shmabbies

Regarding the transfer form, you also have to remind yourself that if there are any changes to the flights you "registered" on the form, it's up to you to notify Viking per the bolded statement under Guest 2 signature line. It would be nice if we were told what format they prefer the change notification to be in. If I were actually in transit when the change occurred, I'd probably call the "emergency" number provided, but if the change occurred while still home, I don't know what's considered appropriate notification.

Our "escort" was very no-nonsense and authoritative. Frankly I didn't push it (I take responsibility for this as well - I should have done as you did) especially since (I forgot to mention) when they use this method (grabbing you as you board), you are also carrying all your carryon luggage, coat, and so forth and you would have to deal with this in the ladies' room as well (or leave it in the corridor). Now I know what to expect and would prepare accordingly. At the time, in my befuddled state, it was, "I'm following you for what reason?" Again, when all is said and done, it's much better than the alternative. I just didn't know.

We boarded Sky in Civitavecchia about 10 weeks ago (our first post-Covid cruise) and the procedure was as you described, minus the spitting and waiting, of course. DH liked this new operation, which we did not know about in advance. Me, not so much, because after a loooong flight, we had spent an hour at FCO in the immigration line, then had baggage claim and the ~hour transfer from FCO to Civitavecchia, before being pounced on and almost literally dragged to the theater. I had to pee so badly at that point and not knowing this was going to happen, I had not prepared accordingly, so I was not so much a fan. Later in the cruise and upon reflection, I gained an appreciation for how much better this system was. You are performing a great Public Service Announcement by preparing folks who might think they are going directly to their cabin upon boarding. I acknowledge this was all my own fault.

You're very welcome! I know I may have mentioned it in a previous post, but this excursion was (for us) one of those Viking add on excursions that you don't find out about until you board. It filled up quickly as I understand it. The paper booking sheet was buried in a pile of paper on the coffee table IIRC. Had I not known from these boards to keep an eye out for these additional excursions, I likely would not have seen it in time (thank you to those who provided that information). In other words, if you can't book it on MVJ, make a real effort to find the paper AND to turn it in at Guest Services right away. As far as the ride, I totally agree with you. AND I find the older I get, a 1.5 hour ride is often welcome for a little snooze time....I'm glad to hear your friends thought a stay there was worth it. I can't wait!

We did the Sky's excursion from Venice/Chioggia to Verona a few weeks ago. It took about 1.5 hours each way with a rest stop. I'm sure a lot depends on the guide, but our excursion was way more than viewing Juliet's balcony; in fact, due to my height and the crowds in that small confined area, we barely saw it. Got the sense that our guide wanted us to remember Verona for more than this. The most tour time, relatively speaking, was spent at the Verona arena, built in 30AD, still used for operas and concerts and will be used for the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, but there was a lot more to Verona than even the arena. We touched on so much but had so little time that we know we will definitely return to stay in Verona, especially to spend time at the market, Piazza delle Erbe. The tour included a very nice lunch in a deconsecrated church. I'd do the excursion again in a heartbeat.

I'd like to add to review the paper tickets left in your cabin when you board. Viking puts great store in the paper tickets and for one of our excursions two weeks ago, DH's ticket was missing. It was not a big deal to go to Guest Services who promptly printed out the missing ticket after confirming payment, but had the issue not been discovered until the morning of the tour, it would have been a little more heart pounding.

I'm interrupting this thread with an updated special announcement... I believe I believe that I believe that we I believe that we DID I BELIEVE THAT WE DID WIN! I BELIEVE THAT WE DID WIN! I BELIEVE THAT WE DID WIN! Great cruise last month! Great win this month! GO UCONN HUSKIES!! AGAIN!!

We had similar adjustment to our Chioggia/Split schedule last week - with no substantial notice - I'd have to look thru my papers to see exactly when we found out. I agree that I think it had something to do with the flight situation into Venice as I would guess they would want to hold the ship in Venice to allow as many people as possible to board. DH and I laughed about the tide thing. We are definitely NOT mariners, but we do know that there is such a thing as a tide chart and the tides in Venice should not have been a surprise to Viking. Give us some credit! We still did our planned Chioggia routine - VOYO the first day, Verona the second day, Chioggia walking tour the third day. I don't know if others modified their Venice or Split plans based on the revised timing or if Viking allowed revisions to booked tours. What it did impact was our falconry/Krka tour in Split, which was supposed to be, I think, falcons/Krka/lunch, which ended up to be falcons/Krka/dinner. Nonetheless, DH ate a full ship dinner that night - I modified mine to an appetizer or two. I felt bad for those on the tour that had Manfredi's that night as they could not possibly have been hungry, unless they were long-lost siblings of DH. FWIW, if I recall, the drive from falcons to Krka wasn't that long. Half an hour? If you're planning on falcons/Krka, I'd continue on with the plan because it's a great excursion, but I would not follow it with Manfredi reservations. What to do about adjusting Venice plans to fit the new timing is a whole other ball game....

I am glad to help. I was struggling so much for information prior to this cruise and really feel I need to pay it forward, at least, as we agree, for the present time, because I project there is going to be a lot of tweaking. We sat on the starboard side of the water taxi (right side of the taxi as it faced forward). I was right up against the window (not sure if it opened, didn't try) and put my flash off. We were sailing along the island of Palestrina/Pellestrina which is very long. Yes, there was a queue when we wanted to come back, but this was mostly our fault as initially I don't think there was, but we HAD to sit down at a cafe that was immediately adjacent for an adult beverage and before I could blink my eyes, the line was there. We managed to get on but I did not have a window seat on the return, which didn't bother me as it was getting dark. We used no maps in Venice. We have been there before and didn't stray far from St. Mark's and used the Campanile to orient ourselves. Any other questions, please ask!

For a first visit to Split, probably best to do the walking tour, see the city, eat or drink in a waterfront cafe etc. Split has great atmosphere. We are just back from Viking Sky that included Split and having been there at least four times, we did the falconry and Krka and absolutely agree with PRH that it was a fantastic, UNIQUE tour. We've done the Cetina River and Trogir tours, both on another cruise line, and frankly liked both of them too, but still stand by that if it's a first visit, it really should be the walking tour.

I apologize for my poor wording, I think I was just trying to say - and didn't - that we never dealt with guest services about the matter - and did not even deal proactively with the "dock coordinator" - somebody made a series of announcements when we disembarked the ship water taxi about the options available to us for returning to the ship after VOYO. So it didn't seem as if anyone disliked the idea of taking a different water taxi back since the idea came from them. You were way ahead of us in that you proactively gave thought to this in advance - we just responded to an announcement that was made. That was what was "opposite." I'm glad it worked out for both of us! Wasn't it a gorgeous day??

The water taxis to and from St. Marks served the excursions. The last excursion of the day returned around 5pm. You needed to be on an excursion to take a taxi. They did not like the idea that we would book Venice On Your Own and come back whenever we wanted to hop a taxi. We were on Sky from March 10-24 so I believe the same cruise as OP. We had the opposite experience. We did Venice On Your Own (VOYO) on Venice Day One March 16 booked on MVJ. We were told as we disembarked the water taxi from Chioggia to Venice that we could take whatever water taxi we wanted (servicing the excursions) back to the ship. I believe our VOYO excursion was scheduled to return on the 3:15 water taxi (not sure about this). We took a later one instead. Personally I did think it was a little odd that Viking would risk all the VOYO people coming back at the same time, but nonetheless this is what we were told and this is what we did. I would venture to say this is something they may stop doing because it really makes no sense - though I'm glad it worked for us! DH and I did not think the 1.5 hour trip was that bad. Our water taxi was new and clean and I thought the seats were comfortable. There was plenty to see & photograph at least on the side I was sitting on. It moves extremely slowly - we were told that most of the trip is a "no wake" area - it definitely seemed like a longer trip on the way back, but I was chatting with a "new friend" the entire time and it was fun. We were pleasantly surprised at the dropoff point in Venice. It really is close to St. Mark's Square. Venice Day Two March 17 was the one that had nothing to book on MVJ and caused me a lot of angst prior to the cruise, but posters here had assured me that there would be excursions to book on board, and this was true. You do need to hunt for the booking sheet thru the endless surveys that Viking places in the cabin (I have to say - what Viking doesn't do with advertisements for photos, spas, liquor packages etc. they more than make up for with surveys). It's in your cabin EARLY ON and you must look for it, complete it, and return it to guest services promptly as those offers seem to fill up quickly. We did the full day Verona tour at $189pp. We loved it. BUT it is a long way to Verona. If the 1.5 hour transfer from Chioggia to Venice annoys you, you probably don't want to go to Verona. But we thought it was a nicely done tour that included lunch in a restaurant in a former church and it was one of our favorites. Venice Day Three March 18 I had booked the Chioggia walking tour on MVJ. The ship five minute water shuttle takes the group from the pier to Chioggia. The walking tour was informative and fun. I expected to like Chioggia and I did. It is like a micro Venice, of course without all the major sites. When this walking tour was concluded, everyone dispersed thru the town. There was no supervised walk back to the shuttle. We stayed in Chioggia for quite some time and then took the ship water shuttle back to the ship. It was virtually empty and very easy. There is some kind of walking/bus alternative from Chioggia to the ship but I didn't run into anyone who took it and I don't know why anyone would take it when the water shuttle was easier and readily available. My opinion is that the Chioggia thing is a work in progress, but for us I think it was handled as best it could be and future tweaking will take care of the rest of it. There WAS a lot of rumbling and grumbling overheard, but there were also a lot of air problems for those arriving on Sky in Venice due to the strikes and so forth that likely impacted tours for those people, but those were beyond the scope of Viking - as was this whole deal of banning cruise ships in Venice. Yes, there is NOTHING like sailing past St. Mark's Square on a ship, but those days are gone, probably never to return.

Is this new? A friend used a TA who booked the cruise for him in 2022, but he made the e-check deposit on his own via MVJ, and he intends to make the final payment on his own in a few weeks the same way. I would have thought the MVJ option is for passengers who do not like to share their credit card or banking details. I know he will be one to wait until the very last minute to make final payment, and if he's going to be denied using MVJ to do it because he has a TA, I'd like to warn him. I'm very surprised to hear this is even a possibility.

We've ended cruises in Athens at least eight times and never had an issue with traffic or port arrival - but obviously there is always a first time and you're right, we may end up thanking Viking. What HAS been a problem for us (twice on Athens return flights and once on a scheduled Athens to Santorini flight) are labor strikes. In our experience, we have more re-booking opportunities if our flights are scheduled earlier, since some of the Greek strikes are "only" a few hours in duration. IIRC, all three flight issues were air traffic control strikes. Another such labor strike affected us the one time we had opted to take public transportation from the airport to hotel and THEY were on strike (my rule - never rely on public transportation for anything time sensitive). And there was the time staffers at the Acropolis went on strike while we were on site and we all had to leave! We love Athens and have spent over a month there in totality over a period of many years but have a healthy respect for their tendency to strike, and the number of professions that strike appears to be unlimited (even doctors, for example). There are websites devoted entirely to publishing strike information; some are announced in advance and some are more spontaneous. My apologies for digressing, I had only wanted to say that traffic and port arrival times have not previously been an issue for us in Athens but strikes have and I thought someone might find that information useful.

If booking your own air, be very careful about any special instructions issued by Viking as to flight timing. Our cruise this March concludes in Athens with a 7am port arrival but we were told not to book any flights before 1pm. Because we are using FF miles, this caused us to be unable to book all the "good" flights and gives us a ridiculously late arrival time at our home airport, but we reluctantly did as instructed. Booked our own transfer.

I have the same situation in March (though it appears our port hours are different from yours) and asked this question back in January. Here's the link which I hopefully imbedded correctly: We ended up booking the full day Venice on your own for the first day, left the second day unencumbered, based on the advice given in the thread, and booked the brief walking tour of Chioggia for the third day. I can't say I'm overjoyed not knowing what will be available on that middle day (like you, I looked unsuccessfully for some private tours) but I'm approaching it with an open mind! I will post when we get back about what the options, if any, turned out to be.

Longterm, Thank you so much for that information. Amazing how helpful some of these tiny details are!

Longterm, Yes, I don't think my question was clear that I was asking about disembarkation in Athens and I apologize for that. I certainly wasn't asking about disembarkation in Vienna on VO though - I think you meant Venice - meaning we are both drinking the same kool aid today haha.

Longterm, Do you remember when you had to be off the ship on that particular itinerary? Our itinerary says ship arrival at 7am, but we were instructed not to book flights before 1pm (which pretty much eliminated all the good flights, but we did it). Do you recall by any chance the latest you could stay on the ship? Thanks for any information!

Thank you, thank you, thank you - you have all offered great insights and tips about how to handle this. And it is SO reassuring to know that possibly Viking already has it on their radar to add some excursions on the changeover day. I am definitely going to contact Viking on both issues. BTW, personally I really don't mind cruise combinations; I myself have done B2B cruises before, BUT I booked them that way. What I don't like is not knowing about it AND having it influence excursion offerings. I will definitely be more cognizant in the future. Based on what you have all said, I'm confident this is all going to work out fine. Thank you again and I'm glad others learned from this as well.

Last year, we booked the “Italy, the Adriatic, and Greece” itinerary as a two week cruise. My fault – I never checked to see if this was in fact a true two week itinerary or two shorter itineraries cobbled together. At the time, I actually did not know that Viking did this. I will never make this mistake again. The cruise was marketed as having three days in Venice mid-cruise. Arrival at 8am on Venice Day One, full day on Venice Day Two, and departure at 2pm on Venice Day Three. I knew well in advance about the “Venice” issues and that we would not be docking in Venice – I didn’t care. Our port just recently changed on MVJ to Chioggia. Personally I was looking forward to Chioggia… …Until I found out that Venice Day Two must be the “transition” day between the two cruises – and NO EXCURSIONS are offered. I’m assuming this also means no shuttle even from ship into Chioggia? I think this is entirely unfair to those who booked the two week version. Bad enough when other passengers likely thought we were docked in “real” Venice the entire time, because that was the representation – but now that we will be docked in the more remote Chioggia, it’s now incumbent upon us to “get out of Dodge” on our own. As of now, even Viator is offering NOTHING out of, or in, Chioggia that day. I believe we are truly pretty much captive unless we want to DIY. This leads me to the question – does Viking ever offer tours on board that were not previously offered on MVJ? Or add tours to MVJ between excursion booking time and sail date? This would, as my title implies, not just be adding capacity – it would be adding actual excursions to a previously excursion-less day. Although, it’s gotten worse, because I drafted and saved the above two days ago and since then, our excursions have become available to book. Included “Venice on Your Own,” on the only day it is available – Venice Day One – “sold” out immediately. I’m going to rely on previous posters who have said that additional capacity on that will probably become available – but at this point, with three days “in” Venice advertised in the cruise marketing, DH and I are not actually going to “be in Venice” at all! Yes, I did the cart checkout item by item as recommended, but frankly I did not think “Venice on Your Own” would be one that would have limited capacity, so I opted to check out a few other tours first. Second mistake! Thoughts anyone? And thank you.

Peregrina, I don't think being angry and upset and helpless entitles someone to publicly use some pretty strong terms to describe the actions of a third party - before all the facts are in and before there's even a remote chance for a resolution. The words/terms I feel most strongly about it are calling someone else (person or business entity) a "scammer" and "the kind of company that will trick you out of your money and not offer anything back." Those are just the two that stuck out to me; there were others. To refer back to my original post, I guess when the tree fell on my garage and demolished it, I could have publicly blamed - in vicious terms - the builder for locating the garage where he did 100 years ago, whoever planted the acorn that grew the tree that abutted the garage (admittedly this may have been a squirrel, but while we're at it, why not call the long-dead squirrel a "trickster" and a "scammer" as well), the scammer real estate agent who showed me the house/garage with an oak tree next to it that I was tricked into buying, among lots of other guilty parties, including the sellers who took my money knowing there was an oak tree next to the garage. My homeowners' agent and the company were pretty much unreachable for a few days at first because - shock - other people had damage much worse than mine and there were a lot of us. Did I get to call the insurance agency (that I chose) and the insurance company (that I chose) "scammers" and "tricksters" because they were helping people in much more dire circumstances and didn't solve my problem soon enough to suit me? And, I might add, even the agent did NOT come out and tell me point blank not to worry, that I'd be covered. Front line CSRs, such as we think OP contacted during a holiday, aren't usually authorized to give blanket approval statements. They have to wait until written evidence is submitted. Our "introduction" to the OP and the problem was in their words, and I thought their words were over the top. Did I understand where they were coming from? Yes I do. It's a horrible situation that scares the heck out of me. Do I think a lot of posters offered constructive suggestions on how to possibly make lemonade out of lemons? Yes I do. Do I think they received a good deal of back patting and cuddling from other posters? Yes I do. Do I think other posters, myself included, pointed out that they bore some responsibility for their predicament? Yes I do. I think OP received a diversity of comments and (just my opinion) I thought many of them were pretty generous under the circumstances. When all is said and done, my own frustration (and I assume I'm allowed to be frustrated too) was with the unsubstantiated language and the timing of it (on Day One). IMHO it was not appropriate.

It's been over 24 hours, closer to 48 hours, since we heard from the OP, who chose to make some pretty vicious statements IMHO. Isn't this a little strange? I'm not sure exactly who is telling OP they can't get financial compensation - but isn't it a little premature for this? Did they expect a refund to be issued immediately? Many people do. Or the insurance to be processed immediately? Many people do. I'm not sure a front line customer service employee working on a holiday weekend is a person I'd necessarily rely on for advice or a ruling about a claim that hasn't even been filed. To me it's like calling the doctor's office over a holiday weekend and expecting the answering service to diagnose my condition and then book me into a crowded hospital with no available beds and then assure me my medical insurance is going to cover my hospitalization, all in one fell swoop. Insurance claims just don't happen this way. I still view this, and any trip during holidays in winter, as a choice. If you have a job that locks you into that time frame, how is that anyone else's fault? If you have family responsibilities that lock you into that time frame, how is that anyone else's fault? You still have the choice to go or not go. The choice is not "I absolutely HAVE to cruise during Christmas holidays." The choice is, "Do I feel lucky?" And the chips fall from there. In six months (I'm using the fact that we had a tree fall on our detached garage during Isaias and level said garage flat to the ground, and six months is about what it took for the insurance to be processed and a new garage built, fortunately completed before major supply chain issues arose) if the OP's parents have completed all their paperwork precisely and correctly and they have a denial in hand and the denial is based strictly on weather (and not some other reason which we don't know about), I think that's the time for the discussion about crappy insurance and so forth. I would definitely want to hear about this! All we have now is an OP who approximately 48 hours ago chose to join Cruise Critic and use some pretty serious language to lambast Viking, the airlines, and an unnamed insurer for what was a choice by their parents to travel at a specific time (dead of winter during the holidays), to a specific destination across the world, using a specific insurance carrier. At this point, I still just keep seeing the word CHOICE. Some posters have offered a lot of great suggestions and advice and all I can add, having filed the aforementioned homeowners' claim and a long ago travel claim, is to be sure all documents and documentation are provided, you cannot skimp or "wing it." And certainly eliminate all the accusatory language and the "they said" and "I was told..." Calm and professional is the way to go.

Muzzou70, Could you report back what your experience ends up being? I have older relatives in the area as well, and in the past (pre Covid) we always paid dearly to take private transportation to their home near Caserta. With the cost of everything having gone up so much, I was thinking that next year when we are in Naples again of asking them if they could come to us. DH thinks the security at Naples port is very high, though, so he thinks as sugarside mentions that we probably would have to meet outside the port area, which is too bad as the Naples port building has lots of shops and small places to eat and would be a great place to meet. Good luck and hope you can post after your cruise!

You're welcome, miami mama. I don't know if there will be an interim period where they accept both currencies. I'm happy about it because Croatia has been the currency "outlier" for a while for this type of itinerary. I believe Montenegro is still not in the EU but adopted the euro as its currency a while ago - go figure. There is a part of the wall that "some" suggest be done if you're only going to do a part of it. If memory serves me, it's the part along the ocean vs. the "land" side, but maybe those who have done it more recently than me have better advice. Dr. Koob's photo will give you a great idea of this.