pavementends

I think if you ask Viking Air to arrange the next-day return flight you will pay a diversion fee (and you will be responsible for transportation to the airport). I was able to cancel Viking Air and get a refund when I found I could arrange more attractive (and cheaper) flights myself.

When I was on a cruise there was a daily printout that stated when and where particular musicians were playing. It made it easy to avoid any performer I wanted to avoid.

The NON-Silversea train (which I took) has two classes. I took the cheaper one, which was adequately comfortable but a bit worn. The trip was "fine"; not great but "fine." I do not regret taking it but wouldn't choose to do a round trip. You get to walk around a bit on the train and mine had an observation car. If it's not much longer than the bus I think it is a better choice than the bus.

Look up Emma Cruises Superyacht on youtube for a video. The ship (and the company) appears to be considerably smaller than Viking. They also seem to lack the all-encompassing marketing reach of Viking.

The traffic in Bangkok is indeed horrific. But then Viking- or the organizer of the pre-cruise- knew that. It seems to me that a much better description of these tours is warranted. This one should almost have come with a warning. Of particular concern to ME is timing, especially length of time on a bus. I did a pre-cruise in Athens, which was more days and was OK. In that case I did not want to get involved in detailed planning so I took the easy way out. But I have come to the conclusion that it is much more satisfactory to (1) make my own flight arrangements to arrive a few days early and (2) organize my own hotel, transportation, and activities. Considering that pre-cruise tours are fairly pricey, it is possible to book excellent hotels, a limo from the airport and to the port, and taxis to get directly to attractions, AND still come out ahead.

Yeah, it's not a monthly sale, more like a weekly sale. Or daily. Now that we have internet I suppose they can be hourly.

I've been on the Hurtigruten coastal ferry. I would do it again but it is a VERY different experience. The good thing about it is the chance to get off and stroll around every few hours. Less nice: basic cabins, not much food choice, pay for drinks, I think even water. Best wishes, remember there is nothing guaranteed about the aurora.

It's not only whether a particular ship CAN visit certain ports. It's a question of whether there is demand for a particular port, whether space can be reserved, and what the port cost is. There is really no alternative to looking at individual cruises and then making the best choice available.

The cruise I booked during the sale (which ended Mar 15, didn't it?) went up a fair bit. But then that's the thing about a sale- it's an incentive to book now (or then) and not later. If the prices never went up then it wasn't a sale.

I never do email surveys so I discarded without reading. So thanks for posting this. I've got a reward credit card and don't need another. Unless it's really smokin' deal. By the way, unlike some other lines (not to be mentioned) SS doesn't charge a fee for using a credit card (nor do they offer a discount for cash) so I am happy to get rewards on that other credit card. Now if they included some travel-ish insurance for free...maybe not even then.

You can't go home again (cf. Thomas Wolfe) and you can't step into the same river twice. Fortunately I've only started to cruise Silversea so previous experiences haven't stopped me from having a good time. As for price, I have been able to book at what I consider to be reasonable prices (although this was during the recent sale, not afterwards. And for a couple, not single). I can't help suspecting that the extremely high cabin price mentioned above for an Antarctic trip was either the last very high end cabin or a website error. Yes, the Antarctic costs a lot but it doesn't need to be that much.

Gotta be blunt here. You prefer the wrong thing. Which, of course, you are welcome to do.

Getting foreign currency from AAA is so...last century.

I got a couple months delay by just asking, but payment was still due quite early. That's just how Viking rolls.

I have done a 4 day pre-cruise in Athens with another cruise line. So my experience may be only partly useful. I suggest checking out the hotel. I was at the IHG Athenaeum Athens which was very nice. Also be aware that the daily excursions may involve long bus rides. Make sure you are up for that amount of bus travel. For me it was just OK as the cruise was a late choice and I didn't feel like thinking.