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@HDS No worries. Have a good time!

@HDS I answered you in the roll call thread for this cruise.

We flew regular non-premium economy to and from our Viking Australia and New Zealand cruise in 2023. Seventeen hours going and 13 returning. On the return, I was in the very middle seat. It was fine. Actually, I preferred it over the much shorter European flights (for those of us on the eastern half of the USA). Why? Because I took some Z-Quil and slept 8-9 hours each way, which meant I just woke up and started a new day without jet leg. None whatsoever. (I do always bring an inflatable pillow - not a neck style - which helps me support my neck.) I recently returned from Ireland and a 5-6 hour flight is not long enough to sleep off the medication so I didn’t take; jet lag was an issue. DH did not do this going and saw how much better I slept and recovered, so he did on the way back and agreed it worked well. Obviously only you can determine if a medication is right for you or safe to use. But it worked well for us.

We will have a day in Heraklion in April on our cruise, and we want to see the Palace of Knossos. My original thought had been to take the public bus there and see it by ourselves. It's cheaper, seems fairly straightforward, and we're comfortable doing this. However, I understand one now has to pre-purchase a timed entry ticket for the palace. I'm concerned about how we'd work out the timing. Our port arrival time could be delayed, we might have more trouble than we expect getting to the bus, the bus could be delayed, etc., all of which could cause us to miss our assigned time. Our other option is, of course, to book a tour, either through the ship or privately. Does any one have any insight or experience on this since the timed entries went into effect recently? TIA! Also, if anyone has a private tour recommendation, I'd appreciate that as well.

I would like to experience a hamman while we're in Istanbul before our cruise in April, but my husband has no interest at all. Are there any hammens that have comfortable areas for one person to wait while another experiences the hamman? A café area would be fine, too, as long as they'd let him relax and read for that length of time (he'd be willing to buy a drink or snack if required). I would probably be going in the evening after sightseeing, if that makes any difference. TIA!

Thank you everyone for your insight. We have almost a year to make plans. We also are unlikely to have other plans than embarkation that day, so that gives us time. We're young for Viking (in our forties) and light packers so a walk with our luggage doesn’t bother us as long as it's well marked. Hopefully the more cruise that leave the more taxi drivers and others will be familiar with process, have signs posted, etc.

Thank you @carolinetodd (and your husband) for such a thorough reply! And your insights as well, @mlamb1234. Still debating whether to reserve a car service or trust a taxi, which I’ve heard can be less than honest in Istanbul.

How and when did you determine the correct location? We are leaving from Istanbul next spring but are staying in Istanbul first on our own, which means we are arranging our own transportation. I realize this is a year away, but obviously I need to arrange to the right spot.

Do you happen to remember who you booked through? I’m strongly considering a private tour for Ephesus. Thank you!

Thanks for your insight. We'll be a Viking cruise (900 pax) on our way from Istanbul, which is the high point for me. The Viking included is Troy, but I think the castle may be a fun and simple activity for the rest of the day.

Thank you! Everything I’ve looked up reports the bus is about a 30 minute ride. But I just checked the official website for the first time in awhile and now you have to have a reserved/timed ticket. I like the idea, but it makes arriving via public transport tricky.

Anyone have experience taking to public ferry from ÇANAKKALE to Kilitbahir? I’ve only found one YouTube video but would like more information if possible. Thank you!

Do you remember if you did The Palace of Knossos & the Village of Arolithos excursion or The Palace of Knossos & a Glimpse of Heraklion excursion? We're on this cruise next April, and we definitely want to see Knossos. I've researched and we can take the public bus for probably much less than a Viking excursion. However, this port seems like the only place to see a Greek village. But my understanding is that Arolithos is a restored/recreated village for tourists without actual working residents. I’m not sure how I feel about that. Will it be too Epcot-like? (Yes, there is a Villages of Crete excursion but I’m not sure we can squeeze that in with Knossos.)

On our cruise last year, it was the best kept secret! My husband and I found it absolutely empty until about an hour before tea. We stretched out and read in blissful sunny silence alone for hours. Because it’s elevated, you can still see the ocean and there are all those air vents (from the outside?) so there was often a very gentle, pleasant breeze. On that cruise, the craft classes and such were in one of the specialty restaurants. I did a paper craft class, and now I realize I’m grateful it was there, because the table height was more comfortable and conducive to that particular craft than the low tables in the Wintergarden would have been. As for tea, we found it to be okay. Fun to do once, but nothing that made us want to do it again.

Here's my review from last year. I know there are others if you search.

@new2cruise Here is link to a comment in which I linked to both my reviews. This comment also has some additional thoughts (sorry if that’s confusing).

We did this cruise last year. We are not big drinkers, so we didn’t do any wine tours, although I know the area around Napier is generally considered the best wine-producing region in New Zealand. As for other tours, we were disappointed in the three included we took (Sydney, Melbourne, and Dunedin), so much so that we cancelled the rest. Sydney was the worst. Our primary complaint was they were all “panoramic” bus tours which is not our style at all. However, this was partially my fault as they’re listed as such; but it was our first VO cruise after a wonderful river cruise so I thought the included tours would be more similar. But the Viking optional excursions were excellent and more active. I did a write up here on CC back in March 2023 of our excursions. I would also encourage a trip to Hobbiton. I am not a Lord of the Rings fan (although my husband is) and I found it well-organized, beautiful, and charming. Hobbiton is closer to Rotorua than Auckland. However, if you have a week to kill in Auckland and you have other sights to see in Rotorua, it might be worth the extra drive.

There were hot chocolate packets in the world cafe on our cruise on Mars in March 2023. They were with the tea bags/coffee machine, so you could get hot water there. There were both ceramic mugs and disposable cups with lids.

You can also search this particular forum (upper right of your screen in landscape mode). I posted my reviews about a year ago and I’ve seen others.

Hubby and I enjoyed watching the industrial ports for a while, too, before or after our day out (there are several on this cruise). It’s fascinating and humbling to see how much stuff is moved around the world, for better or worse. In Auckland (not an industrial port per se), a commercial container-size ship was docked next to us but it was full of only cars. We watched in morning and evening and even the next morning as they moved all the cars off the ship and onto car trailers. Thousands and thousands of brand new cars! Mind-blowing for a small country. But I personally wouldn’t want that to be my only view for an entire day. Also, on Christmas, I doubt the port is operational.

We did this cruise earlier this year, so here are my thoughts, which are just opinions, of course. First of all, I’m truly sorry that your itinerary has changed without a readily apparent reason. It’s very disappointing when you’ve paid that much money and will be spending so much time to get to a place you may never visit again. At least a last minute change due to weather (as happened to us and the after effects of Cyclone Gabrielle) is understandable. Re: Auckland. Honestly, we found Auckland the least interesting port on this entire cruise. The city itself is a basic large nondescript city. We had booked a private tour to Piha beach but it was canceled three days prior due to mud slides from the cyclone, so we did the HOHO bus at the last minute. Even the “top” sights as included on that were not interesting to us. We also have friends who live in New Zealand (we met up with them earlier on this cruise), and they warned us Auckland was only good for major shopping. However, having said all that, there is a large sailboating community in Auckland, so I imagine if that’s your thing, you could probably find something fun to do. On the positive side, if you’re disembarking in Auckland with a Viking transfer, you will likely have several hours that day to do something in the city. New Zealand required an empty ship by a certain time early in the morning (9:00?), so Viking took us all to hotel downtown and we had 4-5 hours to explore before we had to return for our bus to the airport. As others have said, you could use your day in Tauranga to travel to Auckland, but I wouldn’t recommend it. There is so much more to see in Tauranga; we weren’t even able to see everything we wanted on our day there. Plus it is several hours of driving each way. Again, that’s just my opinion. If Auckland is essential to you, I feel booking a day or two on your own is the best option. Re: Dunedin on Christmas. The ship doesn’t actually dock at Dunedin, which was about a 30 minutes shuttle bus ride away. The dock here is a very small town and the port is an industrial port that required a bus to even leave the port area. In addition, the port is in a narrow (but beautiful) harbor that requires a pilot boat to travel through a very narrow dredged lane (we saw the dredger and learned about it on our excursion). I would imagine that since it will be Christmas, Viking may not be able to obtain a pilot for the boat and/or drivers for the shuttle buses. The port itself may be closed for the holiday. Even if you docked, this is not a port in which you may walk off the ship by yourself. In my opinion, a relaxing coastal day at sea would be the better option in this case. You’ll actually see more beautiful scenery than the containers and industrial cranes, etc, at the dock. I wish you both a lovely time on your cruises, whatever you decide about these ports.

My husband and I are in our forties and we’re definitely in the minority on our cruise. We saw one other couple that might have our age. Everyone else was definitely older. We’re quiet people who like to read on vacation, so it was perfect. And we knew that going in. Everyone we met was kind and, yes, usually spry. Yes, three separate times our age was commented on as a joke, so that’s a little grating, but we just smiled and rolled with it.

I would say the product pictures are very accurate, at least on my feet. I have no trouble wearing these with loafers and slip on sneakers. Ballet flats may be iffy; it would depend on the shoe I think. The silicone goes all the way around the edge, which allows one small amounts of “adjustments” by pushing it slightly down in one spot if needed. It's also helpful because they are truly nude on my skin, but of course that varies.

These sound like what you’re looking for. I love them so much I bought them twice! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QKY1S1D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I wrote two posts, although the second one is more specifically about the excursions: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2922947-first-viking-ocean-cruise-review-was-it-worth-the-money/#comment-65000491 To be clear, we did have a good time and have booked another Viking cruise. However, my greatest wish would be far greater transparency in all excursion details. In retrospect, I should have studied anywhere I could for any details for these Viking excursions that I could before going, but even then the language is often vague. I made the mistake of just assuming the included tours would be more like our excellent river cruise which was almost entirely walking tours. For our upcoming cruise, I’m also going to research a “back up” do it ourself walking tour if needed in each port (with a lot of help from Rick Steves). As a ye little whipper snapper on a Viking cruise (age 44 now), my second wish would be the aforementioned more active walking tours as an included option. I appreciate the knowledge and history provided by a guide, so going 100% on our own all the time isn’t my ideal, either. My ideal port day would be a 2-3 hour walking tour in the morning that ends with a clear method for those who wish to return to the ship on their own (and I feel Viking *is* good at that) so that we can then see more on our own.