southamerica.

As a person who never visited LA I feel totaly overwhelmed. :(

Princess offers the Marriott at the Airport. We will stay in LA for 3 days and don't like to stay near the airport. Can you tell me which area is a good idea for a first visitor? We don't like to rent a car, because we think the traffic is horrible, so tell me something about public transportation.

What is a must to see?? Feel like a very stupid person, but LA is to big to do a useful research:confused::confused::confused::confused:, so HELP please

I think I would decide what I want to see--Los Angeles itself is a huge city and the area that most consider Los Angeles is even bigger.

Do you want to go to Disneyland Resort? Universal Studios? Getty Museum? The new Broad Museum? Tour Hollywood?

The actual downtown area of LA does have fairly good public transportation--the metro to get from it to Hollywood and Universal Studios. I think there is a new line to Santa Monica.

I would not stay at the LAX Marriott either other than you would have Princess to help with the baggage and the transfers. I find the pre and post cruise add ons offered by all cruise lines is about double what you would pay if you planned it yourself.

If you post what you want to do, I think people here or are the Los Angeles forum at TripAdvisor would be able to provide better answers to your question.

Men were in jeans and t shirts in the MDR on the Sea in December.

My husband asked me why he had to bring collared shirts and dress pants, he doesn't wears jeans but he wears cargo pants.

People were more dressed up in Chefs Table and Manfredi's

We also used Alla tours in St. Petersburg--a group of perhaps 12? Customized as needed--but we agreed to what was planned.

Great guide and saw all the highlights--with early entry into the Hermitage--AND it was still packed!

We will be on the Viking Star Venice to Athens in March and appreciate all the information you posted as it will be very helpful for our cruise. We arrive early on the day of embarkation and have the Viking air/transfers so are set there. We depart at 11pm so have much of the day open. I am wondering if Viking offers any transfers/shuttles from the ship to the Rialto Bridge or St. Marks Square area during the day we will be docked in Venice. We do not plan to do any of the fee based excursions offered in Venice but want to wander on our own. Thank you for any information on the arrival day in Venice.

You will need to do something with your luggage as you don't want to drag it around. Below is the info on the baggage storage at Piazzalle Roma--where you can pick up the vaporetto which I would ride all the way to St. Marks. Then walk to the Rialto bridge and then follow the signs to the Railroad Station/Piazzalle Roma. This way is very well marked--not the other way.

The Piazzale Roma (where buses and taxis enter and leave Venice). Click here for a Google satellite map with a pushpin icon that shows the location of the deposito bagagli office. (Note: The office is separate from the Cooperativa's waterside headquarters building.) **

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-left-luggage.htm

Piazzalle Roma also has the every 20 minute express bus to the airport for 8 euro each.

I believe on our China river boat tour, the wine was poured into water glasses, not stemmed wine glasses--but a glass of wine in the lounges was poured in a stemmed glass.

On the Sea we had stemmed wine glasses at lunch and dinner at the buffet, MDR, Manfredi's and Chef's Table.

If asked, the server would show you the label of what was being poured. More details provided at Chef's table and Manfredi's.

We didn't realize that the little card sitting on our dresser was an invitation to the meet and mingle until 3 days after it happened. We were travelling with friends who had also signed up but didn't realize it too.

I really wanted to meet the people we had been discussing the cruise with too!

As someone who cruise for the first time in 1975, I don't think you will find it like it was then--but prices aren't what it was like then either--$600/person for a six day cruise in a VERY VERY small cabin.

But--no kids, no photographer, no casino (which meant I saved about $20). Crew was changing out during our cruise, so some dining room staff had problems using the digital ordering system--in fact, breakfast took over an hour that day due to poor server--then we had him that afternoon for tea. He had problems there too!

We are hoping to book this following our cruise in August. Wondering approximately what time of day we will arrive at our hotel in Kensington area following the stops at Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Salisbury? Do you think we could plan on arriving by 6:00 pm?

We arrived at our hotel, just a block away from the front entrance to Buckingham Palace about 6--so you should get there a bit earlier unless lots of fellow passengers in hotels on the east side of London.

You would really want to use "the tube" to get around London to avoid the heavy street traffic. A friend in London last spring said she and her husband could walk faster than the HOHO.

I read reviews that said do NOT buy the London City Pass--but I think we would have saved money if we had.

You may want to check out: https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/ for tours and transfers.

We used the International Friends transfer from Southampton to London that includes stops at Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Salisbury and as we were the last to be dropped off, we had a narrated driving tour of London too.

It also offers transfers directly to Southampton and one with a stop at Stonehenge.

Senior citizen rates too!

https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/

Viatour offers this too--but I think it was cheaper to book directly with the tour provider, International Friends.

We are platinum Princess Cruisers and sailed with Viking in December (Athens to Venice). Very impressed. The specialty restaurants that are free were much better than those on Princess. We didn't miss the casino or the photographer or champagne art auctions. The shows were good--some I thought were as good as some we have seen on Princess--others only so so. The spa was wonderful--no charge for some of the areas that Princess would charge for.

I thought the buffet got boring for breakfast after about day 3 -- but full room service breakfast is available to all cabin classes.

We were in port every day and walked 3 to 9 miles each day--so we were not up late and can't say what the night life is like.

We cruised with friends that have cruised many lines, including Oceania, and they thought that the only thing Oceania had over Viking was Nobu, one of its specialty restaurants.

We usually pick the itinerary before the cruiseline but will be looking to see if Viking is sailing an itinerary we are interested in.

We were also looking at this hotel to stay pre-cruise in September. Do you know if you must book a special fly and cruise package to get free airport shuttle and free port shuttle, or is this available with any room booking? We will be arriving into Long Beach Airport after 8pm the night before our cruise and will be cruising out of the San Pedro Port the next morning. Do you know if the shuttle operates that late at night?

Here's the hotel's info about cruise rates:

http://www.goldensailshotel.com/long_beach_cruise_hotel_free_parking/

the hotel is fairly old, but appears to be well maintained--as a local that lives less than a mile away, I drive by it a lot and used to be there frequently for activities in the ballroom (cotillion classes for my kids). Have no idea regarding condition of rooms.

Taxi is approximately $35 or Uber is approximately $15.:)

That would have been my guess as a cab from my house to LGB is around $20 depending on the traffic and the port is quite a bit further away.

Uber sounds like the way to go!

Have you heard good or bad about the Courtyard Marriott at the airport on Lakewood?

The hotel is only a couple of years old. It shares its parking lot with The Habit (greater hamburgers), California Fish Grill, Starbucks, and a chain sandwich shop, perhaps Phillies steak (we always go to The Habit).

Due to its proximity to the Long Beach Airport , it probably offers a free shuttle to/from it, but not the port.

We are staying at Hilton Long Beach. There is a Catholic Church about a mile half away. Is it ok to walk or should we try Uber or Uber to a different church. Thank you

Yes, walk on Ocean Blvd before you head north on Olive to St. Anthony's

Or take an Uber to St. Bartholomew's to see a residential part of Long Beach