dreamercruise

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.

I do not understand how the OP’s original intent of comparing between two #1 rated cruise lines has turned into a debate of how Viking should name and charge guests for the “gratuities”. The way I look at the charge is that it is a part of the cruise fare. I trust that Viking pays their staff well according to their position/responsibility (fair). The “gratuities”, split in a fixed way among all staff (again,fair), are like extras (similar to overtime pay) that vary with the number of guests onboard (more people => more work => more pay). Any additional tips that I pay to specific staff is discretionary (my choice, my judgement, fair or not). So, Viking, keep adding the “gratuities” to my onboard account at end of cruise, thereby saving me the trouble of tracking one more thing to do. Back to the original topic - thank you, OP, for your thoughts about the two cruise lines. Think I am more convinced that Viking is a better choice for me.

My choice would be Scenic for Iceland. I have sailed Scenic strictly for expedition cruises to Antarctic and Arctic, and shall be taking the Greenland route (with 2 stops in Iceland) soon. I have also sailed three Viking’s non-expedition, regular ocean cruises (including a world cruise). When it comes to expedition cruises to polar regions, Iceland, Greenland, and exotic islands, I would no doubt choose Scenic over Viking for the luxury, itinerary, food, and full experience. The availability of helicopter ride (unfortunately prohibited in Arctic) is also a plus for Scenic. In terms of price, luxury line Scenic is not that much more expensive than premium line Viking. Sometimes, occasional promotions from Scenic and/or lack of such from Viking may close the price gap a little. A more important factor for my next choice of expedition cruise line is itinerary/availability. The next Scenic cruise I am eyeing for is one of those segments to the exotic islands. The only Viking expedition cruise I shall consider is the Great Lakes (15-day). As for regular ocean cruises, my vote would no doubt be Viking due to more affordable price for its great value and excellent design of ship space (public area with open view of ocean and comfortable, relaxing, convenient, and homey feel of public space). Both lines have superb customer service.

If you stay until Capetown, will you be able to do a safari and possibly stay in Capetown vicinity for a few more days to see Victoria Falls?

Try contacting tellus@vikingcruises.com. They have sympathetic ears, and may give you some discounts towards a future cruise; and if they do, you may request the discounts be applied to your current sailing as shipboard credits (to pay for gratuities, shore excursions, silver spirits, and other onboard expenses). I hope they can do more for you, so you can enjoy your Egypt cruise without any negative thoughts hanging over your head. It would be a shame if your frustration would stop you from coming back, because Viking cruise is a good product.

I prefer authentic sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves (steamed with uncooked sticky rice grains stuffed with meat or steamed with fried sticky rice mixed with meat inside leaves) over regular fried rice (not sticky rice). The lotus leaves give special flavor to the rice,

Added photos

Clay, Your photo of the mango cream desert confirms my earlier conclusion that the food in Chef Table varies a little, subject to interpretation of the chef at the time. The first and best ever mango desert that I tasted from Chef Table was on first day of last year’s World Cruise. Your looks like the filling is mixed with tapioca, so I suspect the presence of tapioca would make the filling drier, more fluffy, and less smooth. Mine was more like creamy and smooth egg custard filling in typical Portuguese egg custard tart but without the overly rich taste. Our Chef added a thin fruit jam layer, which enhanced the refreshing taste without making it too sweet. The outside shell in mine looks more crisp, I think. Any way, I think the Chef Table’s mango cream desert is one of the best Viking desert, especially that my most favorite fruit is mango.

After having been to Chef Table numerous times, I have concluded that the menu does not mean a whole lot (unless it contains lamb which I cannot tolerate). I find that for the same menu, the meals, in terms of taste, texture, presentation, and etc. are subject to each chef’s interpretation. Sometimes, they are very different than typical expectation (oh, whatever). It is like rolling a dice, 1/3 wow hit, 1/3 meh, and 1/3 acceptable. Still, it is an acceptable and welcoming alternative.

I would use Uber or Lyft to get me to JFK or EWR. You may want to google how long the ride takes and cushion time for unexpected traffic (big variable) crossing the tunnel from NYC to New Jersey. If you disembark at 8AM, there should be no problem making a 12:30 pm flight from EWR with 3+ hrs to spare. If you want to eliminate the risk of tunnel traffic, you may taxi or Uber to Grand Central Station to board a train (NJ coast line) directly (fare includes a connecting monorail) to EWR. Train ride is about 30 minutes total. The only traffic, in this case, is the relatively short, local NYC ride from cruise terminal to Grand Central Station. Above comment is based on the assumption that that your cruise terminal is in Manhattan and not somewhere in New Jersey.

Not many people can take such a far away trip last minute. If I were to take the trouble (shots, flight, and other logistics) of visiting South Africa, I would want the opportunity to do safari and Victoria Falls as well, but I doubt these land tours would be possible last minute.

Would someone know the amount of discounts for booking a 7-14 days cruise while onboard a Viking ship? I know the discounts are $500 per person for a cruise of 15 days or longer.

Try FV23 when booking cruise over phone, onboard ship, or through your travel agent. Cannot book with code online. I know code works for ocean cruises.

If 1. you arrange your own air or 2. do not have Viking air that arrives or departs on day of embarkation or disembarkation, or 3. do not have extension, you or your TA can call Viking to add air transfer to your reservation. You can purchase transfer for pre or post or both. Once you have air transfer indicated in your reservation, go to myvikingjourney dot com, and click under “manage my air”. Next, click on the transfer form and print it out. Complete the form and follow the instructions at the bottom of the form to decide which way you want to submit to Viking. I took a photo of my completed form and attach it to my email to Viking. Within a few days, I received a confirmation email from Viking.