CDNPolar

There is a difference in SSBP between River and Ocean. On River Vueve Clicquot is included by glass and you can ask for a bottle to take back to your cabin at the end of the night. Total difference in SSBP between the two.

Totally dependent on Cabin category. We book the lowest cabin category always, and there is no booze in our fridge.

Wish I could... but when I win Lotto Max, I will let you know..... then we can start the telecom company.

Likewise... we never know where we will end up. We go where the wind takes us and often very unplanned. We often need maps to get back to our starting point.

Took three trips to Guest Services for our friend traveling with an underage grandchild. Probably depends on the ship and the person you approach.

Viking Ocean - same as always. Elegant casual I think are words that Viking use. Collared shirt for men, no jeans, no shorts. Dress code is a hot topic most of the time because some experience a turn away from the restaurant for what they are wearing and some see others get by the gate keeper... From the Viking site: During the day, dress is casual including shorts (if the season is warm), slacks or jeans and comfortable shoes for walking tours. Swimsuits, brief shorts, cover-ups and exercise attire should be reserved for the Fitness Center, pool areas and Sports Deck. There are no “formal nights” in the evening; evening dress is “elegant casual” for all dining venues, performances and special events. On these occasions, required attire for ladies includes a dress, skirt or slacks with a sweater or blouse; for gentlemen, trousers and a collared shirt. A tie and jacket are optional; jeans are not permitted. The evening dress excludes World Café where the dress remains casual after 6:00 PM. Some shore excursions visit religious sites that require modesty of dress. To avoid being denied entry, we recommend men wear long pants and refrain from sleeveless shirts; and for women, clothing that covers the knees and tops that are not sleeveless or too revealing.

Thanks for this. One thing to note is that I don't know where you are from? USA? I am Canada, and our insurance coverage is very different than offered in the USA. Our standard insurance packages do not cover pre-existing conditions for medical. Does not mean that this coverage is not available, but the standard does not cover. I wonder what happened to the man that fell? What did it cost them?

This may or may not be of use to know, BUT, there is a difference when you are talking to a Viking agent between CANCELING and REVISING an itinerary. Revising the itinerary keeps the same booking number but just changes the ship and the cruise itinerary. We recently went through a situation where we asked Viking not to apply vouchers when they were issued, because we wanted to decide what itinerary they were going to be applied to. Now, a note on that, vouchers are to be applied to the next booking. Since we asked them not be applied, technically, they could not be applied again to that same booking now or in the future, they must be applied to a new booking. But, Viking applied them anyway. We wanted to change our cruise and we called to cancel the existing cruise and were told that we would lose the vouchers. We asked how do we get around this and we were told that if we just revise the existing itinerary then the booking number remains the same and the vouchers follow that booking number. AND, the onboard booking credit, etc., etc. I think that you may try a language change. If you are using a TA, make sure they are calling to REVISE the booking and not cancel and rebook. If you are calling yourself, do the same. Have all the details of the cruise you want to move to and just REVISE the booking. CHECK FIRST that what I am saying here will work...but it worked for us. I will also chime in on trying with several agents. Viking has a serious training issue right now with their phone agents. Some know everything and some know nothing. We have been told NO from one and call back later and get a YES from another. We recently had a Supervisor admit that we had been told wrong from one and then right from the next, but they still refused to fix the situation because the first that told us wrong did so against Viking policy. Basically she admitted that it was Viking's mistake and we were misled but we still lost the battle and had to live with policy in the end. Bad, bad, bad. We are at a point - and I have said this before here - that on ship the Viking experience is amazing. We love being on a Viking ship. We absolutely HATE the customer service, booking, air plus experience before and after any cruise. It is horrible. Viking should pay more attention to these posts, because we already have started to investigate other cruise lines. We were loyal to Viking, but they have disappointed us so much off ship, that we don't see a reason to be loyal. They do nothing to keep your loyalty.

Often the policy includes a "Stable Period" and often this stable period is not definitively stated. Some are 3 months, some are 6 months, and it could be different depending on the seriousness of the condition. Inside that stable period, often they talk of "medication changes" which we all immediately think means new medication, or increase to a medication. This also includes any reduced dosage of medication or stoppage of any medication. If you are away, and you have recently reduced or stopped a medication and the event that sent you to hospital could have been prevented with the previous dose or by not stopping the medication, then you would not be covered. There are many hidden gems of language in a policy that need further explanation. I recently questioned an insurance company about a pre-existing condition that I have been stable for over 18 months. Even though stable, (no symptoms, no med changes, nothing) that does not mean that if I had something happen related to that condition that I would be covered. I asked if I got a Doctor's letter before travel that confirmed that I was fit to travel, and they said it would make no difference. If I suffered an incident that took me to hospital and it was linked to an existing condition, that they would make an independent evaluation as to whether it was "reasonable" for me to travel at that time and not anticipate any issues with the pre-existing condition. Even my doctor certifying me as stable and fit to travel carries no weight. There are stories out there now about people in other countries where their medical insurance has denied them out of country coverage. The only thing that you can safely do is buy insurance that fully covers pre-existing conditions, or take your chances. For those on here that have said they don't buy insurance, well, it is not just about your personal health. I would never want to see this happen, but what about a traffic accident with the bus you are on when on excursion and you are injured? You trip and fall and hit your head. This is not about if you have a pre-existing condition or health issues before you leave home.

We travel extensively and we are not always on a cruise or a group tour. We want and need Google or Apple maps to navigate a city. We were recently in Buenos Aires and we walked for four days and every landmark that we went to, we found with Google/Apple Maps. You also never know when an emergency will pop up - medical or otherwise and the phone will be handy. Our biggest use is the translation apps now. Apple has one built in, but I also have others. When you find yourself in a situation where the person at the subway fare counter does not speak enough English to help you, you speak into the translation all, and it speaks back in the local language. They answer in the local language and it translates back to English. (Both text and speech) To us this is a must have. It has saved us before. It is not that we "rely" on them, but we see them as an essential travel tool - for the way that we travel.

The Americans that I know and travel with have NO extra charges for their international roaming, they just have a slower speed to their data and connection. NO extra charges. We have friends that we travel with all the time - about to go to Egypt with them - and they land, turn on their phone and the bill is the same when they get home. For us, with Rogers at $12 per day in USA and $15 per day elsewhere, we end up with $300-$400 on our next bill for roaming. Outrageous. We want our phones ON especially in an international location because we could get separated - anything can happen. We want to have maps and search ability. We also want to be able to receive a phone call from a family member at home if an emergency. I know that you can get ESims but that does not make you accessible from home to everyone in your contact list. Canada has to get with the program and find a way to reduce these charges.

Also remember that both travellers in the cabin must purchase. You cannot (Technically) purchase as one person in a double occupancy cabin. I say technically, because I know of two situations where with some strong arming, onboard a friend purchased because she was travelling with her grandchild and she was under the drinking age. BUT, it was not just an "OK", it took some convincing. I also talked to one person who their travel companion did NOT drink any alcohol but Viking refused to sell it to them as a single person in a double occupancy cabin.

Well, happy that you disagree, but what you are saying is not our experience. Different countries have different deals and what you experience in the USA may not be what others experience. The last promotion that we received that claimed free air, we found precious few that actually had free air, regardless of when they departed.

The other thing we see is that we constantly see ads for $25 deposits and free air, but when you click on the link you have to search for needles in haystacks to find the few cruises or dates that actually have free air. We feel that there are deals available sometimes, but you have to do the digging to find them. The ads catch your attention, but then you cannot find the deal.

No offence with this question, but if you leave this to your TA, and something happens that the insurance does not cover, then what? You have left the vetting process to someone to make a decision for you and then you are blindsided?

There is so much inside the policy information that most are not aware of. Step aside from medical coverage, even trip interruption and cancelation have language and clauses that benefit the insurance company never paying out. Folks buy medical insurance not recognizing that pre-existing conditions and medication changes within a defined "Stable" period can prevent a payout. Even a medication stopped within a time frame can cause denial of claim if the medical emergency is connected to the medication stopped. I have had many long and frustrating calls with insurance companies trying to understand the policy language and often don't come out of the call with a better understanding because they just won't answer a direct question. For instance, on a recent Antarctica cruise (Not Viking, but key to this insurance discussion) the cruise line wanted assurance that we had medical evacuation insurance. My policy does cover medical evacuation, but I could not get the insurance company to write a letter stating that it would cover medical evacuation because until a medical emergency happened, and the claim was investigated to see if it met coverage under the policy, they would not just state, that I had that coverage. This is a work policy that covers me for work or personal travel. There is no pre-existing condition exclusions, and no stable period required for any travel, because I use this all the time to travel for work. Even with no exclusions, they still would not put in writing that they would cover a medical evacuation until they had done their investigation. Insurance companies are slick. Be careful and know what you are buying.

I don't believe that there is any violation in mentioning insurance companies, as many companies have been mentioned in other threads... Would be very interested in a company that offers insurance for missed ports or bus because of low water on a River Cruise. Please name...

The Viking Daily - the daily news letter you receive each night for the next day - will list the port times, both intended arrival and most importantly the back on board time. If you are planning private excursions in advance, then I would be careful when your tour starts as port arrival times are not guaranteed. Generally - generally - most of the cruises I have been on, the port arrival time is 8am. This may vary a bit, but generally, if you want to do independent exploration or you have a private tour booked, you can disembark the ship as of 8am, or slightly after. This is at your will, you don't have to book or reserve anything. You would just go to the exit. For arrival back, please ensure that you know the time back on board. If you are NOT on a Viking excursion, and you are late, the ship will NOT wait for you. To be safe, I would ensure that you were back at least one hour before the all back on board time. I have friends that had issues with a cab tour and they were literally running and just got there in time, and were told that if they had been one more minute the ship would have sailed without them.

I don't think that gym classes are a big thing on Viking. I have been on 6 Ocean cruises and have never noticed that there are classes and I read the Viking Daily from cover to cover. Perhaps others have comments? I am not aware of "Trainers" on the Viking Ocean ships either. There is a well equipped gym, but the staff seems more concentrated on the Spa aspect of that area of the ship.

Tom, my husband and I sailed Hurtigruten Firdtjof Nansen to Antarctica 2 months ago. I know you are asking about Europe but I will give you our insights as to the Expedition sailing. The ship was relatively new - 3 years old - and very comfortable. Cabins very well appointed and very comfortable. Crew very friendly, accommodating and nice. Food was good. Buffet choices were wide and varied every day for breakfast and lunch and great quality, but the dinner a la carte was ok and limited menu choices. Overall food was good. Don't know how this compares to Hurtigruten Europe. Because this was an Expedition sailing, there was not "theatre" or evening entertainment. This cruise was about the destination and the science. Again, not sure how this compares to Hurtigruten Europe ships. We have only sailed Viking before Hurtigruten and Viking are supposed to have a higher standard of food. We were surprised to note that Hurtigruten buffet was better than Viking, but Viking restaurant served meals were better than Hurtigruten. You will not find a lot of activity on Cruise Critic for Hurtigruten because their primary guest is not from the USA. You will have a lot of Europeans on Hurtigruten and they are not Cruise Critic members. If you go to the Hurtigruten forum, you will find that many Hurtigruten threads are not heavily populated, and the roll calls rarely get any real activity. In 6+ months I only got one or two posts to my roll call for the cruise we were last on. I think however that if you really want to know about Hurtigruten, you should ask your specific questions there. You will get responses from people who do know Hurtigruten. Hmmm.... I just went and looked, and it was what I thought - this ship is identical to the one we sailed. Ask yourself what you are looking for other than your daytime excursions and a well cooked meal. This ship will be very comfortable, but only has the one main restaurant, and one you will pay extra for, unless you are in a suite. It has a hamburg/hotdog/taco room too but the food was blah... and the top deck is the bar. If you are going on Expedition, then this ship and the Expedition team will be great. If you are looking for evening entertainment and variety of restaurants, food, and activities onboard, this is not the ship for you.

If this is Far East Horizons, we did that in 2019 and it was one of our best cruise experiences. Highly recommend. This was Viking of course.

Depending on where you are coming from, if this is the first Schengen country you are landing in then you will have passport control as well. Not security, but definitely passport control. The non-Schengen travellers are one by one with a live agent, when the Euro passport holders are automated. It is our experience in both Munich and Frankfurt that 50 minutes is not enough. That is also assuming that you are not delayed in your departure and late in your arrival - how far back you are in the aircraft, etc. If you are arriving at a busy time, you could have a 20 minute wait or more at passport control. We don't book any connection in Europe now without at least 2 hours as we have been the one running a number of times with the threat of the airbridge door closing. WE would go for the four hour connection every time. Would rather spend 4 hours in the airport than miss a connection and perhaps not get where we want to be the same day.

Very true. I have gotten back on a bus at the end of an excursion thinking that I will never get that 3 or 4 hours of my life back and then I hear couples or small groups discussing how much they loved the excursion. I am not trying to lessen what the OP is saying here, but I look at this through two lenses: If an included excursion, then it can be hit or miss and we have to take it as such. (Although we have rarely been disappointed with optional excursions) If you pay for an optional excursion, it should deliver a higher expectation. We have had poor experiences with both, but also put this down to Viking is not leading this excursion on an Ocean ship. This is a contracted supplier, BUT the ShoreEx group should be checking the quality of these and how the marketing write up displays the experience. When you tell me in your marketing material that: The scenic drive to the "local village hall" consisted of viewing ship containers, sewage pipes, and loading docks. Then you should deliver scenic. However the reality is that many port areas connected to towns are not scenic. This may be a fail on Viking's copy writers where they just needed to drop the word "scenic" and instead said "The drive to the local village hall....". Marketing add the word "scenic" to make you book the excursion... I however do hear your frustration and need for Viking to take ownership. We have had our "battles" with Viking. In a nutshell, we LOVE the onboard experience with Viking but what we have found after 7 cruises is that sometimes the PRE cruise issues, the reservation issues, the voucher issues, and the mis-information that is often given by one person and then disputed by another is often extremely frustrating. We have had customer service tell us A and then when we call back to do A, then we are told no, you cannot do A. We have escalated and the Supervisor confirms that we were told A, but unfortunately A is against policy and that customer service agent should not have told you that you can do A. I ask, well, so you are admitting that we were told incorrect information and now you are not willing to honour what your rep says, how can we ever believe what one of your reps says? They just apologize and insist that policy does not allow A. We sit here now scratching our heads wondering ***** and so we just have to accept it and move on. Viking have a serious training issue with their customer service staff and they need to address that. We have one more booked Viking cruise and we are considering another but if we continue to experience these "off ship" issues, then we will move to another cruise line. We were content in the beginning to remain with Viking, but our eyes are open now to the world of other cruise lines that offer very comparable experiences and we are trying out the competition. Viking has not lost our total loyalty as a customer YET, but is moving very close to that as we are spreading our wings and looking around. The truth is that Viking really offers nothing of true value for loyal customers anyway. $100 or $200 past guest discount... drop in the bucket. Viking could buy our loyalty if their policies and pre/post customer service issues were better. AND it is not always about a credit or voucher, it is about owning the issue.

The last two ocean cruises we were on, there were no binoculars in the cabin. But agree - bring your own anyway if you feel you want them.

We buy Air Plus for all our flights if we book them through Viking. Then we go to Google Flights and put in our multi-city requirements or round trip, whichever it is. We analyze the options and we generally have two or three options to work with, then we call Viking Air to book. We will give option A date, airline, flight number, connection, etc. and then let them look it up. They will tell you if inside contract or not. If first option is not in contract, then move to your option B. We had once that the flight we wanted that was direct, was apparently out of contract. We asked if we could still get it and pay a premium and Viking told us that for $100 we could have that flight instead of booking a connection on another airline. We weighed the cost and decided it was worth the $100 to go direct and booked it. Yes, definitely Viking book with and have a contract with Air Canada as we are in Canada and for many of our flights to anywhere have been either with Air Canada or one of the Star Alliance like Lufthansa.