mittenscat23

2 hours ago, broker1217 said:

Yes--I am glad all is well! And they changed the webcam views so we can watch it turn around!

Looking forward to my TA on 2/28.

 

Hello 

We are on the TA 2/28 with you so I have been following this discussion and joining the Facebook group. Looking forward to the cruise and hope NORO  gone and ship all repaired.

Check out Iceland ProCruises.   We did the 10 day around Iceland with them on the Ocean Diamond. Really enjoyed it.  

On ‎11‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 11:04 AM, CruiseOrLand said:

In general they are good. You have to read the (long) descriptions carefully before you buy, because they are (in our experience) very accurate, honest descriptions of the excursion. It is hard to predict in advance whether any given port will have easy access to downtown. We particularly select Windstar excursions to get to places that are 60 or more minutes "out of town".

 

Our last pair of cruises went to several very small Asian ports, one of the plusses of Windstar. But in the cases where there was no terminal building, taxi line, or walk-to-downtown, I never tested whether the "temporary" tourist office in a tent was able to phone for a taxi to come to the port!

 

Some of the tours on our 212-passenger ship filled up by the time of the previous evening's Port Talk. (I'm just mentioning that, not urging you to make a hasty decision in advance ... )

Thank you for the information.

How are Windstar excursions?   Are they worth the cost?  Or do most people do private tours?

1 hour ago, ridethetide said:

There is a bedside stand on either side of the queen-size bed so I would imagine they can place the stands on either side of the twin beds when they are pulled apart.

Thank you.  I asked because on some of Crystal ships the bedside tables are attached to the wall and you can not move them.  I have not been on Windstar before so thought I better ask before I book.

Can a bed side table be put between beds in the twin bed arrangment?

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

Here is what is as of today what the USA Viking web site shows under payment terms. Nothing about 12 month prepayment.

 

Payment Policy

A deposit for cruise/land of $500 per person is required to secure a confirmed reservation for a cruise. When more than one cruise is booked, deposit and payment policies apply per cruise. The final balance is due no later than 90 days prior to sailing but special promotions may require an earlier payment. Exceptions to this Payment Policy apply for cruise tours more than 35 days, including Viking’s World & Grand Cruises. Contact your travel agent or Viking for details.

Also the cancellation terms are the same

a. Cancellation Fee Schedule Effective for Cruise Tours (other than World & Grand Cruises) booked on and after August 1, 2018:

1. In the event of cancellations actually received by us 120 days or more prior to the scheduled departure, a refund of all amounts already paid to us will be made, less a cancellation fee of $100 per person;

This is exactly what we found.  We took advantage of an air promotion (actually I think everything winds up as a promotion) and we paid in full 6 months in advance.

And I provided Viking's policy on such matters for those who are unaware of them. No sarcasm was intended.

 

There is a lot of information in the Viking Terms and Conditions that anyone who is not familiar with Viking (as I was not familiar with the line) should be interested in reading instead of assuming that all cruise lines are the same.

 

And those differences are the reason we decided to give Viking a try.

I agree with you.

And for further informational purposes when I booked I was informed by my Viking rep that I was locked in at my booking price. But if the prices increased in the future and I wanted to upgrade to a higher category cabin, I would get it at the lower price that the upgraded cabin was when I originally booked. I would be ahead in that case. If I wanted to take advantage of future possible lower fares I needed to cancel the booking and rebook at the new rate.

Also when the fares decrease they are considered promotional fares. I asked about that too.

I believe you can cancel (pay cancellation fee $100 pp) and rebook your cruise at the lower price. Then ask to have your insurance transfered to your new booking.

Other cruiselines have made us cancel our existing cruise booking and rebook at the lower price as a new booking , but could not guarantee I would get the same cabin I previously held.

Our viking rep allowed us to change our cruise by keeping the same booking number but transfered the cruise change and all monies. No administration charge. We are in Canada, but I understand there are different rules for different countries.

On June 2 booked 10/18/18 Viking Star sailing over phone with Viking rep. Expected to be asked for final payment immediately but he only wanted $1,000 deposit with balance not due until 7/20. Best, most courteous and knowledgeable phone rep I've ever dealt with.

This was my experience as well. Deposit and then full payment 6 months before cruise. I booked directly with Viking and had an excellent rep also. I used e mail as my primary means of communication with Viking.

What I really like about Viking is the ability to e mail questions from booking to flights etc. and getting quick responses. The customer service from my experience has been excellent.

So if you have questions or need more information just connect with customer service.:D

Besides the $100 each deviation fee for adding days before or after cruise...does the cost of flight also increase from the original booking?

Congrats! I hope when i am ready to book my next Viking cruise , that this kind of promotion wil be offered.

I was in 5106 on my Vking Sea cruise in mar/April , last on the port side. decl is very quiet. Enjoy our aft cabin and the vview of the wake form your balcony.

Are you on the viking e mail list? Viking e mails specials that are not on their web site. This is how we found out about this price.

There are 6 DV aft cabins on the Star. We were in 3096 and we loved it! We sat on our balcony often to watch the wake. There was no wind as the balcony was protected on 3 sides. We never had a problem with engine noise or exhaust. As far as feeling the motion of ship we never noticed it was more pronounced aft and had no issues at all. I am prone to motion sickness and was fine although I will add that we had very smooth seas for the entire cruise. I would book any of the 6 again in a heartbeat! We thought it was a great choice.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thanks for information. We booked an aft cabin on deck 5. Special price for DV1 same as a V. Will review after, but figured for the price it is worth a try!

We were in 5110. Very quiet, very smooth ride, and a very long way to the stars and elevators.

 

Love aft cabins on seadays! Viking doesn’t usually have many seadays.

Thank you. I am looking at this cabin for a transatlantic cruise so there will be lots of sea days.

Wondering what the aft cabins location is like on viking star?

Thanks

We have done 10 Celebrity cruises and after five we are Elite and get a free bag per cruise each. For the first five cruises, we did the bag specials (then less than $40) or hand washed socks and underwear in the sink. Not a problem.

 

We avoided HAL for years since it had this terrible smoking policy that encouraged smokers to book there. I remember in 2016 we were on the bus in Denali and stopped to pickup about 40 HAL passengers from a hotel. The nasty odor of tobacco smoke pervaded the bus all day. I guess people on HAL had to do lots of laundry to wash those smelly clothes.

 

Now HAL's policies are closer to the other cruise lines, although I think they still allow smoking in the casino, like NCL. One reason when on NCL we never walk through the casino.

YES Yay to Holland America for changing their smoking policy. We returned to Holland America just this year because of the smoking change. AND did the unlimited laundry package.

I have cruised with Holland America several times and as a mum of three teenagers, loved the Unlimited Laundry package which cost me USD79 for the whole 14 day cruise......an absolute bargain and I'd come off the ship with virtually no washing to do at home. That included washi g and pressing and returning on individual hangers. Celebrity on the other hand is an absolute rip off. They charge USA10 for a single pair of trousers to be washed and USAD3 for a pair of socks. We were given a paper bag three days before the end of our 15 night cruise to fill for USA50, wash and fold only. No thanks, I'll be taking it all home with me on my forthcoming Reflection trip in June.

I agree with you and am disappointed Celebrity does not have that option. We prefer to pack very lightly so the ability to get laundry done is important. I am not a fan of washing clothes in the sink and hanging them up all around the room to dry...

Thank you everyone for answering my question.

does Celebrity have a laundry package you can pre purchase before your cruise? Holland America has a package you can purchase for unlimited laundry during cruise . thanks.

I buy it at the time of deposit so that our preexisting conditions are covered.

Has anyone had to cancel a Viking cruise or had a health issue on trip that was related to a pre - existing condition? AND purchased Viking insurance at time of deposit for coverage of pre-existing conditions? Was there any problems getting medical overage or refund?

Thank you

How is Silversea with honouring price reductions or cabin up grade offers as you get closer to sailing? I noticed that Silversea offers extra perks as the departure date gets closer.

I would hate to book a year in advance, pay in full and then before final payment of cruise see that new bookings are getting 2 cabin upgrades and reduced pricing?

Thanks

Yes! Valparaiso to Papeete with Easter Island, Robinson Crusoe Island, etc. in between. Guess you were, too?

yes we were! I remember you had answered some of my Oceania questions on the message boards. Probably met you on board at the Meet and Mingle. Absolutely loved cruise and Oceania.

First time on Oceania and also will be first time on Viking for cruise in September. How do the 2 cruise lines compare?

That's a good question, but one I can't answer, as we never tried it. Here's a picture I took of our deluxe stateroom: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/image/161524166 I'm guessing that if you take out the little bedside table that's (barely) visible on the side of the bed and placed it in the middle, you'd still be able to walk between the desk and the bed, and have the same amount of space between the closet and the other bed. But maybe someone who has actually been in a veranda room with the beds separated can tell us more.

 

Sorry, I think I took this thread to Kotor and other places a bit off-topic! But now I promise to keep to ship tips!

Thanks. Roothy123 were you on oceania January 2016 South America to tahiti?

I saw it in a youtube video from a TA promoting the line. Its the same amount of space if the table is on the outside or between the 2 beds. It does provide less space between the bed and the desk on the veranda side of the cabin.

Thanks