Viking Star: Reviews of Viking Oceans Paid Excursions

[Lennylover]

Many thanks to all who have posted on this thread. We are on the November 26th Venice to Barcelona Mediterranean Odyssey and have booked a number of paid excursions including the following:

 

Venice - evening gondola

 

Venice - Venetian Islands - looking forward to Murano for the glass

 

Naples - Ancient Herculaneum

 

Rome - Private visit of Vatican City Museums - my wife who was in the museum field worked with the Vatican Museum for an exhibit

 

Monte Carlo - walking tour of Nice and Musee Matisse

 

Toulon - A day in Aix-en-Provence

 

Barcelona - Gaudi Architecture tour

 

We will post our impressions after the cruise. We have also done two River cruises with Viking (Danube Waltz and Waterways of the Tsars) and thought they generally did a great job. I expect there have been some kinks to work out with the larger number of passengers and multiple tour offerings. We are really looking forward to our trip.

 

James and Anne

We just returned and I think you made good choices! Although Pompeii was awesome!

[roothy123]

We did this optional $49 tour, along with 10 others, and thought it was excellent for the price we paid. I provided more detail in my "Tips - as of Oct. 3" thread, so if anyone else is considering this tour (which is basically to see the Temple of Poseidon) you might want to take a look there. We had been to Athens before, so thought we'd try something different. I looked at taking a ferry to Aegina, but since we were on a cruise, that didn't appeal all that much. I also considered going to the Temple of Poseidon on my own, but a Viator tour was $49 and offered too late in the day, and I couldn't figure out the public bus schedules to the Cape, so decided to simply take the Viking excursion. We did Temple of Poseidon in the morning and then I still had time to take the afternoon included bus tour in the afternoon I had signed up for That worked well for me - saw a little of everything!

 

I did some of the included excursions and for the most part, they were pretty much what you'd get on other ocean cruise lines I've been on (except that Viking's didn't cost $50-100 each in addition to the cruise price!) One thing that was the same on all of the ones I took was that the guides were very good - plenty of information, great English, little accent, good pacing, often good information on how to get back to the ship if we wanted to do that on our own. We used Quiet Voxes on most, which is a great way to do tours.

[jkerr]

I would probably give this Viking "Star" tour 3 1/2 to 4 stars. ($109 pp) (Unfortunately Helsinki was right in between Stockholm and St. Petersburg and suffers a little in comparison.)

 

Relaxing bus ride out into the countryside. Visited a family-run horse farm and were welcomed into their lovely, very comfortable, large home. Very different from the palaces we would visit in St. Petersburg! The berry pie, ice cream, and coffee/tea were delicious. The owner then walked us down to the horse stables where the special treat was a teeny colt that had been born a few days early and was still very wobbly. He was very curious about us but his Mom wouldn't let him come over to the fence. Close enough though to get great pictures.

 

Tour of the tiny, ancient Church of St. Sigfrid was interesting but our guide missed pointing out some of the features - perhaps because she was trying to get her speaker to work with our headphones. There was one other bus with guide and I wound up eavesdropping on that talk. You may want to pick up a free brochure as you leave - filled in the gaps for me.

 

Back in Helsinki, we stopped off at the "Rock Church" for a short visit. That was one of the sights we particularly wanted to see and it was included in the 1/2 day tour. The bus passed by other landmarks and we had an opportunity at the end to get off the bus in the Senate Square where we could have visited the Helsinki Cathedral. Afterwards, we could have met the Viking shuttle to get back to the ship, but it was raining lightly and we decided to call it a day.

 

 

Our other choice for a ship's tour would have been to the Helsinki Ice Bar but we had been to one in Stockholm already on our own. Heard some good things about the Helsinki Ice Bar tour, but we enjoyed the one in Stockholm so much we didn't need to do this again. Plus wanted to be able to see more of Helsinki which were covered by the "Highlights and Visit to Sipoo".

 

Hello, OBX Cruises, just a quick question. Was the owner of the horse farm's first name Amalie?? Just wondering...we meet a Finnish woman who owned a horse farm on the maiden cruise. Thanks

[Solent Richard]

Many thanks to all those who have taken the time to write reviews on this forum of their experiences on "Viking Star". It has been very informative & enlightening. I now feel well versed in what to expect when on board.

However, given that I booked the "Star" on the 50 day "Viking Empire" in 2016 on the basis of land tours out of the various ports of call, rather than the ship itself, I would dearly love to hear of the experiences of those who bought & undertook Viking organised (not privately organised) excursions. While I accept that Viking offers a free excursion in each port of call, I am more interested in the paid offerings & whether those who undertook them felt they got value for money.

The Viking organised paid excursions are not cheap - most are over the $100 mark & many much more than that. I have done a great deal of research into the paid excursions on offer & though I cannot, as yet, access My Wish List to enter them online, I know which I wish to do based on my research.... :D

 

Hi there Avonglen.

 

I shall be in a position to give you a full resume by the end of the year.

[Solent Richard]

Many thanks to all who have posted on this thread. We are on the November 26th Venice to Barcelona Mediterranean Odyssey and have booked a number of paid excursions including the following:

 

Venice - evening gondola

 

Venice - Venetian Islands - looking forward to Murano for the glass

 

Naples - Ancient Herculaneum

 

Rome - Private visit of Vatican City Museums - my wife who was in the museum field worked with the Vatican Museum for an exhibit

 

Monte Carlo - walking tour of Nice and Musee Matisse

 

Toulon - A day in Aix-en-Provence

 

Barcelona - Gaudi Architecture tour

 

We will post our impressions after the cruise. We have also done two River cruises with Viking (Danube Waltz and Waterways of the Tsars) and thought they generally did a great job. I expect there have been some kinks to work out with the larger number of passengers and multiple tour offerings. We are really looking forward to our trip.

 

James and Anne

 

I too will look forward to your offerings and similarly will report back here in the New Year.

[Lagunajames]

Many thanks to all who have posted on this thread. We are on the November 26th Venice to Barcelona Mediterranean Odyssey and have booked a number of paid excursions including the following:

 

Venice - evening gondola

 

Venice - Venetian Islands - looking forward to Murano for the glass

 

Naples - Ancient Herculaneum

 

Rome - Private visit of Vatican City Museums - my wife who was in the museum field worked with the Vatican Museum for an exhibit

 

Monte Carlo - walking tour of Nice and Musee Matisse

 

Toulon - A day in Aix-en-Provence

 

Barcelona - Gaudi Architecture tour

 

We will post our impressions after the cruise. We have also done two River cruises with Viking (Danube Waltz and Waterways of the Tsars) and thought they generally did a great job. I expect there have been some kinks to work out with the larger number of passengers and multiple tour offerings. We are really looking forward to our trip.

 

James and Anne

 

Well, we are just back from our Mediterranean Odyssey cruise and very pleased with all of our paid excursions. In fact the Viking included tours in the other ports (Split, Dubrovnik, Corfu and Florence/Livorno) were also well done and just what we were looking for on those days.

 

When we made our choices for the paid excursions we also took into account that we were flying into Rome on Nov. 23 in advance of our embarkation on Viking Star on November 26th. By doing so we were able to have a half day private tour in Rome on 11/24 (Pantheon, Coliseum, Catacombs, Circus Maximus, Trevi Fountain), a full day in Florence on 11/25 (early morning train from Rome Termini and back later that evening) and take a nice leisurely train ride from Rome to Venice on 11/26. We also had two extra days in Barcelona at the end.

 

Here are our our thoughts on the paid excursions:

 

1. Venice evening gondola ride - Magical! Well organized. Vaporetto style boat transfer to St. Marks and a short walk (4 bridges) to the gondola boarding station. Efficiently loaded in small groups into the gondola and set out in small groups of 3-4 gondolas with one having some type of music to accompany the ride. It was somewhat cool but still pleasant and we would not have missed it.

 

2. Venetian Islands and St. Marks - similar Vaporetto style boat transfer to Murano first. Nice commentary by guide enroute. Great idea to start with Murano. Nice presentation and high quality vendor. We made a purchase of a very nice plate and bowl set which we will treasure. Followed up by a quick ride to Burano and a walk to a lace store for a brief demonstration and then free time to stroll, grab a coffee and pastry and then on to St. Marks. We arrived with lots of time to walk to Rialto, grab some lunch and stroll again before taking a shuttle back to the ship. Highly recommend this tour.

 

3. Naples - Ancient Herculaneum. We were very pleased with this tour. It is a fantastic site, very compact and easy to absorb. We had a great guide (Gino) who was very knowledgeable. His only failing was forgetting to check that he had his Quiet Vox equipment before departing the port but it all worked out as the group was not that large and we were able to stay close and hear all of his commentary. A nice alternative to Pompeii.

 

4. Rome - Private visit to the Vatican. Unfortunately it was not possible to have the private visit since there was a visiting dignitary that day and we could not go after hours. We received a partial refund and in the end were grateful to go during the day instead of having the late night. Since we were at the Vatican museum during the day we did have to deal with crowds. Our group also included several wheel chair passengers so we also had some delays while we waited for them to navigate the disabled access in the Vatican museum and St. Peter's. Our Vatican guide was very knowledgeable but unfortunately was not able to condense some of the earlier commentary to keep us on schedule. My suggestion to Viking would be to clearly state that it is only possible to see certain things during the tour and that other parts of the Vatican Museum will be passed over without commentary. The other option would be to offer an "on your own" version for those guests who want to see certain parts of the museum and are content to do so self guided.

 

5. Walking tour of Nice and Musee Matisse - unfortunately this was the only day it rained during our cruise and as a result it was not as enjoyable as it might have been had it been a sunny day. The walking tour of Nice was great (other than the rain). We were divided into two groups when we got to the Musee Matisse with our group doing a tour of the grounds. Since it was raining this was not very enjoyable and we found ourselves walking ahead to get inside the museum. The included lunch was so-so and the restaurant location very tight. Our primary reason for choosing this tour was for the Musee Matisse which we thoroughly enjoyed.

 

6. A day in Aix-en-Provence - Great day! Much nicer weather. Great guide - Claire who was very clear and focused and provided lots of information. Much better included lunch. Good amount of free time to browse the Christmas market. Since this tour was on a Sunday the Atelier Cezanne was not available so the Musee Granet was substituted and I thought it was perfect. They have a nice collection of Cezanne works and many others as well.

 

7. Gaudi Architecture tour - our favorite for a number of reasons. Our guide, Antonio, was the best. Very focused, very clear, kept us on schedule and provided great information. The tour started at Park Guell which is a great introduction to Gaudi and conducive to handling groups. That was followed up by a visit to Sagrada Familia with great commentary by Antonio and making sure he took us to the best spots for pictures. The best part was free time inside. We decided to sit down in the prayer area and just take it all in and were rewarded by hearing the bells chime at noon and then hearing a recorded version of Ave Maria resounding throughout the interior. A very special moment. The tour also included a drive by of Casa Batllo which we then visited on our own when we stayed the extra two days in Barcelona.

 

All in all we were very pleased with Viking's efforts in organizing, planning and executing these excursions which is consistent with our previous experiences on two river cruises.

 

James and Anne

[Erica@cruisecritic]

The Cruise Critic editorial team is wrapping up a Mediterranean cruise and we wanted to add our impressions of the paid shore excursions, since collectively we tried a bunch of them!

 

I tried out two:

 

Monaco - Perfumes of Grasse and St. Paul ($129): This tour was incredible and everyone I spoke with felt the same. Our guide was wonderful, quite knowledgeable and made some long bus rides (mostly on highways) interesting with her commentary. The perfume factory had a fabulous guide, who was funny, and everyone on the tour ended up buying perfume or soap or sachets because she was so charming (and the prices were good). St. Paul is a gorgeous village with stone streets and buildings, French restaurants, art galleries, plenty of shopping opportunities and a cemetery with amazing views (and the grave of Marc Chagall). There's an optional museum tour at the modern art museum that I skipped, but the reports back were that there wasn't a lot of time and the art was "very modern." But beware -- Viking advertises this as a 5.5 hour tour, but it's more like an 8-hour tour. I was glad it was longer, as I really enjoyed it and didn't feel rushed -- but for planning purposes, it's useful to know the real length.

 

Corsica - Panoramic Prunelli ($89): The positive of this tour is that it takes you into the beautiful interior of the island, which is certainly worth seeing. The negative is that it's four hours on a bus with limited stops with limited appeal. (The tour description doesn't do it justice -- you stop once in a little village for no apparent reason, again for a bit of snack of cheese, meat and cookies but in very small amounts, and then a couple of photo stops -- but no stop in the adorable village on the lake where clearly other tours stop because we saw buses.) If you don't like driving winding roads on steep cliffs with nonexistent guard rails in a large tour bus, or are prone to carsickness, I would advise against the tour.

[SarahIT]

I was on the cruise with the Cruise Critic editorial team and would echo all of Erica's praise of the Perfumes of Grasse and St. Paul excursion -- it was one of my favorite experiences of the trip.

 

The only other paid excursions I did were Florence on Your Own and Rome on Your Own (I don't have the prices handy, but I believe one was $69 and the other $79). These are basically just bus transfers from the ship to the city. Each of the guides gave a little bit of commentary during the drive, and then walked us from the bus drop-off to a set meeting point -- Piazza Santa Croce in Florence and right in front of St. Peter's in Rome. They gave us maps, explained how to get to the key attractions in each city, and pointed out local shops where we could use the bathroom without paying. Then we had about six hours of free time on our own. It was perfect for those who want to explore independently but don't want to have to figure out the logistics of getting themselves from the port to each city.

[editor@cruisecritic]

Helsinki's tricky because it's usually just before or after St. Petersburg, which is a marquee port. My first visit to Helsinki, I felt like you did. Now, having been married to a Finn for over a decade (and we have a home there), I love the city but the really nice pleasures downtown aren't always covered on tours. For instance, you can go online and book a tour of the city's fantastic Design District. Or just take the day off from tours and hang out in the center of town on its "Central Park" strip called the Esplanade. Lots of lovely cafes, and shops you haven't seen elsewhere. There's a fun outdoor market and an even more realistic (for Finns anyway) indoor market right on the waterfront.

 

Another great adventure and entirely do-able on an independent basis, is to take the ferry to the island of Suomenlinna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lots of important buildings but possibly even more importantly :) -- there's a lovely microbrewery right near where the ferry drops you off. Have a sip, take a stroll, enjoy the fantastic view of Helsinki from across the sea.

 

Anyway, here's Cruise Critic's port profile on Helsinki: http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=86

 

Carolyn

 

I would probably give this Viking "Star" tour 3 1/2 to 4 stars. ($109 pp) (Unfortunately Helsinki was right in between Stockholm and St. Petersburg and suffers a little in comparison.)

 

Many thanks OBX Cruisers for taking the time & effort to respond to my request for info about paid tours. To tell the truth, Helsinki was one port of call where I have struggled to find an appropriate /interesting tour. On an earlier visit there many years ago, we visited the "Rock Church" & also went to Sibelius Park to see the Monument erected in his honour. However, the trip you did out into the country to meet the locals sounds interesting. So I will keep this tour in mind when doing my final bookings. Again, many thanks:D

[ashley@cruisecritic]

I took the extra-fee "Florence and Leaning Tower" excursion from Livorno. I was thoroughly impressed with everything.

 

Initially I was worried that a nearly 11-hour excursion would leave me exhausted, and with how far away everything is from the actual cruise port, I also worried that we wouldn't have enough time to explore each place. I was pleasantly surprised.

 

We stopped in Pisa first. (In the summer, it's done second, but they switch the order in the fall, as the days are shorter, and it's easier to see everything in the daylight.) We had a quick tour and about an hour of free time to walk around. Apart from the tower, there's not much else to do there.

 

Florence was amazing. We had an hour tour, which acclimated us to the main highlights of the city, before being given nearly three hours to check out everything from the Duomo (which, unfortunately, was closed) to the Academia, where Michelangelo's "David" is housed.

 

Our tour guide, Francesa, was fantastic, offering just enough information to keep us interested but not so much that we wanted her to stop talking. She also offered great recommendations for places to shop and eat.

 

Overall, this tour was worth the added cost.

Edited December 17, 2015 by ashley@cruisecritic

[Brittany C]

I fell in love on this tour. Despite never having been to Monte Carlo, I was encouraged to take this all-day excursion that transported us just outside of Monaco to Nice, France. The bus ride was truly part of the experience in this particular port because the scenery was some of the most breathtaking I've ever seen -- modern mansions and ancient castles on the cliffs dropping down to the Bay of Angels; the pristine yachts docked by the colorful shoreline; flowering vines tangled around the facade of cafes... you get the idea. Although it was ultimately Nice that stole my heart, the small group size (15 of us on one bus, 13 on another -- they could have easily stuck us together, but didn't for the walking tour), the dedicated guide (she had BROKEN part of her foot the night before and still showed up to walk us along the cobblestone squares) the relaxing, included lunch at a local restaurant and even our charming bus driver, made this the best day I had on the entire cruise. For reference, this 9 to 5 (more or less) day in Nice cost about $219 per person.

 

For any lover of a certain artist, be sure to take the tour -- it fills in context to the landscape of their art (Cezanne in Aix-en-Provence; Matisse in Nice; Dali in Figueres outside Barcelona -- which was surprisingly canceled on our voyage due to lack of interest - gasp). The museum and grounds of Matisse's estate (including a sprawling olive grove from the monestary nearby) and even the site of his remains will stick with me.

 

Keep in mind, the pace and atmosphere along the French Riviera was perhaps as enjoyable because we traveled in mid-December, or low season. We heard stories of how mobbed it can be in the summer months, and it was hard to imagine capturing as much magic in those popular travel times as I did happening upon the spectacular Christmas market, or feeling like I had an entire side street to myself.

 

While I encourage anyone visiting Monte Carlo for the first time to at least spend a day getting to see the jaw-dropping sights of the city/country, keep in mind that depending how much energy you have, the ship is docked so late it's possible to spend time in port at night even after your all-day tour.

 

Enjoy!

 

~Brittany Chrusciel, Associate Editor, Cruise Critic

[sea pebble]

Roothy:

 

We have been to Kusadasi twice. Our first time with Oceania we had a private group and a guide to Ephesus. Ephesus is great and the highlight in my opinion is the Terrace Houses. Make sure your tour goes there as it is an additional cost from the main entry fee to Ephesus. The second time we were in Kusadasi was with Azamara. They arranged a private event at night in Ephesus to listen to a concert. It was wonderful seeing the ruins at night. During the day we walked down the dock and jumped on a boat that took you swimming along the coast.

 

 

Hello Terrier 1, I was on the first tour to Ephesus with you and your husband. I believe you coordinated this tour for the group. I agree it was the best tour and the guide was wonderful. I would love to see the ruins at night as well.