mimijes

1 hour ago, janetcbl said:

It was $1000 total, $500 for each of us (2 people).

How long is your cruise? What stateroom class do you have? We’re DV1. 
 

P.S.  I did do a ‘fake’ booking, but did t see the OBC amount. Where did you get that information? Thanks again. 

Well that would be great! I’m pretty sure TA won’t charge fee. 
thanks! 

On 4/5/2023 at 7:02 PM, CCWineLover said:

 

Here is what my Viking person sent me regarding this promotion.  The devil is in the details, to be sure and not quite like stated above.   They list specific itineraries that the offer LCT23 applies to.  Two points to consider.  It does NOT apply to all itineraries, only those listed.   It does apply to all dates that currently appear on Web Site for those specific listed itineraries up into 2025 and to new bookings only.

 

From Viking:

Here is the specific list of cruises (49) under the LCT23 promotion.  The longer cruises get the $1000 per stateroom shipboard credit and the shorter cruises get $500 per cabin shipboard credit.  

Across the Bay of Bengal

Adriatic and Mediterranean Sojourn

Alaska and the Inside Passage

Amazon and Caribbean Adventure

Ancient Adriatic Treasures

Ancient Mediterranean Antiquities

Ancient Mediterranean Treasures

Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia

Baltic Jewels and the Midnight Sun

Bangkok, Bali and Beyond

British Isles and Iceland Explorer

British Isles Explorer

Cities of Antiquity and the Holy Land

Classic Panama Canal Passage

Far East and Alaska

Far Eastern Horizons

Grand Australia Circumnavigation

Grand Fjords and Iconic Viking Shores

Grand Hawaii and Polynesia

Grand Pacific Explorer

Greek Odyssey

Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Beyond

Iceland and Norway’s Arctic Explorer

Iceland’s Majestic Landscapes

Iconic Iceland, Greenland and Canada

Iconic Mediterranean Treasures

Iconic Western Mediterranean

Into the Midnight Sun

Italian Sojourn

Italy, the Adriatic and Greece

Journey to Antiquities

Komodo and the Australian Coast

Mediterranean and Adriatic Sojourn

Mediterranean and Italian Sojourn

Mediterranean and Italian Sojourn

Mediterranean Antiquities

Mediterranean’s Iconic Shores

North Pacific Passage

Panama Canal and Central America

Scandinavia and the British Isles

South America and the Chilean Fjords

South Pacific Sojourn

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia and Hong Kong

Southeast Asia Horizons

Venice, the Adriatic and Greece

Viking Homelands

Viking Homelands and Majestic Iceland

Voyage of Marco Polo

Thank you for the post. I’m currently booked (and paid for) the 15 day Panama and Central America cruise in November 2023. It seems like a good deal to cancel ($100 pp penalty) and get onboard credit. Not sure if it’s $500 or $1000.  Does that make sense? Waiting to hear back from my TA tomorrow. 

8 minutes ago, knoxclone said:

We did Panama Canal last November and the the seas were flat and calm the entire cruise.

Great to hear!  Thank you!

6 hours ago, biggerbearmom said:

We did the Panama Canal in February on the Star and had an aft cabin, it was absolutely fine. We did not encounter rough seas.

Thank you!  Hope November is also calm!

On 10/21/2022 at 12:10 PM, deec said:

We did the Panama transit last Thanksgiving time.  We enjoyed the trip even with the Covid restrictions.  I urge you to listen to the lectures about the canal.  it made such a difference!  We had done a canal cruise many years ago on a "big" cruise line...we were in an aft cabin so the viewing was spectacular BUT I learned so MUCH on the Viking journey!  Viking's lecturers and historians really are great!

DEEC, we have an aft cabin on Viking Mars for November Panama Canal and Central America. How was the aft cabin?  Did you have any rough seas?  
Thanks!

Our date for payment for our cruises is about 80 days roughly before departure, so we can’t grumble. We prefer paying after the excursions are published so we’re happy.

Having visited Iceland several times, there is plenty of accommodation available; we usually go February or March. Beware there’s no guarantee of seeing the lights; and there’s no point paying out for special excursions to see them. We’ve known people pay for such excursions and fail. However we’ve been lucky. We don’t go to Iceland because of the lights; just love it there.

How did you manage that? From everything I have read the best you can do is payment due 6 months before departure. That 6 month pre-payment is what has kept me from booking yet. My next cruise will be with Viking, but I’m holding off because of that.

We are used to Celebrity payment (85 days out), but the last couple of years our cruises with them have disappointed.

I’m allergic to the sudsing agent in most laundry detergents. If I bring my own, will I be able to dispense it, eliminating the provided detergent?

It’s a different mindset for me. I’m used to $200 per person deposit and balance due 90 days before the cruise on Celebrity. Sometimes they even have $25 pp deposit!

But it sounds like “you get what you pay for”. I’m willing to pay 6 months ahead for what I hope will be an excellent cruise on Viking. Now I have to decide which of the Caribbean itineraries and when in 2019 to go.

After 15 days of cold, rain and windy weather in Alaska in late May, we have decided our next cruise will be in the Caribbean.

Thanks for everyone’s information on timing for final payments. And for how great Viking is!

We found ourselves in the same situation. After over 40 cruises with Celebrity, we have had several disappointing cruises.Wonderful itineraries but poor dining experiences in the MDR. The class divisions have also become very obvious. Different dining venues. If you are not in a Suite, you are facing substandard food in MDR.

 

So we are doing our first Viking O to the Carib next Feb. The Viking Sea, Feb 7. Join us. Our balance was more and to be paid in 60 days. So you must be looking at a promotion.

I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Your balance was more that what? And to be paid in 60 days? Is that 60 days after deposit/booking?

I’m just trying to figure out the logistics of booking and paying.

Did you use a travel agent? If so, do TA’s give any perks for booking Viking Ocean thru them?

Thanks.

I’m so happy I found this thread. My husband and I have been loyal Celebrity cruisers for 15 years, but have become disillusioned with them recently. They are charging more and giving less. We just came back from an Alaska Celebrity land tour and cruise.

I have decided our next cruise will be on a smaller ship, and Viking fits the bill. I appreciate how pleased everyone is with the Viking Ocean experience.

I’m looking at the Caribbean itineraries for sometime next year.

It appears the deposit is $500 per person and the balance is due in 30 days. And there is a $100 pp penalty for cancellation, even months away? Is this correct?

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this very informative thread.

Anyone going to be in Alaska on May 17, 2018? The forecast for the Northern Lights that night is very favorable!

 

http://auroraforecast.gi.alaska.edu/?area=Alaska&date=20180517

 

Hope someone here will get to see them this year!

-Jerie

Wow! We’ll be in Girdwood that night as part of precruise landtour. Hope we can see them.

Thanks for the ‘Heads Up’ 😬

I am on the same tour, I think but ours is 6 nights (Grand Heartland 7 B Tour). Spoke with the Celebrity agent to get a list of hotels. I was told that a 16 page itinerary and other info will be e-mailed to us in about 2 weeks. I also understand from other posts, that we will be kept quite busy. The agent I spoke with had done this tour and said it was fantastic, especially the train ride!

 

Bonnie

My husband and I are on the 5 day Celebrity Cruisetour from Anchorage beginning on May 13. The land portion itinerary is included in your Edocs which we received a couple of weeks ago. I had trouble opening the Edocs. Had to ‘allow popups’ on my laptop to see and print them.

Where are you the night before the cruise? What is your method of transport. finally what are your inclusions with your tour? These need to be known to give you any answer.

 

But you most likely CAN add a Kenai fjords boat tour- if you choose to, (assuming you are not overnighting in Talkeetna or Denali the night before?) This tour is loaded with varied wildlife, and a great glacier view. Every glacier is different. PWS, is extremely scenic as well.

 

On some cruise lines, they don't seat anyone within a time frame of the Muster Drill. like, stop seating 2 hours prior as example.

BQ, thanks to you and the others who have offered answers.

We will be coming from Girdwood by bus. A stop at the Alaska SeaLife center is included as part of the land tour. I would prefer a Kenai Fjords Tour, but may not have a choice due to timing.

The Celebrity cruise tours generally overnight in Aleyeska, which is about 2 hours from Seward depending on traffic. I believe they leave in the morning and do a tour of the Sealife Center in Seward before boarding the ship, so I would estimate arrival in Seward around noonish and boarding around 2-3. If you ditch the Sealife Center, you might be able to get on a Kenai Fjords tour....

I would love to get on a Kenai Fjords Tour. Timing seems very tight!

Another question: We are arriving in Anchorage a couple of days early and will be on the Philips 26 Glacier tour.

I know all glaciers are different, but will that suffice? Or is the Kenai Fjords Tour much different?

Thanks!

Is there anyone who done this recently and can give me some information?

My husband and I are doing the Celebrity Alaska cruisetour in May. We have received no information on the land portion from Celebrity yet.

I know the details will be provided when we meet the tour director in Anchorage on May 13. In the meantime I’m especially interested in knowing the time we will board the Millennium in Seward, which departs at 8pm. Muster drill is 7pm.

Will there be time to spend in Seward before we have to be back on board for departure?

What will we do about a specialty dinner? Will dinners be scheduled around the muster drill?

So from what you are saying, I presume that Tracy Arm boat tour on May 20 will probably wind up being an Endicott Arm Tour? But not cancelled altogether, right?

Is Endicott Arm still a good tour? Worth 7 hours and over $200 per person? We will be in Juneau from 9am until 9pm, so hopefully still some time to spend inport.

Thanks for your advice![/quote

 

If you are in Juneau from 9-9 book with Adventure Bound instead of thru the cruise line. Price is more in the $150pp range and by May 20 I'm sure they will be operating. Give them a call and ask Winona. I've gone out with them 1/2 dozen times and will repeat next visit again, fantastic day trip.

Thanks for the suggestion DougH. I checked out their website. They are quite a bit cheaper, but their boat tour leaves at 8:15 am, and we don’t dock until 9.

Facts- what appears to be unknown is- the cruiselines- bulk load shore excursions- AND do so for shoulder season tours that may or may not run. They stack up bookings in case tours are able to operate. They then cancel when it's determined- closer to sailing that the tour is not going to operate. This is also a "surprise" to people in the case of glacier dog sledding tours in Sept- Pretty much a given they aren't going to operate but the thinking, since it's listed it's going to. Sometimes mention of this isn't accepted by the poster. :) This happens every season with May Tracy Arm sailings. It also is more likely it's also going to be an Endicott Arm sailing. so, perhaps consider the long history and join the guessing game. :) Continues to be a suggestion to have alternative plans thought out as well.

So from what you are saying, I presume that Tracy Arm boat tour on May 20 will probably wind up being an Endicott Arm Tour? But not cancelled altogether, right?

Is Endicott Arm still a good tour? Worth 7 hours and over $200 per person? We will be in Juneau from 9am until 9pm, so hopefully still some time to spend inport.

Thanks for your advice!

I depend on TripAdvisor and Cruise Critic comments for tour/excursion recommendations. I rarely book excursions thru the ship. You can usually save money by booking on your own. Also, ship excursions often involve a bus load of people, as many as 60!

Much more enjoyable when you are on a van with

only 6-10 people.

Fares often drop after final payment when you can’t take advantage of the price drop. But I have seen several drops before final payment, when you can get a price adjustment.

I would definitely book the refundable deposit. I have often found cruise prices drop as the cruise gets closer.

We saved over $1000 on our upcoming Alaska cruisetour, booked several months ago.

We are planning to book an aft balcony on a high deck. Do you think we’ll use it? Or still think it’s better to be up on deck for viewing?

Thanks to those who replied. I just spoke to my Celebrity agent.

He told me that the package perks are not available as an add on after final payment. We can purchase each individually now, or wait until we are onboard. I have read on another thread that sometimes discounts on the beverage package or an internet package are offered onboard.

He did say if we upgrade from our Aqua cabin to a suite, the perks may be included, or available to purchase as a package.

I’ll look for a good deal on a Sky Suite, or a Suite guarantee as the cruise date gets closer, but it would have to be a really good deal!

Thanks again for the replies!

My husband and I are on a May Alaskan cruise. Final payment has already been made.

We currently have no perks. I’d like to add 2 or even 4 perks (Go Better or Go Best).

Has anyone done this?

Does anyone know if this is allowed?