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Question for those who have done this itinerary or something similar. What did you do about the different currencies? Seems like we have several to deal with Caribbean dollars, Euros, Barbados dollars and US dollars. We will mostly use credit cards, but I'm wondering about small purchases. With all they have been through on some of these islands, I'd like to help the locals by buying crafts and local goods. Do they take US dollars? Will it be a problem for them? Normally, I'd get local currency, but we are only going to be in each port one day, so we won't need much.

 

Also we are sailing from and returning to San Juan. Do we go through customs there on return. It's not really an international flight. If we make to to St Thomas, I know we will want to get some cognac (got great prices the last time). IIRC that was duty free.

I go to the Caribbean every winter, not sure if you’re american or from UK. I’m from America and I can tell you that I use dollars for small purchases. They are use to dealing with Americans. For large purchases at the stores , I use credit cards. I’ve never seen people using euros to make purchases though so I don’t know if that would be acceptable. As for traveling, you show your passport when you go through security, if your plane lands in jfk or another American airport then yes, you go through immigration before getting to the next European plane.

I do believe that is just the display waffle.

Exactly, they put out displays so you know what you’re asking for

Star is a great ship with a great staff

You can get mostly whatever you want on your salad, mozzarella balls, any type of vegetable or mushrooms, grilled shrimp, salmon, steak. And if you don't see it, ask, if they can get it then they will.

if paying for a can of pop (which I bought the package so won't worry about)

and someone leaving their towel on a chair are the only

down sides, I think I will enjoy my cruise in 3 weeks.

Plenty of chairs by the pool and not many people use the spa, so don't worry.

Are there only 4 chairs in the spa? Oh dear, that sounds like a small room, we had thought it was much bigger. In fact, we thought that there is one spa for men, and one for women. Or is that incorrect? We will be taking our first Viking cruise in a couple of months, so am trying to get as much information as possible!

There are four heated beds but there are about six regular beds, maybe a couple more. As for why personal items left on beds, the people may have been in the snow room or hot water pool. Not many use the the spa so it's usually available. As for the drinks, if you have the beverage package, then you have no problem, if not then you get charged.

Great articles. Thank you! Will be sailing Viking soon for the first time. Was not aware of the scarce salad bar selections!

 

Will be starting a new thread with a question about restricted reservations for specialty dining and included excursions.

You don't have scarce salad bar selections and if you want something extra, they are great at getting it for you

We ate both at Manfredis and Chef's Table with a couple who had the Beverage Package. We all were treated special and offered wine selections by the sommelier, but when the other couple indicated they had the beverage package they were offered selections from a "premium" selection.

My husband loved the premium wines offered at the chef's table. With the beverage package. I enjoyed trying different drinks recommended by the staff. Lemon drop martini at the Torshaven was delicious

Ok, my friend had to cancel two days before the cruise flight, her mom took a turn for the worse, well she got back everything including the money she paid for the tours.

I was sent the pillow/blanket that I keep in my car, then I received two clothing cubes , which I love, you can fit so much in them. Then I received the three little bags, which are great for putting soaks or stockings into. It's fun to receive these little gifts, thanks

My husband and I will be taking a river cruise on Viking from Lyon to Avignon in two weeks. We are also doing the viking land extension of 2 nights in Paris and 2 nights in Dijon. Can someone suggest approximately how many euros to purchase before we leave? I know most is paid for, but I'm sure we will encounter something that we will need cash for. Thanks.

Everything depends on whether you are bringing your credit card. For cash, I brought about $50/day for lunch and $100 for dinner then 20% for tips although at least in some northern countries, they don't expect a tip. Don't forget, you can arrange tours so you're back on board for all your meals. Then a couple dollars for tipping drivers and tour guides. Your itinerary will tell you how much. Then an extra $20/day for incidentals , but this is not really necessary.

Looking at the 8-day Romantic Danube cruise....and I can see itineraries on the Longships, as well as some "older" ships (specifically, the Prestige and Legend).

 

Have never done a river cruise, but have sailed on Viking Oceans, and I know they offer a high-quality product. Hoping someone with experience on the different Viking River ships has some thoughts here.

 

Thx.

We are doing the Danube waltz on April 20, 2018, looking forward to traveling on a longship. When we did the Rhine cruise,the longships had not been christened, so this will be a treat.

Just remember that the Viking ocean and Viking river are two different experiences.

Hi,

We are doing the Rhine Getaway 11-01-17 on Viking

VIKING LONGSHIP IDI - Amsterdam - Basel.

This is our first River cruise,

looking for any recommendations or suggestions!

Let's have fun!:)

One of the optional excursions was the beer hoping tour in the evening. We had a great time and I collected the coasters at each bar and put them into a frame. You will love this cruise.

While I appreciate Viking"s efforts, we decided to cancel this cruise, and transfer our booking to a February South America/Caribbean cruise. There have been too many negatives, hoping maybe someday we can try again.

 

 

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So sorry that your Cuban cruise didn't work out , we are also taking the same itinerary on February 5 sailing. Looking forward to this cruise.

The staff on Viking is so diverse, if you don't meet a passenger from your home country then you're sure to meet a staff member from your home country. Yes, English is the language that is used for most everything, but I found that most countries already understand English as a second language which I loved because you meet so many wonderful people from all over the world.

We are booked on the March 17th 2018 sailing from San Juan, so we are sitting tight. We booked our own flights on Delta and have gotten an email stating they are waiving change fees. The email didn’t state how long that would be good for.

 

I’m reading that San

Juan says they will be ready to welcome ships and tourists in a month or so. Not sure how but there is another port and terminal in San Juan. March will give them a few more months so I’m somewhat optimistic. The hotel - El Convento - where we have our precruise reservations has tweeted that they had little damage and plan to open in a month.

 

As for the rest, I’m good with a mystery cruise [emoji16]

 

 

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Our cruise is leaving San Juan on February 5, we have precruise overnight reservations at the Sheraton old San Juan which is across the street from the pier. Hopefully everything will be up and running by then. Tourism is very important to the Caribbean economy so I'm sure that they will do their best to open up the docks for cruise ships. We may be limited to tourist sites as a result of the damage though. But the dollars are important to the people so I'll spend a little extra in Puerto Rico.

Got an email from Viking today . It said Miami is fully operational for cruise ships. They are still in conversation with island ports of call and the local partners as to when they will be ready for cruiseships.

I am going on the Viking Sea TA from San Juan to Barcelona March 27, 2018.Still a long way off.

I would not be surprised if the ship embark from another port , or maybe they will have enough infrastructure in San Juan to remain on their schedule. Even if the port is open , it does need running water, working sewers, and electricity .

Did anyone who is sailing out of San Juan sooner get the same message or a different one?

Basically , I received a general message. We're going to San Juan on February 4 for cruise on the fifth. I already arranged to stay at the Sheraton old San Juan which is across from the pier. I think that by February, the piers will be open and the hotels in San Juan will be repaired. They'll want tourist there as quickly as possible to help the economy. The problem will be the island tours in the mountains, roads are narrow and not well maintained in good times. My heart goes out to all those on the island.

On our into the midnight sun, a young gentleman was cruising with his mother, he had a great time, getting involved in one of the shows and receiving a lot of attention. It depends on the young person. My cousin is 15 and very mature for his age, he would have a fabulous time on Viking .

So, what I am trying to find out is, are there guest lecturers and resident historians? We had guest lecturers on our cruise and since then, Viking has promoted this resident historian program. Are they one in the same? Is this just a change in title? If we read CC, we know about the 'supervisor' title.

It appears that the guest lecturers may be a one time cruise offering whereas the resident historian, travel back and forth on multiple cruises. We had both on our cruise. One historian told my husband that he just travels on multiple cruises where the attorney seemed to be a guest speaker on just ours.

Like Azulann, we are booked for the Viking Sea's TA (San Juan to Barcelona) March 27,2018 cruise. But, we have a much more immediate issue to ponder since, like Cruisin Kay D and company, we are also booked on the Viking Sea's New York City to San Juan October 13, 2017, cruise. We feel that the 5+ months between now and our departure on our TA in March will be enough time for everything to sort itself out as far as San Juan departure in the Spring.

 

However, it is another story for our final destination and point of disembarkation for the cruise coming up in 3 weeks. We received Viking's information letter for both cruises (they were identical except for the specific cruise name and booking number) that everyone else seems to have received. A similar notice was posted on the My Viking Journey section of Viking's web site. We are taking a laid- back approach and are willing to go on a "Mystery Cruise to Somewhere" when everything gets sorted out. Like many others, our only concern is where will we end up as, we too, have booked on our own a flight with Delta from Puerto Rico to Atlanta. We are reciting the "Serenity Prayer" on a daily basis.:halo:

Contact Viking directly, the fact that the airports are being used to get people off the island may affect your travel plans after the cruise

My husband went to many of the lectures during the day and spoke to the lecturers regularly on the Viking star cruise into the midnight sun. He lived it, the guests were well versed in their individual studies and the studies were very diverse, historians, art specialists, lawyers, are just a few examples.

The china land and water tour. It was unbelievable, great tours and great food. The tour guys live in china so you see china from a different perspective

I forgot to mention that another perk they gave me was gratuities included in the price.

Use obc for drinks

I must say that I always book with Viking and I use their Air department. I've never had an issue and they respond within 12 hours by email or phone contact. The one time that I used a TA, it was a disaster. They never returned my calls or email and they never offered us help in booking anything. So I'm just going to stick with Viking.

Got an email from Viking today . It said Miami is fully operational for cruise ships. They are still in conversation with island ports of call and the local partners as to when they will be ready for cruiseships.

I am going on the Viking Sea TA from San Juan to Barcelona March 27, 2018.Still a long way off.

I would not be surprised if the ship embark from another port , or maybe they will have enough infrastructure in San Juan to remain on their schedule. Even if the port is open , it does need running water, working sewers, and electricity .

Did anyone who is sailing out of San Juan sooner get the same message or a different one?

I received the same message but I'm on the February 5 , 2018 cruise and unless there is another disaster, I'm not worried. Many parts of the island will still be closed, I know this from sandy experience.