jiminyC_fan

 

jiminyC_fan, we have to meet one day :) I followed your Homelands last year ;)

What do you think? :)

 

Actually I would love that! I remember you! I am in the process of weeding through the cruises. I hate to say it but I didn't get enough Norway, LOL. I am thinking about an Into the Midnight Sun or maybe a Med cruise.

 

Had the same experience on our river cruise in 2016 Grand European.

From all wonderful couples of our age and younger we clicked with the couple of being 20 years older of us. Absolutely amazing people! We write each other regularly and finally planing to visit them. We all have busy schedule :). We met some young couples that “older” than us too :( we were very sorry for them. Age is just a number.

 

I love that you understand and experienced something similar. I will never forget them or the memories. In fact, I treasure them.

 

Well, maybe you didn't read enough. Some people dance their night away at Tarshavn, some going to Mumsens for the pea soup at midnight, some playing board games or cards, some having great long conversation with cruise mates over drink, and some go to bed by 10 pm or maybe they are not in bed but on their veranda enjoying a beautiful night...the choice is yours :champagne-toast::champagne-toast::champagne-toast:

 

Beautifully written. Makes me want to go back. Ahhh, the memories.

 

I cringe every time I read about age being a factor. We went on a HAL to Alaska a few years ago and was warned that it was a cruise full of walkers and wheelchairs. We were in our early 50's. We met a couple in their 80's and became instant friends. We traveled plane, train, bus and ship together. They told us at the end of our cruise that they were taking their final trip together. He was diagnosed with ALS. The point is they didn't hold us back. It was one of my favorite cruises.. Age means nothing.

yeah, this could happened. We arrived early morning but our suitcases arrived late night. We always have fresh change with us but definitely not

evening clothes. We also like to dress up a little for evening so you can imagine how uncomfortable we felt when we arrived to the Restaurant wearing jeans, t-shirts, and snickers :(. Well, it seems that nobody noticed this and we explained the situation to a couple next to us. We ended up having a great dinner with them.

Great story!

I’m very outgoing and my DH not and Viking was great match for us. We’ve met quite a few couples where I and one of the other spouses will chat away and our better halves would smile to each other with understanding smiles :halo:

BTW, we just booked our 3rd cruise with Viking! If I could only survive Air Department :(

In other words, perfect match for all personalities.:D

There are many things that can be more troublesome in the dining room than what someone at some other table is wearing. There can be unpleasant political conversations that you overhear, unpleasant discussions of medical conditions, excessive loudness, miserable people who complain about every dish, people at a nearby table who insist on engaging your table of 2 in conversation even though you would really like to chat with your spouse, etc. etc. It seems to me that having your own enjoyment compromised because of what someone else is wearing is self-defeating and entirely unnecessary. Maybe their suitcase never made it on the ship. Live and let live.

(y)

We will be on Viking Sea in early May and have signed up with TJ Tours for St. Petersburg. We were hoping to sign up for other tours with them but they require a minimum of 16 people which did not look like it was going to happen. Were you able to find another tour company with a smaller minimum.

I was never able to find other companies but once in SP we learned that our tour company had tours in a couple of cities on our Homelands cruise. Our group were so extremely happy with Alla tours and were kicking ourselves for not booking with them in other ports. You might want to check out TJ Tours website a bit better. Perhaps they offer the same.

 

I think Viking sounds like the perfect cruise line for introverts who enjoy a good chat but who also value their space. That was emphatically NOT the case on the other cruise line.

I am extremely shy and I think you could call me an introvert because of it. Viking was a great match for us.

I don't understand your statement. For every port Viking publishes "A Helpful Street Guide" which has plenty of info and room for notes. Sorry you didn't know about the complimentary shuttles but we've always found them to be available. [ATTACH]414651[/ATTACH]

 

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I agree with you. I felt Viking does a great job. I knew every port that a shuttle was provided. If I am correct, the morning announcement provided it as well. I feel that it is my job to research the ports before leaving so I am always armed with my notes and the ones that Viking or any other cruise line provides.

I'm another cheerleader of Alla. We had a small group of 6. They were easy to work with, always responded quickly to any questions, they knew how to avoid crowds, small groups, on time for pick up (wait, they were always early and so were the people in our group so we left early), nice touring vehicle. I believe all the tour companies in SP offer discounts if you can get X amount of fellow CC cruisers to book with them. They had two tours for us one was easy and the other one was more intense. We chose the latter and so glad we did. You certainly want to see and do all that you can the days that you are there. If I remember correctly, they are all much cheaper than Viking.

Thanks for the laugh Geosez!! Unfortunately it wasn't ignorance, happened more then once and she announced to anyone who could hear her (after she was told to wear shoes) lets see them make me. She was dressed nicely. Go figure. Maybe she just liked the attention.

Wow, I am at a loss for words. She was certainly a attention seeker. You aren't even allowed in ANY restaurant off ship without shoes. I wish I they would have enforced it. Clothes I am forgiving but going without shoes, not so much. :eek:

Here we go again.......unfortunately. Not once on our cruise did we see anyone dressed inappropriately at meal times. Scruffy seems a bit exaggerated to make a point. It's quite sad that some think that choice of clothing makes or breaks a cruise. I'm too busy enjoying my cruise to let anything so silly ruin it.

A polite "excuse me, may I have a cup of coffee" should solve it.

Once we check in to the hotel we hit the ground running. We don't stop until night. We never compute the time it is at home. We strictly go by the time it is at our destination so no napping.

Well Dauntless, while we are experienced in cruising and a two hour meal is nothing that we prefer or want.

Personally, I would not mind it if the server asked for our dessert order early. I guess there are differing opinions on this matter and it would be hard for a server to know all of the guests preferences.

HAL used to keep green apples in their staterooms. Not sure if they still do because we haven't been on them for years. I thought that was pretty nice.

We were once on a cruise that encountered a hurricane. It rapidly changed paths during the night so we had to ride out some high swells (which we love). We take meclizine daily whether we need it or not. So, those that don't take something until the time is there suffered during the night and the entire day. It takes awhile to play catch up. Those of us that stay up on it daily enjoyed our day.

Do your own. [emoji1360]

 

 

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(y);):D

re: tipping

We have 5 adult kids, once each was able to drive & go out to eat with friends, I sat him or her down for some advice ...."You are not ready to eat out until you can afford to give the waitstaff a fair/decent tip." The two youngest sons spent a lot of hours working in restaurants, and have always grown up to be generous tippers. They also understand the value of working for tips- - & delivering good service. Personally, I like to tip...and to reinforce what we enjoyed on our tour. It should be easy to determine how much tip money we need since we have to register for all of our excursions (in advance).

I wish cruise critic had a "like" button.

We had a great day viewing kangaroos, koalas, a couple of wallabies an emu or two with a “barbie” lunch and a fascinating local aborigine who shared his great ancestry including a didgeridoo tune and boomerang throwing tips! Our guides were engaged and quite knowledgeable. Did you know that a kangaroo can “pause” gestation....This is a trip of a lifetime and I learn something everyday...even if if it is only the introduction to a new cocktail by a favorite bartender!

Awww, you explanation of your day gave me the goosebumps. What an awesome day! (and no, I didn't know that a kangaroo can pause gestation :D)

It is our habit over many cruises (>500 nights afloat) to carry small change to tip the tour guides and drivers (provided they did well, of course) and give a word of thanks as they stood at the front door of the coach at the end of excursions, normally 2 or 3 Euros, but up to 5 if the excursion was long or the guide was exceptionally good.

 

However, in our experience, a significant number of pax in ALL excursions did not tip, either by totally ignoring the guide as he/she stood at the coach front door, or by sneaking out the back door of the coach, thus able to give the guide a wide berth. I have even seen pax from the back door heading round the back of the coach so that they would not be seen! Here, "significant" means over 50%. Maybe even 75%. (Having spotted these people, it was interesting to observe their behaviour on other occasions, which was usually predictable, unedifying and allowed us to compose an impression (very general, sweeping and probably wrong?) of the behaviour of various nationalities. Funny how these folks always seem to pop up at the most unexpected moments! ! !)

 

So tipping at the end of excursions is a personal choice. Guides are always grateful, and most (not all) are worthy of what amounts to less than the cost of a cup of coffee. Or perhaps cups of coffee are more precious in some parts of the world!

How funny. We've noticed the same thing. It is quite obvious when they are skirting around the bus and not making eye contact with the guide. Some used us a barrier in order to avoid the guides all together.

In all honesty, Viking does have tipping guidelines in their paperwork so it should not be a surprise to anyone. Excuses are just that, excuses.

The private tours are great. They get you in earlier. Tours with a smaller group allowing for longer stops since you aren't waiting on a bus load getting on and off, handing off their tickets, bathroom stops are shorter and no waiting for stragglers. If I remember correctly it was cheaper than Viking. There are a few good companies. We toured with Alla tours which was perfect. We had six people in our group. Amazing.

Eidfjord was my favorite port. It's stunning. We opted not to take a ship sponsored tour. Instead we took a nature walk on our own that I had read about on here. It was wonderful being out in the fresh air, on our own, taking time to enjoy it all. We would do it again in a heartbeat. Unbelievable scenery. You stop at their visitor center and they will give you a map for the walk. The signage is excellent. They have two different walks that are color coded. We took the longer walk. Somehow we managed to double the length of time that it supposedly takes because we would stop and soaked it all up. We took the train to Oslo after Bergen so I felt that we didn't need to take the Flam Railway in Eidfjord.

This thread is 2-1/2 years old...just sayin’!

 

 

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LOL, oh well. I still side with their decision.:D

I side with Viking. Safety first.