jebbs

Lew,

According to CLIA, Viking is not affiliated with that organization. When do you expect to hear about October cruises by Viking?

i still am unable to review shore excursions on the Lisbon to Miami October 18cruise.  The Chat tells me I will see it next week!

Crossing my fingers!!

Like yourself, I spoke with a representative who answered the telephone after 15 minutes on hold .  We spoke for 5 minutes, put on hold for 5 minutes and then given a reference number, told it was cancelled and refund could take 30 days.  That was on Thursday.  Now it’s a waiting game.

For you, it might be time to involve your credit card company.

Good  luck!

I’m not sure who mentioned it, but many thanks for recommending to verify possible changes in flights.  My airline did revise its schedule, and cancelled my flight so I was able to get a full refund.  While I hope to get to Portugal some day, I was not looking forward to having a credit on TAP. Without the knowledge from the Viking boards, I would probably have settled for a voucher and the penalty of a flight change, when in fact I was in a much better position to negotiate.

So, thank you!

It is a one of cruise, Lisbon to Miami....two stops in Azores, then overnight in Bermuda.

Hopefully, they are working on details and not thinking of cancelling.

Thank you for your help. 

Hi all,

I’m 110 days before sailing, and I am unable to review offered shore excursions.  As first selection is at 107 days, I’m wondering what is going on.

Any insight is very much appreciated.

Thank you all for responding to my request.

This is a first time visit to Alaska, and the thoughts of doing it independently was too much for me to research and build consensus.  Traveling as four couple would be like trying to herd cats! Too ambitious for me.

We agreed to try Princess especially to sail southward on the Coral Princess. Deposited on this in February for June 2021.....hope we guessed right.....Covid-19, weather, health, it is all just luck, nothing planning can change!😎😎😎😎😎

We are four couples booked on a 6 day Princess Cruisetour and then sail south on Coral Princess in June 2021. I’m doing some early 

research on the land portion. I can see our tour gives us some unscheduled time and hope to book a few activities. My questions involve the accommodations.....

How are the locations of the Princess Lodges?  Are their dining rooms the only option for meals?  Did you make advanced

dinner reservations? Does Lyft operate in these areas to go to off site restaurants?

We will be staying  1 night at Mt McKinley,  2 nights at Denali and 2 nights Copper River.

Any experiences you’d like to share will be appreciated!

Thanks!

THANK YOU!

I was thinking the worst, rather than the BEST! Can always count on Cruise Critic community.

As Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz says “There’s no place like home” 

Could someone who knows the 8 Canadians find out, did they in fact leave London Heathrow?  As I look at British Airways flights for today, Saturday, April 11, flight to Vancouver was cancelled, as were the two daily flights to Toronto.  Were they flying by commercial flights or were they on charters? Really hope they aren’t stuck at the airport.

Here’s  hope I’m wrong!!!!!

I think you’ll be surprisingly satisfied with VikingOcean cabins.  They are very well thought out, the bathrooms are the best I’ve found in 35 years of cruising in a standard room. The extra excitement is the amount of space available around the ship.  Lots of nooks and crannies, sufficient bar space, even the World Cafe buffet can accommodate everyone.  Never a wait for dining room open seating, either!

Have sailed, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess and Holland America.  Did a segment of Viking Sun WC last year, Sydney to Durban!  Top shelf plus!!!! Had our Viking Jupiter March 15 cruise cancelled, but booked on Viking Sky for October. 

Keep planning, it’s all terrific!

Just got another Viking brochure.  It includes a postcard insert offering $400 per person if booking within one year of last cruise.  I would qualify for that.  However,  I have a cruise booked for October and wondering if offer could better then.   FYI, I’m looking to “spend” a cancelled cruise credit.

Thank you and be safe!!!!

For what it’s worth, my husband and I were to be sailing on the Jupiter, March  15 to April 8.  We decided to cancel, doing so on March 8 which was before Viking cancelled everything.. .  We got a check refund, for optional tours booked, in the mail on March 23.  We were surprised by the prompt service.

Wish we were sailing now, but haven’t left my house......Enjoy your day😎😎😎

Thank you for your efforts in keeping us informed.  We were supposed to board Jupiter in Buenos Aires on March 15 to Barcelona.  Pulled the plug rather than fly to BA on March 11....while I’m sure it’s beautiful there, glad we made the right choice! You’re entries on the forum have helped with my cruise withdrawal!

 Happy traveling, today and in the future.

On segment of World Cruise, Sydney to Durban last year, we had bite size Toblerone, in milk, dark or white chocolate restocked daily in the fridge!  Always fun to see which combination was in There! Mmmmmm!

Thank you so much for the Port location information for Bermuda. I am excited the Viking Ocean will be overnight in Hamilton.  While I’m sure a lot has changed since my first trip in 1977, I look forward to my visit, October 2020.

Another option to consider is the train.  Please look at MBTA train schedule for the Newburyport/Rockport Line.  The trip is less expensive than the ferry, more frequent and faster.  However, you must get yourself to North Station, Boston.

take a look and see if that’s the adventure you want!

Be sure to buy a few packable witches hats from Target and put them in your suitcase!!!!

BOOOOOO!

For what it’s worth, we booked a Deluxe Veranda, which is pretty basic.  Our onboard credit was a perk from our Travel Agency, and was applied to our account after we embarked.  It took a few days to be applied.  I got $1000, the max allowed by Viking, plus I always get $50 additional because I’m a long time customer of the agency. Needless to  say,  I keep coming back to that agency. I feel as if I take no handholding from my agent, and I know what cruise, cabin etc I want, so effort on her part is minimal.  Agency was EXTREMELY helpful when booking VikingAir.  Actually a colleague of the agent spent 45 minutes on the three way call to help me get the air I wanted.  I was more than happy!

Our credit was from our travel agent. Extremely generous, they apologized for not being able to provide more, that it was the maximum allowed by Viking. I’m not certain when it posted, as I never thought to look for it when I booked shore excursions. I am one of those crazy people who set the alarm clock for three am on the day of my category to book included and optional excursions.  We paid for those up front. We knew the tips would take most of the credit, and then the Casio always beverage.  With wine at lunch and dinner included, and our refrigerator stocked daily with gin, scotch, rum, etc, the bill in the lounge wasn't  much!

Hi Zitsky,

That's the point. The Viking Voyager showed under My Account a column of BOTH, then a column for me, then a column for my husband.  The column for both combined our purchasing and expenses.  I never bothered to look at the television version, however I expect it shows a similar version.  On the evening prior to disembarking, the BOTH column showed a credit of 75 cents.....in the morning, it seemed to recalculate and gave Me the full $1050 credit, which resulted in me having a credit balance of $624.25, my husband having a zero balance as they charged the credit card on file for $623.75. That means the BOTH column now showed a credit balance, non refundable of $624.25 and credit card was charged $623.75. Not playing fair by Viking....just my opinion.

Wow!  Had a wonderful segment, Sydney to Durban on Viking Sun.  Fantastic ports, outstanding staff, insightful lectures and shore excursions.  Our shipboard credit from our travel agent was very generous and we planned to use it for the billed tips and occasional adult beverage.  The Viking Voyager app allowed us to monitor our spending with headings of BOTH, Jebbs, then spouse.  Each heading outlines charges, although when my husband and I had cocktails the charges always came to his column.  The evening before disembarking, the account of BOTH showed a credit of 75 cents.  We were pleased with our use of credit and expected no charges as we headed for our Durban stay. Surprise, surprise!  In the morning the BOTH column now showed a credit of $624.25 (which is noted as nonrefundable] my column says zero balance and my husbands account has been charged $623.50, which means his tips and all of our cocktails!  We get an alert on our credit card of pending charges.  FORTUNATELY, we have time at disembarkation to deal with this, although our credit card was still hit, and upon calling credit card a few days later a credit had been applied.

My point for you all is to check your Viking Voyager accounts in the morning of departure.  While we might have been able to argue the issue once we returned home, it shouldn’t be necessary.......

Just got off the Viking Sun.  Had slippers and robes.....nothing fancy, but the did the job!

When I investigated for an October 2018 trip, that was true.  Do not underestimate using the train.  If your Florence accommodations are accessible to the area, train is the way to go.  The high speed from Rome to Florence is very comfortable and serviced by stewards .  If you can manage your luggage, give a try!

Hi MCazer....you can do three nights at Airbnb.  Just prebook a high speed train to Rome Termini for the morning.  The train was like an airplane on wheels, perhaps more civilized.  We had reserved seats, facing each other with a small table.  Our luggage, standard size for several weeks touring could fit between the rear of each seat.  A steward served refreshments, newspapers, etc. The transfer in Rome was quite easy, just a few tracks away with decent signage.  Even the stairs at Civitavecchia weren’t too bad. We stepped outside to size up our next step, and there was a van loading at 5€ directly to the ship which we took.  Other option is a larger bus to gate of port at 2€ then a free shuttle I guess.  We did this in October on Constellation.  Were  you on then when the ship crashed in LaSpezia?  Your name seems familiar!

OhToulon!  If I could relive our day there, I would.  Perhaps the most fantastic day tour I have ever experienced!  While I did not know what to expect, someone from our roll call was looking to fill an 8 passenger van and we signed up.  Please check 1388 Tours, our guide was Michel.  He was excellent.  He had a magical day planned for us, to the market, to the shore, to a French bocce type court for wine  and games!  We fit in a wine tour stop, a few churches and lunch.

Hooray  for Anne from my roll call, the tour was a home run!

We took a high speed train Florence to Roma Termini, and that way, the walk to the train for Civitavecchia was minimal, just about two minutes walk with no stairs. The stairs at Civitavecchia were even OK.  We stepped outside the Civitavecchia terminal and a van was loading and then leaving, 5€ per person., I seem to remember,  and dropped right to Celebrity Constellation.  This was October 2018, FYI