What time of day do the shore excursions open for purchase?

[Peregrina651]

A question please. We are looking at taking our first Viking Ocean cruise next year for my husbands birthday. I have read that a shore excursion is included in the price. Can anyone explain what type would this be? All of you that are talking about booking an excursion, is that because you did not like the included one or is this an extra one to do in port?

 

I am sure i will have more questions once we get a cruise booked. Thanks in advance.

 

On the already established itineraries, you can see what tours are on offer on the Viking website.

 

For example, go to Iconic Cities of the Western Med (which I know shows which shorex they are considering). Scroll down the page until you get to the Day-by-day itinerary; then click on Day 1. Scroll down to see what shorex are on offer that day. To see the next day, scroll back up the page and click where it says "Next Day." Note that some of the tours are seasonal and not all of the tours shown will actually be offered on all sail dates. The final choice of shorex for your sailing will be published on MyVikingJourney.com (accessible only to booked passengers) about 110 days before the sail date.

 

Not all of the itinerary pages show what shorex are on offer; many of the newly announced itineraries are still in development. But keep checking because there is no telling when the information will be updated.

[JandKsVistas]

If we book a paid excursion on line, before the cruise, and have to cancel for any reason, sickness etc. does Viking Ocean give a refund? Viking river does not.

[SantaFe1]

We did that last fall and got it credited back to our credit card. It was not noted on the final invoice upon leaving the ship, but they told us we would see it on our credit card statement, and we did!

[Peregrina651]

We did that last fall and got it credited back to our credit card. It was not noted on the final invoice upon leaving the ship, but they told us we would see it on our credit card statement, and we did!

 

As long as you cancel before the cancellation deadline for the tour. If, for example, you have to cancel your cruise the day before you are supposed to leave, then you may be too late to cancel tours on Day 2 of the cruise. However, what is not refunded by Viking should be covered by your trip insurance.

[SantaFe1]

Yes, exactly right. We did check the date and cancel before it.

[robinhood1]

There is an included tour in each port - it is usually a walking tour or a bus tour ( described as panoramic). You must book these when your booking window opens. You can opt for an alternative which is usually longer - same tour with add ins or completely different. These cost extra but seem to me to be reasonably priced because they in effect offset the included tour price against them. We usually do a mix of included and extra tours depending on what we are interested in. The included tours have about 30 on each and can be slow if there are some immobile people with you. It is swings and roundabouts really - we went on an expensive extra tour in Bergen and were very disappointed with it for several reasons. Viking just refunded us when we returned. We have been happy with most tours - they will never all be perfect - guides, traffic, distances. Bus quality all can be variable but we are used to that.!

[Twitchly]

Robinhood1, which Bergen tour were you disappointed with? We’re going to be there in a couple of months and are wondering which ones to take or avoid.

[robinhood1]

We were very disappointed with the trip to the fish farm - it was a lot of driving - the guide was very poor ( lots of sexist comments) and there were long delays as there was a sporting event on. Even then the fish farm was just a walk out on a pontoon and a talk from one of the staff. The afternoon village visit was cancelled. The guide just said it wasn’t on his schedule. Definitely one to avoid I would say!! Viking gave us a full refund.

[robinhood1]

Bergen is lovely and very easy to get around the centre by the way. If you are there a day or two early you can easily take the funicular and walk down on your own - it is also possible to do on a free afternoon. You don’t need to pay Viking to take you up there if you have the time. ( It is a stunning view by the way) . The central area is also very easy to walk around. The area around the port and the fish market is very atmospheric. We have been to Bergen three times now - Grieg’s House is very good and it is always interesting to see a stave Church.

[LJRVancouver]

This is our first Viking Ocean cruise. Although we are avid cruisers we generally book and plan our own private tours so having tours included is new to us. What experience have others had with Viking's tours? Are they quality tours? How large are the tour groups, level of physical activity, number of tour options etc. Find it frustrating that nothing is posted as to what the available tours are and since they are included in cruise fare we don't have any way to evaluate before cruise payment is due. Specifically doing Into Midnight Sun from London down western coast of Norway to Bergen. Thank you

[Azulann]

This is our first Viking Ocean cruise. Although we are avid cruisers we generally book and plan our own private tours so having tours included is new to us. What experience have others had with Viking's tours? Are they quality tours? How large are the tour groups, level of physical activity, number of tour options etc. Find it frustrating that nothing is posted as to what the available tours are and since they are included in cruise fare we don't have any way to evaluate before cruise payment is due. Specifically doing Into Midnight Sun from London down western coast of Norway to Bergen. Thank you

One option is to look at passengers reviews for this itinerary. Many include reivews of their excursions..

On the right side of the Viking forum page is a link to the reviews.

[Twitchly]

Bergen is lovely and very easy to get around the centre by the way. If you are there a day or two early you can easily take the funicular and walk down on your own - it is also possible to do on a free afternoon. You don’t need to pay Viking to take you up there if you have the time. ( It is a stunning view by the way) . The central area is also very easy to walk around. The area around the port and the fish market is very atmospheric. We have been to Bergen three times now - Grieg’s House is very good and it is always interesting to see a stave Church.

 

Thanks for the great info. We were seriously debating the visit to the fish farm, which is expensive — after reading your comments above, I’m so glad we opted for Grieg’s House instead. We also added a visit to a local farm, booking 2 excursions for that day.

 

We’ve got the Bergen / Oslo extension at the end, so we’ll get to see a bit of Bergen as well on the day we disembark. I’m really looking forward to the train ride to Oslo the day after that!

[Cyber Kat]

This is our first Viking Ocean cruise. Although we are avid cruisers we generally book and plan our own private tours so having tours included is new to us. What experience have others had with Viking's tours? Are they quality tours? How large are the tour groups, level of physical activity, number of tour options etc. Find it frustrating that nothing is posted as to what the available tours are and since they are included in cruise fare we don't have any way to evaluate before cruise payment is due. Specifically doing Into Midnight Sun from London down western coast of Norway to Bergen. Thank you

 

 

 

On the Find a Cruise” page on the Viking website, find your cruise. If you look at the itinerary, you can click through to see typical excursions for that port. The description will say if that excursion is included or optional. These aren’t written in stone and may vary, but we have found them to be fairly close.

 

The ones specifically for your cruise are generally available to look at about 100 days out.

 

Our first Viking cruise was a river cruise and we enjoyed all the excursions very much. We did mostly included ones but there were a few optional ($ extra) that we did also.

 

We have our first Viking Ocean cruise coming up and another cruise booked. We are satisfied Viking customers [emoji7]

 

We often do a mix of tours through the ship and tours on our own when we cruise other lines. Mostly we are happy with letting Viking do the planning. They do a nice job for the most part.

 

For our Viking Ocean - West Indies Explorer - we booked mostly the optional excursions. For Caribbean islands, a walking tour or bus tour wasn’t very appealing, but the optional ones were interesting and not very costly. We thought they were very reasonably priced.

 

For our Rhine Getaway, our excursions consisted of a short bus ride - average 15-20 minutes. There were 2 or 3 tour groups per bus, so when we got to the starting point, we broke up into groups of about 20-25 people. There was always a slow walkers group.

 

Everyone has QuietVox headsets in their cabin. They sit in a charger when you’re not using them. You can use your own headset or earbuds, I’ve been told, and I’m going to try that on our next cruise. I wasn’t wild about the part that goes over your ear.

 

The headsets allow you to stray a bit from the group. You can tell because the connection will break up. I like to take. photos, so that worked out nicely. I could listen and shoot away to my hearts content.

 

If you prefer to explore on your own, you can tell the guide and they will let you know where to meet up later. There is usually always time for exploring or shopping or having a drink or a snack after the tour. If we were in port for the whole day or a long time, there were shuttles, and we were given a schedule. Viking also provided maps of the cities we visited.

 

On the river, there were stops where we could walk off the ship and come and go as we liked, but I don’t think most Ocean cruises can do that because the ports are not as close to the interesting areas of the cities. That’s an advantage with river cruises.

 

Viking will list any difficulties or challenges and rate the excursions accordingly, so you know ahead of choosing them. For instance, both the tour of Marksburg Castle and the hike in the Black Forest were listed as “demanding.” I found Marksburg (an included tour) not so bad, while others opted not to take the chance. Those who didn’t go on the Marksburg tour had the option to pay to take the cable car up to a fortress overlooking the river with very nice views, or they could cruise down the river on the ship to the port where it would pick up the 2 tours.

 

The Black Forest excursion was an included one. This involved a longer bus ride than the others, but the scenery was gorgeous and the guide kept us entertained. When we arrived at the stop - a hotel and group of shops surrounding a building size cuckoo clock in the forest - you could do the hike or watch several demonstrations in the shops. We did the hike and it was a climb, not a walk in the woods with a bit of uphill. Viking did say “demanding.” [emoji16]

 

We had time to browse through the shops, but we missed all but the Black Forest Cake demo. I was interested in eating a piece, not learning how to make it. [emoji39]

 

There was a glassblowing demo and a cuckoo clocks making demo as well. And we got to see the huge clock do it’s thing.

 

This was the only touristy excursion on the whole trip. Some people grumble about it, but we enjoyed the ride and the hike. I worked off enough calories for my cake. There was a magnificent train trestle behind the hotel - which had been an inn for centuries (Marie Antoinette stayed there). My husband loved the trestle and I had fun watching people try to feed baby goats some grass. They were cute - the goats, not the people.

 

So Viking plans the excursions well for the most part. I’ve read complaints here and there, but I’ve read more rave reviews than complaints. We enjoyed ours very much. I belong to a number of Viking groups over on FB and the majority are very happy with both the included and the optional excursions.

 

Hope this helps and is what you were looking for.

 

 

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[drcpa]

Forgive me for missing the forest from the trees (something I'm very good at), but the implication of this thread is that Viking shore excursion famously sell out and you'd better be awake at (in my case) 3am the first day of availability to snag a spot.

After a slew of river and ocean cruises, other than the few times I tried to register at the last moment (to accompany new friends, for example), I have never been told an excursion was unavailable or sold out.

Does that happen a lot on Viking?

[Cyber Kat]

Forgive me for missing the forest from the trees (something I'm very good at), but the implication of this thread is that Viking shore excursion famously sell out and you'd better be awake at (in my case) 3am the first day of availability to snag a spot.

After a slew of river and ocean cruises, other than the few times I tried to register at the last moment (to accompany new friends, for example), I have never been told an excursion was unavailable or sold out.

Does that happen a lot on Viking?

 

River cruises are not an issue - most of the optional excursions were still available when we boarded. Ocean cruises are a different story.

 

Viking guarantees an included excursion in each port for ocean cruises. You have to reserve a spot, however, so that's what people are doing - reserving their slots. The most desirable slots book up fast. The people in the higher priced cabin categories get to pick first - a perk of paying more money for your cabin. I think there was about a week between each category. The booking period opens at midnight CA time - that's why people get up at 3am :D

 

The more desirable optional excursions do sell out. For our West Indies cruise most people have had a chance to book and there are only a few things sold out for the optional excursions, but the good slots for the included ones are gone. We are in a DV category - which is next to last - and we were able to get the slots we wanted.

 

It's really not quite as bad as it sounds :) - but I did get up at 3am just in case :cool:

[Marykatesmom]

Forgive me for missing the forest from the trees (something I'm very good at), but the implication of this thread is that Viking shore excursion famously sell out and you'd better be awake at (in my case) 3am the first day of availability to snag a spot.

After a slew of river and ocean cruises, other than the few times I tried to register at the last moment (to accompany new friends, for example), I have never been told an excursion was unavailable or sold out.

Does that happen a lot on Viking?

 

I'm traveling next month with a large group and we have all different stateroom categories. It is an almost sold out cruise. I just double checked and only PV1, PJS and ES are left. I am PV3 and the day they were loaded into the system at 7 AM one had already sold out. I did indeed get up at 3AM with a list of what I wanted and what their priority was to me. I booked all the optional ones and paid for them one at a time to avoid losing it while it was sitting in my cart as suggested. By 7 AM two more optional ones were sold out. Looking at MVJ right now, there are 8 sold out optional excursions I am not booked on (I can't tell if I have it booked if that excursion is sold out).

 

Since you can cancel for a full refund* I booked what I wanted and I did end up cancelling one. My daughter finally looked at the material I gave her last week, weeks after I booked the excursions and wanted to do something different. Of course it is sold out and she admitted if she had gone over the options when I told her to, this wouldn't have been an issue. I am not a "wing it" person, NOT getting up (not reading the material too) would have driven me crazy. I agree with Cyber Kat. It wasn't that big a deal and I enjoyed reading about the excursions and prioritizing them was not difficult.

 

*I looked for the cancellation policy on purchasing excursions and couldn't find it. I thought it was 3 days before but I couldn't reference it properly so if someone can find it, it would be helpful.

[Shortymc]

Yes - 1 shore excursion is included at every port. The type of excursion depends on the port. In Europe, there is often some particular sight to see. You will walk or bus there, see the sight and then maybe take a walking tour or have some free time. Sometimes you are right in the port city - then it would be a walking tour to see the highlights. Viking generally does a very good job with the included tours. We enjoyed the ones on our river cruise very much.

 

We are doing the West Indies Explorer on Viking Ocean, so we are going to stop at a different island each day. Most islands don't have the kind of attractions cities in Europe would have, so most of ours are bus rides around the island or a walking tour of the port city. In San Juan, for instance, we get a walking tour of Old San Juan. St Croix is being substituted for Tortola so we are getting a walking tour there as well. St Kitts is a bus tour around the island with stops at some historical buildings and a botanical garden. St Lucia is a bus tour with stops at a mountain for the views, then a private estate tour. And so on.

 

Each included tour has different time slots to choose from. You have to make a reservation for the time slot you want. 9:30 sold out fast for the included ones on our cruise.

 

Viking also offers a number of mostly reasonably priced optional excursions. Many of these sell out fast, which is part of the reason we are all getting up early or in the middle of the night! If you want the good times slots for the included excursions and/or you have a particular excursion that you really want to do you need to book fast. You can wait until you are on the ship, but there's a chance you won't get what you want to do - or a good time slot.

 

We wanted to do the Photo excursion in Barbados because we both love photography. We signed up for the St Kitts Railway tour because we really like trains and it's a bit unique. We are doing 2 Land and Sea tours - in St Lucia & Antigua. We are taking a catamaran sail to St John from St Thomas. Again, the Caribbean is a whole different kind of trip than say a Mediterranean or Baltic cruise. Other than gorgeous scenery and a few historic spots there are not many places to visit on the islands. Beaches and shopping are what most people go there for.

 

Viking river is a different experience, altogether. We did reserve our included tours, but we mostly only took the included ones. Schedules on river cruises are subject to change and do change, so Viking assigns the slots, but mostly everyone leaves at the same time - just on different buses.

 

This is our first Viking Ocean and Viking does things quite a bit differently from other lines we've cruised with. Do go on the My Viking Journey as soon as you book. You add your booking number and everything will be there for you - when you can book excursions, reservations for the specialty restaurants, etc.

 

When you are booking your cruise, you will see the different levels of cabins (all have verandas). You get to pick the excursion slots and book the optionals on a time schedule that allows the upper priced levels earlier pick. Suites first, then Penthouse Veranda, then Deluxe Veranda (what we have), then the regular Veranda rooms. You also get rooms ready earlier in the higher levels. Everyone can board at 11am. They hold your luggage and you can explore the ship or have lunch or explore the port. Hope that all makes sense.

 

I'm looking forward to a great cruise!

 

I am so thankful to you for providing this detailed explanation of how the Viking system works. It was very informative and straight to the point. In June, we will take our first Viking cruise and I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of waiting for a specific date and time for a window to open so that you can reserve an excursion instead of just going to the site and booking it. Please note, that this is not our first cruise, but it is a different way of how other cruise line organize their reservations/excursions.

Thanks again!!

[2cruisecats]

It is swings and roundabouts really - we went on an expensive extra tour in Bergen and were very disappointed with it for several reasons. Viking just refunded us when we returned. We have been happy with most tours - they will never all be perfect - guides, traffic, distances. Bus quality all can be variable but we are used to that.!

 

What was the tour in Bergen that disappointed you? Wondering as I am looking at Bergen tours, specifically the Grieg House and recital tour, as a surprise for my DH.

 

Sorry ... too late too delete. I should have followed the thread before asking my question!

Edited February 13, 2018 by 2cruisecats

[GlassFincer]

An update to bring this to 2022. I just called Viking to check on the earliest minute I could reserve shore excursions on the availability date for my cabin class. They said 12 noon pacific time. So, it looks like that has changed since 2018. 

 

Can anyone confirm? 

[Heidi13]

Affirmative, it changed a few years ago, as it was Noon (Pacific) in Aug 2019.

[Peregrina651]

37 minutes ago, GlassFincer said:

An update to bring this to 2022. I just called Viking to check on the earliest minute I could reserve shore excursions on the availability date for my cabin class. They said 12 noon pacific time. So, it looks like that has changed since 2018. 

 

Can anyone confirm? 

 

Noon Pacific time BUT only if shore excursions for your sailing open on schedule.

 

Unfortunately, thus far in the post-Covid era, Viking has not always been able to finalize the contracts with the vendors in time. In these cases, all bets are off as to what day and a what time booking will open. It is a complete mess and very frustrating for all involved.

 

Hopefully, as the vendors who survived the hiatus continue to ramp up their business this will become less of a problem.

[LindaS272]

And during Covid times, I’ve never waited to noon Pacific time. Always checked in the am—around 6:30 on a day they said they would be posted and they were available. I live in the Pacific time zone. And they usually told me they would open at 8 pm. So you just have to be diligent around the day they are supposed to post.

[janetcbl]

For our trip they were posted about 9:00pm on a Sunday….open to everyone at once. You just can’t predict.

[duquephart]

Sometimes they just cancel the stop.

[WNcruiser]

4 hours ago, janetcbl said:

For our trip they were posted about 9:00pm on a Sunday….open to everyone at once. You just can’t predict.

Unless its within a week or two of departure, this is not fair to those who have booked higher categories for priority reservations. They should at least allow 3 days between the categories or remove that "perk" from the cabin descriptions.