doxielover47

4 hours ago, piginmud said:

If anyone has any questions about this cruise, please feel free to ask away.  We did the Viking Ingvi from Budapest to Passau with a 2 night pre-cruise extension in Budapest.  I may not have all the answers, but I'll probably have a lot 🙂

 

debbie

Hi Debbie, We are doing the Zurich to Paris Viking River cruise and would like to know if you tipped your room steward, etc. in excess of the gratuities which we have prepaid. I'm having a terrible time trying to find info on that... Thanks much for taking questions and hope you had a blast.

Hi Notamermaid - We will embark the Viking Hild on April 25th, 2022 - Basel to Trier (then on to Paris by coach). What is the water outlook this Spring in the Rhine and Moselle?

And is there a good conversation you could point me to about Tipping on a Viking River Cruise?  I know they have the normal prepaid gratuities, but what else do people usually do? Are US dollars acceptable for tips onboard?

Thanks!

I believe he encourages folks to get on the first one so that they don't have to wait for others to fill the vehicles. If you are concerned, do email him about it. He was very responsive to any of my inquiries.  Regarding the tour, the only negative was that we weren't overly impressed with the lunch - but we understood and understand that there are differences in tastes and it was food.  My recollection was that it was chopped egg on bread akin to wonder bread.  Again, I'm not dissing what we had, just don't want you to expect a gourmet lunch and be disappointed when it isn't. The tour was a great tour and I would do it again and recommend it to anyone going there.

Just one additional note regarding laundry. Not only are the washers and dryers free to use, they also provide free detergent. We were on the Viking Sun in May and for their machines there was a button to push for the numbered washer you were going to use and it automatically dispensed the detergent into the machine. Easy peasy and no mess! Worked great!

On 5/9/2019 at 2:02 PM, Orangegurl said:

I have a question about bath linens - are wash cloths / face cloths provided along with the bath towels and hand towels? 

Yes they are. At least in the PV category of stateroom

On 5/17/2019 at 8:40 PM, roothy123 said:

Trivial for sure doxielover but I'm curious:  

Exactly how many computers and printers are there under the staircase near the Explorers Desk?  And does Viking still place those cool square, no roll pens out there with a small pad of paper and some wipes?  

I recall seeing 4 computers under the stairs. Will check.

Hi cruisers! We are on the Viking Sun right now and for another week so if you have specific questions,  let me know 

Heading out soon for the British Isles Explorer cruise,  our first on Viking. We are in a Penthouse Veranda stateroom and don't want to miss out on parks that may be offered for this class. I'm asking because we did miss out on opportunities on a previous cruise that would have been great to take advantage of.  Thanks all

Thanks everyone for the magnet suggestions!  

33 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Found suction hooks that work great on the glass in the bathroom (but not on the walls); better than the closeline for drying. Bought Command Adhesive for our last river cruise and never used them; I didn't even get a chance to check them out. It turned out we just didn't need them--but at least I was prepared!! Have never found magnetic hooks that didn't slide right down the wall when I tested them at home. 

Also a great idea for the bathroom, thanks!

55 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Yes they do on some surfaces.  We used Command Adhesive hooks with no problems.  Lighter too. 🍸

Great idea! Thanks!

Does anyone know if magnetic hooks work on Viking Sun? We took them along on one of our cruises and the walls were not metal so they didn't work.  Lots of added weight if they don't work.  Thanks

If you can handle it cost wise, do not miss doing the Iguazu Falls extension. Although everything on our cruise was stunning, the falls were the most phenomenal thing I have ever seen. And don't try to do it in a 13 hour time frame.  Just not long enough. 

15 hours ago, sctraveler04 said:

love your pictures .. we are thinking of goign Jan 2020 and was so disappointed when saw the single included excursions which were basically bus trips for most ports.. Excited now seeing what you did..thanks

We very highly recommend the Patrick Watts tour. The scenery was amazing. Kind of other worldly. We were fortunate that we were able to see both the Falklands and Cape Horn. According to ship's staff that we talked to, about 50% of the time these can get cancelled due to bad wind and weather. Keep this in mind when you go so you are mentally prepared that this is a possibility. I had packed Dramamine and sea bands but never had to use either. 

Also, if you are wondering what kind of clothes you'll need, well layers are an absolute must. When we packed we thought we would need like winter clothes to view the penguins, but when we went to Punta Tombo, the temps were in the 90's and many of the penguins were hiding under bushes to get out of the heat.  By the time you get to Cape Horn and Ushuaia, the temps will likely be in the 50's. My recollection of the Falklands was that it was maybe in the 60s.  Many folks on the ship had packed winter boots and parkas for this outing. Anyway, our stereotype of where penguins live was totally blown away.  Another reason why this whole trip was by far the most interesting and wonderful experience we've had. We learned so much.

14 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Our guide was Patrick Watt. Glad to see that he is still in business. We had a marvelous trip with him. One of jeeps did get bogged down but it took no time at all to unstick the jeep and get us moving again. While the drivers pulled out the jeep, the passengers had a chance to wander a bit on the bogs:

 

 

You were lucky to get Patrick. I think it was a nephew that took us on the tour - and while the tour was fabulous, the guide we had could have been better.  He was more just a driver than a tour guide. That being said, we really loved the scenery and the penguins and would do the same tour again.

I should have mentioned too that the tour pricing in my post above was for both my husband and I and was effective as of January 2018.

Like you, I was also concerned about this. I questioned many of the tour operators about this and they responded that they had never missed getting people back to the ship in time. I also read many reviews on TripAdvisor.com about each of the tours (except a couple of the taxi tours which weren't on the site). Based on this, I guess you would say that we took the leap of faith that we would be OK - and we were. 

What we found was that in many cases, the tour operators go out in groups of vehicles so if one runs into trouble, there are others available to help out. For example, the Patrick Watts tour vehicle we were in that took us to Volunteer Point in the Falklands had room for six people including the driver. It was in a remote area and we drove off road for a good portion of the trip (which was amazing by the way...). It could have been a situation where a vehicle might get stuck given bad luck, but we went out in like a caravan of vehicles (where BTW all the drivers were related 😉 ). So if one got into trouble, there were others to assist. What we learned is that these people rely on tourism for a living and they are careful to not jeopardize their reputations and their businesses by not getting their clients back on time.

This being said, of course there are likely to be stories out there where this may have happened and yes it could be a vacation breaker if it did (especially in such a remote area where other transportation to the next port might be very limited), but I did not run into such stories in reading the TripAdvisor tour reviews. I do encourage you to do so as you can get a much better idea of what you'll be seeing if you go too. For the taxi tours, check out www.thepreismans.com blog which was mentioned in another CC roll call post and is where I found Gerardo Germain and Jamie Liebrecht's taxi tours. 

Keep the questions coming. I love sharing about our experience in South America. So amazing.

I thought it might be more helpful to just copy and paste my tour info in addition to the attachment as some folks might not trust attachments. My yellow highlighting did not come through on this copy and paste so my favorites are in bold type

On 3/7/2019 at 2:16 PM, CCWineLover said:

 

Hi Doxielover47:  Thank you for the insight.  We are on the Jupiter this coming December Santiago to Buenos Aires and Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Ushuala, Falklands, Puerto Madryn, Montevideo are other ports).   We also would be interested in any info you have on the taxi tours you took or any other South America tips.

Sounds like the same itinerary as ours was only in the opposite direction. Attached is the list of the tours we took in each port and the cost in US$ for each. [Note: I could not give you a breakdown of the pre-and post-cruise tours we had as they were brokered by our travel agent and the cost of everything was all lumped together at a price tag of around $6K. Probably a big number, but as I mentioned before, we were looking to have someone hold our hand and when you ask for that the costs go up. The pre and post tour package included all transfers, business class airfare to/from Iguazu, all the pre and post cruise tours and entrance fees, and 4 nights of hotels.]  While I recommend all of the tours we were on, those in yellow highlight were our favorites. 

A word about tipping. We based most of our tour tips around 15% of the tour cost. Whether you do the same is entirely up to you and the service you get. We always tipped in local currency (after receiving a snarky comment about tipping on TripAdvisor), but after being there, I would likely tip in US$ if I go there again. The reason why is the inflation - particularly in Argentina. When I was calculating tips at the end of 2017, US$1 was worth 17 Argentine pesos (ARS). By the end of our trip, the same dollar was worth 21 pesos. Now, that same dollar is worth 41 pesos - in just over a year. Multiple tour guides told us that people actually like getting tips in US$ because it is a stable currency relative to theirs. One of our guides told us that real estate is even sold in US$ there. Whether you choose to tip in US$ or ARS in Argentina is up to you, but recognize that by the time you get there, the ARS will likely not be worth what you paid for them originally. If you use US$, crisp new money is appreciated.

Let me know if you have other questions. Again, see attached for my list.

p.s. I totally agree with Marguerite-a-Ville about the Volunteer Point tour in the Falklands. Very bumpy ride, but oh so worth it. I would have highlighted it on my list except that our guide could have been a bit more talkative. He was more of a driver than a tour guide, but then it wasn't his primary job either.  I would still highly recommend the tour.

post tour info for sharing on cruise critic.docx

Bitburg Boy, if you are interested in a couple other private tours let me know. We did all private or small tours on our South America trip and all of them were very good. I'm not sure which ports are included in your itinerary, but the one we had in Puerto Montt in the Lakes area of Chile was a taxi tour and was exceptional and I would highly recommend it. We were a bit unsure of doing the taxi tours as we had never done any like that before, but they turned out to be favorites of ours. I had found them in another poster's blog. Let me know if you would like information on these. I'd be happy to share them with you.

We did a pre-cruise tour to Iguazu Falls prior to a Norwegian cruise around the Horn.  Iguazu Falls was absolutely stunning and amazing so most importantly, just make sure you get there. It was the most spectacular part of our trip.

We asked our independent travel agent to help us arrange the tour.  I am quite certain it would have been way cheaper to do it on our own.  However, our comfort level was to have someone "hold our hand" since we had never been in South America before and don't know the language. Hindsight being 20/20, we probably could have done it on our own, but we did find great value in having our own private guide. The whole thing was brokered through Avanti who contracted with a local tour company called Aguas Grandes. Our tour guide's name was Tatiana who was absolutely wonderful! What a gift it was to have her as our guide. She spoke pretty  good English and understood our questions. She was knowledgeable about the Falls, the area, and her country.  She explained things we saw and pointed out things of interested that we would have otherwise missed. She was also mindful of our comfort and safety, making accommodations for us when we got too hot during the tour.  The Falls were simply spectacular beyond words. We were sad to have to say goodbye to Tatiana – she is truly an exceptional human being!

We stayed at the Melia Hotel (formerly the Sheraton Iguzau) which is the only hotel in the National Park itself. It was a great location. The staff was exceptionally friendly and welcoming. The hotel had large floor to ceiling windows that had exceptional views of the Falls. Our room was comfortable and had a great view of the Falls, but in need of some updating (which sounded like they were going to do in 2018). If you can afford it, I would try to stay there 3-4 nights if possible.  The first night we stayed in Buenos Airies, then flew off to Iguazu the next morning and toured the falls, overnighted at the Melia, finished our tour by 10am the next day and flew back to Buenos Aires. It was just too short. One of the reasons it was too short was that the airlines changed our schedule at the last minute so that we did not arrive at the Falls as early as we were supposed to. However, I still can't imagine trying to experience it all in 13 hours. Way to short and rushed. 

The cautionary tale about going out on your own vs. a Viking sponsored tour of the Falls is that if something goes wrong, the ship is likely not going to leave without you if you go on one of their tours. In many many places we have done private and/or non-ship sponsored tours and been fine. However, I do believe we were lucky in going on a private tour before the cruise. Argentina is subject to many worker strikes. When we arrived in BA there was a baggage handler strike that kept us from retrieving our luggage for four hours, missing our BA tour and instead spending our time in the airport which had quickly filled up with passengers from other arriving flights.  There were passengers on some of these flights who were due to leave port that day for an Antarctic cruise and they were super concerned that they might miss their cruise. If something had happened like this on the way back from the Falls, we might have been in trouble. If you do go on your own, give yourself time for some unexpected bumps.

I do agree with Peregrina651 that it can be extremely hot and humid at the falls.  The day we were there in January 2018, it hit 100. Combined with the humidity it was tough. We made it though and we were in our late 60's at the time. Make sure you use sunscreen and wear a hat. It really can make a difference.  The heat is also a reason I don't think the 13 hour tour would be a good idea. With the heat as bad as it can be, you'll need a break from it and then time to go back and finish the next day. We did not do the boat tour, but a rain jacket would be a good idea, particularly at the Devils Throat where the mist is significant.

Sorry this got a bit long...  😉

A definitive answer...

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=8812&et_cid=3132835&et_rid=199667173&et_referrer=newsletterPopup

We will be taking our first Oceania cruise on Regatta Nov. 1, 2019 so we are very happy to hear about the DD plans. For a previous poster asking, we were on Celebrity Xpedition immediately after her dry dock an 2012 and she was no where near ready. The had booked suites that weren't even built yet, and had to put those passengers in rooms downgraded several categories. The outdoor bar was closed, and we had to beg the captain to open the hot tub. Celebrity made it right with a very generous refund. Considering that trip (Galapagos) is all about the adventure and not the ship, we were satisfied.

Thanks for your insight!

We were on Regatta in June, and the ship was in top condition. And I say that as someone who regularly cruises on Regent and Silversea.

Thanks RachelG! Would you say you had a good experience on it then? We are considering it for their Panama Canal cruise next May. Thanks again!

Not so fast.

 

We just received Oceania's "The Tropics 2018 - 2020" fancy-dancy booklet (dark teal cover). On p. 23, there is a cruise scheduled on the Regatta during the period being discussed. It's Caribbean Daydreamer, Miami to Miami, and is a 14 day, starting April 17, 2019. Same as on the O website.

We were on the Regatta for most of March this year (Bali to Honolulu) and have more than a passing interest in checking the accuracy of the dry-dock info out there.

Maybe we'll hear from the only person who knows for sure. :')

~ Linda

Please post here again if you find a definitive answer! We are a bit concerned about the condition of the ship. Thanks!