Cisterna

$300 for the two of you ,that's nice if they would have told you before you selected your excursions! What the heck are you going to do with that! Can you use them for massages or is that a private company not part of the OBC ?. Also have you seen any on board cooking classes scheduled during your sea days? We have done a few on Orion and they were really fun .

Dave - I'm sure it might be too soon to answer this - Hubbby needs to check in with the office - mostly emails ~ Ho Hum - it will be the start of tax season and he is a CPA - How is the Wifi - and what is the best time of day to use it. I would imagine New Zealand will be best since we will always be close to land vs, when we make the ocean crossing to/from Australia. And I do know you are using it for this blog 🤣 Thanks Kristi

Exactly! They must take it to a currendcy exchange, lose some worth, and their time! Same with Australia

Have you noticed if people are tipping the guides and drivers?

Well I'm going to beat a dead horse. We have been on 45+ cruises, Ocean, River, Expedition, as well as cattle ships. We are very flexible and understanding, can easily make lemonade out of lemons. My frustration is not being told , especially when the change in port is known at time of booking , months in advance and in fact when asked being told the port has not changed. Corporate, when pushed, admitted it is a different tinerary for our specific sailing. A notice to passengers of a planned itinerary change is customary

Train from Geelong to Melbourne?

You will find it here: https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/2-230626_BookingAndSaleTermsAndConditions.pdf Advanced, Cancelled or Delayed; Acts of God; Strikes; Other Changes: VRC and the Carrier reserve the right to withdraw and/or cancel a tour or to make changes in the itinerary and hotel accommodations whenever, in their sole judgment, the conditions warrant it. Thanks for trying - but I specifically said.. change a major PORT on the itinerary that is NOT due to any cause, such as weather, war, famine, strike etc... You just reiterated the safety protocol issue which does not apply when a major port change is made as is is on our itinerary. -

Melbourne is basically 1.5 hours car drive and roughly 1.1/4 hr train ride away from /Geelong. Not exactly close especially if on a cruise ship without an economical way to get there.. No tender.

Would someone please show me where it specifically says Viking can change a major PORT on the itinerary that is NOT due to any cause, such as weather, war, famine, stick etc. months prior to the cruise beginning! I know there is a caveat stating excursions may not all be offered and subject to change, but cannot find anything that says a port can be changed (unless for circumstances beyond control) . To change from a 15 hour port visit in MELBOURNE to GEELONG is totally unacceptable, especially when Melbourne is one of the highlight ports of the tour.

Not true - I have been using private messages for years! In 2016 we established a group of 40 people thru our roll call and set up many pre-cruise dinners and private tours. Same was done in 2019 with an Asia cruise and established a group of 50! Now it seems cc is forcing us to disclose private information to connect to people! This is ridiculous!

Correct ~ Ok ~ enough of this ... let's think happy thoughts and start making an excursion list!

Yes and the caveat is you must read the fine print on the insurance. Many have added a provision that bankruptcy or insolvency is not covered!, Chase sapphire recently added that exclusion to their trip insurance. City Bank dropped their travel insurance trip cancellation/interruption years ago.

Getting disgusted booked this cruise date to be able to arrange NYE in Sydney - that option sold old very fast and Viking no help in even suggesting the possibility of a waiting list , the other reason we booked this ship instead of others is that it was going to Melbourne ! It DOES NOT GO TO MELBOURNE ! We go to Geelong !!!! We are there 8am-11pm! Taking a train is a possibility but the logistics of figuring all that out is not part of the experience I wanted, let alone the expense. I wanted to experience Melbourne, especially food tours, and nightlife. This is a BIG Asterick that should have been on our itinerary when this date was was one that could be selected. This is not an itinerary change~ the ports are booked at least 2 years in advance! NZ to Sydney ports in Melbourne!!

Hi fellow cruisers. Has anyone looked at all the excursions being offered and the prices. I am very disappointed that a few of the tours I wanted to take are not listed, however they were listed in the list of optional excursions... I know it always says excursions are subject to change ... Booooo MELBOURNE CULINARY JOURNEY DURATION: 5 HOURS 30 MINUTES ANCESTRAL LANDS OF THE MĀORI DURATION: 8 HOURS This is very similar to what Robin did on GMA and covers a lot of the area and culture - I am looking to other guarantee return to ship tour companies to see what is available. We have done this on other Viking Ocean, Windstar, Princess etc and had a great time (saved some money met others on the ship and actually had better tours than ships offered). Does anyone know how to determine where we dock - especially for Melbourne - since we will be there until 11 PM! Is nightlife even possible?