JF - retired RRT

You're more likely to hear gasping for air.

There's also a "special" dining room for Suite breakfast. One of the specialty restaurants...Sabatini's?

Note: I sent an email to "tellus" 5 days ago with a question and have yet to receive a reply.

The Sun AFAIK has restricted areas...are water parks the next innovation?

Poster meant to say the OBC increased with every 5th cruise.

You left out the Viking mini-fridge: stocked daily for DV and up with drinks and snacks. PV and up gets beer, etc, as well. Also, no photographers, no casino, no kids, bigger shower with glass instead of a curtain, heated bathroom floors, WiFi included...I'm in.

Here's a thought...before I had my cataracts fixed, I also had terrible vision (literally couldn't see to the end of my fingertips). DH took an older pair of my glasses, removed the ear pieces and fitted them into a snorkel mask. It wasn't perfect, but it worked!

Correct. Lots of posts about using the balcony while at sea. The only hard rule is to keep the curtains closed at night, so your lights don't hamper the bridges view.

Never had suitcases scanned on the gangway. Most of our cruises have been out of San Pedro, CA and the scanners are at security before you get to the waiting area and then to the gangway and onto the ship. Guess I'll contact "TellUs".

This was on Princess. They "dried" our suitcases. When we got home we threw them away. The suitcases were "soft". Hard suitcases would likely have taken longer to sink and maybe not get as much water inside. Insurance paid for the things that were ruined, but it was a PITA. We had to track down receipts and document EVERYTHING.

Haven't seen this one...yet. We prefer to not use the shore side luggage collection...had a previous BAD experience. The cart that our luggage was loaded on (along with many others) was dumped into the water at the dock during loading. All of our clothes (shoes, evening wear, nighties) were soaked with filthy port water. The suitcases were ruined. The ship gave us free "overnight" return laundry privileges that took 3 days. For 3 days we were wearing the same clothes that we were wearing when we got on the ship. No OBC, no offer to buy something to wear in the ship's store...just an apology. Since then we've always dragged our suitcases with us. Will we be alone?

I can answer that one...after you factor in all of the "included" on Viking and the "no longer or never included" on Princess - the difference for a Princess Mini-Suite (which is sort of comparable to the Viking DV that we booked) the difference for our Hawaii cruise on Viking was about $1500 more. However, we have gotten as much as $1000 OBC (shareholders, veterans, TA, FCD) on Princess which doesn't appear to be possible with Viking. The silver lining with Viking is that once we've paid gratuities we are done spending $$$.

Is ACH the same as echeck?

HINT: if you want to specifically "talk" to Baron Barracuda, click on the @ symbol and start typing the name Baron, etc. A drop-down box will appear with choices for that name as you start typing. Click on the name that you want and the Baron will get a notification that you used his name.

If a cabin you want, i.e. ocean view, is 500 more, but the bids start at 700, why not just change to an ocean view? If you bid on an upgrade, you would receive the category cabin that you bid on...not another inside cabin.

Also, long gone 🤢

2 years too late, but thought I've tell you what I do for intermittent insomnia. Trazodone. It's legal and works great with no "hangover" that some sleep meds cause.

Newbie question: We've booked the Neptune out of San Pedro, CA. I've seen comments for other ports that "Viking" crew members collect luggage on arrival at the port. We've sailed out of San Pedro many times and the port's luggage porters collect the luggage. The question is: which is it in San Pedro? Port personnel or Viking?

Suggestions: handicap cabin, if available and you qualify. Also, the "older" ships have huge showers in the spa area (free)...not sure about newer ships.

As noted...after. It's also a good idea to put your itinerary inside the suitcase in case your luggage goes one way and you go another.

If you get a cabin that you don't like (location wise), you can ask to be moved. However, if the ship is full...

If all else fails...just use the cabin's tap water. It is essentially distilled. When there is no access to distilled water at home (it happens), same thing applies. Distilled water is used to prevent a mineral build-up in the chamber. If a build-up occurs, use extra vinegar in your cleaning regimen, i.e. 1 parts white vinegar to 3 or 4 parts water. And remember to get a new chamber as your insurance allows (usually 6 months).

@rbslos18 Is the information about the worker's picket recent? We were there in January and there were protests at that time. Still going on 6 months later? Just note: the picket was loud (one of them had a bullhorn), but they didn't interfere with guests or enter the hotel.

That's interesting. The TAs I've dealt with required payment as much as 2 weeks ahead.

That's disappointing.