CDNPolar

I understood your post, you did not understand my response. No worries. Sorry that you had the wrong end of the stick with Viking and gratuities. We were very well aware of how gratuities worked on Viking before our first cruise and there was nothing hidden to us. It was all very well communicated. I am sorry that you did not enjoy your Viking experience and wish you all the best with your Seabourn future cruises. Perhaps we will see you on a Seabourn cruise one day.

Well, someone must be using them because they have staff manning the phones and they answer very quickly. Perhaps they answer quickly because they have staff but no calls.... I am going to ask around of friends and see if anyone uses the Concierge.

The average security screening entering the airside of the airport does not care. It is if you get pulled into a secondary screening that can happen without notice where they might question your medications. I don't think that this is an overreaction because it does not impact you until it does. Being prepared with the official prescriptions and/or bottles is not in my opinion an overreaction, it is proper preparation.

Hank, I agree with you. We have only experienced this in two ways - one was the Ukraine war that took Estonia, Russia, and Finland off our itinerary, but the cruise line (Viking) notified us early and gave us an onboard credit for the trouble. Welcomed but not necessary because of the situation. They also offered us to cancel for full refund. The other was the notorious Key West. It was on the itinerary, the shore excursions were even listed, but every one was showing sold out. We did not find out we were not stopping their until the day we were supposed to dock. This was only day 2 of the cruise. I have read many situations of what you are talking about. How does a cruise line know that perhaps the main or the only reason I am booking this cruise was for that port? They don't. We struggled with St. Petersburg Russia being removed as BEFORE THE WAR, this was one main reason for booking this itinerary. We finally decided to go anyway. I would never expect compensation for this because the cruise line is looking out for the safety of their crew and guests. I do believe that a passenger bill of rights is a great idea, but it would have to encompass all ships globally.

May I suggest that a trip interrupted would not refund these fees, but a trip cancelled before departure would? I can understand that once you are onboard and part of the ship's manifest that the ship would pay based on the number sailing, but if you never boarded, would this be different?

We don't travel from home with snacks - other than what we might want on the plane - but will pick up local snacks to try that are unique to the country. If you are ever in Tokyo, don't miss the Kit Kat Chocolatory store. The Japanese and Kit Kat have a love affair and the flavours and specialty Kit Kat chocolate bars are amazing and not found in many other places in the world. Be aware however that you may spend some serious cash on Kit Kat.

I move away from negative people. If I meet someone on a cruise that then starts to spout negativity I then begin to distance myself from them. Unfortunately one person we cruised with one time (and never again) began being negative about many things. This is not how it is at home, this is not how I would make this dish, and on and on...

No, it comes down to NOT prepaying your gratuities, then if you want to "adjust" rather than "argue/justify" the amount you can see Guest Services. There should not be, and we have never experienced any issue with reducing our gratuities or removing them completely at the end of a River or Ocean cruise. You should never have to argue or justify anything. We have just approached and indicated that we wanted to reduce or remove and have never been challenged on that request. And you use the words "mandated tip" - nothing is mandated from a North American (Canada USA) Viking guest. Our gratuities are not included and we are not responsible or required to pay anything. We do pass "cash hand gratuities" to certain crew members that go above and beyond, but never do the envelopes.

Viking has its vibe. It is what it is. I / We personally hope that the IPO will not change the vibe that Viking is...

I don't think that age has anything to do with liking Viking or not. Viking has never positioned themselves in the market as a nightlife ship, and I am personally hoping that they do not. No disrespect to your comments, and no disrespect meant by this statement, but Viking is not the cruise line for you.

I go with everyone else about the subjectiveness of food. We are hitting our 11th Viking cruise - River and Ocean - and although we have had meals that are not stellar, we have never ever been truly disappointed. We do not feel that Viking do "deep fried" well - specifically English style fish and chips, soft shelled crab, etc. Agree the french fries are good. I do however feel you are not doing yourself or anyone else any favour by not sharing your opinion on the food. Viking need to hear it. Not that you would, but it does not have to be mid meal if you don't want to bring a downer on the serving crew, but you could take the restaurant manager aside and let him/her/them know quietly.

You might be looking for this: 1) From the display screen swipe down and go to Settings 2) In Settings go to Home & Clock 3) Go into Night Mode 4) Set Night Mode Behaviour to ON 5) Schedule the time you want Night Mode On 6) Automatically switch to night mode based on available light toggle ON This is I believe all we did and the time display comes on when lights go off and the time is displayed in dim RED numbers which are actually suggested as the colour of light for night and sleeping. During the day and outside of scheduled night mode, the time will be in White and much brighter.

Don't know if you are still around and/or still looking for these... but what are you offering, and will you pay shipping? How many do you want? These are Viking and I have a few different colours and sayings on them. None of them used, as they were how they used to deliver our cruise documents and luggage tags. They are zippered and approximately 12" X 7"

I agree with this concept, although I like the pricing model of Viking. I get specialty dining I get Wifi I get an included excursion in each port I get wine at lunch and dinner I get port fees included I get free access to the thermal spa I use all of these, so this to me is a good deal, but I can understand when someone does not drink, or use the wifi that they feel they are paying more for services that they don't use.

I actually forget how to turn a light on or off with a switch. I just issue commands now! Haha.

Excellent recommendation. We bought masks off Amazon before, and mine fit, but my husband has a very round face and he had a hard time getting a good fit. We will visit a dive shop for sure.

This is what I thought, and this would be done in a season that the ship is either due to reposition, or when they can afford to have a ship out of service. This is very similar to a hotel schedule of 5 years for complete refurbishment, but hotels will just shut down a floor or portion of a floor at a time.

To use the ONE Infinite Privilege card on two phones with Apple Pay, we had to call TD credit card department for me - as the primary cardholder - to give permission. Before doing this the card would not upload to Apple Pay in the TD App, but after the call then it allowed it. This saves us paying the $199 for the spousal card.

I cannot imagine my life now without all these conveniences. We are a very "automated" home with cameras in and out, doorbell cameras, Echo Shows in every room, Apple Watch, Phone, Air Tags, voice controlled lights....

Yes... let me double check because it was not just as simple as adding it.... I believe we had to call TD Visa for the primary cardholder (me) to give permission. I will come back.

For us, we both have the "shared" card uploaded in our phone which requires permission from the primary card holder. (I believe we had to give this permission on the phone to TD Visa? I will check on that and come back.). But, one of us carries the physical card as well. So if we are ever in the position where the purchase is over the Apple tap limit then we have the card. You are right however in the cost. Phone number "two" would cost more than the spousal card for sure. We could never do with one phone, but then my phone is heavily used for work as well.

I personally don't believe that everyone thinks or feels that WiFi should be or must be included. I feel that there are many that travel that want a technology detox and are not interested in being connected all the time. We sail on Viking primarily and WiFi is included so we have never faced having to pay extra for it. If we had to pay daily for Wifi it would depend on the itinerary of the cruise and the daily cost. If River I probably would not pay for it because we tend to buy eSIMs for our phones and we are close enough to shore to almost always connect to a tower. On an Ocean voyage, I might opt to only connect when in port with my eSIM. I cannot tell you what daily cost we would or would not pay, but I would suggest that me and my husband would only pay for one of us and share the phone or access. I have been faced with many hotels that charge for Wifi and because of eSIMs we don't need it.

I would expect that if they are literally jumping the gangway as they are about to lift it that they might get a very polite comment that they "almost missed sailing" with a smile and a chuckle but I would not expect any harsh kind of conversation at all. Customer Service on a ship is not about reprimanding someone unless their actions endanger the ship or other passengers - IMO.

I for one cannot wait until we can dispense with the hard copy passport and move to a fully global digital world of id and credentialing. (Yes, I also understand the inherent risks of this.) I already hate to have to carry actual physical credit cards and use Apple Pay on my Apple watch or iPhone almost exclusively. (Recognizing that this limits the amount that I can tap) I wish for DL, Passport, and a fully digital payment system without a physical card.

I feel that even some 'seasoned' cruisers are not necessarily taking advantage of everything. I have heard many people that have cruised with our favourite cruise line more than once say: "I didn't know this or I didn't know that." Take for instance a Galley tour or a Bridge tour.... on our favourite cruise line, these are not advertised per se but available if you go to Guest Services and ask.