jaykaym

I'll be following this thread as we have booked an Instanbul - Athens Viking cruise for October 2023 on the Neptune. I have many questions on the ship, the best excursions, etc so will really benefit from your experience. Please report back after you cruise on the best, the worst, the must-do's and the don't bother's. Many thanks!

We are planning a Viking Ocean cruise to Turkey and Greece on the Viking Neptune. We are two couples traveling, neither are very experienced with cruising and I've discovered it's an entirely new world to navigate. We currently have cabins on deck 4 - close to water line, close to mid-ship - to minimize the rocking movement. I won't be spending much time in my cabin except to sleep but I do want to be able to sleep. It is on the other side of the ship from the laundry room and not particularly close to the elevators. I thought I had covered all my concerns but then it was pointed out that it was just over the dining room! I'm not worried about evening noise because dinner will be over before I go to bed but what about noise from setting up for the morning breakfast service? Is this going to be an issue? All your help is appreciated. Get ready for lots of questions.

Thanks everyone for your info about how the Viking Air works. I'm a very experienced international traveler, just not a cruiser, and not used to letting someone else be in control of my arrangements. It's good to know I'm not locked into anything at this early date and can just let it ride. Our new plan is to just use Viking Air to get to Istanbul and then after the cruise bounce around Europe for a bit and come home via military space-a.

I am new to cruising and also new to cruising where I have to fly to get to the point of embarkation. My prior experiences were a short cruises out of the local area. This time we are planning a trip on Viking in 2023 which leaves from Istanbul and finishes in Athens. I plan to use Viking Air since there are many ways the connections getting to Istanbul could go wrong and I want Viking to be in charge, but the airfare they have quoted me for Premium Economy is about $500 higher than the current 2022 airfare for the same time period, and that is after the Viking 'discount" and before adding on the Air Plus and Air Deviation charges from Viking. Airfares for October 2023 are not currently available so I don't know if the Viking fare is an estimate or if they have already negotiated with the airlines (which I doubt). Do they do some price adjustment when it actually gets ticketed next year? At this price I'm considering only using Viking for the US to Istanbul portion and booking on my own for the Athens return to the US. Can someone with experience please help me evaluate this? P.S. I'll have many other questions as we continue to plan so I am so thankful to have you all share your experiences with me.