Live from Viking Sun "Into the Midnight Sun" June 12 - 26

As I have for other previous cruises, and since I didn't see any recent "live" thread, I thought I would begin chronicalling our journey. Today (June 10) we fly Norwegian from JFK to OSL and connect to a flight to BGO, arriving in Bergen on Monday afternoon. We board Viking Sun on Tuesday and overnight in Bergen. As we go along please ask me any questions you might have about the trip that I haven't written about (ship, shore excursions, food, etc.) and I'll do my best to answer them.

Thanks! I can't wait to follow your cruise. I am contemplating this cruise or the Med Odyssey. We loved our Viking Homelands cruise. Have fun!

Will be following. Our cruise is from London to Bergen on July 14 on the Star.

I am most interested in hearing about the shore excursions, how far the ship is from town, are shuttles provided, etc.

Have a wonderful trip.

My husband and I will be on Viking Sea London to Bergen on July 24. Looking forward to your posts. Have a great cruise.

Looking forward to your report! Hope you have a great time. We are sailing on this cruise In July.

Thinking about this cruise in the future so am anxious to hear all your reports. It will also help me not be so homesick for the SUN!!! You will enjoy her crew!

Yea! Happy travels!

I'm curious as to how accurate the arrival times seem and how quickly after the ship arrives in a port people are able to disembark. Obviously it would depend on whether you're taking the ship's excursions and if it is necessary to tender. I'm just wondering since I'm spoiled from our last two cruises which were Viking River cruises. :D

The wait and hassle of disembarking was probably my biggest complaint about the bigger ocean ships (although Viking Ocean is about half the size of the other ocean ships I've tried.

Thanks and have a wonderful time! I look forward to hearing about your adventures.

Karen

Looking forward to your reports. We're doing the opposite itinerary, departing London on July 7th on the Sky.

Yea! Happy travels!

 

I'm curious as to how accurate the arrival times seem and how quickly after the ship arrives in a port people are able to disembark. Obviously it would depend on whether you're taking the ship's excursions and if it is necessary to tender. I'm just wondering since I'm spoiled from our last two cruises which were Viking River cruises. :D

 

 

The wait and hassle of disembarking was probably my biggest complaint about the bigger ocean ships (although Viking Ocean is about half the size of the other ocean ships I've tried.

 

Thanks and have a wonderful time! I look forward to hearing about your adventures.

 

Karen

I've done 2 cruises. Departures don't seem to be a hassle with Viking. Their thought seems to be go when ready if you're on your own. We did have trouble getting clearance in Marseilles on my last cruise but that was a 'port' thing. They seem to handle the maniacs of getting the people off with letting some gatherings happen from the ship and some from the dock so not everyone is hitting the exit at the same time. Of course, your other reasons also come into play as well.

Yea! Happy travels!

 

I'm curious as to how accurate the arrival times seem and how quickly after the ship arrives in a port people are able to disembark. Obviously it would depend on whether you're taking the ship's excursions and if it is necessary to tender. I'm just wondering since I'm spoiled from our last two cruises which were Viking River cruises. :D

 

 

The wait and hassle of disembarking was probably my biggest complaint about the bigger ocean ships (although Viking Ocean is about half the size of the other ocean ships I've tried.

 

Thanks and have a wonderful time! I look forward to hearing about your adventures.

 

Karen

In my experience, unless weather or mechanical issues come into play the ships normally dock at or before the ETA. Time for clearance varies significantly, based on the country and status aboard the ship. I have seen the ship cleared almost as soon as the gangway is in place to over 8 hrs.

Most clearances are issued within a few minutes.

Hope you had a good flight and are busy enjoying Bergen. We will be following next in line behind you, leaving from Bergen on June 23 on the Sky. Can't wait to read all about your adventure. Have a great trip!

Can’t wait to read your reports. We are on the Sky departing Bergen on July 21. It will be our first Viking ocean cruise and we can’t wait,

Looking forward to hearing all about your experiences. We will be departing from London, June 26, on the Viking Sea, for Into the Midnight Sun.

this is a general cruise comment, from observations during cruising for over 30 years …..

- the itinerary 'arrival' time is REALLY the time they expect the gangway to be opened … ship cleared by authorities and you are free to come and go. Ships almost ALWAYS arrive WELL before this time and go thru the process of 'clearance'. often ships arrive 3 or 4 HOURS b4 the posted "arrival" cuz lord knows folks want to get OFF as soon as "arrival time" arrives …. (ala the RUSH to get off an airplane!! where arrival is at the gate .. not time landed)

- departure time is a different thing …. this is all most always purty darn accurate and the 'all aboard time' is usually pretty close to the same time. Again I'll refer to an airplane …. this is "push back time" …. gate closed and we're moving.

I've also contemplated this itinerary, so will eagerly await your reports.

I'm interested in the details of how the days are organized, and how the tours are, and whether you think the itinerary is sufficiently in-depth.

Also, how was it connecting to Bergen, and embarking? How was your experience with Viking Corporate, or did you deal through a TA? The business model of Viking is one of the things that deters me from trying them, so interested in the experience of others.

Good afternoon!

Well our vacation got started off with a little hiccup. Norwegian air lost our luggage. Fortunately we arrived in Bergen a day before, and the person at the Oslo airport handled our claim very seriously. Long story short our luggage arrived this afternoon. Whew! I have to say, Premium on Norwegian was definitely worth it and highly recommended.

As far as embarkation today went, we were the only ones in the departure hall with 15 agents waiting to check people in. We were literally on board in five minutes, and have the whole ship seemingly to ourselves. Since we are in a penthouse Junior suite we were allowed into our room at 11 o’clock.

Lunch in the World Café was excellent. Tons of staff! Walked around the ship, and she really is beautiful. Serenade of the seas and Hamburg are both in Port today as well. Since we are overnighting in Bergen Tonight, we may take a walk back into town.

I’ve read all of your comments and I will do my best to report on shore excursions, arrival and departure times, which seemed to be Topics with the most interest.

I’ll also be reporting on things that we do on shipping off. Any questions with regard to any of that let me know.

I am curious about Molde. We currently have the Trollstigen and Trollveggen tour booked but are considering canceling it. If you have time can you post something about Molde? What there is to do. Hikes, scenery, etc.? Thank you! All of us on future sailings certainly appreciate the information!!

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Thank you so much, Russg140 for taking the time to do your live report! Have a fantastic cruise!!

Ahhhh, let your journey begin. Glad you got your luggage in a timely manner, too.

Can you also report on what the weather is like at each port.

Have a wonderful cruise.

So looking forward to reading your real time report. Right now considering this trip for 2019. Can anyone tell me ANY advantage or disadvantage of going one way or the other? And, if booking the Deluxe Veranda, did you have trouble booking excursions or restaurants? So many questions. Can't wait to go along with you on this trip!

We are on the cruise in July. Do not know about one direction over another. I did get up at 3am to make excursions once open for our DV. Did not get Day and time for specialty restaurant that I wanted. We will not go hungry I am sure. Getting excited!

We're doing this run London/Greenwich to Bergen in just a few weeks so I'll answer this part..... We're in a DV and I got on the first morning excursions and rest's opened {reasonable hour … I did not worry about a SouthWest airline thing where 24 hour b4 checkin means you are out of luck in 5 minutes!!} I got everything I wanted in excursions … I don't think I saw anything 'sold out' yet - but I will mention that I was booking mostly 'included excursions' and not much in the way of $ ones, but we got first choice on everything …. And we got our one ressie in Manf' and chef's early in the trip in hopes that once on board I can make more …. I was not particular about wanting anything special and frankly I suspect once DW reviews the menu we may skip chef's

I did go back a few days later to double check something and DID see a bunch of stuff was 'sold out' - mostly certain departure times on the 'included' …. my conclusion is if you want a specific time for an 'included' book early.

We board Viking Sun on Tuesday and overnight in Bergen. As we go along please ask me any questions you might have about the trip that I haven't written about (ship, shore excursions, food, etc.) and I'll do my best to answer them.

@russg140,

Your thread is titled "Live from the Viking Sun". Are you really boarding the Sun in Bergen today? Viking's schedule shows the Sun is in Denmark right now, en route to Stavanger.

Your signature says you're sailing on the Viking Sea, so I suspect you mis-titled the thread.

We're sailing into the Midnight Sun on the Star in two weeks, so will be following this thread with great interest.

Have a wonderful voyage, whichever ship you're on.

We will be on the Viking Star "Into the Midnight Sun" embarking in Bergen on June 30.

We are scheduled for the "Lysoen Island & Fantoft Stave Church" optional excursion July 1 from Bergen. Can anyone tell me if we will actually go IN the Fantoft Stave Church? The write-up says "… at the 12th-century Fantoft Stave Church, moved to its picturesque site in 1883 to preserve it for the nation, you can admire its traditional timber construction and elaborate carved decorations. It was all painstakingly rebuilt after a severe fire in 1992."

Another excursion from the Viking Star, "Fantoft Stave Church & Grieg's House & Recital" says "You will join your local guide on a drive through suburban Bergen to Fana, where the Fantoft Stave Church stands tall, proud and elegant. Built entirely of wood in 1150 in the tradition of Norwegian stave churches, it was moved to its present site in 1883 to save it from demolition and preserve it as part of the nation’s heritage. After a destructive 1992 fire, artisans extensively and faithfully restored it to its former beauty. Inside, you can admire the traditional timber construction and elaborately carved decoration."

Thank you for this "live"post. Watching the weather and wondering how accurate the weather reported temps are. Was if if really only the 50's the day you boarded, July 12?