Peregrina651

The closest thing that they have to a gift certificate is a 'future cruise certificate', which can only be purchased while on board a river cruise. The cost is $100 for a $200 face value certificate. You may purchase as many as you want but only one certificate per person may be applied per cruise.

If and only if the fare difference is great enough AND if it is more than 121(180(?) for longer journeys) days before sailing AND if there are cabins available in the category you want to book, you can always cancel the reservation you have and book again -- but you have to do the math first. You would lose any special offers from the first cruise -- airfare price and all included freebies or extras -- which you should include in the math calculations. If you would then buy the drinks package, you have to add that to the new booking cost. If you lose OBC, you have to add that amount to the new booking cost (because you will now have to pay out of pocket for expenses such as shorex that the OBCwould have covered), etc. And you have to add any loss of insurance premium if you can't transfer the policy to the new booking. In other words, the savings has to be fairly significant to even bother doing the math. BTW, I do have a future booking (I try to make sure that I always have a future booking) and I still get promo e-mails and catalogs.

Cindy -- Yes, definitely check out the promos and keep in mind that there is no way of knowing if a better deal is just around the corner. If you see a deal that works for you, grab it and don't look back. If you wait for a better deal to come along, you may have waited in vain -- what is your risk tolerance here? Others will say, wait and see what turns up closer to departure (after the 121 days out point, the last day to cancel with minimal penalty on the shorter cruises; for longer cruises it is different timing). Not that Viking has a history of last minute sales on unsold cabins but some cabins will open up at that point (N.B. that you will have to pay the full amount at booking). In all honesty, even a crystal ball is useless here. It all depends on how badly you want a particular itinerary or sail date. Most promos run from the first day to the last day of the month. Sometimes they are renewed for the following month but you won't know until the first day of the next month. More to think about. Viking is a popular cruise line with a loyal following. They sell out quickly. Prices seem to be going up right now.

Even if they tell you when you make your advanced reservations, it is not guaranteed that is what will be served once cruise time comes around (and especially now when they are still experiencing supply chain issues).

I'd still be wary of anything that contains or contained any amount of gunpowder because who knows what the threshold is for detection and who knows what the legal threshold is that would get you into trouble.

Including Viking which is no longer docking at Stazione Marittima in the heart of Venice but at Fusina, Marghera or Chiogga depending on what they have been tentatively assigned by the port authority.

Ask your steward for one, of course!!

If they contain an explosive (which gunpowder is), they are prohibited on the ship: Flammable liquids & all explosives (lighter fluid, fireworks, flares, etc.) See Viking's complete list of prohibited items here: https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/20190826-Prohibited-Item-List.pdf Don't guess. If you have any further questions, your safest bet is to let Viking speak for themselves. Don't forget that you also have issues with the airports and airplanes. Gunpowder is a problem. Taking out the caps may not be a viable option; the gunpowder residue may linger and attract the attention of the sniffer dogs at the airport (they don't know it is just a cap and neither do their handlers). It would be a lousy start to a much anticipated trip. Maybe you can find some sort of Christmas cracker that is gunpowder free.

Answering MikeyB's question, Day 8 is most likely the middle day -- one day of touring Athens for the first segment, changeover day, one day of touring for the second segment. Still, we haven't hear from anyone who has done a changeover day in Athens. Anyone out there who has experienced a changeover day in Athens?

Only time will tell if it is a fluke or a glimpse of the future. 😉

Pre-pandemic, the goal was to have them posted 120 days prior to departure. Only occasionally would they not be posted before booking opened for all cabins. Post-pandemic, in the early days of the re-start, it was pandemonium. The normal schedule was out the window and many times excursions were not available until well past the time that booking was open for everyone. Today, things seem to finally getting back to the pre-pandemic routine and ease.

Sweet! Glad that all went smoothly.

May 29, 2023 is "Spring Bank Holiday" in the UK -- a three-day weekend nationwide. The tides on the Thames also have a lot to say about arrival and departure times -- and no captain wants to get that data point wrong.

THANK YOU, @Moonlion! I haven't even looked at it yet and I know that it will be a fantastic help in planning our 2024 BIE. I wonder how much more we will have to pay over the 2023 prices?

That was our changeover day choice. Really enjoyed it.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and the Viking Oceans forum, Once you get on board, Viking will make tours available for continuing guests. They are not available to guests who are boarding that day, hence are not listed on MyVikingJourney.com. At least this is how it worked a few years ago when our changeover day was in Rome. I can't confirm that they have it worked out for Athens, but I am sure that someone will be along shortly who can. The tours offered will be the same as what is already being offered on the other days, which are listed on the itinerary for tour cruise on the Viking website and run by the same providers handling the rest of the tours in Athens.

Sorry, that is a perfectly awful sentence. I got lost in the editing. It should read: My suggestion is to start on page 45...

My suggestion to everyone who is just find this thread is to start on page 45 of the thread. Scroll down to the first of the 2021 posts and start reading. There may be a lot of posts that deal with sailing under Covid protocols that no longer exist that you can easily skip. Still, the most current information will be found here. Once you have gotten through the post-Covid posts, go back to page one and skim forward, if you want. There is a lot of repetition and some of the early posts are outdated. Actually, this is my advice on how to approach any long thread that has been around for multiple years. The most relevant information is found in the past year to 18 months. Find the 18 months ago point in the thread and start reading from there. Once you finish that, then you can decide if you've read enough or want to go back to the beginning to read more.

There are two nightstands in each cabin. The outlet in the bathroom is for low wattage items only -- shavers and toothbrushes. A high wattage item will blow the fuse. Extension cords/leads are on the list of prohibited items "Extension cords (USB and laptop charging cables are exempt)" For the complete list: Prohibited Items List (PDF) Bookmark this link because this list is one of those hidden secrets, unless you know exactly where to look (via the FAQ link in the footer of every page on the Viking website, then search for "prohibited").

Thank you, Host Jazzbeau. Yes, please. Up to this point, this thread has been a great help to newbies looking to make the best of their first Viking cruise. It would be great if it were permitted to continue doing what it has been doing so well.

Even if you are certain that legal in the countries you are visiting, you still have find out if permitted on Viking.

Agreed! If they can't fulfill the guarantee, then it should be removed as perk (not that I want to see it go). It is like one hand doesn't know what the other is doing.

For years, TellUs@ has been my go-to for help and information. It is sad to see that, post hiatus, they have quickly become as ineffective as the chat and call center. Very disappointing to hear the current reports of failed interactions.

I've been there a couple of times with Viking and I can't remember if we had show our keycards in order to get through the gate before entering the terminal. Maybe someone else has a better memory than it do. If as Dr. Koob suggests, the terminal is not being used, then there are a couple of cafes on the property where you could meet. Cafe/bars are highlighted in yellow, Red T by the two bars is a cab stand. Red X in front of the terminal is another possible meeting spot (but does not offer shelter).

That is bad news.