MimiDo

Thank you both.  I do understand Viking Air has limitations.  On the other hand, they said they could provide upgraded air for a fee when i booked and later paid for the cruise —- and then they couldn’t. And we fly out of  Denver — not exactly a minor hub.

We incurred no costs for our 2 different rounds of changes.last April.   And we were able to relax because we made the changes quickly.  However Viking Air waited until hey had made changes for ALL their customers — approximately 1/2 to 2/3 of the passengers on the ship — before they notified  any passenger about their new itinerary.  This produced considerable waits and anxiety because passengers wanted to tell their family, etc. their new flight schedule, and didn’t know when they would have that information.  So for a day and a half every conversation on the ship seemed to start with “Did you hear yet”?  Not relaxing at all.

You obviously are Viking Air fans.  I have had some good experiences with them, and sometimes their price is definitely competitive.  I was making a cautionary comment, not an attack.  We flew round trip to China with Viking Air in 2019 and saved about  20% on an airline I would not have booked  myself (and it was fine).  I would say I perceive their limitations, and am now more reluctant to part with the control I give up when I book with them partly because I’m a frequent airline shopper.  Something that almost sounds to good to be true is — well, let’s just say might have some downsides.

Good thinking — travel safe, and enjoy your cruise!

We landed at 7 — the terminal rhat is closest to the taxi/Uber area.

i think only taxi’s, not ride share, are available at the taxi stands inside the parking garages and reportedly closer to the terminals.

53 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

I'm curious which terminal you arrived at? There are supposed to be two taxi stands AT LAX proper, not the LAX-It area, for those who don't want to do the LAX-It thing dealing with buses or long walks. One is near Terminal 3 and another near Terminal 7, clearly marked on the LAX website.

 

https://www.flylax.com/lax-traffic-and-ground-transportation

 

We will be arriving at LAX Terminal 6 tomorrow and plan to walk from T6 to the nearest taxi stand at T7.

We spent last weekend in LA.  Since it was a short trip, we had just a small roller bag and 1.carry bag for the two of us. Even so, getting to the taxi/Uber area was challenging.  I would describe it as a 4 block walk crossing several streets, multiple 90 degree turns, several traffic lights, changing from one side to another when sidewalk is closed for construction, and many places where sidewalk was narrow and/or uneven.

We never saw the shuttle buses.  On the LAX website ut says shuttle drivers will not help you load luggage.

We’re booked on a cruise out of San Pedro in November — and we can’t imagine making that trek with a full-size suitcase with 4 wheels plus a carry-on bag each.  When we got home we booked the luggage forwarding service available thru Viking for our full size bags. It’s pricy, but still just a small percentage of overall cruise cost.

For our expedition cruise last April we paid $1000 each to upgrade our Viking Air flights to Business. When the tickets were issued all the seats were in economy, both Denver to Ft. Lauderdale and Toronto to Denver return.  When I called to complain Viking Air claimed Business seats were not available — even though I could see on my computer that they were available on .United, Delta and American.  So we cancelled Viking Air and booked directly — saved a few dollars, too.

Our ship was significantly delayed due to fog several times when docking for debarkation in Toronto.   I think the first person left the ship at 3 pm instead of 6 am.  The passengers booked on Viking Air had to wait very long times to get their new bookings in multiple rounds of delays, and many ended up on flights either very late that night or before dawn the next morning.   I on the other hand used my iPad to rebook my self-purchased seats on United — not  once but twice — quickly and easily.

Finally I think when you book internationally on Viking Air upgraded seats when you pay the surcharge are only guaranteed for your trans ocean flights, nit for your domestic connecting flights.

i almost always book my own air.  Viking allows us to purchase seats on the airport shuttle for a very reasonable fee.  But they won’t allow us to do the same when we’re boarding unless we arrive on embarkation day. I would never arrive on the day the cruise boards — we always gonthe day before, even if we spend that night at an airport hotel.  I wish Viking would allow us to book seats on the shuttles as long as we present ourselves at baggage claim checkin on the day of the cruise.  I’ve thought about lying about my flight — but if that flight is delayed how would we explain how we arrived before the plane did?   For our November cruise we’re arriving the day before but staying at the port that night,

My husband and I are booked on a LA - Hawaii - Bora Bora - Tahiti - Marquesas - LA cruise this November and December.  There are lots of sea days, and we’d like to take our walking poles to walk on the deck.

Based on your experience — good idea or bad idea?

Both dates in 2024 are sold out.  Maybe as more ports in Europe close to cruise ships Viking will consider offering more Japan itineraries.

I’ll bet it is, although since cherry blossom time is such a busy travel time fior the Japanese that excursions might be difficult. And the blossoms bloom at different times — Kyoto is 1-2 weeks after Kagoshima and Kyushu, Tokyo is a week after that, and northern Honshu (Aomori) and Hokkaido 1-2 weeks after Tokyo.  I think the best times would be after Golden Week to mid June, or late October into November.

i think Princess is offering some Japanese itineraries too — but I want to do this on Viking!

I’d like to see:

Bermuda

Sea of Cortez

circumnavigate JAPAN!

We canceled our booking on this cruise this morning — and American Cruise Lines responded with a Cruise with Comfort program offering us vouchers to rebook on or before 6/30/22.  We accepted!  They are apparently offering this to guests booked on cruises thriugh 9/30/21.

We did not expect this, and we are thrilled that ACL made this offer available.  To qualify we had to respond up to 24 hours prior to the start of the cruise package, so timing was a little tight, but I thought I would post this — along with my sincere thanks to ACL —  for anyone else who was struggling with this decision as we did.

Breaking news:  https://www.opb.org/article/2021/08/24/oregon-covid-19-outdoor-mask-requirements/

Oregon governor says:  “The Delta variant is spreading fast and wide, throwing our state into a level of crisis we have not yet seen in the pandemic. Cases and hospitalizations are at a record high,” 

The report in this board that 7 crew members on American Harmony tested positive for Covid, delaying the Aug 25 cruise, makes me think we’re making the right call.  Cannot believe there are unvaccinated  crew members, especially since  I think  I saw the same thing happened in .July.

Testing 3 days before, or as you board, does not guarantee you — or your fellow passengers — don’t have Covid.  The incubation period is 14 days.  

https://www.webmd.com/lung/coronavirus-incubation-period#1
 

Alas, we will get nothing except peace of mind (and our continued good health) if we cancel.  Thanks, ACL!  But we’re not the ones who need the good luck for our decision …

Thanks for your post, Suzy.

I am disappointed -- and nervous -- to see that ACL presumably did not notify the other passengers that your fully vaccinated husband developed breakthrough Covid after your cruise ended.

We are booked on a Columbia/Snake River cruise departing Sept 1 and having serious doubts about going.  We're not happy that they don't require everyone be vaccinated, that they had to cancel cruises due to unvaccinated staff, that the surge in Oregon made the governor call out 1500 National Guardsmen to help the hospitals, and that the governor's office now predicts the surge will continue to expand in the coming weeks.  We gave ACL our money but we don't have to trust them with our health or our lives, especially if this is how they operate.

COVID-stricken Oregon deploys National Guard to hospitalshttps-::apnews.com › article › health-oregon-coronaviru....webloc Oregon - COVID-19 Projections - Institute for Health Metrics ...https-::covid19.healthdata.org › united-states-of-america.webloc

We did both the Puffing Billy/Yarra Valley tour, and the 2 Day Great Ocean Road tour, 2 years ago.

The Puffing Billy tour was just okay. The train ride is pretty short (20 min?) and not picturesque. The lunch at the winery was nothing special, and the animal preserve was disappointing only because a lot of the animals were sleeping.

We liked the Ocean Road trip -- the scenery is fabulous. The town where you spend the night is pretty small with limited food options, but we liked walking on the beach. The only problem was the bus on the second day was more than 1 1/2 hours late past the time they told us to be waiting for pickup, and there was not a place to sit down or even stand in the shade. But just when we had almost given up hope, the bus arrived.

I want to share my bad experience on March 28 traveling from Ft. Lauderdale airport to Port Everglades for a cruise on the Coral Princess.

My husband and I went to the taxi podium outside Terminal 1 baggage claim. The scheduler told us to get in the first taxi in the line. It was a Yellow Cab (although yellow cabs at FLL aren't completely yellow). The driver told us it would be a flat fare of $20.00 -- I was expecting $15 from reading Cruise Critic -- and he didn't turn on the meter until we were past port security. I think the meter read $6 something when we got out.

My husband and I both had backpacks, which we took into the back seat with us, and several pieces of luggage. When the taxi got to the cruise terminal he didn't go in the line with the other taxi's, which admittedly had a long line, but instead drove thru the parking garage to park beside where the busses were. It was a little dark inside the unlit garage, and I was concerned about moving our luggage to the curb -- and in the confusion I left my backpack in the back seat of the cab.

We paid cash, so we didn't have a charge receipt to identify the cab and driver. We didn't memorize the driver's name or the license number.

The backpack had my iPad, camera, sandals, cruise paperwork, other personal items -- and a bottle of wine. Their were multiple ID tags both attached to and inside the backpack, all with our last name, email and phone number. I called the cab company (and got a very surly employee who was not interested in helping me) The Broward Co. Sheriff's Dept -- who work security at the port -- were absolutely wonderful, and put out an "all points search" for my backpack. They told me IF the driver was going to return it Yellow Cab would have returned it to the Princess Office at the port, or to the Sheriff's office.

While I "lost" the backpack, I consider it to be stolen because it was very well ID'd, and because someone has been using iPad, confirmed by Verizon before I suspended the account.

Here's my advice to others:

1. don't leave things behind in your taxi!

2. assemble all your belongs on the curb or driveway before you pay the driver -- take your time and double check

3. pay with a charge card (so the driver can be traced), or use your phone or camera to take a photo of the driver's ID (mounted on the dash) or license plate.

4. Think about using Princess transfers -- I know I'm wary about using cabs to the port now.

I hope others can benefit from my mistake.:(:(

Is free wifi available is you have a guest pass?

Does the regular Afternoon Tea include scones with clotted cream? I'm guessing not. We're sailing on Coral and I don't know if they have the Royal Afternoon tea. I'll pay $10 if I get real scones, clotted cream and Darjeeling tea so I can pretend I'm sitting in Brown's Hotel.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Mimi -- I see your a tea fan too!

The other Mimi

My husband and I are on the Coral Princess March 28 sailing.

We are thinking about learning to play bridge. We'll do some reading and practice a little before the cruise, but my question is: as newbies, will we be welcome at the Bridge sessions I see listed every day in the Patters from past Coral cruises?

You don't say in your post when you'll be in Venice, but I think the thing you haven't accounted for is the timing of the Vaporettos. Sometimes a boat comes right away -- but sometimes it's too full to get on. Sometimes it's an express boat that doesn't stop where you want -- or maybe worse, the local which stops a lot and therefore takes forever. If it rains hard, they just stop running altogether. I love the vaporettos -- a great thing to do is get up early and snag one of the seats up front and just do a full circuit -- but they are not schedule-friendly.

Murano is fun to see glass being blown, but it's only a good place for shopping if you're in the market for something large and unusual… and expensive. If you want to buy glass earrings or necklaces or small figures you probably are better off shopping in Venice.

And the Academia is Wonderful -- don't miss it -- just takes an hour.

Thanks to EVERYONE here for the photos, videos, and all the information. Given that it was 4 degrees below zero where I live this morning, the Solarium looks pretty good!

It's been a while since I sailed on RCCL -- could someone tell me more about the Solarium?

It looks like it's NOT like Princess's The Sanctuary -- meaning there's no additional fee. Right? Does that mean it's crowded and hard to find a lounge chair? I know it's "adults only." Is it quieter than the main pool area -- ie. no blasting rock music? Is it covered?

Thanks in advance!