Vineyard View

DIY in Dubrovnik for sure. Unless old TV shows are important to you. If so, my guess is you could Google that and figure it out. It’s a great City to be on your own exploring

Thank you very much

I would sincerely appreciate Natalya Leahy’s email address. Thank you.

We took a ship excursion this May to Rovinj and Porec. We loved both towns. They were charming and uncrowded. We did not like the excursion piece of it, but it was the only way to visit that I could find. Both were charming enough to spend the day, doing both in one day was short changing both as there was quite a bit of drive time involved. If we had docked in Rovinj I would consider Porec or Pula for part of my day, but I think carving out so,e time in Rovinj is well worth your time.

I suppose only time will tell how this all shapes up. Amsterdam is a beautiful city. These mega ships negatively impact all the ports in my opinion, and are what is driving a lot of this discussion in various places. When we were in Malta on Quest, a huge MSC ship was also in port. It left mid afternoon and the difference in experience and atmosphere was tremendous once the passengers were on board. This happens everywhere with these big ships, and when multiple ships are in it can suck the enjoyment right out of the atmosphere.

There is an article posted on Oceania regarding this that towards the end states river ships, at this time, are not being considered. I have no idea how many ocean ships dock in Amsterdam over the year.

This will be my next step. Unfortunately it has left a very sour taste at this point. I am glad it was resolved to your satisfaction. I do not believe we as customers should have to go to that level to get resolution - particularly with a luxury line. it appears she has her work cut out for her with respect to getting their customer service to come anywhere close to a luxury experience.

I have been quietly battling an issue that occurred with the FCC while on board. We booked through our TA start to finish and have used this company for years. Our TA management team, as well as myself, have reached out to SB guest relations multiple times. At this point I won’t get into the details, but SB guest relations are abysmal with or without a TA based on what we are currently dealing with. We loved our onboard experience - enough to book another, but we are currently positioning alternatives for next year based on how this rolls. I do not believe that we are victims anymore than the OP based on their initial question. OP is looking for a communication path that would be receptive to constructive criticism of what SB did not do well. Just based on our current situation, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

We spent several days in Venice before boarding Quest in May. We asked servers at a couple restaurants, as well as out hotel, what the impact has been on them with the ban. They all responded positively. More people are staying and spending their dollars in the city than before the ban. It has turned into a win for them - it also kept intact their UNESCO status. So for cruise passengers it is much more difficult to sail into or out of Venice, but for the local businesses, at least what was shared with us, has been positive.

Thank you. That is a long slog. I do appreciate your coming back to me on this. It might make sense to do that on a couple of ports that I have more interest in using this credit at.

Still unable to book excursions nor see the prices under my booking. TA cannot get them either. Oceania is saying this is because it is the first sailing out of dry dock and as such they are having system issues. I am not sure that I follow that reasoning, but so far that is the explanation.

Did not know about that perk from O club. That makes more sense

Agree. It’s just easier if it’s all part of the price you pay up front. I personally think that was a miss in “simply more”. If you are going to do it as a company to make it simple, then just include all that non optional costing.

It’s great to know the table numbers where it doesn’t feel so “close”. Thank you for sharing this. We have lucked out sometimes finding those types of more spacious two tops available. Unfortunately, there were way more people looking for two tops than there were tables like this. I think maybe that is what started this thread - and in our experience we agree. It’s not easy in the MDR to luck out and find a space to just have your own dialogue of the day, or planning and the next day, without someone else trying to do the same within elbow distance next to you. Thus my cafeteria comment. Love Viking. Do not love this in the MDR

One of my least favorite things about the restaurant. Cafeteria style - tables right next to one another. In my opinion, it would be much more of a nice restaurant feel if they were spaced further apart.

Personally, I just think that while you are separate from the huge groups of passengers, it would seem to be impossible to avoid the crowds. I think it sounds like a great fit for those who want the ability to have the luxury and small crowds, yet also enjoy the action of thousands of people and the venues created for them. Not everyone enjoys a complete smaller ship environment. We do. We have no need for both worlds, but it’s awesome that the opportunity exists for those who enjoy that.

Same problem. Our TA couldn’t get them. They aren’t loaded in our account to even look at, even though they are online without pricing. I couldn’t get them when I called O. Our TA guest services sent me an email this morning explaining that O told them it is some system error due to being the first sailing post dry dock. Hmmm. Not sure that makes much sense. Same outcome so far.

I am curious. When you left the retreat ‘bubble’ and you were part of the masses, it had to have felt entirely different, including every time you were embarking and disembarking in ports? I would worry about how that would affect my overall experience. We said never again on large ship years back.

If you had a choice of cabin 7000/7001 fully forward or 7116/7129 with extended balconies which would you recommend. Those full forward would have more movement (we experienced a similar location in the North Sea and it was pretty crazy), but this is in the Mediterranean.

We use Insuremytrip and an another site. I always online chat for records purposes with their agents. There are highly qualified insurance policies that will allow you to not only transfer your booking (you have to go through a request process to do so), but also allow you to book deposit only for pre-existing coverage within a time frame of usually around 14 days (some longer) and then pay more for your insurance as you pay more for your trip. Excellent insurance policies. We’ve had to use one in the past and fully covered. You just have to ask the questions to be sure the company you choose allows this. And obviously, read the contract before paying. Viking has more than one competitor that will allow you to reprice before final payment. You need to give up any perks included in your previously booked itinerary in order to do so, but that can be an advantage over Vikings policy. We do not use any cruise line’s insurance for a myriad of reasons.

Thank you. Good to know.

Really great suggestion. I appreciate this advice.

Do SS ships have the ability to be outside forward facing, or just window views. Observation lounges often times have both.

No four corners available but it still seems like a winner! At least I will know for future cruises up front.

Thank you all for this thread information. We just switched from A3 concierge to extended balcony B3 and saved $900. I really appreciate all the insights here.