Breckski

But in all seriousness, I do carry it in my flask. I ski over 50 days a year, and this will warm you up - no need in wasting the good stuff on the slope. It's not uncommon to see the younger lads carrying a fifth of it in their jacket.

The very tip-top. Second to none.

The discussion about Viking wanting to be the agent or not is simple to me. Viking would rather be the agent. I'm certain Viking views their travel agents as a profit center to the business. I feel certain they accumulate the total cost of that department/division and compare that to what would have been paid to outside agencies. If they can squeeze an additional $200/cabin (compared to the commission they have to pay outside agents), that would be quite a lot of gravy in a year.

Fireball Cinnamon Whisky. Always have that on the slopes. But I'm afraid Viking doesn't carry this top-shelf liquor.

Agree with the places that are best to be enjoyed from a ship, but we've always thought cruising was our "inexpensive" vacations. We try to stay in hotels/resorts where we get similar services that we get on a cruise and those places aren't cheap. Then add the meals. Guess it depends on what you call apples to apples.

Let's than 1% - less than 9 cabins. Hopefully you weren't being literal. I think a lot of folks go on vacation and say to hell with the cost, I'm on vacation. And do/buy whatever they want. Sorta like Vegas, just not as wild. Likely not as much with Viking as some other lines.

I did a chat on-line with Regent and didn't reference my existing booking so this may not completely resolve the inconsistencies discussed on the forum. But on a new booking, the chat agent stated a $750/pp credit if one declines the land extension.

On this forum there's conflicting info on this. My TA says no credit for an included 3-day pre-cruise. I may call Regent tomorrow to get an "official" answer to this, but I'm afraid Regent won't answer b/c the trip is booked through a travel agent.

Wouldn't say elitist. Just say it's a simple fact. Obviously, the cc owners have a right to use. But the benefit is diminished as the number of occupants increase whether you're in the lounge with a $20k first class ticket or a credit card with a $500 annual fee.

Gotcha. Haven't done this recently on Viking, but no issues just this week on Seabourn. And I never insure anything travel related (I guess I self-insure it 😉), but that's a completely different discussion.

I thought Viking and others normally market Rome as "Rome (Civitavecchia)". I've seen Venice marketed as Venice (Chioggia), but that is nothing like Venice (Ravenna).

I certainly look at pricing (probably once a month) during the period where I'm not at monetary risk for cancellation. If the price drops, I just tell my agent to cancel and re-book. Did that today on a Seabourn reservation and saved $2k. Not a lot of work on my part to save $2k. And have done this before with no issues.

Don't feel bad. Live and learn. You made the best decision at the time with the information/knowledge/experience you have. Personally, I always book my own air whenever I travel. But I've made mistakes in my bookings before also.

I can't find the articles, but I remember reading that the credit card companies are getting push back from holders of their high fee cards about the crowded lounges. So even though these ventures may currently be profitable for the airlines and bank/cc companies, I'm hopeful the credit card consumers will start speaking with their wallets. We've got a card that gives us access to the AmEx Centurion lounges but for the last 2 years that benefit is essentially useless due to crowds. Luckily, we've found the international, airline specific lounges to still be enjoyable.

We just got an upgrade. PV3 to PV1. Yippee!!!! I can hardly contain myself.

EXACTLY!!!!!

We've traveled abroad independently a decent amount - primarily on motorcycle (sometimes train). In my opinion many places where cruise lines visit independent travel would be fairly difficult and certainly not convenient. That is unless you want to stay in one location for a week or so. We've found we really like the glorified ferries in certain situations - the old right tool for the job saying. But we like to call them floating, mobile hotels. To the OP, we recently booked a cruise with Regent and one with Seabourn. Looking to see if we like those better. We like Viking a lot, but there's certainly room for improvement and areas where I feel the others may surpass Viking based on research and conversations with others - such as much smaller size impacting the actual ship and port experience. I don't imagine there'll be many children or loud parties on either of these lines either.

There was a recent thread that discussed nickel & diming, and tipping was discussed. I'm assuming the overwhelming majority of people do not dispute the tip charge with a smaller % of folks using a hybrid method of tipping like the OP. In any event, I feel Viking should do like other premium/luxury lines and include the tip in the fare for a couple of reasons: 1) Everyone is already tipping, just simplify things thus removing the potential for hard feelings; 2) More of a premium/luxury feel as I hate the tipping reminders Viking does (even though the OP seems to have missed those🤭) Some may say why not include everything in the fare: drinks, all excursions, airfare, etc. But those items have different costs for each passenger so that would be a bit more complicated business discussion. The tipping is standardized unless you object.

I've been following this thread and don't understand the comments about the low airfare credit if one chooses to book air themselves. We recently booked our first Regent cruise (Japan, had been a Viking fan in the past but getting a bit frustrated with them) and there's two listed prices. One including air and one without. The price differential is about $6,600. Since we always like to be in complete control of our air bookings it was an easy decision for us to pick the cruse only fare. We can easily get business class airfare for less than this price and get the exact flight we desire. But from this thread, I think I'm missing something. Any info would be appreciated. Mike

We were in the aft so had great views of the fjords. But of your two options, I'd say starboard if going London to Bergen and opposite if going other way. Just b/c if traveling north you see land more on starboard. To us the ports were irrelevant relating to side - nothing spectacular to see. When we did this cruise we lived on the east coast so flights to London are super easy. Non-stop, arrive early in the morning and minimal jet lag. So, we flew in on departure date. Actually, needed to waste some time before going to the port since the flights arrive pretty early in the morning. I normally don't want the risk from arriving on the day of departure, but I was comfortable with this risk due to London being the city. But for you, coming from CA, I'd get there a day or two or three early. Jet lag will be worse than from the east coast. If you haven't visited London, do so. It's a neat city and very easy to navigate since you speak English. We love London over the holiday season if that coincides with your departure. It's decorated much like NYC.

Are they getting younger or you just getting older🫢

Not apples to oranges. People spend their money as they see fit. Sure, you may not agree. This thread just tells you that some on this forum do not share your belief when it comes to value of business vs economy. Don't even try to understand the rationale for international first class. Duration or regulation is irrelevant to the fact folks see value in different things. I can't believe someone would pay 3k/sq ft for a condo in Aspen when you can get the same experience in Vail for $2k/sq ft or in Breck for $1k/sq ft.

I surprised at how many people cruise with Viking when they could visit the same places on Carnival.

Does this ever happen in the US today? I've been on such flights a couple of times in South America. It used to be and likely still is that in Chile you didn't have the option of non-stop flights to many spots. The plane would land and some passengers would exit while other boarded. . But I've never experienced this in the US and am curious how common this is in the US. We typically only fly the big 3 carriers so that may be why I've never seen this in the US.

Hiking poles is something I have a bit of experience with living at 9,500'. Obviously get collapsible poles if traveling. My advice would be to get as lightweight as your budget allows if you plan on using them frequently for longer hikes. If you'll use them once or twice for relatively short hikes, get the cheapest collapsible set you can find. Also make sure they are adjustable height poles. Some of the folding poles like Clay referenced used to be fixed length, but I see his are adjustable.