dreamercruise

I remember that outside of Prague Airport, there was a bus stand to take you downtown. The bus was similar to Viking tour buses, but with luggage rack in front. Our hotel was within steps to the bus stop. The amazing part is that the bus fare was only $2USD per person! The comfort, convenience, and wait time are no different than taking a taxi (taxi stand adjacent). Just make sure you get local currency at the airport first.

Agree that Prague is amazing. Both Prague and Budapest can easily be done by yourselves (especially for convenience tailored to your desire and degree of fatigue): by walking and public transportations such as trams and buses (we took Uber as well, but not sure if Uber is still available). Years ago, we took a Grand European river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. Since there were more flights (and less expensive) to/from Prague than Budapest (guess the rive cruise guests took up all available flight slots), we flew to Prague first to spend 5 days there, then boarded a train (comfortable first class available for booking online) to Budapest, where we spend extra nights before boarding the ship. We took time doing all the local points of interests, combined with multiple free walking tours (just book online and pay good tips. Best tours ever, and sometimes better than Viking’s). We googled for best restaurants, tried all variations of beer, and had a great time.

Availability of some popular excursions can be a problem, as WC guests have first pick.

I do not understand how the OP’s original intent of comparing between two #1 rated cruise lines has turned into a debate of how Viking should name and charge guests for the “gratuities”. The way I look at the charge is that it is a part of the cruise fare. I trust that Viking pays their staff well according to their position/responsibility (fair). The “gratuities”, split in a fixed way among all staff (again,fair), are like extras (similar to overtime pay) that vary with the number of guests onboard (more people => more work => more pay). Any additional tips that I pay to specific staff is discretionary (my choice, my judgement, fair or not). So, Viking, keep adding the “gratuities” to my onboard account at end of cruise, thereby saving me the trouble of tracking one more thing to do. Back to the original topic - thank you, OP, for your thoughts about the two cruise lines. Think I am more convinced that Viking is a better choice for me.

My choice would be Scenic for Iceland. I have sailed Scenic strictly for expedition cruises to Antarctic and Arctic, and shall be taking the Greenland route (with 2 stops in Iceland) soon. I have also sailed three Viking’s non-expedition, regular ocean cruises (including a world cruise). When it comes to expedition cruises to polar regions, Iceland, Greenland, and exotic islands, I would no doubt choose Scenic over Viking for the luxury, itinerary, food, and full experience. The availability of helicopter ride (unfortunately prohibited in Arctic) is also a plus for Scenic. In terms of price, luxury line Scenic is not that much more expensive than premium line Viking. Sometimes, occasional promotions from Scenic and/or lack of such from Viking may close the price gap a little. A more important factor for my next choice of expedition cruise line is itinerary/availability. The next Scenic cruise I am eyeing for is one of those segments to the exotic islands. The only Viking expedition cruise I shall consider is the Great Lakes (15-day). As for regular ocean cruises, my vote would no doubt be Viking due to more affordable price for its great value and excellent design of ship space (public area with open view of ocean and comfortable, relaxing, convenient, and homey feel of public space). Both lines have superb customer service.

If you stay until Capetown, will you be able to do a safari and possibly stay in Capetown vicinity for a few more days to see Victoria Falls?

Try contacting tellus@vikingcruises.com. They have sympathetic ears, and may give you some discounts towards a future cruise; and if they do, you may request the discounts be applied to your current sailing as shipboard credits (to pay for gratuities, shore excursions, silver spirits, and other onboard expenses). I hope they can do more for you, so you can enjoy your Egypt cruise without any negative thoughts hanging over your head. It would be a shame if your frustration would stop you from coming back, because Viking cruise is a good product.

I prefer authentic sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves (steamed with uncooked sticky rice grains stuffed with meat or steamed with fried sticky rice mixed with meat inside leaves) over regular fried rice (not sticky rice). The lotus leaves give special flavor to the rice,

Added photos

Clay, Your photo of the mango cream desert confirms my earlier conclusion that the food in Chef Table varies a little, subject to interpretation of the chef at the time. The first and best ever mango desert that I tasted from Chef Table was on first day of last year’s World Cruise. Your looks like the filling is mixed with tapioca, so I suspect the presence of tapioca would make the filling drier, more fluffy, and less smooth. Mine was more like creamy and smooth egg custard filling in typical Portuguese egg custard tart but without the overly rich taste. Our Chef added a thin fruit jam layer, which enhanced the refreshing taste without making it too sweet. The outside shell in mine looks more crisp, I think. Any way, I think the Chef Table’s mango cream desert is one of the best Viking desert, especially that my most favorite fruit is mango.

After having been to Chef Table numerous times, I have concluded that the menu does not mean a whole lot (unless it contains lamb which I cannot tolerate). I find that for the same menu, the meals, in terms of taste, texture, presentation, and etc. are subject to each chef’s interpretation. Sometimes, they are very different than typical expectation (oh, whatever). It is like rolling a dice, 1/3 wow hit, 1/3 meh, and 1/3 acceptable. Still, it is an acceptable and welcoming alternative.

I would use Uber or Lyft to get me to JFK or EWR. You may want to google how long the ride takes and cushion time for unexpected traffic (big variable) crossing the tunnel from NYC to New Jersey. If you disembark at 8AM, there should be no problem making a 12:30 pm flight from EWR with 3+ hrs to spare. If you want to eliminate the risk of tunnel traffic, you may taxi or Uber to Grand Central Station to board a train (NJ coast line) directly (fare includes a connecting monorail) to EWR. Train ride is about 30 minutes total. The only traffic, in this case, is the relatively short, local NYC ride from cruise terminal to Grand Central Station. Above comment is based on the assumption that that your cruise terminal is in Manhattan and not somewhere in New Jersey.

Not many people can take such a far away trip last minute. If I were to take the trouble (shots, flight, and other logistics) of visiting South Africa, I would want the opportunity to do safari and Victoria Falls as well, but I doubt these land tours would be possible last minute.

Would someone know the amount of discounts for booking a 7-14 days cruise while onboard a Viking ship? I know the discounts are $500 per person for a cruise of 15 days or longer.

Try FV23 when booking cruise over phone, onboard ship, or through your travel agent. Cannot book with code online. I know code works for ocean cruises.

If 1. you arrange your own air or 2. do not have Viking air that arrives or departs on day of embarkation or disembarkation, or 3. do not have extension, you or your TA can call Viking to add air transfer to your reservation. You can purchase transfer for pre or post or both. Once you have air transfer indicated in your reservation, go to myvikingjourney dot com, and click under “manage my air”. Next, click on the transfer form and print it out. Complete the form and follow the instructions at the bottom of the form to decide which way you want to submit to Viking. I took a photo of my completed form and attach it to my email to Viking. Within a few days, I received a confirmation email from Viking.

My interpretation of Viking air transfer rule is that air transfer is included in extensions. I also arranged my own air, but Viking confirmed included air transfer for my pre-cruise extension. All I needed to do was to complete the request form to indicate my flight details. Perhaps, the Viking rep who charged you $60 made a mistake. It does not hurt to call Viking to request refund.

The majority (99%) of Viking clientele I met is highly educated, successful people, repeated customers, and most importantly, seasoned travelers. Don’t think they can be easily brainwashed. After having taken many cruises over the years, I have developed my taste in traveling and understand well my priorities, tolerances, and preferences. Not every cruise line is a perfect match. I do not drink. I do not utilize air transfer, and do not care too much about the included excursions. In fact, I think that making available optional shore excursion is Viking’s weakest point. However, Viking hits most of my top preferences, so I keep signing up for Viking cruises when there is a suitable itinerary. Price becomes lower in my ranking of preference, and early payment goes down further to bottom of this list. My situation is a data point for you.

Do not feel bad. I also missed out a lot $$$ of savings for not knowing to have a TA for the cash benefits, not just for Viking cruises but also other cruise lines. I think of the miss as educational cost. Important thing is to realize the savings in future bookings and any current bookings that you can change/fix. Don’t mean to add salt to wounds. Currently, my TA has a promotion which gives $200 per person for Viking river or ocean sailings, in addition to the $500 pp for cruises over 15 days long. Hope you can take advantage of the additional savings. The same TA also gives higher amounts of savings for sailings on other luxury cruise lines. Just in case you are not aware of another extra way to save. You know you can get additional savings (in addition to the above mentioned savings) if you book while onboard Viking ships. Lastly, don’t forget to check the CC thread “Viking Promotion Codes”. I normally book direct first, and then transfer bookings to TA after I confirm everything in the invoice (just in case I need to change sail dates and etc.) and before submit final payment.

Does Viking offer air transfer (for a fee) for those who arrange their own air?

Very informative. Please comment on the quality of lectures and shore excursions presentation.

Very good point. Trust that Viking will try very best. After all, last-minute scrambling itinerary in response to changing or challenging cruising environment is an expected part of the business. Based on what I hear from past guests, those who continued with the impacted cruises got compensation (ranging from reasonable to generous) in terms of future cruise credits, which definitely help alleviate some of the disappointment, stress, inconvenience, and financial loss. In my case, due to uncertainty in rebooking air, I had no choice but to cancel. To be honest, the fact that Viking did not offer cash refund left me a little unhappy. Still, I try to remember how well Viking has been treating us in the past and especially the wonderful cruise experience. Now, I continue to book Viking cruises, adjusting my expectation. As for the missed ports/excursions, you bet that I will keep watching out for my next opportunity, land or cruise. If not possible, oh well, c’est la vie.

I tried hard to refrain myself for speculating, but I feel bad when you sad you were “quite anxious”. I was in your shoes before, so I understand how you feel. Like Twitchy, I had a cruise that had a significantly altered itinerary. Worse was that the change affected the disembarkation port (port was to be determined at the time). Like you, I had my own air arrangement. Since Viking gave us the special promotion of “free to cancel up to x weeks of sailing date, but only for future cruise credits”, it was a brainless (although very disappointing) decision for us to cancel the cruise. We could have waited a little longer, hoping that Viking would cancel the cruise and thus would refund us cash. Good thing that we did not wait. It turned out that all the scheduled sailings for that route sailed with significantly altered itinerary. In your case, I recommend that you take the cruise (and enjoy it), although Viking will most likely continue with the sailing but with the Israel ports replaced with other countries/ports nearby. Travel wise, Israel will not be the same as before for a long while. For example, I highly doubt that you can take the excursion visiting Jerusalem (Israel side) and Bethlehem (Palestine side). Hopefully, some future day in our lifetime, we can do so. Keep your non-Israel international air and hotel reservations. Save yourself the stress, and readjust your expectation. Simply enjoy your cruise and Viking hospitality.

Did Viking refund you cash or future cruise credits when you cancelled the cruise on your own? Was there any cancellation penalty?

And the lectures are mind stimulating and entertaining.