shmabbies

Can anyone describe the situation in Kusadasi? It's been a huge number of years since we were docked there. Thanks!

I believe it has to do with whether the two cruises were booked with the same booking number (some do it this way) and whether there are two booking numbers. Ours on MSC was two booking numbers and that IS why I did ask. I do think there should be some way for them to carry it over, even it is something manual they do on board and not in advance. But, we had quite a bit and we blew some of the excess on some nice Yacht Club bath towels from the gift shop, and every time we use them at home it brings back good memories. No big deal, I was just providing the info in the hopes it might help someone not be surprised.

On the B2B Med cruises we did in October, we were in YC and we went to the concierge desk and were given new bracelets and cruise cards. Did not have to disembark. Your first shipboard account is closed and a new one is begun. The thing I found MOST aggravating is that if you have SBC from the first cruise left over, you cannot carry it over to the subsequent cruise. I was glad I asked because it was "use it or lose it." Otherwise it was very simple and civilized.

Thanks everyone! This has been a great help to me and I hope others as well! The ironic thing for me is that I've actually been to all the ports I asked about, but mostly used private tours or the occasional ship tour and consequently I never really had reason to know or ask about shuttles. I don't want to hijack my own thread, but if you haven't been UP in the Colon/Columbus Statue while in Barcelona, be sure to take the time to do it (yes, it has an elevator).

I thought possibly we could start a thread about the Mediterranean Viking ports where shuttles are run (either by Viking itself or by the port authority) from the port into town and reverse (not embarkation & disembarkation transfers, just shuttles). I know the information is available upon boarding, but for planning purposes it’s helpful to know in advance. I thought this one could be for Mediterranean ports – with the exception of Venice which due to the situation there probably needs its own entire thread. I have seen information scattered about regarding shuttles but I thought something cohesive would help. Then maybe someone else would want to start a separate one for Scandinavian ports, Caribbean ports, the dreaded Venice port, and so on. For my purposes, I am interested in information about possible shuttles in Athens, Kusadasi, Chania, Rhodes, Heraklion, and Naples. Whether they even exist would be helpful to know, and from there all details would be welcome, but where in town it drops off/picks up is of most interest, cost if any, etc. Thanks in advance and if I have missed an already established separate thread, please point me in its direction!

Thanks longterm, I feel reassured between you and CDNPolar that Mom won't be left high & dry. If I may pick the brains of those who seem to know way more than I do, Mr. Shmabbies complains that on Viking he has problems with downloading newspapers (they take forever, sometimes over an hour, sometimes he just gives up). Same newspapers on other ships' free internet present no problem (takes seconds). So my questions are: is he abusing Viking's request to not stream by trying to download newspapers (warned you I was non-techie), and why are they taking so long? Will he run afoul of this new limit? And what can he do to speed things up?

Thank you for that helpful research!

I do one 15-30 minute daily phone call USING WIFI CALLING to my 91 year old mother who has no tech skills, computer, or cell phone, as well as some e-mails composed off line, copied & pasted & then sent. I'm not overly tech myself. Does anyone have any thoughts as to whether the 1.5 GB is going to be sufficient for that? I have no idea what a wifi call uses. Thanks for any advice.

You're welcome and I hope my information holds true for you as well. MSC is SO evasive with certain details. It was the first question I asked the YC concierge when we boarded. Not relevant to the wifi calling issue, but I found MSC annoying with what was "per cabin" and what was "per person." An example - the electronics turned out to be "per person" (which was great) but the free daily newspaper turned out to be "per cabin" even though each of us separately received a pre-cruise e-mail asking for our preference (and my preference isn't DH's preference). When we sailed Bellissima in 2019, we each got our own newspaper. The pre-cruise e-mail also asked for our pillow choice and after finding out we had to agree on a newspaper as it was one per cabin, I thought we might have to share the pillow too. How hard is it to include that type of information in the list of YC perks? I'll answer my own question - probably because it varies from ship to ship and itinerary to itinerary and for sure someone is going to post that they each got their own newspaper. BTW we begged and pleaded for two newspapers, to no avail. Admittedly this is a first world problem...

Where did I say I don't use electronic devices?

I just used what YC gave me. I'm old enough to remember the days when to call home I had to find a foreign phone booth on shore (usually in a sweltering country), juggle coins and/or calling cards and outrageous rates, horrible connections, etc.). This limited me to calling during certain hours which were not always convenient for her & cut into our sightseeing time. It was HORRIBLE yet I was still grateful for it. Now to be able to call her from my cabin whenever I feel like it at no charge - this was heaven on earth. I know I have probably the only remaining mother who does not own or know how to use a computer or cell phone so all this seems weird to most of you. And for those who still have questions about "how many devices" have access to the YC wifi (I could never discern a straight answer to that question before we left & I decided it was another of those MSC features that vary by ship, itinerary, country cruise was booked in, and who knows what else) there were two of us and we were able to enable two devices each, so four in total for the cabin. We are Americans, booked in US, sailing in Med on Seashore. As with anything MSC - YMMV.

I used wifi calling daily to call my 91 year old mother in the US while we were on Seashore (YC so wifi was free) in the Med a few weeks ago and on another cruise line in the Med back in March. I have Android. I believe both the phone itself and your plan on the phone must be enabled for wifi calling. For me to use wifi calling, "wifi" must be toggled on (to use the ship's wifi vs. data), "wifi calling" must be toggled on, and "airplane mode" must be toggled on. I have to keep notes with my phone so I remember to be sure to do all these things. I do not have a data plan on my phone (I can only use wifi at home or anywhere else) so there was never a danger of an unexpected bill. When everything is toggled correctly, on my phone keypad, a wireless "icon" appears on the same "button" as the phone "icon." This may be different on an iPhone. Sorry for probably using incorrect words - I learned what I know about wireless calling from CC and was incredulous that I had this wonderful feature that doesn't cost a penny. The service worked flawlessly on Seashore. Did experience dropped calls on the other cruise line, but then I just called her back. I know there are apps like WhatsApp but I believe both parties have to have WhatsApp and my mother cannot use her TV remote without problems and she doesn't own a cell phone.

Thanks for that info!

I'm cruising shortly and installed the app on my phone and it messed my phone up so badly I uninstalled it. I really don't want to reinstall it at home or on the ship. My question is - can you access the ship wifi (I'm on the YC package though I doubt that matters) without the app being installed, or do you have to have app even to just get on the internet? Ship = Seashore if that matters. Thanks.

My bad, that's what I meant, it's not 20 days quite yet. I guess in my way of thinking, if I can't get my boarding pass, I can't get any other "pass" or document showing I'm entitled to the transfer. I don't book ship transfers often, but one other cruise line sent stickers for us to wear, and the other at least gave us a paragraph of instructions.

I purchased an MSC provided transfer from Marseille airport to MSC Seashore at Marseille port. At time of purchase, I had to supply flight details & obtain approval of our flight times, which was granted (all done by e-mail). The charge for the transfer purchase was made. Since then I've received absolutely no information about how & where we meet up with the transfer, what I need to present etc. It's too early for me to check in - maybe this will all become clear then - but I don't want to count on it, and I don't want to call about it. Can anyone supply any details about MSC transfers from airport to port in Europe, particularly Marseille if possible? Thanks!

We used TK pre-Covid and loved their business product so much so we are using them again next year (United frequent flyer miles). However, I agree their website IS beyond abysmal though one thing I learned is that using their app on a cell phone gets much better results than using a desktop (I read this advice on Flyertalk & it worked for me). Don't know about a tablet. I did call their customer service with an issue and a Turkish CSR called me back twice on their own initiative to follow up on it (albeit one call came at an ungodly hour as she did not account for time zone differences - I was still impressed).

I'm on this itinerary, on this ship, in October, so I'm very interested in this thread, no matter where OP is from! Most interested in port information and disembarkation information. Also, OP, if you've heard anything good or bad about the paid MSC transfer from airport to ship, would love to hear it (I know you don't have personal experience). Thanks and have a great time!

We were docked in Chioggia March 16,17,18 this year and per my Viking Dailies, there were shuttles between the Chioggia port terminal and Chioggia town all three days. I realize this does not help with the issue of whether there are shuttles from Piraeus to Athens, but there were definitely shuttles on changeover day.

We've stayed in Athens for a week and also visited it many times as a cruise stop (albeit not Viking). I understand the logistics of the overnight as we just went thru this in Chioggia in March. Personally, based on the choices you gave, I'd take the National Archeological Museum as the included tour (because of the logistics of getting to it & because if you have any free time after the visit, it's in a busy traffic area & not in the Plaka) and take the included shuttle from Piraeus into Athens on the turnaround day. It's my understanding it drops you (and picks you up) at Hadrian's Gate. From there, it's a short walk to the Acropolis Museum. I am NOT NOT NOT a strong walker so for me to say it's a do-able walk is a statement DH will choke on when I tell him I said it. From what other posters have said, you need to verify that there is a shuttle from Piraeus to Athens on the turnaround day, that it drops you at Hadrian's Gate, and that the museum is in fact open on the day of your visit. You are basically in the Plaka pedestrian area when you are done in the Acropolis Museum and that is a great place to end up! If you wanted to see other sites during your "shuttle visit," be sure to buy the combined ticket vs. paying at the individual sites. It doesn't cover the Acropolis Museum, but it does cover a lot of other sites (Agora, Tower of the Winds, and others) and you can buy it in advance on line.

This is what we do too. Insure the deposit with a private insurer within 14 days of first payment. This secures pre-existing condition coverage, at least in our state and I believe in the US in general. Then add more coverage at the time of final payment, whenever that may be. If we cancel the cruise, in the past we have been allowed to move the coverage to another cruise by paying any additional amounts (if the replacement cruise costs more, for example). I think it is extremely important in these discussions to identify the poster's country of residence and even states can vary. Canada may allow you to get pre-existing condition coverage 122 days out with private insurance, but I'm not aware you can do this in the US. I stand corrected if someone has a company that does this but mine doesn't.

Thank you so much! So helpful! As I feared, we are doing (in March) the portion of your itinerary that includes two stops in Crete on non-consecutive days, not even the same port (I believe they are about 100 miles apart) and two non-consecutive stops in Ephesus/Kusadasi in addition to the three days in Athens. I had prepared myself for some DIY on the three days in Athens, but had no idea Crete and Ephesus/Kusadasi stops could also force us into not being able to take advantage of included excursions. I'll be selecting those excursions before final payment on our fall 2024 Homelands cruise, so if the policy stated to you holds true and if I'm not able to book included excursions if that's what I want and believed I was paying for, I'll be cancelling that Homelands cruise just on principle. Thank you for raising this topic and BTW, your itinerary is staggeringly great!

I'm horrifed. Lew, would it be too much of an imposition to ask you to list Day One (port name), Day Two (port name) and so forth for dummies like myself who are having problems visualizing? If not, I understand that it's too much trouble. We were on the "Italy, Greece, Adriatic" combo in March this year (I booked it as a 14 day cruise and well after final payment learned it was two one week cruises) with three days in Chioggia that worked out fine in that, as I've previously posted, we did included free excursions on Days One & Three (booked from home) and a paid excursion for Day Two (booked on board). This contradicts what you were told is the existing policy. Our 2024 cruise has three days in Athens (which I'm actually not worried about since we've been there many times & have a private guide we love if needed - but in principle I find what you were told unacceptable) but it also has two non-consecutive days in Crete - at different ports - wondering how this will be treated. Going forward this will greatly impact our future bookings. It will be the third nail in the dissatisfaction coffin.

This was our experience in March 2023 on Sky in Chioggia. We were able to book Day One and Day Three (both were included, free excursions) from home. Day Two offerings were in our cabin on a piece of paper (easily overlooked) and we chose a paid excursion to Verona (which I highly recommend). I did not get the sense there was a lot of availability on those Day Two excursions so personally I would not recommend waiting a few days to decide. We turned in our form immediately. Though it worked out for us, I'm concerned about what OP is reporting and I'm concerned about some of the responses. Viking's text DOES say one included excursion PER PORT and I believe it always has, but I'd probably not book if I knew this was going to be enforced - not that one knows in advance and we would be reliant on posters telling us about it before final payment.

OP, thanks for sharing that screen shot. I am truly amazed at what information we COULD get, if only.....