NeilP57

At least this way I can do a Golden Circle tour without having to play ShoreX roulette and I gain an extra day of sightseeing in Iceland. 

Last night I spotted on MVJ that Viking had posted my flights from London on BA arriving into KEF at 9:10am on 31/7  An early start but as it’s only a 3 hr flight from London it means we will be Iceland nice and early, which got me thinking. 
 

At what point do you join the Viking bubble? 
 

Could I get Viking to look after my luggage and transfer it to the ship, whilst I organised a full day Golden Circle private tour starting from KEF and was dropped off at the ship later that same day to be tested by Viking.

This would appear to be same situation as those organising there own air and arriving a few days earlier but would have the added advantage of somebody else looking after luggage. 

It is also dependent on Iceland’s entry rules are at the time but maybe by 31/7 proof of vaccination (tick) is all that will be needed to gain entry. 
 

Any thoughts welcome? 

It’s has been reported Viking has said that all cabins will have equal access to shore excursions once they are released. 
 

Obviously they are late releasing them but once they are released “happy hunting”

1 hour ago, AKexplorer said:

 

I put the shore excursions into a spread sheet so you can visually see how they would mesh together

 

This is a fabulous piece of work, thank you so much for setting it out like this. 
 

Obviously each of us will have to double check times against our specific schedules, once shorex have been released but this is a great way to see the options, or perhaps more accurately the lack of them. 

We have sailed both Regent and Viking but cannot comment on Seabourn. 
 

We are big fans of Viking and have another two cruises booked with them.

We are looking forward to a Silversea Cruise next year as well. 

We would be happy to sail with Regent again, if the right itinerary came up at the right time. 
 

in our experience all are fantastic products at slightly different price points (from a UK customer perspective).

If money is not an issue, I feel that Regent is better than Viking from its F&B offering and it’s included excursions. Entertainment is not a strong point for either Company. Enrichment lectures are not our thing so cannot really comment but I suspect Viking will be better. 
 

But money should always be an issue and I feel that Viking offers slightly better bang for your buck than Regent. We are very happy with the cheapest Viking cabin and then spend the savings made on the drinks package and doing the excursions  we really wish to do. 
 

I would make one other observation in that once on board a Viking ship you are treated the same whether you are in the lowest V category cabin or the Owners suite. When we were on the Regent cruise, we did feel that there were certain passengers, who were frequent cruisers with Regent, received preferential treatment onboard when it came to speciality restaurant bookings etc. 
 

Overall though this was not such an issue as to prevent us travelling with Regent if the right trip came up. 
 

In conclusion, I would say both are great cruise lines, but you just decide what is most important to you. 

Look what’s gone and parked right outside our hotel on the Isles of Scilly! It’s great news that they can explore the Tresco gardens freely. I just spoke to a couple of stragglers on the St Mary’s Garrison Walk optional tour and they said they have had a great time. 

1 hour ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Guess you're not going to be on the same Iceland cruise in early August cruise as us.  (Are there special ones for UK cruisers?

Ruth, we are the 31/7 departure, which one are you on?

2 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

I also wanted to say hi to Neil. Neil, you may not remember me, but you and your spouse shared a short tour in Kotor with my husband Howard and me. We went out to the little island.

Hi Ruth, of course myself and Jeanette remember you both and our enjoyable private tour of Kotor back during that first season of the Viking  Star. (Oh for the days private tours) 
 

Interestingly, we decided against doing the UK cruise due to the restrictions on shore excursions but have chosen to do the Iceland cruise in early August and accept the same restrictions.  
 

From a UK Cruise perspective we decided instead of doing the cruise we would have a week on the Isles of Scilly instead and today is the day that the Viking Venus comes to the Islands.  
 

On the first cruise last week they were unable to run the tenders ashore due to high winds/seas but today the weather looks a lot better from where we are staying so hopefully everybody will be able to get off. We visited Tresco a couple of days ago and the beaches and the gardens (the included tour) were absolutely stunning. 
 

We have decided to avoid any flag waving Viking guides and ear plug wearing cruisers and are heading off to Bryher today which is one of the quieter islands. 
 

For those doing the St Mary’s trip, the walk past the Star Castle (where we are currently staying) around the headland they call The Garrison is also very beautiful. 
 

And finally Ruth, I know how you love your lighthouses, so you would love the Isles of Scilly. They are such dangerous islands for shipping that they are everywhere. Also just a few miles off shore is the famous  Bishop's Rock lighthouse. You may find this link interesting. 
https://www.visitislesofscilly.com/experience/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/lighthouses

Thanks for reaching out.

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

You are certainly spoiled for choices when it comes to links golf. Lots of courses, even Open Championship Courses, on both sides of the Firth of Forth.

With Gullane #1, Luffness and North Berwick almost as good as the two trophy Open Courses. The relative newcomers at The Renaissance Club and Kings Barns not too shoddy either!  
 

1 hour ago, SantaFe1 said:

Not the best.  If I can walk with my husband I don’t need them, but he’s always off with his camera.  But I first bought them 16 years ago when we did a walking trip of the Cotswolds, and here in the Rockies, we always use them.

Clearly made to last those poles from the Cotswolds.

Also, they are good for enforcing social distancing.  (...only joking)

For UK travellers who are on the Three network the good news is that Iceland is one of the 71 countries around the world where your UK based calling plan covers usage abroad. So your included data and calls can be used in Iceland. 

Provided you can get a phone signal of course and you have not accidentally connected to the expensive on board satellite phone signal provider. ( can’t recall if this applies to VO or not) 

Given the ShoreX situation I think on this cruise we will have more hours on board than normal docked or near land on the tender ports to use both the cell coverage from outside or from our balcony. 
 

Not sure what the cell phone coverage will be in some of the more remote ports of call, they do seem somewhat isolated. 

56 minutes ago, sleepybobo said:

Thanks.  Hopefully we'll be on the 9th sailing (July 31 - August 7).  Just wondering when I should start checking MVJ like a mad woman.  

Feel free to join our roll call, we are a little thin on the ground at the moment. 

Looks like the score is Canada 1 UK 0  

I did ask my contact at UK Viking the same question but no response yet! 

Does anybody know if there is any reference to the referral programme on the Viking website. I searched for it recently and couldn’t find it. 
 

I found the sticky above but as that related to 2017 I thought the referral programme must have been abandoned. 
 

Glad to hear it is still going. 

9 minutes ago, Travel2Learn said:

Same table or server each night makes the trip more enjoyable

 A part of me agrees with this but I also enjoy conversing with a variety of different passengers and would possibly prefer not to have the same “near” table neighbours at every dinner time. 

Just now, Travel2Learn said:

Do you have to show a card when ordering?  That would negate the convenience for me.  

You just quote your cabin number. After a while the wine steward or bar tender normally remember it.

2 hours ago, Seaharvest said:

On past cruises we have eaten most of our meals at at The Restaurant and request the same section every night so the wait staff and wine steward get to know us, our likes and dislikes so they can make recommendations

This comment raised in my mind the following question. We have made a reservation at the same time each evening in the MDR for the 7 nights of the cruise. I wonder if we will be pre-allocated the same table/service area each evening or we will be randomly distributed around the MDR on different nights? I don’t think I have a preference either way but it did make me wonder as reservations for the MDR is all new to us. 

I cannot speak for others but this was made very clear when we booked onto the Welcome Back Iceland cruise. It has been heavily discussed on numerous Boards previously. 

PS - Welcome to Murrysfriend, an interesting debut post!

41 minutes ago, Strangford said:

And Northern Ireland.

Sorry, no slight intended. I would want it to work for all UK passengers on the cruise whatever nationality.

NHS App works shows our vaccination status as well  Just need it to work for our Scottish friends as well! 

6 hours ago, Dave W 10 said:

Neil

I wasn't aware of that. Very interesting.

Would your TA be a certain cruise club that starts with a B?

Thanks

Dave

 You could say that but I couldn't possibly comment......... (yes)

1 hour ago, Dave W 10 said:

Neil

Is there any benefit booking through a TA for UK customers? I have always dealt direct with Viking and found them very efficient and helpful.

Just wondering if I'm missing a trick somewhere.

David

i booked my first cruise direct with them because at the time I don’t think they were offering TA discounts back in 2015 for the inaugural Ocean cruises. Since then I have been booking through a TA and receiving not only the Viking past passenger discount but also a TA discount as well. 
 

I use a well known cruise TA near Chesterfield and they share additional discount. 
 

The only downside is that any communications to/from Viking get routed through the TA but the additional discount softens the blow. (Or covers the cost of the drinks package, depending on how you look at it!) 
 

Hope this helps. 

Here in the UK, the Viking Agent was very clear that we were to remain within the Viking excursion bubble and this seemed to be part of the sales script for Icelandic cruise we booked.

I had similar discussions when I was considering the England's Scenic Coast, but decided to be in a Viking bubble in your own country was a little too restrictive.

It may get relaxed as cruises go by, we are not sailing until 31 July but we have proceeded on the basis that this will be the case and anything other than this will be a bonus.

2 hours ago, NeilP57 said:

David

 

Many thanks for this, I have sent my contact at Viking a question on the MDR reservations.

 

Neil

After a little confusion, now all sorted, Viking have clarified that they can make dinner reservations for the MDR for us lowly V1/2 passengers and provided me with the times currently available which were all reasonable. The only glitch is that I had to request my preferred times via my TA, which just adds another opportunity for confusion. (For the avoidance of doubt, I am booked onto the Iceland welcome back cruise but David was very helpful in answering my question - generally us Brits prefer a slightly later dining time to the US passengers so a mixed passenger demographic like we have the Iceland cruises will be helpful in getting the times you want)