jc522

Or stop cruising. It just doesn't get any better! 🙂

My second Viking ocean cruise. The ship is very nice. The stateroom is very nice. Staff throughout the ship are very good. The onboard band is bad. The food is mediocre. We only had 1/2 day in Naples so excursions were very limited. We hired a private driver to Amalfi, but there really wasn't enough time. They blew off Messina due to high winds (supposedly). So far, no compensation for the at-sea day. Since we didn't stop in Messina they couldn't pick up entertainers as planned. Instead, the entertainment director is doing her Vegas show from 30 years ago. They did add some excursions to day 2 in Chioggia/Venice. Is it worth a 3 hour round trip to Venice for 2 hours in the city? No. More later.....

Does the Venice on our own include transport to/from Venice? YES How much time does it leave on your own in Venice? 8 hours door to door minus 3 hours round trip = 5 hours. You didn't say included for it but was it really $0 ? That is how they listed it for Day 2. Which one, if any, did you pick? Day 1 - Venice On Your Own. We will see all we can in 5 hours. Day 2 - Scenic Chioggia and we will stay in town for a while afterwards. Day 3 - St. Marks At A Glance, but we will probably cancel. It doesn't make sense to travel 3 hours for another 2 hours in Venice.

I am on the cruise in Crotone, at present. When we boarded there was a sheet included with the Viking Daily that announced 4 excursions for the second day in Chioggia. They are Scenic Chioggia By Foot (1hr-included), Discovering Verona (9hrs-$189), Venice On Your Own (8hrs-$0), and Murano & Burano (7hrs-$109).

Thanks, but you would think it wouldn't be too difficult for them to let us know in advance so we can buy tickets and make plans.

Great idea, but are you sure that Viking won't have a problem with one-way trips?

If you look at "Italy, the Adriatic and Greece" for any future date, it shows 14 excursions on day 2. That is what they advertised before we booked our upcoming cruise. It was only after we booked it that we were informed that there are no excursions on day 2.

Water taxi and/or bus.

Viking Customer Service called me. The caveat that came with most of her answers was "ask onboard". Regarding Naples/Amalfi: No information. For the first day in Chioggia (16th): We probably have to come back as scheduled rather than on one of the tenders or taxis that are transporting a later excursion. They won't be running a tender service all evening as they do when anchored-off at a port. We should purchase an All City museum pass and do whatever we can fit in. For the second day: They might announce some excursions once we are onboard. We can leave the ship any time to visit to Chioggia or pay for transportation to Venice. For the third day: Ask onboard whether we can split from the group and go to a museum. Check with the tour guide, too.

I had the same question last December, before our first Viking cruise. I found that about 99% of the passengers followed Viking's dress code. Viking attracts older and more affluent passengers. They don't mind wearing a pair of dress slacks to dinner instead of ripped camo cargo shorts and a stained sleeveless tank top, like Royal Carib's target market.

Questions sent to tellus@viking... On the 11th we are in Naples. We were very much looking forward to taking the Amalfi Coast excursion, but Viking removed that excursion and others from the list. Will Viking again offer the Amalfi Coast excursion on this cruise, or do I need to hire a private driver? On the 16th - 18th we are in Chioggia (Venice). Is transportation to and from Venice via water or land, or a combination? How long does it take to get from Chioggia to Venice? On the 16th: We booked the "Venice On Your Own" excursion, 8:45am to 4:45pm. Do we have to return at 4:45pm? Will Viking provide transportation back to the ship after 4:45pm? If so, how often and how late? On the 17th: There are no excursions. Will we be able to leave the ship to visit Chioggia and/or Venice? If so, what time can we leave the ship? Is it safe to walk to Chioggia or do we need transportation? Will Viking provide transportation to and from Chioggia (details)? Will Viking provide transportation to and from Venice (details)? On the 18th: We booked the "At a Glance: St. Mark’s Square" excursion, 7:15am to 12:30pm. If we use Viking's transportation to Venice, instead of visiting St. Marks can we visit some other sites on our own and return with the 12:30 transport?

I expected more responses from people who have done the Italy, Adriatic and Greece cruise. Apparently we are on the first, or maybe the first that docks at Chioggia instead of Venice.

I agree and included that question. I'll post the reply ASAP.

Thank you! I try the app.

Thanks. I will try that.

"Museums" include St. Marks Basilica, Campanile Tower, Doge's Palace, Scuola Grande Di San Rocco, and Gallerie Dell'accademia Venezia. Thanks.

Thanks. I saw that, but I had difficulty with the lack of English descriptions on some of the pages. It does appear that their prices are much lower than Viator's and others. "Museums" include St. Marks Basilica, Campanile Tower, Doge's Palace, Scuola Grande Di San Rocco, and Gallerie Dell'accademia Venezia.

Day Three: "Venice On Your Own" is not offered on our day three, only on day one. The ship departs at 2pm on day three, so I guess there isn't enough time to offer "On Your Own", or for us to do much more than wander around St Marks square for an little while if we don't mind another 3 hour round trip. That is why we are trying to schedule everything we can on day one, but without a transportation schedule we can't get far trying to make plans and purchase tickets for that day. A similar problem turned up with our stop in Naples. The ship gets there late (12:30pm), leaving only 6.5 hours in port. They cancelled the Amalfi coast excursion due to a lack of time, and we had to hire a private driver to take an abbreviated trip to Amalfi and Ravello.

This is not a turnaround day for us. We start in Rome on March 10. I was hoping someone who has done "Italy, Adriatic and Greece" could enlighten us. Viking transports passengers to and from Venice via water taxis or their own boats. That's all I have been able to get out of their phone agents, and I have zero confidence. In addition, Venice is experiencing their seasonal period of low water levels. At low tide the canals are bone dry. I'd guess it's possible that they could put us on a bus. No one knows. Why do they always sound like they are pulling an answer out of.....thin air? The agents seem to agree that we can come back to the ship from our excursion whenever we want, but they don't know what time the boats stop shuttling passengers back to Chioggia. Makes it difficult to buy tickets to all the museums if I don't know when my transport back to the ship shuts down, and I don't want to pay the price of a vaporetto or bus back to the ship. They also don't know if we can get off the boat to explore Chioggia on turnover day.

"...unless Viking's water taxis run later than 4:45pm. Do they?"

We need to pre-purchase museum tickets for our 3 days in Venice. What are the best online ticket sites? I looked at Viator, but they seem to be mostly selling tours rather than tickets. Thanks.

We are docking in Chioggia, and we need help with Venice, again. The "Venice On Your Own" excursion is scheduled from 8:45am to 4:45pm. With 3 hours of travel time, that does not give us much time in Venice unless Viking's water taxis run later than 4:45pm. Do they? Viking's phone agents can't answer that, and we need the information from someone who has been there before we can purchase advance tickets to museums, etc. Thanks.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

We are on our own for 2 days in Venice. We need to purchase tickets for places like the Doge's Palace or the Campanile Tower. Can anyone recommend online ticket agents (like Viator) that they have used for sites in Venice or Italy in general?

Thanks. I tend to agree. Maybe Amalfi and Ravello. We'll be able to put this itinerary together once we meet our driver, but the more we know in advance of that the better.