jiminyC_fan

I did notice the shoes and from what I saw they had on the same athletic shoes that we wear here.

It's true. We did it. What a stupid thing to do. Holland America was excellent about the whole thing, hahahaha. It was their embarkation port and they were busy checking people in but they took the time to get a taxi for us. Sheesh, made for a great laugh though.

I just realized that I typed Baltics cruise. It was the Homelands cruise. I don't know if it is possible to edit the title.

We just returned from our cruise on the Viking Star. I asked so many questions so I thought that maybe I could start a thread that might be helpful to others.

First off, I was worried about our DV category being too small and not having enough storage. I was pleasantly surprised. We are over packers but still found plenty of room. I did ask that the coffee maker be removed for the extra storage. I have read that some would like to see the bathroom smaller for more storage but honestly I wouldn't. It, too, has lots of storage. The shower and heated floors are the best part. I thought the bed and nightstand right next to the closet that I had seen in pictures was going to make it tight but it isn't at all and that happened to be "my" side of the bed. Loved the USB ports at bedside. We did bring a converter from home that had 3 outlets and 4 USB ports. I found it on Amazon. We mainly used it and plugged it in at the desk.

Get familiarized with the TV and all the offerings it has. Take advantage of the port talks on the TV. Check your account. Find those hidden movies that I found on the last night. I saw the movies listings but didn't realize that there are many to choose from. Enough for men and women.

The included tours ended up being pretty good. I did hear some grumbling from other cruisers on our ship about how boring Stockholm included tour was so we decided to skip it.

Alla Tours in St Petersburg was definitely the best decision we made in tours. It worked out that there were only 3 couples. We were kicking ourselves for not booking them in the other ports as the Viking tours are somewhat large at around 26 people. I highly recommend anyone to consider using them.

We took the train to Berlin and then the Historic tour of Berlin with Viking. Enjoyed it very much. I did hear people saying that the included tour left them alone too many hours in Berlin so if you can't keep yourself entertained then you might want to consider a different tour.

One of our favorite stops was Eidfjord. We did it on our own. Someone here recommended stopping at the tourist office and pick up a map that shows two different walks. To that person I want to say THANK YOU. The yellow walk is more of a nature hike that they say takes 90 minutes. It took us 3 hours. We stopped along the way and soaked it all up. We took so many pictures. We loved not being on a bus. We loved doing something on our own, with no crowds. We loved the fresh air. It was an easy walk for the most part but it did have a steep climb in the middle. The blue walk is more of an in town walk which we did not take since it took us so long on the yellow walk, haha. There is very little shopping there. Viking suggests that you get up early and watch the sail in to Eidfjord. We got up at 5am and it was worth it to us. Few people did it so it was easy to sit inside or stand outside for the full view. It was very, very pretty. Sailing out they go fast so you don't really get the same affect.

Some of you know that we decided not to go through Viking to get to Pulpit Rock in Stavanger. We ended up using the company Norled instead of Rodne because of their better time. It was fantastic. We even had enough time to explore Stavanger afterwards. Both Norled and Rodne are easy to find right at the port. I was looking for some sort of a kiosk or something big with their names on it but all they had was a little table and an umbrella. Both are right next to each other. We had bad weather so we didn't get to see the top of Pulpit Rock but it was still worth it. We were fully prepared for rain so we stayed outside on their deck most of that cruise and the 360 view was worth it It costs considerably less than Viking's tour to Pulpit Rock. The only difference between Viking's tour and Norled's was that Viking stops at a beach for a waffle. We actually saw them on land getting their waffle in the rain.

We were disappointed in our post stay. When we first booked we thought we would have more time in Oslo. We did find out differently before we left so we were prepared but it still left us disappointed. It was a 7 hour train journey which was beautiful. Our guide that we had in Bergen for our first day of the post stay stayed with us on the train where we were handed over to a different guide at the train station in Oslo. We arrived around 3 or 3:30 and then had a bus tour around the City, visited the Viking Ship museum (which was fantastic) and Statue Park. We were to see a Ski jump area but the low clouds prohibited it so we went to Statue Park which everyone loved. We arrived at our hotel at 6pm. It left us pretty much no time to explore on our own. We ate dinner and then went back to the room to prepare for our flight home the following morning.

Viking was EXTREMELY organized on our pre and post stays. We were impressed.

All of the Viking staff were attentive and professional. All the tour guides were excellent.

Food.....very subjective but we found it excellent. We loved Chef's Table the most. Make sure to try and get in all menu rotations. At the end of the meal they encourage you to make a reservation for the next menu. It was easy to get a reservation. Manfredi's was good but way too much food for our liking. My advice is to check the interactive menu outside of the restaurants to see what is on the menu for that day and make your decision from there where to eat for lunch and dinner. We never called room service so I can't address it. If you like shrimp salad, go to the pool side restaurant and have their shrimp salad sandwich. I am already craving it.

Viking on all of their paperwork and on their website suggests to tip the drivers and guides on the tours. We saw very little tipping going on. It did make me sad.

I found the ship chilly in the common areas so ladies bring a sweater just in case.

Stop by the Explorers Desk every night after dinner and pick up a map of the port for the following day. It is not very detailed and got us frustrated often but at least we had something. Some ports have maps right by the ship or on the bus. Those maps are by far better than Viking's.

Just in case anyone is wondering, the guides do a great job of bathroom breaks. They always point out where they are and when the next break will be.

Viking offers a shuttle bus in most of the ports which was fantastic. My advice is to make sure you are getting on the RIGHT cruise line's shuttle bus even if there is a Viking representative standing right next to the bus. Otherwise you will find yourself at the wrong ship and need to take a 15.00 taxi ride to get to the right ship. Don't ask me how I know.

I'm sure I am leaving out a few things but I hope someone finds some of this helpful.

You're very welcome. I know I asked so many questions. I want to help those that felt lost like I did.

stretchcruz. we over packed as well. We always over pack. You think we would learn. Nope.

We went so far as to avoid the restaurant because of the fear of what people said about the dress attire. It's too bad that CC does that to some.

I paid attention in port to what locals wear because of the jean talk on CC. I read a post on Trip Advisor once that said they chuckle over the jean discussions when it comes to the advice not to wear jeans in public while touring. The poster said she found it funny and wondered what people think they do wear. That statement made me people watch, LOL. You will find locals in jeans but you also find them dressed very nicely.

We just got home today. It was a very memorable trip. It was perfect. I will try and write my thoughts later.

Jiminy C - was this tour mostly a bus tour. Also, did they get most people out on a morning tour?

 

Thanks so much for all of your reviews.

It wasn't strictly bus. Actually, from our experience, only Stockholm was mainly bus.

Someone earlier in this thread asked about Eidfjord. We were there yesterday. I have to say it was one of my favorite stops. We were booked for the nature center but decided to skip it. I had read about the choice of two walks prior to leaving home and decided to take the yellow walk. We absolutely loved it. Such a nice treat to be in the outdoors soaking up the beauty up close and personal and not spend the day on a bus or nature center. The fresh air was wonderful.

Just took the funicular today. It is probably a 10-15 minute walk. Get there early. We did and thankful for it. Our wait time was like 10 minutes and the line when we got back down was CRAZY plus ship excursions have their own lines and get priority. We would never had stayed if we encountered those lines. Do your shopping afterwards. You will be tempted because you pass by the shops. Just don't stop.

I am on the last day of our Homelands cruise right now. I have only seen one man wearing a coat and tie and that was last night at the buffet. There are tons of jean wearing people on this cruise and I love it. The part about designer jeans only is bonkers, too. I think cruise critic members idea of proper dress is in minority. I haven't noticed one person bat an eye at another's style of dress. Many are dressed nicely. Others in jeans and a nice shirt.

We buy meclizine off Amazon or at Target. Bonnie is just a brand name which you pay dearly for. We rode out a hurricane using it without getting sick at all. We take it everyday whether we need it or not as it takes awhile to play catch up if you unexpectedly hit rough seas and already feeling a bit queasy. We have zero side affects using it. Try it at home first just to make sure. Best part of it is that it's non drowsy unlike Dramamine.

Did you get to visit St. Mary's Basilica, JiminyC_fan? That sounds like a great tour!

We did not because we had a paid excursion to Malborg Castle. I am not sure if it is a part of the included tour.

Thanks fpacifico. It's coming to an end and the sadness of leaving has hit.

We were on the train to Berlin a couple of days ago. No, there are no first class seating. Your car is assigned by tour and bus. They run it great. No glitches. They keep to the assigned departure hours because it is the railway that dictates time. (So don't be late). It was a very hot day in Berlin and the train heated up while sitting stationery. We were all miserable waiting for the last bus to arrive because the train does not have AC. Once we got going, the breeze through the windows cooled down the cars. I tell you that not to complain about it but to warn you. Personally, I am happy we went by train and not by bus.

Anybody have any experience with Ålborg excursions? We aren't traveling till July 2018, but my husband's family history is deeply rooted in that part of Denmark, and we want to make the most of our time there.

We just left Aalborg a couple of hours ago. We did the included tour. It was 2 1/2 hours walking tour (in the rain for us). It was a great introduction to the city. I only wish we had more time in port as it is small and easy to explore. We left at 1pm.

We get to keep the Star one more week but I will do my best. It has been a fabulous cruise so far. Enjoy your trip!

Middle of our cruise right now. Just left Poland and headed to Germany. It has been a wonderful cruise with no hiccups or complaints. So far our highlight was St Petersburg.

We are on the Homelands cruise now. Alla Tours was the best decision that we have made so far. Outstanding guide. We are extremely sad that we did not book with them for Berlin. The small group of 6 was wonderful. It made it much easier to see and do things unlike the bigger groups with Viking.

We just left Gdansk an hour or so ago. The included tour was by foot for 3 1/2 hours. We visited Marlbork Castle and even that included souvenir shopping at the castle. I would assume they would allow some shopping as it seems pretty much the norm on included tours.

Replying to my own thread here. We decided to take the included tour and quite glad we did. We were able to get ourselves oriented and then we stayed in town and took the shuttle back. We are quite impressed with Viking having a shuttle bus in every port so far.

No, the Star.

Thank you!

drrnarg, you sound like me. I did a lot of research for the river cruise and it seemed so easy. The ocean cruise seemed quite daunting. We leave in the morning. I've told myself that we will be fine with what I've chosen.

Thanks everyone!

We are headed out in the morning for our Homelands Cruise. I want to thank everyone for their patience with me. I know I asked many questions. A few stand out that were extremely helpful so I wanted to give them a shout out, JerseyGirl (probably isn't spelled right), Peregrina and CharTrav and I know I am missing some.

Dauntless, you, my friend, have been a wealth of information and I truly appreciate all the time you spent with me.

I hope to return the favor to others when we get home.

Thanks all!