janetcbl

We did make it into the Shetland Islands on the June 23rd trip. Amazingly we did not have to skip a single port from Greenwich to Bergen. Think we were just very fortunate! It was the “Into the Midnight Sun” cruise.

No hiking is involved. You sit in a boat, except for the brief walk (2 minutes) to get the waffle.

This might help:https://www.norwaynutshell.com/original-tour/

If available the Pulpit Rock cruise is amazing…..and the stop for a waffle is a nice bonus!

Would people who have been on the new Viking Mississippi River cruises please comment, pro and con, on their experiences. We are booked on this in 2023 and I have questions whether this cruise is up to the usual Viking cruise standards. Thanks!

From my experience, tickets go on sale 90 days before departure. This info is from Pre-COVID days.

If I recall correctly, you get a more comfortable seat in Business Class, coffee is available and seats are assigned. Totally agree with everything Twitchly said!

Do it! I have done it many times , both ways, including spending a few days in Stalheim. No matter how you do it, it is unforgettable…in any kind of weather. Don’t miss it. If you are doing it on your own, book ahead, especially in summer. A good TA (who knows Scandinavia !) can be a big help.

Having just been through this, if I had lied on the arrival form about our arrival date, we could have booked the transfer. I wouldn’t do that, so we went on to Greenwich on our own, stayed overnight at a great hotel, enjoyed the day in Greenwich and boarded the ship in the afternoon. (Wish we had had booked an even earlier arrival- much to see in Greenwich.)

I think it is 15 days from making the deposit. I always do our own air; we like control and I worked in the travel industry so pretty much know what to do expect however these past couple of years…no one knew why was happening. As you age, insurance prices increase rapidly. I compared insurance prices for our last Viking trip and were we to buy other insurance, it would have cost about three times as much as Vikings’.

PV and above cabin refrigerators also have small bottles of liquor which are replaced daily. You can ask to have wine instead of the alcohol in your refrigerator.

Please post a comparison of the two ships when you return.

What is the website where you can find this information? (Google is no help.). Thanks!

We have had both and definitely prefer the window/door combination. Others prefer the slider….main thing….you are ON the ship! The rest is much less important!

Is the webcam on Mars not working…or is it my browser/internet?

This is only my biased opinion (worked as a tour guide in Scandinavia for 18 years), but if it is your first trip in this area, Homelands would be a better choice, IMO 🥴. Even with the elimination of St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Helsinki (Oslo is a great “substitution”) , I would still prefer Homelands. Other opinions?

They were used on every excursion, except the bus panoramas where the guide used the bus mic.

On our recent 28 day Mars cruise we had a delightful waiter, Michael, the first evening…and the second…and the third, etc. He seemed to enjoy us as much as we did seeing him every evening, and he quickly learned my allergies and my husband’s preferences. When he changed sections, so did we. The upshot, we cancelled our Specialty restaurant reservations and ended up dining “with him” for the entire trip.

Has there been a CC site established for the Mississippi River cruises yet? If so, where is it, please?

The end of June. As I mentioned, I think it was all due to luck, not planning.

…or not, depending on luck, and luck alone. We managed plane landing to hired car in under 45 minutes; others on our cruise much longer times. I think this is true of every major airport these days. These days it is necessary to pack an infinite supply of patience.

We always sat in the peanut gallery for all gatherings in the Star (we did not do the evening entertainment) and wore masks all the time in the ship and on the buses. We had N95 masks and managed to remain COVID free. A lot is due to luck, I’m sure, but I like to think our actions had something to do with staying healthy.

We did exactly the same thing and had the same waiter for the entire 28day cruise. When he changed table locations, so did we. And if we weren’t going to be gone for a meal, , we let him know. He knew our habits, our preferences, etc., which made for a relaxed, lovely experience. Missed him when we returned home; had to do everything myself!😁

N95. I bought two packages of 10 masks each (one for my husband and one for me). We alternated them daily and the 10 each were sufficient for our 28 day cruise, plus two International plane trips. (IMO😁).

Same experience for us on an earlier Mars cruise. We wore masks on the ship and on the excursion buses 100% of the time and stayed healthy. No one said anything (perhaps because we are in the elderly age group), but we did get many disgusted looks. I’d do it again, the exact same way.