Live from the Viking Star World Cruise 2021-22

[UWDawg]

8 hours ago, Pushka said:

This is a fantastic read. We are on the Passage to India cruise in 2023 (in reverse though) and so many of the excursions in Egypt, Jordan and Israel are must do ones. But we are only in a DV4 and I'm concerned these excursions will all be booked out before we have access. How do you think we will go?

@Pushka since the 21/22 WC visited many of the Passage to India ports (Athens, Haifa, Cairo, Luxor, Sharm el-Sheikh, and Aqaba), if you have any questions about specific excursions, I'm sure the folks on this forum would be happy to share their experiences and and recommendations.

[LindaS272]

15 hours ago, Pushka said:

This is a fantastic read. We are on the Passage to India cruise in 2023 (in reverse though) and so many of the excursions in Egypt, Jordan and Israel are must do ones. But we are only in a DV4 and I'm concerned these excursions will all be booked out before we have access. How do you think we will go?

We were considering doing Passage to India this October but have decided against it. I noted that for Egypt at least there were several versions of the same excursion to the major sites on the VO website varying from 13 hours to 16 hours, including the “included” excursion. So chances are good that if you make the port you can see the main attractions.

[CurlerRob]

14 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

We were in a DV4 on our last cruise and had no issues getting the shore-ex we wanted.

Andy (or others), do you recall how ShoreEx was handled for longer trips when there are segments involved as well?

 

We are booked on the Grand Pacific in 2023. The 90+ day trip has multiple segments as well. What I'm curious about is when ShoreEx is released for both the full voyage pax and for the people on segments. Is the full schedule released to full voyage pax up front (my assumption), or is it 'parceled out' a segment at a time, so that pax on later segments have an equivalent opportunity to sign up?

 

It struck me as fair that the folks paying the larger bill would get first kick at the excursions, but it would mean that full-trip pax in a V cabin would have access to excursions later on before the ES folks.

 

The major reason for the question is that we'll be on a different Viking cruise when ShoreEx opens for the Pacific trip, and I'm trying to figure out if I have to be ready to book the full set of ShoreEx from onboard, or a subset.

 

The identical situation would have occurred on the WCs as well, hence my question. Thanks in advance for any info! 🍺🥌

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, CurlerRob said:

Andy (or others), do you recall how ShoreEx was handled for longer trips when there are segments involved as well?

 

We are booked on the Grand Pacific in 2023. The 90+ day trip has multiple segments as well. What I'm curious about is when ShoreEx is released for both the full voyage pax and for the people on segments. Is the full schedule released to full voyage pax up front (my assumption), or is it 'parceled out' a segment at a time, so that pax on later segments have an equivalent opportunity to sign up?

 

It struck me as fair that the folks paying the larger bill would get first kick at the excursions, but it would mean that full-trip pax in a V cabin would have access to excursions later on before the ES folks.

 

The major reason for the question is that we'll be on a different Viking cruise when ShoreEx opens for the Pacific trip, and I'm trying to figure out if I have to be ready to book the full set of ShoreEx from onboard, or a subset.

 

The identical situation would have occurred on the WCs as well, hence my question. Thanks in advance for any info! 🍺🥌

 

For the 2020 WC, they released the shore-ex really early around late March 2019, or about 9 months before departure. Certainly, this was a special case, as we booked the 2nd half of the 2019/20 Ultimate WC, and the cruise actually started at the end of August.

 

With departure early January, the World Cruisers 2nd half L/A to London) started booking shore-ex from the end of July, with our date in a DV being end of August. The pax on segments could only book shore-ex based on the normal dates in advance of departure for their cabin class.

 

Therefore, the full World Cruisers could review and book shore-ex before any of those pax booked on a segment. Even World Cruisers in a "V" cabin could book before a pax in an "ES" on the first segment.

 

The 22/23 WC is not following the same pattern, as we still don't have any shore-ex published for review and it starts in Ft Lauderdale in 6 months. However, MVJ and the pax statement indicates that in a DV cabin, we should be able to book shore-ex on 17th August.

[Pushka]

14 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

We were considering doing Passage to India this October but have decided against it. I noted that for Egypt at least there were several versions of the same excursion to the major sites on the VO website varying from 13 hours to 16 hours, including the “included” excursion. So chances are good that if you make the port you can see the main attractions.

Thankyou. I can’t see any excursions (Oz site) so I know nothing. We too were originally booked on the October one but deferred because of Covid testing. 
 

@UWDawg - Thankyou. I don’t know any of the excursions as I can’t  see them so we would like to do Valley of the Kings, Bethlehem, and Petra. We only have a day in Port Said and Jordan but overnight in Haifa. 

[UWDawg]

12 hours ago, Pushka said:

Thankyou. I can’t see any excursions (Oz site) so I know nothing. We too were originally booked on the October one but deferred because of Covid testing. 
 

@UWDawg - Thankyou. I don’t know any of the excursions as I can’t  see them so we would like to do Valley of the Kings, Bethlehem, and Petra. We only have a day in Port Said and Jordan but overnight in Haifa. 

@Pushka

On the public Viking website, for the cruise, below is a list of the potential shore excursions to be offered for the ports from Athens to Aqaba.  The actual excursions to be offered will likely be a subset of these.

Athens (Piraeus), Greece
* Panoramic Athens & Archaeological Museum
Acropolis & Plaka District by Foot
* Cape Sounion  
Delphi & the Oracle
Beautiful Coastline & Ancient Wonders
The New Acropolis Museum & Plaka District
Greek Island Ambience in the City & the Kanellopoulos Museum
The Full Acropolis Experience 
The Nelson Collection & Olympias Trireme [Priv]
Athens by Electric Bike
Ancient Corinth & Canal

 

Haifa, Israel
Haifa Panorama & Acre 
Nazareth & the Sea of Galilee
* Jerusalem & Bethlehem 
* Caesarea, Tel Aviv & Jaffa 
Eternal Jerusalem & the Yad Vashem Museum 
Rosh Hanikra, Kibbutz Visit & Acre’s Bahá’í Gardens
The Ruins of Caesarea Maritima
Scenic Haifa & Amphora Winery
Panoramic Shores of The Sea of Galilee

 

Port Said/Cairo, Egypt
The Great Pyramids & Sphinx (included)
* Egypt’s Historic Highlights
Treasures of Egypt
The City of Alexandria
Ismailia City & the Suez Canal
Medieval Cairo
The Great Pyramids & Egyptian Museum
Port Said by Horse-Drawn Carriage

 

Safaga/Luxor, Egypt
The Temple Complex of Karnak (included)
* Kings & Queens of Egypt
Karnak Temple & the Valley of the Kings
Luxor, Karnak & the Luxor Museum
Bedouin Camp Jeep Safari
Red Sea Snorkel

 

Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
* Glass-Bottom Boat Ride
Off-the-Beaten-Track Desert Jeep Tour
Red Sea Snorkeling
* St. Catherine’s Monastery
Highlights of Sharm El-Sheikh
Sharm El-Sheikh Beach Break
Underwater World of Sharm El-Sheikh

 

Aqaba, Jordan
Aqaba Highlights 
* Magnificent Petra
* Shobak Crusader Castle
Wadi Rum: In the Footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia
Wadi Rum: 1916 Arab Revolt Reenacted
 

We were lucky enough with the revised 21/22 WC itinerary to get a second day in Aqaba, a third day in Israel, and a second day in Athens.  That allowed me to squeeze in more excursions than would normally be available.  I took in the following excursions:

• Aqaba, Jordan day 1:    Petra
• Aqaba, Jordan day 2:    Shobak Crusader Castle
• Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt    1. St. Catherine's Monastery, and 2. Glass-Bottom Boat Ride (Included)
• Luxor (Safaga), Egypt:    Kings & Queens of Egypt [included the Temple Complex of Karnak, the Valley of the Queens (Queen Nefertiti’s tomb), and the Valley of the Kings (tombs of Tut, Seti I, and Ramses IX)
• Cairo (Port Said), Egypt:    Egypt's Historic Highlights [Sakkara step pyramid, Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx] 
• Jerusalem (Ashdod), Israel:    Masada & the Dead Sea
• Haifa, Israel day 1:    Jerusalem & Bethlehem
• Haifa, Israel day 2:    Caesarea, Tel-Aviv & Jaffa
• Athens (Piraeus), Greece day 1:    1. Panoramic Athens & Archaeological Museum and 2: Parthenon and Acropolis plus a special Greek Heritage & Folk Show.
• Athens (Piraeus), Greece day 2    Cape Sounion (Temple of Poseidon)

 

Some of my comments:
•    Petra was fantastic.  Instead of the Viking excursion to Petra, I was one of about 30 people who took a private excursion to Petra through Jordan Horizon Tours (https://www.johtt.com/).  This outside excursion gave us a couple more hours at Petra.  They can tailor their private excursions to ensure they return to the ship in time.
•    I would skip the Shobak Crusader Castle in favor of the Wadi Rum reenactment excursion.  The Shobak Castle was mostly an ongoing reconstruction of the original.
•    The Kings & Queens of Egypt excursion was very pricey because it included both lunch on the Nile River and Queen Nefertiti’s tomb in the Valley of the Queens.  Queen Nefertiti’s tomb was the most impressive of all the tombs I visited.  At the Valley of the Kings, the Seti I and Rames IX tombs were more impressive to me than King Tut’s tomb.
•    At the Sakkara step pyramid, they didn’t give us time to go into the pyramid, but instead went into a couple of well-reserved tombs which were nearby (Kagemni).
•    If you get the chance to swim in the Dead Sea, be sure to bring a bottle of fresh water to flush the saltwater out of your eyes; the salt concentration is so great that not only is it easy to float, but the saltwater will sting painfully if it gets in your eyes or on open wounds.
•    While I enjoyed Caesarea, I was underwhelmed by the Tel-Aviv portion since our panoramic tour of Tel-Aviv was basically limited to a bus ride on the main road due to stop and go traffic.  I would instead opt for the half-day Ruins of Caesarea Maritima excursion or one of the other available excursions.
•    The panoramic tour through Athens was one of the best panoramic tours of the World Cruise; well-coordinated and competent guides.  I was impressed by the Athens Archaeological Museum.  Don’t confuse the Archaeological Museum with the Acropolis Museum; they are at different locations.  If given free time in Athens’ Planka District, wander and explore the various shops and historical ruins.
•    The drive to the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion was beautiful.
 

[DJVKN]

37 minutes ago, UWDawg said:

We were lucky enough with the revised 21/22 WC itinerary to get a second day in Aqaba, a third day in Israel, and a second day in Athens.  That allowed me to squeeze in more excursions than would normally be available.  I took in the following excursions:

Thanks so much for your insight. I don't sail till 2024 but I love the planning process.

Diana

[Pushka]

@UWDawg - thankyou so much for this information, it's gold. And rather pleased to see you successfully negotiated a private excursion to Petra. But it does worry me we are only in Aqaba for the day. I'll search that company and see what happens. 

[UWDawg]

10 hours ago, DJVKN said:

Thanks so much for your insight. I don't sail till 2024 but I love the planning process.

Diana

@DJVKNDiana, which of the cruises are you on in 2024?  Is it the 23/24 Viking Sky WC departing LA on Jan 6 or the 23/24 Viking Neptune WC departing LA on Jan 9?  Quite a few folks from the 21/22 WC signed up for one of the upcoming WC's in order to hit those ports which we we missed due to the revised itinerary.  I'm guessing most will be on the Sky since the 22/23 and 23/24 Neptune WC's were pretty much full, but I think some are booked on each of the upcoming VWC's if I recall correctly.

[DJVKN]

16 hours ago, UWDawg said:

@DJVKNDiana, which of the cruises are you on in 2024?  Is it the 23/24 Viking Sky WC departing LA on Jan 6 or the 23/24 Viking Neptune WC departing LA on Jan 9?  Quite a few folks from the 21/22 WC signed up for one of the upcoming WC's in order to hit those ports which we we missed due to the revised itinerary.  I'm guessing most will be on the Sky since the 22/23 and 23/24 Neptune WC's were pretty much full, but I think some are booked on each of the upcoming VWC's if I recall correctly.

@UWDawgWe are on the 23/24 Neptune. I keep forgetting there are two cruises. We chose Neptune as the Sky does not have drawers in the closet for the PV or below cabins. We went to Iceland on the Sky in 2021. I know the Star did not either. Viking kept assuring us the Star would have them retro fitted  before the WC but they did not. (we were to be on the 21/22 WC but chose to wait) We flew back home the day the ship sailed. Are you doing another WC?

[NeverCruisin']

@Pushka you should be able to view the excursions for each port by clicking on “read more” . I’m not sure which direction your cruise is but you can change it at the upper left of the page https://www.vikingcruises.com.au/oceans/cruise-destinations/eastern-mediterranean/passage-to-india/index.html?return=true#search/sfym=2023-5&sftcm=18-82575

[UWDawg]

21 hours ago, DJVKN said:

@UWDawgWe are on the 23/24 Neptune. I keep forgetting there are two cruises. We chose Neptune as the Sky does not have drawers in the closet for the PV or below cabins. We went to Iceland on the Sky in 2021. I know the Star did not either. Viking kept assuring us the Star would have them retro fitted  before the WC but they did not. (we were to be on the 21/22 WC but chose to wait) We flew back home the day the ship sailed. Are you doing another WC?

@DJVKN  Yes… we’ve signed up for the 23/24 WC on the Sky, boarding in LA.  Since the 21/22 WC missed out on so many of the ports we had hoped to visit, we decided to use our FCC to visit them.

 

Originally, we signed on to the ’23 Grand Pacific Explorer, but fellow passengers convinced me that the WC incentives make it a better value.  Of course, DW is still concerned about re-visiting the Mediterranean ports vs Japan and Alaska, but on the plus side the WC includes Hawaii, the South Pacific islands and India, which are not included in the GPE.
 

[PasadenaDave]

Garry has posted day one of his current cruise on his blog.  WARNING it is not Viking and service is not the same.  Having said that I do enjoy his writing 

[FetaCheese]

2 hours ago, PasadenaDave said:

Garry has posted day one of his current cruise on his blog.  WARNING it is not Viking and service is not the same.  Having said that I do enjoy his writing 

Thanks, have been checking blog since yesterday.

[UWDawg]

FYI... Link to the Captains Logbook for the 2021/22 Viking World Cruise:

 

https://brochures.viking.com/view/682349859/ 

[DJVKN]

33 minutes ago, UWDawg said:

FYI... Link to the Captains Logbook for the 2021/22 Viking World Cruise:

 

https://brochures.viking.com/view/682349859/ 

I hope we get one on the 23/24 Neptune WC. What a great memento.

[GKTV32162]

5 hours ago, UWDawg said:

FYI... Link to the Captains Logbook for the 2021/22 Viking World Cruise:

 

https://brochures.viking.com/view/682349859/ 

Thanks for this.  How did you hear about it?

[GKTV32162]

29 minutes ago, GKTV32162 said:

Thanks for this.  How did you hear about it?

And...as soon as I posted that comment, I found the email notification. We're on the road at the moment and it was buried.  Duh.