Just got back from Viking Star Athens to Venice

[lextrvlr]

Thanks Marykatesmom. I just like being served. Please be good enough to tell me the extent to which the Main Dining Room is open for breakfast. Some posts say it opens at 8:00, others say it seldom opens at all.

Many thanks for your help.

[BruceB NYC]

2 hours ago, lextrvlr said:

Thanks Marykatesmom. I just like being served. Please be good enough to tell me the extent to which the Main Dining Room is open for breakfast. Some posts say it opens at 8:00, others say it seldom opens at all.

Many thanks for your help.

Hi lextevir,

BruceB NYC HERE-

I’n Posting an image of the dining times from VK HOMELANDS April   2018 daily. While in port there is no

lunch served in THE RESTAURANT. 

When cruising out at sea lunch is served. Breakfast is served there

8:00-9:30 am. 

 If the image gets posted it

shows times at all places. Hope this helps. 

BruceB

 

[lextrvlr]

Many thanks BruceB. This is encouraging. I'll now know not to plan  early morning tours.

[terrydtx]

13 hours ago, BruceB NYC said:

Hi lextevir,

BruceB NYC HERE-

I’n Posting an image of the dining times from VK HOMELANDS April   2018 daily. While in port there is no

lunch served in THE RESTAURANT. 

When cruising out at sea lunch is served. Breakfast is served there

8:00-9:30 am. 

 If the image gets posted it

shows times at all places. Hope this helps. 

BruceB

 

This is very informative as I also wondered about breakfast hours. We generally like to have room service breakfast for early shore tour departures, what is the earliest room service availability?

[JerryInIL]

We are booked on the Viking Sea, Venice to Athens,  5/20/20.  Can anyone recommend hotels at both ports for pre/post cruise.  Doesn't have to be  big 5 star hotel, just a nice, well located boutique hotel/apt will do.  Probably stay 3-5 days each port...thanks!!!

[BruceB NYC]

 

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

This is very informative as I also wondered about breakfast hours. We generally like to have room service breakfast for early shore tour departures, what is the earliest room service availability?

Hi terrydtx,

Good question. The answer is below. Looks like 7:00 am. Post on your door by 11 pm the night before.

Enjoy,

BruceB

 

[moatenote]

4 hours ago, JerryInIL said:

We are booked on the Viking Sea, Venice to Athens,  5/20/20.  Can anyone recommend hotels at both ports for pre/post cruise.  Doesn't have to be  big 5 star hotel, just a nice, well located boutique hotel/apt will do.  Probably stay 3-5 days each port...thanks!!!

 

In Athens, we spent the night before the cruise at the Plaka Hotel, which had a beautiful view of the Acropolis from the roof and was a short taxi ride to the port.  We were very satisfied with this hotel.  In Venice, we stayed two nights after the cruise at the

Ca' dei Dogi near St. Mark's and just off the vaporetto stop there.  It was a bit hard to find down an alley, but the rooms were nice and the included breakfast was very good.

[MarkTapley]

Supplementing Bruce’s reply about room service breakfast.  You can get room service earlier than the times shown on the door card.  Just call the night before, as room service is available 24 hours per day.

[MarkTapley]

On 11/12/2018 at 5:48 PM, BruceB NYC said:

In Athen the Viking shuttle bus,

where was the pick up/ drop off point?

 

Viking busses pick up on the street directly east of the Acropolis.  Across the street from Hadrian’s Arch.

[BruceB NYC]

22 hours ago, MarkTapley said:

 

Viking busses pick up on the street directly east of the Acropolis.  Across the street from Hadrian’s Arch.

 

Viking Athens shuttle bus

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the bus info. I expect to do an early Acropolis tour on our own. 

Then spend rest of day doing a Rick Steves walking tour of Athens. Bus location is excellent.

[Jack E Dawson]

We have booked this cruise (Empires of the Mediterranean) in reverse, Venice to Athens, departing April 6th 2020. Now we are wondering if early April weather will be too cool to enjoy the excursions. Does anyone have experience at this time of the year with this itinerary?

[Ready to Sail!]

27 minutes ago, Jack E Dawson said:

We have booked this cruise (Empires of the Mediterranean) in reverse, Venice to Athens, departing April 6th 2020. Now we are wondering if early April weather will be too cool to enjoy the excursions. Does anyone have experience at this time of the year with this itinerary?

We are leaving Athens to Venice on April 4th on the Star.  Regarding the weather we spent a month in Italy 6 years ago from mid March to mid April and it was very hot, no rain the whole time.  It was a record breaking (heat, dry) period but have also traveled through Europe in later April to May and have had mostly good weather also.  From what I have read this area of the med can get pretty hot also, especially starting in May.  We do better with cooler weather than we do hot so that is why we chose the earlier dates, and less people hopefully.  I think we will be in several of the ports on the same days as we pass each other.  Well, let's hope for the best.  I think weather is changing everywhere so probably unpredictable from year to year.  I did read a few reviews of people that did this itinerary in March and missed a few ports due to weather.  I will admit I am a little concerned also. I don't really mind rain just as long as we don't miss ports.  Let's hope for some positive feedback from others.

[Ready to Sail!]

41 minutes ago, Jack E Dawson said:

We have booked this cruise (Empires of the Mediterranean) in reverse, Venice to Athens, departing April 6th 2020. Now we are wondering if early April weather will be too cool to enjoy the excursions. Does anyone have experience at this time of the year with this itinerary?

Oops, just realized you are going in 2020.  We are this coming April.  Well, you have time to make a change if you decide you want to play it safer.  Our train has left the station!!

[JerryInIL]

On 11/16/2018 at 5:40 PM, Jack E Dawson said:

We have booked this cruise (Empires of the Mediterranean) in reverse, Venice to Athens, departing April 6th 2020. Now we are wondering if early April weather will be too cool to enjoy the excursions. Does anyone have experience at this time of the year with this itinerary?

 

We would have booked the 10 day Empires cruise, but were also concerned about the weather, so we went with the May 20, 7 day cruise.  There is an Empires cruise in June but then Athens might be too hot.  I like hot, wife likes cold, so we compromise on May.

[terrydtx]

3 hours ago, JerryInIL said:

 

We would have booked the 10 day Empires cruise, but were also concerned about the weather, so we went with the May 20, 7 day cruise.  There is an Empires cruise in June but then Athens might be too hot.  I like hot, wife likes cold, so we compromise on May.

The same reason we booked the Empires cruise in late September. We looked at May but we did Italy this year in May and it rained for most of the trip. September is supposed to be cooler and not as wet.

[ebtrip]

On 11/16/2018 at 3:40 PM, Jack E Dawson said:

We have booked this cruise (Empires of the Mediterranean) in reverse, Venice to Athens, departing April 6th 2020. Now we are wondering if early April weather will be too cool to enjoy the excursions. Does anyone have experience at this time of the year with this itinerary?

We were on the Star March 29 sailing from Athens to Venice.. Weather was great, 1 day of sprinkles, but didn’t stop our excursion.  

[Jack E Dawson]

Thanks JerryInIL, we may have to take a look at the June date.

Thanks also entrap, very encouraging to hear that the weather was OK as early as late march. 

I suspect what we will do is watch the weather this April (2019) then make a final decision shortly after that for 2020. 

This will be our first time on VO and are looking forward to it. We will be traveling with friends who have done both VO and VR and have convinced us that Viking is very much in tune with where we are in our travel wants right now. 

[BruceB NYC]

On ‎11‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 6:40 PM, Jack E Dawson said:

We have booked this cruise (Empires of the Mediterranean) in reverse, Venice to Athens, departing April 6th 2020. Now we are wondering if early April weather will be too cool to enjoy the excursions. Does anyone have experience at this time of the year with this itinerary?

 Hi Jack,

I don't know if it helps, but if you go to your 2020 Viking booking day by day, they give the average monthly temps.

I'm going next March 26, 2019 and have checked the weather going from Venice to Athens based on this past year 2018.

This past April, the early part,  in Athens there were high temps in the 70's!

Here's my research for Athens-

What's the Weather like in Athens in April?

Temperature

The average temperature this month is 15°C (59°C), while the average low is 11°C (52°F), and the average high increases to 19°C (66°F). The beginning of April starts off with mostly sunny days, with a small chance of rain, and an average daily temperature of 13°C (55°F). The middle of the month brings more sun, less rain, and the average daily temperature rises to 14°C (57°F). The end of April follows the same pattern, as there is even less rain, more sunny days, and a jump in the average daily temperature to 16°C (61°F). The lowest ever recorded temperature in Athens in April is 3°C (37°F), while the highest ever recorded temperature is 27°C (81°F).

Sunshine Hours

Along with spring bringing warmer weather, it also brings much more sun. The average daily sunshine in April is nine hours, which is an increase of three more hours from March. Coinciding with more sun is less rain.

Rainfall

The average amount of rainfall in April drops to 40mm, occurring over the span of just six days. With the increase in sun, and a decrease in rain, the chance of you experiencing a rainy day during your visit to Athens is minimal.

We're very excited for this trip. Hope you decide to go and enjoy,

BruceB.

 

 

[Jack E Dawson]

Thanks BruceB. This is excellent information!

I just went to the Viking website and checked it out. Somehow I had missed this.

I'm much more encouraged now about the April dates. 

[JerryInIL]

16 hours ago, Jack E Dawson said:

Thanks BruceB. This is excellent information!

I just went to the Viking website and checked it out. Somehow I had missed this.

I'm much more encouraged now about the April dates. 

 

April does seem nice, so I was curious about late May...."The month of May in Athens sees spring in full gear, along with the first signs of the summer heat. The average temperature this month is 20°C (68°F), while the average low is just 15°C (59°F), and the average high rises to 24°C (75°F). The beginning of May brings sunny days, with virtually no rain, and an average daily temperature of 17°C (63°F). The middle of the month sees even more sunny days, no chance of rain, and an increase in the average daily temperature to 20°C (68°F). The end of May follows this trend, as the days are filled with sunshine and no threat of rain, while the temperature continues to get warmer, with an average daily temperature of 22°C (72°C). The lowest ever recorded temperature in May in Athens is 7°C (45°F), while the highest ever recorded temperature is 33°C (91°F)."

[lackcreativity]

I know all that we can do is look at the averages, and maybe the last year temperatures, but even if you do that you are still at the mercy of the elements. Even during ordinary times you can have aberrant weather events, and I think that will be even more so in the future. The best you can do is research, and then try to have a good time in spite of the elements.

 

Our recent sailing of Trade Routes of the Middle Ages was influenced by two hurricanes, and some sea days and port days were impacted. Even though it was not exactly what I hoped for, it was still a very good trip and we had enjoyed ourselves very much.

[BruceB NYC]

16 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

I know all that we can do is look at the averages, and maybe the last year temperatures, but even if you do that you are still at the mercy of the elements. Even during ordinary times you can have aberrant weather events, and I think that will be even more so in the future. The best you can do is research, and then try to have a good time in spite of the elements.

 

Our recent sailing of Trade Routes of the Middle Ages was influenced by two hurricanes, and some sea days and port days were impacted. Even though it was not exactly what I hoped for, it was still a very good trip and we had enjoyed ourselves very much.

You weather comments are “right on”. We got lucky with the VK HOMELAND April 26, 2018, Bergen to Stockholm. 13 days of no rain,

temps 55-65, and mostly sunny. 

The locals everywhere were as excited about this as we were. For

them the Winter was officially over. 

We do advance weather checking as others do so as to pack “smart”. Less is always better. 

[lackcreativity]

3 hours ago, BruceB NYC said:

You weather comments are “right on”. We got lucky with the VK HOMELAND April 26, 2018, Bergen to Stockholm. 13 days of no rain,

temps 55-65, and mostly sunny. 

The locals everywhere were as excited about this as we were. For

them the Winter was officially over. 

We do advance weather checking as others do so as to pack “smart”. Less is always better. 

I'd like to order some of that, please! We begin Russia and the Baltic Sea on April 26, 2019, from Copenhagen to Stockholm by way of St. Petersburg, and I am hoping for the best, but we have nice packable jackets and will bring other gear as well just in case.

[Gigiandbaba]

5 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

I know all that we can do is look at the averages, and maybe the last year temperatures, but even if you do that you are still at the mercy of the elements. Even during ordinary times you can have aberrant weather events, and I think that will be even more so in the future. The best you can do is research, and then try to have a good time in spite of the elements.

 

Our recent sailing of Trade Routes of the Middle Ages was influenced by two hurricanes, and some sea days and port days were impacted. Even though it was not exactly what I hoped for, it was still a very good trip and we had enjoyed ourselves very much.

How was cruising thru the Bay of Biscay-we are doing  "Along Europe's Western Coast" in April and just wondered about that stretch of water, tho with 2 hurricanes, maybe not a relevant question.

[lackcreativity]

10 hours ago, Gigiandbaba said:

How was cruising thru the Bay of Biscay-we are doing  "Along Europe's Western Coast" in April and just wondered about that stretch of water, tho with 2 hurricanes, maybe not a relevant question.

The Bay of Biscay was interesting, to say the least, with peak waves of 12 to 15 feet. The captain said he had seen much worse. Luckily, we found that neither of us got seasick, but walking was fun and sleeping was hard because it was so noisy. I did learn firsthand where the phase "walking like a drunken sailor " originated! We missed the port of Falmouth and Porto was pretty much solid rain while we were ashore, but as you said, trailing behind two hurricanes was not ideal. I do think think will like the trip; we certainly did.