worldtraveler1234

It as been my experience that when a travel agent takes over the booking, all payments go through them. You can still get the 3.3% e-check discount,but they have to handle the payment.

The Viking site is showing OBC for 1000 to 1500 for various cruises. The OBC is reduced by 500 for DV ,

 V cabins. I didn't see anything about free SSP but the OBC could be used for SSP, prepaid gratuities or excursions when they open.

We booked Valparaiso to Buenos Aires for 12/22/21 and used most of the OBC for these purchases. The remainder  is showing on my account.

We used about $1200 for the beverage package and prepaid gratuities. This was shown on the original invoice. The remaining $300 showing under profile on MVJ  can be used for excursions when they open or transferred as a  sbc  a week prior to departure.

It could be used for any Viking charge but not the cruise price or insurance. The cabin was already discounted $750 pp and the air $400pp plus $400 pp past guest discount. We chose beverages and gratuities, something that we always buy.

Our original deposit and  insurance was transferred using the same booking number.

We had The Holy Land cruise booked for Nov this year. We decided that even if the cruise were to happen we would not feel comfortable traveling. We were able to transfer the booking to 12/22/21 South America cruise and picked up $1500 sbc that is offered currently.

Our original payment due was 5/15. The new date is 8/31/20. A long way out but at least after the 7/1 operations resume date.

We just booked a cruise with $1500 sbc issued by Viking. We used $1188 for the beverage package and prepaid gratuities on the invoice. The remaining $312 shows  as available under Profile in MVJ. Hope this helps.

We stayed at the Hilton. Both hotel and Viking water taxis ran on schedule about every half hour.No additional charge. The host offered tours but we had pre booked private tours. Disembarking was easy. We identified luggage that was transferred to the hotel and walked to the water taxi to the hotel. It was about a quarter mile walk. The rooms were not available until 3pm, but luggage was held in a secure area.

Certainly not as good as the Athens Hilton.

Not really impressed with the hotel. Confusing elevators, staff not very friendly The rooms were very nice but housekeeping was just average. The informal restaurant in the lobby was good and reasonable.

• There are no curfews for overnight stops. The all on board time is usually 1 hour prior to departing port.

We disembarked in Venice last Oct. The process started at 8am. We were going to the extension at the Hilton and left the ship about 9am. There was no customs activity needed. We had to identify luggage and then walked to the water shuttle for the hotel. We checked in at the Hilton about 11 am , but rooms were not ready until 3pm. They held our luggage. We took the water shuttle to St Marks and had lunch. Our private tour began at 2pm.

Disembarkation is scheduled by wave according to flight times or extensions. If you are staying in Venice on your own you should have guest service arrange for early exit.

We are taking the Holy Lands cruise next Nov. and looking at the Umbria post trip.  Would be interested in any comments on this excursion.

We did the Tuscany excursion 2 years ago and it was excellent.

We flew through Phila 2months ago from Venice and it was seamless especially if you have Global Entry.  The other 2 not so much. Avoid Newark!! 

Sounds good! What cruises are they offering?

We were in a PV1 on our last cruise and it is certainly an upgrade.

We are booked for this trip next Nov. Would be interested in your thoughts on the excursions. Did you use Viking or outside tours? Which tours did you experience? We are staying in Rome after. Any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks

We did this extension 2 years ago and it was fabulous. As stated above, most meals were included and the longest bus ride was to Venice. The villa was excellent and the meals there were top notch. You have to like red wine because white was frowned on. Our tour guide was the best we have ever experienced.  The 2 hour lunch in Florence was unbelievable . The food just kept on coming. Our group had only 16 passengers.

Cities of Antiquity & the Holy Land

We just booked this for next Nov. This will be our fourth VO cruise. Would like some advise for private tours in Israel and Rome extension. Not looking forward to 40 person bus rides.

We have had good experiences on previous cruises using suggestions from this blog. Thanks

There are many standard 110 outlets in the cabin.However if you are staying in a hotel before or after you will need a 220 transformer. I don't that there are magnified mirrors.

Have a great trip. We are doing Athens to Venice in September. Our third VO voyage.

The actual menu for the day showed when booking. I just went back to check and the menus that I booked are not  the dining caption. The name of the menu is included on the calendar.

The menus are showing on MVJ. Our cruise has Xiang,Asian Panorama, and Mexico. When the day was entered the menu for that day displayed.

We have done this many times. Just tell the guide that you are leaving the tour. There is usually a shuttle in most ports back to the ship. Guides  will usually tell you where the shuttle stops.

When we were there 2 years ago the shuttle ran into the afternoon. There should be a schedule at guest services.

There should be a Viking host at the hotel that can help. We booked a tour with tursbylocals for our full day in Athens.

Yes! Just ask housekeeping to rearrange the bed.

We have been on 2 VO cruises in DV cabins. They are sufficient, but we booked a PV for our Sept cruise. The increased size of 60 sf will allow more room for the room service breakfast without my having to vacate the room while she is preparing for the day.  The closet is next to the bed in DV. It is not in the PV.

The bar is filled with wine/ spirits in the PV.

There is a week advantage in booking excursions with PV.

The PV gives you 2 guaranteed advance reservations in Manfredi's and Chef's Table  VS  1 in DV.

The DV cabin is larger that the river cruises and you can make due if these items are not important to you.

We are on the reverse Athens to Venice 9/19. We usually try to find local markets. Did you see any ?

We are sailing the same trip in September with stays in Athens and Venice. We found warmpenguin.com had a variety of tours available in Athens. Another site was toursbylocals.com that had tours in both Venice and Athens.  We booked Toursbymilo in Kotor. This will be our third VO cruise and are completely satisfied with the ship,food and service. Happy that all passengers are adults  and no casino.

Toursbylocals or warmpenguin will pick up at the airport and will drop you off at the ship. You might want to check them out.