NanciEA

We can book first in our group of eight. Do I select option 2 - "dine with another booked party", or 3 - share my table with other guests"? I have the other cabin's booking numbers.

We booked using custom air. We had to pay a $100 each deviation fee as we wanted to arrive in port a day early. No transfer is included, but we will take of this with our hotel. We are departing the day of departure, so Viking said they would not charge us for this transfer, although apparently this is not standard and I had to ask for it. Usually a deviation either way negates both transfers.

We did this trip five years ago. We found St. Petersburg and Moscow extremely interesting, but we really enjoyed the ports during the cruising part of the trip. We loved sailing through the countryside and seeing the smaller towns. President Obama was actually in St. Petersburg for a summit the same time we were there, so Americans were treated fine. However, this was all only a few months before the Sochi winter olympics and Putin was on his best behavior. We all know what happened immediately following the olympics. But then we went to Egypt this past January and we're going to Cuba this coming winter, so we're not easily put off by state department warnings.

I don't think they had anything other than life jackets on board. We knew we would be snorkeling most days, so we purchased inflatable snorkel vests online just to make sure we had some. My DH rarely used his, but I used mine every time I was in the water. It was much easier to relax and snorkel especially if the water was not completely calm, which it never was. There are currents to contend with.

To answer the question to my post from the first page, yes, the couple with the "reserved" table arrived at 7:30 every evening. After the first few evenings of numerous cruisers attempting to sit at "their" table, the waiter pored their wine before the dining room opened at 7:00. This way when people tried to sit there he would tell them it was taken and point to the wine. Sometimes you just have to laugh at people's arrogance and move on. Although I do feel for the cruiser who posted they had been asked to leave a table. How sad.

There was a "reserved" table on our last Viking River cruise. We know because one evening early in the cruise we were the first ones in the door to the dining room as it was opened. We went to a "prime" table by a window and the waiter said someone was sitting there. We said "we're the first ones in the dining room!" The waiter insisted we sit elsewhere. Of course we did. Who wants a hostile waiter. A couple came in around 7:30 and claimed the table. We noticed this happened every evening. It became a running joke amongst us and our fellow cruisers. Of course on the last night several of us saw the couple profusely thank the waiter with a large envelope! I complained to Viking after the cruise about this incident (and a few other issues) after the cruise. Viking insisted this should not have happen on one of their ships, but we all know money talks.

We went in January and had only a brief rain shower one day, and the seas were perfectly calm the entire week. Maybe just luck. We were on the North Central itinerary because it fit our schedule. The crew said this itinerary tended to be somewhat calmer than the Western because because it does not cruise on the western side of Isabela. They also said the North Central had more opportunities for kayaking, snorkeling, etc. My Silverseas brochure lists the differences between the two weeks. I don't think you can chose wrong.

When I booked my flights previously mentioned in this thread, I was able to select my seats while I was on the phone with the Viking Air rep. I was looking at seat availably on my computer for my flights and just told her what I wanted. This was nine months out and in business class.

I'm tempted to book one of the car services mentioned because I checked and there will be seven ships in port the day we disembark. Besides the Sirena, there will be a Disney, a RC, a MSC, and Norwegian, and two Carnival. Our flight isn't until 1:30, so maybe a taxi's or Uber (We are fans.) won't be an issue if we wait until the last minute to disembark.

I agree with the above poster. If you have not been to Amsterdam previously and you have the time, I would fly in several days early. (This also makes traveling much less stressful in case of airline delays.) Even with out the transfers, you can do a pre-stay on your own much cheaper. The taxis from the airport are easy and there is so much to do in Amsterdam. The two major museums and the Anne Frank house are the top attractions, but also just wandering the streets and the canal cruise are also popular.

We were in Egypt in January and I would definitely suggest Abu Simbel as a top priority. We went to the Temple at Philae during the day and it was my favorite temple. The one temple we toured at night was very crowded and not as nice. We did not have an option for the hot air ballon ride in Luxor, because our travel company did not offer them. They were concerned about safety, and not just because of last year's deadly accident. The tombs on the West Bank were my favorite tour on our entire trip. Not to be missed. I'd skip the dinner on the Nile. If you stay at the Four Seasons, you'll see the Nile from your balcony!

My son is an infectious disease physician, and he recommends my husband and I get all of the vaccines possible and keep them up to date. Thus we have had Hep A & B, typhoid, yellow fever, etc. If an immunization is available, we've had it. We tend to travel to some countries where many American's don't go. (We were in Egypt this past January.) My son currently works at a large university hospital, and has perhaps seen more than other ID physicians, and is thus overly cautious about vaccines.

I sent an email to "tell us" and although I did not receive a personal email response, I did receive an updated invoice and the departure transfer is now included. All is well and I will definitely contact Viking this way in the future if I have any issues.

I just checked my updated statement from last week. Even after I added the air component it still says "Departure Transfer (Optional) $49 for each of us. I'll call Viking and see what they say.

I posted a question about business class air on this thread on June 27, and I have since then (Friday) booked through Viking Air. Here is my experience. I did what Peregina651 suggested and asked what it would cost to add Business Air to my cruise for April 2019. The price was over $2855 LESS per person than I could find on either the airlines (I searched several options.), or Kayak. Then I paid $100 per person deviation to fly in a day early, as well as $50 per person for Air Plus. I live in a small city, although I knew there were several one-stop options from my hometown and this was what I wanted. The Air Plus was worth it, as Vikings original option had two stops out bound, which added numerous hours of travel to what is a long flight with one stop. After talking with her supervisor (so she said...) she offered me my preferred one stop flights for an additional $750 per person. I also got to pick my seats, so I'm happy about that. The agent said business class to Asia is particularly high now and it was probably not going down, so I booked. I had been checking the fares for several months and they had not budged. Viking Air saved me a lot of money - about $2000 per person - even with the additional fees.

Two minor negatives for me concerning Viking Air. One, I still had to pay an additional $49 per person for transfers on the departure day, despite leaving the final day of the cruise. I did pay it because the airport is not near the port. I understand about arriving a day early and thus no transfer. We will get ourselves to the ship. But the last day is not a deviation, so it seems like I should not be charged. I not much in the overall cost of the cruise plus air, but a pet peeve of mine.

The other thing is the use of hiring non native English speakers for Viking Air Plus. If you're paying a premium to talk with someone, it would be nice not to have to struggle to understand them. She seemed to giggle a lot which became somewhat annoying on an hour long call.

There are 70+ reviews of the Silver Galapagos on Cruise Critic. (Research - Reviews) Lots of information if you are interested in this cruise.

We did this cruise in January 2017, so maybe I can help since the OP seems to be off line currently. The zodiac trip for the trip to the ship after you arrive at the airport in Baltra is a dry landing, unless a little water splashes up. From the dock to the ship. Some landings during the week were wet and others were dry. It all depended on the activity. The crew is great and there will be plenty of notice on what to wear and wet verse dry landings.

Can some one tell me the steps involved working with Viking Air? I did not originally include air with our cruise next spring. Prices are high for business class so I thought I would check with Viking to see what they offered. Do I have to add the air to my package to even talk to them? We would do Viking Air Plus (small departure airport, so I need specific flights, plus we plan to arrive a day early). When do I have to pay that additional fee? Before I find out their price for business class?

We have done several land tours with Tauck and are interested in the itineraries which use Ponant ships, especially the new ships coming online. We would be interested to know if Tauck ever charters entire ships. We've talked to other Tauck travelers and read reviews on their website that there can sometimes be difficulties with the mix of nationalities on the Ponant ships. The repetition of everything in two languages would become old for us quickly.

I just looked back at the daily itineraries I saved and snorkeling was offered four out of the six days. Plus a fifth if you opted for the beach excursion and wanted to snorkel from the beach. We also took our own masks and snorkels and used the ship's fins and wet suits. We also took "skins" we own and wore those everyday as well. We wore them not only to keep warm, but also for sun protections. We went in early January.

For wet landings we wore our water shoes with our hiking shoes in a day pack. Our group left our wet shoes near the beach with a towel when we set out on the hike. As said above, they give your all the details at the talk the night before each day's excursions. I am susceptible to motions sickness, so fortunately the seas were like glass everyday. We went in January on the North Central itinerary, so both of those may have been a factor. I am also susceptible to mosquitos - if there is one around it will fine me - so I packed two cans of Deet. I never needed it. Again, time of year could be a factor.

This was a very busy trip for us as we did both morning and afternoon excursions everyday. We always signed up for the more strenuous hikes, but on the last afternoon we decided to go for the easier/shorter hike so we could enjoy a cocktail at sunset. Every other day we dashed to our room to get ready for the briefing and dinner. We loved our cruise and wanted to experience as much as we could.

If I remember correctly the shore trips were anything up to about two hours. They usually offered "more strenuous" and "less strenuous" hikes and the "less" were always shorter. The snorkeling trips seemed to be less than two hours. If they were done from a beach, then you could relax there until the next tender if you were tired of snorkeling. The kayak trips were about an hour.

The dress code was casual, although most people seemed to change to something a little nicer than their "daywear" for dinner. Of course our "daywear" was usually wet - swimsuits, wetsuits, etc., so changing was a necessity! There were definitely no formal nights.

I don't remember any chance to Scuba. For snorkeling we wore lightweight "skins" we brought ourselves. The tops were long sleeve and the bottoms to our ankles. There were great for us in January. Wearing them also meant we never got sunburnt, and the sun can be intense.

Gleeful Girl, my DH and I booked this cruise directly with Oceania, so that is probably why they emailed me about the change to Havana. We have friends on the wait list, so for now, we will wait and see if there are any further itinerary changes. My biggest fear is we make our final payment (Oct. 15) and then they cancel all of the Cuba ports and make it a "Caribbean" cruise. We like the one week, Sunday to Sunday, aspect of the cruise as this works well with my DH's work schedule, and the timing in January is a positive. My DH does not have much interest in visiting Cuba, but agreed to this cruise because our other Oceania cruise was wonderful. We often do land tours, but for this destination we wanted the luxury (and food!) of Oceania along with a "taste" of Cuba.

I got an email today saying our itinerary for Sirena, (Jan. 13 departure) has been changed. There will no longer be an overnight in Havana (or a second day) because of a "berthing conflict". They have added a second day in Cienfuegos. I hope they don't drop Havana altogether as that is the main reason for our selecting this cruise. :(