hbtraveler

2 hours ago, Selion said:

I use T-Mobile.  They offer international passes at $35 (10 days, 5 GB 5G data, unlimited talk and text) and $50 (30 days, 10 GB 5G data, unlimited talk & text), and these passes are good in 210+ countries.  For lazy bones like me that's one & done instead of dealing with other apps & swapping sims, electronic or not.

Depending on the plan, T-Mobile will include unlimited data (4G or above) and texting plus 20 cents/minute phone in those 210+ countries for no additional cost above your plan cost.  We have 2 lines on Magenta MAX 55+ and have used this feature quite a bit in our international travels with no issues.

We were in 5021 on one cruise and 5029 on another.  No issues with noise or crowds at all.  And having the stairs and elevator right there was often very convenient.  The laundry room is on the port side, a bit further aft, if you want to be a bit closer to it.

Thanks.  I appreciate all this detail.  It does sound like you were traveling between places almost as much as you were at places.

46 minutes ago, Frenchberet said:

Following the cruise we did the 5 night post extension Gateway to Patagonia.

If you have a chance, could you review this post extension trip?  I probably would be interested in booking it when we get down that way in a year or two.  Thanks!

A couple of questions.  How was the Drake crossing?  Were you able to get most of your planned activities completed or were there some that the weather/ice conditions prevented?  Thanks.

16 hours ago, miami mama said:

We are having to take a private transport from Venice to Chioggia since we are coming in a day early. Where are taxis/cars allowed to drop passengers? Can they get to the cruise terminal or do they have to drop off passengers at a roundabout? If it's at the roundabout, don't know how we will negotiate any distance with our luggage. 

They let our driver go right to the terminal.

5 hours ago, Specialkcf said:

I have a question for hbtraveler. You say you walked into the town from Chioggia Port. The "terminal" building doesn't look ideal. It seems to be surrounder by a chain link fence, Were you allowed to walk on the internal road down to the exit at the roundabout of was there a port bus which took you down there?

Many thanks.

I walked from the terminal to the roundabout, not realizing that there was a shuttle bus that took you from the terminal to the roundabout.  I took the bus back to the terminal when I returned from my walk of the town.  The terminal area (at least when we were there) wasn't very busy, so I wasn't worried about safety when I walked from the terminal to the front gate by the roundabout.  The terminal building itself looked pretty new.

On 2/18/2023 at 8:34 AM, Australia08 said:

The most important thing to consider is how much time you would like to spend on land.  I know a smaller expedition ship would have given us more "landing" opportunities.  You need to balance that with the wonderful "ship" experience you will have on Viking.  The rooms, service, and food were exceptional.  I also liked the fact that they loaned us most of the clothing and equipment we needed for the "outings."  Since we needed warm weather and cold weather clothes, it was so nice not to have to lug along boots, waterproof pants, and parkas (you get to keep the parkas).

Looking at the Viking website, they have another cruise "Antarctic Adventure" which is 15 days, instead of the 13 days of your Antarctic Explorer cruise.  The only difference I see is that there are 2 more days near Antarctica. Given the weather variably and its impact on landing opportunities, do you think that having 2 extra days down there would have made a big difference on your enjoyment of the cruise?  Just trying to get a feel if it would make sense to spend the extra money for 2 more days.  Thanks.

Thanks for doing this detailed trip report.  Love all the pictures, too.  Your pre and post cruise activities looked great.  For the cruise itself, it sounded like it went reasonably well given some of the weather constraints.  For someone taking this trip in the future, are there any things (good or bad) to highlight about visiting Antarctica on Viking that it would be good to know in advance.  Thanks again!

FWIW, when we departed the ship on our cruise that finished in Istanbul and then took our 3-day post cruise extension to Cappadocia, no one inquired about our medicines at all.  In fact, they didn't even ask to see the visa that we got for Turkey.  Personally, I wouldn't worry about it.  As suggested above, ask Viking what they think.  Maybe get a letter from your doctor to carry with you if needed.

15 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

Can you source that information? We are still exploring our options coming in three days early on our own (in April), with a denied Viking transfer. A post last fall quoted €140 for a taxi from Venice to Chioggia.

When we had to get from Venice to Chioggia back in June (2022), the private car that our hotel arranged cost us 200 euros.

When we visited last June, we had a guided tour of the site for about 1.5 hours.  We then had free time (around 1 hour, I think) which most people used at the museum.  I believe that we were given tickets for museum entry.  We found the guide was quite informative and the museum had a nice collection of artifacts.

On 1/20/2023 at 2:25 PM, cccole said:

I am currently looking at both of these itineraries.  I always think more days is better but the map is a bit confusing.  Any comments on these two itineraries?  

 

Thank you, Cherie

Looking at the two itineraries, it seems the only difference is that you spend 2 more days in Antarctic waters.  The trip down looks the same and the trip back also looks the same.  Since the weather can be finicky, more days gives you more opportunities to get ashore if the weather doesn't cooperate.  So, if you can afford it, it would seem the longer trip would be better.  BTW, the map is deliberately vague, since the landing locations can vary from trip to trip.

Cruise Critic Chris, I'd be interested to hear about what the weather is like at this time of year in Antarctica, since this is probably when we would go.  Hopefully the crossing is smooth both ways.

Got an email from Viking this morning that said:

"Today we are pleased to announce that 2024 & 2025 departures of our most popular ocean voyages are now open for booking, making this the perfect time to start planning your next Mediterranean voyage, Hawaiian sojourn or Atlantic Coast journey. Our 2024 and 2025 seasons include several new itineraries, outlined below, that may be of interest to you. Many of these voyages will sell out, so reserve your preferred stateroom today with a deposit of just $25 and enjoy a special airfare offer. "

58 minutes ago, janetcbl said:

Haven’t stayed there, but heard good things about it, except for rooms in the Annex which aren’t great. Restaurant is supposed to be pretty good. Prices during “Tourist Season” are crazy; they have always been that way!

We stayed there in 2018 and didn't have any complaints.  Nothing fancy but a good overnighter.  My main memories of it was that we had a fjord facing room where the view was blocked when we arrived by a Viking ship (Sky or Sea, I think) in port for the day.  But it was a nice view when they left. 

30 minutes ago, longterm said:

Right now we're still planning to duplicate the post extension that Viking offers, but with our own train reservations. If someone has a compelling argument in favor of doing the Norway in a Nutshell trip instead, I'd definitely be interested in hearing. We're not going until July 4, 2024, so we have plenty of time to get things booked.

We took the NIN trip back in 2018, so things might have changed a bit.  But whether you take NIN or the through train between Oslo and Bergen, you will see the same scenery between Oslo and Myrdal and between Voss and Bergen.  Per my notes, It takes about 4:30 for the Oslo-Myrdal part, which is the best of the mainline train trip.  Spectacular scenery as the train climbs up and over the big mountains.  Voss-Bergen is less spectacular as it mostly follows river valleys.  It takes about 1:15 from Voss to Bergen.  The part between Myrdal and Voss, I think, takes about 45 minutes and continues the descent from the mountains.

For NIN, you would depart the mainline at Myrdal.  There was about a 30 minute gap between the mainline train arriving and the Flam train departing to allow for passenger and luggage transfer.  It is about an hour down to Flam on the scenic railroad.  The Flam train station is right next to the dock.  It was here that we overnighted.  But if you continue on, you board the boat for the very scenic 2 hour cruise to Gudvangen.  I considered it one of the highlights of our Norway trip.  At Gudvangen, you board a bus (right next to the dock) for the 1:15 trip to Voss train station, where the mainline train to Bergen is met.  If you have the time, and especially if you aren't visiting any fjords otherwise, NIN is well worth it.  I hope this helps.

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

I’m looking at doing this in reverse but I am unable to get a hotel in Flam (or anywhere else along the NIN route) so that means we will spend about 14 hours traveling. So need some advice from those who have done the Fjord cruise and Flam railway trip. Given we will have been cruising fjords aboard Viking (one of our ports is Geiranger) do you think cruising the NIN fjord is needed?  If not, then we will just book the train from Bergen to Oslo. 
 

TIA!

The Nærøyfjord is quite dramatic.  It is listed as the narrowest fjord in Norway and is a UNESCO site.  But, if your fjord'd out, and particularly if you don't want to do a really long day, the through train from Bergen to Oslo is still worth that part of the trip.  In addition to the fjord cruise, the Norway in a Nutshell trip also includes the steep, scenic Flam Railway to get to and from the Bergen-Oslo mainline.  When we overnighted in Flam, we stayed at Flåmsbrygga Hotel, which was right along the fjord.  We also arranged a morning tour to the Stegastein viewpoint that is high above the Aurlandsfjord.  As this was our first fjord in Norway, we were quite glad we did this trip.

7 hours ago, 2BERMUDA said:

From Oslo, We did the Norway in a Nutshell train trip.  In Komfort Klass, which was so much better than regular.  We booked through Fjord Tours. We also booked the Bergen hotel for one night, and a luggage delivery service through them.  The bags were at the hotel when we arrived. 

 

it was a great trip, with a boat ride from Flam and a bus portion too.  Don’t remember the cost but you can check on their site.  It is not escorted.  Took about 11 hours. 

If you have the time, I'd also recommend the Norway in a Nutshell tour.  We did it on our own (not associated with a cruise) from Oslo to Bergen.  We had the time, so we split it into 2 days and overnighted in Flam.  We also booked through Fjord Tours.  Since we did it in two days, we were able to book the later departure from Oslo, which was a bit less crowded.  We stayed at Thon Opera Hotel, which is right next to the Oslo train station.  We stayed at the Bergen Bors Hotel in Bergen.  I don't remember whether we walked or took a taxi to the hotel from the Bergen train station.  It was a fantastic trip. 

When we were driven to Chioggia by private car from Venice (Piazzale Roma) this past summer to board Viking Sky, it took over an hour.  It was on the weekend and Chioggia has a very popular beach.  Traffic was quite heavy as we got close to Chioggia.  I would assume that's why Viking is allowing for a 90 minute drive.

I'll second the T-Mobile recommendation.  Although they only guarantee 3G, I never had less than 4G and mostly had 5G while we were in range of shore cell towers.  Although I didn't specifically backup photos, I believe all of my iPhone photos ended up backed up to my Amazon Photos storage automatically.  I was able to send text messages with photos without issue using cell service.  I agree that the onboard WiFi isn't good for large data transfers (and really needs to be improved).  As far as battery is concerned, the radios in the phone (wifi, cell, and bluetooth) really eat battery life.  Even if you aren't in range of cell towers, the phone will still keep on trying to connect until you're in contact with the next cell tower.  If you are away from land, go to Airplane Mode to cut off the celluar until closer to shore.  Otherwise, I didn't have any battery issues with my iPhone 13 Max.  If you are having problems maintaining charge, a visit to an Apple Store might be advised.

3 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

I have been curious about this new port for Venice. I did a little research. Apparently there are regular vaporetto and bus schedules. Might be an option? 

We looked into this back in June trying to get to Chioggia from Venice.  It involves a vaporetto from Venice to the Lido barrier islands, then a bus down the Lido (including a ferry crossing), and then a separate ferry for the last bit into Chioggia.  With luggage, it would have been too much.  We ended up with a private driver that the hotel arranged for 200 euros for the 2 of us.  A lot easier, if expensive.

One other thing to consider is that, if you pay by card and can time the payment right after your monthly statement end date, you could have nearly 2 months before the money actually comes out of your account when you pay off the credit card bill. Probably a small consideration, but something to factor in.

On our recent Mediterranean cruise, they had a shuttle into town for every port that wasn't an easy walk from the ship.

1 hour ago, Doortravel said:

I'm sure if your post itinerary is through Viking they will still transport you to hotel.

I called to see if we could hit Venice cruise terminal and have Viking transport us to Chioggia. I was told that wasn't an option. So I'd expect if your travels are independent you will be responsible for transportation to Venice. Possibly you could piggyback on a transport to airport with passengers going directly to it.

 

When Viking changed our departure from Fusina to Chioggia in June and we were traveling independently, we were told by Viking in no uncertain terms that we were responsible for getting to Chioggia from Venice.  No bus from the Venice cruise terminal.  We even volunteered to go to the airport to catch the Viking transportation for arriving passengers.  We were told No.  So, yeah, assume you are on your own if you are independently traveling before or after the cruise.