MaxFan

Thanks!

Wow, scary! I'm glad I was not on that ship! Good to know that things settled down a little, and that your other rough crossing was in January. Thanks!

That's good to hear. Thank you!

Hi. If we're going this year, it would be July or August (there is very little still available). That's good to know that at least once the channel was still! I don't know about beam seas or following seas, so I'll have to look that up. Thank you for the response!

Hello, my husband and I are looking at the British Isles cruise and are wondering what the stretch between Bergen and the Shetland Islands and travel around the English Channel is like. What I’m wondering is what that stretch of sailing is like. Is it rough seas? Does the ship usually rock due to the waves and wind rocking the boat? Do you need to hold on to the handrails and walls everyday? How likely is that route to be smooth or to have a port skipped due to weather? Is traveling during summer months more likely to have noticeably calmer seas? And any thoughts on conditions around the English Channel? We recently traveled on the Panama Canal Passage cruise from the Canal to Ft. Lauderdale. We were surprised at the amount of rocking that took place, which was almost every day, and we missed our final port at Cozumel, ending up with three sailing days in a row. So we want to have a better or more realistic idea of what sailing on the British Isles cruise is like. Thank you!

Just reading these ingredients now makes me feel about as sick as when I was drinking them! I'm so glad you pointed that out. After the Viking mai tai abomination, it's made me afraid to try one anywhere else. Which is too bad because I've gotten good ones before. Now I live in fear. 😬

OMG did you get a bad mai tai on Viking? I did! From the Sky last year. It was horrible and made me wonder if I really knew what a mai tai was. I couldn't even drink it, so a waste of money, too.

We would like fewer passengers, too. One thing I really appreciated about Viking's excursions was that the Viking staff all wore red shirts! And the little paddles were red. It stood out among the crowds and it was a relief to be somewhere and then see red!

Have you traveled on Oceania yet? Was the overall experience good?

We've thought about trying Oceania. They have a nice Baltic itinerary that includes Finland, Estonia, and Lithuania, although sadly not Latvia. Ends up in Dublin, which is cool. We really wish Viking had a good Baltic Sea itinerary.

Thank you all so much. Each reply has added to our decision. All of you have been so helpful!

I really appreciate the info, esp that the Mars was late! I guess I better look for flights later than 9:45.

Yes, the proximity is tempting. You're right about the timing, though.

We are scheduled to sail the Classic Panama Canal Passage this December, which ends in Ft. Lauderdale. The ship is scheduled to arrive at 6 am. We are making our own flight reservations. Viking is saying not to schedule a flight out of Ft. Lauderdale before 11 am. They said 11 am is the earliest time that we could take a flight. On our last cruise, Viking had us at the airport in Venice 5 hours early! It was a very long wait. The best flight for us is a non-stop that leaves Ft. Lauderdale at 9:45 am; is it reasonable to expect that Viking would have us at the airport in plenty of time for a domestic flight that leaves earlier than 11? Thank you.

Hi there, did you use the Viking excursion or did you pay for a private?

Which excursion was it?

Also, were you sitting in a chair-like tube with your legs out of the water, or were your legs hanging down in the water (like an inner tube)? I did show my husband this picture and he's really interested now. Thank you for all the answers!

Oh my gosh! Thank you for sharing that! It looks freaky for me, but my husband will probably want to do this even more after he sees this pic. 😀

Is that the Exhilarating Cave Tubing Experience (TM 😀) (I mean "trade mark")? I'm a little scared of caves and confined, dark spaces. Was it like that? Was it a bit scary? Was it dark or was there sunlight? Did it seem safe?

Thank you both!

Thank you! Sounds lovely. It seemed like a reputable tour operator? We've always done the Viking ones (so far).

Hello, my husband and I are taking the Classic Panama Canal Passage cruise in December. I was wondering if anyone has any particular shore excursions at any of the ports along the Panama City-Ft. Lauderdale that you've taken or heard were good. There are so many to choose from! There are two involving Gatun Lake in Colon and they both sound nice. We're also wondering about some of the snorkeling ones, like Belize or Cozumel. Anything in Roatan or San Jose. Just wondering if anyone has any insight or experience with any of them. Thank you!