PRH

Alternative Athens offers some excellent tours!

2 hours ago, deec said:

PRH...Did you go into the museum?

No, we did not.  The Eurovision crowds were so packed in the street, we decided to move along.  The bricks outside the Cavern Club are engraved with every group/person who has performed there.  Very impressive.

We absolutely loved the optional tour to Delphi.  Long ride there but the scenery is beautiful, the location stunning, the history informative and the Greek lunch was excellent.

Wasn’t specifically offered on our BI cruise this past April.  The included panoramic drove by the street entrance but that was it.  We walked back later that day.

Athens Gate Hotel is close to everything while easy to get to/from port via Uber/car/taxi

6 minutes ago, uktog said:

Thanks however I would still like to know the menu rotation 

What peregrina said.  3 day rotation and no guarantee on which menus will appear on any given ship or in what order.  Wait until you board and go to the desk to inquire specifically.

29 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Could you please share where you read this?

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk › b...

The Farne Islands and bird flu | National Trust

Thousands of puffins have succumbed to bird flu.

4 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

We are booked for the St. Lawrence Seaway out of Toronto, then out to the NW passage and Greenland July 2025 on Expedition ship Octantis, but would still like to do coastal NE...then into the Seaway and through Great Lakes.  Shame they got ride of that route.  Now it's just the Great Lakes.  

The Octanis and Polaris do go through the Seaway when they go/come from Antarctica on their relocation trips.  We took Octanis on “Canadian Discovery” trip from Toronto to NYC.

3 hours ago, island lady said:

I would still like to see them return to the NE and then travel up through the St. Lawrence Seaway into the Great Lakes.  They used to have those...but nothing since.  😞 

Been replaced by the Viking Expedition ships so still available just on different and more expensive ships.

1 hour ago, deec said:

Love occassional Sea Days.  I am actually a bit apprehensive about next year's British  Isles Itinerary that is SO port intensive!!

Dee—the British Isles is intensive but we had a great cruise!  Only one sea day as we made every port—great day to do laundry and relax.  We did the included in the morning and optional in the afternoon so we packed the days and we’re in bed by 9pm.  Others just did one per day and spent the afternoons relaxing by the pool and going to tea.  There are some ports, like Liverpool, where you can walk off the ship into the town easily.  Others, the port is rather isolated so you either go on a tour or stay aboard.  Questions?  Just ask.  
 

We are on the NYC-Iceland cruise next year so interested in what is being said here!

We stayed two nights in Mestre ( a whole lot cheaper than Venice) and took the bus into Venice (bus station is near the old cruise terminal where you will check in).  We caught a vaporetto to St. Mark’s Square from the bus station.  Quick, easy and you can spend all the time you want.  Fusina is a commercial port and you will not be able to take a taxi to/from there.  The Viking bus goes between the old cruise terminal (near the bus/train stations) to/from Fusina.  

On 3/22/2023 at 2:45 PM, Clay Clayton said:

 

FYI

When I looked (a month or more ago) at doing this routing and spending a night somewhere along the way (as opposed to arriving in Oslo at 11pm or so), I was unable to find accommodations (hotels and Airbnb) close to the stations with availability. Most places said a car was needed. 

 

YMMV

There are two hotels in Flam.  One is on the point and the other sits further back.  We stayed at the one on the point.  Took the ferry the next morning to Gud—the fjords were incredible!  Here is the view from our room.  We went Oslo to Bergen via Myrdal, Flam, Gud.  

I would like the British islands like Skye, Hebrides, etc.

Here are a few photos from the trip.

We had lots of OBC to use, so we did a number of Viking optional tours.  We tended to take the included tours in the morning and optional in the afternoon.  Take train from the airport into Oslo- super convenient, cheap and frequent.  We did go into Oslo early so we went to the Flam and Kontiki museums and the HOHO bus.  Then the train to Flam, overnight in Flam, the ferry to Gud through the fjords (incredible!!!), then train to Bergen.  Lots of skiers on the train in mid April and we went through a whiteout snow storm along the way!  We stayed in the Bergen Thon Orion for one night and walked to the ship.  Taxis and Uber available between train station and hotel.  We were there for One Ocean week and got to see the arrival of the Norwegian exploration ship and the King from our ship.  Loved Bergen.  Ate at “the Unicorn” (don’t ask me how to spell it In Norwegian) for an inexpensive and excellent dinner.  Yellow building with a unicorn horn on the front.

The next we did the panoramic Bergen which was fine.  Then did the “Charms of Nordnes” which was a walking tour.  Also fine but not outstanding.  It was the first time it was offered so a few missteps but we enjoyed going into the fish market, etc.

Shetlands we did the panoramic which included Carol’s ponies.  We had an excellent guide and this was a great tour.  In the afternoon, we did “Ancient Civilizations” which was also an excellent tour.  Went out to Jarlshof (500 BC!).  You have to cross the airport runway to get there which was an experience!

Invergorden we took the included “tour” to Inverness.  Essentially they drop you off near the Cathedral and you have 2 hours to walk around.  Inverness is worth seeing if you haven’t been.  We took the Portmahomack tour in the afternoon.  Interesting to see the ancient stones, to see more of the area and visit a church with foundations dating back to BC.  It was a beautiful day so spending it seeing the lovely countryside was great.

in Orkney, we took “Stone Age Orkney” which was great.  Impressive guide.  Saw WW11 RAF areas, the countryside and the stone rings.

in Ullapool we took the “Inverwe Garden” tour.  Terrible guide but absolutely amazing gardens.  Essentially you are taken to the gardens and given several hours to wander.  Loved it!  The ship is very nice too with local items.  Well worth taking!  Besides, the trip there introduces you to the very varied landscape of this part of the world.

Liverpool included tour was very nice.  We really enjoyed it, especially the park.  In the afternoon, we took the “Maritime Walk” tour which was very good, albeit a little slow because some were slow walkers.  But a very nice tour nonetheless.  The city was preparing for EuroVision so things were a little crazy.  Our guide used to go to the Cavern Club pre-Beatles so she had lots of stories.  Liverpool is well worth spending time wandering!  Probably our favorite port.

on Holyhead, we did the morning “Scenic Anglesey.”  Nice one—there is a stop at the town with the longest name at a huge market.  But your scones from the little produce shop outside—cheaper and much fresher than those inside.  The orange flavored gin is outstanding.  Then “BeauMaris on Foot” which included an excellent afternoon tea.  Lovely little town and amazing castle.

in Dover, we did “Britain at War.”  Amazing tour!  Highly recommend if you have any WW11 interest.  (We’ve already been to Canterbury, btw.). Delicious pub lunch included.

The big exception was Belfast where we used Tours-by-Locals, Frank, in Belfast for a historical & political small tour.  Frank lived during the troubles and after all the turmoil and personal experiences, he tries to give a balanced view—the true danger when good movements go terribly wrong and bad people are allowed to get into power.  It was a powerful tour of neighborhoods, the various political wall paintings (including the peace wall), and seeing schools and hospitals surrounded by high walls and razor wire—still.  There are 22 miles of wall still in Belfast from 22’ to 45’ high!  Because we were in his small Mercedes van (he picked us up at the ship), we were able to go through alleyways and see things the big buses cannot get you near.  We had our 23 year old nephew with us and he said afterward how much this tour affected him—making him think deeply about how fragile democracy and peace truly are.  The movie “Belfast” used pictures from Frank’s neighborhood and he and his childhood friends.  See the movie before you go!  Then took the panoramic Belfast that afternoon—it was certainly very pale compared to the morning!  

took “iconic London” included tour.  Amazing to be in London right before the coronation.  Everything was spiffed up and we got to stand at Buckingham Palace gates at guard change.  It was a good overall tour of London with two stops.

This was a great cruise!  Our 4th attempt due to Covid.  Questions?  Ask away.  Dee—we met you on the transatlantic last year at the first deck bar……

First of all, I know this is Ocean rather than River but hope this will get the widest appeal.  I know it is competitive to reserve a balloon ride in Aswan, Egypt, via Viking.  Hints?  Has anyone reserved independently?  If so, what was your experience?  How did timing work with the ship?  Any guidance will be greatly appreciated!  Thanks.

For those wondering about Orkney Islands, we did the ancient stones tour

We enjoyed both the included tour (including Carol’s ponies) and the historical tour (optional) to Jarlshof and around the island.  You must stop at the airport runway until the traffic lights say ok to cross!  Lots of planes were taking off and landing.

On 5/18/2023 at 11:56 AM, MikeyB said:

My Dear Moonlion,

We will be on the next cruise out of Bergen.

Question- Any wait staff in the  Restaurant or stations you would recommend?  I always seem to get seated with newbies.  Also any names for the bar staff?  Thanks.  I enjoy your writeup.

Explorers Lounge bartender was great.  Vlad in the MDR was fantastic!

They are cards like you get in a hotel.  They are not punched and Viking does not sell lanyards.  If you want to carry your card in a lanyard, check amazon for the ones you slip into a clear plastic sleeve.

The ships are sailing full so getting reservations at Manfredi’s and Chef’s Table are more difficult.  We were in a suite but unable to make Manfredi’s reservations pre-cruise.  Another part of the problem is staffing.  There were evenings in Manfredi’s when only half the tables were occupied but the restaurant was turning people without reservations away.  Covid was active on the ship and the commitment is to staff the restaurant over Manfredi’s if staff are ill.  Do not count on being able to simply show up and get a table but it is worth trying as there are those who cancel/fail to keep their reservation.  This was our experience a few weeks ago so take it for what it was.

On 4/24/2023 at 2:12 PM, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

Does anyone have specific information on where to meet up with someone when we get off the ship in Liverpool? We will be meeting up with relatives who live a couple hours out of Liverpool and they are wondering where to meet us. Is it best at the port, and is there public parking there? Would there be a better location nearby?

The ship docks right near the old city—adjacent to the Engineers & Titanic memorial.  The yellow “tunnel” cover is where you go up to the port—taken from our cabin.

On transatlantics.

Meant to say we were on the same excursion as ship boy- my husband is in the beach picture.