ryansmousehouse Posted April 15, 2018 #1 Share Posted April 15, 2018 This is probably buried in previous post but not having luck searching[emoji22] Are the included tours fixed or do you pick from a list and are the included tours all ride around overviews... thanks Sent from my SM-G965U using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lackcreativity Posted April 15, 2018 #2 Share Posted April 15, 2018 (edited) Viking designates one excursion in each port as the included excursion. They are usually an introductory tour, most often some part a bus ride and some part walking. Some include visits inside a church or museum as part of the tour. Most include some free time on your own. I think the best way to see what the included tours are like is to go to the Viking website, select one of the tours, and then check out the possible list of excursion that may be offered on any a particular sailing. To find the excursions, go to the web page for an itinerary (for example, Mediterranean Odyssey) and scroll down to the Day by Day section. The first and last days usually don't have excursions, but click on any of the ports to view possible excursions. If you click on an excursion, you will see a more detailed description. In Barcelona, the included tour is Panoramic Barcelona, which is a 3 hour tour, part bus ride past some of the landmarks of the city, and part walking tour of the old city center. This is pretty typical of an included tour. While the tour bus will take guests back to the ship, Viking also provides free shuttles in most ports. If you decide to remain after the tour ends, just check with the guide about the shuttle pick up spot, and let them know you will not go back on the tour bus. We did that quite often. Edited April 15, 2018 by lackcreativity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peregrina651 Posted April 15, 2018 #3 Share Posted April 15, 2018 This is probably buried in previous post but not having luck searching[emoji22] Are the included tours fixed or do you pick from a list and are the included tours all ride around overviews... thanks Sent from my SM-G965U using Forums mobile app Heck, I wouldn't know what words to tell you to search to find what you are looking for. Much easier just to answer the question. The included tours are fixed, one per port. Very, very, very occasionally there is a choice of 2. Some of the included tours are walking tours and some are panoramic bus rides--and some are a little of both. Every port also offers paid optional tours. You can see what tours are on offer in each port of the itinerary you are interested by scrolling down the itinerary page to where it lists the itinerary Day-by-Day. Click where it says read more to be taken to a page for that port of call. Unless it is a very new port that is just being developed, if you scroll down, you will see a generic list of shore excursions for that port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICHE99 Posted April 16, 2018 #4 Share Posted April 16, 2018 When do they post the tours especially in relation to when they open for booking? Are they posted a little earlier so that you have time to peruse them? What time of day do they open booking? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peregrina651 Posted April 17, 2018 #5 Share Posted April 17, 2018 When do they post the tours especially in relation to when they open for booking? Are they posted a little earlier so that you have time to peruse them? What time of day do they open booking? Thanks. The final choice of tours for you cruise will usually be posted on MyVikingJourney somewhere around 120 days before sailing. This is not a firm deadline but rather an observation. When booking finally opens for your cabin category, it will open at Midnight Pacific time, (which is 1 am Mountain, 2 am Central and 3am Eastern; other time zone will have to google it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICHE99 Posted April 18, 2018 #6 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Regarding the non included tours and the restaurants that they include. How would you rate them? Are they touristy or do they cater more to locals? Has anyone experienced any of the cooking excursions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetroRod Posted April 20, 2018 #7 Share Posted April 20, 2018 We found the included tours to be pretty good. They usually aren't too long and not a lot of time on the bus. One of the nice things Viking has are the QuietVox headphones for all the tours. It makes hearing the guides a lot easier plus you can tell when you wander off too far you will start losing reception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oceansandseas Posted April 21, 2018 #8 Share Posted April 21, 2018 Thank you very much for posting this question. When I looked at the excursions of the cruise that interests me, I did see the word "Included" at the top of the first excursion. I thought I would be able to book one complimentary excursion from all the excursions listed. Never assume I guess. Where do you find the prices for the excursions? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lackcreativity Posted April 21, 2018 #9 Share Posted April 21, 2018 Thank you very much for posting this question. When I looked at the excursions of the cruise that interests me, I did see the word "Included" at the top of the first excursion. I thought I would be able to book one complimentary excursion from all the excursions listed. Never assume I guess. Where do you find the prices for the excursions? Thank you. The list of excursions that you can view on each cruise web page is just the list of all possible excursions. The list specific to a particular cruise with prices is only available through My Viking Journey, an account that you create for yourself once you have booked a cruise. Excursions show up there around 120 days before sailing. On our cruise from Athens to Venice last spring, we paid in the range of $59/$69/$79 for a couple excursions, and splurged $179 each for an all day excursion in Koper, Slovenia to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle that included admission to both locations, a meal, and of course transportation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICHE99 Posted April 26, 2018 #10 Share Posted April 26, 2018 The list of excursions that you can view on each cruise web page is just the list of all possible excursions. The list specific to a particular cruise with prices is only available through My Viking Journey, an account that you create for yourself once you have booked a cruise. Excursions show up there around 120 days before sailing. On our cruise from Athens to Venice last spring, we paid in the range of $59/$69/$79 for a couple excursions, and splurged $179 each for an all day excursion in Koper, Slovenia to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle that included admission to both locations, a meal, and of course transportation. How did you find the selection of restaurants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lackcreativity Posted April 26, 2018 #11 Share Posted April 26, 2018 How did you find the selection of restaurants? We only did the one all day excursion which included a meal, going to Predjama Castle and Postojna Caves. We ate at the Postojna Cave complex, at what appeared to be a rather new, pretty nice hotel dining room. The meal was average hotel fare (think the Slovenian version of wedding reception food) . This was a really rural area, and I don't know what other options may have been in the area to handle a bus full of people. Given the specific circumstances, I wouldn't use this tour to evaluate the restaurants that Viking might choose on other excursions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkTapley Posted May 9, 2018 #12 Share Posted May 9, 2018 A booking question for our upcoming trip on Orion (excursions available to book next week). If I book a Viking optional excursion and pay for it, and later change my mind in order to book a private tour, does Viking freely provide a refund? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vnb2003 Posted May 9, 2018 #13 Share Posted May 9, 2018 A booking question for our upcoming trip on Orion (excursions available to book next week). If I book a Viking optional excursion and pay for it, and later change my mind in order to book a private tour, does Viking freely provide a refund? Thanks. They do. If you cancel before they stop accepting excursions online, then you get refund to your credit card. You can cancel only onboard or by phone too I believe after findow closing but you will be refunded in OBC. There is a moment that I don’t remember exact times and maybe someone will chime in, either after window closed or 2 days before cruise, then you loosing money on the first and second day excursions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitchly Posted May 9, 2018 #14 Share Posted May 9, 2018 (edited) Regarding the non included tours and the restaurants that they include. How would you rate them? Are they touristy or do they cater more to locals? Has anyone experienced any of the cooking excursions? We had several meals as part of the non-included excursions we took, and with one exception they were excellent. A couple were highlights from our trip, especially the restaurant we went to in the French countryside as part of our visit to Monet's Gardens and Rouen. Excellent food, gorgeous ambience (it was in an old mill on a small river). We also had the best fish and chips I've ever eaten at a quaint place in Cornwall, another marvelous meal at a historic tavern in Salisbury, and a fine meal in a harborside place in Oslo. Oh, and an outstanding Spanish buffet in Granada near the Alhambra. That was probably the most "touristy" of the places, but the food more than made up for it. The only dud in the mix was the tapas and wine tour in Cartagena. Fairly pedestrian, unfortunately. But one out of five is pretty good odds. Here’s the French restaurant, to give you some idea: Edited May 9, 2018 by Twitchly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICHE99 Posted May 10, 2018 #15 Share Posted May 10, 2018 We had several meals as part of the non-included excursions we took, and with one exception they were excellent. A couple were highlights from our trip, especially the restaurant we went to in the French countryside as part of our visit to Monet's Gardens and Rouen. Excellent food, gorgeous ambience (it was in an old mill on a small river). We also had the best fish and chips I've ever eaten at a quaint place in Cornwall, another marvelous meal at a historic tavern in Salisbury, and a fine meal in a harborside place in Oslo. Oh, and an outstanding Spanish buffet in Granada near the Alhambra. That was probably the most "touristy" of the places, but the food more than made up for it. The only dud in the mix was the tapas and wine tour in Cartagena. Fairly pedestrian, unfortunately. But one out of five is pretty good odds. Here’s the French restaurant, to give you some idea: Wow. Thank you so much. Your descriptions are exactly what I am looking for. Certainly one not so good meal is a good record and makes choosing one of those excursions more likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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