longterm

Thanks for the link. I looked at it, and just 2 days later, all the Veranda staterooms are booked--glad that my wife and I, and my brother and his wife, grabbed our Veranda A staterooms. The prices from this link match what's on the website, except for the drink package, which isn't something we would even use. Your OBC of $700 is really nice though; is it because you've used this TA previously? We have 2 Viking cruises coming up (one is 29 days), so I'm wondering if I should transfer these to the TA you use. Mind sharing their name? 🙂

I did a Google search for highest-rated travel insurance carriers, and it came up with Nationwide as the highest-rated; does anyone have experience with them? Any recommendations for others?

We brought magnet clips, and put the daily schedule up near the door each day. Being a longtime Nespresso user, I brought my own favorite coffee pods; the machines in the staterooms use the original pods, not the Vertuo. I also travel with one of my favorite espresso cups--don't like drinking espresso from large cups. I also found some lanyards (on Amazon) with clear plastic sleeves, into which we slipped our room key cards; since we had to wear contact tracers, we also put those on the same lanyards. The key cards work from within the plastic sleeves.

Well... maybe I got a lousy TA. I called a local travel agent, told her we were interested in booking the Grand European for October 2023; she sent me a quote a few minutes later. It included travel insurance, so it was a bit more than what we paid, but even when I removed that, it was still higher than what Viking charges on the website. I wrote back and politely thanked her, said the price wasn't any better than the website. She wrote back, telling me that she was local, could keep me informed about flight changes, etc., which has no value to me since Viking always keeps me informed of any schedule changes, as do the airlines. She never mentioned an OBC, but when I had spoken to her, I got the distinct impression that she didn't know much about Viking, because she mentioned discounts based on groups--something we all know doesn't happen. Perhaps a more Viking-savvy TA would have been able to do better...

I thought I'd heard that OBCs weren't offered for river; I think that's the case when you book a cruise on board a Viking ship. We booked a trip for 2024 on-board when we were in Italy in March, and got on-board credits, but we just yesterday decided to add a river cruise for next spring, so we didn't try to do that when we were on board. I may call a TA here and see what they say about an OBC for a river cruise; will report back what they tell us.

I didn't know that there were OBCs to be had for river cruises; has anyone on here actually received OBCs from a TA for a river cruise?

Any advantage to using TA to book Viking River? I know this is an ocean forum, but there is no Viking river forum for this question. I don’t normally use travel agents, except when we do Safari trips to South Africa. We just booked another river cruise, but I would be open to transferring it to a TA if there is any financial advantage.

Doesn't look like Alaska RR does the rubber raft part of the excursion, but they still do the stop at Spencer Glacier: https://www.alaskarailroad.com/ride-a-train/our-trains/glacier-discovery

I can't address that question, but I've taken the Alaska RR from Anchorage to Seward with my son in 2007. It was one of the highlights of our trip; there is a float trip you can take, that the Alaska RR does, that allows people to get on the train, and then it stops halfway between the 2 cities; participants get on a rubber boat and float in a calm river to a small glacier--we got about 10 feet from it--and then float on down the river. It was really amazing. Then the boat gets back to a spot on the rail line, and you simply walk back to the train (only a few feet) and get back on board and continue your journey. When my son and I did it, we were almost the only people on the train, and they let him stand in the very front of the train as we went from Seward to Anchorage--we were literally looking out the window onto the tracks.. They even stopped the train, opened the door, so they could show my son Steven a bird's nest right next to the rails. So wonderful. Highly recommended.

We were in Rome in March, arrived 5 days before boarding our cruise from Rome to Athens. We saw a pharmacy just down the block from the hotel, and had antigen tests done the day before boarding. The cost was about 30 euro each, I think; we priced PCR tests, but they would've been about 55-70 euro each, if I remember correctly. The antigen test was so simple, took us about 10 minutes for both of us, and then we were back to touring Rome with our documents in hand.

Mary and I will be headed to Rome on Monday to start our trip to Italy and points beyond. We'll spend 4 nights in Rome, then board the Viking Sky on the 5th; we'll sail to Greece, where we're doing the 4-night extension there as well. Today I started looking at Covid testing that will be required; here's what we're going to have to do: 1. Take PCR tests on Saturday, 2 days before flying to Rome; 2. Take rapid tests in the Rome airport (this is according to Viking's info); 3. Take PCR tests on March 3rd so that we can board the ship on the 5th; 4. Take tests on board on the 5th. This, of course, doesn't include the 14 subsequent tests we'll take each day while on board, or the final test we'll take before we leave Athens. Lots of tests, but no big deal, and our trip will be well worth it. Thanks to CCWineLover, I was able to schedule our PCR tests in Rome for March 3rd. The clinic is about 15 minutes from our hotel, and the cost is 55 euros each (ouch). The site says results will arrive from 24-48 hours--I'm hoping less than 24, but we'll just have to see. Results here in Texas arrived in about 10 hours when we took our December cruise to the Caribbean. A Viking rep had a great suggestion for finding a clinic; he recommended calling the Rome Marriott, where Viking pre-extensions stay, and asking the Viking rep there for help with booking tests. Because we had the link (below), we didn't need to do that, but it was a good suggestion. The rep also confirmed that we needed PCR tests if we're doing it 48 hours out. We used this link to book our tests: http://www.altamedica.it/ https://www.covidtestfinder.net/test_centers/italy/rome/altamedica-artemisia-rome-708

Having been a Nespresso user for almost 20 years, I was really happy to see that the machines in the staterooms are the very same mini Nespresso machines that I own and take on trips when I travel in the US. They're set to dispense full cups of coffee as opposed to espresso-sized pours, but it's really simple to reset that: Once the machine is heated and ready to use, simply push AND HOLD DOWN one of the two buttons; when your cup is at the level you prefer, let go of the button. That sets the machine to pour that amount of coffee each time. Very useful! Also, if you prefer a weaker or stronger coffee blend, head to Nespresso's site (www.nespresso.com) and order some boxes of original coffee pods; I always bring my favorites with me (Roma) when I get on a Viking ship.