palermo22

Palermo, if you are under Medicare as primary, are you sure you can recover everything from your supplement as Medicare doesn't cover medical outside the US. What about "evacuation" from hospital/port overseas? Who covers this for you?

Just asking as we are in similar circumstances to you and we've always taken private insurance when leaving the US. Maybe we've wasted our money all these years.....but I've used Travel Insured for most travel and had a couple of claims, which were settled without problems.

My retired USG benefits are not tied to Medicare - it works in conjunction with Medicare but is not considered a supplemental policy. I admit that we are taking a chance with evacuation but I thought I saw another poster stating that Chase Sapphire Reserve does take care of that. Either way, getting medivaced is something we would take a chance on.

I'm convinced we will be OK with the insurance - but I have a question which I didn't see in the previous postings: If hypothetically our trip is costing $30,000 (I am just using round numbers for simplicity) - and our coverage with Chase includes a maximum of $20,000 in protection - we will also have a policy through our travel agent - with Allianz for $10,000. If something happens with our luggage and the payout is $5,000. Would Chase cover it at 2/3 the cost and Allianz at 1/3 the cost? To make this even more complicated - my personal health insurance through the USG will cover us for any medical emergency at 100% - would I still be able to collect from Chase and Allianz?

There were some good points posted which had me do some research. I am a retired U.S. Government employee (actually was a Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State) - I have an excellent health insurance policy that is administered by the Office of Personnel Management) - we are covered 100% if one of us gets ill or if we should have an emergency - while outside the country. Also, Chase credit card also has 24 hour accident insurance as well. So, yes, you do need a source for medical - but between my health insurance, Chase Credit Card and another limited policy through my travel agent - I feel we are well covered.

I posted this in another section but it probably belongs here:

If anyone has the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card - they will cover you up to $10,000 per person - with a $20,000 limit. This is a great card for anyone that travels. While the card goes for $450 - as soon as you book any type of travel they will credit your account for $300. Points are built up fast and as stated above - great travel insurance coverage.

If anyone has the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card - they will cover you up to $10,000 per person - with a $20,000 limit. This is a great card for anyone that travels. While the card goes for $450 - as soon as you book any type of travel they will credit your account for $300. Points are built up fast and as stated above - great travel insurance coverage.

We are going on the Bali to Sydney cruise beginning 11/30/18. We made our own flight reservations going and are using Viking on our return. We are going business class and the cost is about $9,000 for the two of us. That may not sound like a great deal but each way is a non stop flight - going is on Singapore Air and returning on Virgin Australia. When you book the Singapore Air fare - they fly you non-stop to Singapore - where you can spend three days or so - then a free flight (2 1/2 hours) down to Bali (where we will also spend three days before hopping onto the ship). It gets a little complicated - but if you (or anyone) is interested on how to do this deal - I'll spell it out to you.

Can someone clarify the pdf. At least on my computer it isn't working.

Thanks

We are taking a cruise from Bali to Sydney in December. From my knowledge of air fares (which is extensive) - business class fare from Sydney to LAX is over $4,000 (or more). Our TA contacted us a few months back and got a special business class fare (through Viking) on Virgin Australia for less than $2,800.

OK - I will be the exception here: I completely agree with the OP and felt that he was right on with many of his comments (both negative and positive). Taking various subjects:

1) Food: one of the main reasons we all enjoy cruising is the food. The food was good - but not 100% of the time - while I can say it was good, overall it was far from great. We had a wonderful server in the main dining room for dinner - whenever one of us had to send something back - you could see on his face some embarrassment). There were many times when the food had to be returned because it was under-cooked or over-cooked - or just not very tasty at all. In many ways the buffet lunch was better than the restaurant dinner. But even the buffet had problems: they would not let you put your salad on your plate - you had to hand the plate to the staff and then you had to point to what you wanted. There were no prepared salads already made up - this was a real weak point. The two specialty restaurants: we canceled our reservations after trying each one - the Italian Restaurant couldn't even make a good plate of pasta - and the maitre'd was just awful: remember the soup natzi on Seinfeld? He now reappears as the maitre'd. Bottom Line on the food: if I were at any restaurant and spending $50 for dinner - then I got what I deserved. When I spend as much as we did for this cruise - then I would expect the food to be perfect - it wasn't - far from it!

2) The Tours: we made a huge mistake taking the included tours (glad I had the foresight for a few ports - including St. Petersburg to do our own tours). The included tours were just awful - mot were just drive arounds with perhaps getting out of the bus for a few minutes. Same thing for the walking tours: I felt like we were back in the first grade: every five minutes they were counting the group members to ensure they hadn't lost anyone. My advice: do not take the free included tours!

3) Sea Days: good luck in finding something to do on the ship. Except for 30 minutes devoted to Team Trivial pursuit - its was quite boring.

4) I do give kudos to Viking for the entertainment - it was better than I thought it would be. The theater is built for sound and that makes all of the singers sound great.

5) This shows that they can't think outside the box: they did setup a M&G for the cruise critic members - there were perhaps 50 of us (including spouses) - while they get kudos for setting it up they did not provide and labels or IDs - so that people would know who they were talking to. When I mentioned that to one of the staff members - they said "good idea - we should have thought of that).

If you are expecting a cruise slightly better than Carnival and Princess - then you will have a good time. If you are expecting a cruise slightly under Regent - then you will be disappointed. My favorite cruise line is Oceana and I was hoping that our cruise on Viking would be close to that - it wasn't! Quite a few people have commented on this thread that the OP must have dreamed ip some of his comments: my last comment: the OP hit every point right on the nail and if anything some of his negative comments did not go far enough. Unlike him, I will most likely stay away from Viking Ocean Cruises and go back to Oceana.

This is my favorite story - as to why you just can't predict how close trouble will/will not follow you on your overseas trip: my sister lives in a town off of the Capital Beltway (I495) near Washington, DC. I guess it's been around 15 years now - they were planning a trip to Israel. Their friends said they were crazy (this was a few years after Iraq was launching scud missiles towards Israel). They went and had a great time - no incidents, etc. Meanwhile, while they were in Israel the Washington DC area - all around the beltway - was on guard because of two nut cases shooting and killing people. A few incidents occurred within ten miles of their house. I presume you can see the analogy here. No one can predict where the next incident will take place - and most likely it will be where no one expects it. This is the world we live in - unfortunately it will only get worse - so just go out and enjoy yourself or become a couch potato and watch the world spin by on TV!

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza a few years ago. Its a great area for getting around. Across the street from the hotel is a wonderful supermarket - where you can buy almost any type of food that you want.

So on embarkation day (when people arrive to the ship at all different hours) - it is clear that the restaurant is not open and the specialty restaurants don't ope till dinner - I will assume that there are two places to grab something to eat: the pool and the buffet. Is that correct? And if the buffet is open on embarkation day - what are the lunch hours on that day?

Thank you

My wife is lactose intolerant - so she was wondering if Viking has lactose free milk (I would presume if they have it you would have to make a special request).

Your hometown weather over the last six months should tell you how unpredictable the weather has been. Also, if you believe in global warning (which I definitely do) - then the 25 inches of rain we received here on the California Central Coast, the little snow the mid-east states have received this past winter - and obviously the warmer temperatures all over the globe have made guessing the weather patterns as being very problematic. We are leaving on the BB&B cruise in a few weeks and I have told everyone to expect temperatures in the mid to high 60s in the southern part of the trip - high 50s to low 60s in the middle and mid to high 50s in the upper baltic. And of course rain here and there.

I'll probably go with them only because we can do the trip from the Hilton Garden Inn to Terminal 3 for 7.50

The Hoppa bus would come out close to 10.

So I know that Viking gives you free WIFI on the ship - can two people in the same room use their computers (actually IPADS) at the same time?

Has anyone used Addison Lee Taxis to take them to one of the fringe hotels surrounding LHR? If so, are they trustworthy and do they have a good reputation for being on time?

If there is a policy that blue jeans are not permitted at night time venues then people should adhere to that policy. However, I have been on other cruises where both women and men come to these venues with 50 lbs of excess fat hanging over their shorts and pants - completely disgusting. I am not picking on overweight people - I am picking on overweight people who flaunt that excess weight. Or there are others that are not wearing blue jeans but are wearing pants and shirts with food stains on them. Given the choice of sitting across from: person A who is wearing fashionable jeans and a nice pullover shirt or blouse or person B not knowing how to dress when they are very much overweight or person C with messy clothes. Alex, I'll take person A for 200!

In case anyone was planning on booking, we received an email today from Viking that the stop in Caracas has been cancelled and replaced by St Kitts. It will likely we a sea day for us since we have been to St Kitts many times.

 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

From someone who lived in Caracas during the mid to late 90s - believe me, you are not missing anything (although their beef is not quite in the class of Buenos Aires - but still better than 99% of restaurants here!

We are going on the Sky - Barcelona to Sweden in April/May. Anyone who has been to Northern Europe in April most likely has experienced rain. While I can always hope that climate change has hit Europe in some fashion I am wondering for those who have already taken a Viking ocean cruise where you did have inclement weather - did Viking provide umbrellas for passenger use during excursions?

You better check your URL that you posted - as far as I can tell you posted someone's photos of their 7 Seas cruise!

This is what you were looking for:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2017/02/27/viking-sky-ocean-cruise/98216900/

From those who have traveled the April Barcelona, Baltic and Beyond, need any info available regarding weather/temps. Thanks so much

We're on the same cruise - my guess is that all through the trip from Barcelona to Stockholm it will be in the 60s during the day and low 50s at night. When we bet up to the upper part of the Baltics - figure highs 55- 60. Let's hope for very little rain.

First you need to realize that you are going through one of the busiest airports in the world - and since the airport has had its share of terrorist activity in the past - security is very tight. However, if you are landing in terminal one and departing from terminal one then you shouldn't have to go through security again. To be honest, I haven't been through the airport in four years but I doubt things have changed that much. You should be OK (if it were a different terminal then you might have problems).

Hi Jerry, it is a workable plan although it will be slightly more expensive. Please remember that the LANDER TICKET is NOT VALID on the tram between Rostock Hbf. (central station) and Rostock city centre. Therefore you would need to buy single local transport tickets, which are valid any time for the whole journey (s-bahn + tram) between Warnemünde and Rostock city centre. You would also need single tickets for the tram back to Rostock Hbf. There is no such thing as a return ticket, you must buy separate singles.

I will try to simplify - the Lander ticket is valid after 9am between Warnemünde and Rostock Hbf only whereas the Local Transport ticket is valid between Warnemünde and Rostock city centre, s-bahn + tram, at any time.

If you still wish to use your Lander ticket after 9am to get to Rostock Hbf. you could not arrive before 9:24 and the alternative to using the tram would be to walk to and from the city. Walking time is about 15mins each way (and BTW, there is nothing of interest between the two) so you would save 8.40 euros but be left with effectively just over an hour to explore Rostock.

I am sorry if I did not make it clear but the trains Rostock-Schwerin run every 2 hours through the day starting at 6:07 and Schwerin to Rostock every two hours starting at 7:47 until 21:47.with an extra train at 16:46. Please look at my Schwerin page on the web site for the latest updates.

Given your comments about how long you like to spend in one place my personal thoughts on the subject ;)

Have a lesiurely breakfast, take a walk around Warnemünde, catch whichever s-bahn gives you plenty of time for your change in Rostock Hbf. to the 11:07 to Schwerin, spend 4 hours in Schwerin, take the 16:46 back to Rostock and, if you have the time and the energy, stop off in Rostock on the way back. Then carry on to Warnemünde and chill out with a wine in a waterside cafe just 5mins away from your ship. Enjoy a relaxed day in what is otherwise a very port-intensive cruise.

Happy cruising :)

Anni

www.travelanni.webs.com

First Anni - a great big thanks. The way you laid it out in your final paragraph is exactly what we are going to do. Given the time restraints I think we'll tour Warnemunde for an hour and probably skip Rostock (unless you feel that an hour in Rostock is worth more than an hour in Warnemunde.