Mediterranean Odyssey 5/25/19 help w/New pre Lake Como & Verona please!!

Already deposited on this cruise . Please help me decide if the extra $$ is well spent and fun. We have done very little of Europe, so would love opinions since it's almost 4K more for three days. Thanks so much !!

Not sure if I can answer your question specifically as this is a new itinerary for Viking. We have done two Viking fully escorted tours in the last year ... loved, loved, loved one and the other was "meh". The great one was the Ultimate Italy ... we spent three nights in a stunning villa in Tuscany and enjoyed the services of an awesome tour escort. The group we were with was particularly nice and everyone was friendly, courteous and respectful of the timelines. The food was plentiful (almost too much so!) and delicious, the wine flowed freely (that might have helped a little!), and we saw some of the most beautiful places in Italy.

The other was the Oxford/Highclere Castle one that is available with some of the river itineraries. The tour escorts were "okay" but they really rushed us through a very packed itinerary and some very tight timelines. There were few included meals and although there were a fair number of restaurants and pubs in Oxford, the fact that it was a graduation weekend made if difficult to get a table anywhere without a reservation. The hotel was lovely and the breakfast was great but there were a few in our group who were ... well let's just not mince words ... obnoxious ... and made some of the excursions difficult to endure. We did enjoy seeing Highclere Castle (yes, we're Downton Abbey geeks!) and the drives through the English countryside were lovely ... but would only recommend this extension with reservations.

So I guess that's not much to go on except that it could be great ... or not. But the Italians are wonderful hosts! Whatever you decide ... have a wonderful time planning!

Already deposited on this cruise . Please help me decide if the extra $$ is well spent and fun. We have done very little of Europe, so would love opinions since it's almost 4K more for three days. Thanks so much !!

The only reason to spend that much money for three days is because you feel more comfortable letting someone else handle the details and getting you from point to point. But doing it on your own, you can spend more days for the same $4000 that Viking is asking--including a few extra days in Venice. Yes, you will have to figure out all of the details -- hotels and transport between cities--plus pay a deviation fee with Viking if you are getting your flights through them.

Or if you don't want to figure out how to get from place to place on your own, use the $4k to extend your stays (on your own) in Venice and in Barcelona.

Since this is marked as a new excursion, there may not be much feedback from people who have experience with this itinerary. I have read good reviews of the Tuscany, Florence, and Siena excursion, but that doesn't really help you.

The price does seem expensive, but there are a number of tours included, and Lake Como is an expensive area. Many others will tell you that you could do it on your own for much less, and that is certainly true. However, part of the expense is for the convenience of having someone else take care of all the details, and provide support for you on the trip. We have done that on most of our vacations for exactly that reason. Only you can decide if the extra cost is worth the peace of mind you get from that support.

Thank you so much for answering so quickly ! Actually, we must keep up our yard and pay for care for four pets; this is the longest cruise itinerary we've booked, so I'm not anxious to add more days . The new add on looks enticing, but, yikes, the price:eek: :(