SoBaycruiser

Thank you again! I’ve been reading a lot lately about Lisbon and I am now recognizing places as I read your post. Hearing your enthusiasm has me excited for our visit.

I love viewpoints! Can you recommend any viewpoints that you think are special before I dig into the tourist office site? I’ve been browsing sites that give their top 10 (or 20) things to see in Lisbon and they tend to highlight places versus views. Thanks for your time!

Thank you. That is very helpful.

Our cruise will be in Lisbon for a day and a half. The full day is on a Sunday. We love walking tours- either on our own or guided, We were hoping to do Rick Steve’s audio walking tour because we love to go at our own pace, stop in a shop, or eat in a cafe. I know shops are closed on Sunday and restaurants open later. Would we find ourselves doing nothing but walking on a Sunday? Is the HOHO worth it if many places are closed? Should we consider taking a ship’s tour to make the best use of our visit? (This is our first visit to Lisbon)

That’s what I was thinking but no one else was mentioning it as unusual so I thought it might be something new. Thanks.

I think we are on the same cruise. When I log into my account and access this trip it shows excursions starting at about 9am in Bordeaux on embarkation day, I don’t know how that would work. Maybe you could drop your luggage and take an ship excursion??? To be honest, it doesn’t make sense. I know they do excursions on debarkation day but I’ve never heard of it on embarkation day.

We have sailed on Journey and Quest and will be on the Pursuit in September. I am reading about a number of differences between the ships… WiFi improvements, shower curtains, better hair dryers, etc. Where does Pursuit stack up in the improvements list?

I’m embarrassed! Of course it’s in Seville. I was studying Valencia when decided to post this and got confused. 😮

Because of the new software problems, I finally got to look at the excursions for our Sept Spain Intensive. It says the the Azamazing Evening is in Valencia but it says nothing about what it is…or even where… just a picture. Could you share what you know about that evening? This is our first time in Spain and I am way behind in my research. Thanks!

Please share your list! I’m in my 70’s so nothing is really short but a lot just above the knees.

Thanks for the information about Airportr. I hadn’t heard of them. That sounds like a very useful service. Those few lost years of travel during COVID have made a difference in how we travel. We aren’t getting any younger! 😉. We’ve been to London enough times that we didn’t want to stay in town. We accept that our decision to arrive early would cost us a night at a hotel. That certainly was our decision… as well as booking our own flights. I just think a top line cruise company could allow their passengers to book a ride on one of their transport buses under the condition that if the passengers don’t show up at the assigned time and place, they forfeit their money. That would protect Viking and yet provide a service to their passengers.

This is what was on my docs that I got last week: 1-213-567-3570 I assume it’s routed through their headquarters because that’s a Los Angeles number.

I was referring to why I wouldn’t lie to Viking about which day I was flying in so I could get their transportation. Of course, every traveler deals with flight cancellations.

Or the flight is canceled and therefore they aren’t there to meet us. So many pitfalls. I’m willing to follow the rules… but I don’t have to like them.

I am being forced to pay for a private car from LHR to Tilbury. This is our first Viking cruise. We are flying into London from California. Because of all the recent airline interruptions we decided to fly in one day early and stay at an airport hotel and then return to the terminal the next day for the transfer. We were not allowed to do this. Some suggested we lie and say we were flying in the same day but we weren’t comfortable with that. At our age we aren’t up to lugging our luggage on the train. So we HAD to hire a car service. I can’t believe that when an embarkation is so far from the airport, they don’t provide some transport. I am sure some of the buses meeting arrivals on the day of departure have some space for people staying at adjacent hotels.

I like that! That’s certainly an option and I’ve got some those already!

We find most night lights too bright for a bathroom. We found these little LED nightlights that fit nicely into the shaver outlet in the bathroom are just the perfect amount of light. Having not been on Viking yet, I don’t know for sure they have a shaver outlet, but other cruise ships do. Often is says for shavers only but these draw so little power, we are sure they are fine. The biggest problem is to remember to bring them home!

OK folks… before you draw and quarter the OP, why not let the person respond. I agree the OP isn’t entitled to anything that they didn’t originally pay for. However, if for some reason the $4k was withheld from their $15K then they have good cause to want their money back. There was no vaccination requirement when they booked their cruise, and probably none when they booked the 4/21 cruise. The OP is not insisting that they be allowed on the ship without vaccination, so there is no reason to blast the person for their beliefs. We were 3 weeks from sailing on another line in Mar2020. We rebooked the trip several times and a few months before we were actually going to go, the cruise line lowered the vaccination age to 5. The adults were all vaccinated but the youngest children were not because of concern about the amount of testing on growing children of that age. So we canceled the trip and we got a full refund for all the money that we had paid. We did not get paid the extra 25% and did not expect to. I doubt the OP will come back after the response they got. It would have been interesting to know the details.

E Check is the same as the credit card in that you can bundle several excursions or pay individually. However you aren’t confirmed until it’s paid for. So do excursions individually if they are really important to you. It is quicker to use E check because it is taken directly from your account like a debit from your account. It can be set up ahead of time whereas the credit card info has to be put in at the time of purchase. It does not use your credit card on file for on-board purchases. E check also gives you a slight discount if I remember correctly.

Thar doesn’t sound normal. However, we always travel with a mini flashlight and use that if we have to get up in the night… not so bright and it doesn’t wake us up as much.

We haven’t sailed Viking yet (next month), but sailed Alaska on Seabourn on one of their earlier ventures into the area (2018). It was a lovely ship but I did not care for it for the Alaska itinerary. I left one major negative comment with them which I do not know if it made a difference or not. Seabourn offers some expedition type excursions in Alaska such as kayaking at the foot of a glacier. You return to the ship thrilled but wiped out. The last thing you might want to do is dress for dinner. The buffet restaurant used for breakfast and lunch turned into table service at night. The only place to eat in jeans was at the grill by the pool. Apparently many others felt the same desire not to change for dinner. The trouble was that it was 46 DEG F and they had insufficient patio heaters and tables. I don’t want this to be a debate about dressing for dinner. I have no problem with a dress code for a dining room. My problem is they didn’t have a suitable alternative for casual eating when the weather was cold except for room service. I don’t know if this is the way they are still operating or not.

Actually the current cruise is having a fairly smooth sailing so far. They deserve a break after losing two days of their trip. Let’s hope we are as lucky. So far I haven’t packed anything for sea sickness (maybe stupid?). But I have a huge amount of chemical toe and hand warmers. I’m afraid of the cold and you’re worried about the seas! 😜.

Check out the Doubletree by Hilton in San Pedro. They sometimes have available Breakfast, Park and Cruise specials for pre-cruise stays. If you Google map “Los Angeles Cruise Terminal Berth 93“ you can see the large parking lot for two cruise ship berths.

They posted some great pictures from the ship and excursions on Facebook.

I am not on your cruise but I totally sympathize with your situation. I agree that you aren’t being treated fairly… especially concerning getting only shipboard credit for prepaid tips and excursions. I was about to depart on a cruise (on a different line) in 2020 when COVID shut every thing down 3 weeks before our departure. I rebooked 3 more times and finally canceled last year when they required the younger grandchildren (5-13) to be vaccinated. They gave me every dollar back that we had paid for two rooms. I was not charged for any excursions that had been booked. This cruise line was a class act. It seems to me that the Viking may have the right to change the itinerary due to weather, etc. But the foul weather was during another scheduled cruise, not yours. You paid for a 13 day cruise and they are providing an 11 day cruise and 2 day extension. You might check the fine print of your contract. Does it say anywhere that pre-paid tips are only refundable with ships credit? The same with excursions. If you decide to go, I would definitely send a written notice to the company that your presence at the hotel and ship does not mean that you accept the changes as fair compensation for your losses. Good luck.