Quality of "included" excursion and price of optional ones

It seems to me looking at the Viking website, that there is only one "included" excursion in each port. Is this accurate? I'm seeing a host of paid ones, and one included, usually a bus tour or walking tour. Since a walking tour may not often work for us, and a bus tour can be boring, depending on locale, I have to consider the cost of the optional excursions.

How are the optional excursions in terms of quality and price? Are the prices reasonable, considering that you are foregoing the freebie, so it's like an upcharge?

No experience on Viking Oceans at all, just trying to see how they fit into the mix. I know that Oceania excursion prices tend to be outrageous, Azamara fairly pricey, and Regent "Choice" excursions fairly reasonable, again because they have many included excursions so the upcharge is modest.

Of course there's always private--are Viking customers developing a culture of sharing private excursions the way Oceania pax do?

looking at the full list of 'optional excursions' for our upcoming 'Midnight Sun' cruise, the prices are all over the place.

low (other than the one per port 'included' is $79 per person

high is $879 pp ....

many are in the $100 to $150 range ...

in many cases you can do the 'included' AND a pay one ... depends on how your individual schedule works out of course but in one port we have the 'included' in the morning and an 'extra' after lunch.

Wendy - here is my take. I have not cruised with Viking yet but am going in June.

1. Prices - reasonable compared to Oceania but up to twice as much as a private tour.

2. Private excursions - our roll call is smaller than the Oceania ones that I have been on. I think more people book the included excursions. We just had some major port time changes - 3 hours cut off 2 ports- that we discovered accidentally and were not notified of by Viking. We are 3 weeks out. If this is their standard operating procedure, it is not friendly to those booking independent tours.

Thanks to both of you, this helps. I have only done private tours mainly when we've been sailing with friends. Itinerary changes don't play well with that idea for sure.

I'm just blue-skying for 2019/2020. We're winding down our travel but still have places we'd like to see, or go back to. I'm musing about Norway or the Med, or possibly Aus-NZ in early 2020. We were booked to do Norway this year on Azamara but changed our minds and are staying "home" on Seabourn this fall in Canada. If I get spoiled by Seabourn...who knows?

Aquidneck1, have a great trip in June!

We did a lot of the optional excursions on our West Indies Explorer cruise. Every one was great. Only issue we had was the tour guide in Guadeloupe for the Jaques Cousteau Reserve - while a very nice man who seemed to be knowledgeable - did not speak English very well. His accent was very heavy. We were told to bring the Quietvoxes for this tour, but he didn't use them, and if he couldn't think of the English word for something, he just spoke French for a bit. And this bus was like an airplane - 3 seats on each side. Very tight fit.

The other parts were fine. We originally booked the Carbet Falls and Distillery Tour, but it was cancelled - I never found out why, mostly because I forgot to ask :) I'm not quite sure what Jacques Cousteau had to do with this excursion. They never explained. We did a bus tour with a stop at a lovely waterfall, then we continued on to board a glass bottomed boat. Would have been great if there were more fish, but they don't really have much control over that. After the glass-bottom part, we headed to the other side of this island we were near (maybe that was the Jacques Cousteau part) and people went snorkeling. We don't snorkel - we just like boat rides. This one was $79pp

The others were all fantastic. We really enjoyed them

In St Kitts we did the Scenic Railway - really great way to see the island, especially if you are train buffs like we are. The crew were great fun, lots of interesting commentary on what we were seeing. Local a Capella group came on to sing Caribbean songs. There was rum :)

This was run in the morning so we had time to do the included tour in the afternoon. I don't have a price for the Railway because we booked it later.

We did St Lucia by Land and Sea $109pp. This was an all day tour - really fantastic! One of my favorites. It was a large catamaran with plenty of seating - no crowding. Crew were great! Lots of nice soft drinks and punches on the way up and the ubiquitous rum on the way back. We sailed up the coast to the Pitons and Marigot Bay. Best way to see the Pitons is by sea. After sailing around them for a bit, we anchored in Soufriere Bay. We transfered to vans for the short trip up to Morne Coubril Estate (I may have some of these misspelled, because I'm not looking them up. We had a great tour of this very interesting estate. They picked coconuts for us and we got to sample fresh off the tree. We watched them making cacao from the beans, then we had a tasty Creole buffet in their open air restaurant.

We rode the vans back to the boat, sailed a bit more. Stopped for a swim in a very pretty cove, then headed back with rum, singing and dancing. We were doing a loud rendition of Sweet Caroline when the boat pulled up to the dock, and people walking by joined in. Just a fabulous day all around.

In Barbados we did the Photo Adventure - $99pp. We love these photo tours when we can find them. The local photographers know just where to go to get great shots. This was no exception. Small group of about 20 in a comfy van. The photographer was very knowledgeable about his trade and his home. We went to some great off the beaten path spots with no one else around, then we finished up at the Atlantis Hotel where we had some tasty rum punch! This was nearly an all day trip.

Antigua Land and Sea - $129 - was fantastic as well. This included the included bus tour. We went to Nelson's Dockyard, Shirley Heights overlook with it's phenomenal views, then stopped for a little multi media presentation of the history of Antigua. They dropped us off where we picked up the catamaran - again, plenty of seats, no crowding. We headed out to a reef where they anchored. Some people went snorkeling while they prepared us and excellent barbecue lunch right on the boat. There was rum :) and a lovely sail back around the island with commentary and back to the pier.

Last optional we did was a Champagne Catamaran sail from St Thomas to St John - $99pp. Interesting ride in St Thomas open air taxi/buses (I've done this before, so I was prepared - it's a roller coaster!). We boarded yet another catamaran and headed for St Thomas. They anchored the boat off Honeymoon Beach - very pretty spot. You could swim in or take a ride on a Zodiac - we took the Zodiac. They provided inflatable vests for everyone, just in case.

We spent about 2 hours or so at the beach, then got back on board the boat for Champagne, rum punch, cheese, fruit crackers, bread and chocolate. Another really great day and a fantastic way to end a cruise.

We felt all were worth it. Could you do these things on your own cheaper - probably, but Viking gave us our money's worth and everything went smoothly. No worrying about anything - get off the boat and the tour operators were waiting.

I wouldn't hesitate to book optionals with Viking. Just booked a bunch for our Grand European river cruise!

Thanks for the details, Kath, and your assessment. It's good to know that the excursions are varied and of good quality.

Wendy, if you look at the cruises without booking them, the list of excursions is available. No guarantee that they will definitely be available on your cruise and prices are missing but you can definitely get an idea about the variation available and I do agree that the variation is good and the optional excursions are not run of the mill excursions.

Kath - what would you estimate the number of people to be on the optional excursions? I am sure they can vary but just curious.....thank you

Kath - what would you estimate the number of people to be on the optional excursions? I am sure they can vary but just curious.....thank you

I think there were 2 buses with about 30 people each on the one In Guadeloupe. There may have been 3 buses, but we weren’t together except when we got to the boat. It was hard to say, but the boat was bug and everyone was spread out. This was the one one that felt crowded.

The St Lucia catamaran was a motor catamaran and it was big. We were spread out all over. I’m guessing maybe 50-75. definitely not many more than that.

The Antigua catamaran was a sail boat and I’d guess maybe 30-35. Again it never felt crowded. There were lots of places to sit and even when they set up tables for the lunch, there was plenty of room.

Same with the one in St Thomas. There were seats on all three. It’s not like people were crowded onto a net or any thing.

The Barbados one was not a lot at all maybe 20, but I think not even that.

I don’t like big crowds and I never felt crowded on any of them. Even the included bus rides. The buses were smaller than those in Europe and when they stopped you were just with your bus for the most part.

Shirley Heights in Antigua was crowded but there were buses from other ships and it’s not a big place.

This is the catamaran from Antigua

They are serving the lunch. You can see empty seats

Not even anyone up on the netting

This is the bus for the Barbados Photo tour - it wasn’t full

I have to go through my other photos. I had 2 cameras and my phone. I have photos of the other boats but I think you can get the gist.

Every excursion we went on did a safety talk before. Every one that served food had sanitizer. The barbecue lunch on the boat was not self serve. They dished everything out and the woman ahead of me asked for a smaller portion than what the guy had put on the plate. The guy tossed the food overboard (feeding fish) and put the plate in the trash and gave her a new one

I’ve never seen that on excursions before and I can only think that Viking insisted on it.

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I think Roll Calls for Viking Ocean may be smaller than on other lines, because of the included excursions. [You are correct: there is only one per port, but Viking promises to include everyone who wants to sign up.] For the August 11 British Isles Explorer cruise, our RC has 149 posts so far from a total of only 14 posters – a small but active group! A small number of private excursions have been offered – and have filled up quickly.

One of our members compiled a list of all the Viking tours with prices, and I just did a little spreadsheet analysis for you:

• lowest price (other than 'included') = $49

• highest price = $499 [this is the 'Viking Whisky Experience at The World’s Most Northerly Distillery' 5.5Hrs]

• average price = $144

• median price = $109 [lots of tours below $100]

BTW, we did the Norwegian Fjords on Azamara in 2016 and really loved it. That Roll Call was more active (43 participants from a smaller ship) and we had lots of RC excursions.

Thanks to both of you, this helps. I have only done private tours mainly when we've been sailing with friends. Itinerary changes don't play well with that idea for sure.

 

I'm just blue-skying for 2019/2020. We're winding down our travel but still have places we'd like to see, or go back to. I'm musing about Norway or the Med, or possibly Aus-NZ in early 2020. We were booked to do Norway this year on Azamara but changed our minds and are staying "home" on Seabourn this fall in Canada. If I get spoiled by Seabourn...who knows?

 

Aquidneck1, have a great trip in June!

Optional tour prices depend on where you are and prices in Norway, where everything is expensive, are going to be more expensive than in the Med. I've done three cruises with Viking now and on all three we have done a combination of included, optional and just wandering off on our own. It all depends on where we are and what we want to do there. Personally, for the kids of things that we like to do, I find Viking's prices to be very reasonable.

Thank you Kath for the further details on the optional excursions. That is very helpful. On our past Viking trips we participated in a few walking tours - and a couple optional tours but we mostly tend to DIY or private tour - however on the upcoming trip there are a few optional excursions we are looking at. This thread contains some good information!

In the eastern Mediterranean, we did a mix of included and optional excursions, and were very satisfied with them. We also made use of the free shuttles that Viking provides in some locations to extend our time in port after the the included excursions ended. The prices seem reasonable, and even some of the included excursions covered the admission fee for a museum on the tour.

Lackcreativity, great reminder. We really have appreciated the free shuttles that Viking provides. It is great for those who want to extend an excursion as well as those who DIY. We used them frequently and plan to do so on future cruises. It is a great added bonus.

If you do the included tour is there generally time to down optional tour on that day. If the included tours are short and very basic but good for an overview, we would like to do another more in depth tour and would be willing to pay.

Thanks everyone, this all sounds very positive. Whether we choose Norway, the Med or Aus/Nz, I'll be looking hard at the details of the itinerary. I notice, for instance, that Viking doesn't do Milford Sound in NZ. And Seabourn itin for 2019 doesn't do Geiranger but does go to Alesund. Trade-offs everywhere.

Viking cabins look quite reasonably-sized, unless Azamara's tiny standard balcony cabins.

Thanks everyone, this all sounds very positive. Whether we choose Norway, the Med or Aus/Nz, I'll be looking hard at the details of the itinerary. I notice, for instance, that Viking doesn't do Milford Sound in NZ. And Seabourn itin for 2019 doesn't do Geiranger but does go to Alesund. Trade-offs everywhere.

 

Viking cabins look quite reasonably-sized, unless Azamara's tiny standard balcony cabins.

hello Wendy

If you are really keen on seeing Milford Sound there is one option. The 'Santiago to Sydney' cruise (which is a section of the world cruise) in Feb 2019 [although there are only a few cabins not yet booked, so your preferred cabin option might not be available, even if the itinerary is of interest]. :)

I have not yet done a VO, but will in July

I'm guessing tho that the 'included excursion' is very similar to what we've experienced on a V' RIVER .....

As on the river cruises the 'included' appears to be scheduled for 2 to 2/5 hours looking at my upcoming trip .... {leaving time in most places for some other stuff DEPENDING on when you schedule your 'included'}

IME the 'included' was very similar to what we saw on a hop on / hop off in the same place - without the ability to hop at all the places. More of a drive by experience for most places ......

On our recent Med cruise, most of the included excursions were a combination of "drive-bys" and walking. The tours were pretty basic, but as others have noted, they often times could be used as a means to travel to town centers where you can then explore on your own. We would then make our own way back to the ship.

I have not yet done a VO, but will in July

 

I'm guessing tho that the 'included excursion' is very similar to what we've experienced on a V' RIVER .....

 

As on the river cruises the 'included' appears to be scheduled for 2 to 2/5 hours looking at my upcoming trip .... {leaving time in most places for some other stuff DEPENDING on when you schedule your 'included'}

 

IME the 'included' was very similar to what we saw on a hop on / hop off in the same place - without the ability to hop at all the places. More of a drive by experience for most places ......

One difference between the excursions on river and those on ocean is the scheduling. The ones on our river cruise were all pretty much at the same time. We were all on different buses but we left around the same time.

On our ocean cruise, we had to choose times for the included excursions online ahead of time. They left at different times during the day. When our St Kitts Railway excursion was shifted to the morning, we were able to move the included tour to the afternoon with no problem.

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