m2inor

Just finished a call with Princess for CCL military benefit. The good news, after a very long wait as the agent waited for a superior to intervene, it was properly credited for my August cruise.

While on the call with Princess, I logged into my brokerage account to see how my order for VIK shares was doing. It was rather dormant for much of the day, with no action. Finally started trading around 12:45pm and I got my shares at 2:21pm.

Offering was prices at $24, it opened at $26.15, and I got my shares somewhere in between. We will have to see what is next for shareholders.

I love Viking! Many more cruises ahead. Just was on Viking Egypt cruise and Jordan extension. Best time of my life on a cruise.

On 1/29/2023 at 7:16 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

Since Cruisemapper is often inaccurate, for a definitive answer I would only check the Port of London Authority to confirm which dock the vessel is using. It will also be included on your Guest Statement.

 

I'll also suggest that since all the 3rd party websites get their information from the cruise lines that I would tend to believe the cruise line, before a non-affiliated 3rd party.

Thanks for that. Yes, the Port of London Authority does indicate Greenwich as the docking location arriving August 22, where we overnight. We just need to get to Heathrow for a 12:30pm flight back to Dublin. We'll book a Viking transfer to get there.

We are on the Aug 9-23, 2023 Viking British Isles Cruise from Bergen to London.

The marketing materials indicate that our Viking Jupiter ship will dock in Greenwich, the cruisemapper.com website says it will dock far from London at the Tilbury International Cruise Terminal which is quite fare from everything.

For anyone booked in the comping months, are you getting confirmation from Viking as to the real disembarkation location? Our travel agent is pursuing, but for right now, there is no consistent information. We asked the simple question, "can we purchase a transfer from the disembarkation on August 23rd, 2023, and what is the specific time and duration of the transfer to London City Airport and/or Heathrow. We plan to fly directly to Dublin later that day. We do not have Viking Air.

Thank you.

For at least the last 8 years, we've done vacation trips with one carry-on, and one backpack each. These trips included 2 RTW 2 month trips, with one of them with a China cruise within. Never a problem.

We travel with clothes that are easy to wash, whether by laundry of the bathroom sink. We wear our jackets so they don't need to be packed.

Haven't had any problems.

As for bringing back purchased items, some we shipped back.

One memorable experience when we were in China on a Viking cruise-flight-land tour: In Xian, everyone was enticed by the terracotta statuary souvenirs in museum shop. they weighed a few pounds, and were 1-2 feet tall. We saw people carrying those back to the ship, and on our flights.

As I had internet connectivity while in the shop, I googled the items, and was surprised to find the exact same items at Amazon. For less money, too. We simply ordered them online later from Amazon US, and since we were Prime members, free shipping.

So...that internet connectivity came in handy. Sometimes that unique souvenir just might be available online.

I missed it when we booked our excursion today. Canceled one and then tried to rebook a different excursion. When I got to purchase button, credit was applied, and balance was to be paid by CC.

Alas, "could not process payment" message, and was asked to please call. Now on hold...grrr.

1 hour ago, vnb2003 said:

You won’t pay $500 extra

Transfer was $40p/p if you bought it from Viking. I’m afraid this info is old because I was told by Viking Air that if I deviated I can’t buy transfer. This sounds ridiculous to me. 

If you book extra days with Viking before or after a cruise tour, you will pay a large fee PER PERSON. This is for hotel room and your airport transfer to/from hotel.

Most will find that arranging independent transfer (taxi/Uber/Metro) and hotel will be less expensive. Just need to be sure to know the hotel that is included with your cruise tour, or be willing to stay at a different hotel.

We recently returned from the  Portugal River of Gold cruise tour.

We booked economy travel with Viking Airplus, and paid extra fee to select our own flights. United changed the schedule several times, but I had entered the PNR with my United Mileage Plus account, so was well informed by United. Viking Airplus was out of sync with the most current info, ranging from seat assignments (which I changed), to flight times. With one of the changes by United, I was successful in changing the original flight routes. One of the original flights was PDX-IAD-LIS. Due to United change, flight was changed to PDX-DEN-IAD-LIS. That original outbound was upgraded to me using $$ and points to business class for the IAD-LIS leg. I was able to call United and using the original upgrade, change to PDX-EWR-LIS, and still get biz class upgrade on the EWR-LIS leg. Lie flat seats!

As I mentioned in a different post, I was disappointed that I did not get dollar-spend  (PQD) credit for the airfare paid, since this was a bulk fare. I did get United FF Mileage Plus mileage and segment credit.

The included hotel in Lisbon was the Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Lisboa. Quite expensive. For our extra days beforehand, we booked the Hotel Fontecruz Lisboa just a block away Considerably less expensive, in the same area, and another 5-star hotel. Also affiliated with Marriott so got points.

Both hotels were excellent, but both were expensive. Very convenient to walking to all the popular areas of Lisbon, and we did a lot of walking.

We also purchased the 3-day transit pass: took Metro from Airport to Hotel, and the Metro was across the street from both the Fontecruz as well as the Tivoli. The pass got us on all the street cars, the Metro, the suburban trains to Sintra and Cascais; needed a separate bus pass for the day for Sintra and for travel from Sintra to Cascais, which included a short stop at westernmost city of Continental Europe, Cabo da Roca.

We did something similar when we did Bucharest to Budapest in 2017. We booked our Bucharest hotel  to arrive 2 days before cruise tour began, and coordinated with hotel to keep same room that Viking would have given us. We did not coordinate with Viking.

I just canceled my Viking Air Plus on a March 2020  Germany cruise after inquiring about business class upgrades and fares.

I was able to book biz class tickets for wife and I that got us to embarkation city a few days earlier, and returning from a different airport so we could stay a few days longer and visit a few other nearby cities. Overall, cost was considerably less than what Viking Air Plus was going to charge for business class. Note well: the economy class price from Viking Air Plus was less than what I could have booked in Economy, but the business class I was was able to book directly with the airline was only slightly more than Economy.

This was with United, and I paid the $35 for Fare-lock, that gave me 7 days to purchase the fare; I used that time to check other options before locking things in. I was lucky to grab that low biz class fare, as it went up almost $2000 each for the next 6 days.

So...best advice, is to learn how to use the air fare search engines, and book directly with the airline if you find a good fare.  

Back in 2017, we had booked a China cruise/tour with Viking, Beijing to Shanghai. We were flying in from Japan after staying a week there.

Unfortunately, a typhoon was threatening Japan, so we arranged to fly to Beijing a day earlier. We had made our own travel arrangements, so Viking had nothing to do with the changed flights. We did contact Viking about our earlier arrival, and they arranged for an extra night at the same hotel they had assigned us, and also arranged for an earlier transfer from the airport to the hotel.

All was done via email using Viking's 24-hour emergency assistance contact.

Here's my Viking Air story, after reading the entire thread.

TL;DR Tips for securing airfare at better prices, and warning for those wanting to achieve United frequent flyer status (or Delta or American).

I've used Viking Air Plus for a Bucharest to Budapest river cruise back in 2017, my first experience with Viking. I paid the extra for a stopover in Paris and to select specific flights. I'm a 1MM (Million Miler) and Lifetime Gold United flyer, and have been booking/selecting my own international and domestic flights for decades. Internet searches have been a huge asset instead of those old OAG directories.

My flights were OK, and at the time, less expensive than what I could have booked on my own that first time, so never paid much attention until this year after noticing I was not getting dollar spend credit with United.

A few family members and friends are on an upcoming Portugal cruise, and I had booked the Viking Air Plus again, because at the time of booking, the Viking fares were still less expensive than what I could book online myself in Economy.

United, Delta, and American now all have dollar spend requirements to qualify for different frequent flyer status levels. After my East European river cruise, I learned that the bulk fares that Viking provides do not count as dollar spend for achieve elite status; one only gets mileage and segment status.

That came to bite me this year, as I'm going to meet the miles flown and segment status for United 1K status this year, but my dollar spend won't be met since my Viking air dollars ($1800) won't count; I have other international flights already completed this year that got me the miles and segments needed. What's the big deal with 1K status? 6 free global upgrade certificates to business class.

Another issue with Viking Air and Air Plus is that though one is paying Viking directly, if there is any deviation from official dates for start or end, you are on you own for airport transfers for the deviated dates. I always try to arrive a few days early for a cruise tour, so the transfer isn't included on the arrival unless you book the extra nights at a Viking hotel offering. It's not always a good value, other than convenience. I've also sometimes extended my stay to visit other interesting places that may be in that part of the world.

Since I have a lot of miles and status with United, I looked to using points/dollars to upgrade to business class; I already had free access to Economy Plus. This is possible with UA, but you must call an agent at United, since the Viking fare bucket does not let you do this online. United's app and website let you do all this online if you purchased the ticket directly with United. I was able to upgrade to business class on my upcoming flight to Portugal using miles and dollars by calling United.

I have two other Viking cruises booked for 2020, and for my spring cruise, I originally had also booked Air Plus, Based on my learning (and searching for potential flights), I had that canceled when final payment was made in June. (Note: weird that Viking was now requiring full payment more that 6 months ahead of time).

While the Viking Air Economy air fare was less expensive than the published Economy fares, I found that purchasing discounted business class fares from United were considerably less expensive than what Viking Air was going to charge. Likely also going to do the same for a July Viking cruise that is planned.

I also learned that sometimes the free airfare offered, is only available using certain gateway cities, and there is a surcharge for other cities. The "free" airfare may also lead to higher cruise/tour prices at times.

I've gotten spoiled with business class and have learned the tricks to get good fares that are half of the typical normal fare, or have the flexibility to arrange flight dates for economy fares that can be upgraded for points or dollars. Booking directly with the airline usually leads to the best prices, as long as you pay attention to the terms and conditions. So even after using the search engines to look at flight options, be sure to book the ticket directly with the airline, rather than thru a third party. Book online with the airline to avoid fees, and pay attention to the terms and conditions. Also, stay away from "Basic Economy". If you have one of the airline credit cards, it may also have benefit of earlier boarding, as well as free checked luggage.

I realize that these tips may not work for the casual/leisure flyer, but anyone who flies a lot and is trying to achieve elite frequent flyer status, this info may be useful. With status, one can get preferred seating in economy at no additional cost,  access to special pricing for air fares, free travel if you have enough miles/points banked, preferential treatment when flights are delayed or canceled, and sometimes even free upgrades.

Re: laundry

Your challenge will be cost, and making sure your have two nights at the same hotel. If so, the morning after your first night, submit your laundry and you should be able to get it back by 8pm. Determine the hotel you are staying at, and contact them directly about laundry service.

We travel a lot, with only carry on.  We pack 1 weeks worth of clothing each into our rollaboards, and one days worth into our personal item bag - a backpack, with our meds, electronics, camera, travel docs, and batteries.

In our rollaboard we have an REI camping clothesline, and laundry detergent sheets from Amazon. When we are traveling longer than a week, those two items take care of our laundry needs. Our travel clothes are quick-dry synthetics that are no-iron and comfortable. We did a 2 month RTW adventure where this China cruise tour was in the first month.

We've traveled like this for years. Our previous RTW trip in 2010 was 7 weeks, and included an ocean cruise midway thru. Traveled the same way, never using hotel laundry.

This week we are near the end of a two week trip to India. Fortunately, our room rate included free laundry for 2 pieces each day. It's hot here, so we made use of that service each day, and still did in room washing of socks and under things for my wife.

I hope this helps.

PS for formal nights on cruises, I bring a sports jacket, or rent a tux on the ocean cruises. I wear the sports jacket on flights, trains, and buses, or roll it up into my backpack.

The steps on the Great Wall are not only steep, but some are a big step up from step to step. While there may be railings in some places, just not always.

At several of the ports on the Yangtze , it takes some extra effort to get on and off the boat after leaving the gangway.

For the land portion we had in Beijing and Xian, there was a lot of walking, but you could hire someone to wheel you around a little, but unless you were mobile, you would miss a lot. China is not ADA friendly, and I suspect Tibet is even less accommodating.

It really depends on your mobility and agility.

We talked to the cruise people about passenger mobility issues. They’ve denied boarding to some who showed up with wheelchairs or scooters. They really aren’t equipped to assist people.

We also did Manchu Picchu and Bolivia with Tauck, which is high altitude. We used prescribed Diamox and glad we did. One of the travelers on our group had problems due to altitude and breathing. Local wise, again, you must be able to get around on your own. No facilities or accommodation for people that need assistance.

For the person asking, it’s not really about slowing others down, but rather would you be ok not traveling with the others. You are the one who knows how well you can get around, and whether you need help.

Our carryons were not rollers,

 

When we went, they neither sized them or weighed them. The sizes were reasonable, but the weight was definitely more than 11 pounds.

We are on a 2 month round-the-world adventure, with the Viking Imperial Jewels tour in the middle. We are traveling with only a backpack and rollaboard each. We had no issue at all with our Beijing-Xi'an or Xi'an-Chongqing internal flights. Just had to make sure our phones, tablets, computers,batteries, coins, liquids, and umbrella were taken out of our backpack for security inspection. Our rollaboards easily weighed 15kg/30lbs each.

Lots more logistic details here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=54134970&postcount=149

I too was a little worried so I checked the Beijing and Shanghai Airports sites to determine the policy. Batteries must be clearly marked with voltage and current capacity. I also checked some frequent traveler websites for anecdotes.

I'll post the airport info later so you can can see the requirements are for safe passage thru security.

...

 

I'll report back, but also will ask seller.

I heard back from another user, and he reported he had no issue activating the SIM upon arrival in Shanghai.

I've seen comments elsewhere that the HK SIM needs to be activated while in HK before it will let you roam on the mainland.

 

If you are passing through HK on the way there, that will not be a problem...

Hopefully not. Bummer if that's a requirement. Did not see any similar comments on Amazon site, from where I purchased it.

No passport or other ID or process required for activation according to seller. Just insert in unlocked phone, and turn on.

I'll report back, but also will ask seller.

We recently connected flights at the Beijing Airport. They confiscated any portable battery charger anyone had, no matter how small.

 

My suggestion is to leave that item at home or risk confiscation at a Chinese airport.

Interesting, since almost all of these are manufactured in China!

Which airlines? And I imagine confiscation was at security.

Wow! Great and timely reply. Thank you for sharing.

I was last in mainland China well before the Internet was an essential tool, and with our world travels we expect to use the Internet a lot.

With what I've read so far, I expected issues, so you are confirming most of them.

I will be bringing a dual-SIM phone, with AT&T and HK Chinacom plans. I know I can get full Internet calling/text/data for $10/day from AT&T. The HK Chinacom SIM will give me 7 days of data and 2GB for $20, and I'm told I can top-up for an additional 7-days. The HK SIM includes roaming in mainland, and in theory, also bypasses the "great firewall of China".

For WiFi, I have VON already for phones and tablet if that is needed.

The 2 weeks in China are part of our 7 week RTW trip, so we are trying to travel light with carry-on only. Did this before to Europe and India in 2010 without any issue. Only had concerns for China airline carriers from what I've ready elsewhere. Not excited about checking luggage. We've also always carried our electronics and batteries in our back-pack carry-on.

Our carry-on is IATA hardside luggage and a cordura backpack, each.

We just got back from our Imperial Jewels trip this morning. It was an amazing vacation; so much more than we expected.

 

A few overall comments:

...

- This was our first Viking experience. We heard a lot about how this trip wasn't really like any of the other Viking cruises. We heard the ship 'wasn't as nice'. We heard the days were 'too busy' compared to other Viking cruises. We felt everything was great and we'll look at choosing Viking again in the future.

...

Thanks for the comprehensive report. We are on the Beijing to Shanghai cruise in September.

A few questions:

- how was the WiFi on the cruise and at your hotels? We're Gmail, Google, and Facebook blocked? Did you use WeChat, Messenger, WatsApp or similar messaging services?

- how were the in-China flights? Carrier? Seating? Any issues with carry-on?

- what did you wish you had brought along with you?

This will be our 2nd Viking Cruise. First was Eastern Europe this past May. Exceeded our expectations!

Thanks in advance

We were 6 two years ago and used Rome Cabs, booked in advance. Excellent service, and also made some stops for us.

See my review at a popular travel site, under my user name. Nice Mercedes vehicle that transported the 6 of us to and from the port.

If solo or a couple, you can also use the train.

... there were many other great things on the menu.

Then, however, I realized that, except for the Venetian liver and onions, I avoid organ meats--"brains and veins" I call them--that are a staple of Italian--and French, I believe--high end cuisine. The answer is to order something else.

From these boards and other sites, it is clear that the best river cruise chefs are conscious of their audience and largely serve local items adapted to customers' tastes. But with thousands of cruisers it is truly the case that "there's no accounting for taste"--in this case literally.

Thankfully there are choices, regional and familiar if you pick the right cruise lines. It is a shame, though that more cruise lines don't publish typical menus, and also identify the "always available" dishes.

I've traveled to 60+ countries for business and pleasure, and I always seek out regional choices.

I've had some surprises, though, too, due to improper translation into English. Veau rignon comes to mind...I got the veal part correct, but not the rignon part (kidney). I also dislike most organ meat.

While being offered lunch and dinner meals in Japan, Taiwan, and China, I asked my hosts to NOT reveal what I was eating unless I specifically asked. Sometimes when asked, I did receive incorrect translations of local delicacies. What I thought was eel in China was actually earthworms, and sea cucumber is not a vegetable. :D

These days, we have Google Search and translate to the rescue, unless blocked where you are visiting. Time to get familiar with alternate reference sources while traveling.

RE: Viking Air

Our group is departing soon for the Bucharest to Budapest sailing on the Viking Lif

We are traveling from various departures here in the US on different dates. Some took the default flights that Viking scheduled, while others (at my suggestion) paid extra for specific airlines and dates.

Depending on the departure city, the default flights were on Delta and others United. Viking did have some issues with the default Delta flights for some of our travelers; due to Delta flight schedule changes.

As we are UA with Elite status, we chose our own dates and specific flights, ignoring Viking's suggestions for UA on our dates. We like longer connection times, and specific connecting cities. We paid the nominal extra fee and are happy with our choices. We also have paid the fee for stopovers in Paris prior to arrival in Bucharest, and also are getting there a day ahead, but staying at the same hotel that Viking arranged. Also, Viking could not handle the extra day, so we contacted the hotel directly after making the separate reservation, combining them so we would not have to switch rooms. The hotel responded almost immediately with our request.

The UA flights are on a Viking bulk fare, so no spend requirement is credited for future FF status, but we do get full mileage credit for the Mileage Plus program. Further, I asked UA to use award miles for upgrade to business class. After a few weeks of being on the wait list, we were notified that the upgrade was granted for our overnight flight from the west coast to Paris, so we are happy travelers.

After checking in today for our Jul 26 departure on Rhapsody, late seating is now 9:00pm, instead of 8:30pm as listed since we booked.

We'll survive. We are a table of at least 6.

Really quite simple. My guess is that you would have paid for all the excursions prior to getting the tickets, and then just tell the excursion desk you won't be going on one of the tours.

I don't think they would reprice them or refund any portion of the fees paid.

Look at it this way, if you do indeed get a partial refund, it would make you happier of course. And it might make someone else happier if a spot shows up on a sold out tour.

There is no way they can "make" you go on the tour.

On another cruise, my friend backed out on a prepaid tour, just because he didn't feel like touring that day. He did not get a refund.

The smaller planes are fine. I use Alaska up/down the west coast from Portland and really have no issue. I'm 6 foot, and the smaller planes really have no issues. If I have carryon rollaboard, it's collected at plane door, and retrievable as I exit the plane. Underseat and overhead storage is minimal, but suitable for backpack, briefcase, purse, etc.

Use the alaskaair.com website for most accurate flight info.