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Hi Clay, Having not flown with them, I initially took valparis at their word when they said that Iberia made the charge for BC seat assignments. Your post prompted me to doublecheck. In fact, advance seat selection is included in the fare as evidenced by the screenshot below from the Iberia website. This allows me to maintain that BA is the only major airline to charge for seat assignments in business class. I hope valparis will forgive me for making this correction, I do like to be right 😁

Great to hear that the agent was straight with you. You've certainly done the right thing to get a placeholder on those seats. It's just that I never feel completely comfortable until the ticketing has been actioned. Even then, of course, equipment changes and so on can throw a spanner 🔧in the works, Fortunately the vast majority of time everything is fine, thank goodness, so have a great trip to the Mekong!

Sorry missed them, not having flown with Iberia.... I did stand to be corrected 😁 I'm not surprised though as Iberia are owned by IAG, just like BA. To their credit Aer Lingus (who are also part of the IAG group) did not charge for assignments in business last time I used them though that might have changed. Generally though, I do think it is valid to reassure US customers that free seat selection for business class passengers is generally standard practice in the industry worldwide and that (IAG aside) airlines that dare to make this charge are still very few and far between.

We did this last September and can only give it 5 out of 10 The main issue was that the description suggested we would take the river cruise first, followed by the walking tour. Our plan was then to stay on in Split to explore further our own. In the event we got a rather truncated walking tour first, followed by the river cruise. The river cruise was okay, but used boats with rather noisy outboard motors. After a reasonable snack at a riverside restaurant we were then returned directly to the ship as traffic congestion prevented us from being dropped off in Split. This meant retracing our steps for 15 to 20 minutes back along the road into town that the bus has just driven down. As we still had a QuietVox units with us we "tagged-on" to one of the included walking tours that we came across. This guide turned out to be excellent (and was tipped accordingly!) We saw and learnt much more about the town from him than we had done on the walking part of the paid for tour. Bottom Line....... We found Split to be a fascinating and photogenic town in its own right. Unless you have a strong reason to do otherwise, I would suggest taking the included walking tour, and then exploring further at your own pace before returning to the ship.

Do be aware that those assignments are almost certainly provisional and (despite showing as selected for you on the airline's website) will not be fully confirmed by the airline until the flight has been paid for and ticketed.

I would agree with that. It might be worth adding that the cruise does need to be paid for in full before Viking will ticket flights.

I stand to be corrected, but in my experience it's only British Airways who have the audacity to charge their business class customers for advance seat assignment. Just one of a number of reasons that I avoid them where possible.

We used the bus from the airport into Bergen and thought it was a good option. For your reverse trip the nearest stop to the port is Dreggsallmenningen flybusstopp. If you put that into Google Maps, it should show you the exact spot. As I recall, it was right outside Raddison blu hotel and you could wait under the hotel porch if raining. However, I notice from street view that there are some covered bus stops a few yards away on The Bryggen and it might stop there. A quick email to the Raddison blu would get you the exact location, I'm sure. In any case, both places are about 10 minutes walk from the cruise port. You can buy tickets on the bus or online for a reduced rate https://www.flybussen.no/en/airports/bergen-airport-flybussen-bergen/

It was only after posting that it occurred to me that I do have a parallel but, in my case, I find I am more easily distracted by what I can see than by what I hear. This is most likely related to my career in the visual arts. I could say how I feel about what some people wear around the ship, but that would be a whole other thread........ 😁

I have sympathy for your sensitivity though I'm fortunate in that I don't suffer in that way. I've spent many hours in the area of Mamsens and The Explorers Lounge but, try as I might, I really can't recall what background music was being played. I am sure there was background music but, in contrast to your strong reaction, it did not register with me in the slightest. In the same way, I don't remember if there was normally background music in The Wintergarden, however that might make a good location for the sort of quiet area you suggest? At least Viking is generally free of tannoy announcements and the sound of screaming children 😱

As it happens, I was on the Viking Octantis when Tor made that statement about future ships, though sadly not a part of the media group to whom he was speaking. While the announcement confirms that the new ships "will" run on hydrogen, it does not say that it will be the sole fuel used or even that the ships will be capable of operating on hydrogen from launch. Given the excellent information in the articles that Chengkp75 and Jim found for us, it seems very unlikely that all the engineering solutions will be in place by the time 11 and 12 go into service. I strongly suspect that these hulls have been designed to allow installation of hydrogen power at some point further down the line. You may well be right, although I don't think they will be used exclusively in those areas. Even when hydrogen power is introduced it is almost certain that the ships will use conventional fuels for much of the time with hydrogen reserved for sensitive areas and, perhaps, transition in and out of port. As a Norwegian flag carrier this move by Viking can be seen within the context of the Norwegian government's interest in the low emission production and use of hydrogen. https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/8ffd54808d7e42e8bce81340b13b6b7d/hydrogenstrategien-engelsk.pdf It is even possible that Viking may have accessed some governmental funds to help the move towards hydrogen propulsion for their ships. However it has come about, I think it is to Viking's great credit that they are taking an active part in exploring novel power systems. While it will certainly take some time to put solutions in place , there is a clear need to work on reducing the environmental impact of the cruises that we enjoy so much. It is nice to know that even a small part of my "cruise dollar" is being invested in a cleaner future. A big thank you to voyager23 for pointing us in the direction of that cruise critic article, which had somehow passed me by.

Thanks for the extra information, now I know that date I might be able to throw a little light on your experience. We were on the Viking Sea a few weeks before you and, like yourselves, had only been able to book shared tables pre-cruise. So I took the opportunity to sit down with the ship's overall restaurant manager to talk about the issue. It may seem hard to believe, but from his reaction I am absolutely convinced that he had no idea that the on-shore operation was encouraging people to accept shared tables when they really wanted tables for two. He seemed genuinely shocked that was happening. I also took the opportunity to ask him about something that had really puzzled me. What possible advantage Viking was gaining by putting people on shared tables? He had no clue either! He suggested that the explanation for the problems most likely stemmed from issues within the "My Viking Journey" portal (MVJ) and the systems used by on-shore agents. These are different to those used by the ships and there have been ongoing difficulties with the way they interface. He was open about the fact that obviously, and inevitably, the finite space within the specialist restaurants means that they may well be fully booked in the earlier part of the evening. However, he also confirmed that there is almost always availability later, say after 8 pm. The problem seems to be that MVJ has not been making that later evening inventory available, thus requiring passengers to make these reservations once on board the ship. That fits with my experience and that of others. I have consistently been able to get acceptable reservations in the specialist restaurants once on board. My gripe with Viking has always been that they continued to promote pre-boarding restaurant booking as being a cabin benefit in DV, sending out emails and so on encouraging us to book, even during the time that it was completely unavailable because of some glitch or gremlin in their system. It is very heartening to hear that you were proactively moved to a table for two and (while I can't necessarily take credit) does suggest that action was taken, at least on the Viking Sea, following my conversation. Thanks for this Pushka and to Melsmom47 for the screenshots of the new look MVJ booking page. It seems as though Viking might finally be getting their act together again, not a moment too soon!

Of the places you list, the included tours in Monte Carlo, Corfu and Split are ones that we recall as being some of the best we've done. They were mostly, if not completely, walking tours which generally seem to be better than the "panoramic" drive-bys. There is also a degree of luck involved as the tour guide can make a great deal of difference to one's enjoyment. However, we have never had a really bad guide with Viking and some have been brilliant. The three places I mention also have direct walking access from the ship into the historic centre so with a bit of research on the web, you can create your own excursions. For instance, I made our own arrangements to visit the Motor Museum in Monte Carlo at the end of the included walking tour. Although both the included and paid for excursions can be good, we find it is nice to break up the trip by doing our own thing from time to time. As you say you are quite mobile, you might want to do as we did in Dubrovnik and avoid the excursions altogether. We left the ship as soon as the gangway opened and took a 45 minute walk from the cruise port to the old town rather than waiting for the first shuttle bus to depart. We had purchased tickets to walk the walls online in advance. Though the city was already busy in the morning, we enjoyed exploring it at our own pace and got the free Viking shuttle back to the ship about lunchtime by which time the place was becoming really packed. I feel sure you will enjoy the Viking experience and I think the itinerary you have chosen is a great introduction to southern Europe. It seems people rarely do just one Viking cruise so, hopefully, next time you will come and visit us in the northern part of the continent 🙂

Could I check what cabin category you are in? The shared table issue has only ever affected those in DV cabins. If you are in a DV, that would certainly be good news.

That certainly is interesting, would you mind me asking exactly when that was?

I completely agree. On top of this, we did not stop finding and enjoying new music once we were "grown up". In our case we also had a whole new crop of artists and material opened up to us by our children once they entered their teens. Viking ocean will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in only a couple of years and customers should not be expected to enjoy exactly the same "contemporary" music that was performed back in 2015. All the more so, as many of us have now experienced multiple Viking cruises. It is interesting to note that it is the solo guitarists who often get most praise, both on this and other threads. In our experience, they often seem to be sensitive and attentive to their audience, adapting their sets accordingly. The very last thing these musicians need are Setlists imposed upon them by management, that would be a disaster! John, the guitarist on our most recent cruise was a good example. He listened to audience requests (practicing them the following day if they were not already part of his repertoire) and then performed them the next time the person requesting was in the audience. This personal attention certainly added to our impression that we were on our own private yacht 😉 Coming back to the original subject of the post, I think that guitarists like John (and their apparent popularity) may be a sign that Viking entertainment is beginning to get just a little bit more up-to-date. While they do include many of the well-known "standards" they are also performing more contemporary music in their sets. This is no bad thing from my point of view. That said, there is a wide range of opinion on what constitutes entertainment and Viking do seem to provide least a little of something for most tastes. My feeling is that continuing this diversity is the key going forward. While I don't normally listen to classical music at home, I do enjoy doing so occasionally on the ships as part of my cultural enrichment. It is equally true that, although I would not go out of my way to listen to a Neil Diamond album, I have been known to join in with the chorus of "Sweet Caroline" while dancing under the stars. Variety, they say, is the spice of life!

There is one house white, one house red and also a sparkling house wine available when the restaurants are serving lunch and dinner, as well as the beers Clay mentioned. Refills are unlimited and staff will happily pour you a top up before you leave the restaurant in the evening that you can carry with you to the theatre or wherever. Once you've taken a seat in a restaurant, the wait staff will generally come and offer you wine but you can also ask at the Aquavit and Pool bars and they will serve you the house alcoholic beverages as well as sodas etc. without charge during the mealtime hours. It seems to be a little known fact that sparkling house wine is available as part of the included package but it has become our regular sail-away drink. The Red and White house wine varietals change quite often but the sparkling wine is normally Viking's own brand, a German wine, which is also used to welcome people on board, and at receptions.

We travelled from Chioggia to Venice on the included tour on a boat like this. It did take about an hour and a half each way but we really enjoyed the views we got of the lagoon along the way, and the insight into this aspect of Venetian life. It probably helped that we were blessed with lovely weather and a spectacular sunset on the return journey. Probably wouldn't do it again, but happy to have done it once. On the other hand Chioggia looked like an attractive little town (with an easy walk from the ship) even though we didn't have time to explore it ourselves.

He had a very long name but was universally known as Rossi Makes sense. It seems that the "back office" system is completely different to the one used on the ships and the two don't interface reliably. We have very fond memories too Patti. I'm sure you'll be safe to have that sort of get together by the summer. It was great to see the crew's faces again now masks are no longer required. Have a wonderful time in Scandinavia. That fits with our experience. We did not have too much difficulty in changing our reservations to tables for two at a slightly different time. However, even the ship's Restaurant Manager could not throw any light on why Viking are booking people onto shared tables initially. I very much agree with your comments. It does seem to work out okay once on-board, but I would consider contacting Viking with the request that they email the ship to make your reservations, we were advised by the Restaurant Manager that was the best work around.

Hi Azulann - we are just back from a trip on the Viking Sea, as it happens in exactly the same cabin as on the TA where we met you! You'll be pleased to hear that shared dining is now available on request in all the restaurants. We had the same experience that OneSixtyToOne had, in that we were initially booked onto shared tables in the specialist restaurants as these were the only ones available to book in advance. I had a long conversation on this subject with the ships overall restaurant manager as I could not understand why Viking were doing that. He had no idea that this was going on and could not think of any explanation why it should be happening. In fact, he was aghast at the thought of guests been booked onto shared tables, unless at their express request. He also freely admitted that the advance reservation system was a bit of a shambles, and that the pre-boarding reservation system often did not correlate with the system on the ship. Like you we did not want to share in the specialist restaurants, as we consider these to be special occasions but may well consider doing so in the general restaurant for the same reason Azulann plans to do so. As a tip for everyone in the future, the restaurant manager that I spoke to, suggested that passengers who have been "forcibly" placed on a shared table through the Viking pre-booking system ask a Viking agent to email the ship directly to make a reservation for two, and the staff on the ship will be happy to do so.

Do you recall what time sunrise was when you did the pictures of the North Beagle channel? Or if you have the date I could look it up.

We had an early departure from the ship a few weeks ago and the form we had in our room for breakfast was slightly different to the one posted above. There was a section to write in "other time" We wrote in 5 - 5.15 and our order arrived promptly the next morning, a few minutes after 5 am. Room service is available 24 hours so I am sure you could simply write on the order form the time that you require - maybe with a phone call to room service the evening before just to confirm.

You might like to suggest a compromise by booking into a DV6, on what I regard as the premium and (as you point out) more exclusive deck three 😁 You would get all the same benefits of a DV4, just one deck down with a little more money in your pocketbook for shopping! Of course, we would never dream of using the laundry on a different floor to our cabin 😉

You could try putting the search term in quotes i.e. "V1 Cabin" then check that you have selected "this forum" in the drop-down that appears on the right hand side of the search box In any case it may be better to save your sanity and simply create a new post, asking for the information that you're looking for. If your post includes "V1 and V2 cabins" in the title, it might help others find it in future searches. Hope this helps 🙂

Here is a more sensibly priced recommendation than those you got from the old sea dogs 😁 I've done half a dozen cruises with these Nikons and find them ideal. Though, as a long time Canon camera user, I make the recommendation through gritted teeth 😉 Here they are called the Nikon Sportstar EX but I believe they are marketed in the US as Nikon trailblazers and sell for around $90. They are good quality and work really well in practice, especially in the sea environment as they are waterproof and nitrogen filled to prevent misting. Best of all they really compact and easy to travel with. Below is a photograph of them alongside a coffee mug for scale. I'm sure you will love the Midnight Sun, it was one of our favourite itineraries.