UK Only Viking Venus Cruise

[pcolmer]

34 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

It is a must read cruise blog, even if you only read the end of it.

 

I'm working my way through it now - it is a fascinating read. We are definitely planning to do a WC with Viking but it won't be for many years yet. Still, we've got a couple of other Viking cruises lined up to keep us happy in 2022 and 2023 🙂

 

[rachiem]

Thank you all.

We have booked for the 19th June. 

We have just gone for the entry level V2 as we also have holidays booked in the New Forest the week before and a P&O cruise early July. 

The basic cabins look great and as we've booked late I think some of the other benefits may be lost on the higher level cabin.

One thing that swayed me was the itinerary (weather permitting)

Hubby is particularly excited that he can take a few of his favourite beers and wine on board too! 

I'll start reading through the other threads now too.

Had so many cruises cancelled, I'm now panicking about local lockdowns and catching Covid pre-cruise! I know my insurance covers the Covid bit but not sure about a lock down?

Will be isolating for the next 2 and a bit weeks and talking to no one in the New Forest!

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, rachiem said:

Thank you all.

We have booked for the 19th June. 

We have just gone for the entry level V2 as we also have holidays booked in the New Forest the week before and a P&O cruise early July. 

The basic cabins look great and as we've booked late I think some of the other benefits may be lost on the higher level cabin.

One thing that swayed me was the itinerary (weather permitting)

Hubby is particularly excited that he can take a few of his favourite beers and wine on board too! 

I'll start reading through the other threads now too.

Had so many cruises cancelled, I'm now panicking about local lockdowns and catching Covid pre-cruise! I know my insurance covers the Covid bit but not sure about a lock down?

Will be isolating for the next 2 and a bit weeks and talking to no one in the New Forest!

 

It doesn't matter what cabin you have booked. Once on board, everyone is treated as if they were sailing in the Owner's Suite.  

[DGHOC]

6 hours ago, timbloom said:

DGHOC - You are allowed to peruse the buffet in the World Cafe but rather than help yourself the staff put the food on the plate and hand it to you.

I agree with you about the Roseland - it is one of our favourite spots in the world. For years we have booked a large house with 7/8 others called Trencreek [ nr Tregony] from Rural Retreats and will be back there next year. If we had been able to go about on our own I had planned to take the ferry to St Mawes, have coffee overlooking the harbour and then take the foot ferry across and walk around St Anthony's Head. Or walk from St Mawes, via St Just, up to the King Harry Ferry, cross over to Trelissik Garden and then take the ferry back to Falmouth. 

But we did next best thing today and had a lovely walk around a part of the Lizard and actually got quite hot at one stage. Nothing very hard for any casual walker.

I think others have covered the other questions so well nothing to add, apart from I so pleased the newcomers to Viking are finding out like we did 3 years ago, how great the company, ship and staff are.

 

Thanks for that timbloom. So pleased you're enjoying this first toe back in the water for Viking.

 

Oh we know those places so well. We stay on St Anthony Head and in Cadgwith on the Lizard  frequently. The walk from St Anthony Head to the ferry to St Mawes is such a delight, it makes the heart glad! Glad the weather was kind today it was much brighter here too. I've had my fingers crossed for this first cruise, really hoping that the weather would improve for you all.

 

Where did the walk take you on the Lizard?

[timbloom]

From Lizard village past Lighthouse & then Coastguards & Hotel,before turning inland through a very muddy farm.

Would suggest it will take some time to dry out, so consider taking walking shoes you can keep in a separate bag

Nice but fairly easy walk if you are an ecperienced hiker. No criticism or Viking as sure they have to cater for all levels.

 

[jenna37]

We have just booked the 19th June cruise . Looking forward to sailing on this brand new ship and getting back to sea again.

Does anyone know how the trivia was conducted on sea days? Also does the current cruise have a  optional Beatles tour which can e purchased once onboard?

 

[arlowood]

2 hours ago, jenna37 said:

We have just booked the 19th June cruise . Looking forward to sailing on this brand new ship and getting back to sea again.

Does anyone know how the trivia was conducted on sea days? Also does the current cruise have a  optional Beatles tour which can e purchased once onboard?

 

On our UK Shores cruise there is a Beatles Experience optional shore excursion iun Liverpool at £144 per person. It lasts 4 hours according to the description. It takes in various key sites around Liverpool and end at the Beatles Story exhibition

[pcolmer]

14 hours ago, jenna37 said:

Does anyone know how the trivia was conducted on sea days?

 

 

They only held trivia once on this cruise, on the Sunday in the Explorers' Lounge. I'm not sure why it isn't being held today 😞

 

Speaking of trivia, here is some other information about non-lecture events:

 

One movie in the Star Theater - "Midway".

One movie Under the Stars (a.k.a the Pool Deck) - "The Commitments".

Three musical shows in the Star Theater - "The Beatles Songbook", "A Musical Journey to the Sounds of the Sixties" and "The ABBA Songbook".

 

[kittycrews]

14 hours ago, jenna37 said:

We have just booked the 19th June cruise . Looking forward to sailing on this brand new ship and getting back to sea again.

Does anyone know how the trivia was conducted on sea days? Also does the current cruise have a  optional Beatles tour which can e purchased once onboard?

 

We're on that one too! Room 3052 And we are ex-pat Americans living in North Berwick, Scotland.

[pcolmer]

In case the disembarkation procedure is particularly different from previous Viking cruises, here is what the procedure sheet says:

 

Viking Venus is due to dock in the port of Portsmouth at Berth 2, 00:00 AM.

 

PREPARING YOUR LUGGAGE

We have provided colour-coded luggage tags to help you locate and identify your luggage in the terminal. Please fill out the information on these tags, remove any old tags and attach the new ones. Please leave your tagged luggage outside your stateroom on the evening of Friday, May 28th, no later than 9:00 PM, for complimentary delivery to the terminal. Any luggage not left outside your stateroom will be your responsibility to transport, as no onboard porterage is available on disembarkation day. Passports, medications, breakables and valuables should be kept in your possession or in your carry-on luggage.

 

YOUR DEPARTURE

All staterooms must be vacated by 7:30 AM. Please check for any personal items before you leave, especially inside the safe. When you disembark we kindly ask that you have your passport and stateroom key card readily available.

 

A shuttle service has been arranged to transport you to the terminal. This service will run continuously between 7:15 AM and 8:30 AM. The shuttle service is not mandatory and if you wish to walk to the Terminal you can take this option. Once you reach the terminal, luggage will be separated by the colour-coded tags. It will be your responsibility to personally identify all your luggage. Bags often look similar to one another, so please make sure you have identified your own luggage to avoid any confusion. Porters will be available to assist you.

 

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Please note that I have not included the section on setting the shipboard account as that does seem rather standard.

 

It is interesting to note that, when embarking, the shuttle service from the Terminal to the ship was mandatory but, now we're leaving the Viking Bubble, it isn't 🙂

 

No mention of breakfast so I need to check with Guest Services as to our options. I think that everything is running normally as the App does list breakfast menus but we're still having some IT glitches (no Daily on the TV or the app today) so I want to double-check.

 

[rachiem]

15 minutes ago, kittycrews said:

We're on that one too! Room 3052 And we are ex-pat Americans living in North Berwick, Scotland.

We've just booked for this cruise too..first timers to Viking!

[rachiem]

14 minutes ago, pcolmer said:

In case the disembarkation procedure is particularly different from previous Viking cruises, here is what the procedure sheet says:

 

Viking Venus is due to dock in the port of Portsmouth at Berth 2, 00:00 AM.

 

PREPARING YOUR LUGGAGE

We have provided colour-coded luggage tags to help you locate and identify your luggage in the terminal. Please fill out the information on these tags, remove any old tags and attach the new ones. Please leave your tagged luggage outside your stateroom on the evening of Friday, May 28th, no later than 9:00 PM, for complimentary delivery to the terminal. Any luggage not left outside your stateroom will be your responsibility to transport, as no onboard porterage is available on disembarkation day. Passports, medications, breakables and valuables should be kept in your possession or in your carry-on luggage.

 

YOUR DEPARTURE

All staterooms must be vacated by 7:30 AM. Please check for any personal items before you leave, especially inside the safe. When you disembark we kindly ask that you have your passport and stateroom key card readily available.

 

A shuttle service has been arranged to transport you to the terminal. This service will run continuously between 7:15 AM and 8:30 AM. The shuttle service is not mandatory and if you wish to walk to the Terminal you can take this option. Once you reach the terminal, luggage will be separated by the colour-coded tags. It will be your responsibility to personally identify all your luggage. Bags often look similar to one another, so please make sure you have identified your own luggage to avoid any confusion. Porters will be available to assist you.

 

--------

 

Please note that I have not included the section on setting the shipboard account as that does seem rather standard.

 

It is interesting to note that, when embarking, the shuttle service from the Terminal to the ship was mandatory but, now we're leaving the Viking Bubble, it isn't 🙂

 

No mention of breakfast so I need to check with Guest Services as to our options. I think that everything is running normally as the App does list breakfast menus but we're still having some IT glitches (no Daily on the TV or the app today) so I want to double-check.

 

Wow...7.30am! Might need to set an alarm. Hopefully they won't kick us off before breakfast. 

We plan to spend the day going to visit the Mary Rose and Docklands. We haven't been here since they've built the new museum.

 

Edited May 28, 2021 by rachiem

[pcolmer]

1 hour ago, rachiem said:

Wow...7.30am! Might need to set an alarm. Hopefully they won't kick us off before breakfast. 

We plan to spend the day going to visit the Mary Rose and Docklands. We haven't been here since they've built the new museum.

 

I've just checked with Guest Services. Breakfast is available in the World Cafe, the Restaurant or Room Service. It starts at 6:00am 🙂

 

[kittycrews]

3 hours ago, rachiem said:

We've just booked for this cruise too..first timers to Viking!

You will LOVE it!

[jenna37]

17 hours ago, arlowood said:

On our UK Shores cruise there is a Beatles Experience optional shore excursion iun Liverpool at £144 per person. It lasts 4 hours according to the description. It takes in various key sites around Liverpool and end at the Beatles Story exhibition

Thanks for the information. £144 is very expensive . I think we will give that one a miss.

[jenna37]

4 hours ago, pcolmer said:

 

They only held trivia once on this cruise, on the Sunday in the Explorers' Lounge. I'm not sure why it isn't being held today 😞

 

Speaking of trivia, here is some other information about non-lecture events:

 

One movie in the Star Theater - "Midway".

One movie Under the Stars (a.k.a the Pool Deck) - "The Commitments".

Three musical shows in the Star Theater - "The Beatles Songbook", "A Musical Journey to the Sounds of the Sixties" and "The ABBA Songbook".

 

Thanks for the info. The musicals in the Star theatre sound good.

[jenna37]

4 hours ago, kittycrews said:

We're on that one too! Room 3052 And we are ex-pat Americans living in North Berwick, Scotland.

Where in the States were you living? We look forward to meeting you onboard.We live in London

[kittycrews]

10 minutes ago, jenna37 said:

Where in the States were you living? We look forward to meeting you onboard.We live in London

From New Jersey & Pennsylvania close to Philadelphia through college, then a move to Kansas (3 years), then to Iowa until we retired and spent 4 years in Florida until we could emigrate to Scotland. Look forward to sharing some time together (socially distanced, of course).

[timbloom]

Try the Maritime History tour. About 3 hours easy walking around centre and sea front with Derby- she is excellent.

[timbloom]

Sorry should have said Debby not Derby.

[jenna37]

3 hours ago, kittycrews said:

From New Jersey & Pennsylvania close to Philadelphia through college, then a move to Kansas (3 years), then to Iowa until we retired and spent 4 years in Florida until we could emigrate to Scotland. Look forward to sharing some time together (socially distanced, of course).

We love to spend our vacations in America . We love Fort Lauderdale and have spent many vacations there  before catching a cruise .You certainly have travelled around . I would be great to meet up with everyone for a drink ( as you say Socially Distanced).

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

12 hours ago, kittycrews said:

We're on that one too! Room 3052 And we are ex-pat Americans living in North Berwick, Scotland.

Interesting, I’ve visited Tantallon castle twice.  My distant ancestors were supposedly from that area.  It is very nice, but a long way from my home in California.  How did you end up there?

[MikeD1000]

Please does anyone have any reflections on the cruise which ended today?

[timbloom]

If you dock at 11pm as we did last night ensure you are up and on starboard side. Dramatic views of harbour, Spinnaker Tower and aircraft carrier.

Lovely cruise & lucky if you still have yours to come.

[kittycrews]

11 hours ago, Ragnar Danneskjold said:

Interesting, I’ve visited Tantallon castle twice.  My distant ancestors were supposedly from that area.  It is very nice, but a long way from my home in California.  How did you end up there?

Looking for retirement near sea and cutural centre, play golf all year round on links course, easy to get to Europe.