id4elizabeth

MrsTiggywinkle - sounds like a plan! We're at the same hotel and noticed that they do have an e-mail contact, so will try that as you suggest about a week out.

I haven't been on this "cruise" yet obviously, but on other Viking cruises there's been nothing the night of arrival. A lot of folks won't get there until later in the evening. However, my other cruises were on the ship on travel-day night, not in a hotel. We plan on doing BSK on travel-day evening. We get there a couple of days ahead.

We have reservations for Oct 15 and have the same concern. I have read on these boards that the cab cannot get all the way to BSK, and you have to walk just a little bit down the hutong alleys to get there. This would be the same for the pick-up after dinner, so, not only do we need to know how to arrange the transportation, but also WHERE to meet them at 10:00 or 10:15 by the time you walk back down the hutong alley. Anybody who's been to BSK got any info on this?

Got this message back on the Viking Oceans Facebook site. Will keep you up to date if I hear anymore. If anyone else has any info, please keep us into the loop.

My message posted to them:

Hi Viking. So excited to be booked with you for the maiden season. I asked this on Aug 9th, but maybe my message was overlooked with more recent posts. Anyway, can you share anything about the progress being made on the Star? I'm sure we would all love to hear how things are going and would be thrilled with a few pictures. Thanks!

Like · · 22 hours ago

Their response:

Viking Oceans We're just as excited to have you on board! At this time, we don't have any updates to share with our guests just yet. But sit tight! As soon as we do, our Facebook friends will be the first to know.

I once again checked the Viking Oceans Facebook page, and they have not posted anything there, nor have they answered my posting on their Facebook page (August 9) asking them about their progress. I also sent a message to TellUs@viking about a week ago, and they sent me an automated reply that someone would be in touch -- so far nothing. I wonder, like you, whether they might be more forthcoming towards the end of the year when the payments are due...?

Thanks Kohola! Your pictures and explanation give us a much better idea of what to expect. I think we'll go left.

Anybody have any idea of what Mutianyu is like? We have an extra couple of days before the tour and heard that part of the wall was less visited.

It took us a long time to get a response from them (Black Sesame Kitchen) for requested reservations for Oct 13, 15, or 16. When we did hear back, they said they had no other reservations requests for that night, and since it's only the two of us, they would not open just for us. They asked us to check back later. I've been in contact with them twice, and both times it took about 2 weeks for a response, and both times was a similar "check back later." So will check back in another couple of weeks. Keeping my fingers crossed based on the reviews here and on TripAdvisor. Anybody else want to go on any of those dates?? Then they would open for 4 people.

I posted a question about a week ago on Viking's Facebook page asking for any updates on the progress of the ship's build. So far they have not responded. They post a new sales pitch on their Facebook page about all the fabulous destinations that they're going to every couple of days, but have not responded to customer's inquiries in quite some time - my question and another gentleman's asking about when the schedule for 2016 is going to be released. You'd think they'd be more attentive to customer's questions...

We've been told to get typhoid and tetanus, particularly tetanus, as well as Hep A&B. Got my first Hep A&B and will get my second one before we leave. Hubby has his A&B from Marines, but needs to get typhoid and tetanus. And don't forget flu shots if you're leaving later in the year. 6 weeks to go...

You are looking for Viking River Cruises Roll Calls. This is the new Viking Star ocean going forem. To get to the river cruise roll calls, from the main menu, scroll down a bit farther and go to the ROLL CALL section and from there, go over to the second bullet that says All River Cruises Roll Calls, click on that, and you should find something there. Good luck and happy sailing!

Has anyone heard any updates about the Viking Star's progress? I've done a bit of searching and haven't found a thing since construction started.

Hi Diane - yes, you are posting in the right places. This post is under the cruise "line", in this case Viking Oceans, even though they only have one ocean going vessel, the Viking Star. These threads under Viking Oceans, are for general questions about Viking Star, regardless of when your sail date is.

The other post you made was under Roll Calls -->Other cruise lines. And you did that correctly - looking for those passengers who might be traveling on your specific sail date.

At least so far, there's not much traffic on the Roll Calls as we're all so far out from sailing. There's a bit more traffic on this board as folks are posting questions about more general stuff, but still not a lot. I would expect that will change as we get closer to sailing.

We're crazy and have booked for the whole 50-day maiden cruise in April 2015.

Welcome to CruiseCritic and hope you find it useful!

The best bet is to go to the ATM at the airport. It's right after you go through immigration. As I recall there were a bank of them. Look for the British flag on the screen, press this and it will give you instructions in English. There are some shops near where the River Victoria docks, but they are a hike and not sure about ATMs.

After reading everyone's recommendations for Black Sesame Kitchen, I tried to make reservations for our October trip. I went on their web site, sent them an e-mail from their web site, but never heard anything back. When you made your reservations, did you do it that way, and if so, did you ever get back a confirming e-mail from them? Thanks!

Hi Fran! We're touring with China Spree with a 4 day Yangtze cruise. The whole trip is 22 days, so the river cruise part is a fairly short part.

FYI - I took 5,562 pictures while in Russia. I bore EVERYONE with my slide shows! And I have my husband addicted to Russian Orthodox male choir music CDs that we bought while we were there.

We're doing a cruise of the Baltic in 2015 that will stop in St Petersburg for 2 days. Thought perhaps I'd try doing Peterhof again if the sun is shining. It would be neat to see in when it's not pouring rain!

OK - I've signed up for the Empire cruise on the link. Very easy to use! Thanks!

We were on the same trip as Franski (hi Fran!) but on the top cabin deck and our cabin was always cool. We had a very large balcony with double sliding doors. It rained a lot on our trip, but that can happen any time - just the luck of the draw. When the sun was shining, the weather was beautiful, but that wasn't very often. The overall trip was FANTASTIC though. Would love to do this trip again.

Lots to do in St Petersburg on your own as long as you have a Russian visa. Otherwise, you must stick with an offically approved tour guide. Around St Petersburg, Peterhof, particularly the gardens with their fountains is a sight not to be missed. Catherine's Palace is likewise amazing. Just wandering around the heart of St Petersburg there's lots to see and do. Church of the Spilled Blood is one of my favorites, as well as St Issacs (must go inside both). Shopping down Nevsky Prospect towards Grande Hotel Europe. Another highlight is the Yssupov Palace, with the rooms where Rasputin was dispatched. If you have a Russian visa in your passport, you can go anywhere, but the are expensive and time consuming to get. Without a visa, you're dependant on a tour guide, and you will be on a short leash.

Don't know about Stockhom, as I haven't been there. Hope that was helpful.

Drib - I'm totally lost - did I miss something? Is there someplace we are supposed to sign up for the cruiser's list? We're booked for the April 11 maiden Istanbul to Stockholm 50 day. Would you please point me in the right direction to getting on the cruiser's list? THANKS!

Us too! There's only two of us - Joe & Elizabeth. We're booked for the whole 50-day maiden voyage. Crazy, I know...

We just booked the Viking Empire, Istanbul to Stockholm. We're on deck 8 for most of the cruise, but unfortunately we have to shift staterooms twice, and the last leg we are on deck 5. Can't believe all the staterooms on deck 8 are already booked for the Baltic leg, but we will keep checking back with Viking in case a stateroom on deck 8 opens up. We also have to change rooms in Venice, but at least we're on the same floor (8) and only have to shift down two rooms. Our names are Joe and Elizabeth. Really looking forward to the cruise - we should certainly all know one another pretty well since this is so far away. Never booked a cruise this far in advance before!

I posted this on the ROLL CALL boards, but thought some may not read that one...

Sorry it's taken me a while to post upon our return on Jun 15th, but the last few days of the cruise I caught the inevitable cold that was going around the ship, and am just now feeling like a human being.

As many of you know, Fran, Else and I (and spouses) were on the same River Victoria cruise from May 30 to June 11. Fran and I finally met each other about half way through the cruise.

I agree with her totally about the mobility issue in Russia - it's not very friendly to those with those kinds of issues, although I was constantly amazed by those on our ship who were mobility challenged that did manage to keep up. There are however, endless stairs and cobbled streets. The walking was fairly level, but staircases a plenty.

We had room 427 on the Victoria, and it was a delight. It's a Junior Suite and had plenty of room. There was ample room for both of us to move around the cabin at the same time without getting in each others way. From looking at some of the other cabins, I wouldn't say the same thing, but the Junior Suite was spacious. If you are booking either of the Junior Suites, do be aware that the showers in both cabins leak out from the bottom. Uniworld is aware of the problem, but it's a design flaw that has the lip of the shower on the floor in the wrong position and will require a complete redo of the shower area, so this is unlikely to be fixed before next year. It's not a big problem, just ask for extra towels to mop up after each shower. I would book this room again, even with this slight flaw.

I also agree with Fran's assessment that the food exceeded our expectations. I would rate the food as good (not great) in general, with some meals being fantastic. The fish was always good, and the beef slendom was. When beef was on offer, I took the fish and was not disappointed. The pork was always good, but the chicken tended to be a little on the dry side. The breads were good, and the croissants in the morning were fabulous! The bread pudding Fran mentioned was some of the best I've ever had, and I consider myself to be a bread pudding expert.

Service was very freindly and attentive, although the dinner meal tended to take longer than it probably should have, but we enjoyed meeting others on the cruise, and there's nothing else to do. The typical dinner took well over an hour.

We loved our cruise director, Elena! She went out of her way to make sure everyone was as satified as they could be. This is a tough job though, as some people want the tours to go fsster and take in more sights, and others want them to go slower. And of course, as you've no doubt already read, the traffic in St Petersburg and Moscow is a nightmare, so folks were a bit grumpy about the time spent on busses. But Elena was gracious and very well informed about everything and made it all enjoyable. The hotel manager, Alexander, is very young (25), energetic, and responsive.

Internet was horrible. We had brought our own mini-laptop, and could only get connected one or two times, even in St Pete and Moscow. Totally pitiful! Free, but pitiful.

I'll post later about the excursions, but someone asked what to do with a half day in Moscow. I would suggest going INSIDE St Basil's cathedral on Red Square. I know, you will see plenty of churchs on this trip, but St Basil's was complletely different from the inside of any other church we saw. Most cruise tours do not take you inside this church, and it was one of the best things we did and I'm so glad we did it on our own and didn't miss it.

Overall, this was a fabulous trip! Hope you all enjoy yours as much as we did ours.

Later.

I posed this question over on the River Cruise forum and they suggested I post it here. My question is:

We are thinking of China for 2013, and are seriously looking at Viking. We have narrowed it down to two options. One is the 17 day China Cultural Delights and the other is the 12 day Imperial Jewels. The difference seems to be that you spend more time on the Yangtze, below the dams, on the longer cruise. My question is, is this part of the Yangtze worth doing? Or would we be better off doing an extension in Beijing or Hong Knog (we're not big shoppers however) and forgetting the lower Yangtze? Any advice on which you would choose? Thanks!