CDR2001

If you’re looking at a river cruise, excursions open to all cabins at the same time. Ocean gives suites and penthouse cabins a few weeks head start on excursions. It’s indicated on the website under each cabin category. Look at the deck plans for river and you can see where each type is located.

Go to Calendar, then click calendar summary for a day by day list of excursions and dining reservations. Another question please of OskiD. What time did your excursions open for booking? Last year we cruised Homelands, and the excursion bookings showed on MVJ at midnight PST; 12 hours earlier than the advised noon PST time. I had read on CC that times were iffy, so I fortunately looked at midnightPST, and booked everything I wanted. We have an Iceland cruise in July. Thanks.

No experience with this device, but from our 3 cruises, onboard WIFI was usually weak. I had difficulty sending photos home via a messenger app.

I had a MVJ tech issue that lasted for months, and I got results by contacting Stephanie Maldonado, customer service director listed here. https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/viking-cruises/ Good luck.

Check your ports and available excursions carefully. Our friends just returned from a Christmas on the Danube river cruise, and were disappointed to find many buildings and shops closed Dec24,25 and 26, including Christmas markets. Descriptions of excursions did not indicate that things might be closed for the holidays.

From the Home page, click the 3 little bars at the top left. It opens a list of options. Scroll down to booking summary, you’ll find what you’re looking for there. Itinerary details are under Calendar. Yes, I do think MVJ has changed over the years.

Yes, you get $100pp discount, and your parents get $100pp referral voucher credit, which may be applied to a currently booked cruise, as long as it’s not paid in full. ( True from our experience.) We’ve received the credit often for referring friends.

From past experience, the free airfare was for certain dates. Go to the itinerary you’re interested in, and look at the dates and pricing section to see flight costs.

I can only speak to our 1 Viking Homelands cruise last August. Port times were listed on our invoice, but we noticed times for some excursions conflicted. A few excursions were scheduled to leave before we would even arrive in port….. yes, confusing. Excursion times were correctly stated on our tour tickets, and matched the arrival and departure times on the Viking Daily news. No private excursions we planned were effected.

We’ve only sailed Viking, but at the same time our brother sailed Azamara, similar itinerary. From conversations, the ports and time in port were about the same. The major difference was the shipboard experience. Viking has all inclusive dining, with a few venues requiring reservations, while Az had some dining options available for an up charge. Viking has free internet, and one included excursion per port. ( some of the included excursions are a city walk, some are a panoramic drive. We prefer the paid optional excursions, but usually take the included ones if we can fit them in also.) Viking night life is usually a short musical show with 4 singers and a small band, not big broadway caliber. There are guest lectures which we find interesting too. Azamara has a big White Night dance party, and more formal dinner dress. Viking requires nighttime collared shirts on men and no jeans for all, unless dining in the buffet. Vikings cabin categories are fewer, and all passengers are treated the same regardless of category of stateroom or loyalty to the line. ( No special loyalty perks other than a small $100-200 discount.) That’s a summary of differences based on our conversations. We like the quiet Viking cruise style.

I’m not a fan of the early payment policy, but Viking has a cancellation policy that only costs each passenger $100 if the cruise is cancelled 121 days before the trip begins. There is a date on your invoice. Friends have taken advantage of this policy, it’s cash back.

We had a similar experience with vouchers given due to cancelled ports. I received an email with a new invoice, showing they were applied to the cruise with $25 deposit. We had another cruise leaving sooner, and wanted the vouchers applied there. A quick call to the agent listed on the email took care of it. A few weeks later, we earned referral credit…and it was automatically applied to the wrong cruise. I called again, and they were moved. I asked why this new automatic voucher application, and she said it’s a policy coming down from management so the vouchers are used and don’t expire. Seems silly to me, as any vouchers that expire don’t hurt Viking. Anyway, I now check the invoice on any and all emails.

This works for me, multiple cruises and European trips. 1. Turn on Airplane mode, don’t touch it again until on home soil! 2. I also turn off cellular service and data as a precaution. 3. Turn ON WiFi when onboard or in a location with free WiFi, like a cafe or hotel. I usually keep WiFi Off to conserve battery. 4. I communicate with family at home by texting or calling via WhatsApp or FB Messager. Both are free . Family needs these apps too for it to work. Traveling companions also have WhatsApp for shipboard texts. I had a friend who got charged by ATT and she thought she had WiFi calling, I’m not willing to risk big charges so I use the free Apps only. My sister teaches in Italy, and she uses WhatsApp.

That was also our experience onboard, but we didn’t have credit that could be used prior to sailing. You could call and book some excursions and make sure they use the correct credits. Or email for clarification Tellus@vikingcruises.com

I’ve requested a PDF list of excursions and details by using Chat on MVJ. Agents have been very helpful and sent it via email.

Sorry about your delay. I guess you know that there is a tentative excursion list at the bottom of the day by day itinerary page for your cruise. Perhaps here is another option to research excursions. I used the chat function to request an old detailed excursion list for our Empires cruise next fall. (My kids like to give us money for excursions for Christmas.) I was emailed a list from a previous cruise, with dates, times and prices. I know our cruise may not offer exactly the same, but it helps with the research. BTW, I’ve done this for other cruises also, with the chat rep very helpful each time. Also, as you probably know, keep checking MVJ for uploaded excursions…as it can happen any time!

@smj We couldn’t get dinner reservation times we liked for our summer Homelands cruise. However, once onboard, we easily booked days and times for Manfredi’s…Chef Table isn’t our style! I think they may do early walk ups if available, as we observed couple being seated with no reservation. Good luck.

From my experience last summer, the onboard registered CC was not automatically applied to shore excursions before sailing. I had to manually enter CC details to book excursions. However, my bank account info that was saved could easily be used with a few clicks, saving 3.3%. Some folks like the rewards or points earned on credit cards instead of the Echeck discount. I used the faster E check account for booking my most desired excursions, then switched to CC for others to get points. ( I suppose you’ve seen the tip to pay for your favorite excursions immediately rather than loading up your cart.. payment and check out guarantees the excursion, placing it in the cart is just a hold, like online shopping.)

I’m with above.We haven’t packed jeans for any trip or cruise in years…too much trouble to wash and dry as we travel, and travel pants also pack “smaller.”

You can also pay for excursions via E check. My banking info is saved under Payment methods, and I didn’t have to re-enter that number when I booked excursions last summer. You save 3.3% also. Sorry, I don’t remember the specifics of navigating to the payment method…I booked in the middle of the night as I noticed excursion selection opened at midnight…not the advertised noon PST. Last summer several posters reported that excursions weren’t available at the designated time, some opened sooner, some later. Be aware, and check often!

If you choose to book with Viking, do it by phone rather than online. Our Viking agent said that staterooms are available to her that are not seen online. Online gives about 5-6 options per cabin category. We have used the same agent with great results. I do know that many TAs give additional onboard credit but we’ve not taken advantage of that as we love our helpful Viking consultant. It’s a personal choice as others here prefer using a TA.

This is close to what Viking uses. At least the symbols have words attached.

With multiple trips to Italy and a few cruises, we have learned not to depend on the cloud for backups. We also use a photo backup stick for phone, and hubby backups his camera via the laptop. I also carry two wired phone chargers with me. Good luck for future trips, it’s hard to keep up with technology options for sure…said the retired grandma! here’s our hint for the USPS issue…we tape a large note inside the mailbox confirming the Mail Hold request, and we have a neighbor double checking it. We’ve experienced delivered mail while gone many times.

We completed Homelands in August, and our OBC didn’t show up until we were “onboard.” It never appeared on MVJ. We did not pay gratuities in advance so used the OBC for that while on the ship, as well as used some for an excursion booked onboard.

I’m not vegetarian, however I prefer vegetarian heavy meals. I found the World Cafe to be a great choice for me. There was always an individually prepared salad plate, sushi, pasta, fish and lots of small bites with vegetables. We never ate in the Restaurant. I did hear a woman ask specifically about wanting more options, and the next day she was served a special meal. Just ask if you don’t see what you can eat.