MELSMOM47

6 hours ago, Mercruiser said:

Which plan? Please provide a link.

Can't find the thread but is this correct?

Pound Sterling in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

The Euro in Ireland.

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

Yes there is a difference between different categories of Credits.   Ones given by TA's to our experience, have generally been applied by the Agent to Viking just ahead of the cruise or when we arrive.   

 

Often Credits that came from vouchers of various kinds and show up in MVJ, can then be applied to excursions during the buying process.

 

(Note - there has been a peculiar situation noted by several people, myself included, where you may have purchased excursions with money ahead of time, then your TA sends their OBC's for you to Viking at say 30 days ahead, and then Viking, instead of putting it on your ship account to spend while onboard, automatically applies the OBC's without your consent or input to the excursions you purchased by issuing/sending you a cash refund in the mail, with no explanation.  This may be good or bad for you - the issue is you had no say in it).

Interesting. Thanks for that info.  Perhaps I'll give them a call. 

35 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

When proceeding to the checkout, in our experience, the shore-ex was automatically paid with by OBC. Once we ran out of OBC, it requested a credit card number or electronic transfer. On the purchase where we ran out of OBC, it used the last of the OBC and then requested payment for the remaining balance.

 

We found the process seamless between using OBC and credit card.

I didn’t see an option when I booked our excursions. I’m wondering if there’s a difference between different OBCs. For example the one given by TA vs from Viking?

It looks like with Verizon I can buy unlimited data and texting with 250 minutes of talk for $100. Can it really be that simple?

19 minutes ago, loriva said:

 

Our thoughts exactly.  The only way to receive what I would describe as a "premium" (not just an alternative) glass of wine from VO is to buy a bottle.  The benefit of the SSBP would be a discount on that bottle.  I did the math on one of the French whites on the wine list and the discount would bring the price down to about $10 a glass--but that is on top of the $25 per day per person for the SSBP.  Which pretty much wipes out any savings--unless you are drinking the number of cocktails, after-dinner ports, etc. to equal out the cost of the SSBP.   (As others have mentioned, the SSBP on Viking River--at least as of December 2022 before Viking came out with its "enhanced" SSBP--was more user-friendly to wine drinkers.  We could select any bottle from the wine list under $75 and it would be opened and poured by the glass.)

 

SSBP is an option that some will find very beneficial.  Others not so much.  It is an individual decision, of course.

 

 

Can we assume that if you buy a bottle and drink one glass that they will save it for the next meal?

1 hour ago, photopro2 said:

We have OBC which is valid for excursions and I believe that this will automatically be applied to the optional excursions we select on MVJ. I just wonder how this works in practice? 

Once the excursion is in our cart is there a further step required to apply the OBC?

If the excursion cost is higher than the OBC remaining, does a option to top up with cash appear?

We've never had the benefit of this sort of OBC before, but know the importance of completing the payment process promptly, so detailed guidance would be appreciated 🙂

We have a significant OBC but I don’t see it on MVJ so for that reason as well as the ease of getting our money back I paid with a CC. 

We are huge fans of an aft cabin. There are very few. Next cruise we are in #3097. 

Hmmmmm. What’s this secret entrance? 🤔

Maybe this has already been mentioned but set up your payment method ahead of time so you are ready to go. 

On 2/9/2023 at 10:00 PM, fount said:

We will also be taking Command hooks to use.  Enjoy your trip.  

I’ve started bringing them to hotels as well. There are NEVER enough hooks. 

7 minutes ago, LindaS272 said:

We’ve never had SSBP, but I usually get a different red than the pour of the day, particularly in Manfredi’s. Many times, the waiter will automatically refill it for me but I only get charged for one glass. Sweet—especially when it was only $5/glass. 🫣

I think we will likely buy a bottle here and there on shore too. 

On 4/11/2023 at 10:41 AM, skb8721 said:

I have now decided against taking the Viking Ancient Mediterranean Treasures cruise.  If I am going to pay $13,000, I want to know I have a spot on any given shore excursion, and that I won't end up like my acquaintance, who took this same cruise last year and did not get to see Ephesus because there was no room on the shore excursions, even though he had been waiting for a spot to open up on the excursion for six months prior to sailing.  Nor do I wish to hire an independent tour guide, and then have to worry about returning to the ship in time, etc. As a passenger I shouldn't have to deal with such issues. My suggestion to Viking would be to do away with its class-based system of reserving spots on shore excursions, and to adopt a more even-handed "first come, first served" approach . . . or simply rent enough buses and guides for everyone. (I say all this having spoken by phone with two Viking reps, and two or three travel agents, none of whom could promise me a spot on any given shore excursions. What, then, is the point?)

Sorry to hear you say you will take a financial hit for this reason. Often we prefer the private excursion. We can specify exactly what we want to see, we get there before the crowds and it costs significantly less. We have never been so tight on time that we were concerned about missing the boat. once there was an issue but it affected all excursions. Our driver actually had another van meet us to cut the time and get us there on time. 

On 4/11/2023 at 9:06 AM, amelia3171 said:

 

It is a pain. 
 

Bad photos from the Jupiter last week, list seems same this week. 
 

By the glass wines are ok, not found a red entirely to my taste but the Pinot and the Nero d’Avola are fine and the New Zealand Greystone white is pleasant. 

Thank you for this list. It’s very helpful in my decision to buy the package. 
 

8 hours ago, MamaFej said:

Crew did not mention a replacement. However, I very much enjoyed the raspberry danish. 
 

Hopefully, the pistachio raisin rolls have made or will make a return. I cruised in August 2022. 

I’m hoping for a cardamom bun 😋

On 10/24/2021 at 4:19 PM, deec said:

IMO the living room on Viking has the best coffee on the ship but I am pretty sure it is not french press.  We bring our own insulated mugs so can take the coffee to another venue for breakfast.

 

 

Is this included? Do they have cream or half and half?

On 9/18/2021 at 2:29 PM, Squawkman said:

They also have Splenda in the Restaurant and manfredi’s. 

What other choices are there? Blue? Pink? Raw? I’ve read that most of the milk is the ultra pasteurized stuff that comes in shelf stable cartons. 😬 Sure hope there is real cream or half and half. 

On 8/11/2022 at 2:10 AM, MamaFej said:

Onboard now. 
The pistachio raisin rolls have been removed from the menu. 
 

So disappointed!!!!!

I’ve never had them but I was so looking forward to having one. Anything great replace them?

Hmmm. Thinking about if we chose to use Uber or another ride share service. Perhaps that’s actually only an option in London anyway. 

On 3/27/2023 at 3:15 PM, longterm said:

Yes, it does, but you're paying roaming charges; AT&T and Verizon have a $10/day plan that goes into effect any day that you use cell service. I'm going to totally avoid that on my 2 overseas trips this year.

I have Verizon. If I text while aboard the ship using Wi-Fi, does that initiate the $10 charge?

Our flight is at 9:30. 😬 Hope that’s not going to be too tight. 

On 3/17/2023 at 8:56 PM, Peregrina651 said:

You can buy Viking transfers.  Usually they are $49pp but double check with Viking.  As long as you have a flight on disembarkation day, you can buy them. 

 

The airport bus stops just a few block away as well.  Lots of choices.  

Thank you. Appreciate that info 

44 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

You can buy Viking transfers.  Usually they are $49pp but double check with Viking.  As long as you have a flight on disembarkation day, you can buy them. 

 

The airport bus stops just a few block away as well.  Lots of choices.  

Thank you. Appreciate that info 

No difference. I think some people are able to use their OBC. 

1 hour ago, janetcbl said:

I think Viking has transportation to the airport. 

👍🏻 I’m sure they do but we booked our own air.