lovestx

14 hours ago, Carraig said:

So just 5 days in quarantine now, instead of 10?  Is this a new change of policy for Viking, or have I missed that quarantine time had been reduced?

Hoping that Irishgirl will come on and comment.  My son and his wife are going on Viking for their twice delayed honeymoon next month.  So anxious about having COVID after waiting so long for this trip.  If we knew they would only need to quarantine for 5 of their 14 days if they test positive on board, that would be great.

We just spent three nights pre-cruise at Hotel Bairro Alto and loved it. Pricey but gorgeous room and bathroom and a beautiful rooftop terrace to enjoy the views at breakfast. Loved the location for touring and restaurants. 

Just popping on to this thread to tell everyone how much fun we had on the same cruise and that it was a delight to meet and get to know Lois. Great lady!  And, Wes, we also got acquainted with Peter and Wendy and so enjoyed them. They certainly had an interesting tail to tell about your COVID experience in March 2020.

this was our first SS cruise but won’t be our last. Great staff and food and we felt very much pampered. Interesting ports and loved Lisbon. Now starting our 10 day land tour of Portugal 

iancal, we are hoping to spend three days in Porto and three days in the Douro Valley next month post-cruise (if it goes).  I'd appreciate knowing where you stayed in the Douro Valley assuming you were pleased with your choice.  Also, did you visit Guimares?  It seems lovely but a bit out of the way

zqtchas.....when are you departing on your cruise?

We were planning to book La Dame for our 30th anniversary night on Spirit in October.  Seems like we might just as well go to Atlantide....  Decisions!  Decisions!  And dining reservations open up tomorrow for us.

Lois, we sailed Auckland to Sydney in March/April 2019 on Celebrity Solstice with nine days in NZ pre-cruise and 9 days post-cruise in Australia.  Loved it but will say it is really interesting to visit those counties and realize they have an even younger history than our own.  Our big trip before our Down Under trip was to Israel in October 2018 and the contrast was great.

I'll just add some tips that aren't comprehensive but will give you food for thought.  Perhaps we can fill in details when we sail together in October 🙂

Auckland - we stayed at the Auckland Hilton on points and it was VERY convenient for embarkation.  One of the top three experiences of our trip was a day trip to Waiheke Island with a vineyard tour through Waivino (owner/guide is Grant).  Also enjoyed the Auckland Memorial museum.

Akaroa - quaint town.  We hiked (VERY challenging hike) but first were among the first to entire the Giant's House.  I thought the house would be too kitschy for me but it was utterly unique and fascinating.  But go early.

Sydney - the early morning sail in to Sydney Harbor will remain one of my top three travel moments of my life.  It was just surreal to think that I was finally seeing the Opera House in person after seeing it for years in movies, on t.v., etc.  How lucky am I?!?  We stayed for about four days in the Shangri-La Hotel and loved the views.

Australia - we traveled to Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road, and Uluru.

NZ - we spent about a week travelling around the South Island by car.  

If you are going to Tasmania (as we did) or want a good book to learn more about Australia's history as a penal colongy, I recommend The Tea Ticket.  Not always a pleasant read but very interesting.

Happy Planning!

Thanks for sharing the link to that video.  SUPER helpful to newbies.  Can't believe how many different dining options there are for such an intimate ship.  So looking forward to this new experience.

Thanks, Lois!  We are cruising with you 🙂  I will join the Roll Call you started in the next day or two.

Have to say I am VERY impressed with MySilversea for excursion planning.  Website is light years ahead of Celebrity!!  Do Silversea passengers ever 'go it on their on' for excursions?  I am so used to doing that on Celebrity but enjoyed the ease of booking ship's tours when we were on the Paul Gauguin two years ago so I am fine either way.

Silversea newbie here about to pay for a Spirit cruise.  I am still more than 120 days out from specialty dining reservations.  Do I have to be sure I book early on the 120th day?  Just not sure how difficult the reservations are to get.  And can someone point me to a great place to learn more about the different specialty options and which ones are most popular?  We are celebrating our 30th anniversary while onboard so I am planning to dine at the high end restaurant ($60/person) on that night unless others think that's a bad idea.

2 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Hi Lovestx, sorry I don't recall your screen name.....but I started a roll call for the sailing if you want to come say hello over there🙂

 

As for hotels,  I think this is normal....I know I have stayed at SS hotels pre cruise before and use their transfer to get there and to the ship and back to the airport. The transfers are no extra $$.

How do I find out about the SS hotels pre cruise?  Ask my TA I guess.

Considering booking and not excited about telling my husband he has to wear a jacket...But it seems that although you can eat more casually on formal nights that you can't walk around the ship without a jacket on those nights.  Did I understand that corrrectly?

I like to dress up and we've brought tuxes and gowns on cruises before but schlepping too much luggage when we are adding on land-based travel on either side of the cruise can be a pain.

My husband and I are seriously considering joining LoisR (whom I remember fondly from her days on the Celebrity board!) on the October 8, 2021 cruise out of Lisbon.  We would fly in several days earlier and tour Lisbon.  I didn't know we might have an option of a Silversea hotel.  Did I misunderstand something?

Additionally, I called our credit card company today (Chase Sapphire Preferred) to inquire about trip interruption or cancellation coverage for COVID-driven events and was somewhat surprised at her answer.  She said that we would be covered if, for some weird reason, we tested positive before embarking (we've been fully vaccinated since February).  She said that would be considered an illness and would be covered.  But the new guidance from the EU states that individual countries can decide to close their borders to any countries experiencing spikes.  So I inquired in my Chase credit card travel benefit would cover that and she said it would not.  I then called Silversea and the rep there said she was quite certain we would be given our money back or Future Cruise Credit if that were the case.

So many things to consider when travelling post-pandemic!!

So if we are willing to wait two years, we will receive the cash back from our FCC from last year’s cancelled trip?  

We had booked and paid for a July 2020 honeymoon cruise for our son and now daughter-in-law.  When it was canceled last year due to COVID, we were offered FCC at 125% or a refund.  We took the FCC.

Today, our travel agent informed us that the rebooked cruise due to go out of London on 7//12/2021 is also canceled.  He is having trouble getting through to Viking (understandably) but thinks the message he watched from the Chairman of Viking indicated only FCC would be offered.  We are very disappointed about this as who knows whether our happy couple will be pregnant, etc. in 2022.  We would like them to be able to go on a honeymoon this summer (son’s a teacher) and would find a place for them to go instead.

Does anyone have any info on this?  I am also asking the TA to check our trip insurance with Chubb....

Just thought Royal watchers would find it interesting to know that Adventure of the Seas has been hanging out between St. John and st. Croix today. Since arriving on St. Croix in December, we have seen only a few cruise ships passing by (unlike normal times when we’d see quite a few) but today’s activity has been interesting. Wonder if they are doing some kind of training.  Anyone know?

Got an email from our travel agent last night saying he had heard from Viking that they are extending cruise cancellations to August 31, 2020.  We will now cancel and rebook under the Risk Free Guarantee.

I wonder if Viking is waiting until the Risk Free Guarantee May 31, 2020 deadline passes before cancelling the cruises.  I am considering starting a new booking for July 2021 before the deadline so that I will still have that protection and then take my refund for the 2020 cruise when they finally cancel it.

Our son and his fiance are booked on a Viking Ocean cruise on July 12 from London to Bergen.  I am just now reading that Norway has extended its border closings for international travel until mid-August.  We have been expecting Viking to cancel this cruise and would prefer to wait until they cancel so that we can get our money back.

I know no one has a crystal ball, but would you think that Viking will cancel cruises whose itinerary includes multiple Norwegian ports?  Or will they simply re route elsewhere?

Just saw this this morning. I’m guessing most ships will skip PR now to avoid the paperwork hassle. 
 

https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-03-09-20-intl-hnk/h_6d1bcaf7b584dba2e9726076b7acf625

Thanks Peregrina. But I fear what Heidi suggests and Heathrow is huge. Think I'll book together

On 11/26/2019 at 10:25 PM, Peregrina651 said:

 

We did Midnight Sun in 2016, starting in London/Harwich. At that time, Air Plus was not available at all for any itinerary that included Bergen. We had to take what we were given and we had to wait until flights were issued at 75-90 days out to see what the flights would be. We wanted to book through Viking because we simply did not want to deal with having to get from London to where the ship was docked in Harwich, two hours from London. In the end, we lucked out. We were booked from non-stop RT from Boston to London and back to Boston and then had a one-way ticket from Bergen to London at the end of our trip.

 

I have gotten a bit more savvy since that trip and now I price shop our flights before deciding whether to book through Viking or on our own. Although, there are times when I want Viking to handle the transfers and don't even bother with checking prices; I just look for the the most convenient flight plan.

 

 

Peregrina, I am working on booking the Midnight Sun cruise for our son and his fiance as a wedding gift.  They will fly out of Boston.  AA is our preferred carrier and I can get good fares RT on AA in Premium Economy to LHR.  But I'm afraid to book the Bergen to LHR flight separately thinking that it will cause them to have to go through security again in LHR to check their bags.  Am I wrong on that?

Thanks, all, for the very helpful information!  I have passed it along to the happy couple.

I have told then that but, Homosassa, are Norwegian fjord ports often missed?

Thanks for the helpful info. Glad to know I didn’t find the port times because they aren’t on the website!

i sense from all of you who responded that I shouldn’t worry that the port times will be inconvenient or too short.  My future daughter in law is most excited about the stop in Lofoten so hope that’s a well planned stop.