Shore excursions: Which one to choose, included or for-a-fee?

[russg140]

We are first time Viking cruisers (moving up from Celebrity) and are on the Midnight Sun cruise on the Sea next June. We are looking at shore excursions. The "included" ones look o.k. but I'm afraid most of them are just going to be bus tours, which we prefer to avoid as we are more active. So my questions are: am I correct in that assumption (for the most part) and how are the for-a-fee excursions priced (we can't see prices yet as we are too far out)? Any other information you think we might need to know about Viking's shore excursions would be appreciated. TIA!

[CharTrav]

We are first time Viking cruisers (moving up from Celebrity) and are on the Midnight Sun cruise on the Sea next June. We are looking at shore excursions. The "included" ones look o.k. but I'm afraid most of them are just going to be bus tours, which we prefer to avoid as we are more active. So my questions are: am I correct in that assumption (for the most part) and how are the for-a-fee excursions priced (we can't see prices yet as we are too far out)? Any other information you think we might need to know about Viking's shore excursions would be appreciated. TIA!

 

 

If you want to get an idea of how Viking prices excursions you can check out this summary I made up for the Viking Homelands cruise in 2016. Although the cruise is different, you might be able to get a ballpark by comparing similar excursions - by duration, activities, meals or snacks provided etc. In 2015, they didn't make you wait til your MyVikingJourney opened up (posted estimates at least) but starting in 2016 they did. Wish they'd go back to that practice. But here you go. Enjoy!

 

Go to GoogleDrive:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B99bR-m5vQogOTlmLVFwdUNCb0E

OR

Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pa8s1dkcdg6o333/Viking%20Homelands%20with%20Pre%20and%20Post%20Extensions%20%282016%29.pdf?dl=0

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[NewLondonNed]

You may want to read others' plans and experiences in the ports you will visit on tripadvisor - many times you can arrange tours on your own via websites that are completely reliable, coordinate with your ship's arrival and departure and cost much less for the same or better experience and with a smaller group. You may find you enjoy the reading and planning as much as I do in anticipation. Good luck!

[NewLondonNed]

Forgot to mention the CruiseCritic forum for Northern Europe ports will have information posts on your ports of call with loads of info from CC members

[Peregrina651]

Also, the Midnight Sun cruises are currently sailing. There are currently two live threads running, one from the Star and one from the Sky.

 

Each of the 3 ships currently operating is doing the itinerary twice this summer for a total of 6 sailings -- and hence 6 roll calls to check up on and even ask questions on.

 

Viking Star June 17, 2017 Into the Midnight Sun, London to Bergen

 

Viking Star Bergen to London June 3,2017

 

2017-July 9: Viking Sea, Into the MIdnight Sun

June 25, 2017 Into the Midnight Sun - Viking Sea

July 1, 2017 Viking Sky Into the Midnight Sun

Viking Sky June 23, 2018 Into the Midnight Sun

[CharTrav]

Great response Peregrina651! It will help alot with learning about the excursions themselves. Re pricing, I have never understood why Viking doesn't provide any excursion pricing information except to paid passengers and only when that paid passenger's particular MyVikingJourney goes live. Before Viking Ocean launched, Viking River published the prices for the few optional excursions for a cruise in a summary provided as a PDF. And this practice continued when VO launched. But it didn't last. I don't understand that decision at all.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Peregrina651]

Great response Peregrina651! It will help alot with learning about the excursions themselves. Re pricing, I have never understood why Viking doesn't provide any excursion pricing information except to paid passengers and only when that paid passenger's particular MyVikingJourney goes live. Before Viking Ocean launched, Viking River published the prices for the few optional excursions for a cruise in a summary provided as a PDF. And this practice continued when VO launched. But it didn't last. I don't understand that decision at all.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they are still negotiating, still planning and still tweaking things with the contractors right up until the day that they go live with the final choice of tours for a specific sailing. The river stuff is a lot less complicated with fewer people who have to be accommodated and more of the touring done "in-house" on Viking's own buses, etc. But, this is only my guess.

[CharTrav]

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they are still negotiating, still planning and still tweaking things with the contractors right up until the day that they go live with the final choice of tours for a specific sailing. The river stuff is a lot less complicated with fewer people who have to be accommodated and more of the touring done "in-house" on Viking's own buses, etc. But, this is only my guess.

 

Sorta what I was thinking too. But still, it be a tad annoying. Even an estimate from previous year excursions would be better than flat nothing (not an option of course for totally new cruises of course). And use that estimate until the prices solidify before the first sailing of a particular cruise after which the actual price is indeed posted on both the public page and MVJ. Am assuming that prices don't vary from sailing to sailing for a given cruise during a given year - that they remain constant throughout the season. Or am I just dreaming up some complicated programming whizbang nobody would want to tackle? Also too, by the time MVJ goes live, most if not all of the sailings for a given cruise are sold out. Or nearly so. But now I'm whining and/or having too much what if? fun. Naughty me!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Peregrina651]

Okay, so enough crying over what we can't fix and on to some practical help for the OP.

 

Russ, I don't have a simple answer for you. For sure, you should read the descriptions carefully for all of the shorex. Skimming can be misleading and so can the titles. Each port of call is different and has different offerings. The super active tours --hiking, kayaking, etc--seem to be the first to sell out and the hiking tours can be a bit more demanding than expected since the area is not flat.

 

When we did Midnight Sun last summer (2016), we actually took a combination of included, optional and on-our-own tours.I reviewed them in the 2016 roll call (here the link to the post). The itinerary has changed and we went to a number of places that the 2017 cruises did not.

 

We did Geiranger on our own and used a local tour provider to go up to Mt. Dalsnibba. We took a real gamble and bought these tickets in advance. We lucked out and we could actually see all the way down to the fjord where our ship was anchored. You can also kayak here or take various boat rides on the fjord or rent bikes or electric cars through the same local provider (Geirangerfjord Services).

[jiminyC_fan]

My advice is to research, research, research each port. From there decide if the included tour will satisfy you. We did a little bit of all, on our own, private tour, included tour and an optional Viking tour.

[Spursgirl]

We cruised with Viking for the first time in January. We didn't do any included tours but did pay for two. Thought they were both excellent and very good value for money.

 

We are cruising with another cruise line at the end of the month and the cost of the tours are a total rip off

[russg140]

If you want to get an idea of how Viking prices excursions you can check out this summary I made up for the Viking Homelands cruise in 2016. Although the cruise is different, you might be able to get a ballpark by comparing similar excursions - by duration, activities, meals or snacks provided etc. In 2015, they didn't make you wait til your MyVikingJourney opened up (posted estimates at least) but starting in 2016 they did. Wish they'd go back to that practice. But here you go. Enjoy!

 

Go to GoogleDrive:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B99bR-m5vQogOTlmLVFwdUNCb0E

OR

Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pa8s1dkcdg6o333/Viking%20Homelands%20with%20Pre%20and%20Post%20Extensions%20%282016%29.pdf?dl=0

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

AWESOME - thanks!

[russg140]

Also, the Midnight Sun cruises are currently sailing. There are currently two live threads running, one from the Star and one from the Sky.

 

Each of the 3 ships currently operating is doing the itinerary twice this summer for a total of 6 sailings -- and hence 6 roll calls to check up on and even ask questions on.

 

Viking Star June 17, 2017 Into the Midnight Sun, London to Bergen

 

Viking Star Bergen to London June 3,2017

 

2017-July 9: Viking Sea, Into the MIdnight Sun

June 25, 2017 Into the Midnight Sun - Viking Sea

July 1, 2017 Viking Sky Into the Midnight Sun

Viking Sky June 23, 2018 Into the Midnight Sun

 

I've been following Carolyn's cruise thread. She's done a great job of reporting what she had done or is planning to do. I also forgot about the Northern Europe port boards. I'll check them out too! Thanks!

[LilyRose761]

If Princess can give you pricing for excursions a year in advance, Viking ought to be able to do it too.

[philw1776]

If Princess can give you pricing for excursions a year in advance, Viking ought to be able to do it too.

 

OK, but Viking Ocean is new to the ocean business and I can say personally that Viking is dynamic in changing its excursions based upon guest feedback. I've seen them nuke excursions/guides that were not well received by guests. These changes can have cost/price implications. I am a fan of the "continuous improvement" management approach.

[Richard2]

My wife and I just got home last week from Into the Midnight Sun. Yes, most of the included tours are bus rides, sometimes with time to walk around an area, almost always with brief photo stops. The optional tours generally range from about $100 to $250, with some exceptional options, such as helicopter rides, much more. Given the demographics of the ship, I am surprised at how many active optional tours there are. We do not take optional tours for things we can do without traveling half-way around the world - kayaking, ATV rides, etc. We look for exceptional scenic opportunities specific to the location. We end up using about 70% included tours and 30% optional. On Into the Midnight Sun, the Seabirds of Puffin Island was spectacular.

[CharTrav]

OK, but Viking Ocean is new to the ocean business and I can say personally that Viking is dynamic in changing its excursions based upon guest feedback. I've seen them nuke excursions/guides that were not well received by guests. These changes can have cost/price implications. I am a fan of the "continuous improvement" management approach.

 

[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

New to ocean cruising but not to the cruise business. This is a practice well established by Viking River and simply continued into Viking Ocean. They are fanatics about getting and responding to feedback. Something we learned about on our first VR cruise.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited July 8, 2017 by CharTrav

[Richard2]

My wife and I just got home last week from Into the Midnight Sun. Yes, most of the included tours are bus rides, sometimes with time to walk around an area, almost always with brief photo stops. The optional tours generally range from about $100 to $250, with some exceptional options, such as helicopter rides, much more. Given the demographics of the ship, I am surprised at how many active optional tours there are. We do not take optional tours for things we can do without traveling half-way around the world - kayaking, ATV rides, etc. We look for exceptional scenic opportunities specific to the location. We end up using about 70% included tours and 30% optional. On Into the Midnight Sun, the Seabirds of Puffin Island was spectacular.

 

Sorry. It was "Seabirds of Stappen Island," (not Puffin Island) as an optional excursion at Honningsvag, and the puffins were amazing.

[Fpacifico]

I went on into the midnight sun on the June 3 cruise and originally, I purchased optional tours for almost every port but unfortunately three were cancelled because there was not enough interest. We were given the option of choosing other optional tours or take an included tour. We choose the included tours and they were able to get us on the first or second group. And we choose to get the refund sent to us. You could also get your refund on board.