gma1

58 minutes ago, Alison48 said:

Have you had any luck with getting vouchers for this trip.  Viking is granting them.

We are actually on Viking Polaris now...not your ship with Israel ports. But I know different people/agents can give you different answers...so keep trying. We were unable to make one of our ports in Chili, but weather/sea related & Captain's decision, so not anyone's fault. 

21 hours ago, Mitten5 said:

I am Happy for you. And I mean it.😬

 I begged Viking last week to take my $4000 and use the monies from my Holy land cruise and put me on a repositioning cruise next fall.  “No can do” I was told.  Now I have the exact situation (different insurance not Viking) and I’m out $18,000.

I would make another call & speak to someone else...don't give up...thats a lot of $$$..until someone listens to you & responds. Also check with your credit cards insurance ...if you used it to book the trip & air.  Thats exactly why we do. 

We also are on Viking Polaris now. We received the same message & called AT&T. We were told by that agent to put our phone on airplane mode & the ship WIFI. All texts & calls would then would be free. We have done so, however we are not using it...but are receiving text & calls & ignoring them.! Before leaving home we were told by another agent that we needed the international plan for free calls & text on the ship. Who do you believe!!!!

EXCELLANT REPORT. 

5 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Day 3 - The Sky’s the Limit

Most tourist attractions are closed on Mondays so we headed to the Sky Costanera , the tallest building in South America. 

 

When we were leaving the hotel, Team USA was arriving for the Pan Am games. There is a private taxi service in the hotel lobby that drove us to the Sky for $11. Unfortunately, on the way back we hadn’t heard the warnings about the black cabs that are ubiquitous in the city. We hailed a cab and our return trip cost almost $60! Avoid them at all costs.

 

They views are beautiful but the basin has a layer of smog which detracted from that.

 

 

 

 

 

After going to the observation deck, we exited through an enormous shopping mall. It even contained a car dealership. Malls in Chile are like a throwback to malls in the USA pre-Amazon. Brick and mortar shops are alive and well in South America. Wonder how long that will last?

 

Later that afternoon we took the city tour of Santiago. It was pretty underwhelming. We were loaded into a cramped mini bus and made 3 stops: the main plaza (where we saw the procession yesterday), the presidential palace, and a small man made wetlands park that featured black & white swans. We did learn that the plaza was the site of the original Incan city in the region. We also learned that it’s the major place where sex workers look for clients. The tour quickly devolved into a game of “spot the prostitute.” We also learn that cafes aren’t always what they seem. Having a “long legged coffee” refers to the waitresses serving coffee in the local red light district coffee bars. Foreign idioms are so enlightening.

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow we finally board the Octantis.

Enjoying your comments of your Santiago adventure with Viking & on your own. We are on the Polaris heading to Santiago...left Panama yesterday. We aren't doing a post (Oct. 28) but its great hearing about yours. Such a great awesome ship...sure you will enjoy your time. I think we have about 350 on board. 

5 hours ago, trebor900 said:

Just competed "Comfort Check In" for our upcoming cruise.  I was asked to upload a photo but that was it.  No credit card details or other information required🤷‍♂️.  Seemed a bit pointless if I am honest.

I agree...we did not & no issues. Think it might save them taking a picture which was done very fast & efficient at check in. 

12 minutes ago, gma1 said:

Natashla...have you tried calling the airline direct & asking if you can upgrade & pay the difference? We called direct to Delta & paid them for just an economy plus upgrade each for our long flight back from Santiago, which we also have free air from Viking. I don't know if Air Canada will let you do this but it might be worth a try!!!! We have always had good service from Viking Air also in the past. A couple times we have paid the extra $50 (it is more now) to choose our own airline & flights. 

Our  upgrade was economy comfort plus... (more leg room & tilt on seat back ) so not as expensive as business class but still worth a try. 

Natashla...have you tried calling the airline direct & asking if you can upgrade & pay the difference? We called direct to Delta & paid them for just an economy plus upgrade each for our long flight back from Santiago, which we also have free air from Viking. I don't know if Air Canada will let you do this but it might be worth a try!!!! We have always had good service from Viking Air also in the past. A couple times we have paid the extra $50 (it is more now) to choose our own airline & flights. 

22 minutes ago, janetcbl said:

We had to request the hard copy. Thereafter it was delivered every evening.

Good to know! I like the hard copy.

18 minutes ago, wine-wine-wine said:

The coffee prepared in the Living Room bar is, to my mind, the best on the ship. Real espresso machine. I make the sacrifice for DW each morning. 🥱

Yes I agree as that is where I go for the best coffee...because I am an early riser & have to get out of the room so my husband can sleep. Sometimes though I go to the Explorer lounge & they have coffee & juice on the bar in early am...its quiet & has that awesome view & fireplace! I can relax & read my book in pure luxury! On the Polaris, our upcoming cruise, I will have to figure out my new space, as it looks like a little different layout. 

On 9/14/2023 at 8:36 AM, Clay Clayton said:

In addition to those already mentioned, I would like to ask TH (that's what he tells his good friends like me to call him😂) to consider allowing those who use Viking Air to fly in a day or three early without having to lay the deviation fee OR if you're going to charge the deviation to include the transfer.  

Yes that would be so helpful! Also because the pre cruise or extension many times is sold out & we are out of luck! Like our upcoming Panama & Scenic S. American next month, puts us in Santiago to disembark, the extension was already sold out since I booked in July...so we will not experience the city. I realize that is the chance you take by not booking way in advance. I can check once we are on the ship but will be highly unlikely & of course that will mess up our air & our pick up at our home airport. 

Yes that is so annoying, when you are have a nice quiet dinner for 2! My husband cannot help himself nor cannot ignor it. He also has a hearing problem & cannot hear if they are close by!  He will look in their direction with a frown on his face...probably several times & sometimes they get the picture! However if they are drinking too much & don't care, we have ask to moved to another table, Usually we can be accommodated. Another solution just walk out & find another dining room thats quieter. 

5 hours ago, duquephart said:

Green, blue, grey, brown.

We also have 2 Viking mesh bags...a red & a gray. They are see through so handy to put my passport & other documents in to carry & grab inside my purse/carry on. They have a small Viking logo tab on the side. Love all the free quality gifts they use to send...made you feel so special & pampered when those were included with your travel tags for an upcoming trip. Also have a black very nice quality documents pouch with a round metal Viking logo on the front. We've been traveling with Viking for a very long time...(before Ocean ships). We were so impressed with the organization, quality & care that went into each adventure have never switched back to any other cruise line.....hope that never changes too drastically! 

I think some of our included tours on Viking Polaris "Panama & Scenic South America" 18 day cruise 10/11/23 may be, since they are more hours of duration and an included meal. Also seems like more choices  Maybe too because we have so many sea days, which we love & looking forward to experiencing this awesome new expedition ship.

1 hour ago, rbslos18 said:

I noticed today that the rates for our upcoming November 2023 cruise had dropped. I called Viking and asked if I could upgrade to a higher category given the price differential from what we paid was $250.00 per person. The Viking agent said she would check into this. She came back and said we could upgrade our cabin but "the current prices shown on the Viking website are not accurate." The pricing in the Viking system were substantially more and the website had not been updated. I think I know the answer but...Does this make sense?

I would call back & get someone else. Just give them the code on the recent new sale code (in a red circle that says   Ask For EBD or whatever  it says.) and see if you get the same answer. 

1 hour ago, QualityPlus said:

Thank you for the quick response. This is a first time on Viking and doing a 27 day was wondering what I would do since there are 5 straight sea days.

Lots to do...movies, lectures, trivia, games including puzzles, make new friends, read &  spa hang out!  Love the sea days! 

On 8/24/2023 at 3:20 AM, photopro2 said:

You're quite correct. After all it does no harm and why should a washer/dryer be idle when someone needs to use it? 

One other tip.......  there's nothing (not even in the small print of the Viking contract) to say you can't use a laundry that is on another deck, not that we would ever dream of doing that, of course 😉

On the Explorer ships ( Polaris our upcoming cruise)  there is no laundry in our deck 2...so you have to use one on either 3 or 4. Little aggravating but think we can manage a couple times.  Its a great perk! 

Just now, gma1 said:

Sounds like a good plan. You will so enjoy your adventure! Buenos Aires is a super exciting city that we enjoyed so much. The walking tour of the old cemetery was very eerie & interesting, and we passed by Eva Peron's cript, as well as other famous people. The entertainment on the ship, with beautiful dancers & Gaucho with his whip our last night there was so awesome...don't miss it. It wasn't really advertised well, so we were so happy that we had cancelled our evening dinner show off ship & took in the performance. Dakar is pretty low on our list, so maybe Cape Verde will a more desirable port. We head out on the Viking  Polaris Oct. 11 ...Panama & Scenic South America. So will will see the other side of S. America as well as experiencing that awesome ship.

3 hours ago, friendlyfifer said:

Thank you for your response. I think we will either join the included tour or do our own thing. We are so looking forward to the cruise and the extension in Buenos Aires. It seems a good mix of cities and sea days. I was looking forward to Dakar which has now been replaced with Cape Verde. Hope you have another cruise to look forward to.

Sounds like a good plan. Buenos Aires is a super exciting city that we enjoyed so much. The tour of the old cemetery was very interesting, and we passed by Eva Peron's cript. The entertainment on the ship, with dancers & Gaucho our last night there was so awesome...don't miss it. Dakar is pretty low on our list, so maybe Cape Verde will be better & a better port. We head out on the Polaris

Shinydiamond, We are on the 18 day Panama & Scenic SA cruise Oct. 11, 2023. No we did not get any special shots...as didn't see any required. I will bring insect spray, an antibiotic and a few misc. basic items, as I get bronchitis easily, and a couple covid tests. We did just get a booster for that. Maybe we'll meet up onboard. Looking forward to experiencing this new Polaris ship, as well as the many sea days. I see you are from a neighboring state. We are from Northern Virginia.

39 minutes ago, shipboy said:

We were on the Southern Atlantic crossing last year and although Casablanca was cancelled, I’m sure I read somewhere that Rick’s Cafe excursion was not available (even though it said sold put on MVJ). May well be due to the reason given by Critically Cruising above.

We were on the Southern Crossing in 2019 and that same excursion was full also.  However we did drive past the run down original one (so they said)  when we did the included excursion. We enjoyed the included which was a combination of bus & walking . People who did go to Rick's Cafe said it wasn't much. I do not recall it opening up for more people while on ship. Enjoy this super great cruise, just about our favorite Viking Ocean. Loved all the sea days. 

Our Viking air flight out of IAD at 9am was also booked on the morning of the day our cruise leaves out of Ft. Lauderdale in early evening. We are use to heading overseas & arriving the next morning to board our cruise. So we too are uneasy about "what if happens" especially the morning traffic going into Washington DC !  We are about 45 minutes away from IAD on a good commute. So we are going in the night before & staying in a hotel with shuttle service. Its just a little more peace of mind & less stress on these 2 senior travelers' !  The Precruise was sold out  (we lived in Ft. Lauderdale for years also) ...so this is our solution & less expensive. 

We booked stateroom #2020.....just recently on Polaris. I see the laundry is not on that floor....is there a another problem I might beware of for that location? 

Did this cruise year before Covid & loved it sooo much!! You do have to like sea days...which we do.

Our weather was awesome & I think only 1 sort of bouncy waves on 1 day.

On 3/31/2022 at 1:46 PM, LauraS said:

Take the poll....share when or where you'll cruise in the replies!

Life is short.. however I will only book on Viking right now as their protocols on the Sept. 2021 Med 21 day we took, was so excellent & not 1 person had covid!