jiminyC_fan

California time, whatever the correct name is, LOL

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You must be home now vnb. Sounds like you enjoyed your trip. Welcome to the club that is already missing Viking and the Homelands cruise.

I can't say for sure but I did attempt to put their headsets in my iPod and it didn't work so my guess is no, they haven't upgraded yet.

Geosez, one thing you need to know is what direction the train will be heading. Forward facing seats seemed to be the ones everyone wanted. My plan of attack was to take the first forward facing seats we came upon. It becomes quite the free for all getting nice seats even on the train to Berlin. Make sure on any of the buses and trains to get a full window for picture taking. Several seats had windows that were sectioned in the middle of the row. We had that one once and after that we learned to look at the windows before choosing our seats. We ended up with great seats on both trains that had a little "table" off to the side and I'm thinking a tad more legroom. Not all rows have them. Our guide told us to get our food early on because the line gets longer after a certain stop because one of girls gets off and it leaves only one other girl to help the concession area after that.

Sorry I can't help you, baycruising.

Hey Dauntless....where did you stay? I know you liked the location and hotel.

We noticed probably 4 in their early twenties and they were the youngest and seemed to enjoy it. I would think if your husband is open to chatting with an older crowd then he will be just fine. We went to Alaska a few years ago on HAL. We were young for the crowd but made quick friends with what was probably the oldest couple. Age means nothing to us. We enjoy young and old alike.

We did a little bit of everything in the ports.. Some we took the included tour, some own our own, Alla Tours in St Petersburg (well worth not paying for Viking's tour) and a couple paid Viking tours. I did a lot of research beforehand and from there I determined exactly what we needed to do to accomplish our goals in each port.

Stockholm on our own. Heard too many negatives about a boring bus ride.

Helsinki, included

St Petersburg 2 day Grand tour with Alla Tours, we ended up with only 6 people on our tour. It was perfect.

Tallin, included. After that we had lunch in Talin that I had made reservations for prior to leaving home. It's called Vanaema Juures and was very good. I highly recommend. It's small and in the cellar. Has a traditional Estonian menu. Great food

Berlin, paid Viking tour called Historic Berlin which was fantastic.

Copenhagen, included and then stayed in town to explore on our own

Aalborg, included

Stavanger, made our own reservations through Norled for Pulpit Rock

Eidfjord, on our own ( huge favorite port of mine)

Bergen, we were there for 2 days so we did included for one day. and explored on our own the next day.

Took the train to Oslo and did the included tour there.

Viking put us up in the Radisson Blu Waterfront that was right next to Central Station. Great location.

Hi shorty656. I hope you enjoyed Eidfjord as much as we did!

Does JKF have a hotel attached like in Orlando? We always get a day pass to they Hyatt inside the airport. It gives us a room and a great place for a nap, watching TV, or even a swim.

stcroixguy, United totally cancelled our return trip a few months before we left. Viking did a great job rebooking us with Lufthansa. I'm sure you will be just fine. Have fun!

We could see when everyone started disembarking in SP so we left immediately and truly avoided the lines. It was very easy for us. Everyone on our ALLA tour did the same so we left the port early and was able to enjoy a longer day. I want to go back there so much.

No engine problems for us May/June.

Hey JiminyC I think you just returned from the Ocean Homeland trip. I can't find the thread but I want to know abut the currency you took. Did you run across any restrooms that you had to have money. We are traveling in Aug 19 starting in Norway.

Can I go with you? I am already on withdrawal. We took every currency but rubles and extremely glad we did. We got all of them at a Wells Fargo bank and exchanged the leftovers there, also. It was so much easier than hunting down an ATM and wasting precious port time. A couple of times we ran into credit systems being down so having the cash saved us. We, also, liked tipping in their currency.

Euros are sometimes accepted but don't depend on it.

I was shocked but not once did we have to pay for restrooms. Our guides always pointed out where the free ones were and at the same time would tell us the next time one would be available.

You will absolutely love this trip. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Please check in when you get back. Would love to hear from you!

I was thinking about your dislike of the bottled water. I believe you can get water and ice all day long in the World Cafe. They keep glasses out. We did it for ice for our pop and I think you can get water, too.

We just finished the Viking Homelands cruise on Saturday (July 15) and loved it. The four of us really liked the World Cafe and ate every meal there. Breakfast was very good (especially if you like crispy bacon). We always thought they had lots of choices. We also drank lots of the bottled water and did not notice a bad taste.

Totally agree with your post. We got back from our Homelands tour the middle of June. We ate most of our meals in the World Cafe, also. We felt the staff did an amazing job. We had lunch in The Restaurant once but we found it too filling for us. We ate at the poolside grill and it was excellent. They certainly have more than hot dogs and burgers. I fell in love with the shrimp salad sandwich. Their salads are wonderful and fresh. I only wish we tried it sooner. We drank the bottled water and there was not a bad taste at all. We had several bottles stashed on our desk but could have put it in the cooler to keep it cold. Chefs Table was our favorite dinners and managed 3 reservations.

Look what showed up on my Facebook feed. It states that it works for Viking.https://highwindtravel.com/products/highwind-cruise-tags-luggage-etag-holders-zip-seal-steel-loops-thick-pvc?variant=21733137089

I'm tempted to buy them. Pretty cheap if you ask me.

We were so happy that we took a small amount of each currency on our Homelands tour. We did bring more Euro's however since there were a couple more places that used Euros. We used them for tipping the guides and drivers and in one instance we had to use all of our Norwegian Krone just to ride the tram because their credit system was down. That put us in a pinch when we needed to tip the guide and driver later in the stay. We hit a couple of places that had their credit system down so were relieved to have the cash to get us through. To ease my mind, if I were you, I would either get the Euros beforehand, or use a credit card for your tour in Berlin.

Their airport transfers are always well handled. They are easy to spot in the airport. One time we had a bus take us. Another time we had a beautiful BMW private transfer. It just depends on how many they are picking up at a given time. We have always had a pre stay so we are taken to our hotel but I am sure it is handled the same way.

A Viking rep told me at the Port airport.

We left our auto gratuities in place. This is how they make their living. We gave extra on top. I can't imagine taking the auto tip off. On the mainstream cruiselines that we have been on if the auto was taken off the crew member was responsible for paying it back as they assumed he had received it from the passengers in cash. 50 cruises ago this was not the case as we all tipped in cash, but now with the autotip things have changed.

I don't know how Viking treats it if passengers take off the auto tip. This was my first upscale cruise...and not my last!!

Totally agree with you!

My advice is to research, research, research each port. From there decide if the included tour will satisfy you. We did a little bit of all, on our own, private tour, included tour and an optional Viking tour.

I did bring dryer sheets. They don't weigh a thing. I think you would miss it if you normally use them at home. I, also, brought Unstoppables (sp) for the washing machine.

I am so glad to see how you are broadening your horizons into the "Wonderful world of'" decadence that has been the foundation of my exploring what lies just around the corner. No gelato is just UnAmerican! You now see that alcohol can flavor and not overwhelm you. Baby steps but I think I see potential!

I give myself more credit. Don't forget that I tried the Chef's Table as well!!

A side note on the train to Oslo/Bergen. If you are on a pre or post stay, you are given a voucher to purchase food on the train. It was very generous and, at least to us and the people in our car, was good. I had a sandwich and a diet pop. Hubby got a very good hot meal. He had Norwegian meatballs and mashed potatoes and a pop. We still had leftovers so we got a little candy bar. They are EXCELLENT on guiding you on the best way to spend your vouchers. Once couple got two hotdogs, water and an amazing amount of Norwegian candy that was mostly chocolate bars.

I am really not a fan of ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt, whatever. One of the servers was trying to get me to try the rum raisin but I refused it because I don't like alcohol in my food. The next night we were in the Chef's Table restaurant and the dessert that came with the meal was, you got it, rum raisin. I decided to try it and I was so mad at myself for not trying it the night before. Unbelievably good. It was never served again. I was told that the specialty gelato's are served once per cruise so if you see a flavor that interests you, go for it. I ended up getting gelato many times on the ship. It really is amazing.