KaDarr

Thank you everyone for your help. I think we're going to forego the London Pass. We'll purchase Oyster Cards before we go. I don't really like the thought of having to whip out my credit or debit card several times a day. I can be really forgetful and wouldn't trust myself not to lose it.

Also looking at the Oyster Card for London. We will be there for three days (one still as guests on the ship, one day where we will check into our hotel, and the next day a full day in London on our own). I see that you have to load a chosen amount of pounds sterling onto your card to pay for transportation as you go. What would be a good amount of money to load onto card per day or for three days?

We will have one day and overnight day on our Viking British Isles Explorer cruise plus a two day extension in London. I was wondering if the London Pass that I can buy through Viator is a good way to see the city. The reviews swing from horrible to excellent.

hmmmm... well now I think I'll just get the SS package. ................ Just put it in my cart. Done.

Well then, I don't understand Clay's comment about bringing your own wine/liquor squashing social interaction. We have definitely decided to not purchase the SS package. If we want to, we can buy a martini or whatnot at the bar but I think that having our own wine and maybe gin and vodka in our cabin is the best way to go. I won't feel like I have to keep drinking all day in order to get my money's worth. (Even though I'm sure it would probably be only two or three drinks that would cover that $25 per day) So, that being said... I hope they sell some good wine and liquor in Bergen, Norway.

So, is it a serious 'no-no' to pour yourself a glass of wine in your cabin and then go hang out with said glass of wine in the Explorers Lounge (for instance)?

This just really cemented our decision to buy a few bottles of wine and liquor in port before we board and not buy the SS package. We figure that we'll be in port every day exploring and probably drinking off of the ship anyway. We don't need to be drinking as much as would make it (the SS package) worth it.

First time cruising on Viking Ocean for my husband and I on September 2 of 2023 BIE. We have a PV room which, if I am not mistaken, gets us little bottles of liquor stocked in our mini fridge plus mixers like tonic. (Please advise if I'm wrong about this). So, because we stop at a port every day, wouldn't it be cost effective to just buy a bottle (or two) of wine and vodka or whisky in port than paying for the drinks package for both of us? I'm mostly just a couple glasses of wine in evening and hubby likes beer during the day and vodka/tonics or scotch in the evening. Please forgive me if this question has been asked before.

Ooooh, whew! I won't be using that service. I missed that little tidbit. Sorry!

Really? I can't pack my Kindle? I don't see in the contract anything about electronics being prohibited. Does a Kindle or IPad fall under the lithium battery prohibition? I will be lost without my Kindle.

I guess my real question is: Why does Viking have this payment policy? Have they always had this policy? But nevermind. I'm sure everyone that sails Viking has to make full payment when booking. It's just different from my past experience, that's all.

First time for both of us to the other side of the pond. We have done many cruises here in North America to Alaska and the Caribbean with various other cruise lines. So, first time with Viking. We put down our $50 deposit and are very excited to be doing the British Isles Explorer cruise in September of 2023. Something that took me by surprise though was the final payment of over $20K is due at the end of next month; a year before even sailing. All of the other cruise lines that we have sailed had different structures of payment, right up until the month before sailing but none of them right after deposit. Why is this? It makes me nervous because if something happens in the next year, we can only get a voucher with the insurance, not cash back.