OneSixtyToOne

If you ever encounter guest lecturer Peter LaSorsa, make sure to attend all of his lectures. His talks on the ancient world are as interesting as Russell Lee's. http://cruiseshipenrichment.net/speaker.asp?ID=56714273&DisplayStatus=1

Kent, I’m OT but curious to know who the lecturers are on your current cruise?

Regardless of SSBP or not, it’s our experience that the waitstaff keeps your glass full. You have to tell them you’re done. If this doesn’t happen, it’s typically because the staff may be new. If you make a point of talking to the wine steward for a recommendation, they will take good care of you.

Last summer we were in London and took the clipper to Greenwich for sightseeing and saw this spectacular sight:

If you plan on a few days in London, we always stay at the Rembrandt in South Kensington. It’s literally across the street from the V&A museum and in the heart of the museum district, only a block from the tube station. Very convenient for doing tourist activities. Piccadilly line goes right to the Airport.

Boots and pants are provided and required for the Zodiacs. You are given them on the 2nd day. No jackets (unless you’re going to Antartica) The wind chill is exceptionally cold when on the zodiacs and SOB. A warm jacket, wool cap, gloves, and neck covering is a must. We also wore wool leggings. Here is my live posting of this cruise from October.

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We took an almost identical itinerary in 2019, the only difference was Copenhagen instead of Bergen (we transited the Kiel Canal. That was very special!) Our #1 priority was visiting The Alhambra. Tickets for this optional excursion are very limited because tour groups are limited to one bus per day and because of security, your name is required to be on the ticket and it must match your passport which can be checked at random. Because of this, even if there are cancellations on board, those seats cannot be resold. It sold out within 20 minutes of opening. If interested, book that first as soon as MVJ opens and checkout and pay immediately for only that excursion, then book your other choices, doing optional ones first and included last. Optionals tend to sell out first and included excursions can have additional times added if they become full. Our next favorite stop was Portsmouth. If you take the early included tour, you can ask to be dropped right at the entrance to the port attractions. Be sure to visit the Mary Rose museum. It’s one of the most fascinating museums we have ever visited. It was built to house the sunken remains of Henry VIII’s flagship which was sunk in battle before his eyes by the French in Portsmouth. You’ll also have time to visit Nelson’s flagship Victory, and see where he died. That too is a fascinating visit. Third on our list was Cartagena, Spain. The Cartagena Foundations Walking Tour was one of our favorite experiences of any Viking tour, not only because of all the ancient sites you visit, but because of the tour guide. As a young student he was on the team that first discovered a lost Roman Imperial theatre and is today the director of the archeological site and museum. The tour also takes you to see a still underground Roman houses and street. You also visit the best preserved Carthaginian ruins in the world. This was the site of the 2nd largest city in Carthage. Unless you have never been to Paris, don’t bother. It’s all day on the bus with only a few hours in Paris. Your time is much better spent taking the tour of Honfleur. It’s a charming Medieval town and port with the oldest wooden church still standing in France. After the walking tour you have lots of time to visit hundred of old shops, restaurants, and the regional art gallery featuring paintings of Normandy. We’ve been there twice and would go a third time. Bruges is one of our favorite cities. Take the included tour then spend your free time exploring it. We took the included tour of Porto and were disappointed in it. Not enough time to do anything. If doing it again, we would opt for the optional tram tour or do Porto on our own. Falmouth was probably our least favorite port. Took a disappointing included tour. We had one of the worst tour guides I have ever had: “Along the left there are trails and a beautiful coastline but you can’t see it from here” was an actual quote. Do anything except the included tour. In Amsterdam we did the walking tour that included a visit to the Van Gough museum. This is one of my favorite art museums in the world. IMO a must see. The walking tour was also great. Probably the best way to experience the city. In Barcelona the optional Gaudí’s Houses of Modernism tour was amazing. We arrived at the Casa Vincens before opening, had coffee and snacks on the terrace and were the first ones inside, allowing for some amazing unobstructed pictures. After that you visit his other masterpiece Casa Batlló. Both are must sees. If spending additional time in Barcelona, we highly recommend Barcelona Day Tours. They are family run and the tour guides are amazing. They have a great tour of the city with a stop a Park Güell and the exterior of La Sagrada. They can also arrange for timed tickets to view the interior. All of the tickets to view the insde are sold only through the church but they will act as your agent and arrange it. Tickets sell out fast so you really need to plan way ahead. You can find a review of last year’s stop in Barcelona here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2927474-almost-live-viking-sky-mediterranean-odyssey-april-2023/?do=findComment&comment=65262761 Some highlights:

We docked there in 2019 and had no issues.

Are you trying to sync your photos to iCloud? Viking might be blocking that ip address. Try turning sync off until you are in port.

We did the Chilean Fjords Expedition cruise last October. The expedition ships are very casual, much more than Viking Ocean. BTW best food I’ve ever had on any Viking ship. For sea sickness, I took Bonine on some of the rough days. While we were there in the Austral Spring and you will be there in Autumn, the weather may be similar. My live posting gave the daily weather reports. You can find it here:

FYI Viking has Pacific Coast cruises scheduled for 2025. https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/caribbean-americas/pacific-coast-explorer/index.html

It probably has a lot to do with visa requirements. A lot of countries have different requirements if arriving by cruise ship vs air or land. Some make accommodations in their requirements for day trippers only spending a few hours (eg. Turkey). If the ports in question are all in the EU, your chances are better than elsewhere.

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The date and time of the opening is in MVJ on the Shore Excursions page. They open at Noon Pacific Time. Example: Cancelling is easy. You will be credited by the same method you paid. You may cancel up to 48 hours before the excursion. Be aware that MVJ closes before your departure, so while you can still cancel onboard, you won’t be able to cancel any tours scheduled for your first full day onboard.

As a joke, I one took a bottle of Ralph’s plain wrap Red Wine to a wine tasting party. It placed 2nd.

We did it almost 20 years ago. It was fantastic.

A similar thing happened on our expedition cruise. They ran low on a wine we enjoyed and he reserved it for us. It’s always a good idea to introduce yourself to the sommelier. They know where the bottles are buried. We also track them down at the end of the cruise and give them a personal tip.

And don't forget you can bring your own bottle on board. Never a corking charge.

I highly recommend Barcelona Day Tours. We had a great day with them as well as a fabulous guide. We did the Mediterranean Odyssey in the opposite direction last year. Here is the live post:

Also note that the saved credit card information is ONLY for use on the ship. It is NOT used when buying excursions or other items on MVJ. You will need to re-enter your info at checkout. On the other hand, ACH info is saved and can be used for faster checkout when purchasing optional excursions.

I believe all the ocean ships have been converted to Starlink. The speed is highly dependent on where on the globe you are. There is less coverage at extreme latitudes as well as the vast South Pacific. We had fantastic speeds in the Mediterranean. Expedition ships have fewer passengers. Our speeds at the tip of South America were not as fast as the Mediterranean, but the bandwidth was greater because of fewer passengers. From the Viking Sky

Yes. Daytime trivia is for sea days. I believe on our last expedition cruise it was 7:00 PM. We’ve won several rounds of champagne 🥂

I would wait until onboard. Some promotions have a tendency to roll over to the next month, especially if they are not one of the more popular itineraries. If you book onboard, you will also get an OBC for your current cruise.

Book a DV1 stern cabin to eliminate your concern. Always a fascinating view, even when you are nowhere near land.