CDNPolar

Please don't take offence to this but you have mentioned your distaste for the music in the lounges more than once. Have you written tellus@vikingcruises.com ?? We quite enjoy the music in the lounge areas so not with you on this one.

Never had this issue with Guest Services, they seem to always take care of our issues quickly and without any tech issues... Sorry that you experienced this.

Happy to hear your first Viking experience was positive! Can't wait to hear your stories! Hope you are feeling better soon.

Well, this particular time was our first experience with this kind of pressure and we were not anticipating it to be so blatant. There was a stop and they just sort of shuttled us all in the store... no real explanation.

I can certainly see how Viking could be a "snooze fest" for many younger folks. Our friend brought their 18 year old granddaughter on Viking Ocean and you could see how bored she was. There was nothing for her at all. I agree that Viking needs to change. We are ok with the way it is now, but we are on the edge of looking for variety in our cruise experiences. I just don't think that we will ever choose to sail on a ship with 3000+ people.

Yeah - we had similar experience in Puerto Vallarta.

Shorter stops and frequent ship movements does depend on the river you are on... Some river ships stay in port overnight... Just depends.

We struggle with the concept of a world cruise for some of the reasons you state above. We are not concerned with the entertainment because it is there or not. We don't book Viking for the Star Theatre. We are just as happy sitting in the Living Room listening to the pianist or strings while enjoying an evening decaf coffee with a Cognac. I think we have to have the mindset that we are on the ship for 45 or 90 days and we are just going to relax, read, meet some new friends and perhaps socialize a bit.

The worst experience we had with "kick backs" was in Cairo where just a short discussion with one of the guys in the shop ended with them being angry that I did not buy anything. This is not the first time we have experienced this. We are not ones to buy anything on a trip - not a souvenir of any kind. No clothes, no anything. Now when we are "taken" to any kind of shop that sells any product that has a demonstration or not, we look and then exit without talking to anyone.

For Canada, feel comfortable tipping anywhere in USD. (Not coins... only bills and we don't care if they are crips and new like some areas of the world) For us, we take to the bank and we get 30% more. (We cannot exchange coins) I am not suggesting that you tip 30% less in USD, as IMO you should tip as though the currency was at par. As far as purchases in stores in Canada, some may refuse USD cash and some may take it, but don't expect exchange in stores. Some may exchange and some may not. You will also get change in CDN money. Few stores if any keep a float of US bills or coins. Remember too that in Canada $1 and $2 are coins and not bills. In Canada, it is rare that cards are not accepted. I use Visa to buy a $1.49 donut. The only thing is street vendors that are not common in Canada. You will be able to use cards and you will be buying 30% cheaper! This will get some opposition... but for us as Canadians, most places we travel, we tip bus drivers and guides in USD. US currency is the most accepted and exchanged at banks in the world. Many people on CC disagree with us, but I will not get a small amount of other currency for the purpose of tipping.

Australian Visas online often are awarded to you within 24 hours. Apply 30 days before your departure date.

Absolutely, but there are those that don't think of this... hence why I mentioned it.

OMG, don't get me started on Priority tags at Pearson. To me when arriving back at Toronto Pearson, those orange/red'ish tags may well mean to the luggage handlers "keep to last". Come on - Priority luggage is not a new concept around the world. Whether your priority is because you spend 700 bucks a year on a credit card, or you actually fly in Business or First (if it exists on your airline) the bags are to be segregated and delivered front of the line. In my experience this rarely happens in Toronto Pearson. Oh, and Pearson, we just count on 45 minute wait whether our bags come out first or not. This is the joke we have with Nexus. We are out of the Immigration area in 5 minutes and ahead of the line of 500 others, but then we just stand and wait at the luggage until our entire flight is there also. If you are checking luggage to be claimed at Pearson, Nexus just prevents you from standing in a line at Immigration to standing at the luggage carousel.

There are no seats at Cairo airport because they fill the space with the multiple security screening areas.

I agree with all of this but what if airports were like this? I think fair comment and question, but I personally after 12 cruises have no recollection of a cruise terminal that was not warehouse looking and some have actually given me the vibe of horror movies where you are entering a building where they might pull a hood over your head and you wake up minus a kidney.

We cruise almost exclusively Viking who does include WiFi for everyone. You are limited to I think two devices per person logged in at a time, but hey... If the major cruise lines that do not include WiFi now want to include WiFi, they could but they would increase the base cabin price by the WiFi cost per person per day and by the number of occupants in the room. I don't see this as one that will go away as this is a given that people are going to pay for this. The majors make their money on the add ons and this is a major and expected add on for the majority of the ship.

I am speaking about Canadian products now that can be very different, but we have opted for the next 12 months to use an annual plan as it will significantly reduce our spend on insurance, but I spent probably without exaggeration 8 hours on the phone with insurance companies before I got all the answers to the questions I had. Regarding your pre-existing conditions that you "think" would be waived? No, why would they waive pre-existing conditions just because it is an annual policy? Pre-existing conditions can be a money pit for insurance companies which is why most don't cover them, or they have very specific stability periods and requirements. Some even limit the amount of coverage while travelling for pre-existing conditions. You may have a $10 Million policy for medical but the pre-existing may only be covered to $300K or there abouts. Regarding pre-existing conditions for my Canadian annual policy: Know and understand what "stability" is for any pre-existing condition. For my policy, this means no medication change, no new meds, no reduction or stoppage of meds. No tests pending or booked or recommended in the future - for the pre-existing condition. For my annual policy stability for medical is the above for 180 days. For my annual policy stability for cancelation is the above for 90 days. In the 12 months ahead of me, we have 3 cruises booked. I must be 180 days stable before each departure date for medical and 90 days stable before each departure date for cancelation / interruption. My policy only pays a max of $5K per person, but we can top this up if we want to. We have $2.5K coverage on a credit card as well, so we essentially have $7.5K per person and we hedge our bets on any amount on top of that. Just know your policy inside and out, and don't rely on the policy language as it can be confusing. Read the policy word for word, then call with questions. Because calls are recorded now - in most cases - when I get the answers that I want I ask for the reference number to that call so that if needed the insurance company can easily get the call recording to hear what I asked and what I was told.

We have learned that delays, cancelations, and many other reasons can cause any tech that you have to run out of juice. We always carry a charger that is super fast and has more than enough extra juice for any occasion. I know that wired is restrictive, and although at home I go completely wireless with my sound, on a flight I still depend on wires.

What @CruiserBruce said, but for your peace of mind, when you check your bags for the Rouge flight just ask if they are checked right through. Also take note of the luggage tag that it has both Montreal and Athens listed. Even when you expect this to be the case - which it most certainly will be - asking just rids you of any doubts.

If they are telling you to keep them then they are not reused, IMO.

I didn't think that you knew it was me!

This meets my personal care and travel essential needs.

They sell product. I have seen many people buying.

You are so lucky... We are coming out of the "haze" of a couple of pre-existing conditions where all meds have now been stopped because the threat is over... but that stoppage of medication makes the condition pre-existing and of more concern - unstable for the next 90 days and 180 days. Well, for the next 90 days for cancellation, but for medical claim while travelling it is 180 days.

My understanding is, yes, in limited supply and type, but there would be a cost associated with this. The Ship's Doctor is not a free visit for an antihistamine. I may be way off base with this, but I don't think that Viking Medical Centre operates by dispensing free medications, OTC or prescription.