OneSixtyToOne

We were just in London a month ago and have been many times. It’s one of the easiest cities for tourists to navigate. We always use the tube. It takes you to the popular sites and is very easy to get around London. For tours, we highly recommend London Walks for walking tours of London. They have a variety of tours available and all their guides are excellent. They meet up Tube stations and no pre-purchase is required. Some popular tours, like Westminster Abbey require advance reservations because they need to determine how many people will be there, but you pay when you arrive. Not all tours happen on all days so do check their website for what is available. On our last trip we took four of their tours: Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Greenwich, and the Victoria & Albert Museum. On previous trips we have taken their British Museum tour, the changing of the guard (they move you about St James Park so you see four different aspect of the change, concluding at the Horse Guard, where they time it so you have a front row view inside the courtyard), as well as a day trip to Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge. All were excellent and we would do any of them again. We have visited Churchill’s War Room as well as the main Imperial War Museum. The IWF is on of the best museum’s I’ve every visited. The displays are phenomenal. Also if you are a WWII buff, the Fighter Command bunker in Uxbridge is a must see. Just take the tube to Uxbridge and take a short cab ride to the hidden bunker where the first integrated air defense system was created that allowed the UK to win the Battle of Britain It’s a wonderful museum.

It IS enforced. We had a local pizza parlor with a piano in the corner and the owner would occasionally play to entertain the crowd. One night a rep from ASCAP was there and inquired if they had payed for licensing. They hadn’t and the 67 year-old owner refused to pay. Needless to say the piano was never used again. This story made the local papers. It’s from when the dispute was still going on, but in the end ASCAP won. https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1985/dec/12/john-pernicano-vs-ascap-over-cole-porter/

Most, if not all, commercial venues take out a blanket yearly licensing fee that covers whatever they play, otherwise it would be an accounting nightmare tracking everything. So whatever music Viking plays, the cost is the same. More about ASCAP licensing (BMI is similar) https://www.ascap.com/help/ascap-licensing/why-ascap-licenses-bars-restaurants-music-venues

"Diet" is being phased out by beverage companies because of marketing. The word has fallen out of favor with Millennials and Gen Zers and is being replaced by Zero. I guess the word fat shames them?

A good idea to put a reminder in your calendar to change the battery every year. Even better, remove the battery when not traveling.

If you want to sit at the restaurant or WC and drink until they close, you can. You might want to seek professional help, but you can.

Limited as in how much you can drink? No. Unlimited refills.

Kiel was transited during the repositioning cruise of Along Europe's Western Coast, which is no longer offered. The Trade Routes of the Middle Ages cruise is the exact same itinerary except it terminates in Bergan instead of Copenhagen. Along Europe's Western Coast terminated in Copenhagen and the ship was then used for the summer season in the Baltic and onto St. Petersburgh. That obviously disappeared, being replaced by a different Baltic cruise the begins/ends in Bergan. I suspect they lost business on the Baltic route since they no longer visit St. Petersburg and no longer need as many ships in the region.. I loved the Kiel transit. It reminded me of scenic river cruising. People lined the banks waving at us with Norwegian flags.

Also if any recipe contains butter, European style butter has a higher fat content, richer taste, and deeper color.

We visited Mycenae last January. It was a beautiful sunny day and all the orange trees were full of colorful fruit. Viking pax were the only visitors there. The beehive tombs were deserted, making for some great shots.

I love pumpernickel and a good loaf is hard to find. IMO no bread in America is as good as any you’ll find in Europe. The pumpernickel you find in a market (Pepperidge Farms, Oroweat) are the Wonder Bread of ryes. If you have a German butcher shop or bakery in your area, try there.

On the Exploration ships, laundry is on decks 3 and 4. Ocean ships have no laundry above deck 6. I don't consider that a "problem."

We had the Lemon Ravioli on our last cruise. It was delicious.

$1000 is my favorite vintage of whine.

We were there in January and the mountains were snow covered.

It all depends. Many are date dependent. They are discounts to fill cabins on undersold, soon departing ships, or repositioning cruises. Some are legs of the world cruise. For example, SUM23 appears to be for fall and early winter 2023 departures. We used it for our upcoming Chilean Fjord cruise, which is repositioning from the northern to southern hemisphere. Last year we got a great deal on an off season Mediterranean cruise a few months before departure. When you find a code that works, the sailing dates will have an asterisk to indicate that it applies.

Typically I find that EBD (Early Booking Discount) does nothing but bring up the current promotion that everyone gets when going to the website. If you remove it, nothing changes.

You might want to read the Post Promotions thread where people post the latest discount codes.

We are booked through United via Houston. They have that small middle section of the plane for whatever they call their premium economy. So far there are only 6 people in that section for the flight down. On the way back, we are the only seats taken in that section.

We have free air for our upcoming Expedition trip to the Chilean Fjords and we upgraded to Premium Economy for $999

The air upgrades are also discounted.

ACU23 is also valid on the December 19, 2023 sailing of Australia & New Zealand. It's offering cabin discounts and Free Airfare. Christmas and New Year's down under.

It looks like this itinerary sails in April/May and October. October 2025 has yet to be scheduled. I expect to see it posted before year's end.

When we were in Chioggia, the Viking guide told us that we were lucky because they can only dock one ship at a time. If it’s taken, they dock in Fusina. The local staff called it “the ugly place.” They hate going there and prefer Chioggia.

May 2025 is almost sold out. It’s on sale now.