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I asked Viking Customer Relations for a revised itinerary. They sent one. A few minutes later I got email from Viking discussing the change.

It appears that the itinerary for the Pristine Alaska Extension has changed. We now get a night in Anchorage instead of two nights in Talkeetna. No notice from Viking. I just saw it in a random check of the web site.

We are on the 24 May sailing of Viking's Alaska Cruise. We are one of two Viking cruises in 2024 to go into Glacier Bay so the itinerary is slightly different than normal. The excursions in Juneau sold out incredibly fast. I wondered. I found a web site that lists the ships in port for a given day. The web site is listed in the attached document. It is no wonder the Juneau sold out so fast. We will have a lot of company! I put together a document listing what I found. There is also some somewhat dated material on each port included as well. Enjoy. Alaska Cruise Ports May 2024.pdf

If you do the Sagrada Familia on you own, be sure to get your tickets online before you get there. The lines are very long.

I wish Viking would not delete a booking on My Viking Journey until after the cruise you had booked. Your return flight information is no longer accessible using Viking resources after you start your cruise. There is a possibility your flight may change. Yes you can carry your airline confirmation number with you but it would be nice to be able to see it on the MVJ site. If you booked Viking Air, being able to see the return flight through the Viking app would also be nice.

Does anyone know why the Alaska & Inside Passage has disappeared from the Viking web site?

Does Viking do anything to ease the flight home issue after Pristine Alaska. It appears we check out of the Bear Lodge, Fairbanks at 11 am or so but there are be no suitable flights out of Fairbanks until 1AM the next day. That is a long time at the airport. I am thinking of checking out at 11 pm on the 29th to catch a 1 am flight on the 30th unless Viking has some sort of accommodation.

We just finished our first Viking Cruise (Great Lakes Collection - Duluth to Toronto). Prior to the cruise we booked France's Finest. Now that we are Explorer Society members, will the past guest discount credit be applied to our France's Finest cruise? I thought I read somewhere it would. Can anyone confirm this?

I asked Viking Guest Services. Here is there reply: Local Guides & Drivers cannot be pre-paid and are cash only. We suggest $2 for guides and $1 for drivers. It appears boat drivers are included in the gratuity pool.

I found some on line guidance but it seems somewhat dated. Do we tip zodiac and special ops boats drivers?

We leave in two weeks for the Great Lakes Collection. I am interested in what the norm is for tipping shore side (i.e. tour guides, bus drivers, baggage handlers).

Strange. I was getting the 403 error. I noticed my VPN was paused. I turned on the VPN and was immediately connected. I am in MD,

They should also appear on any invoice you get from Viking received after your TA awarded the credit.

You see onboard credits at My Viking Journey>Payments & Cart>Payment Methods.

I strongly recommend one of the two discover scuba excursions. Discover scuba is a program for people who have never been diving. You do not need to be certified and you do not need to be a strong swimmer. You get some time in 'stand up' water to get used to the equipment and breathing underwater. You are taught the minimal skills you need to be safe. You then get an open water dive. You will dive in groups of 2-4 people with an assigned instructor. Once in the water, you will be amazed by the fish and the coral. The experience is truly unique and rewarding. My wife and I started our dive careers via a discover scuba session. My wife got tired of being limited to being on the surface snorkeling and wanted to get 'down with the fish'. She entered the water with a 'white grip of death' on the instructor. After her first fish sighting, she was off on her own.

I think it has to do with the issue that bourbon is uniquely an American product made by American companies. As such, I suspect it is more more difficult and expensive to acquire overseas. I think the cure - given Viking is very tolerant of BYOB, it to bring a nice bottle with you.

Our travel agent has gotten us bookings on two Viking cruises where I didn't think we had a prayer of booking. She is an agent for a national organization that appears to have some leverage to bring to the table. I also do not have to wait on hold to chat with a Viking agent. She has specific agents she deals with and is not getting the next available agent who might not have much experience.

France's Finest, Paris to Lyon embarking 22 Oct 2023.

Day before arrival in Paris. I am investigating where I would stay if I arrived in Paris the day before embarkation. I have the latest (published Oct 2022) edition of Rick Steves' Paris book. He lists two budget value hotels near the Eiffel tower. Hotel de la Tour Eiffel (www.hotel-toureiffel.com) and Hotel Kensington (www.hotel-eiffel-kensington.com), Budget value is a relative term. These are still over $200 per night. They do not provide airport shuttle service and if you are on Viking Air, they will not do the transfer so that is something to consider.

It could be a general recall for crew and or passengers.

So the original question for this thread remains. What is Viking offering when they offer a business class fare to Alaska.

It sure would be nice to have a secret decoder ring to unravel all these new and unique fare classes. Perhaps I should buy more cracker jacks. Back to the original topic, my agent tells me that Delta and Alaska Air fly the equivalent of business class to Alaska. Of course they do not call it that.

If you do the price and build for an Alaska cruise on the Viking site, you are offered a quote for economy and business class airfares. Anyone have any idea what class fare that is. I am not aware of many business class cabins on US domestic flights. Is it premium economy or first class?

Circumstances have required me to dig deeper into my VIking Future Cruise Credit Vouchers than I would like. I have multiple vouchers from multiple cruises cancelled by COVID. The terms, conditions, and expiration dates for my vouchers vary over time with vouchers for some cruises having different expiration dates and use by/sail by conditions for the same booking. That said, it would be a great service to Viking cruisers if Viking provided visibility to voucher information in My Viking Journey.

Curious. How do meals included in an extension work? Seems like breakfast is a common provided meal. Is there a fixed meal provided? a given budget to spend? or a ticket to a buffet? I suspect it varies but what have people experienced?