longterm

Despite some who seem to look for negatives everywhere in a cruise, I’d recommend you go for it and expect a great time. We were there exactly a year ago, docked at Marghera (an ugly chemical plant), and had a wonderful time—but that’s because we accepted the docking situation and rolled with it. Sure, it would have been nice if we didn’t have the commute back and forth, but it didn’t diminish our enjoyment of the legendary city. Our bus into the city was only an hour, but even had it been farther we would have enjoyed our time there. We’re already considering doing the Adriatic, Italy and Greece cruise again, in fact.

I started losing my hair in my early 20s; I'm not one who chooses to wear a cap all the time to hide it, I just go about my business and don't worry about it. I can't think of a single time in a restaurant when I wished I had a cap on to keep me warm. I agree with those who say that wearing a cap or hat in a restaurant is bad form, but in America these days, tacky obnoxious caps are ubiquitous. On the subject of clothes, however, my sweet wife and I don't go overboard (pun intended) on clothing choices. On cruises, I wear button shirts and slacks at night in the nice restaurants, and t-shirts most of the time otherwise. When we're doing walkabouts, we dress for the weather. If I can't fit a 2-week trip into a carryon, I've packed too much; I carry one good pair of walking shoes, and that's it; we bring puffy jackets that pack very small, gloves, wool caps if needed--and I certainly don't bring a dress jacket. One of my brothers still wears a dress jacket anytime he flies, claiming he "gets better service;" these days, good service on an airplane is almost nonexistent, so I think he's being a bit pompous, but that's just me...

There's an easy way to preserve your power on an iPhone when you're traveling: turn off wi-fi. If you don't use it, you could turn off Bluetooth, but I use it all the time so I leave it on. When you leave wi-fi on and are traveling, your phone is constantly seeking a wi-fi network, and this will always drain your battery very quickly. Simply turn it off until you arrive at your destination, saving you a lot of battery power. We always travel with one or more battery backups; the latest ones we have are MagSafe, which means we can simply slap them on the back of our iPhones and continue taking pictures (which of course also uses more power than when your phone is simply at rest).

Nope; they have all the TVs set so that you can only turn the volume up a little, so that the stateroom next door can't hear it. I agree, it's too low, even at full volume.

Paris is our favorite European city; I've been there many times, and there are sites we always return to; be sure to get a Museum Pass, because if you plan to visit a few of these, you'll skip lines and probably save money as well. https://www.parismuseumpass.fr/t-en Musee D'Orsay - the finest collection of Impressionist art anywhere; Musée Marmottan Monet - if you're a huge fan of Monet as we are, this museum's also worth a visit, because it has a huge collection; Sainte Chappelle - the most beautiful stained glass I've ever seen, beating out (in my opinion) the Notre Dame before the fire, Chartres, several others, all of which I've visited; this is a must-see, and your Museum Pass would get you to the head of the line and cover its cost; The Louvre - I'd save it for another trip; in one day, it'd be too much to see, along with either of the two above; Champs D'Elysses - it's a large boulevard, lots of traffic, all the most famous brands like Hermes, Gucci, Louis Vuitton; while I like seeing the Arc De Triomphe, I'm not sure this is worth the time it would take to get there; Eiffel Tower - not sure you want to spend your day getting up there, but again, the Museum Pass gets you in, and we were able to get in with a reserved spot, waiting only about 15 minutes; great views, even if you don't go all the way to the top; Musee L'Orangerie - another great art museum on the banks of the Louvre, within walking distance of it; Musée Rodin - a definite for us; we return to it every time we visit Paris. If I were to schedule 3 days, as we did just last May: Day 1: I'd take a half-day tour to Giverny to see Monet's house and garden; been there a couple of times, would go back again; in the same day you could schedule a visit to see Sainte Chappelle; you can walk to Notre Dame too, but sadly, there's nothing to see right now. Day 2: Musee D'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower (even if you don't go up, you should get to its base to see its immense beauty); perhaps L'Orangerie as well, cuz it's just across the river; if your feet are up to it, you could grab an Uber to Musee Marmottan as well. Day 3: The Louvre (not my favorite museum but of course it's perhaps the most famous art museum in the world), or maybe you take a day to sit at a cafe, watch people, do some shopping on the Champs; Sacre Couer is at the top of a hill and commands a great view of the city, but it's basically another church, and without visiting the nearby Montmartre district, I wouldn't take the time. Perhaps you could see Musée Rodin on this day. Another great option is a day trip to Normandy to see the D-Day invasion beaches; it's a whole day, but so worth it. There are lots of available excursions online (Viator.com). Other places we enjoy visiting: the Latin Quarter; the Paris Opera House (we saw a ballet there on one trip, and it was a fantastic place to see a ballet); take a hop-on/hop-off bus and tour the city. From one of these you can hop off, see something you find interesting, then catch another one a while later. Great way to catch some snapshots; I did that one year with my young son, and we enjoyed it a lot. A nighttime boat cruise on the Seine is pretty great, but you'll be on a boat with lots of other people; despite that, I liked it when I did it 30 years ago.

We've been on 2 cruises, a Rick Steves tour, and a trip to Cancun in the last 12 months, and were fortunate not to get Covid on any of them. We've had all the shots and boosters; in February 2022 we both got Covid while at home, just 5 weeks before our Viking Adriatic, Italy and Greece cruise. Went on the cruise, stayed Covid-free. Then, on a 15-day Rick Steves tour in France, our group of 25 was required to have vaccinations, get tested the day we were to join the group; everyone tested negative, including our guide. Within the week, 4 people had to leave the tour because of Covid; we traveled on a bus, all masking anytime we were in the bus or in a tourism site, yet this still happened. By the time the trip was ending, there were only 10 of us left untouched--even 2 guides got Covid. Another cruise, a week in Cancun, and we've remained Covid-free; we have 3 trips coming up again this year, and we'll just see how things play out. Would a mask make any difference on a Viking ship where people serve themselves in the World Cafe, where they congregate in the bar, where they mingle on tour buses, in the elevators? At this point, I don't think so. It seems to be the luck of the draw at this point, and we don't spend any time worrying about it. The key phrase here is: GET TRIP INSURANCE.

We took the walking tour; it was decent enough, included an interesting walk through Diocletian's Palace. This was in mid-March 2022, when all of Italy still had a rule that cruise passengers couldn't tour alone without a tour guide; we spent 5 days on our own in Rome, which was great, but in all the stops, we had to stay with our group. By the time we reached Split, we were dying to walk free in the city, and left the excursion a bit prematurely, so that we could wander through town. Shopping is fun there; we also found a great restaurant along the waterfront, where we had a delicious meal--highly recommended, just pick out one of the many. I wish we'd seen the Krka waterfalls, but we've seen the biggest in the world (Niagara, Victoria Falls), so didn't want to spend our day there. In hindsight, from what others told us, I think it would've been a good excursion.

Just curious: what kind of music DO you like? You don't really care for pop; you loathe classical music. I suspect you are repulsed by jazz, and of course rock too... so I suppose that leaves--bluegrass? Country? Rap? Hip-hop (hah!)? Having been in the music business since I first played a restaurant gig when I was 15, I've played thousands of gigs in my lifetime, although never on a cruise ship. I have lots of friends who did stints on cruise ships; it's a fairly low-paying job with extremely limited freedom--musicians aren't allowed to get off the ship anytime they want, pay is meager, room and board much smaller and restrictive. It's every musician's dream to move to the next level: playing with famous artists, recording in the studio with world-class talent. Playing on a cruise ship isn't the dream of a working musician. So, the musicians who sign on to cruises aren't exactly at the top of the musical pyramid (by any means); they commit to x months, and in the case of river cruises (and ocean too I'm sure), they do one cruise after another for perhaps 6 months. Having played lounges when I was young, I remember how boring it got to be when I played a club for months at a time. I was lucky to have left that lifestyle behind when I was less than 30, and feel for those I see on the ships, making a living, ignoring the disdain of some of the strolling passengers. I'll admit that I'm a bit of a musical snob; as one of my music professors told me years ago, "I only have so many years on this earth, so when I want to listen to music, I'm picky about what I spend my time listening to." I usually don't care for the musicians on cruises, with a couple of notable exceptions (a guitarist on an cruise, a duet on a river cruise), but they're just trying to make a living, doing what they've been hired to do, playing what they've been instructed to play. Judging by the passengers I've met on cruises, I'd guess that the music that Viking provides is about right--not overly offensive, certainly not awe-inspiring.

Same with us.

We did the exact cruise a year ago; had a wonderful time. But then again, we expected to, and we did. We chose the Pompeii excursion in Naples, and it didn't disappoint; I wish we could've had more time in Naples so that we could've seen the Amalfi coast, but we're going to do that another time. When our Sunday excursion in Venice was canceled because St. Mark's doesn't allow excursions on Sundays (didn't Viking know this beforehand?), we, and about 8 others who had booked the same excursion, were instead picked up in vaporettos, given a private tour of the Doge's Palace plus another hour or more through the city, then returned to the ship again in private vaporettos. Meals were very good; we always like the Restaurant, and had many great meals there and in Manfredi's (we don't care much for Chef's Table). Had breakfast every morning in our stateroom and enjoyed it thoroughly. Other than that wrinkle, which Viking resolved very well, we had an incredible trip from start to finish; granted, this was a year ago, but we would gladly do the same cruise again. As to the music, well... I've been a professional musician for more than 50 years, have toured all over the world, played with world-class musicians, performed with at least 20 symphonies all over the US--so I will agree that the musicians on-board are mediocre and often annoying to my ears--but I'm jaded, a bit of a music snob, and listen more intently than the average person.

We were on the Adriatic, Rome, & Greece cruise last May, so visited many of the ports you'll see. Our favorites: Naples - if you've not seen Pompeii, it's every bit as amazing as I'd always heard; I'd gladly visit it again; Split - had one of our best meals at a little cafe just off the main square (on the street behind that long government building); good shops there too, very nice people; one of the cafe owners gave me an espresso cup to take home. Dubrovnik - I'm afraid of heights, but still did the wall walk around the Old Town, and it was fantastic; the views are spectacular, and the wall itself is really great to see; another of our best meals there, in the town, at a cafe called Proto, in an alley just off the main street. If you're stopping in Sicily and are a fan of the Godfather movies as I am, the tour that takes you to some of the filming sites is really great. Not only are the little villages picturesque and the views of Mt. Etna great, but seeing the locations of some famous scenes from the movies was a treat for me.

Well, unless you paid for a return transfer, Viking doesn't include transfers for passengers who book their own flights, so your only option (unless, again, you paid the extra fee for transfers) is to book your own transport from the ship. I've never seen Viking excursions on disembarkation day; normal time for leaving the ship is usually in the mornings.

Personally, I have other reasons that have kept us with Viking as opposed to other cruise lines; while I do assume Seabourn is a very good cruise line, I don't want to have to pay for every excursion; we drink very little, so endless alcohol is of almost no value to us; we've had nothing but great cruises with Viking. I do like some of the cruises they list, so we may try them someday, but I'm not seeing a compelling reason to stray at this point. Also, a DV6 is 270 square feet; on Seabourn, the cheapest suite is 295 square feet (so an extra 5x5 feet), and doesn't have a balcony; we like to sit out there sometimes.

Viking's trip insurance (TripMate) isn't very highly-regarded by members of this forum; I decided to go with an alternate company (AIG) and seem to have gotten a good policy, although one never knows until a claim is actually filed. Insurance companies are known for doing anything they can to avoid paying claims, and there are countless stories of disappointed cruisers who were left without compensation for various situations. Viking allows a very small discount by TAs, and it only amounts to an OBC based on the length of the cruise. Viking won't let TAs discount cruise pricing at all.

Football helmets are okay, hockey masks not so much. Mankinis are okay though.

We're planning to be in London a few days before the cruise, so I'm thinking we could board the ship on embarkation day, then get off the ship, walk down to the Royal Observatory. Is this a logical plan?

We're going next summer on the British Isles Explorer cruise, will have to get there for sure. I have over 30 clocks in my house, not counting various and sundry digital ones here and there, a couple of nixie clocks (worth looking up), at least a dozen that I wind every Saturday... 2 cuckoo clocks that my grandkids love. My sweet wife tolerates them; when they all start chiming at about 10pm, it's cacophonous.

... and it doesn't sit on my wrist very well and seems to annoy other passengers on the excursions, for some strange reason. That and the garlic dip.

Especially when I bring my barbell set.

No, but the great jazz playing on my iPhone does! 😁

That's actually not mine, but I do have one, and yes, almost all grandfather clocks chime on the quarter-hour, if you have it set to do so. In most cases, there are several chime varieties (Westminster, Whittington, and St. Michaels), as well as silent mode. Some have a setting to make it silent at night; in our house, the clock's far enough from our bedroom that we don't hear it at all. It's not easy to get it in the stateroom, but oh so convenient! I thought of using my iPhone, which is a foot from my face on the bed table, but then I'd have to turn my head.

I bring my own clock.

We did that cruise a year ago, when Italy was still not allowing cruise passengers to wander around cities without a guide (independent travelers could though). I didn't respond earlier because rules were different then; even if we'd been able to get to the cruise terminal, we weren't allowed to go independently into the city (not sure who would've stopped us, but that's what we were told). We were docked at Marghera, the fabulous chemical plant, 45 minutes away from the cruise terminal; no water taxis were allowed in the chemical plant docks, so you had to go to the cruise terminal by bus, then disperse from there. While I understand the reason to prevent cruise ships in the lagoon anymore, it's regrettable that better arrangements weren't set up before they did it. We were the very first ship to dock in Venice after the change, and nobody seemed to have a clue what to do. It took 10 minutes to go thru the guard gates entering and leaving the chemical plant; to make matters worse, we were all given warning notices that if an alarm sounded while we were docked in the port, we were to prepare to evacuate because that meant there was a chemical emergency (yikes!). So now, cruisers have to take hours-long treks to and from Venice; I certainly hope a solution for this is worked out soon.

Well said!

Well, I'm not sure why I'm wasting my time with this either. I do agree that Viking *should* allow pax to join a transfer bus if they're going onto the same ship--but they don't, and it's *their* rule. I'm sure they have their reason for it, and that's enough for me. Perhaps it's because it would open them up to people getting pissed because their flight was 15 minutes later, and they didn't get on the bus, and then it'd be like herding cats. At any rate, my last word on this rather boring subject.