OneSixtyToOne

They have done this on the expedition ships and it is very noticeable. They have an L-Shaped closet that extends towards the bed.

Deck may be of some concern if you are prone to motion sickness. Lower decks and midship has less motion. More fore than aft is our preference. The forward elevators have less traffic and they take you near the entrance to the Star Theater, which is where you’ll assemble for most excursions. Much shorter walk to the assembly points. Deck 6 near the forward elevator is great because you are a staircase away from the Explorers’ Lounge, Wintergarden, and the World Cafe. IMO port or starboard is six of one, half a dozen of another. You very rarely are in sight of land. If you want a view we highly recommend the aft facing DV1s, great sail away view and the wake is mesmerizing any time of day or night. Docking side is subject to a number of variables and mostly cannot be predicted.

Sounds like Viking will be a great match for you. We never go to shows but we attend all the enrichment lectures, most of which are outstanding. To answer your question about direct vs TA, if you find a deal online you can book directly with Viking and later transfer it to your TA. The TA may give you an On Board Credit (OBC) as a thank you. Because you can transfer the booking, you really don’t lose anything by booking with Viking first (although they do have a new incentive for repeat Viking customers, similar to booking when onboard a cruise). Viking limits the OBC amount and it is at the discretion of the TA. Viking Air is a hotly debated topic on this board. We use it all the time but we live near two major hubs and have no problem getting the exact fight we want. Others want more control or have a lot of frequent flyer miles and rather DIY. Bear in mind Viking frequently discounts their airfare rather than deep discounting the cruise itself, so if you are looking for a deal, air cost is where you will most likely find it. Also bear in mind that Bergen is a place that is going to require connections, possibly multiple. IMO one big advantage with Viking Air is they take care of transportation to and from the ship, are aware if your flight gets delayed / rescheduled and will make arrangements to get you to the ship in any case. DYI and you are on your own to get to the ship. You might want to consider a pre cruise extension. We always want to arrive before embarkation day. This is especially true in the winter when flights can be severely impacted by weather. If you book an extension with Viking transportation from the airport is included, even if you DYI (must arrive the same day as the extension). Make sure you check out the promo thread, where people post the latest promo codes. Also here is a link to a blog that has lots of great information. https://vikingcruisesreview.blogspot.com/p/design-and-planning.html?m=0

I would think some of the features found on the expedition ships might be included, such as the state of the art 3D projection system, wireless charging on the end tables, and the electronic “Do Not Disturb” system that lights the cabin’s doorbell red, green, or purple to indicate status. (Purple indicates the stateroom is empty)

There is also 24 hour room service at no charge.

Knowing the itinerary you are thinking about taking would help people formulate a specific answer about the excursions as I’m sure someone on this forum has been on the cruise.

Hmmm. 🤔 I wonder if the “curtailment” is for the cruise lines that don’t own stores?

Not specifically with MVJ but airlines and airports offer this. You need to inform the airline so that is probably what Viking Air is doing. On a trip last year I had an injured knee, making a connection in Frankfurt where the distances are crazy. Frankfurt requires an advanced reservation for the service. I was using Viking Air but I never checked the box. I contacted the airline and they asked if I also needed assistance boarding or just help getting to the gate. Upon landing, we were whisked on a cart to a special line for passport control, walked through, then put on another cart, and taken to the gate. Personally, If I need this again, I would contact the airline myself.

No. Usually two adjacent staterooms will share the plumbing of the bathrooms so the cabin wall the bed is against will alternate front-back then back-front. Someone has posted the list of cabin bed directions somewhere on this forum.

We have had been told by a couple of professional photographers that unless they are being paid for a photo shoot, all they use is their iPhone. Composition and lighting are still the biggest factor in taking a great photograph.

FYI All DEC 2025 Grand European sailings are sold out. DEC 2024 sailings are currently running free air and discounted prices on the website with no promo code needed.

Helly Hansen makes the Viking jackets. You can find woman's raincoats on their site: https://www.hellyhansen.com/en_us/w-seven-j-jacket-62066?color=304564

Lucky Strikes means fine tobacco (also know a NSFW version) Ship to Shore Traveler has a Viking branded clothing store https://viking.shiptoshoretraveler.com If you do not care about the logo, it’s all made by Helly Hansen https://www.hellyhansen.com

Passenger weight is what we were told by the crew. The issue seems to be the time it takes going up and down the boat ramp. That is a much longer process than just pulling along side to load/unload. Here is video I shot of the last boat of the day returning. It takes a while. As you can tell it was a sunny, calm day. With any waves this would take even longer. IMG_5097.mov

Yes it can. We were suppose to tender in Monaco last year and woke up to find ourselves docked instead.

They made a change to port talks and lecture times in late 2022 - early 2023. We were told by a presenter that corporate introduced a strict schedule in order to try and mitigate the crowding at the restaurant and afternoon tea at specific times. IMO it seems to have worked. As far as recordings being available on the server for broadcast, that is probably a resources issue, both human and IT (bandwidth, copy times, post-production).

I thought I read a post a while ago that stated almond milk was available in the World Cafe. DW uses it and we will be sailing next month. I'll post an update when aboard. The only non-sugar sweetener I've seen consistently onboard is saccharine. Others are hit or miss.

It probably has to do with availability and contracts with both the railroad and the hotels. On a 4 day extension, guest stay in Oslo for 2 days then leave, then the 2 day extension guests arrive, then there are also guest traveling in the opposite direction from cruises that have disembarked. That's a lot of moving parts. Things are not always as simple as they seem.

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No, they are different tours. Viking offers a 7 hour scenic train ride between Oslo and Bergen. NIAN is more extensive. A video of all 7 hours of the Bergen to Oslo train ride is online here

New Switzerland and Austria extensions are available on some river cruises.

Have fun. SOBs are a blast! IMG_5073.mov IMG_5076.mov

You can buy a combined tour ticket for the Palace Tour and entrance to the Oceanographic Institute for 25€. The institute was amazing. Here is my writeup and pictures along with some amazing video of the interactive exhibit at post 49 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2927474-almost-live-viking-sky-mediterranean-odyssey-april-2023/?do=findComment&comment=65245954

I can confirm. They eliminated boarding in the hanger because the weight of the passengers slowed down the process. By loading using the outer doors, they can add two additional excursions a day. Boarding is pretty easy. You walk one step onto the boat with the help of a crew member and walk to your seat. Don’t worry about it. Piece of cake.

We’ve been on Mediterranean Odyssey in an Aft DV1 4122, and Trade Routes on a starboard DV2 on the 6th deck. IMO port or starboard is pretty irrelevant. Most of the cruise there is little land to see when at sea. The aft cabins are my favorite for the spectacular sale-away views. You can find some sail away pictures in my write up of the Mediterranean Odyssey from last year.: