Twitchly

I know what you mean about the joys of slow travel vs. cruises (and organized land tours). The latter is like snacks from street vendors; the former is a banquet. Both can be great. But I do miss the slow version. Probably won’t get the chance to spend that kind of time overseas again.

It may depend on the cruise, but thus far we have not found wine to be one of Viking’s strengths. We’re not serious oenophiles, but we have found their wine selections to be average at best. It’s nice they allow you to BYOB, but we find we rarely seem to come across wine shops during our cruise travels.

We did have some snow when we took that train in March a few years ago. Beautiful! I imagine in deep winter it would be spectacular.

Is that the world’s smallest shower?

On 7/27/2023 at 5:14 PM, shipboy said:

Sai Kung in the New Territories is a lovely little fishing village, with plenty of restaurants and bars. It’s well worth a visit, although I may be biased as I lived there for four years

I don’t think I’ve been to Sai Kung, but I do second the suggestion to get to one of the island fishing villages in the New Territories.  I spent a fair bit of time in Hong Kong when I lived in Asia years ago, and the little islands were my favorite part. A fascinating slice of life. 

5 hours ago, KBs mum said:

An excellent phrase, I may borrow it, but what is 'gonzoid'? 

Feel free. “Gonzoid” is what happens when existing words are woefully inadequate so one makes up new ones. 

On 7/30/2023 at 12:30 PM, cruz_happy said:

I wrote this after our first ever Viking cruise (& first ever river cruise where I originally posted a longer version).  

 

Have you posted this in the River Cruising forum? Seems like it would be most helpful there.

On 7/30/2023 at 11:36 AM, charmed1959 said:

A few days ago a couple came down to play cards with their own music.  I was just far enough away the music was clashing.

This flavor of rudeness DRIVES ME GONZOID. It’s like the audio version of someone farting or blowing smoke in your face, except it goes on and on and on. It makes me want to get a yappy dog and encourage it to bark incessantly at them. I would hate listening to that, too, but at least it would provide some grim satisfaction.

I want those red sneakers. Would love to know what brand they are.

Raisin buns! So hard to find these. DH is always on the lookout. If you try them, please let us know what you think!

23 hours ago, Mich3554 said:

It depends on how you paid for it.  If you paid via voucher, or OBC received from a TA or as a perk from Viking, it is use it or lose it.  If you paid for your optional excursion prior to your cruise via cc, then you get refunded.  I had 3 cruises worth of missed excursions and learned about refundable and non refundable credits very well.  We got a chunk of $$ back from Viking from our lost refundable excursions.
Viking keeps track of which exact excursion is paid via OBC or cc.  

Interesting. Ours were a combination of voucher and pre-pay. Maybe our missed excursions were covered by our voucher. 
 

I can’t complain. I got some lovely things on the ship that I never would’ve bought otherwise!

44 minutes ago, wynnsr said:

Similar story with us.  Still have most of what we got.  Think we'll give it to exceptional crew member(s) as we think they'll be back in Iceland. 🤑

That’s what we did with the British pounds we had left from our cruise in the UK. 

Sometimes Viking will substitute another port. For example, last fall we missed the Shetlands (waaah!) and were given a day in Stavanger, Norway, instead. On the same cruise we also missed Ullapool and were given … an extra sea day. 
 

One note about refunds for those optional excursions: they’re given in the form of onboard credit, which means you have to use them before the end of the cruise. That’s tough when your refunded excursion comes near the end of your cruise. We already had the Silver Spirits package and had pre-paid gratuities; the spa was booked up. So we ended up buying more stuff in the onboard shops than we normally would have. And keep in mind that the shops close for business a day or so before the end of the cruise. 

13 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

As my Daddy always said, if you don't ask they can't say yes😀

We asked! Twice! They said “What pistachio buns?” And looked at us like we’d grown a third eye. 

Obviously we don’t have the Clayton je ne sais quoi.

You got the pistachio buns!! So happy for you! And in awe of your clout with Viking. Can we bring you on our next cruise?

Heh … when I first saw this, I thought, “Wow, where did Mike get that great getup?” 😜

On 9/13/2018 at 5:52 PM, lackcreativity said:

Can someone tell me if ginger candies and ginger capsules are equally effective?

I realize this was asked 5 years ago, but in case it’s still relevant to someone, I advise going with the capsules. You get more ginger than with the candies. Worked beautifully for me when we had choppy seas. Good thing because I found the wrist bands uncomfortable. 
 

Forget ginger ale; most of it has only a tiny amount of ginger, if any. 
 

I didn’t try green apples, but during our ups and downs Viking put out bowls of them everywhere. 

2 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

We had our first sighting of the rare bathrobed senior citizen at the Living Room bar this afternoon aboard Saturn😂

Was this the endangered Red-Beaked Wobbly or the Common Coot? Perhaps a bit early in the day for the former but you never know. 🪶

I think that bourbon pecan brownie would go a long way toward alleviating any disappointment. 

That is both incredibly sweet and sad. Poor little thing. Did the guide say how they deal with such situations? Can it ever be a wild bird?

8 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I suspect that your Blue Cross/Medicare cards will be useless in Great Britain.

 

DON

 Blue Cross works internationally — at least ours does. 

Thanks for the great review. That’s surprising about the World Cafe. We’ve never had an issue with rudeness there. But every cruise has a different feel to it. Sorry you ran into that. 
 

Yes, we’re huge fans of the Explorer’s Lounge — easily our favorite spot on the ship!

Looking forward to living vicariously! Here’s hoping they stock pistachio rolls for you.

According to their website:

———

Vaccination: For departures on or before October 31, 2023, Viking will continue to require that all guests be vaccinated against COVID-19. We suggest carrying your physical vaccine records at all times.

Viking will not require COVID-19 vaccination for voyages departing on or after November 1, 2023. For added protection, we recommend that guests stay up to date with all relevant vaccines, including COVID-19, in accordance with their healthcare provider.

Plese Note: Select countries continue to have COVID-19 related travel requirements. You will receive details via e-mail ahead of your departure.

———

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/why-viking/health-and-safety/health-and-safety-faq.html 
 

4 hours ago, SJD117 said:

The pain was intense but brief — the aquavit that followed was a blessing.

I think I’d rather skip the dunk and go straight to the aquavit part. 

12 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

I’ll only comment on food 👍; “entertainment” 👎; lectures 👍.

This sums up our experience beautifully.