cruisegal#116

We are considering a V1 Balcony on Deck 5 on the Quest for a Canada Cruise this September.  The description says the balcony is metal and glass to the railing.  Does this visual obstruction?  

Lackcreativity — Thank you for your response.  I too had looked at Trip Advisor and read the reviews on the Hotel Rochester and checked out its location.  I do feel it is a better option than our original hotel assignment.  I guess I was just hoping that someone on this board had stayed there already and could confirm my findings.  Perhaps someone will stay there before we go in July of 2020 and report back to this board.  Again, thank you for taking the time to look at this property and responding.  Happy Holidays!

We have just received notice from Viking River concerning a change of our Paris Hotel for our 3-night pre-cruise in July.   We were originally scheduled for the Le Meridien Etoile and now we are in the Hotel Rochester Champs Elysees.  Has anyone stayed in this property, and if so, what can you tell me about this hotel and its location.  I appreciate whatever information anyone might be able to share.

Just happened to see this question as I was looking through this topic.  We also booked a private car through the concierge of our hotel, The Tokyo Station Hotel, and it worked out very well.  By the way, if you are still looking for a hotel, we highly recommend the Tokyo Station Hotel.  Great location, beautiful hotel and exceptional staff.

This is a 13-day Intensive Japan Itinerary and currently the only port that has shore excursions listed is Busan, South Korea.

We are anxious to begin making plans for our time in port. We selected this itinerary because of its comprehensive overview of Japan. April is a very busy season in Japan and we want to be sure we are not precluded from seeing the most this itinerary has to offer.

Thank you in advance for any information you may be able to provide.

Donaldsc

My husband and I are on the cruise before yours departing on April 14, 2019 and are interested in getting some private guides. Would you be willing to share the name of the guide you are working with in Kitakyushu?

If you have info on guides in other ports we would be interested in those as well.

So far Azamara is not listing any excursions except for Busan and we would like to begin planning our time in the ports now.

Thank you for taking the time to post live. I really enjoyed reading your day by day.

My husband and I had toyed with the idea of a Douro River Cruise in 2018 but after reading several reviews did not think that this itinerary would appeal to us due ti so much time on a bus and not enough time on the water. However your review has me rethinking our plan -- perhaps for 2019. We have already done the Rhine, Danube, Seine, German Christmas Markets and Imperial Jewels of China and loved them all. Now I am thinking Douro again!

Many thanks.

If your friends really want to take this cruise, then I would suggest they check the availability every day. I was in a PV and wanted to be in a Penthouse Junior Suite and was waitlisted but was never notified when one opened up. If it wasn't for the fact that I found one myself I would never have been able to upgrade I am convinced. I checked each day and sometimes more than once a day and when 1 cabin available showed up in the inventory online I contacted Viking immediately. There is know way to know when someone will cancel and the cabin goes back into inventory right away so checking often is the key as far as I am concerned. Good Luck

CDNPolar -- Thanks for your input. I see you are currently sailing on the Viking Sky and have been following along on that thread. Thanks for taking the time to post and to answer questions.

I always read the Daily for the following day when I get back to my room in the evening but I will pay particular attention to the Excursion Information.

Etexvrc -- We are both very adventuresome eaters and are actually looking forward with anticipation to the Chef's Table and what it might have to offer. Manfredi's is a given. Who doesn't like Italian?:)

There isn't one aspect of our upcoming trip that we aren't looking forward to with great anticipation. We are expecting it to be one of our best.

Azulann,

Our Shore Excursions opened for reservation last Wednesday at 87 days prior to departure for our Category Cabin.

Dining Reservations opened 7 days later at 80 days for us.

I don't know what category cabin you are in but that will determine how many days in advance of sailing both the Shore Excursions and Dining will open. They do not open on the same day. Dining is always 7 days after Shore Excursions.

I promised I would report back on our experience with booking the Specialty Restaurants this morning.

We did get up at 5:30am eastern time so we could get this done before we left for work. We were allotted 3 reservations in both Manfredi's and Chef's Table.

We had absolutely no trouble getting tables for 2 on any of the days we wanted and at the times we preferred either 7:00pm or 7:30pm in most cases or in one or two instances at 8:00pm wanting a later time due to the days activities.

I found the reservation system easy to use and actually made and then changed two of the reservations to different days after thinking more about our choices. We were done before 6:00am.

Now we can sit back and relax with most of our to do list done. I printed out our calendar but will check back on a weekly basis to make sure Viking does not randomly change any of our reservations. I will also check our tour tickets once we get on board to make sure our departure times are the ones we selected and re-confirm all of the dining reservations at that time.

Thank you KyOh and CDN Polar.

We are very fortunate to be sailing in a Penthouse Junior Suite so we are able to make our Dining Reservations fairly early in the game at 80 days out.

We are on the East Coast and so are aware our reservations open at midnight Pacific time consequently 3:00am for us. I don't think I will set the alarm for 3:00am tonight but will probably get up around 5:30am to try to get these reservations done.

We can make 3 reservations for both Manfredi's and the Chef's Table. I do have a list of my preferred dates and times for each Restaurant and I will be looking for Tables for Two.

When we booked our Shore Excursions last week we had no trouble getting exactly what we wanted so we are hoping the Dining goes just as well. I will report back tomorrow on how we make out.

Perhaps this question has been covered at some point so please forgive me for for asking again.

We are due to make our Specialty Dining Reservations tomorrow for our Midnight Sun Cruise in June and in looking at the Viking website it appears that the Chef's Table has fixed seating times of either 6:00pm or 8:30pm. Is this correct?

While I would prefer to pick a dining time of say 7:00pm or 7:30pm I just want to be prepared when I go online tomorrow to make my reservations if I am locked into the 6:00pm or 8:30pm slots.

Also, if you could give any opinion of which time slot would work better with shipboard activities that would be appreciated as well.

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.

According to the Viking confirmation I requested and received this morning it indicates that on the June 17, 2017 London to Bergen cruise we will anchor in the following ports -- Greenwich; Rosyth; Svolvaer (Lofoten) and Geiranger. It is my understanding when it shows and anchor sign by the port it means tendering and all of the mentioned ports show an anchor beside them. Hopefully, as Roothy123 mentioned this could change either beforehand or at the last moment when Viking receives specific docking and/or tendering information from each port.

Peregrina651 also mentioned that on her cruise they were lucky enough to get the sea-bridge when they were there. Maybe we will be lucky too.

Thank you for you input Peregrina. On the confirmation I received yesterday now showing Rosyth as the port city for Edinburgh they still have a little anchor showing indicating that this is a tender port. Perhaps that was an oversight on their part and we will actually dock there.

I value your opinion and have found your blog very helpful to us. Thank you for taking the time to respond here as well.

Hopefully Viking will put some excursion information in for Molde soon so we can see what they have in mind for this port.

I am booked on the June 17, 2017 London to Bergen sailing on the Viking Star and as recently as last night when I had Viking send me a confirmation of my reservation it was still showing Kristiansund.

After reading your post I just checked the itinerary online and sure enough it is now showing Molde. Thanks for the heads up. This is the second catch you made. I read in another of your posts that the port for Edinburgh had been changed to Rosyth.

I have also been following your thread on the Ports of Call Board and have found your research and the responding input from others to be very helpful.

Senior Gators & Gigiandbaba

Thank you for your kind and informative responses. The Explorer Suites really sound wonderful. I know we will be happy with a decision to sail in one.

We are holding Explorer Suite 4120 on the Viking Star. Has anyone had this Suite and what can you tell us about it.

Did you hear any propeller noise? Also it says that Explorer Suites range in size from 757 to 1163 sq. ft. including the veranda. Any estimate on the actual size of this Suite?

Any and all information that can be provided would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you screen-gem and Lingalang. Your responses were very helpful and based on what you have said I think we will be just fine.

Thanks again for taking the time to post.

My husband and I are seriously considering a Viking Ocean Cruise next June on the "Into the Midnight Sun Itinerary" to celebrate our 50th Anniversary.

We have cruised many times on everything from Seabourn to Carnival and everything in between. We have done 5 River Cruises three of them on Viking.

I just spoke with someone who returned from a cruise on Viking Star this past winter who told me there was no evening entertainment and that the only music that was offered was classical music.

I am not looking for a party ship or disco music but I would like to have a show and or movie in the evening as well as some music that we might dance to.

Would you be so kind as to share your entertainment experiences here to help us make a good decision?

Everything else on Viking Ocean seems to point to a great experience from my research.

We want this to be a special trip to celebrate a milestone and don't want to make a wrong decision.

Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

I have been searching this forum about Internet Package Discounts and I am thoroughly confused as to whether I should buy the package in advance or once onboard.

We are going on the Allure in August. DH and I are Diamond Plus, DS and his wife are Diamond.

DH and I want a 2 device unlimited package and DS and wife are looking for the same thing. I know we each get different loyalty discounts because we are at different levels.

Here is my question: There is a current offer for a 30% discount on Internet Packages if we book it now before boarding. Is that a greater discount than we will receive if we wait to use our loyalty discounts onboard? I am presuming we will not get any loyalty discount if we buy in advance. I can't imagine Royal Caribbean being so generous as to give us a double discount.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give us.

I am in the process of planning a Danube River Cruise from Budapest to Nuremberg for 2015.

Does anyone know the dates for maintenance of the Danube River Locks for 2015. I know they usually occur sometime in April but would appreciate knowing exactly when they have been scheduled.

Thanks so much!

Hello Bonnie,

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my question.

I will surely follow your advise and check in with Guest Relations upon boarding to let them know I am interested in this special activity.

tgg --

Thanks so much for sharing your experience.

I will definitely inquire about this activity on embarkation day. I really want to do it if it is offered. It is such fun.

Piscean,

Thank you for your quick reply. Could you answer the following questions please.

1. How did you know Shopping with the Chef was available? Did Azamara

post it in the Daily Schedule or make an announcement about it?

2. How did you sign up for it? Was it complimentary?

I did this previously on Seabourn and there was no announcement about it. You just had to know to ask about it and you signed up with Guest Relations.

Hope you enjoy your upcoming cruise.

Thanks again.