Shore excursion timings when tendering

[FoggyEthan]

At a tender port, is the start time for a shore excursion the time you need to be waiting in the theater, and the end time the time you are back on-board Viking after return tendering? i.e. is the apparent time for the shore excursion actually approximately an hour longer than the excursion's real total time, because the first and last half hours are eaten by tendering?

 

I'll be in Svalbard / Longyearbyen for 2 days and sadly we'll be tendering. (Surprising since no other ship is listed as being in port that day.) I'm trying to figure out what shore excursions I can combine, perhaps by not returning onto the ship, just staying by the dock.

 

Bonus points if you know if Viking will provide regular shuttles from the dock into town, and whether there's any way to get a quick lunch (sandwich?) at the port without tendering back first.

 

Thanks!

-- Ethan

 

[janetcbl]

4 minutes ago, FoggyEthan said:

At a tender port, is the start time for a shore excursion the time you need to be waiting in the theater, and the end time the time you are back on-board Viking after return tendering? i.e. is the apparent time for the shore excursion actually approximately an hour longer than the excursion's real total time, because the first and last half hours are eaten by tendering?

 

I'll be in Svalbard / Longyearbyen for 2 days and sadly we'll be tendering. (Surprising since no other ship is listed as being in port that day.) I'm trying to figure out what shore excursions I can combine, perhaps by not returning onto the ship, just staying by the dock.

 

Bonus points if you know if Viking will provide regular shuttles from the dock into town, and whether there's any way to get a quick lunch (sandwich?) at the port without tendering back first.

 

Thanks!

-- Ethan

 

From a website I follow, there are restaurants In Longyearbyen as well as what looks like a great bakery.

[FoggyEthan]

Just now, janetcbl said:

From a website I follow, there are restaurants In Longyearbyen as well as what looks like a great bakery.

In Longyearbyen proper getting food should be great, like you say! But the port is 20-30 minutes walk from town, and if my returning excursion brings me to the port and the next one departs from the port, then that's a lot of lost time and I'd might as well just tender back to the ship.

[CurlerRob]

5 hours ago, FoggyEthan said:

In Longyearbyen proper getting food should be great, like you say! But the port is 20-30 minutes walk from town, and if my returning excursion brings me to the port and the next one departs from the port, then that's a lot of lost time and I'd might as well just tender back to the ship.

 

Your excursion tickets should state the meeting time and place - ship, dock, etc.

 

The dock area is quite spartan - I do not recall any options for food there. Unless Norway has imposed  food restrictions (bringing stuff off the ship), you may be able to request or put together a box lunch and stash it with the team at the tender dock. (If they eat it, is wasn't my idea 🙄).

 

If you are the only ship, I'm surprised you are tendering unless there is construction at the dock (which my failing memory suggests may be the case). I can't comment on a shuttle, as my visit was not with Viking.

 

Enjoy one of the most fascinating places in the world - you will be farther north than most of humanity can dream of! 🍺🥌

[FoggyEthan]

18 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Your excursion tickets should state the meeting time and place - ship, dock, etc.

 

The catch is that I need to buy the excursions in advance -- it's competitive out there! 😎 -- before I'll know what the tickets have to say.

 

Thanks for your advice on Longyearbyen! I'm looking forward to it. And as you say, packing a lunch and carrying it with me is always an option. I'll be sure to bring some ziplocs with me for flexibility.

[CurlerRob]

19 minutes ago, FoggyEthan said:

The catch is that I need to buy the excursions in advance -- it's competitive out there! 😎 -- before I'll know what the tickets have to say.

 

Thanks for your advice on Longyearbyen! I'm looking forward to it. And as you say, packing a lunch and carrying it with me is always an option. I'll be sure to bring some ziplocs with me for flexibility.

 

You may be able to work off of excursion lengths - for a tender port, I would always estimate a 4-hour excursion as consuming at least 6 hours. That assumes the massing and tendering is additional to the excursion elapsed time. I have never experienced a tour that included "return to ship time", whether walking/boarding or tendering in their elapsed times.

 

When I last called in Norwegian ports, they did not have restrictions on taking food ashore, but be sure to check before you do so in case that changes. You likely know that there are many countries that strictly prohibit that. 🍺🥌

[FoggyEthan]

4 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

 

You may be able to work off of excursion lengths - for a tender port, I would always estimate a 4-hour excursion as consuming at least 6 hours. That assumes the massing and tendering is additional to the excursion elapsed time. I have never experienced a tour that included "return to ship time", whether walking/boarding or tendering in their elapsed times.

 

When I last called in Norwegian ports, they did not have restrictions on taking food ashore, but be sure to check before you do so in case that changes. You likely know that there are many countries that strictly prohibit that. 🍺🥌

 

Oh ok, so if they say "2 hours @ 2pm" they probably mean that you tender from the ship earlier than 2pm, so it actually starts at 2pm. Thanks, that's what I was trying to understand! 😎

 

I will check. I think they won't care because the Viking ship is likely stocked from Norway or other EU countries. But I'll check.

[Peregrina651]

Normally, if the tour start time is listed on MVJ as 8:30am, you will be on your bus, ready to leave by 8:30 am.  The meeting time  will figure in the amount of time needed to tender to the dock. The time to get to the bus is not taken from the length of the tour.  

[CDR2001]

And….. sometimes the MVJ published times or ticket times are changed slightly. Detailed meeting place and times are in the Viking Daily which you get after dinner. Ask at the guest services desk if you have a tight time between excursions. I missed a second tour due to traffic and a slow bus, Viking refunded the fee. Tours can also be cancelled by you 48 hours prior to start time. 

Edited February 10 by CDR2001

[TayanaLorna]

It is best to look at the Viking Daily delivered the evening before any excursion.  The time and location for where to meet for any excursion will be in the Viking Daily.  The time listed when you reserve your excursion is the time the bus leaves.  Meeting prior to an excursion can be 15 minutes to a half hour before departure time.  We missed an excursion once because we did not look for the meeting time in the Daily.   They do not wait.