CDNPolar

Do renew them... different countries have different rules. Never assume the 6 months. We generally start our passport renewal just inside the one year of expiry so we never have this issue. We also do 10 year renewals and especially since these are kids, get the 10 year option. You could have the cruise line refuse you boarding because it is not just that you can say, we won't disembark in these ports. Cruise lines don't have effective ways to stop you, but also most countries get the passenger manifest in advance so they already know you are non-compliant. This could cause you all sorts of issues.

We had a bartender on an Ocean cruise that because we were on the SSBP offered us a Gin tasting and ran us through the different Gins one at a time. I have heard of others that have had informal tastings at the bar. Not every bartender will do it, but you can ask. Have fun!

Personally I don't know that I would risk this. Some countries are quite strict about this and the airline is not going to stop you from flying, but the cruise ship may deny you boarding, if they don't highlight it before you even depart. If the Canadian government site is telling you that the countries you are visiting require 6 months and you don't have that, then I would be worried. You are laying out a lot of money to have this stop your trip, especially since you have the time now to renew.

I just went back to our excursions for this cruise. We did the Gdansk on foot, but not the Solidarity Center. Looking at the times available, the Solidarity Center through Viking only had one departure time and that was 9:15am. This was a 5.5 hour excursion. The last departure for Gdansk on foot was 2:30pm. There would be no guarantee that you would be back on time to make that departure of the included tour. Technically if time is correct you would not be back on time for the included tour. You could book both, but no guarantee that you could make both. Look carefully in MVJ at the departure times of both, they could be different for your cruise. We have often booked the included and an optional tour in the same day, but you have to be careful that the times match. We have had tours that have one hour between arriving back and leaving again and that has worked. Look at the times and see what is possible. Consider that the time if 5.5 hours for the Solidarity and that is a bus ride. We have been back early, on time, and late from excursions.

Why would they be so deep that you cannot stand with a drink? To prevent the below: All inclusive resorts or hotels in a warm climate that has a swim up bar, you see people there for hours drinking and they never leave their spot for ANY REASON. This is part of the larger pool and in my opinion, you are just swimming in a toilet.

Sit at the bar in the Explorer Lounge or in the Living Room and get to know the bartenders. We have had bartenders make some incredible concoctions for us that were their own recipes. Tell them sweet, sour, or whatever your preference and let them take care of you.

We are trying this for the first time with an October transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to San Juan. We have always booked our air about 270 days out and paid for and used Air+ for this. With now the options to make changes on MVJ that were not there some time back, we will try this. Look at what they give us, and then see from there what we do. Since we now often fly economy to Europe, we will save the Air Plus fee if the flights meet our expectations.

No. Viking neither offered or gave them anything. Nothing. Nada. I was a bit surprised at this because the air was booked through Viking Air. Viking had a welcome party for the 46 that missed the start of the cruise and the partial crossing of the canal on the night they did board. Guest Services gave them a letter telling them that someone from Guest Services would be in touch with them once they returned home. This however carried no promise of any actual credit or action, other than they would get in touch. When Viking did contact them, it was determined that my brother and travel companions had travel interruption insurance. Viking asked them to file with the trip interruption insurance as their compensation. Viking gave them nothing. Not even a small credit/voucher. We saw Viking do a LOT during the beginning and the ending of the pandemic for many people. We were lucky that we were not ones that got Covid and taken off a ship, but we saw and heard many positive experience stories on what Viking did for these folks. I guess that this is Viking taking a stand and saying that this was the airlines fault, and even though we have a contract with them, we are not taking responsibility for their delay. I used to think that with VIKING specifically, if I booked the air through them I would be looked after. Now I don't have that opinion. We now go in at least one day early and budget that hotel, diversion fee if through Viking, and transit to the ship cost as part of the trip.

I get this... the terrify comment. I was born and raised in Toronto. Largest city in Canada. Small by other cities that I have visited like Beijing, Tokyo, New York, etc., but big to me. My niece was raised north of Toronto in a small rural town. The first time as an early teen that she was in Toronto with me to see a stage show, she grabbed my arm walking down a busy Yonge Street downtown Toronto and asked me: "Why does everyone look at you like they want to kill you?" I never looked at it like that. I just saw the looks on people's faces as the persona of the city. Paris is a beautiful city. I actually find the hoards of people around to be a comfort. I am more concerned if I am walking or moving about in a deserted area of a big city. The crowds are comforting to me.

Your best bet is to purchase Viking Air Plus and then do the research on the airlines, routes, connections, etc., that you want, and then call Air Plus. Give Air Plus your first selection and see if it falls inside Viking contract rates. They will tell you if it does or does not, and if not then you can give your second selection or ask for their recommendation. We typically fly Air Canada, Lufthansa, or BA with Viking. We recently gave a chose. itinerary to Viking that was AC both directions but the pricing did not include the AC flight that we wanted home, so we discussed and settled for BA home through LHR. This was fine. We were going to have to connect home anyway. Looking for who is cheapest or looking at price is not the way to determine if maybe this would be an airline or itinerary that Viking would book for you. This has been discussed before. It is about contracts and contract pricing, not about what we see published on Google Flights or even the airline sites. Note however that contract pricing may be available for your preferred routes but you may not have the option of upgrade to PE or Business. This also depends on the contract pricing. Does not mean that you cannot upgrade at the airport if open... we recently were told that no upgrades were available for what Viking was booking for us but we were offered upgrades at checkin at the airport at reasonable cost. So, the end message here is don't make assumptions about the cost that you are looking at. Viking's goal is NOT to have you connecting multiple times but rather to get you there the most efficient way possible. That is our experience anyway.

Sorry to hear that you have a negative experience. Our experiences have always been good with the onboard consultant. Viking offer so few financial incentives that the extra ones to book onboard are all it does take for us to wait for the opportunity to do so.

I guess that I am missing something too? We only paid for a couple of drinks out of meal time and other than that, everything was included. We did not find anything else to have to pay for on the ship. Marketing strategy perhaps? We got all the below and this was two years ago. Pricing will include wine, beer, cocktails and spirits; meals, coffee, tea and soft drinks; Wi-Fi; gratuities; daily expeditions like hikes and community visits; science-led activities on and off the ship; access to the sauna, hot tubs and fitness room; professional photographs; an expedition jacket to take home; and a reusable water bottle.

Well, even on the river ships, there is a small store across from guest services. Buy a jacket or two, or a pendant. Spend the money on small items in the store to take home with you to loved ones. Even if you are pleased with the included wines, you could buy a bottle or two of wine to share with your table at dinner. We buy wine on shore and share with our dinner table, but if we had excess OBC we would buy bottles on the ship and share them instead. I hate to see "Free Money" go to waste.

My experience is that pools on cruise ships are not made for "swimming" anyway. If the pool is big enough it is going to be crowded with kids and those just wading. Most that I have witnessed are pretty small and not there for lengths.

You will have to ask Viking about this. This will entail the financial side of each ship. Whether a credit will transfer from one ship to the other is at question here. You will have to ask, but get their answer in writing. Write to tellus@vikingcruises.com - they will call you, but then ask for confirmation of what they tell you in writing. We booked a river cruise only 2 weeks before departure. The ship right after booking was swapped out for a different ship. When we boarded they had none of our pre-paid excursion information or OBC information. We had to visit the guest service desk several times to get that worked out.

Yes, and no. My brother was on a partial Panama Canal cruise with Viking a few months back. He and 46 others on the same plane missed boarding before the ships departure. The flight originally set to land in Panama at 3:30pm ended up landing at 3:30am the nest day. The ship left port at 3:00am - as scheduled. Air was booked through Viking. End of story, they missed the canal altogether, and boarded the ship when it emerged back from the canal. Viking did nothing for them. No credit, nothing. Viking said they had to take this up with the airline. I have seen instances where Viking have helped delayed passengers, but I was shocked at this situation.

We have a couple of times on Ocean attended a sales presentation by the Consultant in the Star Theatre. I think that they may happen on each cruise, or perhaps they stick one in if sales are not happening fast enough... We have often however been off the ship when the presentation happened. We find these rather like the port talks... they highlight a few new or popular cruises, but will also take questions.

We are in Europe so often that we just hold on to what we bring home and then we are always ready to go! But... what a great thing for you to be able to do!

I have mentioned this before, but my Husband is a WSET level 3 and moving on to Level 4. Before meeting him, I was stuck on certain wines and regions. It took some time for my "taste" in wine to open up, but now we tend to not drink the same wine again... or if we like it we will buy a few bottles but then move on after that. Also in Ontario Canada the way wine is available to us, often our retail seller brings in so many cases and when it is gone, it is gone. We tend to not be fans of the high quantity always available wines, and look for the smaller region wines that are available seasonally. Wine to me is about understanding the different profiles of the wines based on where they are from and the terroir that contributes to the palate that each wine presents. We don't necessarily like every wine we drink, and there have been some on Viking that I would never drink again... but that is also why we just keep moving through the list. Wine and the enjoyment of wine is very subjective based on what your tongue tells you when you first drink it. Bitter, sweet, tart, tannins, crisp, and on and on. We have always felt that Viking do a good job in the curation of their wine lists, but that is just us.

I studied hospitality and tourism in University but did not pursue the career for many years after. One of the things that we learned was the supposed origin of tipping, and if you research it, you will find various theories, but one remains strong that "tipping" was done in advance to improve service. I do hear what you are saying. I don't think that you have to actually tip to get what is held back in reserve. I think that if you are drinking the included wines, and they come with a Chardonnay and you don't care for Chardonnay, let them know and they will often offer something else. I have done this without tipping and they have offered me something else. All of a sudden there is a different white wine available.

Oh my... what a conundrum or a kerfuffle... It is hard sometimes to get everything lined up to be optimum. We have stopped trying for perfection in travel. We want and expect the perfection once we get to the ship, but getting there is work not pleasure and the airlines, and luggage, and transportation issues are all crap that just has to work however it is going to work to get to the ship. Good luck!

No - I don't believe so. OBC must be used or lost. The only exception is if this is OBC from a TA that is refundable. If Viking issued it then it must be used. Our TA gives us $200 per person OBC and if we don't use it then it is lost too.

The tip/gratuity is a lump sum that is added the day before disembarkation. If you have OBC on your account it will reduce the gratuity owing. This you will see on your account on the cabin tv.

Yes - that is my understanding.

Yep - all good things. We have 4 advance bookings that lock in price for cruise cabin and air and all at $50 to hold per booking.