traveljkkk

We had a couple "hogs" on a recent British Isles Explorer sea day. All chairs/lounges on the outside edges of the pool area (those by the windows facing out) were "reserved" or had people in place. We were on a couch reading for almost 90 minutes when finally the empty chairs were approached, the books and clothing items scooped up and the "hogs" were gone in seconds. When some loungers in the next section complained as they passed by, "oh, they are available now" was the back talk we heard. Our first experience with that rudeness on Viking.

Can you confirm that the DV closets in the Sky now have the added closet drawers?

I think it depends on distance, airline and also if you change airlines. In our case we stayed on United the entire trip and we had business class international and first class on all other flights (even lie-flat) on the coast to coast flight getting to San Fran.

Does anyone know how many cooking stations are available for the classes?

We will be on a cruise this year that includes Christmas Day. Can anyone with prior experience on that holiday tell us what the meal arrangements at Christmas are - special hours, unique events, certain dining venues better than others, etc. The ship will be the Explorer if that matters. Thanks.

NO. It says the usual not available message. I noticed this before with American and also United. Things start to appear before shown on MVJ

I have a cruise next year and when I logged into my American Airlines account there is my preliminary booking for the flights both directions 250 days away. You might want to log into your airline apps just to see if there is an advance warning of what might be coming as they lock things in. Needless to say I was shocked to see I had flights booked.

We are flying from Auckland to San Francisco for a plane change (same airline - United) to Washington DC. They allow only 1 hour and 20 minutes to disembark, clear customs and reboard at another gate (another terminal?). Is San Francisco an airport where you clear customs with your bags, redeposit your bags and go to your new gate without leaving the security zone? Or, will we have to leave security zone and reenter through the normal TSA security lines for the next flight? Basically - can we do it all in 1 hour 20 minutes in San Fran?

We were on this cruise. You are right, while the weather forecasts were mostly bad, the weather was great. The staff on board were good. The guitar player was particularly good. We were disappointed in the changes they made, however. The cancelled port Invergordon, the change in location of the dock farther away and on the opposite shore at Edinburg, the cancellation of opportunities to go to St. Andrews and Loch Ness, the less than stellar food (versus that of the Jupiter which we were on a week before), the total lack of tender coordination at Greenwich the day of arrival and a combination of other cruise differences made this the worst of 4 Viking Ocean cruises for us. To top it off, it was an incredibly stressful disembarkation in Greenwich for many. We were on our own once off the ship. Viking just dumped us out on the docks from the tender. We found our bags with the others leaving the ship about one hundred yards away outside on the dock area, all night it appeared. After securing our luggage with the help of a friendly porter we found a lone Viking representative and asked where the cabs were. She directed us "over there". This happened another time as we continued to walk around the "terminal" (just a restaurant and gift shop) toward the Cutty Sark exhibition where we could now see several more Viking staff. There, the non-specific pointing changed to "over there, past those buses, across the street and to the right about a block". It was another block and a half on two 9am-busy streets. With our helpful porter it was up curb and down, avoid this and that, avoid cars, adjust the bags, cross cracked sidewalks and construction, cross the final intersection where we joined a group of people at an empty two-position cab stand. We "thanked" the porter, marshaled our bags into a pile and then said, "Now what?" "Just flag one down" we were told by the group standing there with more combined luggage than at my local airport on a quiet morning. We observed the lack of process for a few minutes as others continued to join and few left, so we phoned Uber. They cancelled on us twice after about 10 minutes each time - too far from London. Finally, my wife flagged a cab, fought another woman for our deserved spot (it was our turn) and we were out of there. A stressful hour plus. Not an effective way to "dump" passengers after 2 weeks. Viking should be ashamed. AND .... How could they call this a Bergen to London cruise? We were nowhere near London; the included tour, while informative, was in Greenwich just off the dock area. We arrived in Greenwich late in the afternoon and had to send out luggage by 10PM - 6 hours. Some passengers had to leave the ship at 1:30 AM for the airport. They were in Greenwich for less than 12 hours. This cruise should be labeled "Bergen to Greenwich". A post cruise inclusion is essential to being able to call this a Bergen to London cruise.

Very interesting. Great job.

We were just on the newer Mars and the Jupiter and they have them. It was a pleasant surprise to us as we had not experienced them on previous cruises. They are wonderful. Does the Viking Sky have them?

We boarded Mars in Bergen after a several days advance stay on our own. We arrived at 9:30 AM after taking a cab to the pier from our hotel; Viking staff came to the cab for luggage, and it disappeared later to appear in the room. We went through the checking in process all by ourselves and boarded rather quietly. Spent the entire morning and until 2PM room availability enjoying all the lounges, beverages, and food. This is a day you paid for and rarely get to use since you are traveling from home to the ship.

Do the TVs have closed caption yet? I think on my 2019 cruises there was no CC setting.

How do you pay for cabs and small purchases? If local currency, what is best way to exchange?

Do they seem to be doing adequate sanitation on the Jupiter right now or do you feel it is relaxed? I am concerned all these procedures put in place to start cruises in 2021 have fallen by the wayside. How do they clean up everything between cruises with all these sick people?

This has been resolved. All cabins have safes installed according to Viking ask us.

We are on Mars in a month - would like to know if others have information on the status of installing the safes - what decks or cabin types?

I fear they are the new normal

After being locked out for several weeks my restaurant reservations opened again this morning. Only a few days available and then at 8:30 or 9 only. Something is afoot.

We have two free days in Bergen in late August. What are suggestions to fill the time?

I usually turn on "closed captions"

We had friends who stayed in that area and when we visited them it was quiet and there was no traffic. Basically, an unknown (to others) passage.

We had the same problem last week. Issues !!!! Use chat to get what you want but I found only odd unwanted times. Basically, get them on board I was told. Can't wait for that fiasco.

Thanks everyone - that is what I needed for planning. It has been 2 1/2 years since our last cruise and the memories fade - sort of.