Frenchberet

Thanks! I'll try it!

Hi, we’re thinking about booking a last minute cruise “Amazon & Caribbean Adventure” in Nov 24. The Viking promo is Spring Sale ($25 down & reduced air). Before we book just wondering if there’s a “better” promo we can take advantage of. Thanks in advance!

On day 1 we signed up for the included “Highlights of St Mark’s Square”. Our plan was to do the tour, explore Venice on our own, then take the last boat back to the ship. We found out that there really wasn’t a “shuttle boat service” and that we had to return to the ship at an assigned time with our group. That left us with only 45 minutes of free time. So, we decided to ditch the included tour. We stood in line and purchased tickets to St Mark’s Basilica. We toured the inside, including the museum that houses the bronze horses brought to Venice from Constantinople. Very nice. Day 2 was transfer day and we did the optional tour to Murano and Burano. Day 3 we did an optional “Secrets of Doge’s Palace with Early Access”. We had a small group of 8-10 people and a guided tour inside the rooms, hidden passages, and cells within the palace. It was very interesting. After the tour we had an hour of free time before returning to the ship. Overall, not a lot of time in Venice.

Yes, but does it need to be an either/or situation? Can a man come to dinner wearing pants, leave his ball cap in the room, and not stink?

We recently did legs 2, 3 & 4 of this itinerary (Rome-Istanbul). This cruise definitely had a more “relaxed” passenger demographic than our other Viking cruises. The dress code was posted at the entrance to the restaurant, Chef’s Table and Manfredi’s but there were a number of people who just ignored it. We observed several adult men wearing jeans and baseball caps in the restaurant and at Manfredi’s. This puts the staff in an awkward position. If I was working there, I’d point to the sign and tell them to change their pants and take their darn hats off. I’d probably get fired.

Never heard of the duck thing, had to look it up. No sightings in our recent cruise on Saturn but there was a woman who kept taking photos with her stuffed Pikachu doll…

Are you referring to the itinerary for “Into the Northwest Passage”? It is a new itinerary for 2025 and looks great. We did Antarctica on Viking Octantis in 2023 and are looking forward to another adventure on this beautiful expedition ship!

We had “birds” on Saturn when we disembarked in Istanbul two weeks ago. Maybe Sky’s birds migrated south for the winter?

Ask to speak with the sommelier/wine steward/restaurant manager.

Chocolate cake on Octantis 😋

Sorry, I didn’t keep a copy. I think there were two included walking tours and two optional tours to choose from on transfer day. No problem booking, just stop at Guest Services. We chose an optional tour to Murano/Burano, very good. On our other days in Venice we did an included walking tour, “Highlights of St Mark’s Square”, and an optional tour to the Doge’s Palace. We booked these during the regular excursion booking process prior to boarding. The issue with Venice is that you are docked 90 minutes from St. Mark’s Square. You’re spending 3 hours in transit (by boat) each day which limits the time you can actually spend sightseeing. Just something to keep in mind.

We just returned from this cruise. The full itinerary was Barcelona to Istanbul. We sailed Rome to Istanbul (legs 2, 3 & 4). Venice and Athens were change-over days where passengers got on and off for a new leg. Viking offered several included and optional excursions for passengers continuing on. We received a handout in our cabin a couple of days before the change-over with all the info. Great cruise, enjoy!

I wouldn’t spend any more time waiting for the person to call you back. Just call Viking at 1-800-304-9616 and ask your questions. Have your booking number ready.

Figure 5 pm back on board for a 6 pm departure.

I don’t recall that option but I suppose you could just walk along. We shared a dog and passed him back and forth. They told us it’s a reward for the dogs to be selected for this assignment 😊