AdventureGal79

Thank you both!! Ha I love that idea of squirreling away the chocolate bars and fav alcohols!

We are booked in a PV2 room for October, which includes daily restock of the mini-bar alcohol. The room also "comes with" a bottle of welcome champagne.

I prefer sweeter wines (moscato, sweeter white zin, table reds, etc), and I like gin or vodka for a mixer.

Can anyone describe the selection of included wines for lunch/dinner (will there be something for me to drink?!), and the types of alcohol offered for mini-bar stocking (brands)? And the welcome champagne... hopefully is light enough that I'd drink it!

If you want to know more about tipping/gratuities in other countries, it is probably better to read about it on TripAdvisor or in the ports of call section of these boards (the audience is bigger).

 

 

As Phil mentioned, Viking does suggest 2 euros pp for guides on their tours and 1 euro pp for the bus driver, but tipping on a private tour is a different matter.

 

 

Phil also suggests getting coins but when you get currency from the bank, you can't always specify the denominations and you might not be able to get coins since most banks do not accept foreign coins for exchange, only bills.

 

 

Personally, I have given up getting currency from the bank before I travel. I depend on local ATMs and have never had trouble finding one in the airport upon arrival. Even if the ATM charges me a fee, it is still much less than than I would pay if I got currency from my local bank which charges me both an unfavorable exchange rate and fees.

Thanks again, Peregrina! I'll look on TripAdvisor, that never occurred to me!

Hello!

I see where there is a suggested tip amount for onboard Viking staff.

Does anyone have recommendations and currency / amounts for tipping other people during shore excursions, specifically Italy and Croatia?

We are on the October 18th Italian Sojourn itinerary on the Viking Sun. Here are the ports - the web site wouldn't give excursion info for Sibenik (Croatia), but the description mentions the Krka waterfalls, which we'll certainly do.

• Venice, Italy
  
• Sibenik, Croatia
  
• Bari, Italy
  
• Crotone, Italy
  
• Sicily (Messina), Italy
  
• Naples, Italy
  
• Rome, Italy
  

I'm planning on ordering some currency from my bank before we leave, but I also don't want a ton of foreign currency left over! So I'd like to plan out how much of which currency I need to get for tipping (and then I'll add on some for shopping).

Give them another day or two. Now that you have booked, you aren't quite as pressed for answers. They do need to contact a couple of different departments for the most up-to-date answers.

 

BTW, buy your trip insurance ASAP since you have an existing condition that you will want to have covered should anything go wrong with your 'equipment' while you away. Check out other parties besides what Viking offers before you decide which company to go with. You must buy within 10 (or is it 14?) days of deposit to be covered for existing.

Thanks! We did get that brochure from the agent, it says 14 days.

Sweet!!!

 

But, as my father would say, you got that aft backwards. Numbering starts at the front/bow of the ship.

Oops you're right, and a great saying!! I needed more coffee I suppose.

No word back from the TellUs email, so I'm going to contact our booking agent to see if she knows.

As to the pacemaker/defib they let you bypass the metal detector and do a hand pat down. No Problem!

Thanks so much!

And we are booked!! PV2 room 5008, near the aft of the ship.

I think not from the spa, which is very popular, but from the hair salon which is not.

That makes a lot more sense than the spa! The article I read must have been mistaken, or was lumping in hair salon with spa. :rolleyes:

Adventuregal, you have some very specific needs and they might best be addressed by contacting Viking directly. Write them at tellus@vikingcruises.com, especially if finalizing your booking depends on the answers to these question.

Thanks so much, I have done just that and will report back, in case the information helps others.

Can anyone describe what scent the Freya bath products have?

And if I'd like to use the Laundrette, do I need to supply my own detergent? If they provide, does that have a scent?

I'm sure I have people scratching their heads! :cool: My husband (not travelling with us) has scent allergies, so I'm just curious about the bath products (because I can finally use something nice-smelling!), but I don't want to wash clothes in scented detergent that will bother him when I arrive home (and thus I will need to re-wash anyway).

Thanks for the link! We are sailing on her Oct 18th (booking still to come). I have just read the promotional news things and watched the videos on Viking's web site. Only thing different I heard between her sister ships is that they took some room away from the spa and increased the fitness room.

This should be a direct link to the ship's location?

https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/VIKING-SUN-IMO-9725433-MMSI-247386500

Hello all! First time cruisers here, going with my mother (aged 70 at time of cruise). We have not booked yet, but plan to book the Oct 18th Italian Sojourn on Viking Sun - sounds like we get a shiny new ship?!

We both come with our varieties of special needs. She wears at least one hearing aid. Are the QuietVox machines able to be used with hearing aids? She has a pair that have blue-tooth to connect directly to devices (so cool!!).

I also have a defibrillator / pacemaker, so I am unable to go through regular metal detectors. It sounds like there might be some of that when leaving / come back on the ship? What do I need to do in this case?

And we would love the cabin to be set up into two bed. Do we let them know when we arrive, during booking, during the steward introduction?

It will be a roundtrip, but great tip about departing from Vancouver! It's my mother's hometown, but I am sure that the rest of the family would love to see it from the ocean.

I will do more research on the various ports of call and see if I can get an idea for what grandma would like to do and see.

And that is also excellent news about the activity levels!! We'd love for her to be able to experience all she can without straining her too badly.

Off to pour through the photojournals!!

We'd like to take grandmother on an Alaskan cruise. She recently lost her husband of over 60 years, and we want to treat her. She is in her Mid 80s and is adventuresome, but not the most mobile. She is very slight of frame and can do walking and some light hiking, but something too strenuous.

Traveling with her will be my husband and I (aged 35 and 42), my mom and her husband (67 and a spry 75), and my husband's mom and her husband (64 and 68).

I consider myself adventurous, but don't want to have grandma overdo it! So if there is something that has options, that might fit us best.

We are looking for suggestions on an appropriate cruise line, one that is calmer and more personal. We'd be looking for something 3-5 days long.

We might go in May (due to school schedules), unless August might be better?

Thank you so much in advance for your advise! We don't really have a budget, since we really just want it to be a great experience for grandma.