CurlerRob

Just for clarity, the Viking incident involved the Polaris, not her sister ship the Octantis. 🍺🥌

You'll be the judge of whether you are "going wrong", but this may be of some assistance. It's not relevant to Marina specifically (Insignia), but comes from the perspective of a long-time HAL and more recent Viking cruiser. 🍺🥌

Quite correct - and true for EVERY cruise line I'm aware of - whether they make the service charge "visible" or whether they bury it in an "inclusive" fare (with no opt out ability). If you want to connect the dots between your money and an individual, you have to give it to them yourself - everywhere that I know of. I don't understand why you feel Viking is not upfront. The service charge is clearly noted in their materials (and discussed at infinite length on these boards), and they state it is directed to a wide range of staff on the ship. If your concern is that Viking refuses to provide details on how and when they distribute the service charge, would you be have the same concern with an all-inclusive line where the service charge is not visible? 🍺🥌

Sent ... thx. R. 🍺🥌

Andy, if you care for a second opinion on any questions, we had a 7-day HAL trip in the Caribbean in December. We had given up on HAL after a disappointing WC in 2019 (similar to your P. experiences, we're over 300 days with HAL), but took the 1-week trip to use up a voucher. Contrary to our expectations, it was tolerable enough that we'd consider them again in the right circumstances - happy to engage offline if that's of use. 🍺🥌

I have never asked a cruise line to remove the daily charge - as stated, I consider it part of my fare. We sometimes provide additional personal gratuities for selected staff who have provided us with exceptional service, but it's not a blanket approach. 🍺🥌

I do not understand why people obsess over this topic. It is not unique to Viking - it happens on every cruise line (there are many) that applies a standard daily service charge, but allows pax to remove it. On numerous other boards, pax with financial expertise have indicated that there are tax benefits to the cruise lines in operating this way - as long as the service charge is "discretionary", it is sheltered from being taxed in the same way as general revenue. In essence, it's a way to shield a portion of the cruise lines' revenue. Each cruise line uses a different marketing terminology to describe the same thing. I don't believe that a cruise line has any responsibility to explain the inner workings of their compensation structure to me. How and how much they pay to attract and retain quality staff is their business, not mine. How the cruise line slices and dices the collection of their revenue is immaterial. My business is to make my personal evaluation of whether I received appropriate value for my overall cost, and whether I will continue with that line. As an analogy, few of us, if tipping waitstaff in a North American restaurant, would demand to know the split between front of house / back of house as a condition of tipping at all. I do agree with posters that it's a service charge, plain and simple - no different from the one that lands on my restaurant bill in some places, with the exception that I can remove it on the cruise lines. The marketing bumpf used by the lines is annoying and counterproductive. I choose to treat the service charge as just a part of my fare - secure in my belief that if I don't pay it that way, economics will demand that I pay some other way. I would love to see it just buried in an increased fare - it seems it would ease some angst for a lot of folks. 🍺🥌

That would be stupid, but it's not how it works ... The card in the slot enables power to both the lighting and the outlets in the room. If the card is withdrawn, the power feed to the lights and the outlets stops. However, you are not restricted from turning the lights out with the appropriate switches when the card is in place - that allows 'lights out' but keeps the power flowing to the outlets. 🍺🥌

And a Canuck one at that! But they do have a long-running commitment to terrific "critter" advertising ... 🍺🥌 https://strategyonline.ca/2023/03/07/telus-re-ups-on-its-critters-in-latest-brand-campaign/

If you're interested in a private tour, consider the guys below. In 2015, a different cruise line used them for a RIB tour around Nólsoy - a great tour, with spectacular scenery, wildlife and sheep that can climb vertical cliffs. https://www.rib62.com/ They appear to be offering a different tour now, to Hestur, but it looks equally as good. The Faroes are stunning, but the weather is fickle - best of luck for seeing them! A teaser ... 🍺🥌

I'd bet against Pluto, as it was demoted from full planetary status to that of a "dwarf planet" or "extreme trans-Neptunian object" (ETNO) ... (try saying that quickly). However, there is theoretical work suggesting the possibility of a new "Planet Nine" further out than Pluto. Some have offered that, if it was confirmed to exist, the name "Persephone" would be appropriate, as she was Pluto's wife. Also a much nicer ship name than mimicking a Disney dog! 🍺🥌

There have been numerous threads on this board discussing specialty reservations - this is one of the latest ones, and has some good info worth a look: Overall, don't panic - pax have constantly reported that once on board, they have had few issues in accessing the specialties - either by using the Viking app, registering with the restaurant desk or just showing up and asking. There appears to be a lot of churn in the reservations once the cruise starts. 🍺🥌

That's better, but the point stands for the annual plan, which is what @susiesan referenced. Thanks for the update. 🍺🥌

Interesting policy terms that triggered a couple of thoughts ... I would be concerned about only $100K medical for over 70. Depending on where you are, a serious illness / accident could burn through that in a few days of ICU care. The fact that the medevac coverage is five times that should signal that the company does not have to pay those charges very often. If you are too ill to be a medevac candidate, then the medical coverage is again potentially insufficient. I'd also have a hard look at the policy terms under which medevac is allowed - if you don't qualify for repatriation, you're dependent on the medical amount. If medevac is simply at your request, great - but that would really surprise me. 🍺🥌

No. Most Airalo eSIMs are data-only. They do not cover calls. You can text and email via data, but calls are not included. You may be able to find an regional eSIM provider that covers calls, but my research has not uncovered many - hopefully someone else here can provide pointers to eSIMs with voice coverage. 🍺🥌

If you are not using wireless connectivity (WiFi), then you will be using cellular data services to send/receive emails - using cellular data triggers the daily charge - so, yes to your question. 🍺🥌

As long as your insurance covers default by the provider, up to the amount you paid, then I can't see any need to pay by CC for the purpose of being able to dispute a charge - in my view, best to take the ACH discount in that case. Also subject to your comfort level with someone having debit access to your bank account - the CC does offer a layer of insulation from that as well. 🍺🥌

As @SantaFe1 says, check you invoice for projected port times. We always plan for "back on board" times as 1 hour prior to departure - but as stated, both the departure and on board times are always subject to change. When we do a private tour, we will only deal with folks who are willing to be flexible on times should the ship schedule change prior to arrival. Reputable private tour companies never have an issue with this - its part of the job for them. 🍺🥌

Also for Naples, if you have interest in a private tour, we have used the folks below twice. The first time for a full day tour that included Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast road to Positano (with a late lunch there). A full, but extremely worthwhile day for us as first-time visitors. On a second visit, we hired them for a tour of Naples, the catacombs and their favourite pizza stop (while this can be a religious debate, there are no bad pizza places in Naples ...). We could not have been better served by Aldo Limos - great counsel as well as the ability to do a fully customized itinerary. Don't worry about their Sorrento location, they work easily from Naples as well. https://www.aldolimos.com/en/ 🍺🥌

Completely valid in your circumstance, but we always need to continue to pay attention to the points award and redemption value on the card. My particular card (an airline points card) saw the value of redemption points drop for a high of 4.4 cents to 2 cents over time - it was a "point per dollar spent" card, so that means the value started well above the ACH bennie, but then dropped below it. Lots of volatility in the redemption game today - caveat emptor! 🍺🥌

The author makes a valid point that there may be protections available via credit card payments that are not available if paid by electronic debit (not always - reference Crystal). But he also says “If you are going on a cruise or an expensive tour, buy trip insurance that covers supplier default”. This is also good advice. But if you have trip insurance that covers supplier default, then there's no reason not to take the electronic debit fare reduction. Why pay for the default protection twice - credit card price as well as trip insurance? 🍺🥌

1. Circle Hawaii, Tahiti and the Marquesas - 2014 - Statendam - (pic - Bora Bora) 2. Norway, Svalbard and Iceland - 2015 - Prinsendam - (pics - 700 miles from N. pole and Ny Alesund) 3. Vancouver - Sydney - circle Oz - New Zealand - 2016 - Maasdam - (pic - Sydney Harbour) 🍺🥌

My memory has it that there was a sharps container already in the bathroom (although I may be confusing this with another line) or certainly your steward can bring you one. 🍺🥌

Yes, and pointed at the harbour exit. Plenty of time to get to Civitavecchia. 🍺🥌

An excellent description - but I'd add "voodoo" as well 😈. 🍺🥌