CDNPolar

Above what @CurlerRob is saying, when we try to compare cruise lines, rarely do you find the same duration of a cruise with the same ports when you are trying to compare. It is just never apples to apples. Viking has never failed us on the sea, and for that matter we stick with them.

Brilliant information - thank you. Question for you though... some countries that have eVisa options also assign a validity period when you secure the visa. If you are on a World Cruise and that country is not in that validity period what do you do? Are you applying for visas while on the cruise? My experience with Cambodia and Vietnam was this, that there was a limited validity after the application.

Viking only offers booking of the hotel if you book the extension. If you are not interested in their full extension then you are on your own. We book outside of the pre/post extension when we are looking to save money or there are other advantages.. We have booked the same hotel as Viking's post-extension in Mumbai, and a private tour that goes to more sites than Viking's one tour, and we are doing it for less than half the cost including all transportation charges. We are saving over $2000 doing it ourselves. We did book the pre-extension on this same cruise through Viking because although we could do it somewhat cheaper, there was value in the transportation based on where the pre-extension was and where the harbour/port was...

Yes, I understand what you are saying but I am confirming that if you are not doing the Viking pre or post, then they do not have flexibility. If you are on your own you are on your own. If Regent are more flexible, good for them. Not every cruise line operates the same way.

Yes - this is what is confusing. I think that in respect to the confusion on this discussion it is because the first part of the discussion was about a land border. I have never used my Nexus at a land border so I am not up on the rules. I think that the discussion got further confused because then the airport arrival got brought into the discussion, because at the Kiosk, there is not even a question any more. I know my allowable duty free limits, and have always been under the impression that as long as I am under or at these limits, and arriving in Canada by air, that I did not have to make a declaration because I was uncer or at my allowable. Now, if a Canadian Customs Agent asked me are you bringing anything back, I would say "Yes, and it consists of this and that" and all would be good. If I knew that I was over my allowable limit then I would tell them that without their asking, because even if you get past this individual without declaring you risk the pull off to secondary inspection once you have your luggage and then here if you are found to be over your limit and not declared, this is when you can get into trouble with your Nexus. I have been pulled off before and had liquor and gifts but within my limits and all was ok. I have also declared at the immigration agent being over limit on liquor, and at the point of leaving the luggage hall had the agent there ask what I was over with, and I stated 2 bottles of liquor vs. the one allowed, and he said carry on and did not pull me in. I think the whole point of what I am asking / suggesting here is that if you are within your limits and the agent asks no questions, you don't have to volunteer any information. If the agent asks "are you bringing anything into Canada" then I believe that in your limit or outside of your limit you must declare.

In my experience and opinion, it is the way that it is on a River ship because there is essentially one dining venue. Yes, Viking has the Aquavit Terrace, but if weather is not on your side then the indoor portion is small and to my memory only 7 or 8 tables. This also is just an extension of the dining room. Same menu, same service standard. On Viking anyway, you can see why they like a table to be fully seated before taking orders. I have watched our serving team as they come out from the kitchen... yes the kitchen is cramped and the kitchen team is small. They prepare and serve the appetizers table by table, then bring the main, and then the dessert. You can see the appetizers come with the team for each table in the same order that orders were taken. It is not that they cannot prepare a appetizer for someone that comes "late" but the kitchen has moved past service of the appetizer for 98% of the guests. The dining staff and kitchen staff are also a very limited and tight group. They have a lot of prep after dinner for breakfast and this team has been going since 5am'ish already and served three meals. They don't have the same staff contingent to run different seatings. River cruise dining is about efficiency of the kitchen and serving crew.

I think that it depends on the cruise and the countries... We did the Viking Homelands cruise and did not get a stamp for any of the countries that we visited other than the arrival in Stockholm where we started the cruise and that of course was at the airport.

If you are doing your own deviation, there are no Viking transfers to be had in most cases. If Viking are bringing you in on the day of embarkation, they are coordinating all the transfers that day and they are included if you are using Viking Air. If you are on a Viking pre or post extension then you have included transfers because you bought that package whether or not you are using Viking for your air. However, if you are doing your own pre-extension, and picking your own hotel or type of accommodation, I fail to see how Viking can be responsible or expected to manage that transfer for you. People could be arriving one, two, three days early and staying at all sorts of hotels... I would never expect this. So you are telling me that I I am sailing Regent, and I decide to arrive in Barcelona two days early and I decide that I want to stay one hour outside of the city of Barcelona, that Regent is going to transfer me from the airport to the hotel of my choice included in my cruise fare? The deviation charge is because the air you are booking is outside of the dates that Viking have contract rates. Oh, and the final payment date has been debated and discussed over and over, and it is purely because they can, and they fill their ships regardless.

Sorry... getting a bit lost here... What do you mean that Viking does not "operate its ships"? Are you telling me that the Captain and the senior crew are not Viking employees? I have heard Captains before state how long they have worked for Viking.

Yes, only 100 on shore at a time, and this is a very strict rule that they have to follow. This is a very well orchestrated program of zodiac boats shuttling people back and forth in windows of time. This is the same for every cruise line. We did not sail Viking to Antarctica, but for our shore activities on the line we sailed you were advised that when your group was called to the staging area, that you needed to be there ON TIME. We were also given very STRONG advisories that once on shore we had XX minutes and we had to return to the landing spot to return to the ship. Trust that they know how to do this and they do this well. It can however be frustrating waiting or only having so many activities to be able to do any given day, but it is all dependent on the resources the ship has (number of zodiac boats, number of kayaks, etc.).

Perhaps someone that knows 100% for sure will chime in here, but in general most cruise lines allow curling irons. You may need a power converter, not just a plug adaptor. If you are coming from the USA and plug your 110 appliance into a 220 outlet, you will be in for a surprise! I don't remember Hurtigruten to have any 110 outlets. I believe they are all 220.

If you are not booking Viking's post-extension, then book the air on your own. You are then responsible to get from the ship to your hotel where you are staying for the extra time. If you are flying in the day of embarkation, you can fill out a Viking form under the air tab in MVJ, and get your transportation to the ship from the airport. You may pay for this... sometimes they will allow you to jump on a bus but often they will charge you.

Because we love the unexpected and eat anything, we book every 3 or 4 days so that we can experience each menu change.

You may be denied boarding of a cruise if you cannot produce the required visas. I would not suggest that you are waiting to get visas on arrival at any country. I personally would use a travel agent that was knowledgable in this area to guide me.

I personally think that most "allow" you to show up in a set window and there is not a firm requirement for you to be there at 7pm sharp... But, many ships don't offer that many tables for two and then you don't have much choice where you sit and the table that has two seats open may be well through their meal as you are sitting down to start. I know that most Viking River ships have limited to no tables for two. The last Viking river cruise we were on there was a couple of couples that would come in 20-30 minutes later than most and they were then forced to choose between only one or two tables that had two seats side by side. In some cases I noticed that they were at the same table but not beside each other.

To me the few hundred less is a no brainer especially if coverage is better and better terms. Just ensure that with any insurance for medical, cancellation, or interruption, that you understand the terms for pre-existing conditions, what constitutes a stability period, etc. I also never buy from anyone until I have a full policy in front of me that I have read letter for letter, word for word, and probably asked 20 questions from that. I would go with the broker. Actually - a broker can have great reviews - but who is the insurance company that they are selling you?

I want to be sure that I am reading this right... Viking is more casually dressed? What is common on Regent in the evening in the dining rooms? I LIKE the Viking dress code and if I had to be more concerned with a higher standard of formal dress then Regent would not be for me.

Agreed... when and if you are asked by a living human. If I am correct, the question on the screen - if this question exists anymore - asks if you are bringing in anything above your personal exemption? Yes? No? I Googled but cannot find the specific question asked on the screen. If I was asked by a live human, I would say "one bottle of liquor", one this, one that... even if it was under my exemption. Is there a question on the screen now? The machines keep changing and the process seems to keep changing.

We have gotten really good at packing for most any weather in one suitcase. When we are going to an anticipated warm destination, the clothing represents that, but there is still one really good and effective windbreaker jacket and one cashmere sweater in the bag. We may never need it but we have it. Some are worried about being seen in the same outfit - we don't care about that. If cold strikes and you see me in the same sweater a couple/few times, sobeit.

We have carried insect repellent with us a couple of times but never needed it and if there are mosquitos they will find my husband. I can be bite free and he will have dozens. Never needed it, but if your checked luggage has room, put it there. It never hurts to be prepared.

Absolutely... they are "simple" compared to the bigger shows of the bigger lines. We enjoy the Viking entertainment on the Ocean ships. We have found that if you travel ocean often that although it is a different foursome of entertainers, it is the same shows - The Beatles, ABBA, etc. We have not been on ocean for a couple of years now as we have been doing River, so perhaps this has changed. The show content was driven by Viking corporate - apparently. I know that this was discussed a lot a couple years back and Viking was apparently addressing this. We have had a solo rock guitarist that put on a great show. We have had magicians, we have had several other "invited" entertainers that made one or two appearances. The foursome are generally from a UK talent agency and they are young, energetic, and fun. We like their energy and it is a good upbeat show to end the evening. We also love the strings, piano, and guitarist that play and rotate through the Living Room, and the Explorer Lounge. These are nice calm relaxing singles, duos and sometimes a trio.

Yeah... it is good to know. I guess that I never really looked before because we use a TA that gives us OBC or SBC for every booking, but because we always book optional tours that is generally gone before we board. We have our first SBC from Viking that is only valid on the ship and that is being put on a River cruise in November. On our invoice it shows as $227.00 CDN pp and I don't remember why the odd amount. It was perhaps a USD amount converted to CDN? I will watch when we board what happens to that $227 CAD because this will be a European River Cruise and I would assume that it will convert to Euros. Interesting however is that when we have booked on board an ocean ship, the invoice we receive and the deposit we pay is in CDN, but the OBC that is granted immediately for booking onboard is not $100 CDN coverted to USD, it is $100 USD on our ship board account.

Enjoyed reading all this and the comments. We just keep booking Viking. We talk about other lines, but then we look and because we have 3 or four future Viking cruises booked, we hold off and it never seems to happen. Interesting, and no offence to anyone, but reviews like this are always subjective. We have just never really had a reason YET to push us to try another line. Not that we could not in the future contribute to this discussion and agree to make Regent our new favourite, we just have to make the step and try something new.

Consider that we could be in a better position to purchase in CDN before sailing than wait for the conversion.

Viking got back to me and our SBC is in CDN funds on our invoice. Any funds NOT used prior to sailing is converted to the currency onboard the ship and posted to our shipboard account. So they DO convert the full amount, or remaining amount to the currency onboard. I have never really paid attention to this before but now we have our answer.