TayanaLorna

Did you ask Viking if the vouchers could be used in payment of one of the cruises already booked. I ask because you received them for a Viking trip interruption (whether or not it was Vikings fault) and not because you cancelled your cruise. It's a little different...just saying it might be worth the question.

We are doing Vikings Amazon (and Caribbean) cruise beginning February 19, 2023. After we disembark in Manaus we are boarding a much smaller cruise ship to go further up the Amazon for 4 days. It sails up the Rio Solimoes, a much more narrow river, and excursions are done in smaller launches from it. I did my research after we booked Viking and realized we did want to get more into the thick of it.

Sorry the charts are not in the order of sailing North to South but you will get an idea of what kind of passages the ship sails.

We did not go on the cruise lines you mentioned. We went on an 18 day Santiago (Valparaiso) to Buenas Aires cruise on Viking Ocean. It was fabulous! These photos here are of the route the ship took through Patagonia. When we sailed from Valparaiso to Puerto Montt it was overnight offshore and we did not see much. From Puerto Montt we sailed inside for part of the day and then offshore. But when offshore we saw land. The next day we woke up sailing the inside passage weaving through narrow channels and around islands to the Amalia Glacier and continued inside to Punta Arenas and then Ushuaia. I wrote our story for family and friends and included photos from the ship and on excursions. If you are interested, you can find all the chapters at www.tomko2travel.blogspot.com. We were 68 and 69 years of age when we did the cruise.

Countries often give different rules for cruise ships from those that other arrivals have. Last year every site on line i could find giving rules for entry to Morocco allowed visitors via air and ferry entry if they were vaccinnated. Except cruise ships were not allowed no matter what. So we missed Casablanca. Their country, their rules. Viking's ship, their rules.

We did a TA leaving Barcelona November 29 last year and began noticing decorations appearing after a few days. You may be boarding an already decorated ship.

You have a house and dog sitter lined up, they get sick and cannot make it and you cannot find anyone else. Many policies do not cover for cancelling to do elective surgery. Your house was flooded from a storm. You can't get out because a landslide closed your road.

Trip Mate insurance through Viking is 2 part. The insurance underwriter covers the cancellation, interruption, lost baggage, missed flights, medical needs, emergency evacuation etc all with very specific parameters that must be met for any cash refund as well as providing them with all and any documentation they require within their stated time frame. Viking covers you for the cancellation for any reason but only with a voucher to be used for a future cruise within a specific time frame and not a cash refund. When you cancel the cruise you have a certain time frame within which you must decide which part you are going to use - a claim to the insurance underwriter for cash refund or a claim to Viking for a future cruise voucher. When you decide on one path, you cannot switch to the other. If you go for the cash refund from the insurance underwriter, they decide if your reason is "covered" and tell you what documentation, reports etc they require from you. Whether or not you claim to the insurance underwriter or Viking, the cost of your insurance is not refunded or included in the value of the voucher. Also, if you take the voucher and book another cruise with Viking, the cost of that cruise has no cash value to insure through Trip Mate again. Although cruisers are saying the value of the voucher can be insured through other companies.

I hope the "many unhappy passengers" are not taking it out on the crew or guest services who cannot do anything about it and are also testing daily. We were on a TA where we spit tested daily. Then prior to arrival in San Juan, Puerto Rico decided they wanted a nasal swab PCR not a spit test PCR so we all got our appointments to appear in the Star Theatre for our tests. Boy you should have seen the crowd of angry upset passengers at Guest Services complaining and refusing to be subjected to a nasal swab! Our Passenger Ticket Contracts basically say we gotta do whatever the Master says we gotta do even if it changes mid cruise and whether or not we like it. Oh well is right.

"After a cruise traveling from Iceland to New York City" is confusing. Are you getting off the cruise in Iceland and flying to NYC OR are you on a cruise from Iceland to New York and disembarking the ship to fly from NYC?

Thanks for the info. We are on a cruise to the Brazil Amazon and our documents indicate testing may be required. Was wondering when it would begin and if it was daily. Does your TA stop in Brazil in Rio?

Gaiman, the Welsh village is about a one hour drive. There is Faro Punta Ninfas almost a 1 hour 45 minute drive. Estancia El Pedral is a 1 hour 30 minute drive. There is the Paleontological Museum in Trelew about a 50 minute drive. Peninsula Valdes is all about wildlife. Then there is always town of Punta Madryn. Not much DIY unless you rent a car or hire a taxi. We did an awesome Peninsula Valdez private excursion with Sentir Patagonia. We saw just about every animal and bird of the area other then the whales since it was not the right season and had a great lunch on a working Estancia.

Wondering the upgrade cost too. We have upgraded when offered for different prices but always worth it.

Do it!! We really like forward near elevators and stairwell. Its an easy climb up one flight to the Explorers Lounge. More space and storage in room plus alcohol perks. We were in 4111 aft and hated the loooong walk.

My husband and I can easily consume 3 cocktails/premium wines/aperitifs per day. So 2 wines and 1 cocktail cost $22 a la carte vs $20 for the SSP.

If you have 2 premium wines and 1 cocktail per day, it justIfies the $20.00 per day SSP cost. The wine is now $8.00 per glass and the cheapest cocktail is $6.00.

I definitely second Peregrina's recommendeds. Instead of Vigur Island we did the Dynjandi Waterfall hike which was demanding for sure but awesome. We figured we would see puffins at Skalanes which we did. When in Seydisfjordur we did both the Skalanes nature center as well as the Vok Baths plus we walked around Seydisfjordur on our own. Baths were not touristy at all. Enjoyed the Golden Circle with Viking. The 3 all day excursions included very nice lunches. Stuck with Viking for all excursions until departure day. We had a 5:30 pm flight home so took a small group tour through the Reykenes Penninsula with drop off at the airport. It was much different then Vikings. We had no expectation of seeing the volcano but all the stops were interesting from the walk along bubbling pools, to steaming fumaroles with a working geothermal plant in the background, to the basalt cliffs and lighthouse. We stopped in a small fishing village at a very local cafe for lunch too.

Re Vigur Island. It is private and capacity controlled. If Viking or another cruise ship is in port, they book all the capacity within the time frame of back on board time. Yes there may be a private tour in the afternoon but you will miss the ship.

Since all cabin categories have already chosen both included and optional excursions, i would think there are slim or no pickings left. Most likely the included ones are afternoon times only since most people like morning ones. I suggest finding and joining the Roll Call for this specific sailing date/ship/itinerary and ask there if anything is left.

Okay, will the owner of those feet please identify yourself!

Thank you so much for this info. Some friends are joining us on their first cruise ever and he wears hearing aids. In about a month we can choose excursions and I was wondering if he should avoid excursions heavy on the QuietVox usage if he won't be able to hear what they say anyways. I know he is able to hear his mobile phone with his aids. I see this oticon device works for different devices. Thanks, now I have a place to start explaining to him.

Can anyone advise how and if hearing aids work with the Quiet Vox devices. Any advice is appreciated.

I did the same thing of taking a snapshot on my phone so I didn't have to wait for the wine list in restaurants. I have been on 4 Viking cruises - Midnight Sun, Around Cape Horn, Around Iceland Welcome Back and a TA Barcelona to San Juan - and the choice of wines by the glass are almost exactly the same - at least for the whites. I am not positive about the reds as we drink whites more. I see some the same. The BIG difference is a glass now costs $8.00 (not $6.00) and bottle is $30.00 (not $25.00). So did Viking raise the cost of drinks but not the SSP? The SSP is included as a perk on our next cruise so I don't know if that went up also.

One time we didn't get the SSP and I ordered a Viking sparkling wine in the Explorers Lounge after 6 pm. Was fully expecting to pay for it. I did not have a charge on my room bill for it. Usually I would order from wine list and did get charged. Go figure.

On our last cruise, there was a charge for the "premium" French wine tasting but not for the one we did which was excellent. The free for SSP holders fills up fast.