Hobson1754

On 1/19/2023 at 9:33 PM, whtdog said:

👋 HELLO!

We are traveling on the Viking Venus at the end of September 2023 and looking for ideas.  7 of us are booked for the pre extension in Bergan and the post extension in Barcelona.  Any tips you have…experiences to share…not to miss tours etc. ideas are welcome!  This is our first cruise on a Viking Ocean Ship 💕

Hope to see you on the ship ☺️

We did this cruise last September & it was our 1st Viking Cruise.  Loved everything about it, have since booked another 2 VOC & looking to book another for Christmas 2024. We had been to a few of the ports before but those we hadn’t visited before we were really impressed with i.e. Bergen, Vigo & excursion we took to Honfleur (from Le Havre).

13 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

One other line which could minimize flights might be Cunard.  Have not sailed QM2 since her Maiden Voyage but she is a beautiful ship.  I believe there is a Transatlantic leaving Southampton, traveling to NYC then on to the Caribbean ending back up in NYC.  One NYC/LHR Biz class flight.  🍸

Thanks I’ll have a look Jim.

14 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

On the Viking Oceans website, you can filter on Month/Year.  Doing so for Dec 2023 shows 15 cruises.  You'd have to look at each one to see if they span Dec 25.  I checked them all.

I did find Mediterranean Antiquities :

Athens-Barcelona 2 weeks   Dec 20  Viking Saturn

Athens-Barcelona 2 weeks   Dec 22  Viking Venus

 

These appear to be the only cruises that span Dec 25 and are in the Med.  You'd have to do a transatlantic, Caribbean, or Panama Canal (or South America or Australia) for the other 14 itineraries.

We just finished a FLL-FLL Christmas Cruise Dec 21-Jan 4 to Panama Canal and back.  Loved the holiday spirits and atmosphere. But I understand not wanting to fly much during the holidays.

Yes, done that, the Med cruises for 2023 aren’t going to be there for 2024 otherwise I was ready to book 😤  Was hoping the community may have some knowledge of another (quality) Cruise line I hadn’t thought of which did the Med at Christmas.

23 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

That's one of our limiting factors too.  Minimize flying.  Especially since we got caught up in that mess over Christmas and were stranded in Puerto Rico.  Most Med based ships seem to transit to the Caribbean due to not so good weather possibilities in the Med.  We also have done many trips to the Caribbean and have a few favorite stops but declare "sea days" for a number of others.  For us being on the ship is the draw more than some of the ports.  

I agree with you completely regards sea days on Viking - I love them.  Ultimately it’s the hassle of flying long haul, coupled with the extra budget needed as the days of flying economy on a long flight for me are long gone 😂 

Yes, many thanks for this everyone the only problem is we didn’t really want to fly long haul from UK again for a variety of reasons really and also think we’ve done the Caribbean to death over the years, however it looks as though we don’t have too many options.  Have started to think I’ll have a look a river cruises although I’m not sure I’m completely sold. Back to the drawing board 😂

After years of wanting a Christmas & New Year cruise, but unable to do so because of family commitments, we are finally planning to go away Christmas 2024🤪

We don’t want to travel long haul anymore for a few reasons and my first choice is Viking but, being unable to see any Viking cruises for that period in the Mediterranean, I contacted Viking by phone and was advised that it looks as if they aren’t going to have any ‘Quiet Mediterranean’ season anymore due to people being able to travel more freely after COVID.  Viking currently have a couple of Christmas cruises in Med in 2023!
I’ve also checked out Oceania and Azamara but again no luck.  We really don’t want a mainstream huge cruise ship with lot of kids - any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

6 minutes ago, Pushka said:

On the train I noticed he had fallen asleep. I set my alarm for five minutes. It went off on cue. I have never seen someone jump so high on a train. He had no idea what had happened. We tried to stop laughing so we didn't give the game away. 

Like it 😂😂

1 minute ago, KaDarr said:

Well then, I don't understand Clay's comment about bringing your own wine/liquor squashing social interaction. We have definitely decided to not purchase the SS package. If we want to, we can buy a martini or whatnot at the bar but I think that having our own wine and maybe gin and vodka in our cabin is the best way to go. I won't feel like I have to keep drinking all day in order to get my money's worth. (Even though I'm sure it would probably be only two or three drinks that would cover that $25 per day)

So, that being said... I hope they sell some good wine and liquor in Bergen, Norway.

I’m sure they do but, Bergen is very expensive for everything - probably be cheaper to get the SSP 😂😂

We are arriving the day before embarkation day so that probably is a better option. Discussed with & been informed by DH that he definitely won’t do a full day independent tour the day we are sailing for reason given above. Hey Ho!!😂

29 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 GrayLine stuck with their time schedule.  By the stated ending time the bus had already started dropping folks off.  You do have to allow time for drop offs at the end of the day, maybe up to half an hour.  

 

 

Many thanks for this - just have to convince my husband who’s always overly cautious time wise when catching flights, getting back to ship etc.😂

1 minute ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

We did The Golden Circle with GrayLine Tours for half the price. We saw the same sights and lunch didn't cost us $100pp. They pick at the ship.  We happened to do it on disembarkation day. We took all of our luggage with us and we were dropped at our hotel at the end of the day.

We have been thinking about taking a Golden Circle excursion with a tour provider other than Viking for a couple of reasons 1) The high price (think it’s about $199 and 2) There may be sold out by the time we can reserve tours as we are in a DV cabin - can you advise how long this tour actually took as my main worry is that the tour is late back for our sailing?

It’s birds tweeting but very softly - I could never go to the Ladies room without smiling. 

Looks fabulous - Green, Green, Green with envy 😜

Many thanks Lorna - that’s substantially more than some of the excursions I’ve been looking at, but I suppose for peace of mind I’ll probably ‘bite the bullet’ + a good lunch sound very attractive 😂

On 12/7/2022 at 12:59 PM, TayanaLorna said:

I see Kent sent you the link to see them.  I did the cruise in 2021.  I can tell you the cost of any particular excursion if you wish - at least for then.  

Good morning Lorna - we’re going on the Iceland, British Isles & Iberia cruise in September & are interested in a Golden Circle tour.  We are thinking of booking a tour through a tour company before we go but, as the tours are 8 hours+ I’m not 100% comfortable booking it for fear of being late back to ship, so would be grateful if you could provide some cost information on Viking tours just to compare.

If you’re not a regular/big drinker of alcohol but, during your cruise want to try different wines and cocktails I think the SSP is the way to go - try what you want and, if you don’t care for it, try another 👍

5 hours ago, duquephart said:

My wife can't handle lamb and opted for a NY steak. It was tough and badly overcooked. Chef's table is way overrated.

I’m now of the opinion that’s it’s down to the individual ship & consequently the chef and perhaps maybe an ‘off’ night. Lots of people rave about Manfredi’s however we found that overrated, whereas we really liked Chefs Table & ate there 3 times during our cruise enjoying 3 separate themes.

1 hour ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

 

This one?

1 hour ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

 

This one?

Love it 😂

Thanks to everyone who has replied to and given their experiences re this post.  We have decided to forego the Transatlantic cruise, partly because of the prohibitive travel insurance quotes we received for travelling to US & Caribbean at my husband’s age (he will be 79 then)! We have therefore decided and, I’ve just booked ‘Mediterranean & Italian Sojourn’ instead.  Not quite the same weather at that time of year but sure we’ll have another great cruise.

20 minutes ago, photopro2 said:

I certainly agree with him and I wouldn't recommend that you made that journey in one go.

 

As you probably know international passengers transferring onto US domestic flights have to collect checked baggage from the carousel and take them through customs before re-checking them. This, along with the immigration procedure, makes for a lengthy process and usually results in either an unsettling dash through the airport if the connection time is short or a sometimes lengthy wait at the airport for a later connection. Neither of these is ideal after a transatlantic flight.

 

Our solution (as we have to collect the checked bags and go through immigration anyway) is to book a hotel room at our arrival airport in the US. That way we can go through the arrival procedures without any time pressure, get a good nights sleep in a proper bed, then continue with the domestic flight the following morning.

 

Viking arranged our flights so we could do this on the TA we made from San Juan a few years ago and they have done the same for our Caribbean cruise with them early next year.

 

We land in Miami and spend that night at the airport at our own cost. We then fly to San Juan the next morning arriving around midday. We know from the last time that we will get there rested and ready to enjoy the ship straight away. In contrast fellow Brits who have made the trip in one go will arrive at the ship late the same evening and I expect totally frazzled from the journey.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed both San Juan and the TA that followed. It is a very walkable and historic city with a Caribbean twist.

 

I hope that you can get your wish to visit someday and maybe this post will help persuade your husband that it is certainly possible to make the journey in a reasonably comfortable way.

 

 

Thank you photopro2 for this. Yes I think your suggestion is the best bet.  It’s all undecided at present and we’re weighing up the whole idea of a TA cruise.  Whilst my husband enjoys the ship when it’s rolling a little, I’m not always 100% if it’s really bad.

49 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

We did the Barcelona to San Juan crossing in 2021.  The one you are considering follows the same route but with less ports.  (We stopped in Valencia, Cadiz and Gibralter also.)  We had 20 knot winds from the E or NE and seas of 6 feet which is no big deal for a cruise ship.  However on board i could barely tell i was on a ship since the wind and seas were following and pushing us along.  The 6 sea days in a row were glorious.  There were lots of things to do or you could do nothing.  Once we were 3 days out of Maderia the temperatures became warm and humid to hot when we reached St. Martin.  You may want to consider this cruise as it is equally economical, stops in more ports and you can fly SJ to Miami (2 hrs 40 min) and then Miami to London (8 hrs) or vice versa.

 

Your FLL to Barcelona crossing goes from St. Martin to Maderia also so temperatures should be similar.  But the tradewinds blow from the East so you are more likely to feel the wind and seas since the ship is sailing into it.  However March to May are the months when all the mega-yachts begin their crossing from the Caribbean to the Med so the cruise is doing the passage during the right time frame.  It is anyones guess what the weather will be like in any given early Spring or late Fall for that matter.  Just assess your tolerance for heavy weather and seasickness.

 

 

Many thanks for this - yes I’d looked at this cruise as I’ve never been to San Juan & have often fancied it.  However, my husband’s not keen on the flight.  We’d have to fly to London, then Miami & on to San Juan.  I’d looked at flights to San Juan and we’d be travelling over 21 hours. Think there’s always a compromise somewhere along the line. I’ll keep on searching 😂

10 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Unfortunately, weather is always unpredictable, with early March having greater probability of hitting some snotty weather than April/May, but definitely better than some of my crossings in Jan/Feb. Heading into the Meddy, is a bonus as you avoid the Bay of Biscay and Western Approaches. Assuming you stop in the Azores also limits the Latitude, so theoretically missing the upper North Atlantic.

 

Surviving 6-days at sea is easy, with so much to do around the ship, or simply sitting in a nook or cranny and reading. On the Magical Mystery Tour we survived about 50-days without getting ashore.

 

One downside of an E'bd transit is the clocks moving ahead 5 or 6 hrs, which means a number of short days. Cloxs are traditionally moved at 02:00, which means an hour less sleep, but some Masters do move them at 12:00 on TA's. You may wish to consider a W'bd transit, flying home, as the cloxs move back, giving 25 hr days.

Thanks for this - yes stopping at Madeira, where we’ve been before at that time of year but obviously open sea is a different kettle of fish

Yes thanks I looked at that but it’s a 13 1/2 hours flight from UK which really fills me with dread

I’m thinking of booking a Transatlantic cruise - Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona - beginning of March 2024 for my ‘special’ birthday and, never having done this cruise before I’m wondering if any of you out there would care to share your experience of a) weather in Atlantic beginning of March and b) how you found 6 sea days in a row. Having recently returned from my first Viking cruise (loved it)& already booked another for next September I’m really wanting another Viking cruise then but struggling to find one that both appeals to me & fits our budget.

5 hours ago, KBs mum said:

Is that the Lowland? My understanding was that the Highland, or Mountain Haggis, has four legs, those on the right being shorter. This results in the animal being able to run around a mountain at speed. (There being a rare subspecies, the Anticlockwise Haggis, whose left legs are shorter). 

Farmed Haggis seem to be inferior, in the same way as farmed salmon, and often have four legs of the same length 

 

Loving this thread - sitting here giggling (unable to sleep) wondering what our friends across the pond are making of all this😂😂