CDNPolar

Just please not in the dining room or the buffet area especially at breakfast.

No, we should not have to call more than once to get a knowledgable agent because someone not as familiar with Viking, or cruise industry, or the options available to them, they may end up taking the first information given to them as the way it is. Even though the calls are recorded, and there is proof of what you have been told, we were denied the information we were given later, because the agent gave us the wrong information. The Supervisor acknowledged that we were given wrong information but still would not honour what we were told.

I guess that because we are Viking loyal, we think that Longship is the industry name.

Yes, always eyes wide open when it comes to air whether through Viking or on your own. You do get assistance from Viking if you book air through them and something goes wrong, but if you book on your own, you are on your own. I also agree with your statement that it is a work in progress, but I will add, since the pandemic. I do feel, but may be wrong, that Viking Air, like many of the Viking pre/post customer service was better prior to the pandemic. We did on our most recent cruise get an email from "Viking Flight Control Center" which seemed very official that our flight out was delayed. The challenge with this was that it apparently was a notification from British Air, but the destination was wrong... It indicated the flight to London (BA99) but that is a flight to Toronto. I was for a minute confused when I read this because I know the BA flight numbers because we fly them often, and I was like BA99 goes to Toronto, not London. So here is a keying error that someone made, but this is the first time I eveer got this kind of communication from using Viking Air. In the end this flight was delayed over 3 hours but we never got additional emails with revised times.

I would call Viking to be sure, but from our experience, on the first day, people arrive at all times, flights are delayed, etc., so yes, if overnight in port, you should be able to arrive at anytime. The safety briefing for Viking is on the Stateroom TV and you must watch that - I believe before the TV will go to normal use. Also, they take attendance for the safety briefing if done in person, so if you were absent, they would catch up with you. If it were me, I would do your excursion and not worry about what time you arrive to the ship. How is your luggage getting to the ship?

If you are using this site: https://travel.gc.ca/ ...and looking up each destination, then in my opinion, you are using the right resource. I looked at each stop and if I were travelling this itinerary, I would come to the conclusion that I did not need anything other than my passport that is valid for a minimum of 6 months after returning. The closest to needing a Visa was Tortola and that is after 30 days of stay. I personally believe that you are free and clear to go. The only other thing that I would do is ask your cruise line. Even though it is YOUR responsibility to get the Visa or any entry requirements, they should know if a Visa or any other documentation is required. The only thing that I would do as a precaution is to have any Covid vaccination documentation with you in case. I know, I know, we should be done all this, but I still travel with my Covid documentation. My preferred cruise line still requires until October that all guests be vaccinated.

We are Viking enthusiasts and recommend that you try Viking Ocean, or River, depending on the itinerary that you are after. We are a gay male couple that has a lot of years between us - what did they used to call it - May/December? We are well accepted on Viking ocean and river cruises, and we recently met a solo female cruiser on Viking ocean that had lovely cobalt blue hair and she was also well accepted. We recently also connected with a heavily inked couple that was proud to show their ink. No problem. They were very outgoing and seemed to know everyone on the ship by the end of the itinerary. Viking has an higher age demographic, but we are finding that we are seeing younger all the time. This is a good thing, but also it does depend on the length of the cruise, the destination, time of year, and all of that. Viking works for us because: It is almost all inclusive meaning that you don't pay extra for specialty restaurants, coffee, etc. There are no children under either 17 or 18 years No casinos and crazy nightlife Viking are as I think Viking refer to themselves as the thinking persons cruise line - lots of lectures and resident historians that speak about where you are travelling. Viking food is - to us - outstanding, and this is one of the reasons we go back to Viking The Viking Crew are exceptional and the service is high end We find overall that the Viking demographic is very accepting and open, and if they are not, they don't speak up about it. Often we find that because Viking is heavily repeat guests - over 70% - that these folks have travelled the world for many years, seen it all, been exposed to it all, and are accepting, if not welcoming of everyone.

I thought of this when replying, as we always know where the public bathroom is closest to our room and on our preferred cruise line and where we prefer to have a cabin on the ship, it is generally only a hop, skip, and jump away. Even as two people in the cabin, there have been times where the need for the bathroom happens at the same time and one will leave the cabin. I cannot imagine 4 people sharing a single bathroom on a cruise ship. This would bring back memories of childhood and timed slots for the bathroom.

Yes, it is something that I think a lot about because I know I need something to get out of bed for in the morning, and doing something that is meaningful and helps others in some way appeals to me. I think about offering rides to treatments to cancer patients - we have local charities that do this. There are also ride services to seniors that just need help going to the grocery store, etc. These kinds of things where people in need are helped appeal to me.

The cabin is designed to be one or two beds, and each bed has a table and outlets beside it whether one bed or two. There is only a foot, perhaps 18 inches between the beds if separated. We always have the beds together, but have arrived to the beds separated, so we know what it looks like. If you are a couple that normally sleeps together, then the pros and cons are unique to each couple. If you are used to a king size mattress, this is not as wide if the beds are together.

Well, if you do meet that trio on the ship, please don't hesitate to say that Ken and Long say hello. I am sure they will remember us by name. Also look for Jiggs who is the chef behind the morning breakfast omelette bar. He is amazing. I think that the Corinthia was the hotel listed on the invoice for Budapest. It was a good enough hotel, but the check in experience was less than desirable. This was reported to Viking by many I am sure. At the JW Marriott, we arrived, were met by very smiley Viking reps that asked our name and they handed us an envelope and the room keys were there and we went directly to our room - no checkin desk at all. At the Corinthia hotel, all five busses arrived at basically the same time, so the entire ship at once and we were in line for over an hour to get to the front desk to get our room. Viking normally handle these things very well, but this was a fail. If you are Intercontinental then perhaps you will have a better experience.

Well, I suppose that the word retire means something different to each person. Retire to me means getting out of the corporate world of deadlines and expecations. A part time job to me could also just be volunteering at something that I enjoy and that does not carry deadlines and expectations.

Interesting.... we are Costco members and we priced Manulife through Costco a couple of years ago, and the cost was cheaper for us to go direct to Manulife on their website. Not significant, but there definitely was no savings going through Costco. Have you priced them separately? Through Costco and then direct?

This is what I have seen in the past, or a variation of this. Not very roomy for 4 adults, and if you want to spend any time in the cabin other than sleeping, then you are on top of each other - literally.

I just cannot make the decision as to when because I am fearful that I will be bored out of my mind. I really want to find a part time job when I retire from my corporate position, but don't know what that will be.

I would call and ask to speak to a supervisor and ask for a 12 month payment date. The date you are getting is not right. We have had people we have referred that want to travel with us given more than 12 month payment dates, and they asked/pushed for 12 months and got it. If you cannot get it from one person call back and ask someone else. I don't know what Viking is thinking with this, and it is not like they cannot resell the cabin even within the one year mark if you were to cancel. Regardless of when you pay in Canada or the USA, there is no actual penalty imposed until 120 days out on a cruise like this, so you can still cancel and get all back but $100 per person 121 days before the cruise.

You will love your cruise. I can only hope that you have Hana as the Program Director on your cruise, and if you can have Alan and Vladimir as your servers in the dining room, you will laugh your way through the cruise... We were the other way around - we had one night in Bucharest and two nights in Budapest at the end of the cruise, but no, no dinners included. Only breakfast. Typically Viking does not include meals other than breakfast in the hotel pre and post that are part of the base level cruise package. For dinners at both hotels - the JW and Corenthia, we ate our dinners in the hotel and did not go out.

Had not thought of this, however we only use Vikng Tags when travelling with Viking. This could very well happen as in our most recent trip to Eastern Europe, there were several cruise and tour groups in the same hotel and all were leaving for the airport at similar times... this could easily get your luggage on the wrong bus.

Yes... of this I am aware, and so far when I have the two, carry on and personal, I have managed to have both in the overhead. I know that is potentially pushing it, and on one flight coming up it is a 16 hour flight, so I hope that I get it in the overhead.

Currently we are using Blue Cross annual plan, and that was a decision made for several reasons... The cost was very reasonable for 365 days unlimited trips up to 17 days - I think - BUT the max payout per person is $5,000.00 regardless of the trip cost. We gambled with this as our first cruise under this policy was close to double the payout per person, but the next trip we are taking is land based and the non-refundable portion is less than the 5k per person. Overall, we always hope we don't have to use it, but we feel it is necessary, and this Blue Cross plan met our needs with risk we were willing to take on the first trip. And this covers us even if we want to do a weekend to Vegas or a quick PV Mexico around Christmas. We feel that this annual plan was a good deal.

Good comment, but if you are going carry on only, then chances are there are things other than clothes that would be going in there... I do get what you are saying however.

If you are challenged at the gate to prove your carry on fits in the metal guide, I would suggest that this one would be too wide for that... It is my experience that more and more airlines are forcing this at the gate, and I have been on flights recently that they are asking everyone to comply at the point of boarding. This bundle method looks interesting until security wants to open your bag and go through it. Nightmare!

The one in the foreground does not exactly look shipshape.

Jealous... have always wanted to go to Transylvania but as a duo that are still working - unfortunately - we often struggle with taking the additional time for pre or post extensions. Enjoy!

I think that the most important item that I would stress is sunglasses. You will be snow blind in minutes, even in cloudy days. We each had two pairs of sunglasses just in case we lost or broke a pair.