Greysandy

It seems odd that there are only two options in April for San Diego departure and 3 options from Fort Lauderdale. Maybe they sell those options as last minute sales?? I was hoping to see a more extensive list from San Diego.

I would definitely recommend the 3 weeks rather than 10/11 days. Here’s my long and opinionated review that I wrote once we returned: Overall a great trip and we will probably take another Viking trip in 7-8 years or so. I just wasn’t as blown away as I expected to be for the price difference from a decent ocean cruise. We have designed several of our own European city tours and of course domestic tours so we have really high standards and expectations, compared to most. And maybe paying for the ease isn’t the best value for us. So we will definitely stay with HAL for future cruises. I had expected to want to switch to Viking for ocean trips but that didn’t happen. Swan view level 1 room - not bad, for the price I would continue to book this level again. I did go look at the other rooms when we got to Budapest and half the passengers got off. The French balcony rooms seemed the same size even though the brochure lists them as smaller than level 1. Beds are pretty hard. Swooshing water noises throughout the night which didn’t bother me. Going through the locks (60+) could make it noisy but still not a big deal to me but I am a good sleeper. Plenty of storage for 3 weeks. Food - for the first week in Eastern Europe I was mesmerized by how amazing, creative, regional and flavorful the food was. The chef (from Bulgaria) on the Lofn went on vacation after week one and the new one was nowhere near as good. It could be that I just really love Balkan food, especially done by a chef that is local. We switched ships at Nuremberg to the Lif and the food was still just okay. The food for the last 2 weeks seemed to be comparable to ocean dining room food (not anywhere near as good as specialty restaurants) where it all just tasted the same after a while. The sauces for the pork and beef dishes tasted exactly the same even with different creative names. The fish dishes were probably the better meals I had in the last 2 weeks of the cruise. Itinerary/docking times and locations - this is where the slick marketing department really romanticized the trip. The reality was that out of 3 weeks there were really only 7 ports where we could casually walk off the ship and meander around the towns. There were many days where we were bussed from our included excursion to meet the ship up river, and there was no real option to get off and wander around. There was so much more bussing than I expected even for the walking tours. Tour guides mostly amazing. Also it seems as though the sun deck is always closed for 3-4 days from Regensburg to Rhine scenic cruising because in the canals the water level is consistent and even with it being low, they needed to close the sun deck. Doing Eastern Europe first is definitely the way to go. It just isn’t as spectacular as the Rhine. Shore excursions- Generally very good, we only paid for a few optional ones, a few bike excursions and the thermal spa (which we could have done on our own, but it was spectacular and worth it). Silver Spirits package- we didn’t do it the first week, then added it for the last two weeks. If you like to drink $30-50 bottles of wine rather than $5 bottles then it was the best value ever. The wine selections were local and fabulous. Service - overall very good, with the Lofn being extraordinary (bartender knew our names and room number after two orders, remembered how we like our cocktails) and the Lif being acceptable. The Lofn seemed like a very well organized and bonded team that took pride in giving the best service possible with an upbeat and positive attitude. The Lif just seemed to be doing a job, although they got better after a few days. Entertainment - the local musicians brought on board and guest lecturers were all fabulous. The piano player (and Karaoke style singer) was not my favorite. Open seating at tables of 6-8 at dinner, generally a great idea, but after a few weeks it was exhausting and felt like high school trying to figure out who to sit with.

This sounds like exactly what I would like! I may have to negotiate with my husband on this type of dining. Or go by myself like you 😀

Thanks for the information everyone. I just got an upgrade offer for our Solar Eclipse cruise from an interior. We would be happy with any upgrade.

That is also my goal, but wow is it challenging on a cruise or in a restaurant to avoid industrialized seed oils.

On warmer cruises, they sell out so the daily rental is not available. Plan accordingly.

Most of them are too sweet for my palate, but my favorite so far is the Penicillin, made typically the best in the Ocean bar. It can be terrible if made incorrectly (like we had in just about every other bar). 2 ounces blended scotch 3/4 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed 3/4 ounce honey-ginger syrup* 1/4 ounce Islay single malt scotch Garnish: candied ginger

We have been to Tracy Arm a few times, but I am definitely planning on doing this excursion next year on our 28 day Summer Solstice Alaska cruise.

Great idea! We have done the two week Cruise tour, then two of the two week Alaska trips, and next year we are on the 28 day Summer Solstice trip. But I'm completely confident that we will do the Northbound, then Southbound piece together of cruises some year in the future. I really love your idea of pairing a HAL with a Princess cruise to switch things up!

Have a wonderful time! We did this cruise about 10 years ago when it went to St. Petersburg. We absolutely loved Helsinki, Tallin and Stockholm. Tallin is easy to walk, as is Helsinki (we took a bike tour there first). We have spent several days in Copenhagen before, so hopefully you have a bit of time there also. It is a lovely city.

Someone had posted a recent list on a FB group. Here are a few highlights: underwear or bra 4 Euros shorts 7 E pants 10 E shirt 8 E polo shirt 6.5 E tshirt 6 E I will be washing many "travel" items in the sink...

You can make the honey-cinnamon syrup with 1/2 honey 1/2 warm water with a dash of cinnamon. The proportions look reasonable, so you could start there and adjust if it's too sweet or too boozy based on your palette. I found this online: https://www.gastronomblog.com/the-whiskey-lush/ Whiskey Lush Cocktail 1.50 ounces whiskey 1.25 ounces fresh pineapple juice 1 oz spiced honey simple syrup 3 dashes bitters

Since we are teachers, we tend to sail over Thanksgiving almost every year because it's easy and we don't have to fly to do the California Coastal or Mexican Riviera. It has certainly become much busier with children in the last year or two, even being overbooked because there are so many children in rooms with 2 adults. So we just book a cabana to get some peace.

1. 2 Week Alaska cruise to Kodiak, Sitka, Homer (along with the common AK ports). We like this 2 week itinerary much more than the half land based and half cruise tour. We are booked on the 28 day Alaska June 2024 (already sold out). 2. 20 day Mediterranean including Santorini, Athens, Monte Carlo, Corfu and so many more, only one sea day. The Big reason this one tops the list is that we booked it after the Italian Captain sank the Costa ship, and bookings were down, so we got a Veranda for 20 days for $2,000pp. 3. Mexican Riviera on the Koningsdam, every year. We can take the Amtrak train 2 hours to the embarkation. We don't care about the ports and mostly spend all day in our cabana, then have a specialty dining dinner, then listen to great music.

Probably Noordam or Westerdam. We don't spend much time on other cruise lines, except for our upcoming Solar Eclipse cruise on Princess.