CDNPolar

Make sure that the trip cancellation insurance you are buying covers cancellation for any of the three of you. For this, you will need to buy a policy together as a group of three. Let me explain: Three travelling: A, B, and C Something happens that is a cancelable reason for A, and B and C decide not to go, all three are covered and the insurance covers the cost of all three. Something happens that i a cancelable reason for A, but B and C decide to continue, then the insurance covers the cost of cancelation of A, but B and C can still travel. You have to ensure that you have the ability of ALL getting covered if something happens to only ONE of the three of you. I have seen policies that do NOT cover this way, this is why I am suggesting that you make sure. Also ensure that you understand what is a cancelable reason. Third party insurance rarely if ever offer a cancel for any reason... it will be illness, death, or other serious reason. Do NOT include costs that are otherwise refundable like an airline fare where you maintain the value for a year - even if it has a change or fare increase fee. Insurance will not cover the cost of any part of your fare - airfare, cruise, excursions - that can be canceled or changed without a financial loss. Most - and I repeat - most airfares you can cancel and retain the value of the fare for at least a year. If you include costs like this in your premium calculation they will only increase the cost of your insurance for no benefit to you. For instance, we have an expensive air portion of our trip coming up and we booked the air independently of the cruise line. This airfare has a cancel for full refund option with a cancel fee of only $200 per person. The airfare has a cost of over $6,000.00 for the two of us. We did not include that cost in the cost of the trip for the cancelation insurance, because it would just increase our premium but not bring us any value. They would not pay out the cost of the air, if it can be canceled. If you included the $200 per person cancelation cost, it might pay that, not sure, have not ever tested that. Only include the non-cancelable non-refundable portions of your trip cost when calculating the premium. You may already know all this....

Believe me it saves time. I have just flown through Melbourne Australia and then SFO. I did not have to remove liquids or laptops in either city and the lines moved much more quickly... much more quickly than where all this stuff has to be pulled out. Travelling for work I two laptops and then the bag of small liquids... all this just stayed where it was. Imagine - just put your bag on the rollers and you are done. Walk through. In these cities, your liquids don't have to be limited to 100ml either. It may not seem like much for one person, but look into your experience where everyone that does not travel regularly struggles to have all this ready to pull out and you will understand why the lines will move faster. Also no belts, or shoes off...

... and this has been discussed up and down and right and left many times... There are statements in this discussion that crew are saying that they don't receive any additional tips or gratuities, but that it is just part of their contracted pay package. It has also been said here that crew are under non-disclosure on this topic and are not allowed to discuss this with us... not to say that someone would not share. The fact is that I emailed Viking and asked very direct questions to which I got a phone call back where they refused (politely quoting policy or no knowledge) to answer my direct questions. They would only state that the gratuities were distributed. I have very strong opinions on this subject, which my partner does not share.... If you tell me that this is a Gratuity that is optional and I can pay or remove it, then I would think that it is logical that I might understand, if I ask, how it is distributed. If it is part of the salary package that is a contract rate that does not change whether I pay this or not, then don't put a veil over this by calling it a gratuity. Call it a service charge, but I don't know when or where service charges are optional. There is probably a very small percentage of people that don't pay it so Viking are collecting this additional revenue stream all the while misleading us. Why do I care so much about this? Because many of the crew are from countries where - IMO - they are being taken advantage of by cruise lines. I am NOT saying that Viking is taking advantage. I am saying that this is a very low cost employee to the cruise ship. My company has vast operations in the Philippines, and I know the economy there and what people don't have there that makes these jobs very attractive. These attractive jobs however require them to be away from home, and family for months and while away they are working 7 days a week for the entire contract. Yes, they. are making more than they could at home, but still not enough, IMO. If you tell me that this is a GRATUITY, then I want to know that what I am paying is benefiting every person on the ship, and if you cannot tell me that then unfortunately I will stop paying the "optional" and give to the people that I see and know that I am benefiting them directly. We have a cruise in August. It remains to be seen if my partner will agree with me, but my intent is to use what would be paid on the auto gratuity to crew directly and just say no to the amount added to the bill.

Pardon me, but I think you indicated on a previous page that being from UK, the gratuity is included in your overall fare, and that would mean to me two things: 1). You do NOT see an additional charge on your cabin folio at the end of the cruise, and 2). Like me, being from Canada, and having the amount added at the end of the cruise, you also have the ability to say you don't want to pay the gratuity? Does Viking state the amount of gratuity included in your fare and give you the option to not pay this? I think that this would be unfair pricing strategy if the UK an amount baked in that cannot be removed, but US and Canada Viking guests and opt not to pay the auto gratuity?

We have asked Viking and they will NOT respond in writing nor will they be specific with their answers when they call you to explain. They will confirm that it is NOT a pooled fund for emergencies or upgrades of services for staff as some profess. They continue to say that it is a fund that is divided amongst all staff. I also asked and they would not confirm or deny - is this by cruise? Is it by contract? They will not answer this. We had a bartender in the Living Room bar that knew our names from day one and he left the ship - contract end - for vacation half way through the cruise. Did he get any of OUR gratuity that we paid for that cruise? We don't know. Viking will not answer this question. Because Viking are so PRIVATE with this information there are two things that you can do... Continue to pay it blindly and hope that people are fairly given a % of the money, OR, boycott onboard gratuities until they are transparent with how it is distributed. After my last call with Viking I made it very clear, that since they were not willing to answer the majority of my questions, that I may in the future decline all onboard gratuities and give a mid-cruise or end of cruise gratuity to those that I feel gave me the best experience. The problem with this is that there are people behind the scenes that deserve gratuities that would now not receive them... that being if Viking truly have an honest program that truly and fairly distributes the gratuities. We always tip our cabin stewards on the first day when they come to our cabin, and then half way through the cruise. We will NOT tip daily or for every drink that we order, but we will tip for excellent service when we feel it is deserved, or selfishly when we feel it will benefit us. We are on a river cruise in August, and it is my intent to decline the auto gratuity and give where I fee appropriate and I will make the statement to whoever is interested on the ship the reason why I am boycotting these auto gratuities.

Sad to say that we have been in this same mindset for about 2 years now. Viking WAS our ONLY cruise line. On board, everything is wonderful, but when you call in for anything it is an absolute horrible experience. Multiple phone calls receive multiple "stories" and one contradicts the other... Stiff policies that even when the change made was against our will, they will not back down... In short, we have one more booked cruise with Viking in August. We have already sailed on another cruise line and we are investigating others. Viking has fallen short to us so many times from an off ship customer service standpoint and we do not feel any loyalty to Viking any longer. Viking offer no incentive to book again through them, and the payment terms are horrible. We are not saying NEVER to Viking again, but we are more likely to spread our money around and experience other cruise lines and not be loyal to one....

Go to guest services and ask. OBC's may not be applied until the completion of the cruise.

Thanks, missed that.

No I booked buffalo drive border because I can do both. But now wonder if I can do the US one and then Canada after.

I am confused here... as I am the OP. I have not done the US interview. I went to the site to book at Pearson airport for both, not initially understanding that I could not complete the US part of the interview unless I was flying to the US and entering Pre-clearance. This was not clear to me until I had booked my interview for Canada. Then it was clear that this is not an option, because I am not flying to the USA....? HOWEVER, now I am going to change my story. I said before that I don't typically transit through the USA. I am actually doing this next week. I could not get a Canadian interview the same date as I am flying so I thought that this was not a possibility. Can I actually just present at USA Pre-Clearance at Pearson and do the USA part (without an appointment) and then in the future when I can get an appointment for Canada, do that? This is freek'n confusing and I don't want to waste my time.... you get it right?

Thanks, yes, I saw and knew that, but the challenge is that I have not flown to the USA in a long time and don't have any plans to in the short to medium term.... I have Nexus for arriving back in Canada from countries other than the USA and also to shorten security lines in Pearson. I don't typically fly to or transit in the USA.

I don't remember the hours of this smaller restaurant, but there are hours of the day that there is only free coffee service near the expedition desk and in the top lounge. Would not say anytime... on these smaller ships, you sort of have to follow meal times.

The kitchen for the main restaurant and the burger one is shared - they back to each other... What I am not sure of is if you can sit in the main restaurant and get a burger for your child...? Perhaps. We found Hurtigruten to be a good middle ground as well - in price and offering. Typically you have 5 days around the continent, and 5 days of potential landings, but we missed a full day because of weather - and the Polar Plunge.... I think that this trip is outside most people's comfort zone! haha.... it is not your typical, especially the Drake Passage. Hopefully you will not have injuries on your cruise that forces the ship back to port early. It does happen... We had to turn around one day into the Passage, and other ships have had to leave the continent early. We had friends on a smaller ship and 2 people on that ship fell while sailing the drake passage and broke arms. The ship was able to set and cast the breaks so they did not have to turn back, but this is something to take into consideration, and know that the Drake Passage is not an easy passage... You must take moving about seriously when you are in the Passage.

The ship holds more but we were 400. Don't quote me on this but I feel that ships cannot carry out landings on the Continent if they have more than 400 passengers. Actually I just read that it is 500, but the more passengers on a ship limits the landing sites. Some sites are restricted to less people on the ship. The other thing that limits the number of people on the ship is that there can only be 100 people on the Continent at any one time. The more people on the ship the longer it takes to move people back and forth from the landing site and therefore limits the amount of time and number of landings that can happen. We all want to have at least one landing a day right? (Our friends went on a small 100 passenger ship and they were able to land a minimum of 2 times a day and had lots of opportunity for other things like kayaking) Weather prevented the polar plunge. On our itinerary we apparently had 2 landing sites that would allow it. The first was Deception Island - our first landing site - but we could not execute any landing that day because the weather was not cooperating. The Polar Plunge was cancelled. This would have been a jump off the side of the ship tethered to a harness. The second landing site - I forget the name - would have been a run off a small "beach" area. (Rocks actually) but again was cancelled because glacier ice was sheering off the cliffs and causing waves that were too large for safety. Yes - the burger place does milkshakes too. No, this place does not cost more, but we found the menu so limiting that we only ate their once - burgers - and to my standard the burgers were passable only. Nothing worth having a second. The Hot Tubs would be closed on the Drake Passage. For sure. The water would be sloshing out and would the people. We were on deck many times when it was snowing and the hot tubs were open. Other than the Drake Passage, I think that the hot tubs were always open. We don't use them so we did not pay full attention, but we passed them daily going to the top decks outside. In Canada, the over the counter medication that we can buy for nausea is called Gravol. This is Dimenhydrinate and we bought and took with us the 50mg tablets. The ship gives out this very same medication also 50mg tablets. They are not identified by a name brand but the drug name and dose is on the blister pack they are in. You are allowed 2 per day per person. We found that 2 per day while crossing the Drake Passage were plenty for us. We did not need any more, but many people did not show for meals on these days - many... and the sick bags were in short supply on these days. Hope this helps.

Thank you for the lesson. This is all known information. You wasted your time responding.

We are also looking at an African Safari and will definitely book through a tour group or TA for this. This has too many unknowns.

Agree - we have done this. In Canada however it is difficult to find a TA that gives monetary value back. There are a few, but I question with the amount they give, if it is worth the extra layer.

Yes, they have because technically you are on US soil when you are in pre-clearance. This however has nothing to do with the fact that you cannot have your Nexus US interview at Pearson unless you are flying to the USA the same day.

I don't think that anyone is saying - especially me - that this is too much or too little. I have no knowledge of the fees in the travel industry. All I know is that after gaining this information the next Viking cruise we asked if there was any benefit financially for booking direct and they said NO. We did not disclose that we had this information, we were just asking. We recently used a TA associated with a major retail chain and we got a shopping card for $1,500.00 and will receive a further year end rebate for a similar priced cruise. This TA does not represent Viking because they were giving too much away so Viking stopped working with them. The TA that got this - whether it went to the TA directly or to the company - gave us nothing. No OBC, nothing. We now just shop for what a TA will offer us and if we cannot find some value, then we are fully capable of booking and managing the trip on our own. In fact, most of the time a TA adds an unnecessary layer to our bookings, so unless there is financial benefit, we book solo.

Here are the options: Applicants can complete a joint interview at a U.S.-based enrollment center. They can choose a split option, in which they will complete an interview at a Canadian land enrollment center followed by a separate interview at a U.S. enrollment center located at the Canadian border. This is what I am doing in Buffalo They also have the option of a two-step process for air travelers. The Canadian airport enrollment centers will be staffed with CBSA officers who will complete the Canadian portion of the NEXUS interview, and the U.S. interview with CBP will follow at Canadian airport preclearance locations for applicants departing from Canada to the U.S. Conditionally-approved NEXUS applicants and renewing members who require an interview will be able to book the Canadian portion of their interview at one of these airports through the Trusted Traveler Programs scheduler when interview times become available. This option requires you to be flying to the USA same day.

When you complete and finalize the interview booking you receive a confirmation of the appointment. In the confirmation information, it then states that you must be flying to the USA that day to complete the US portion of the interview. You cannot do this on the Canadian side of the airport. This rings true to what is happening with my Buffalo appointment. I drive to Buffalo border crossing, meet with the Canadian side, then I have to physically drive across the border to Buffalo NY to be interviewed by the US side and complete the process. Then I turn around to reenter Canada.

Ok... my Nexus card has been expired for about 3 years now. It was due to be renewed just as the Pandemic took hold and my interview at Toronto Pearson was cancelled. The appointments at Toronto Pearson were fully booked and I could never get a date there. I FINALLY got a time at Buffalo land crossing to do the Canadian interview and then I have to drive across the border to have the American interview. I found a Toronto Pearson opening and booked it and then noticed in the write up that I have to be flying to the USA the same day as my Canadian interview? Does this mean that at Toronto Pearson, I cannot just drive there (15 minutes) park and do both CAN and USA interviews? I actually have to be flying to the USA? Makes no sense.

We mistakenly a few years ago were copied on the TA Commission invoice - direct from Viking. It was not the TA that messed up, it was sent to the TA and copied to us from Viking directly. Here is the breakdown: 16% on Cruise Fare 5% on Air 5% on Silver Spirits In total for this cruise, that had a cost to us of $12,366.00 Viking paid the TA $1,718.08

Anytime you have a series of flights booked, you must show up for all of the flights you risk cancelation of the rest of the trip. For instance: You like the connection but not the first flight, if you don't show for the first flight then the connection would be cancelled automatically as a no-show to the first flight. This is standard in the airlines. I don't know what would happen if you take the first flight but not the connection, but there could be a penalty there too. You may end up with the return cancelled. EVEN WITH FREE AIR, you can pay for the Viking Air Plus and pick your own flights. You don't have to accept what they give you. We have free air on our August River Cruise and we got the airline, aircraft, schedule and seats we wanted through Viking Air Plus.

Two favourites that I recall immediately: Lotus Softshell Crab Lamb Chops Asian Panorama Peking Duck These two were outstanding in my opinion.