goldwingers

1 hour ago, MikeyB said:

FYI...

Viking will not exchange currencies.

However, they will happily break larger denominations into smaller ones.

 

Good to know, I will keep that in mind, thanks

55 minutes ago, SteelCity Cruiser said:

We are most certainly on the same cruise, and extension.  When do you fly out (wondering you are on different flights)?  We're going with a group of about 25 through our local travel guy, and most of us, I think, are on the extension in Oslo and we're extending 2 days in London as well.

 

FWIW - we'll be in the UK most of this cruise so we're going to order UK Pounds from our bank in advance then we'll get a small amount of Euros and Kroners for the time we are in Norway and Ireland.

We are flying out on the 5th British Air @ 9:45 PM.  We were assigned a different itinerary thru Viking but I upgraded to premium economy on the website & this was the best route.  A bit less than 3 hrs to change planes (& terminals) in Heathrow, so hopefully that will be long enough. You will be at the Clarion Hub in Oslo?  They changed the hotel on us a while back.  Look forward to getting to know you!

Barb (& Wayne)

14 minutes ago, longterm said:

We're headed to Italy on Saturday for a Rick Steves Best of Tuscany tour; I booked flights months ago. 

Our return was from Florence to Frankfurt, from Frankfurt to Dallas; I had confirmation codes, was set to go, but hadn't been able to get seat assignments for the 1st leg, from Florence to Frankfurt, which was with Air Dolomiti, but booked by United.

I called this morning, after trying last week, and was told that we had reservations on the flight, but didn't any longer. They told me to call United, which I did; after wasting an hour on hold with a rep, I was told that although the flight was now full, she was going to "email Air Dolomiti and ask to have our reservation reinstated," and that she would be calling me tomorrow. She also said that we might just have to fly home the next day. I'm sure hotel and food compensation would have been forthcoming (NOT).

This is the worst sort of service; we will do everything we can to never fly this awful airline ever again. While I do understand that accidents happen, I should have gotten resolution this morning, and if they really cared about their customers, offered some sort of compensation for this unacceptable situation.

Gosh, I hope you are able to get that resolved!  We had problems last year with Delta - partnering with ITA.  Funnily enough when we went on a Rick Steves Sicily tour.  Not able to select a seat even though we had paid for premium economy - not able to check in online or get boarding passes.  Delta said talk to ITA who said Delta was responsible, etc....  Nearly missed our 6 AM flight from Catania to Rome as the airport didn't open till 5 and the whole country must have been in line ahead of us...

BTW, we have also done the Rick Steves Villages of Italy and it was marvelous as was Sicily, hope you have a wonderful time even with the airlines making life miserable.

On 5/21/2023 at 12:10 PM, SteelCity Cruiser said:

Yep - that's a little different.  We're stopping at Urquhart (it was on my extremely long list of places to see in Scotland) but not Cawdor.  Our description didn't include a lunch stop so our friends and us are going to see if the World Cafe can whip up a box lunch for us for the day.

 

I think we will be on the same tour.  I just booked this because of the good reviews here.  I had wanted the Viking Outlander tour but it was sold out even before we got a chance to book.  So we had to settle for the Cawdor/Culloden since the Urquart one was sold out as well.  This Thistle tour hits all the spots we wanted to see and it is also far less expensive.  This thread is so helpful.

I see you are from Pittsburgh - we are in Beaver Falls area.  Maybe we will meet up on board the Venus?

4 hours ago, DGHOC said:

Goldwingers, I tend to take cash out of a cash machine and then either pop into a local bank to ask them to break the notes or into a shop to buy a basic item like mints or chocs etc and then collect the change. I always try to tip in local currency, it's just common courtesy.

Yes, good idea - that's what we normally try to do.  This itinerary has stops with (I think) 3 different currencies.  I'd like not to have an excessive amount left over of Kroners or Pounds, that's why I'd prefer to use a CC if possible, but I don't want to stiff the guides & drivers, they deserve recognition - especially after being out of work for so long with the lack of tourism.

Leaving 2 weeks from today - getting last minute details attended to!  Love the reports on the ports of call - save some of that lovely weather for us!

Thanks

4 hours ago, SteelCity Cruiser said:

Moonlion, out of curiosity, what have been the general tour guide/bus driver tipping practices in the UK - yes tip, no tip and general amount guidelines.  We're 'heavier than usual' tippers on these trips (since we see some passengers not tip guides and drivers at all) but I've gotten some conflicting advise on the topic and would appreciate your observations.

 

I am curious about this as well.  SteelCity, I believe we are on the same cruise.  We have the 4 day pre ext. from Oslo to Bergen.  I had read on this site somewhere that Norway is mostly cashless so had planned on using our CC since we don't want to end up with Kroner (?) left over.  But we will have several excursions while there and wondered how much to have on hand for tips.  We normally get foreign cash from an ATM but that would probably not be in small denominations.  So some idea of how others have approached the tipping would be helpful.  Same question for Pounds - we have a good supply of Euros from prior trips, but I think only the stop in Dublin uses Euros?

Thanks to anyone who can help!

Thanks. Sunflower, SantaFe & deec - 

I had purchased the optional tours first - as soon as I could thanks to the info I had from this site! - and went back & scheduled the included ones at whatever time would fit and was still available.  That put two of them in the earlier time slot.  The third one is after the paid excursion, so I'm not too worried about that, especially as it didn't get the best reviews.  

The free Shetland tour only gives me 30 minutes before the Shetland pony experience, so I may just forego that since it covers some of the same ground.  Just trying to maximize my time!

Thanks

We will be leaving in a little over 3 weeks for this cruise from Bergen to London.  I have a question re: shore excursions.  On several days I have booked the included exc. and also a paid exc.  There is about a 30-45 minute gap between when the one ends and the other begins.  I figured that would be enough time.  Do the ship's tours usually get back at the scheduled time or am I being overly ambitious?  I would hate to miss a paid tour that I really wanted just to go on the included one.  I can check with guest services when onboard, just wondered if anyone had any experience with doing this.

Thanks

23 minutes ago, Gropo said:

We appear to be on the same cruise. Just as a counterpoint:  We went on the included Dublin City tour. Fairly disappointing. Can’t really see much from coach windows on narrow streets. Most commentary was about how the Guinness people paid for about everything good in Dublin, and about which intersection we just past where X number of people were shot during independence rebellion, which apparently happened in several locations … but did we need to go to all of them?  The stop at the Art Museum was more for a restroom break than to see any exhibited works. 

So, in Dublin, I’d recommend spending on one of the optional tours. Someday we will return to see Ireland. 

Do you just get what you pay for?  Somewhat. 

On the other hand, today we were on the included bus ride thru Anglesey. Great countryside views, good narrative, but only one stop for photo opportunities. Still, we were satisfied. 

Thanks for your thoughts on the included Dublin tour.  That was all I had planned for our day there, as we had spent time there several years ago on a Road Scolar tour and had hit most of the sites we had wanted to see.  After reading your input, I just went and added an extra excursion ( the trip to Wicklow with the baking demo) so we don't feel as if we wasted our time there.  The longer Wicklow tour also looks lovely, but we had seen a good bit of that area before & it was rather pricey for the day.

Really appreciate everyone's reviews and feedback!

Thank you, Peregrina651 and CDR2001 for the info & suggestions.  The Bergen to Mostraumen cruise is the one I was looking at - it does look great, glad to know you enjoyed it.  I can try to speak to the Viking rep while we are still in Oslo.  If there's a way for them to transfer our bags, or we can drop them off early, we could still make the 10:30 tour.  I won't pre-book online until I am sure it will work out, I don't think it's refundable.  You've given me some good options, thanks again.

5 minutes ago, Ceegeefl said:

We are also on this cruise and Oslo pre extension! My understanding is that Viking takes your luggage from the hotel in Oslo to the ship.

According to our Viking agent the usual arrival time in Bergen on the train is approximately 5pm. The transfer from the station to the cruise ship is only about 10 minutes.

Please correct me if I am mistaken on any of this information if you have been on this itinerary.

Looking forward to meeting you!

Thanks, Ceegeefl - I guess I should have been more specific.  I didn't realize there were 2 different pre-ext. train trips - we are on the one with 2 nights in Oslo & 2 nights in Bergen after the train ride and would be boarding the ship on the 10th from the hotel - I think it is to be the Hotel Norge by Scandic.  Good to know that Viking will be dealing with the luggage, though.  That gives me a little more leeway in what I can pack.  Now I just need to know how early we would be boarding the ship.

Maybe we will see you onboard.  Starting to get excited!

I've found all the tips on here so far very helpful.  There's a few things I haven't seen that I still have questions about, though.  We are on the June 10 Bergen to Greenwich on Venus with the pre-ext from Oslo to Bergen on the train. 

First question - does Viking take care of transporting your luggage from the Oslo hotel to the Bergen hotel or do you have to lug it onto the train yourself?  This will make a difference on whether we pack in carry-on only (as we normally do) or take an additional checked bag as I had hoped to do since we will have a variety of weather on this trip.

Second - on the day we board the ship in Bergen, does anyone know approx. what time they do the transfer?  And again, do they take your bags?  I was looking at doing a fjord cruise that day as there aren't any excusions, but the cruise starts at 10:30.  I am hoping it will be near the vicinity where the ship will be docked so we could just walk there.  This will be on a Saturday, so I was thinking perhaps it would be best to book this ahead and not just try doing it as a walk-up.  Feasible?

Thanks to anyone who might have any info!

Sorry not to be the bearer of better news. I have been trying to post since I found out. I almost wondered if they could block from posting to CC!  The young fellow said they would be going to Cabo, Mazatlan, I think maybe he said Ensenada and he couldn’t recall the rest. Not where I would want to go either…

I have been trying to post several times but my posts aren’t going through. One more try. I am on Orion right now. Several crew members have said they were informed day before yesterday that they will not be going to Hawaii but will be doing LA to Mexico instead. Maybe Viking is trying to finalize an alternative itinerary before offering options to those who had booked the December trips. BTW, the staff onboard are awesome. 

1 hour ago, SantaFe1 said:

Further research yielded this, which is the one I think you are talking about.  But other cruise lines specifically state it is acceptable, Viking does not—yet.  At least you have the voicemail as proof.

 

I am currently onboard the Orion. We took this test on Monday for a Wednesday departure. We printed out the results from the link that was sent within minutes. When we embarked, the Viking rep checked the date of the test and the result and waved us through. Easy peasy. They also had a table set up in the terminal where they appeared to be administering rapid tests - I did not walk over and check it out, but there were lab techs and equipment set up. 

16 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Regular PCR tests can take up to 48 hours or more.  You have to get the test within 72 hours.  What could go wrong?

 

Our Sept. river cruise in Europe suggested a test 72 hours before departure.  CVS says results USUALLY take 2-3 days - we got ours late on day 2, which was fine.  Now the requirements from Viking state:

Get a COVID‐19 COVID‐19 NAAT/ PCR (nasopharyngeal/nasal swab)/or antigen test  US/Canadian guests must get a test no more than two (2) days before boarding your ship. Ensure you are provided with either a printed and/or electronic copy of the results; be prepared to present this multiple times as directed throughout your travels.  

(Note that it DOES say NAAT/PCR)  But we would have to leave for the airport before we could possibly have our test results, if a rapid test is not accepted....  Feel like this is a Catch-22.  Also, we will be leaving from FL, which I understand has a backlog for testing.  Our cruise leaves on Nov. 3.  Any suggestions?

11 hours ago, pie67 said:

We didn't pay extra, but had great connections and great seats and then it all changed.  Now on the flight to DC to start, we have no seat assignments unless we want to pay extra, so we have to see what happens when we check in.  And at the end of our vacation, our Delta flight to Pittsburgh through Philly was changed to American through DALLAS!  So now we have a 17 hour day to try and get home.  I saw a comment somewhere else that said never get the included air, and now I know why.

We did pay extra and originally had a perfect itinerary with Air Canada.  Then Viking changed the date of our cruise by one day at the last minute and by the time we were assigned new flights it was too late to get anything better.  Our flight to Basel now goes from Pittsburgh to HOUSTON to Frankfurt to Basel on Aug 31 (during hurricane season, no less...)  The AirCanada route we wanted was full.  We will be over 24 hours, door to door and not get in to Basel till 5:30 PM.  Jet lag, much??

I am only glad we had booked air thru Viking because, had we made our own, we would have had a heck of a time trying to rebook FOUR times since we booked this trip originally.

3 hours ago, rcaruso said:

I'm not  disappointed, just a bit disappointed in Viking's communications of a loyal 9 cruises and two more upcoming customer. I still have not received their e-mail, I expect it will be in a day or two, so I will have to work with it and figure out how to shift the two weeks worth of hotel rooms and the Avalon cruise on Dec. 9.  Just more work for me!

The lack of communication is extremely disappointing!  My TA had called them two days prior to the rescheduling to ask why we were locked out of our MVJ acct & she was told they were just "doing maintenance" on their systems and everything was fine!!  They try to make it better by giving us $250 PP OBC, but after the cancellation of prepaid excursions, we had a pile of OBC and NOTHING to spend it on.  Plus the refunds went on as a voucher which had to be used before we boarded!!  They've  had our money since 2019....  I know a lot of this was not their fault and up till now I have been very pleased with how they were handling things, but this is just biting the hands that feed them!

Fingers crossed that it will all work out in the end.

Viking changed us to a different date without asking us.  On 7/15 I got an email that said our cruise was going as scheduled.  It was to be on the Alruna from Basel to Amst. on 9/4 - but the header of the email said 9/3 on the Eir.  We had been locked out of MVJ for several days prior to this.  Later on 7/15 we got an apology email stating they made an error and that we would indeed be on the 9/3 cruise - in a different stateroom and our prebooked excursions were gone as well.  Two of them could not be rebooked at this late date.  We are fortunate that we can accept the date change, but it has cost quite a bit more to change hotel ressies - and our TA is still struggling to get thru to their air dept to get us acceptable flights - she has been trying for a week! (We paid for Air+)  I am really unhappy with Viking.  This is no way to keep customers happy.  This is our fourth attempt at this cruise!  Fingers crossed we get to go on this one.  But to all who are waiting - be prepared to make changes to your plans at the last minute.

14 hours ago, GasPowered said:

Goldwingers - we had the same issue - radio silence followed by 'The Big Change'.  We actually had 5 rooms books on this cruise and are now seeking refunds on 3 of them.  And like you, we had additional travel booked on both sides of the river cruise - a few nights in Amsterdam for our entire group and following the float up stream (feels like we are without a paddle) nights booked in multiple cities including Lyon, London, Florence, Montalcino, and Rome.  We have a lot of rebooking to do  😞 

 

Additionally, Viking has dropped our ship board credits ($375 per person x 10).  Now we have to have another conversation about this too...the logs on the fire are burning bright at the moment 🤬 

Yes, agree - this has been very frustrating.  Up until now we were pleased with the way Viking had handled a bad situation, but this was uncalled for.  This was our third attempt at this cruise - now the fourth.  We are to leave in less than 40 days and still have no air itinerary (we paid for the Viking Plus).  I'm surprised they dropped your credits - they gave us each an additional $250 pp to spend onboard which is a joke as there is nothing to spend it on as we had already prepaid for our tips & excursions and we don't drink.  Our wonderful TA was able to upgrade the room from a FB to a verandah to use some of the extra credit we had accumulated, but we were just as happy with the FB, so no big deal there.  Just hoping we will be able to sightsee on our own at the ports where we now have no excursions or we will be spending a lot of time reading on that lovely verandah!

1 hour ago, GasPowered said:

Good to hear some cruising is still on schedule (for now)!  

 

Unfortunately our Viking Rhine trip scheduled for Sept 16, 2021 from Amsterdam to Basel was involuntarily canceled/moved by Viking just 3 days ago to October 2021.  We declined their new date and have rebooked for March 31, 2022.  In doing so our party of 8 has now shrunk to just 4.  Dang Covid strikes again - put me in the bucket as ready for this to be over!    

Same thing happened to us!  Got an email Thurs at 3:15 stating our Rhine cruise was a go as scheduled - but the header of the email referenced a different ship and one day earlier - 9/3 instead of 9/4.  At 7:00 got a new email apologizing for the erroneous first email and telling us we had been rebooked - without our knowledge or permission - onto the earlier departure...  Long story, but we have accepted the change since this was the third attempt at this.... but all our excursions we had booked months ago were gone and we were only able to rebook 2 of them as one was not offered and one was sold out.  also our hotel rooms had to be changed and that cost a bunch more money....  Now with the tragedy of the flooding over there, I'm thinking this is just not meant to be!

What wonderful videos!  My mouth is watering from your dining tour.  I had wanted to do the British Isles Explorer next year but by the time I realized they were open for booking, all the dates were completely sold out! 😪  So I quickly booked for June 2023 - looks like our room will be just a few down from the one you had.  It is going to be an excruciating wait - although I do have a Viking River cruise hopefully going early Sept, having been postponed twice, so I guess I've been waiting almost 2 years for that one as well.

Thank you for sharing your experience, it was well done and much appreciated.

We are doing Lyon to Avignon in September. Please drop back in when you get back with highlights & photos.

 

 

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We are doing Lyon to Avignon on the Delling in Sept. also. We leave on Sept 26 - are you on this one as well? Would love to see a review, too!

Barb

We will be taking a trans Atlantic cruise and then traveling between Italy and Poland. Has anyone ever used a pre-paid phone for Europe they could recommend. I am looking for a cheap phone for emergencies.

We got a cheap phone from Mobal. Google the website. They only charge you for the actual minutes you use & it is good almost everywhere - no changing SIMS when crossing borders. We have had this phone for several years & never paid another cent since we have never had to use it. But it is there if needed & that is all I wanted! If I did use it, the fees are very small - depends on what country you are in. Check it out.

Barb

We did the AMA pre cruise excursion to the Rhine falls & Stein am Rhein and enjoyed it very, very much. We also did the trip to Mt Rigi as the cable cars to Pilatus were undergoing yearly maintenance. Both were additional cost and were well worth the price.

Have a wonderful trip - we certainly did!