lke

We have LOVED our Viking cruises.  In fact, on our last cruise we booked 3 upcoming cruises.  Unfortunately, 2 of these got cancelled by Viking due  Covid and the selling of one of their ships.  We re-booked the 2 that were cancelled, but found they wouldn't give us the discounts we had on our orignal bookings.  Now they want over $3000 more even with their "so called" 25% vouchers. As I said, we thought Viking was  fantastic compared to other cruises we've taken. We have decided to give them a chance to redeem themselves by continuing with our re-bookings, but I deeply feel they have not treated us the way a trusted company should treat their customers, and I seriously wonder if we will EVER book with them again.

We couldn't get the "invite guests" tab to work, either.  I called Viking and they linked our bookings together, and made our dinner reservations.  We, too, are in different cabin levels, so we booked our excursions, and when the time came for my cousin to book theirs, they chose the same excursions.  Then I called Viking again and asked that we be put on the same bus - not just the same excursion, as sometimes there are many different buses going to the same excursion.

We used TJ Travel - it was excellent.  Met us right after immigration and gave us an amazing tour on both days we were docked. They took care of everything, and their vans had wifi, so we could all check email while driving through the city.  They made frequent restroom stops in good locations.  The restaurants where we had our lunches were also very nice. We ended up seeing more of St Petersburg than one could ever imagine.

Viking, I too thank you for answering the concerns of the cruisecritic family.  We will be on the Far East Discovery in September and I've been very conflicted about the excursion comments from previous travelers. We loved our Viking River Cruise and are so looking forward to trying the ocean cruise.  It's comforting to know that your headquarters are aware of and are trying to correct these problems.

Thanks for the info. We've not done their ocean cruises yet where you have to sign up in advance for the excursions. I'm so glad we have cruisecritic to get answers so quickly!

Our cruise isn't for 400 days. When will they start listing the shore excursions so we can decide which we're interested in?

Linda

It's been about 5 years ago, but we stayed at Hotel Jazz. It's within walking distance of Los Ramblas. At the time, it was highly recommended on TripAdvisor. Do beware of pickpockets in Barcelona - met several people who had that problem.

It's been a few years ago, but we used Rome in a Limo and it was great! Saw so much!

Nor 78!

Do you remember which cabin on deck 4 was good? We're in 426 and I've read it's the worse!

As someone who has done 5 trips on the PG, 4 in a deck 4 window cabin, and one trip in a deck 8 B, I would say that the cabins aren't that much bigger. The best thing is being adjacent to the pool deck, I think. We hardly used our balcony because it was too hot and humid--if the ship was anchored and swinging around, the shade was not dependable and that tropical sun is a killer. We hardly used the butler, so for us, it's not worth it. Last trip we were back on deck 4 and loved our cabin.

We're booked in 426 in August 2017. Can you recommend a better cabin?

Thanks!

Stay away from cabin 426! The pool drains run at 4:30 pm and 4 am. There is nothing you can do about it. We were in this cabin and had to request a switch since the 4 am drain kept waking me up.

 

The PG staff were able to switch us which was no easy matter due to the fact we had our daughter with us. They simply lifted up the hide away bed and moved it to another cabin.

The http://www.booking.com website states that the Premier Inn West Quay has an ATM machine on-site. I hope so, as we're planning to use it in August.

Linda

Was wondering if there is a bank near the hotel to withdraw money. Have enough pounds to pay Smith but need local money to eat, etc. Would prefer not to stop at airport.

Thank you! Having your input makes planning our trip so much easier! I'm sure all of us here on cruisecritic appreciate the time and effort you put in to helping us!

Thanks

Linda

Danish Viking

We dock at 10:00 and have until 6:00 p.m. We normally do a lot of walking and would like to do the following route. Is this within reason?

Walk to Rosenborg Castle from Langelinie pier where we are docked.

Stop for a sandwich at Aaman's on Oster Farimagsgade.

Then begin just a walking tour to see Round tower; Church of Our Lady; Copenhagen Cathedral; to Tivoli Gardens (but not going "in"); Christiansborg Castle; Nyhavn Harbour; Amalienborg Castle and back to the pier. It looks to be about 7 miles. Is this too ambitious? If so, what would you recommend we leave off the route? If we would run out of time, are there taxis available over by Nyhavn or Amalienborg, and if so do you know roughly what the cost would be to go back to Langelinie?

Thanks for all your advice you've given on this roll call!

CelticMutt

I so enjoyed reading your daily reviews. We are on Viking Jarl on the September 2 voyage from Budapest to Amsterdam and we're doing the 3 day Prague pre trip. Your reviews are just what I was looking for. I have used cruisecritic for several years and have learned so much from them. It's too bad there aren't more reviews for the river cruises, as there are for the ocean cruises. But, your review should be a good primer for others to join in on these boards.

Happy Voyages,

LKE

Do you know if the Classic Alcohol Package is accepted at places such as the Martini Bar, during the "social hours" when prices are listed at $5.50?

We need to go from the Renaissance Port Hotel out to MIA for our Global Entry interview, then back to the hotel. What would be the most economical way to arrange transportation for this activity?

Yes...or in the morning go to the front desk and see if they can

get one for you:)

We just returned from our 21 day Mediterranean cruise. We used RomeinLimo and had an absolutely fantastic day. Frederico showed us almost everything of importance in Rome. There wasn't time for the catacombs, but we left feeling we had truly experienced Rome. If there again, I would definitely use their services.

Linda