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You can ask Viking for a deviation. Fee isn’t much. Last time I did it. $100 pp. still used Viking air, but gave up transfers and booked my own hotel saved a lot of money. Viking extensions are expensive, but convenient. You can. See London without Viking. You never run out of things to do in London. I have been there many times. It’s an amazing city. You can easily use public transportation. Get a good map. Decide what to do and go. Have a good time.

Sailing in the Med, there are many ports. Repackaging the ports is enough to call the itinerary new. It is new for Viking. If you have sailed many times on the Med, you will likely revisit places that you have previously visited. That can be interesting. Do something different. Since most people cruise on Viking to take excursions. Take a different excursion. I have visited many Med ports many times. On my last Med cruise in May, we often enjoyed skipping tours and just finding lunch onshore or do some shopping. Before you sail, look at info about the port. Decide what you want to do.

Entertainment can vary depending upon what’s available from entertainment booking agents. I have been on the same ship more than once. One time the entertainment is great. Next time it isn’t very good. If you are looking for big production groups, Viking is not it. Stick to the bigger mass market ships. The in-house entertainment is ok, but small. I was on Mars in August. Some of nightly shows were ok. Best was the cruise director singing. Some were bad. On Viking, onboard entertainment is mainly lecturers, some old movies, and music. Trivia happened daily at 12:30. Never went. I was on shore or at lunch. Evening lecturer was daily at 6:30 pm. Never went. I was at dinner. You can watch them later on cabin tv. Some were good. Some weren’t. It’s a mixed bag. Port talks happened the day before the port usually at 5ish. Best entertainment was the piano player and the duo that performed daily in the living room and at daily tea. We were in a cold climate. The pool was covered. However, the indoor temperatures were too cool to use the main pool. I did use the indoor spa pool. It’s very small. You tend not to stay there for a long time. It was best when ship was in port. If what I described suits you, you might like Viking. If you want excellent entertainment, go to New York City or London. Skip the cruise.

Until Viking pays for your ticket, those flights can change many times. Once you agree to flights, you can request that Viking ticket you. Even then, your flights can change. Airlines often change times, equipment, delay, or cancel. Viking air will get you to the cruise. I have used Viking Air many times. It may not be the most direct route or best times. However, I always got to the cruise and got home. Relax.

I just sailed on Viking Mars. The included excursions in Iceland were ok, but rather short. To really see the spectacular places, take some of the optional tours or book independently. Be aware that some tours aren’t guided. If a tour is described as at leisure, self guided, or set your own pace, you are on your own. Viking considers letting you get off a tender and walk around to be a shore excursion. We had this happen in Greenland. Shore excursion manager said that ports in Greenland don’t have enough people to work as guides. Included excursion is on your own. Only get a real person guide if you buy optional tour. Not exactly what I expected.

Do your homework before sailing. Bruges is easy to access by train. There is a free shuttle from the Bruges train station to the center of town. Lots to see. Canal ride is a must do. I really enjoyed Bruges. Print map or download it on your device. It’s easy to get lost.

I have booked gty on many cruise lines, not Viking. It’s a bet. Sometimes you get an upgrade. Sometimes you get the cabin category that you booked. No telling when or where you will get a cabin assigned. I have also had a cabin asssigned and changed 3 times. You have no say. You should only book gty if you can save substantial money. Never book a category below what is acceptable. I have been lucky booking gty. I have had some nice upgrades. Never really had a bad cabin or location. On Viking, booking a gty usually doesn’t save you much. As I have aged, cabin location and size has become more important. On Viking, we book a specific cabin. If you like to gamble, book gty. You may get lucky.

we just did iconic Iceland, Greenland, and Canada. First week sailing around Iceland was spectacular. The scenery was beautiful. It was very cold. We just bundled up and had a great time. The second week, Greenland and Canada, was less desirable. I didn’t mind having sea days. I didn’t like the ports. Greenland is not ready for tourists. Viking shouldn’t go there on their ocean cruise ships. Not enough guides available, no taxis, no shuttles, no info. I felt like we were on 2 different cruises. The first week was good. Second week was waste of time and money.

We were on Mars in August. We booked our allotted alternative dining times. 2 in Manfredi’s and 2 in Chefs table. When we embarked there was a reservation person showing the schedule for the various Chefs table menus. We changed our 2 chefs table to other nights. We went to Asian Panorama and Great Britain. We had bad service both nights. I don’t want to take 2+ hours for dinner. One night we got tired of waiting for dessert, we left. We went to Manfredi’s using the 2 reservations that we made online. Had a good time both times. We really liked the Restaurant for dinner. Service was good.

I prefer Oceania larger ships, Marina and Riviera. Vista looks beautiful, but very noisy.

I cruised in August. Included tours were good and bad. Some were really good. Some were not. Most were ok, nothing special. I really disliked self guided tours. I am not a guide. I made the mistake of thinking that a guide would provide commentary. Wow, was I wrong. I went to port talks to get info. Unfortunately shore excursion reps often gave misinformation. No maps given. QR codes? I tend to not use my phone on vacation. My phone plan doesn’t include cruise ships. My advice is research before cruise, print maps, know what you want to see, and learn what type of transportation is available in each port.

That’s great. I have seen men in shorts asked to change into long pants. That was before the pandemic. We have been on several cruises since the pandemic. I have noticed that people are dressing more casually. Jeans, sneakers, sandals, etc. are often seen at dinner. Oceania still refuses to allow men in shorts in the grand dining room. Ok at night at the buffet. Windstar is all about relaxing. Relaxing dress codes makes sense.

On Windstar, there are no crowds anywhere. It is not like the other cruise lines. The laundry service is free and fast. We put our laundry bag out when we go to breakfast. It usually is returned later same day or next morning. They do laundry every day. On last full day of the cruise, I send out laundry. I have it folded. Just put in suitcase and go home. You can skip that laundry day after going home from a cruise. Just flew home yesterday from a cruise, not Windstar. I am writing this in between loads of laundry. Next cruise is Windstar.

on Mars now. For those using wheelchairs and walkers, there are some places where it would be more accessible if there were automatic door openers. On deck 7 as you walk aft past the winter garden and pool, there are doors that don’t have automatic openers. They are stiff and difficult to open. One has a broken pane of glass next to it. This is a real hazard.

In a PV with door and window. It would be better if there was a tie back to move the curtain away from the door. We solved the problem using a shoe lace and hooked the curtain to the lamp on the desk.

On Mars now. I love the ship. Our cabin PV1 is a great layout. In May, on Viking Mississippi, we had PJS1. While the Penthouse suite has more space, we found that the Penthouse veranda was a smarter use of space. The only criticism of PV is the tv should have a swivel. It is opposite the bed. If you are sitting on the chair, you cannot see it. I love Mamsen’s. It would be nice if it were continuously open. The bar in the living room is open. However, our cabin is very close to the Explora Lounge. We love stopping there for coffee/food. Waffles are better than the World Cafe. In comparison to Oceania, the food on Viking is good. Oceania is better. Oceania specialty restaurants are excellent. Not that thrilled with Manfredi’s or Chefs Table. I prefer the Terrace Buffet on Oceania. Oceania servers give you food. You don’t handle any serving utensils. Viking buffet is you serve yourself. Passing those serving utensils among the guests turns me off.

I am not vegan. However, I have certain foods that I cannot eat. At the start of the meal, server asks if you have any restrictions. They substituted similar items.

I am on Mars. I researched the ports and tour descriptions before sailing. I had little success finding accurate info. Port talks onboard don’t always give you good info. For example, if you loved an excursion, tell us why. If the excursion didn’t meet expectations, explain what happened. A typical example is today’s shore excursion in L’Anse aux meadows, Newfoundland, Canada. When I was looking at Viking website before I booked, there were 3 excursions listed. One was demanding, and the other two were easy. Once booked, the only excursion listed was the demanding Viking experience. My spouse has mobility issues. We never sign on for a demanding tour. Demanding is not for us. We don’t want to slow tours down. However, since it was the only tour, we booked it. We figured that we could get more info once onboard. Perhaps we could just ride the bus and skip the long walk. At port talk, Josh the assistant shore excursion person, insisted that you couldn’t just ride the bus. You had to get off the school bus and walk the entire boardwalk path. Pickup was at a different location. There was also a very steep set of steps from the visitors center to the walkway. Josh told us that we should walk to Norstead. He said that it was a easy walk. We were torn whether or not to go ashore. This morning I called Parcs Canada. I was told that the school buses ran as shuttles. Drop off and pick up any stop. We were relieved. We went to the visitors center. Had a great time looking at the displays. We also enjoyed looking out at the meadows. The highlight was watching the moose. We got back on the bus at visitors center and went on to Norstead. Then took bus back to the tender. There were several guests with limitations who skipped the port. How sad. please share info. It may help guests decide which excursions are best suited for them.

Our plane was delayed 2 hours. That got us into KEF at 9 am. Went through immigration and got our luggage. Viking host took our luggage. It was delivered to the ship. We were escorted to a bus. Bus took us to the ship. By the time we got on the ship, it was close to 11am. Dropped carryons in our cabin and went to the World Cafe.

Did the British menu at Chefs Table tonight. The food was ok. The service was very slow. We started at 6 and left at 8:30. Skipped dessert.

Every cruise is different. We are on Mars. We made reservations online for Manfredi’s and Chefs table. Once onboard we got to see the menus for Chefs Table. Dropped our first night reservation. Menu didn’t appeal. Booked some others. We ate the Asian Panorama menu. It was weird. The wines were awful. We were not impressed. We met other guests who also didn’t like that menu. We have dined at Manfredi’s twice on this cruise. Both nights were excellent.

I use a kindle most of the time. On cruises, I visit the library on the first day. Pick up a book. On Viking, there are books in many places on the ship. There doesn’t seem to be any order to those displayed. There is a guest book exchange. Not many books there. I have found many art books. They are beautiful, but heavy. As for fiction, the selection is not recent. It’s no wonder that there was an old bookmark in the book. I have been on Mars more than a week. I keep looking for a new read. Nothing. Luckily I have books on my kindle.

It’s hard to pass up free air. It can be a good incentive. Be ready to fly some crazy routes. We have used Viking Air several times. You may get lucky and get nonstops. if you run into an air problem, Viking will help.

Having already seen Iceland on a cruise, just fly in, rent a car, and drive. Get a good map and research where you want to stop. It takes approximately 30 hours to drive the ring road. Figure driving 4-5 hrs a day, stop to see the attractions and enjoy local cuisine, and book hotels along the way. It should be a great trip.

Only shorts are not allowed in restaurants at dinner. Wear whatever you like. Windstar is casual.