OneSixtyToOne

April’s future guest promo is the same as March‘s. This week we booked Iceland’s Majestic Landscapes cruise and the agent ran the numbers with the future guest promotion and the ESE24 promotion. The latter was a far better deal.

You are right. I was looking at an old map. Looks like it doesn’t go there anymore.

Concerning Naples, we discovered that most of the original frescos and artifacts are not at Pompeii or Herculean, but are on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, which is a short cab ride from the cruise terminal. We had an excellent presentation by a guest lecturer on our cruise who went into detail about the “naughty room” where all the frescos from the brothels of Pompeii are kept. The room has no fixed hours and it opens at random, supposedly to keep the “perverts” from hanging out all day. It can also be closed off on short notice in case the Pope or other dignitaries visit. He recommended that if you visit, first thing to do is inquire about the operating hours for the day.

Yes, your balance is zero, I’ve always been told the same. That is not the same as the deposit on your card. That is posted to your account when they swipe your card at check in and is later reversed after checkout. The entire process may take a week or more to go through the system. It’s how it works at every hotel I’ve ever used. If the charge appears on your account as “pending” you have nothing to worry about and nothing you can do until the charge clears. Unless the charge is actually “due,” I think you are overreacting to this entire situation.

Greenwich is definitely worth a visit. The Royal Observatory should also be on your list of things to see. It houses the Harrison clocks, which were used to determine longitude. There is a daily tour included with admission that gives you the history of the clocks and the Longitude Prize. I believe the Thames Clipper also runs service from Tilbury to Greenwich (may be seasonal) and that leaves you right at the Cutty Sark. The clipper is a great way to see London from the river. It’s worth taking the trip all the way to Parliament. You’ll pass many iconic sites and bridges.

In my experience this is how it works. I’ve always been charged hundreds of euros, dollars, pesos, etc. at check-in and it always gets reversed. It may appear as “pending” for a few weeks and if in that state you cannot dispute it until it clears. Typically the front desk informs you of the amount and the fact that it will be reversed.

Most hotels place a minimum pending charge to cover incidentals then they reverse it. Is the charge no longer in the “pending” state and is actually due?

The price of most cocktails is $8.50. IMO unless each person in your cabin drinks more than 3 drinks every day, you can’t justify the $25 per day per person cost. Beer and wine is included with meals and the SSP doesn’t offer anything exclusive as far as wine selection. You can still order anything and pay for it. Also, Viking allows you to bring your own beverages aboard. There is no corking charge.

That is typically of river cruising. River traffic is regulated almost like a railroad. There is typically something like a dispatcher as getting through a lock may be first come first serve. On our European river cruises, the schedule was released right before dinner the night before. Even then, river traffic might dictate an early or later departure time.

10”x12”

Yes, that is the one. At first I thought they might have converted the Wintergarden into a casino, but the ship diagram still shows it. The only name change I see is the nightclub. I’m also curious to read the first reviews of the new China itineraries and the changes to the ship.

No giant World Cruise brochure? Got one yesterday.

Here is a blog posting from a few years ago about cabins to avoid. https://viking-cruises-cabin-guide.blogspot.com/p/cabins-to-avioid.html?m=1

Did the Chilean Fjords expedition cruise in October so we saw our share of glaciers. 😃

Wasn’t the ship that China leased back to Viking modified to have a casino? I see on the website of the ship diagram that the nightclub is now called 1872. Seems like it could double as a casino.

Thanks for the info. It was a long phone call and after I heard Alesund was replaced, I lost track of the changes. I really want to see the Art Nouveau architecture there. I also was hesitant of what shore excursions will be available on the alternate route. It is a one-off change, all the other sailings are the same.

Your invoice should indicate which are which. Look for the red tender icon on the right side on the listing of ports and times.

I just booked Iceland's Majestic Landscapes cruise and I had a interesting phone conversation with a very helpful Viking agent. Originally I was going to book the August 7 sailing of the Saturn from Bergan to Reykjavik but was told that there is an itinerary change, substituting 3 of the ports with other unpronounceable cities. The stops shown on the website are not accurate for this sailing. The Venus is sailing the same day in the opposite direction and that is accurate along with all the excursion information. I opted for the Venus rather than dealing with the unknown. I also asked the agent if the payment deadline for our Far Eastern Horizon's cruise for October 2025 could be moved and after consulting with the powers that be, we were able to have that moved to 6 months out. Very happy about that. We missed the chance to book onboard the Octantis last October because the 2025 schedule wasn't released for another three weeks. As had been stated on this board many times "I never hurts to ask." We also booked the extension to Oslo by train from Bergan. As a train buff, I'm really excited about that. This will be our first trip to Iceland and Norway. Video of entire train ride is online: Please feel free to offer up any tips or advice for any of the above.

Just used ESE24 to book Iceland's Majestic Landscapes. Great deal.

I wonder if there are plans to sell the 2 older ships (Sun and Sky) and replace them with newer ones that may be more cost effective to operate? The newest ships are hybrids and can be used in sensitive ecological areas. Norway’s zero emissions regulation goes into effect in a couple of years. https://www.dnv.com/expert-story/maritime-impact/latest-updates-on-proposed-rules-for-zero-emissions-in-Norways-World-Heritage-fjords/#:~:text=The new rules would only,needs time to gradually develop.

MVJ closes right before your cruise (48 hours?). You need to use the Viking Voyager app once you are on the ship. It has you calendar as well as other information, such as menus, and allows you to make reservations. All your information is in your final document email. I always store the PDF locally as a file on my phone so I can have offline access whenever I need it. Viking informs you of the inability to access MVJ after a certain date and tells you to install the app. Maybe you missed it in the email.

On our Grand European Tour we took the Prague extension instead. Budapest was Ok but Prague was amazing.

Current promo code is AAM24 Free stateroom upgrade and discounted fare. Possibly free air. https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/caribbean-americas/north-pacific-passage/index.html?startLocation=tokyo&endLocation=vancouver-british-columbia&year=2024

We had a similar experience on a river cruise. We had a terrible guide right from the start. At the first stop at the town’s clock tower we saw another Viking lollipop and switched channels. There was no bus involved so we just joined the other group.

We docked right in Monaco with Viking, but I have read that some people tender or use a different port, it depends on availability.