tweeter15

On 1/21/2020 at 9:46 AM, highland cruiser said:

Have really appreciated all these posts and reviews on this cruise.  I am still reading all of it.  

We have a booking reserved for May 2021.  We were given room 300.  Has anyone any information about this room.  It is right by the reception area I think.  Noise issues?   It is close to the restaurant which may be a good thing!!

We have traveled on 2 other Viking cruises and many ocean cruises  (although not Viking)  Haven't been to this part of the world and are looking forward to visiting these places.

Thank you for any other bits of information that you feel useful.

 

We are tentatively booked June 3rd 2021 in room 301, which is right next to restaurant.  If we decide to book, we will get room changed.  Don't want to listen to people chatting on the other side of the wall!

Jim,

 

Got it.

 

Thanks,

 

Jerry

Mark,

Don't know how to contact you except here. Talked to Memphis Tours. Short story Viking does not provide Jordanian Visa's (or any other visa's) and you need one to take tours in Jordan. However, Memphis Tours will get visa's for their excursions for $80 per person. If you take a Viking excursion the Visa is covered. Just thought you should know.

Jeanie

Jim,

 

Got it.

 

Thanks,

 

Jerry

I second Jerry!

Jeanie

We figure to get home in time for triple digits! As DW often says "stupid has a price".:eek: Yes it was very hot in Luxor. A few had heat issues and/or falls. Hopefully they are doing better today. First though, we went to Petra from the port of Aquaba, Jordan. We had hired a car and driver with a guide through Memphis Tours. We have just had our fill of long bus rides and this gave us the ability to move at our own pace, stop when/if we needed to, and avoid the "shopping" stops. See more in less time was the goal and it worked well. We arrived in Petra after a fairly scenic drive through mountain type terrain passing occasional Bedouin tents and camels. At the entrance to the Petra site we met our guide who spoke very good English and made the tour come alive. We learned much about the site and the future excavations. The "money shot" of course was the first view of the treasury. After a walk of maybe a bit less than a mile through narrow rock canyons suddenly there it was. Just as magnificent as expected. I didn't buy the Indiana Jones hat though. The fun part about the Petra site is it is all downhill. You are lured in easily and before you know it you are several miles downhill from where you have to return. By now, it is getting hot and the crowds from the busses are showing up so we head back up to the treasury. At that point we decided the horse and buggy ride back to the entry was money well spent. Be advised those carts have no springs and the cobblestones are very uneven. Quite the bumpy ride but thankful for it as we were getting quite hot. We decided to skip lunch and just guzzle water so headed back to the ship a bit early. Petra is one of those "must do" places that actually lives up to the expectations. If you get to this part of the world make sure to visit this historic place. You really earn your shower and drinks aboard.:cool:

I know that we are unable to post tour guide names but can you private message me about the tour guide you used - Aquaba to Petra and your Egyptian Guide. I rather like the smaller groups with local guides -

thanks

Jeanie

Will be in Aqaba the later part of August on Viking Orion. Did anyone do The Viking excursion to Petra? Was it worth the expense?

I agree in principle with Jim, who said he is cancelling all Viking shore excursions, but we have kept a few, just because I don't think there is much to do in KL in such a short time and it takes more than 45 minutes to get there. Same in Phuket. I'm rethinking the four Indian ports and the rest of the trip. Depends upon how close we dock. My wife and I have been to Singapore around 20 times so we just took the MRT into town the first day for some shopping and noodles, then came back and changed for a string quartet concert at the Esplanade where there is also an excellent hawker centre, appropriately named Glutton's Bay!

 

The second day, we went to Gardens by the Bay and the Maxwell Hawker Centre. Not much to post in the picture department and I have not yet learned Eaches' tricks.

 

We were on another cruise and did Kitchen Table but were leaning against it this trip as they don't really let you cook anything or even have much input in the market. Ours was in Bordeaux but most of the other participants didn't like some of what looked really good in the market. It was still fun, but for $200, I can get a better meal. Anyway, when I inquired early in the cruise (around 1959, I think) I was told they were already sold out.

 

I'm a bit worried about Petra as it was one of our must do things and Jordan isn't as easily accessed as a lot of the other places. I guess I'll at least look online and see what is out there as we have some time to decide. Of course if I do cancel, that's $698 back in the onboard credit bank so I'd have to buy quite a bit of wine.

 

I know the credits are found money but I'd hate to leave anything on the table!

 

From reading and talking with people, the excursions, especially included, are not at all fulfilling. Of the ones we have taken from Viking, the two in Cuba were fine, as was the Panama Canal Locks Expansion. Central America were two out of three OK. I felt French Polynesia was pretty much a dud. Australia and New Zealand were just OK except for the two koala ones which were great. Komodo, Shanghai acrobats and Elephant Encounter were really good, save for people falling down in Komodo.

 

I admit part of it, perhaps a lot, is that, other than one cruise a couple of years ago, we have always traveled on our own, with me doing 98% of the planning, so I don't play well with others.

 

Given the length of the cruise, the distance from many of the ports to the attractions, and the short time we are allotted, it isn't easy to get much done. We were on our own in LA, Sydney, Bali, Manila, Shanghai(except for acrobats), Hong Kong and Saigon and those were our best times so far.

 

The onboard experience has been quite good. We have talked to a lot of our fellow passengers and many of the crew and there are so many interesting stories and shared experiences. It has been fun interacting with the guest entertainers and some of the lecturers and resident musicians and historians.

 

The food is pretty good, all things considered and there is certainly plenty to drink!

 

I think Viking is a good company and they do try to fix things that are perceived to have gone wrong. In any kind of travel, there are unforeseen circumstances that crop up and we should be able to be flexible.

 

We have been to India once and had a private car to Mumbai, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, so I am looking forward to the three new places, especially the food in Goa! Petra and the Suez Canal were a couple of places we always wanted to go so I'm still hoping for good things, and the Mediterranean ports should be interesting as well.

 

The cruise has been a major investment in time as well as money, neither of which I'd be inclined to do in the future, but I wouldn't rule out a shorter cruise to non-bucket list places. Anyway, tomorrow in KL may not be special(I hear they won't let us run across the bridge on the Petronas towers) but the next day is orangutans!

Are you saying that the Viking shore excursion for Petra (I am assuming for 2 people) is $698?

Viking offers credit on either river or ocean cruises per the info below

https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/why-viking/community/explorer-society/index.html

TRAVEL CREDIT ON YOUR NEXT TRIP

Viking would like to encourage you to join us again by offering credit on your upcoming travel with Viking Cruises. Whether you choose the rivers or oceans for your next journey, you will receive travel credits according to the amount of time that has elapsed since your last Viking voyage. If you reserve within one year, you receive $200 per passenger in travel credit; if you reserve within two years, you receive $100.

We were on the Viking Grand European tour at the beginning of the summer. They offered a cold oatmeal as part of the breakfast option on the Aquavit terrace. Does anyone have the recipe? If not I will write to Viking. Thanks!

Jeanie