Berlin Bear

I just stumbled across this thread again after having transferred the final payment for a cruise in November 2025 🙄. Have any wishes expressed above been granted in the meantime? Mine (#13) certainly hasn’t.

Well, we travelled in March/April 2022 and had quite good weather crossing the Atlantic but high winds and waves in the Mediterranean! Unfortunately, I can’t tell you much about activities on sea days because we were in quarantine for the first ten days and nine of those were sea days. I remember watching a number of the enrichment talks on the TV, which were quite interesting, especially those given by a photographer who accompanied the Beatles in their very early days. Particularly fascinating for me as I was born and bred in Liverpool. We enjoy sea days and are happy to mooch, read, join a trivia team and listen to a lecture or two.

You will not regret it if you visit the mosque - it is very impressive. Our very first cruise in 2011 brought us to Casablanca. We took the ship‘s shuttle bus into town and walked through an outdoor market to the mosque. We were incredibly lucky to be able to join a very small group (there were 4 of us) for a guided tour, including the hammams. It was very impressive - enormous spaces filled with enormous carpets. Really worth a visit. The port where we docked, on the other hand, was not very inviting - extremely loud and dusty. I don’t think I’d recommend staying on the ship all day. We did the Southern Atlantic Crossing in March 2022, but didn’t visit Casablanca (or, in fact, the Brazilian ports) due to Corona restrictions, so we’ll try again in November 2025.

We’re fine with the Beatles (I’m a Liverpudlian after all!) and ABBA, especially if they include newer titles in the future. It’s certainly not a deal breaker for us. But what I’d like to know is - what sort of more contemporary music would critics of these two tribute shows like to hear in the theatre? It’s probably not easy to set up a production show with music that is universally popular. Especially on ships which are not targeted towards younger people. I haven’t heard any suggestions yet…

And I attended an international meeting in Kautokeino in the middle of winter some years ago and the Sami hosts served reindeer for all the courses, except dessert. Reindeer bone marrow soup, smoked reindeer meat and innards, and roast reindeer (with very few vegetables). It was all very tasty, but rather one-sided. On the other hand, I once also had to eat in the canteen of a Chinese ministry….

I agree. We also love tasting menus and we know plenty of people who also enjoy the concept. It’s sometimes very relaxing not to have to make a choice and it certainly broadens your horizons. One of the most interesting tasting menus we enjoyed was in Noma in Copenhagen - before it became famous. I personally would really miss the Chef’s Table if it disappeared from the Viking ships.

I can sympathize with the problem of finding clothes that fit when under time pressure and in an unfamiliar place. My sizing is fairly normal but I’m short, so if tops or dresses are waisted they’re no use to me at all - the waistline sits on my hips. And if clothes are a normal length on most people they are too long on me. Not a good look and I don’t feel comfortable. I once lost my luggage on the way to an important United Nations meeting in northern Norway in December and had to attend the (very formal) meeting in my blue jeans, woolly jumper and snow boots the next day. None of the other smartly dressed participants seemed to be bothered by my appearance, thank goodness. I shall now be a bit mischievous and bring in a different or perhaps further perspective - threads on dress code can be found all over cruise critic, but on equivalent German language cruise chat platforms this issue has fairly low priority. It does seem to be an Anglo-American „obsession“ (no offense meant), or perhaps a matter of feeling insecure. And I say that as someone born and bred in Liverpool, UK, so I know how important getting dressed up is for most fellow Brits. Thankfully, the only recommendation that the German cruise company, which we often sail with, makes is that male passengers are requested to wear long trousers to restaurants in the evening. Most people do change before dinner but nobody seems to get hot and bothered by the issue. Of course, there’s no accounting for taste…

On this particular route I completely understand why most will want to take the included excursion to Berlin. Probably I would too if it was my only chance to visit the city. I was just pointing out, as others have done, that the ship docks in a very pleasant walkable town and that Berlin is a long way away and, in the short time available, can only afford a glimpse of what’s on offer. I hope that’s helpful for for people to know who are unsure whether to embark on the long train journey to Berlin.

I agree. But you normally don’t travel 3 hours each way to just get a taste.

In principle, I agree with those who recommend spending the day in Warnemünde and surroundings. It’s quite a charming town with a lovely harbour where you can eat all sorts of fish specialties. You really can’t do justice to Berlin in a couple of hours. Greater Berlin covers a very large area and there are sights right across the city. It’s also an incredibly green city with forests, rivers and lakes. You may get to see the Reichtstag and Brandenburg Gate in the few hours you have in Berlin, but you would miss getting a real impression of the place.

Berliner here - the Reichstag is open for visitors as normal. It’s just a bit more difficult to access because of the so-called fan zones around that area and along the Straße des 17. Juni leading up to the Brandenburg Gate. However, the Dome of the Reichstag is closed for annual cleaning until the 26 July. Have fun in Berlin!

Thank you. That is good to hear. So, I shall simply presume that these drinks are included at mealtimes and go ahead and order them 😊. If refused, I shall refer to all your experiences. i love this crowdsourcing function of CC!

Aha - thanks for this additional information. As it’s an ocean cruise we’re looking at at the moment, I can probably rely on being able to order „complimentary“ non-alcoholic beer with lunch and dinner, but possibly/probably not non-alcoholic wine. OK, I can live with that 😄.

You are all so helpful - thanks for answering my question! Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Thanks for confirming. Was that included in the „complimentary inclusive wines, beers and soft drinks at mealtimes“?

Thanks for the tip. We frequently cruise on the German Mein Schiff (TUI Cruises). They have a really good selection of non-alcoholic cocktails which are not too sweet. But no wine of the non-alcoholic variety at all unfortunately.

Many thanks for these speedy replies. I can imagine it being the case for non- alcoholic beer, but was less sure about the wine. I know, non-alcoholic wine is not always particularly palatable, but at least it gives us the choice 😉

A simple question - are non-alcoholic beers and wines included at mealtimes? As we now drink very little alcohol, it’s not really worth us getting the SSP, but we would be very happy to drink something other than water, juice or lemonade with our meals. We‘ve had the SSP in the past, so I know that non-alcoholic beer and wine are available on board, just not sure whether they are included. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

I was born and bred in Liverpool so we don’t take ship tours when we’re there on a cruise - three times up to now. But on our last visit there we had my SIL with us. It was her first visit to Liverpool so we decided to take a City and Beatles tour leaving from the Albert Dock (about ten minutes walk from the ship) on a double decker bus. We booked it in advance via get your guide, but you can also just turn up. We drove through the city centre out towards the two cathedrals and then through the leafier areas of Liverpool to Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, John‘s and Paul‘s houses. We had a very knowledgeable guide who sung to us and it was great fun. The trip took an hour and a half, leaving plenty of time to do other things.

When the gangway is really steep they provide a service to drive you up or down - at least they did in June 2022 when we were last there.

Hi all, born and bred Liverpudlian here - you can, in fact, see the three graces from the ship. If you stroll past these buildings you‘ll get to the Royal Albert Dock where the Maritime Museum is located. It really isn’t far - perhaps ten minutes at the most. The International Slavery Museum in the same building is also well worth a visit. Last time we docked in Liverpool we took a City and Beatles bus tour from the Albert Dock. We had my SIL with us and the tour, which took one and a half hours, gave her a good overview of the city centre and some of the leafier areas of Liverpool, including the two cathedrals. Really worth considering. Whatever, it’s a very walkable city.

Following your crossing with great interest. We did Buenos Aires to Barcelona in March 2022 and would actually like to repeat this trip sometime soon, as Brazil, Senegal and Morocco were not open for business at the time, we missed Punta del Este (a replacement for the Brazilian ports) because of high winds, and we spent the first 10 days in quarantine! So please keep reporting on your experiences! Regarding the use of former prisons, we’ve experienced a few good examples over the years - Dornoch Jail in Scotland was also turned into shops selling clothes and arty gifts in 2000, in Ribe (Denmark) we spent a couple of nights in Den Gamle Arrest, the former prison, in a very small cell, and a while ago I attended a meeting in the Stirling Old Town Jail (also Scotland). Great idea turning these old buildings into something useful and attractive.

I also find this very interesting. It would be really nice if you could post these offers under the thread Post Viking Promos. Up to now e are only seeing promotions for the US market.

An interesting article from today’s Guardian about recent developments in Cyprus https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/13/cyprus-becomes-safe-haven-after-hamas-attack-israel-middle-east

Interesting - we never receive promotional emails from Viking despite having booked several times through the UK office. And we don’t have access to the UK website either. Would you mind letting me know what prices are being quoted for the Athens to Rome trip on 20 December? Many thanks!