GoNavyFamily

We are doing a 4 day post land tour in Athens in May, also staying at the Grand Hyatt. Are you given a room with a king bed, or 2 twins? That's what seems to be available on the hotel web site as standard rooms. Do you have any recommendations for a half day of free time in the afternoon/evening?

We got our visas through the government web site directly, and here is the link: https://molina.imigrasi.go.id/. I suggest you try that for the one you still need to get before giving up. A tip is to set up an account first, which makes the process much easier. Also note that the picture you upload of the person applying must be within a certain pixel size, so a photo you take may need to be resized before submitting. Also, those who stated Regent requires a visa before boarding and so you can't try the Visa on Arrival do not understand how that works. If you are flying into Denpasar airport, you can get your visa at the airport and it will be issued immediately. So you WILL have the visa when you get to the ship. You may have to wait in a line at the airport, and you need to have all the documentation required (passports, your cruise confirmation to show where you are going, etc). See the airport link to get full information and search on other sites for same: https://www.bali-airport.com/en/international-flight/index/what-is-lorem-ipsum-2 Hope this helps!

Look on your invoice to see if visa costs are included for you and if so, call Regent to confirm. On our original paperwork when we booked the cruise, over a year ago, the Australian visa only was included. Since then Australia changed the visa process which is now approved for visitors from specific countries through an ETA (electronic travel authority) app that you download on your phone. https://usa.embassy.gov.au/visas. When we called Regent to inquire, they issued a new invoice with no visa charges. For an Indonesia visa, US and other specific country citizens can purchase a Visa on Arrival at the Denpasar airport near Bali, or to avoid that queue, purchase it prior to departure through the government site. I found this article linked below very helpful regarding travel to Indonesia and I also confirmed the information on both the US State Department and Indonesian government web sites. This article gives a great overview with links: https://www.baliholidaysecrets.com/arriving-bali-airport/ I don't know your originating country nor what Regent has promised you. I just know we are taking care of it ourselves and we will presumably have our visa approvals on our phones when we arrive in both countries. It is too early for us to actually apply for them.

We did this cruise in April with the pre in Oslo. We booked our own air in Business Class which made the travel easy and no issues with flights. Because we were on the pre land tour, Viking transferred us from airport to hotel. We paid a very reasonable fee for Viking to arrange a transfer from Tilbury to Heathrow on disembarkation day and ended up with a private car because we had an early flight out. Very nice! Some points of your experience were the same as ours - primarily the food service and food quality were not as good as our previous Viking experience. Like you, we ended up in the World Cafe most meals. We had to get our own drinks and coffee, it was rare to be offered refills, and dirty dishes piled up in the table despite us asking them to be cleared. Also like you, people were coughing and hacking everywhere. I ended up at urgent care the day after we returned with a diagnosis of bronchitis. But that is not on Viking at all, just something that happens being around lots of people on planes, trains, busses and ship. Regarding excursions, we either went on the included knowing these are usually bus overviews, or in 3 ports I arranged private excursions for 4 people and through social media, found another couple to join us in each port. We arranged to meet them once on board before that port day. Those private excursions were the best and we were able to discuss with the driver what we wanted to see and do. The ship was beautiful and well maintained (my retired Navy husband really pays attention to that aspect). We saw the very friendly Captain almost daily in passing. Guest relations personnel were very helpful the few times we approached their desks. Tender ports were organized and efficient in getting us off the ship. And we made every port which was just lucky. Overall we were happy, but disappointed in the quality of food and service which for us, is an important part of the cruise experience.

We were given through deviation, with no upcharge, our first choice flight on Qatar from the US to Bali with a very short layover in Doha. We could have selected the long layover but we were assured the short one is an airline approved layover. Hoping we make the connection! I'm glad to hear your experience on Qatar was good. We return on Qatar from Sydney through Doha as well but with a few hours layover. Question: did you purchase the Indonesian Visa on Arrival before you left or when you arrived at the airport? Any tips from your experience in Bali/Indonesia?

We were on the starboard side in April when we were on the Bergen to Tilbury sailing. The previous replies touched on your personal preferences. I will say we had great views from our balcony of the white cliffs of Dover! The photo is a zoomed in view and it was very exciting sailing into port.

We cancelled an upcoming cruise made under a $25 deposit promotion that was in effect many months ago and Viking just kept our $50.

BERGEN/BOARD SHIP BERGEN 6:00 PM SHETLAND ISLANDS (LERWICK) UK 8:00 AM 6:00 PM THE HIGHLANDS (INVERGORDON) UK 8:00 AM 5:00 PM EDINBURGH (NEWHAVEN HARBOUR) UK 8:00 AM 5:00 PM T ORKNEY ISLANDS (KIRKWALL) UK 8:00 AM 5:00 PM THE HIGHLANDS (ULLAPOOL) UK 7:00 AM 1:30PM T BELFAST, IRELAND 8:00 AM 6:00 PM LIVERPOOL, UK 8:00 AM 11:00 PM HOLYHEAD, UK 8:00 AM 6:00 PM DUBLIN, IRELAND (anchored Dun Loaghaire) 7:00 AM 6:00 PM SCENIC CRUISING ENGLISH CHANNEL DOVER, UK 8:00 AM 6:00 PM LONDON (TILBURY) UK 6:00 AM DISEMBARK Our cruise departed April 15 Bergen to Tilbury and this was our schedule. Originally Orkney was a tendered port but ended up docked and originally Dublin was docked and ended up tendered. We made every port.

I don't know the weekend hours but when I called the main regent number, they told us that air reservations did not open until 9: 30am. I suggest you call the main regent reservation number at your convenience and ask the Regent representative if the air department is open on the weekends and what their hours are any day they are open.

We are booked on a cruise in December with a Regent pre cruise land package. We were able to book our air, paying the deviation fee, 210 days before ship embarkation, not the day of the pre cruise.

We did the Oslo pre as well. We liked the Historik Museum and we walked up to the Palace. The included tour just drives by the Palace so you don't get the same perspective. It stops at Vigeland which is the definite highlight with all the wonderful sculptures. It also stopped at the Maritime museum. On our own, we walked around the area with the fortress, and on the roof of the opera house. Oslo is a city easy to walk around on your own.

We made every port! It was chilly everywhere but a little milder in Invergordon and Ullapool. Some ports were grey and drizzly as well as cold. We definitely wore our fleece lined rain coats and our hats and gloves. The included tours that we thought were decent, understanding they are overview type tours, (and our opinion is subjective of course) were in: Lerwick, Ullapool, Liverpool, Holyhead, and Dover. Although in Holyhead, I think a more in depth paid tour might have been a better experience. Dublin included was a waste of time for us as we sat in traffic so much and we ended up ditching the tour at St Patrick's cathedral and doing our own thing. We did not take a tour in Edinburgh but took the ship offered shuttle and did our own thing there as well. We did the included in Bergen and it would have been ok except our guide liked hearing himself drone on and on at 2 stops and it was cold and most people were not thrilled. We ended up leaving the tour and walking around ourself. Bergen and Liverpool are very easy to walk around on your own. Shuttles were offered in Edinburgh, Dublin, Dover and maybe a few other ports but l'm not certain in the ports where we scheduled private tours (Invergordon, Belfast and Orkney). Be sure to look at private options outside of what Viking offers. Vikings tours are way more expensive than you can arrange yourself. The place where Viking could have improved was London, when in port in Tilbury. The included was 5 hours sitting on a bus with I think one short stop. Most of the bus time was going to and from London. By that time we didn't feel like spending so much time on a bus and we had been to London, so we relaxed on the ship. I wish the ship had offered shuttles to London, even if just once each way. tip: in Dublin we bought guided tour tickets to the Dublin Castle which we found very interesting as the guide was a great storyteller and gave the history of the area from its founding. It was easy to walk to The Temple Bar, the Ha'penny bridge, around Trinity College and to Merrian Square Park where we met the shuttle. We had planned to visit Dover Castle in the afternoon after the morning included tour but I was not feeling so well by then so we skipped it... But it would be a great place to visit if you are so inclined. FYI I have bronchitis and it was going around on the ship. I don't think there is much I could have done to prevent exposure. I'm happy to answer questions! Just remember that my opinion is just that and someone else might feel totally different about the tours, etc.

We returned last night from the BIE cruise Bergen to Tilbury. I arranged private tours for 4 people in 3 ports - Invergordon, Belfast and Orkney Islands. I found couples to join us by asking for interest thru FB Viking groups as the cruise critic thread generated few responses. The tours were all great and a fraction of the ships similar cruise cost. We did enjoy some of the included tours in various ports and there were a couple we thought were not well done. FYI I am now at an Urgent Care because I developed a chronic cough early on the cruise (COVID negative). There were people hacking and coughing throughout the cruise. It is difficult to travel with so many people and not get exposed to a virus. I recommend you bring plenty of OTC meds for various symptoms.

We are on the BIE cruise Bergen-Tilbury in April with a 2 night pre-extension in Oslo and I have several questions I am hoping can be answered by those of you who have been on this itinerary, especially post Covid, as protocols may have changed. 1. What places does the Viking tour include in Oslo? The web site still mentions the Viking Ship Museum, which is closed. I'd like an idea of what they will take us to see so I can plan where we will go on our own. 2. In Edinburgh, does the ship provide shuttles during the day to the town, outside of booked excursions? If not, how do you get from the pier to town? 3. In Dublin, I believe we will be in port at Dun Loaghaire. Is a tender required there or can you walk off the ship? How do you get into Dublin on your own? I did read about the DART train but I'm not clear how close is the station from the ship. Also, I am interested in suggestions of what to do on our own. 4. In Dover, how do we get from the pier to Dover Castle on our own? Taxi? Bus? 5. In Tilbury, if we take an included tour into London and notify the guide we are getting off the bus and will head back a different time, what are the specific return instructions to take which tube to which stop, to get on a train to Tilbury? And how do we get from the train to the ship? I've looked at many threads and seen some partial answers but would like to receive definitive information from those who have more recently been on this cruise. TIA!

Hi... Are you on the Nov 12 2024 Lisbon to Capetown? That would be such a coincidence since we sailed with you on the Panama canal cruise in January, and we are also on this cruise!