Exact booking time....

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Is there somewhere on the Viking website that I can see the exact date and time I can book excursions? We are in Penthouse. I see it mentioned on threads about exact time zones and I want to be ready to jump on that...but just can't seem to find where to look for that info.

[CharTrav]

Look on their FAQ page - https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/frequently-asked-questions.html. It's the third top question. And assume us pacific time.

 

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[SantaFe1]

Is there somewhere on the Viking website that I can see the exact date and time I can book excursions? We are in Penthouse. I see it mentioned on threads about exact time zones and I want to be ready to jump on that...but just can't seem to find where to look for that info.

 

Once you determine the day you can book, judging from your post showing that you are from the mid-west, that would mean that you would be able to book starting at 2 am (sorry to say).

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Thanks for your help....and I will just log in and go to my accounts and they will be there correct? We are currently working on priority list so hopefully can do it as quickly as possible. I've read we should book the free ones first to get best times, then book the other ones as rapidly as possible?

[SantaFe1]

Thanks for your help....and I will just log in and go to my accounts and they will be there correct? We are currently working on priority list so hopefully can do it as quickly as possible. I've read we should book the free ones first to get best times, then book the other ones as rapidly as possible?

 

I have booked three Viking cruises in the last year, two in PV and one in DV. I have have always gotten up in the middle of the night to do it. But here are my observations. When I booked DV there was only one excursion that was sold out. I added it to my wish list, and there were openings about two weeks later. In PV, I don’t even think you need to get up early, although I always do. There are only 300 of the 940 passengers in PV and above. I think the common wisdom is to book the optional excursions first and any included where you have to have a certain time. Then go back and book the rest of the included. You put everything you want on your wish list, and then when it’s time, you just go through the wish list and book one at a time. To tell you the truth, it’s so easy, I just booked three weeks ago for our World Cruise in January. I booked 57 excursions, it took less than half an hour, and I got everything we wanted, and I just went through once, I didn’t buy in stages.

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

I have booked three Viking cruises in the last year, two in PV and one in DV. I have have always gotten up in the middle of the night to do it. But here are my observations. When I booked DV there was only one excursion that was sold out. I added it to my wish list, and there were openings about two weeks later. In PV, I don’t even think you need to get up early, although I always do. There are only 300 of the 940 passengers in PV and above. I think the common wisdom is to book the optional excursions first and any included where you have to have a certain time. Then go back and book the rest of the included. You put everything you want on your wish list, and then when it’s time, you just go through the wish list and book one at a time. To tell you the truth, it’s so easy, I just booked three weeks ago for our World Cruise in January. I booked 57 excursions, it took less than half an hour, and I got everything we wanted, and I just went through once, I didn’t buy in stages.

 

 

Very helpful thanks!!

[cocopico]

Are you in a Penthouse Suite (PS) or Penthouse Veranda (PV)? If PS, I wouldn't worry about getting up in the middle of the night to book your shore excursions. Even in a PV cabin I can't imagine you would have a problem getting your desired excursions if you book on opening day. We have been in a PS cabin once and PV cabins twice and never got up in the middle of the night to book excursions. We typically book around 9:00 a.m. Eastern time and have never been closed out of any optional tours (or failed to get our preferred time for included tours). Maybe we've just been lucky, but I tend to go back and look at the status of various excursions after I've booked and I don't think I've ever seen one sold out until the DV cabins starting booking. Again, that's just my experience, so your results may vary. And, if you put all your desired excursions in your Wish List, you can buy them all at once when your booking date arrives.

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

We're in PV...sounds like we need not worry! But it's safe to guess I'll be up at 2AM, because that's not difficult for me. Now for the difficult part, we need to decide on what we want to do! Since I always kept a small flock of sheep, my husband has said going on one of the sheep excursions is going to be on our list. I'll be all over getting that at 2 AM!

[CharTrav]

Going by our experience In PV and living on the East Coast, I've done it in the afterrnoon. No problem. Haven't encountered any optional or included excursion we wanted indicated as sold out or fully booked.

 

Don't use their wish list very much except maybe towards the end. I maintain our own "wish list" in an Excel spreadsheet that I build months before MVJ goes live. This lets us cogitate over what we want to do at our leisure (make printouts so that each of us can state our preferences). When MVJ goes live with prices I update it. This lets us have a handle beforehand on the total cost for all our top choices and the exact time sequencing. We can then adjust as desired. When the booking window opens, I print it out and go at it. Checking things off as I go.

 

 

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[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Going by our experience In PV and living on the East Coast, I've done it in the afterrnoon. No problem. Haven't encountered any optional or included excursion we wanted indicated as sold out or fully booked.

 

Don't use their wish list very much except maybe towards the end. I maintain our own "wish list" in an Excel spreadsheet that I build months before MVJ goes live. This lets us cogitate over what we want to do at our leisure (make printouts so that each of us can state our preferences). When MVJ goes live with prices I update it. This lets us have a handle beforehand on the total cost for all our top choices and the exact time sequencing. We can then adjust as desired. When the booking window opens, I print it out and go at it. Checking things off as I go.

 

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This is exactly what we are doing. We have made our own spreadsheet and are looking at what we printed off. When do they give out the prices? I didn't know if we would get those prior to booking window. It would be wonderful if we did so we'd know what to expect.

[SantaFe1]

Going by our experience In PV and living on the East Coast, I've done it in the afterrnoon. No problem. Haven't encountered any optional or included excursion we wanted indicated as sold out or fully booked.

 

Don't use their wish list very much except maybe towards the end. I maintain our own "wish list" in an Excel spreadsheet that I build months before MVJ goes live. This lets us cogitate over what we want to do at our leisure (make printouts so that each of us can state our preferences). When MVJ goes live with prices I update it. This lets us have a handle beforehand on the total cost for all our top choices and the exact time sequencing. We can then adjust as desired. When the booking window opens, I print it out and go at it. Checking things off as I go.

 

 

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Until this spring, the wish list was worthless, just a list, and you had to go in and book everything from the Whole shore ex list. But now the wish list is the quickest way to book, because you only have to scroll through your choices, not everything. So, eventually, I’d put things on the wish list. The actual excursions available to you and their prices usually appear about 100-120 days before the cruise. And a tip I found helpful: the wish list populates with the first thing you choose going last and the last going first. So I start with the last excursion we want to do (chronologically) first, and then when I get up in the middle of the night, they are in chronological order. A big help when I am not exactly on my game!

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Yes, I was thinking of putting them on the wish list after we figure out what we want. How will we know when the prices become available, do they send us a notification in our account? Thanks...

[SantaFe1]

No, just keep checking the shore ex of MVJ. If you are on a roll call for your cruise (and what cruise is it btw?) someone usually reports it. But about four months out, start checking. I always find it so much fun when they pop up.

[CharTrav]

This is exactly what we are doing. We have made our own spreadsheet and are looking at what we printed off. When do they give out the prices? I didn't know if we would get those prior to booking window. It would be wonderful if we did so we'd know what to expect.

 

The prices are shown a few weeks before the booking window opens up.

 

But I confess I've made an appeal to those who have done the cruise this year to give me the 2018 prices so I can add them to the "Day-to-Day" I prepared and posted to DropBox (the link is provided here and on the 2018 roll call) so I can share that info with everybody well in advance of MVJ going active.

 

 

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[CharTrav]

Until this spring, the wish list was worthless, just a list, and you had to go in and book everything from the Whole shore ex list. But now the wish list is the quickest way to book, because you only have to scroll through your choices, not everything. So, eventually, I’d put things on the wish list. The actual excursions available to you and their prices usually appear about 100-120 days before the cruise. And a tip I found helpful: the wish list populates with the first thing you choose going last and the last going first. So I start with the last excursion we want to do (chronologically) first, and then when I get up in the middle of the night, they are in chronological order. A big help when I am not exactly on my game!

 

 

Thanks for the tip about when MVJ goes live. The MVJ live "date" is very clear for VO but for VR - a complete mystery. I'll add a reminder to my electronic "ToDo" for this trip. (a mobile app aptly called Todo).

 

 

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[CharTrav]

I went back and checked what happened for France's Finest last month. Our cruise started July 11. Our MVJ opened with excursion data including prices on Feb 10 (I found the email I wrote to my Viking TA with a "woo hoo!" about it). The booking window opened about 30 days later (we booked our excursions on March 11; quite sure we didn't dilly daddle). So that works out to approx 150 and 120 days. Does VR open MVJ all at the same time without regard to cabin category or not? I have no idea. We were in a Veranda Suite btw. Hope this helps everybody including you. [emoji6]

 

 

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[CharTrav]

Oh Lord. I was just on a vacation last month. Just realized (head hanging in embarrassment and hitting my forehead with the palm of my hand) that I've been blabbing about MVJ for Viking River when this is a Viking Ocean thread. Geez! Only excuse is that I am also posting to 4 Viking River roll call threads. And now this one. And I got myself confused. [emoji849]. So pardon me for making a complete fool of myself.

 

 

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[CharTrav]

To redeem myself on when the booking window opens for VO by cabin category in days before cruise date: ES=97, PJ=87, PV=77, DV=67, V=70. And per an earlier post, MVJ goes live with data, no booking, about 100-120 days before the cruise date. Hope I've redeemed myself.

 

 

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[just_dont]

When MVJ "goes live," does it include the times for the various excursions in addition to the prices?

Are there multiple times offered for a given excursion?

If so, do they "sell out" based on time slot?

Our only prior experience was on VR, with really only one 'slot' per excursion.

 

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[CharTrav]

When MVJ "goes live," does it include the times for the various excursions in addition to the prices?

Are there multiple times offered for a given excursion?

If so, do they "sell out" based on time slot?

Our only prior experience was on VR, with really only one 'slot' per excursion.

 

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Yes. It does. Checked my notes from our VO cruise last January. For optional excursions, if the excursion is relatively short, more than one time slot is offered. Typically it's just one. There are always multiple slots for included excursions. Slots can "sell out" for optionals. Slots for included excursions can be fully booked. I don't know what they do when all the slots for an included excursion are taken and they have folks wait listed. Am assuming they scramble to make arrangements to add a slot.

 

If you want to get an idea of the excursions vis-a-vis time slots, costs, etc I invite you to examine what I call "Day-by-Days" that I prepared for Panama Central America last January and Viking Homelands in 2016. They're posted in DropBox (shareable link, no account required) here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7vrjsmx3buviln8/Panama%20and%20Central%20America%20Excursions%20-%20Rev%203.pdf?dl=0.

and here:

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

 

Hope this is helpful.

 

 

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[Peregrina651]

I went back and checked what happened for France's Finest last month. Our cruise started July 11. Our MVJ opened with excursion data including prices on Feb 10 (I found the email I wrote to my Viking TA with a "woo hoo!" about it). The booking window opened about 30 days later (we booked our excursions on March 11; quite sure we didn't dilly daddle). So that works out to approx 150 and 120 days. Does VR open MVJ all at the same time without regard to cabin category or not? I have no idea. We were in a Veranda Suite btw. Hope this helps everybody including you. [emoji6]

 

 

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Yes, well there are some of us who do both and so it is helpful to know that they are different. Besides, I have been wondering about the timing on the river shorex and now you have given me an answer. (And now I am going to share it over in Rivers).

[CharTrav]

Yes, well there are some of us who do both and so it is helpful to know that they are different. Besides, I have been wondering about the timing on the river shorex and now you have given me an answer. (And now I am going to share it over in Rivers).

 

Thanks - and if you look back further in this thread you can see where I list track of what thread I was posting to. Embarrassing![emoji79]

 

 

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[just_dont]

Yes. It does. Checked my notes from our VO cruise last January. For optional excursions, if the excursion is relatively short, more than one time slot is offered. Typically it's just one. There are always multiple slots for included excursions. Slots can "sell out" for optionals. Slots for included excursions can be fully booked. I don't know what they do when all the slots for an included excursion are taken and they have folks wait listed. Am assuming they scramble to make arrangements to add a slot.

 

If you want to get an idea of the excursions vis-a-vis time slots, costs, etc I invite you to examine what I call "Day-by-Days" that I prepared for Panama Central America last January and Viking Homelands in 2016. They're posted in DropBox (shareable link, no account required) here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7vrjsmx3buviln8/Panama%20and%20Central%20America%20Excursions%20-%20Rev%203.pdf?dl=0.

and here:

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

 

Hope this is helpful.

 

 

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Checked your Homelands notes, as it pretty much overlaps our Midnight Sun next June. Very well done!

Now I understand why so many here on CC book private excursions. $$$

Does give us an idea of what the times might be.

Many thanks.

 

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[Rawmac]

To redeem myself on when the booking window opens for VO by cabin category in days before cruise date: ES=97, PJ=87, PV=77, DV=67, V=70. And per an earlier post, MVJ goes live with data, no booking, about 100-120 days before the cruise date. Hope I've redeemed myself.

 

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Not quite yet. V = 60, for the crumbs that are left.

 

Print off "My Trip" after excursion booking so that there is a hard copy as proof of your booking times. And it's worthwhile checking regularly that your timings are still your choice, as Viking or their computer is known to slyly change times without telling. If that happens, immediate action is called for.

[CharTrav]

Not quite yet. V = 60, for the crumbs that are left.

 

[emoji79]

 

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