dreamercruise

You can play in the Chef Table dining room, in addition to the card game tables next to the Future Cruise Reservation area. For the mahjong set, you can borrow from Viking. The only problem is that there is so much to do onboard at sea or on shore days that I find it hard to squeeze time for mahjong.

My husband felt the same way, after we had been spoiled by hundreds of thousands of penguins (plus other wildlife) near our feet in Antarctica/South Georgia. Definitely, you need to observe polar bears from far for safety reasons (and also not wanting to disturb their habitat). In fact, when we did kayaking, there were three staff members (with guns) accompanying us while two others did the scouting/guarding nearby. The bears will easily outrun and out swim us (yes, in ocean). We had to observe other wildlife from far as well. They include Arctic foxes, walruses, birds, lion seals, and etc.. Similar to Greenland and northern Canada, Arctic appeals to a small niche of people with special interests. Perhaps, this limited interest is why Viking does not have the itinerary there. i like to explore a variety of places: popular, exotic, and semi-adventurous.

I enjoy singing performance of all kinds, as long as the singers are lyrical and not karaoke.

Photos of Ice Edge on Day 4 and the residents in Faksevagen/Alkefielet on Day 5.

I took an expedition to Svalbard in July 2022 (not with Viking). The attached photo shows the daily stops circling around Svalbard in the 11-day cruise portion of the trip. On Day 4, the ship went as far north as Ice Edge (location at top of the photo blocked by the video equipment, but you can see the label “Ice Edge”). Someday, Viking may add this itinerary to its offerings.

Reading this thread makes me nervous about signing up a cruise to exotic but relatively unsafe country via Silversea. When I examined the various options including air upgrade and extensions, I was considering having Silversea take care of everything, so I can enjoy the “one-stop shopping experience” without having to worry about any potential travel related problems. It seems that I have to be proactive and be in charge of every travel arrangement such as arriving a day early before embarkation (which means headache of finding hotel and ground transport arrangements), booking air on my own (and be responsible with any air disruptions), and etc.. Then, I think about the lack of communication information about ports and excursion choices before confirmation of reservation. Not sure if Silversea would provide me with the premium or luxury experience which I am looking for. My friends who sailed with Silversea years ago highly recommended it, but I am starting to doubt if their prior experience is still valid. Pleas tell me I am over worrying.

Perhaps it is too late to answer your questions. Didn’t see your thread until today.

My husband and I took both Scenic’s Antarctica and Arctic cruises. Indeed, Arctic is relatively milder than Antarctica. Both times, we packed only one 50-lb limit checkin luggage in addition to one backpack and one personal item. I packed 40-lb for Arctic versus 47 lb for Antarctica. What also helped is that we did not have to wear a bulky winter coat in Arctic trip as we went to Arctic in August versus Antarctica in late December/early January. In the Arctic trip, I wore the same kind of winter clothing as in the east coast. One exception is when the ship sailed to the northernmost point. There, we wore the same heavy clothing as in Antarctica. There is no need to bring multiple sets of clothing. You can pack much less if you do layering and mix-and-match. By the way, we are forbidden to do submarine or helicopter rides in Arctic due to Norway laws/rules. Bring a very high power binocular or telescope if you want to spot polar bears, Arctic foxes, walruses, and etc.. Otherwise, you will see only dots. You do not want to be near a polar bear on land or in a boat. It can over run and over swim you. In fact, when we did kayaking, Scenic had two staff members scouted for sights of polar bears, while 3 other staffs (with guns) accompanied us in the activity. One other excursion was zodiac cruising to see the nests of birds (hundreds of thousands of them in some hills). The location of the nests affects the survivability of the eggs/chicks, as there are plenty of predator birds and even foxes around stealing them in a flash. Longyearbyen is the place for the small flights to land. It has the famous global seed vault. The charter flight is like a regular, no frill, small, economy class flight. The most memorable moment of the trip was the spectacular scenery of sky and sea when the ship was surrounded by thousands of ice blocks at the northernmost point.

My TA also gives me refundable OBC. In the case of $100 versus $250, it is a no brainer to me to take the higher amount, as gratuities always exceed $250. Besides, any excess will help pay for some optional excursions.

millybess, I took the regular ocean cruise of South America and Chilean Fjords. The itinerary allowed me to visit Falklands Island and combine with a pre-cruise extension to Iguazu Falls. I am happy with the arrangement, as Iguazu was/is my first choice of extension. The expedition itinerary will allow me to view fjords and places closer to inland away from the ocean. My main interest is the ability to take the extension to Easter Islands. Being able to also do Patagonia is a bonus. Both regular ocean and expedition cruises are nice to take. Since I took the pre-cruise extension, I needed not worry about airport transfer. Upon disembarkation, I took an independent tour (choice of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar) that picked me up at the pier and dropped me off at either airport or hotel in Santiago at end of tour (lunch and wine tasting included). I stayed in Santiago for 2 extra nights (booked hotel on my own), and took a very informative free walking tour. There are good restaurants in Santiago (within walking distance from hotel and can also be reached by Uber).

Background - I have never taken any of the above mentioned Viking extensions, but want to share my own experience and preference. I took a guided land tour of Machu Picchu (Peru, about 10 days from Lima all the way to Titicaca) and an expedition cruise of Galápagos Islands (10 days/7 nights on cruise ship), but have not taken Gateway to Patagonia (chose Viking’s Iguazu Falls extension instead due to time conflict). My take - Both guided trips were wonderful and memorable. If I were to choose again, I would no doubt choose the same, longer way to fully experience and appreciate the places in a leisurely and fun way. I briefly read Viking’s “extension” (rather excursions), and would not choose them. Reason is not both Machu Picchu and Galapagos require at least two days to fly or take train(s) into/from the sites, not to mention acclimation time needed for adjusting to the high altitude Cusco and MP. The relatively short, 4-5 days excursion will leave you only a day or so to see a part of the places. To me, it is a waste of time and effort, not to mention the stress from rushing from place to place. As for the Patagonia extension that I missed, my friends who took it liked it a lot. I think I’ll redo Chilean shores, this time via Viking’s expedition cruise with a pre and post extension to Easter Islands and Patagonia.

Thanks for response. Did you sail Viking in the past 12 months? We all get $200 per person past guest discount without any special discount code, if we book within 12 months of last Viking cruise. If “double” past guest discount means only $200 per person, I do not see any extra benefits of the discount code over the regular onboard booking discount. i remember receiving a true “double past guest discount” of $400 per person.

Is the double past guest discount $200 per guest or $400 per guest? I last sailed within one year and have a future cruise booked before July 1.

As much as we love cruising Viking ships, we take an exception when it comes to the poles. We are taking this Greenland cruise in late August. Hope that the late August sail date, expedition ship, and an itinerary full of Greenland ports (plus Prins Christiansunn) will increase our chance of successfully visit this region. (The two stops in Iceland are added bonus.) We’ll try Viking ocean again for Northern Lights (ocean ship) and Chilean/Patagonia Fjords (expedition ship) with Easter Islands extension..

I just went in Dec 2023, but did not see any shore excursions to Iguazu Falls. Fortunately, I snatched the last available spot in the pre-cruise extension to Iguazu (thanks to the cruise consultant onboard WC who informed me about the unexpected opening of this one and only one spot). The price may seem high, but it was worth every penny. Like Romocruiser said, viewing from the Brazilian side is much, much more impressive and fun. We were able to walk the trail very close to the top of Devil’s Throat. The experience was beyond words. Since our hotel was right on the falls, we were able to freely stroll along the path in the evening before the next morning’s guided tour. Most of our photos and videos were taken on the Brazilian side. The Argentina’s side was less spectacular to me, but the boat ride to the bottom of the falls was thrilling! The accommodation and food were 5-star. I highly recommend this pre-cruise extension. If you are interested, reserve it quickly, because the excursion sells out very quickly (same goes with the Patagonian extension). As for Falklands Islands, if the weather is good enough for landing, then you are among the lucky ones. I recommend Patrick Watt’s tour (think someone else took over, but I forgot his name). The long, 4x4 bumpy ride was the only difficult part, but you may think it is an adventurous experience. The reward is at the end, when you see various species of penguins.

Dcantrell3659, I have been monitoring fare for this cruise. There has been no change since 12/15/23. However, you can call Viking to see if you can apply promotion code FS624 (good for most cruises up to $500 pp discount, for past guest with at least one active booking made prior to 6/1). If you are sailing before the code expires, you can also get additional savings through onboard booking discounts. Furthermore, check with your TA who may give you additional $200 pp discount plus OBC,

I just checked some expedition routes that end in Valparaiso. They do offer the same post-cruise options. The reservation is fully refundable if cancellation is requested at least 14 days prior. No need to book hotel. No need to change flights. Fully entertained all day without having to worry about where to get lunch. Only thing is that do not have high expectation for a luxury bus. Bus is relatively old, but seats are comfortable. Guided tour is top quality.

The website asks you for the cruise line, ship name, and sailing date, before showing you availability of excursion options. I was on a regular ocean cruise ship (South America route from Buenos Aires to Santiago (Valparaiso). Not sure if the operator offers excursions on sailing dates of expedition cruises. Check out the website and find out.

The tour operator requires flights to depart after 7pm. Our original flight was to depart on the same day of disembarkation, at 11:59pm, just before mid night. Three months after booking, the airline cancelled our flight. We rebooked for departure the next day (same time), just to keep the fare increase to a minimum. With the extra day, we stayed in Santiago, ate great dinner, and took a free walking tour before heading out to airport from hotel. Both the shore excursion and the free walking tours were great. They were as good as Viking’s, if not better.

The website is www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com. The excursion I took was Valparaiso and Vina Del Mar. There is another option for Santiago City tour. After they picked us up from the ship (we walked for about 1-2 minutes to the bus), they showed us Valparaiso (some parts repeated in Viking included tour) and Vina Del Mar (new), then went to winery in valley of Casablanca for wine tasting (tastes so so to me) and lunch (decent), before dropping us off at airport or hotel (separated us in 2 groups by our final destination). Cost was $189 per person.

I booked an independent, full-day excursion which visits Valparaiso and winery on the way to either airport or a hotel in Santiago. The operator grouped us by where we wanted to be dropped off, airport or hotel in Santiago. The price for two people was almost the same as booking a private car to the airport. The excursion is intended for guests with late flight after 5pm. The excursion was as good as, if not better, than the Viking included tour to Valparaiso. The winery visit included lunch. If interested, I can look up the name of the operator. The website where you sign up asks for the cruise line, ship name, and date of sailing. There were a few guests from our Viking ship joining this excursion.

Your post encouraged me to contact my travel agent about applying code MDM24 to my existing, unpaid booking. By moving the booking to a different sail date, I was able to retain all my discounts (onboard booking and TA discounts). Net result is free stateroom upgrade and a free beverage package. Thank you. I also thank Florida Flounder for providing the promotion code MDM24.

I remember that outside of Prague Airport, there was a bus stand to take you downtown. The bus was similar to Viking tour buses, but with luggage rack in front. Our hotel was within steps to the bus stop. The amazing part is that the bus fare was only $2USD per person! The comfort, convenience, and wait time are no different than taking a taxi (taxi stand adjacent). Just make sure you get local currency at the airport first.

Agree that Prague is amazing. Both Prague and Budapest can easily be done by yourselves (especially for convenience tailored to your desire and degree of fatigue): by walking and public transportations such as trams and buses (we took Uber as well, but not sure if Uber is still available). Years ago, we took a Grand European river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. Since there were more flights (and less expensive) to/from Prague than Budapest (guess the rive cruise guests took up all available flight slots), we flew to Prague first to spend 5 days there, then boarded a train (comfortable first class available for booking online) to Budapest, where we spend extra nights before boarding the ship. We took time doing all the local points of interests, combined with multiple free walking tours (just book online and pay good tips. Best tours ever, and sometimes better than Viking’s). We googled for best restaurants, tried all variations of beer, and had a great time.

Availability of some popular excursions can be a problem, as WC guests have first pick.