rpfin

We did this cruise last January and loved it. No problem that we didn’t stop in Hawaii since we had already been there.  You have to love sea days, which we do.  Very relaxing and Viking had lots of lectures and other activities to participate in.  The lecturers were some of the best! Overall, great cruise and would go again with Viking for sure.

We went to the excursions desk as soon as we could on our Ocean cruise in January. They helped us change any excursions we had signed up for that was not suitable for my DH. They have much more detail and can help you decide.  They also put us in a group with others with mobility issues. This was the first time we had experienced Viking Ocean making an effort to make it easier for those with mobility issues to participate without slowing down others on the tour. Hopefully this will continue but you should notify them as soon as you board.

17 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

I used my platinum by specifically invoking it, so the agreement was I get 90% back (and nothing of the cost of platinum).
 

That was March 13th. At that time HAL had made it clear they were sailing in 2 weeks  ( come h or high water), and they offered us $250 OBC if we sailed or a FCC for the entire amount if we chose not to. Some ports were starting to close, but not the majority, and as far as we knew there wasn’t an issue in Mexico. I didn’t want a FCC as I have an elderly parent, and who knows if I would be able to use it. A few hours later the cruise industry was “paused”. 

We did the same as we didn’t want to tie up almost $20 thousand so we took the 90% option.  Haven’t received a dime nor any other response other than a response to my inquiry to say we are working on it.  Just a bit disappointed they insisted the cruise would happen until after we cancelled.

Has anyone had issues transferring your booking to your TA?  We booked directly and HA has not been very responsive to my request so far.  Any suggestions?

Thanks! When did you go? We are going in October. Are there other excursions you would recommend?

We were there in July, it was hot for most of the trip except for when we were in Zermatt on the extension. We did several of the optional excursions. Taste of Alsace was one of our favorites and Martin Luther and Worms was our least favorite. We may have gotten a bad guide on that one but overall felt there was too much packed into the day to enjoy.

Overall it was a great trip!

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Thanks so much for the info. We really wish we could do the extension, so will have to settle for the one day excursion. Hoping for better weather, and it sounds like doing since we are going the reverse direction, it might be better traffic wise.

We had great weather for the one day excursion which was a long day but so worth it. Hope you have the same!

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Anyone have an update on the Manfredi's on Viking's Rhine River cruises? Is it still going or is it back to the Aquavit Terrace at night?

We just returned from the Hild (Paris to Swiss Alps) and thankfully it was set up as the Aquavit where we were able to eat several nights ordering from the same menu as the main dining room. We like to eat a more casual meal after a long day of touring. BTW it was packed every night.

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We are flying from the West coast to San Juan, for West Indies trip. Viking charges a fee if you take a red eye, and arrive on the first day of the cruise!!!! Otherwise you get there so late, you miss the entire first day of the cruise. I find this to be totally disturbing. Why do they care if you leave a day before, to arrive early enough to enjoy your first full day on the ship....won’t do free air ever again!!!

We have been successful using Viking Air Plus when booking our river cruises and would expect Ocean to be the same. $50 per person and they allow you to choose better flights. Last trip we waited to see what our flights were and then opted to pay. You can do this as long as your flights aren’t ticketed. We even paid some extra to get Comfort + on Delta. Good luck.

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Thank you for all your input! I leave in less than a month. I am in my 30s and am going to go out and by Capri skimmers. Would these work with sandal Keens?

 

 

What sandals does everyone recommend with a dress that can be walked in for over eight hours?

 

Another packing list that may be helpful https://adventureswithsarah.net/packing-checklist/

I have a black pair of Ecco that work well...walked all over Italy in them last year. They go from day to night easily as well.

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In the US we use Viking Air Plus and pay the $50 pp fee to get the flights gets we want. If they are offering a flight price incentive we pay the difference for our upgrade. All this should be done before they ticket. You or your TA work with Vikings Air agents. We use a TA and have been happy with the results. The air offer for our upcoming trip was $395 and we upgraded to Comfort Plus seats. Here they invoiced:

Airfare $1,595

- Air discount $1.200

+ Air Differential $244

+ Air Plus Confirmed $50

Adjusted Air Total = $689

I hope this helps.

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One of the nicest dinners ever was on the Aquavit. Informal and fun. Love Manfredi's on Ocean but this is Manfredi's in name only. It's different and more limited. I think it is some home office marketing exec reacting to the fact that Uniworld, etc. tout multiple "special" dining venues on river and Viking did not have such. Loved Viking's totally relaxing and last minute ability to sit and dine wherever without the bother of reservations. No more, unless they fix this.

 

 

 

I've found it a typical technique of Viking home office to be deliberately obtuse and totally redirect my issue into something it wasn't.

Totally agree.

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Whom did you notify?

 

I sent an email to Viking customer service and received a reply telling me to call the toll free number (which is for sales/reservations) and that they can discuss dining options. The person who received my email missed the point.

I sent an email to tellus@vikingcruises.com and received a similar reply, totally missed the point suggesting we could still eat in the main dining room...duh. They did however say they were “gathering feedback about this change”.

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I am sure Manfredi’s is excellent but as repeat Viking River customers we hate to lose the option to grab a quick meal after a long day of touring when you just don’t feel like an extended dinner in the dining room. It would be nice if there were other options available, but as I am reading the CC article and other comments in another thread, that is not an option. Just slightly disappointed to see this change for our upcoming July Paris to the Swiss Alps cruise.

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I am sure Manfredi’s is excellent but as repeat Viking River customers we hate to lose the option to grab a quick meal after a long day of touring when you just don’t feel like an extended dinner in the dining room. It would be nice if there were other options available, but as I am reading the CC article and other comments that is not an option. Just slightly disappointed to see this change for our upcoming July Paris to the Swiss Alps cruise.

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We just returned from RT on MS Polarlys which started on March 26th and saw the Northern Lights only one night out of the 12. In our case, weather played a huge part. It snowed several days/nights and was quite gloomy. We also had several beautiful days as well. The night we saw the lights was on the southbound portion near Tromso. Another consideration, we had several excursions cancelled because of threat of avalanche. Still in all a great trip!

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Hmmmm. I wonder how often there are avalanche problems, especially at this time of year...

 

 

 

When we were there, 2-3 weeks ago, there apparently had been actual avalanche(s), so the North Cape excursion was obviously cancelled.

 

 

 

However, because the port stop is relatively lengthy, our Captain kindly left port and sailed over to the North Cape, and we could view it from the sea. We could see that globe marker from afar, which was a surprise, and it even shows up, ever so tiny, in photos taken using just an iPhone.

 

 

 

Note: That huge cliff is really dramatic!

 

I think I'm just as glad that we weren't up there...

 

 

 

(I hope everyone paid attention to the announcement about this extra little sailing adventure. Can you imagine someone who wandered ashore without realizing, and then, suddenly, they notice the ship sailing away early!? :eek:)

 

 

 

GC

So far we have stayed docked ☹️

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We are currently on day 6 of a round trip journey. Our excursion to the North Cape has unfortunately been cancelled due to fears of avalanche. It’s been beautiful so far with the weather obviously getting very much colder the farther north we travel.

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Thanks so much for all the information. We do have our wind/rain gear to go on top of our outer wear as well as strap on spikes for our shoes in case we run into icy pavement. As the OP also said we generally pack very light when we travel but can’t seem to get things to fit in our usual carry on’s.

Do you recall the cost of the water package as we like sparkling water to drink as well and are considering making that purchase as well.

We have signed up for several excursions and the North Cape is one, hopefully we will be able to participate but I have been reading of the threat of avalanches for several of the ports.

Thanks again for all the helpful information!

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We leave in 2 days for our RT on the Polarlys and your post just heightened our excitement! Keep posting here and I will try and follow as we go to pick up on suggestions you might have. If you think of anything that we should know that would be great.

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This is some great information, keep it coming! In my research on the Hurtigruten website they have this information about alternative restaurants/menus:

“À La Carte Menu

Our à la carte menu is an out-of-the-ordinary dining experience created from the absolute premium produce from our local suppliers. For guests on the Classic Voyage, full board is included in the voyage price, and for a small fee you can upgrade to our à la carte menu option. If you don’t have a full board, you are still welcome to order our à la carte menu. On most of our ships the à la carte menu will be served in separate areas of the restaurants, while on board MS Midnatsol, MS Trollfjord, and MS Finnmarken there are separate dining rooms that are used exclusively for our à la carte menu option guests. Enjoy 2-, 3-, 4-, or 5-course dinners, and choose from four different starters, five main courses, four desserts, and our famous cheese plate. Additional wine and drink packages are also available. The à la carte menu is only bookable on board. MS Lofoten has its own dinner concept with a menu from the 1960s. MS Vesterålen does not offer the à la carte menu.”

Like everything else as far as prices in Norway, I have also read, the upgrade is not cheap but might be worth looking into if you have a special occasion.

Looking forward to future posts, enjoy the remainder of your trip!

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We would also love to hear a report when you return as we leave on Polarlys March 26th.

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Our Delta tickets were not upgradable either. First time this has happened. We usually are able to upgrade to EC.

We have always been able to upgrade as well. I guess Viking like everyone else is trying to save dollars where they can.

It’s just a shame that it’s their loyal customers that have to suffer. We even use their Air Plus program. The only thing we haven’t tried is getting Viking to change to another carrier to see if maybe it’s just a Delta issue.

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Make sure that your ticket is upgradable. I had problems last year. Viking finally fixed it.

How did you get Viking to “fix” it? We are in the process of working with them and just found out our tickets on Delta are NOT upgradable. This is our second experience with Delta flights where we can’t upgrade. KLM has allowed upgrades so I am wondering if it’s airline carrier specific?

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We paid 400 krona (approx. $50 US) for a 12 day package which we felt was very reasonable compared to big cruise ships, plus the internet was reliable and fast, so well worth it. Not sure what the price was for the 6 day cruise.

 

 

 

Southbound:

 

 

 

Day 1: Kirkenes wasn't our favorite day. It was rainy and in September, a couple of the museums we might have gone to were closed. Didn't want to pay to go to the Russian border as I've read it wasn't all that exciting.

 

Vardo: 1 hour stop, enough time to go to the fortress

 

 

 

Day 2: Hammerfest: Did the Northern Most Town tour (1 hour). It was okay. Came back and went to the Polar Museum by the pier which was interesting.

 

Tromso: Did the Midnight Concert which was nice.

 

 

 

Day 3: Spent most of the morning up top watching the scenery. Got of briefly in Sortland for a quick walk. Got off in Stokmarkness to walk through the town. Didn't visit the Hurtigruten Museum which I hear was interesting.

 

Svolvaer: Went to Magic Ice which was fun. Cost was $36 US for 2. They dress you in heavy parkas and gloves and give you a drink. Kind of hard to explain but you might goggle it.

 

 

 

Day 4: Again, spent most of the morning up top watching the scenery. Got off in the afternoon ports and walked around.

 

 

 

Day 5: Got off in Trondheim and walked around. Trondheim was one of our favorite ports. We walked across the Flower Bridge and by the old warehouse district and then back through the heart of town.

 

 

 

Day 6: Again, spent most of our morning up top. Then disembarked.

 

 

 

As you can see, we didn't spent much on excursions, personal choice, but chose just to get off the ships and walk around. Our favorite part going south was that the weather had improved and we spent hours up top watching the scenery. It was gorgeous.

 

 

 

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks for your Southbound highlights, would you mind touching on the Northbound as we are taking the 12 day voyage next March and would love to hear about your trip.

Thanks

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Note that most of these excursions are not available in winter, as the excursions will change from season to season.

 

 

 

Thank you kiwigirl for reporting. Can I get from your message that you had a positive experience? Could you share what were your likes/dislikes about the ship and the journey?

Yes we have gotten far enough along in the process to see the difference in excursions. We are looking forward to the husky ride as well as some of the other winter activities. Hopefully we will have good weather and be able to catch the Northern Lights when we go in March.

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