SantaFe1

What? Are you not going on the next WC?

Yes. Just choose the one way option.

Viking also uses LF and gives a 20% discount. Once you have booked, go to MVJ, under the Before You Go tab and click on LF. We have had nothing but excellent experiences with them on several cruises.

We have had nothing but excellent experiences with them. You can track your bags, and know exactly when they have arrived to your destination. There is a LF thread on here somewhere, where many people have shared their experiences.

We are also big fans of Luggage Forward. After we got it free on our Viking WC, we never went back. I can certainly do two days pre cruise in Athens and two days post cruise in Barcelona with just our carry on luggage. Sounds like we are kindred spirits. I thought the beneath the skin tour looked quite interesting, too.

Thanks. One other thing you might be interested in. Out TA suggested we try a Tours by Local tour when we disembark. I looked into it, and they will pick you and your luggage up at the ship, give you a full or half day private tour, and then drop you off at your hotel when it is checkin time. I haven’t booked this yet, but am interested in the one call Barcelona beneath the skin. We will probably do the Viking tour of Sagrada Familia the day before when we are still on the ship and overnight in Barcelona. But you can customize the tour.

We will be there in March 2023. I have missed Barcelona twice in the last two 1/2 years! Fingers crossed for this time!

This is strange. We are on Med Antiquities and will spend two days in Barcelona after the cruise. I tried both the Hotels you mentioned and three other five star hotels and none were available. We ended up booking the Mercer, which looks lovely, is in a great location, and has a wonderful staff who have already helped me with planning.

mathematically, it looks possible. We have ten hours in port. The tours are 4 hours and 3 1/2 hours, or 7 1/2 hours. Viking usually requires at least an hour between tours, so 8 1/2 hours. But, I agree, they probably won’t let us do these b2b, and they may be offered simultaneously.

We haven’t been to either Pompei or Herculaneum, and I can’t decide which to do. I am kind of hoping maybe we can do both in one long day. But probably not. Any advice on which to choose?

Thank you. I looked this up too, but only found canes, which are accepted. So I don’t know. I guess I will limp up on my hiking sticks and hope they will accept them.. I’m old enough that they probably won’t question me! Ha!!

Thank you both. We fly business/first, so have dedicated space above. I had simply never thought of doing this before. But we want to do some hiking in the Italian lakes, and I can’t do that without my sticks. So I don’t want them lost or delayed.

No, I wouldn’t try to check them with part sticking out. My point is that I don’t want to check them at all. So are you saying that you just walked on board with them in your hand and then put them up above? I was thinking they might have to be IN something, like a backpack, although the handles would stick out a bit.

OK, I don’t know where to ask this, so this general thread seems a good place. Somewhere, a week or two ago, there was a discussion about taking hiking poles in carry on luggage if they don’t fit inside. Can you pack them in a backpack with a few inches sticking out? So worried about lost luggage for our September trip. If not I guess I can buy a new, smaller folding pair. Thanks for any help.

Ha ha. I had forgotten all about her. Well, if the shoe fits…

Wish I could see your packing list. My husband is begging me to take only carry on for our two weeks in Milan and the Italian Lakes in September. I guess I couldn’t take the 14 pairs of shoes I took on our WC!

We did this cruise last year. It was the first leg of the world cruise. The ship was beautifully decorated, as has been said, and we had a fun New Year’s Day brunch and we had a nice bottle of champagne delivered for NYE. I took sparkly shoes and a glittery jacket, and wore them, but most people didn’t really get that dressed up. But my red shoes were a hit, and I had fun! Dress as you like, I’d say.

And do go. You will have a wonderful time. Life is short. Do what you love!! Travel.

I might also add that the most common thing I see fromEuropean countries, not Viking, is a first shot or booster 270 days out or sooner. Hope this helps, and again,sorry for the confusion.

I am so sorry to muddy the waters. Viking only requires the first set of two shots, or with J and J one, I guess. But many countries require more. A booster so many days from boarding or entering. It is just a mess. And so hard to figure out. We have had two boosters, but I don’t think any country requires that. Good luck and so sorry again to cause you concern.

We all need to be proactive now. Go online and check. You are your best advocate. If you have air plus, tell them what you want. If you don’t have it, this is the year to splurge for it!

Good to know. Our last cruise we were only on booster one. But still, VeriFLY is just silly, I think..

Hi TKS. As you can see we are from Santa Fe also. So I had to chuckle at your post. Like so many in Santa Fe, we had to go out of state when the vaccines first appeared on the scene. No NM health records for us. We got ours from Colorado! And many friends went to Texas. But VeriFLY always accepted the uploaded photos of our cards almost instantly. I just wish they would retain them. Every trip, we have to go through the same process over again. And now our second booster is written on the back of the CDC card. No way to show that, and that’s the one that counts now. The efficacy of the first two has long waned!

I have that now, too. But I’m still have the tab Before you Go. Everything changes so fast. When we cruised last year things were quite different. The best thing is to check the week before you go.

Yes, I believe you are right. On MVJ, our Alaska cruise has the VeriFLY icon under “before you go.” For our Med. Antiquities, there is no VeriFLY icon listed.