Live Viking Star - Trade Routes Jun 16-Jun 30

[vnb2003]

How was the cross from Porto to Falmouth thru the Bay of Biscay? I have read that can be a "rough" patch of water. We will be doing that next April and just wondering if there are times when it can be a smoother ride.

 

It wasn’t a smooth ride and according to some fellow CC the quiet Bay of Biscay is more an exception than a norm. The Captain notified us in a morning that waves were 3 to 3 and a half meters which is approximately 10 feet. He had to slow down to make it easer on us. We slept like babies and missed all the “fun” people discussed next morning. We went to sauna next morning and the pool water moved wit the waves and that makes everything so much easier.

If you going in April, check out Trade Routs in April by Twichly. It’s very good and informative.

[vnb2003]

vnb2003,

 

Thanks. I have added the Portsmouth shuttle info to my notes. Have fun in Honfleur.

Thank you!!! We have our excursion in the morning and might return to Le Havre or ask to drop us there on a way back. There will be Viking shuttle running every 30 min from 9 am to 7 pm. I forgot now the place but it’s in the center or very closed to it. I’ll let you know tomorrow the name of the stop.

I’m so jealous you still have the trip ahead of you :).

 

More tomorrow :) We moved our clocks 1 hour ahead :( so not much time to sleep

[vnb2003]

Day 10 - Le Havre

 

We took an optional excursion to visit a small town across the Seine Honfleur. It took us 20 min to rich it and we had an hour and a half walking tour. The tour was full of interesting facts and anecdotes and the town was picturesque! We were blessed again with spectacular weather. We had around 1.5 hour to wonder around and we found beautiful neighborhoods that deserved my non stop use of camera.

We stayed on board in afternoon.

Around 6-6:30 pm buses from all day excursions started to arrive and our fellow cruisers were met with music, dancing crew and of course cold champagne :)

 

Day 11 - Bruges

 

That was kind of short stay and we glad that we had an optional tour that included canal ride. The tour marked as demanding and it’s not that you have a lot of walking but very uneven pavement. Star arrived around noon and our excursion started at 1:15 pm. After a short drive we started our tour from the bus station through the park to the old part of town. Bruges is absolutely gorgeous picture perfect town! Don’t miss it. The tour was smartly broken in two part with 30 canal ride. It gave people some time to relax. After tour we had 70-80 min of free time that we spent in the brewery next to the meeting place. Quite a few people did exactly the same :) Brewery had 4 kinds of beer Blonde 6%, Double dark 7.5 %, Blonde something 8.5 % and Dark 11%!!! We had first two and it was great beer. There was a clear glass wall across and you could see huge metal containers where they made beer!

We were quite tired buy the end of the tour but very happy. It was another great beautiful day! We hit the traffic and were half hour late. We were glad that we had Viking excursion! Time on board was 5:30 pm

 

One more thing. There was a discussion here about toilets on the tour buses before we left and opinions were different with many people saying there were no toilets on the buses. Well, all our buses had toilets. Once I asked if it could be used and got firm “NO” (Porto). In Falmouth the guide told us that the bus has a toilet and though it’s not encouraged, in case of emergency it could be used.

[vnb2003]

Day 12 - Amsterdam

 

I waited a day before posting this.

We were an hour late. According to Daily our group supposed to be on the pier at 9:15 am but we were late and I called Guest Services for suggestions. The answer was to go to the meeting point. Ok. After 3 cruises and many excursions we were shocked how bad this was organized. We were always impressed with Viking planning and execution of plans but unfortunately not this time.

We couldn’t find any Viking representative until we got to the theater that was meeting point for optional excursions; were told to wait for announcement in the public areas; went to Atrium and met another person who told us to go back to theater. The wait wasn’t long and we were off. Went through the terminal. The only Viking rep, assigned bus number to one couple and told us go down and ask for Steve. Finally we got our bus assignment and boarded.

We had bus excursion for 30-40 min and then were brought to a canal boat. The boat was old with dirty glass roof and the seats that looked forward and backwards with the table between them. By the time we boarded, there were no forward seats. We took backwards one and boy that was tight! While trying to make a decent picture we were hitting our opposite neighbors knees. It was uncomfortable and painful to twist your neck and body trying to figure out what building our guide is referring to. We saw many boats with seats forward only and smart designed glass covers (clean)...argh. The ride was 1.5 hour long. The boat brought us back to the Passenger Terminal. Sure enough we went to the building with the same sign but were politely redirected to the next building. We saw first Viking rep inside of that building. The whole experience was so “unViking”. The guide though was very good.

 

We didn’t go anywhere else and started packing.

 

Later we went to Explore to have our dessert after lunch. Our bartender notified us that Star ran out of Macallan but bars are going to be stocked by evening. The evening bartender told us that Viking dropped Macallan from their offerings and will have Glenfiddich and Chivas only. What? Why?

The timing (end of the cruise) was definitely wrong. The whole deal with excursion and the bar left a bitter aftertaste.

 

Sorry guys for not so sunny report.

 

Day 13 - is a lazy sea day and goes well so far. People relaxed by the pool, in sauna, spa, reading or conversing in many Star’s cozy nooks or playing team games, etc

 

Tomorrow is the last full day. We already got our luggage tags.

[vnb2003]

vnb2003,

 

Thanks. I have added the Portsmouth shuttle info to my notes. Have fun in Honfleur.

 

The shuttle in Le Havre will bring you to thee Place Perret in the City Center. I loved Honfleur :)

[vnb2003]

Bergen was perfect!

 

I wrote twice long detailed review and both times it disappeared in front of my eyes. I’ll try again maybe from hotel or when already home :(

Suitcases are outside of cabin already.

 

The sun is up. It will go down at 11:08 pm and will be up at 4:14 am. The view is spectacular! The weather prognosis for the next 9 days sunny and in 70th!

 

Whoever is coming to the Star after us enjoy the weather and your cruise.

[lackcreativity]

We will be on the Sun for this same cruise in October, but these sister ships are more like identical twins, so your comments have been very helpful and much appreciated.

 

I'm glad that it seems that you have enjoyed your trip. Have a safe journey home.

[Travelerstory]

We look forward to any more you can tell us. But regardless a huge

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPORTS.

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

"We had a dinner at Manfredi's where we got surprise congratulations with our anniversary. Great cake and congratulations from the team. We met a lovely couple from San Antonio that was sitting at the next table and we shared cake with them. We relaxed at the Explore lounge after dinner listening to Viking trio and having our night drinks."

That reminds me....we will be spending our next anniversary onboard. How do you go about letting them know you'd like something special?

[Twitchly]

"We had a dinner at Manfredi's where we got surprise congratulations with our anniversary. Great cake and congratulations from the team. We met a lovely couple from San Antonio that was sitting at the next table and we shared cake with them. We relaxed at the Explore lounge after dinner listening to Viking trio and having our night drinks."

 

 

 

That reminds me....we will be spending our next anniversary onboard. How do you go about letting them know you'd like something special?

 

 

We called Viking ahead of time and let them know. (We took the Trade Routes cruise in April in honor of our 25th anniversary.) Viking left a lovely cake in our stateroom on the day of our anniversary.

[vnb2003]

We look forward to any more you can tell us. But regardless a huge

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR REPORTS.

 

I'll be glad to answer your questions :). Sorry I was "off" the forum for awhile.

 

I had live from Homelands - July 2017 if you are interested in that cruise as well.

 

P.S. I just re-read my posts and nostalgia hit me. It's good that we just booked another cruise...lol :)

[vnb2003]

We will be on the Sun for this same cruise in October, but these sister ships are more like identical twins, so your comments have been very helpful and much appreciated.

 

I'm glad that it seems that you have enjoyed your trip. Have a safe journey home.

 

Thank you very much! Home met me with avalanche of things to do and news :eek:. I came back to the forum only a couple weeks ago.

 

You cruise is close. I hope everything is ready. Enjoy!!!

[lackcreativity]

Thank you very much! Home met me with avalanche of things to do and news :eek:. I came back to the forum only a couple weeks ago.

 

You cruise is close. I hope everything is ready. Enjoy!!!

 

I am very happy to report that just last night I was able to make a switch to our booked excursions that was not available when we first were able to book. For us, the Honfleur excursion was sold out, but I found new slots last night and quickly switched our schedule. I recall how much you enjoyed that town, and I am delighted to be able to go.

 

I was also able to add the Gaudi excursion, which we were going to have to do on our own since we couldn't get the excursion and were very anxious to go. While we can manage on our own, and are rarely extravagant, on our limited vacations I am so happy to let someone else do the work!

[vnb2003]

I am very happy to report that just last night I was able to make a switch to our booked excursions that was not available when we first were able to book. For us, the Honfleur excursion was sold out, but I found new slots last night and quickly switched our schedule. I recall how much you enjoyed that town, and I am delighted to be able to go.

 

I was also able to add the Gaudi excursion, which we were going to have to do on our own since we couldn't get the excursion and were very anxious to go. While we can manage on our own, and are rarely extravagant, on our limited vacations I am so happy to let someone else do the work!

 

Awww, so glad that you were able to have both of them! I don't remember if you've been to Sagrada Familia. I hope you will be there in the sunny afternoon - the walls and ceiling take the color of stained glass and it so intense! The east side is greenish-bluish but the west side is golden-orange-red and everything in between. I managed to get some of it on the camera but it so much more spectacular in real life. I hope you will have nice weather :)

[lackcreativity]

Awww, so glad that you were able to have both of them! I don't remember if you've been to Sagrada Familia. I hope you will be there in the sunny afternoon - the walls and ceiling take the color of stained glass and it so intense! The east side is greenish-bluish but the west side is golden-orange-red and everything in between. I managed to get some of it on the camera but it so much more spectacular in real life. I hope you will have nice weather :)

 

La Sagrada Familia will be a return visit for us, but we're happy to see it again. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the colors are just breathtaking. I took so many pictures, but it was impossible to capture the feel of the place in a photo. Seeing Parc Guell was our main goal this time.

[vnb2003]

La Sagrada Familia will be a return visit for us, but we're happy to see it again. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the colors are just breathtaking. I took so many pictures, but it was impossible to capture the feel of the place in a photo. Seeing Parc Guell was our main goal this time.

Great! Let me know what you think about Parc Guell. I read about construction during our time there and we decided do not go but

left it on our list for the next visit :)