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We are cruising on July 14, Into the Midnight Sun. I know that we can register for excursions 67 days before we travel, but when will the excursions be listed to view?

We are in DV4 room.

We just returned this week from Egypt. No umbrella needed. Sweaters and a jacket are definitely needed. I rarely did not have on a sweater, even in the southern most part of our trip. Our guide requested the women put their scarves over their heads in the two mosques we visited. We gave up on the small Egyptian pounds and my husband and I would enter the restrooms together and give them a dollar and say it was for both of us. We didn't mind as the toilets were flush, usually clean and western style. The only place we were annoyed was at the airports. (We were in numerous ones because we flew to Luxor and back to Cairo and also to Abu Simbel.) Seriously, asking for money to use the restrooms at the airports where EVERYONE has to use them seemed excessive to us. We took $200 in $1 and that was plenty for all cash payments.

 

I was the poster who wrote about the electronic visas. They worked great. Our transfer person said we were his first clients who had used them. I started to hand the immigration man my printed visas and he smiled and said it wasn't necessary as our visas were already in their system! I would highly recommend the governments electronic visa process.

Thank you for all that information. It is very helpful.

Unfortunately today I applied for my e-visa and used the wrong website. It looked so official (even though you did warn us about those look alike sites) and I ended up with a service who charged me $74 each. I thought I had saved the official visa website in "my favorites" but I must have saved the wrong one. :eek: Hopefully someone else will not make the same costly mistake that I did.

Did you need adaptors for the hotels?

Shore Excursion group say it is too hard to have slow groups when there are so many excursions....but I think they are aware of the concerns on both sides of this issue and are trying to figure it out.

That's good to know. I guess enough people have made comments on their evaluation cards that they are evaluating the situation.

Thanks for that help. I see that Viking announce what time luggage has to be ready, but is it normally required to be ready for removal the night before you leave the boat or at some point in the (probably quite early) morning?

 

Thanks

It's in the morning, usually 1.5 hours ahead of departure.

I don't understand why Viking does not have a "gentle walker's" group on the ocean cruises like they do on the river cruises. I am sure there would be enough people to join that group to make it worth having.

We had one very unhappy man on one of our excursions who had a very hard time keeping up because the terrain was very hilly and the cobblestones very uneven and bumpy, and he was very upset that the tour guide would not slow down to his speed. He would have been much happier in a slow/gentle walking group where he could have toured at his own pace instead of trying to keep up with the rest of the group.

My husband and I are taking a cruise on the Viking Hermod. They have scheduled Linz and Cesky Krumlov for the same day. I would appreciate any feedback from people who have visited either destination. Thanks

What time of year will you be there? We went in Dec 2016 to CK and there was not a lot open, several restaurants were closed and we had a hard time finding a place for lunch. We had been there before in the spring and it was beautiful, everything open and the weather was nice to walk around.

There is a doctor onboard if you do get sick.

djett, thank you again for answering all my questions.

Did you need an electrical adaptor while in the hotels?

Did you need jacket or sweater? Unbrella?

lol, I keep thinking of things I need to ask.

How did you get Viking to “fix” it? We are in the process of working with them and just found out our tickets on Delta are NOT upgradable. This is our second experience with Delta flights where we can’t upgrade. KLM has allowed upgrades so I am wondering if it’s airline carrier specific?

 

 

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Our Delta tickets were not upgradable either. First time this has happened. We usually are able to upgrade to EC.

Djett, did the ladies ever need head coverings? Was there ever any special dress code required?

Excursions just opened for us last night and we booked Abu Simbel among other things. The description for this excursion includes "Note: Departure from the ship may be early in the morning; roundtrip flights Aswan–Abu Simbel included"

Mine came today and I signed up for Abu Simbel, too.

Which date are you cruising?

They will certainly not turn down a $1 bill as it is about 3x the 5EGP note.

 

LOL, I was discussing this with my husband tonight. Why pay $1 to use the bathroom when it should be 30 to 35 cents :D.

Just take every chance you get to split larger EGP notes as nobody has a lot of the smaller bills so if you get a chance to do that in a bank, take it...

I will do as you suggested. I wonder if the hotel will change the bills from larger to smaller? I know they do in Europe.

I went to our local bank and AAA to see if I could get pounds here before we go on our trip and neither one could get them.

Uniworld uses the Four Seasons Hotel (which is beautiful) in Cairo. Upon arrival we used the ATM in the lobby to obtain Egyptian Pounds. This is fine except you don’t get the small bills such as 5 Pound notes which you have to give to every restroom attendant. The next day we went to the bank which is in the shopping mall that is attached to the hotel. There we changed large bills for smaller bills. You cannot purchase Egyptian Pounds at the bank but they will give you smaller bills. Most street vendors will accept Pounds or dollars. Larger establishments will take credit cards. You will need a supply of 5 Pound Egyptian notes for your restroom visits. On board the ship, they will sell you Pounds at the government set conversion rate. You cannot use U.S. coins for anything because the Egyptian citizens are unable to use it.

Thank you. If you don't have pounds for the rest rooms can you use USD? Do you think that getting around $150 changed to pounds would be a good start?

We are traveling with Viking and will be staying at the Ritz Carlton.

djett, have you had the need to use Egyptian Pounds yet? Did you get any from the ATM and if so, at the airport or at/near your hotel? Can you talk a little about using currency in Egypt, whether it be local currency or USD.

I am enjoying your blog and photos.

http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/lofoten_islands_and_honningsvag

 

The above is a link to my pictures.

So you didn't get a certificate unless you had ice poured down your back :eek:? Looks like it was just on the neck area.

Thanks for sharing your photos.

I'm attempting a daily blog at: https://dpjetton.blogspot.com

Don't know how much free time or wi-fi condition but I'll do my best. If I'm not able to answer questions now, I'll do a detailed review when I return home.

Have a wonderful trip. I signed up for your blog.

Sorry, missed the 'Viking' bit :)

Great information anyhow. :)

Thanks, Mark. This is an optional tour on our Viking Ra trip, so we would be going with them and not on our own.

Viking River question: For those who traveled from Aswan to Abu Simbel, were you bussed or did you fly? How long was the trip and how long did you stay in Abu Simbel? What was the cost of this optional excursion? Did you leave at 4 AM?

I find it amusing the perception that river cruising is for old people who need a slow paced vacation.

 

My wife and I have done three now. We are early 60’s and quite active. River cruising is exhausting. Every morning up for breakfast then off the ship about 9. Usually not back until late afternoon. (Yes there are “gentle walker” options but we take the regular tour) Shower, dress, happy hour and briefing on next day. Dinner and maybe a post dinner drink in the lounge. Ready to crash by 9:30.

 

Repeat for 7 days in a row. Or more. No “sea days” like ocean cruises.

 

 

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I agree. On a slow day, or short day, (some stops are only for a few hours) we log about 3 miles on our fitness tracker. On a busy day we put in 10 miles.

[ATTACH]413172[/ATTACH][ATTACH]413173[/ATTACH]. What a way to start the Viking Sun’s first World Cruise ! Finse - and her favorite toy Fuddlewuddle , the Famous Golden Retriever, showed up for the event !

 

 

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Oh, how fun !!! I bought a couple of the Finse books on one of my Viking river cruises for my granddaughter.

I will be following along. I hope everyone has a wonderful time.

As of now, vouchers are only SOLD on river.

You may use vouchers for either river or ocean bookings.

Vouchers must be used on booking. They aren't for use onboard like OBC.

Vouchers have no expiration date.

Vouchers can be given to your friends & family.

That is very true. I would love to get my hands on two vouchers for my upcoming payment. My neighbor offered to "lend" me his, but I can't be guaranteed to be able to replace them. I wish Viking would be consistent and sell them on both the river and ocean crises.

Thanks, Kath. I am wondering what the procedure is for the ocean cruises.

Peregrina, I sent you a private email with a Viking question. Wanted you to know in case it goes in your spam file.

Can the Onboard Gift Certificaes be purchased at the service desk during a cruise or does one need to attend the “talk” to purchase these certificates?