Dauntless

Guest services did this for us in Marseilles in order to expedite a quick excursion transfer.  That didn't work due to port timing but the lunch contained  a sandwich, chips and a cookie as I remember

I really enjoyed Malbork Castle in Gdansk and the walking included tour in Aalborg was great fun.  If you didn't do Grieg or Old Bull's place in Bergen you might try either one of those.  They are not always open. depending on the season.  The funicular was easy to do in Bergen.  Our included was a bad walking tour that took us to a museum that was so overcrowded that we had to leave the tour.  I though the pano might have been better but I guess not.  What time of year is your cruise?  We did the NIAN round trip from Bergen and that was good.  It gets you into the countryside.  Did ours through Norway Active(or maybe Active Norway).  Included train to Myrdyl then down to Flam--no guide.  Could have come part way down on bike but didn't choose that option.  We had lunch-not part of the tour-- then we took the Fjord Safari tour-with guide- though Nerofjord and really enjoyed that.  Disembarkedat the end of fjord and were given a van ride, that had some panoramic vistas up to the train station in Voss and then back to Bergen--no guide.  It's a long day but a great experience 

27 minutes ago, xwchristy said:

We booked our Viking ocean cruise for next summer (Venice, Adriatic and Greece) after our wedding as a honeymoon. We used to cruise with Oceania and this is our first time with Viking and have some questions.

 

1. Drink policy confuses and disappoints us. Soft drink is complementary with Oceania all the time. But just noice with Viking only complementary with lunch and dinner. My question is how about breakfast? Do we just get coffee and tea at breakfast? Are juices offered as well? Do we have to pay for juice or soft drink at breakfast?

 

2. What is the excursion hours? I’m wondering if we do excursion during lunch time, when we get back to the ship, it’s outside lunch time, but we need to eat and drink, then do we have to pay for the drink? This is unlike Oceania, I can’t believe we need to pay for a coke at poolside?

 

3. Our stateroom is Deck 4, DV1 room 4122 at the rear of the ship, in between 2 Suites, Viking recommended us to take this DV1 on deck 4 instead of DV2 on deck6 because it’s at the rear of ship with great view on both sides. I’m wondering if this stateroom is a good one or it will feel big motion when the ship moves?

 

4. How is the food quality?

 

5. How are the excursions? How does it work? Does Viking offer same excursion every day just with different time windows? So if we want to have breakfast, we can choose an excursion before lunch. Would be nice if we dont have to get up early every day.

 

That’s my questions so far. Thanks everyone!

 

This is not Oceania.  Different line and different policy.

1.  You have the correct info about soft drinks for a blanket statement.  When you board you will have soft drinks in the fridge.  They can be exchanged for what you want.  Depending upon your cabin they might be replaced throughout the cruise.  If not, you can always pick up extras at the World Cafe and take them back to the cabin.  When you go poolside, if you don't want to be charged, take them with you.  You'll probably leave from you room anyway to go to the pool and if you go to the bar or your cabin attendant I'm sure you can get ice and a glass.  Juices and drinks are available at breakfast in the World Cafe. Not sure about Restaurant when it comes to there being a charge.  I always had juice or smoothies.

2. The excursion hours vary by cruise and port.  The included excursion will be offered at several times.  At each of those times, there will be several groups for each time so everyone can be accommidated .  If you are in certain cabins you might have wine or alcohol stocked in your fridge.  If you are at a venue and it;s not during lunch foe that venue(available in the Daily) you will be charged.  Of course if you don't want to do that then get the Silver Spirits package and anything up to $15 is covered.  It runs about $20 a day so you do the math and see if that's a better way to go.  But let me be clear, I know the drinks are not nearly the cost of most major cruise lines.

3. The stateroom is good for the view.  The amount of motion you feel depends on your inner workings.  Since you have cruised before you probably know how that usually effects you

4.  Never been on Oceania but I hear their food is one of their main advantages and people who have compared the two seem to rank it higher.   This category is subjective on your experience, expectations and your palate.  Just know it will be different. 

4 minutes ago, geospyder said:

Being that Viking arranged the air to and from the cruise I'm presuming they also take care of the airport transportation to and from the ship.  Am I correct on this presumption?

Yes unless you are arriving early or departing later than a cruise day.

3 minutes ago, moatenote said:

A group of 6 of us are doing the Med. Odyssey cruise next September and are not interested in spending time in Marseille.  There are 2 optional tours here that interest us and I would love to get feedback from anyone who's taken them.  Thanks for your help.

We were there in April last year and took the excursion in the morning.  We wanted to to do Aix in the afternoon.  This excursion was fine.  You got to see the countryside on the ride there and back. I remember the pastel colors of the buildings and the charm of the harbor area.   Wanted the morning sun, rather than afternoon due to delicate skin.  The 'ice  Age Fjords" certainly don't rival Norway but it was nice little cruise and made more interesting knowing the history and it's connection to Statue Of. Liberty.  For port reasons, we got a slightly late start so did not get back in time for Aix .  After return I found that Italytours.eu has an excursion for both.  Since there are 6 of you, that's what I would suggest.  Covers both the seaside and the French village.  Not sure if the cruise is included but I'm sure it could be added through your guide.  Vikings only included 3 sightings. They do tours with just 6.  We used them in Monaco, Florence,Rome and Naples.  Good company and experience.

I think that Viking should hold the M&M in the Kitchen Table. That's where our first one was held.  Cozy atmosphere and people are more prone to mingle than the Wintergarden where there is a vast amount of space to retreat.  Especially if the crowds(?) on average are not what is expected.  We had about 30 at our first one and it was great.  Not many at our second, in the WG which seemed like far fewer with so much area vacant.  

8 hours ago, zitsky said:

I wish I had found that spot.  We didn't spend much time in the Living Room.

It is not the Explorer's Lounge but on Deck on on the other side of the ship from the Explorer's Desk.  In one piece of literature it was referred to as The Library---though not a separate room.

On 9/30/2019 at 11:42 AM, DGHOC said:

We too are on this trip and I'm hugely grateful for you all taking the time to pass on your experience. Dauntless I'd be pleased to hear your recommendations on restaurants too.

 

I remember reading your experiences from this cruise so I shall go back and look at the hot tips and suggestions you gave then.

We made our own arrangements and stayed at First Hotel Reisen on Gamla Stan.  We could see where the ship docked from our window--requested.  Best breakfast of the entire trip and really liked the feel of the hotel.  Not a Hilton type.  Same rating as Viking's choice but with more charm and half the price.  We ate at Chokladkoppen on the main square.  The red building in the pictures of that location.  It was lunch.  The first night was Fem Sma Hus, around the corner from the hotel.  Made up of five small houses that connect below street level.  This was a Wed night and a little chilly and the place looked closed but we went to the door to try and it opened and when we were greeted we were taken downstairs which was very busy but they found us a place even though we had no reservations.  A very unique experience.  The second night we ate close to the Metro station.  Had no plans but chose Sankta Clara.  this was a warm, inviting atmosphere and decor was reminisent of "Cheers" bar.  Comfortable restaurant on street level and a music  venue in the basement.  Te food was good but no show stoppers.  As I mentioned before, we ate at Pelikan our last night on shore.  A Swedish beer hall feel with traditional local fare.  when we reached Bergen we stayed 2 extra nights there.  First night at Det Henseatic Finndgarten Hotel.  Right behind the Museum and close to the Funnicular,  We really liked this hotel.  Another unique experience.  The last night we stayed at the Airport Clarion as we figured it would be easier to be there when we woke up and not have to worry about transportation in the morning and could partake of their buffet that morning since our plane left about 10:30.  We walked to the terminal that night, checked out the scale to weigh our bags in the morning to make sure we were still under 50 pounds.  Though it is on airport grounds we heard no sounds that night.  A modern hotel.

On 10/10/2019 at 6:17 PM, millybess said:

Although ropomo has some good points, we were in St. Petersburg with Viking in July and booked our tours with Viking. Our tours also gained early admission to the Hermitage and the Gold Room (amazing!) and the Catherine Palace, the Yusupov Palace, Peterhof Palace and the Faberge Museum.  We never stood in line at all.

 

You asked about cost and that is probably a motivation to use Alla.  On our cruise we heard many good things and just as many bad things about Alla.

 

Many of our coaches were small with not very many people possibly because there were so many other tours offered in the same time slot.  Overall, we are very happy that we booked our tours with Viking.  We would very much like to go back to St. Petersburg and would book with Viking again.

The small coaches are another advantage for Alla.  Sixteen max.  Ours had 14 and everyone seemed to be at the same speed.

On 10/12/2019 at 9:59 PM, Clay Clayton said:

Y’all are terrible! 😂  We liked the menu. Especially the crab cake and the halibut.  Shame that the included wines weren’t from California. Otherwise highly recommend. 

 

Uby #4 was a great find for me.  Not a real wine drinker.  Most seem bitter in my opinion.

On 10/12/2019 at 8:49 PM, just_dont said:

 

 

We did Oslo-Bergen on our own this June. It was quite easy and enabled us to do/see more than the Viking extension, including spending a wonderful night in Flåm between Oslo and Bergen. We even had a porter service transfer our luggage from our Oslo hotel to our Bergen hotel.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

 

Great advice.  I had friends recently do the extension in Oslo through Viking and were disappointed that they didn't have more time in Oslo.  The train station was very cose to the hotel for their trip.  their cruise stopped in Flam as did mine on VH.  The overnight option of staying over one night there really gives you a chance to take it all in.  Now these overnights do run up the cost but I thinking you will probably still come out cheaper than going through Viking.  My friends were also upset that they didn't get the chance to see Bergen, except for the trip   ship to the train station.  The porter service is a great option

On 10/3/2019 at 3:58 PM, Flashman181 said:

Thanks Ropomo. Sept 6 2021 is available to book now (with a 2021 new Liner) it seems just seems a very long time away 🙂 

 I went Sept 4, 2016 but booked in March 2014,  before the ship was built.  I wanted a V cabin and so that might have something to do with the wait.  It was my first cruise ever and first time to Europe.  It seemed to be a good time weather wise.  Only one bad day in SP.  The rest 70-80 degrees.  No rain in Bergen and we stayed 2 more nights and flew out of there. Some of the snow water falls had dried by that time.  Layered with Dclothing. A little out of prime season but also saved on fare.  Used Alla in SP

3 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

Looks great! Thanks. Can't wait to see what Viking comes up with for the Rome to Barcelona. Unfortunately, from what agents tell me, it's unlikely that there will be any pre or post-extensions due to the cruise being non-public. 

Both 'anchor' ports need your attention.  Wonderful locations shouldn't be glossed over as just a place to start and end the cruise.  If they are not offering extensions you are in luck as you will save lots of money planning it yourself.  We did.  Five days total in Barcelona as we had an over night there and did a tour in Rome as we were only there one day.  Different direction but the same cruise that this thread is reporting.

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

Trying out Mexican Night at the pool before dinner at the restaurant with friends.  Very good guacamole and ceviche.  Didn't try anything else.

This seems like a good idea and it was a space on the ship that set idle after the snack time ended at 5:00.  I didn't look at dailies to see the hours.  If it's open before movies or 'pool shows' that might also be a plus.   I wonder if it was Mexican Night at 'Chef's Table"?

14 hours ago, mhb1757 said:

Wow, thanks to you all for this info. This was just what I needed. We are staying on Djurgården so will definitely be doing Skansen, the Vasa and Nordic museums precruise. We were thinking the hop on hop off boats would be a good way to get around  sounds like they will work well for us. Will probably just plan to skip the included tour I wanted to make sure the included excursion did not tour city hall or the Royal Palace and indeed it does not so we will do those on our own as well. 

We found the included tour satisfactory as a recap as we had spent 3 days there before we boarded.  City Hall should be a must see.  We did Drottnnigham the way Rick Steves describes on the Stockholm pass as we also got the travel card for public transport.  Check the HOHO boats as they do not run all the time.  We were there in September and they had stopped for the season.  Check out the subway stations art.  They are all unique.  We went to the Pelican restaurant in Sodormolm and the neighboring table assured us it was very Swedish.  We stayed in Gamla Stan and also had another wonderful meal there in a restaurant that made you feel that you were in someone's family home for the meal.  If you want, I could look it up and the spelling on the other restaurant is slightly different in Swedish.

2 hours ago, ropomo said:

Another note on the Homelands included tours, the Tallin included walking tour was excellent (maybe because of our guide).

Take the afternoon one for a more enjoyable experience.  Streets are walkable then.  All cruise ship tours atr in Old town area in the morning so it can be rather crowded.

On 9/28/2019 at 8:25 AM, zitsky said:

In our DV2 room by 2pm.  Luggage delivery by 3.15pm.  Much quicker than expected.

Two cruises with Viking, v cabin and luggage is always in the room when it becomes available.  That would be 3;00 but we arrived a little earlier.  When did you arrive at port?  We had 4 hour lag time as we were there between 11:00 and 11:30.  When you don't have so many passengers, the wait is shorter

1 minute ago, zitsky said:

 

Thanks.  I haven't had time to see them about the booking error I mentioned.  Maybe tomorrow.  I'll ask for a Daily.

 

Were you on this itinerary recently, or am I thinking of someone else?

 

Listening to a live guitar player doing Easy Listening songs in the Explorer Lounge after sail away.

 

Nice time in Venice.

I did this cruise a little over a year ago. 

I hope you have Daniel as your guitar guy.  Very personable, broad range of music and great at what he does.

As for the WC: was it the smell of food in the restaurant or the food on your plate that you objected to?  Never a problem for me but you can always take your food to the infinity pool area (though the view in port in Venice is not that great)or out to the pool grill area.  After the first night of grilling fish at the back of the ship, I learned it was not for me, with the smell.  Not a big fan in the first place and the smell hit me when I got off the aft elevators Though it was not a problem with my fellow traveler so I guess we all react to smells differently.

The head of guest services is always someone good to know.  If you're not combative they will try to move mountains for you, throughout your cruise.

We also went to the Palace during our post stay in Venice and enjoyed it but of course the Doges Palace was so spectacular, everything else seemed mild by comparison.  We stayed 3 more nights in Venice.

19 hours ago, zitsky said:

Trying to use the Voyager app for dinner reservations.   I keep getting booking error.  I will try the tv or call guest services.

Didn't use the app on this cruise as we waited until we got to the ship and that didn't work.  No advance reservations in V but we ate in specialty restaurants 4 nights of a 12 might cruise.

27 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Ok Liz I'll post more then.  I'm missing the first day. I'll try to get a copy.  We might have thrown it away by mistake.

They usually have extras at the Explorer's Desk.  We did some fill in on some that we  had misplaced on the day before we departed the ship.

9 hours ago, agnesd said:

I, too, had the same question.  I went through the My Journey booklet.  There is a page about 3 pages in which has your res. number, stateroom number, name of cruise etc.  I took that page out and put it with my passport.  I think the rest of the booklet isn't necessary. Although I will pack it just in case it is needed.  My boarding time is 2PM.  We will get to Montreal at 11 am.  Will they let us board even though our stateroom is not ready?  Our first Viking so not sure of their procedure.  

You will be able to board anytime after 11:00 is standard. 

Since you are speaking of Viking Mediterranean Odyssey, I would start with that for the search.

On 8/20/2019 at 5:22 PM, comeonnow1 said:

Hello!

Has anyone taken the Krka National Park Walk excursion while in Split?  (We have already booked it, but may possibly switch it to a different excursion..) Can you tell me if there is any free time afterwards before you get back on board the ship?  It doesn't say there is...but the Krka National Park & Dubrava Falconry lists free time for lunch etc afterwards...Thinking I may have to switch excursions to get a bit of free time in?!

If you can work in the included excursion, don't hesitate.  the literature looked a little 'dry' on paper.  We wet zip lining that morning and did the included after lunch on board.  It's a walking tour and very informative.  One of the best as far as we were concerned.  Our guide was from there and lived in this area of the city. Beyond what we were expecting.

On 7/23/2019 at 9:12 PM, zitsky said:

I get your point Peregrina but I still say that signing up for excursions could be improved (a lot).  I do IT project management.  If it were up to me, I would fire Viking's CIO.

If you think you have some ideas about how they do what they're doing,tell them and ask to be contacted. I did this after our first cruise and they called me and we talked for almost a half hour about one aspect of the cruise.  I mentioned if they didn't have anyone to do this better that I had experience in the field. On or second cruise the situation had been addressed.  There was vast improvement in this aspect on the second cruise. I'm not saying it would appeal to everyone but it did show me that they do listen and sometimes take action on suggestions.

On 7/25/2019 at 5:49 PM, Michael219 said:

 

Now I am looking at a couple of days post cruise, taking the train from Bergen to Oslo for an extra night or two.  No surprise that the post cruise excursion booked with Viking is much more expensive than if we do it ourselves.  I'm in the midst of researching all of this now, for probable self-booking.

Booking this on your own is easy.  You can arrange it to all the way to Flam and spend the night and then continue on..  You can also do Flam to Bergen or the other way by ferry and cruise the fjord.  This would allow you see Flam without having to cram it in while at the other port.  It was included in our cruise on this itinerary but we did the included and skipped the train ride as we were doing a version of NIAN after the ship departed Bergen and it included the Fjord Safari and back up the road by van to return to Bergen.  We stayed at the airport hotel that night and left about 10:00 the next morning with a short walk to the airport.