Just got back from Viking Star Athens to Venice

[G. GIRL]

G GIRL

Which terminal did you dock at in Venice?

The big one further away from the city or the one on the canal?

 

Hi,

We docked out of the city. We didn’t see any other ships docked any closer.

[Heidi13]

Hi,

We docked out of the city. We didn’t see any other ships docked any closer.

 

Cruise ships haven't docked close to the city for many, many years. All ships go out to the cruise terminal or the adjacent berth on the canal.

[moatenote]

All I remember is that we walked off the ship, into the terminal to locate our luggage, and then out the door and walked maybe 20 yards to where the water taxis were located (we had reserved one ahead of time).

[BruceB NYC]

Hi G. Girl,

Appreciate your review. Thanks. Doing the cruise next March 2019. Thinking of Athens private tours to cover the Acropolis. Do you recall the cost of the VK Acropolis & Plaka tour?

[G. GIRL]

Hi G. Girl,

Appreciate your review. Thanks. Doing the cruise next March 2019. Thinking of Athens private tours to cover the Acropolis. Do you recall the cost of the VK Acropolis & Plaka tour?

 

Hi,

Just to clarify, our tour took in the Plaka district but only goes to the Acropolis museum, not the monument itself. There is a photo opportunity of the Acropolis from the outside cafe area. It was £49 per guest, what ever that equates to in other currencies I’m not sure.

There were other tours that actually went to the monument.

[lackcreativity]

Hi G. Girl,

Appreciate your review. Thanks. Doing the cruise next March 2019. Thinking of Athens private tours to cover the Acropolis. Do you recall the cost of the VK Acropolis & Plaka tour?

 

We did the optional Acropolis and Plaka Walking tour with Viking in spring of 2017, which does include the visit to the Acropolis. I wish I could recall the price for sure, but I believe it was between $49 and $79. We only did a few optional excursions. One was expensive (an all day outing to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle at $179) but the others were less than $79.

[BruceB NYC]

We did the optional Acropolis and Plaka Walking tour with Viking in spring of 2017, which does include the visit to the Acropolis. I wish I could recall the price for sure, but I believe it was between $49 and $79. We only did a few optional excursions. One was expensive (an all day outing to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle at $179) but the others were less than $79.

 

Thanks for the info. It was the

optional "Acropolis and Plaka District Walking tour" I wanted to price compare for a private tour. In my experience, most VK options are a bit more pricey versus a local tour for the same activity.

[OnVacationNow]

We did the optional Acropolis and Plaka Walking tour with Viking in spring of 2017, which does include the visit to the Acropolis. I wish I could recall the price for sure, but I believe it was between $49 and $79. We only did a few optional excursions. One was expensive (an all day outing to Postojna Cave and Predjama Castle at $179) but the others were less than $79.

We are considering this Viking optional tour in Koper....what did you think of it? Worth the $s? And thanks to everyone for your posts on Empires of the Med excursions! So helpful as we plan our trip for next April.

[lackcreativity]

We are considering this Viking optional tour in Koper....what did you think of it? Worth the $s? And thanks to everyone for your posts on Empires of the Med excursions! So helpful as we plan our trip for next April.

 

I am a castle fanatic, and Predjama Castle is so unique that I had to see it, so it was worth the money to me. The caves were pretty amazing as well. The included meal at the new hotel at the cave complex was satisfactory, but not special. However, the meal wasn't why I wanted to go.

I did have a hard time deciding between this excursion and the trip to Ljubljana, which I have heard was a good trip as well. Quaint European cities with a river running through them and a dragon bridge are always fun, but Postojna Caves and Predjama Castle was a really unusual combination. I was happy with our decision.

[SandC2011]

We are also going to be on this cruise on May 16, 2019, with our friends from Livingston,  New Jersey, whose comments are above.  Thanks to everyone for such valuable information.  Looking forward to hearing from others who have done this before.  We have been on a Viking River cruise in China which was wonderful and the guides were very knowledgeable, but this is our first ocean cruise with Viking.

[Ready to Sail!]

On 5/28/2018 at 2:18 AM, G. GIRL said:

 

Hi,

We did the Krka National Park and Zadar. Included in this tour was a four course lunch which we thought was unnecessary. I only ate the main. We would have preferred longer at the park and a simpler lunch.

We are doing this cruise in April, Athens to Venice.  I just went back and looked at the Krka tour options.  They both show lunch included.  One says in Skradin, the other just mentions stopping there but does say lunch at the top so my guess is they both have lunch at the same place.  I'm with you in that I would rather spend time touring than eating a long lunch.  Will have to think about this.  We were leaning toward the Krka/Falconry tour, figuring we could buzz through Zadar on our own if time at the end.  This is something else to think about!

[Ready to Sail!]

On 6/4/2018 at 3:57 PM, lackcreativity said:

 

I am a castle fanatic, and Predjama Castle is so unique that I had to see it, so it was worth the money to me. The caves were pretty amazing as well. The included meal at the new hotel at the cave complex was satisfactory, but not special. However, the meal wasn't why I wanted to go.

I did have a hard time deciding between this excursion and the trip to Ljubljana, which I have heard was a good trip as well. Quaint European cities with a river running through them and a dragon bridge are always fun, but Postojna Caves and Predjama Castle was a really unusual combination. I was happy with our decision.

There seemed to be so much of Slovenia to see and can only do so much from Koper so we decided to add 4 days to our post cruise and go to Ljubljana.   We are going to take day trips to the castle/caves and another to Lake Bled, and spend one day in the city itself.  We've been to Venice so this seemed like a good option and after reading your post I think we made a good decision also.  I'm with you, I love castles and quaint European towns.   

[lackcreativity]

6 hours ago, SandC2011 said:

We are also going to be on this cruise on May 16, 2019, with our friends from Livingston,  New Jersey, whose comments are above.  Thanks to everyone for such valuable information.  Looking forward to hearing from others who have done this before.  We have been on a Viking River cruise in China which was wonderful and the guides were very knowledgeable, but this is our first ocean cruise with Viking.

Funny timing, this thread has been quiet for ages, but just today I was looking at a Viking river cruise in China, the Imperial Jewels of China. Not wishing to highjack this thread, but is that the one you took?

 

Empires of the Mediterranean was our first ocean cruise, and it was a practically perfect vacation. I think you will love the trip.

[lackcreativity]

5 hours ago, Ready to Sail! said:

There seemed to be so much of Slovenia to see and can only do so much from Koper so we decided to add 4 days to our post cruise and go to Ljubljana.   We are going to take day trips to the castle/caves and another to Lake Bled, and spend one day in the city itself.  We've been to Venice so this seemed like a good option and after reading your post I think we made a good decision also.  I'm with you, I love castles and quaint European towns.   

 

That sounds like a great plan, as we left wanting to see more of Slovenia.  I wish we had the time to add on to vacations, but I'm still working, so not yet. Something to look forward to after retirement!

[terrydtx]

OP thank you for all the information and great reviews. We are booked on a PV1 cabin along with two other couples on this cruise in September 2020. We are doing the Venice to Athens route with 2 night pre and post stays. This will be a great trip from what I have read in this thread. 

[BruceB NYC]

10 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

Funny timing, this thread has been quiet for ages, but just today I was looking at a Viking river cruise in China, the Imperial Jewels of China. Not wishing to highjack this thread, but is that the one you took?

 

Empires of the Mediterranean was our first ocean cruise, and it was a practically perfect vacation. I think you will love the trip.

We did the VK River Cruise (Nov 2016) and it was FANTASTIC. Highly recommend it. I have a long review that I posted on Trip Advisor. Be glad to share if you would like it.

 

[lackcreativity]

19 minutes ago, BruceB NYC said:

We did the VK River Cruise (Nov 2016) and it was FANTASTIC. Highly recommend it. I have a long review that I posted on Trip Advisor. Be glad to share if you would like it.

 

 

I would love to see it. Would you post the link? Though to be honest, every time I look at the flight information to China I cringe! Athens is the farthest we have flown so far, and by the time we arrived there my husband was at his limit.

[deec]

How did you decide WHICH China River Cruise to do?

 

[SandC2011]

1 hour ago, deec said:

How did you decide WHICH China River Cruise to do?

 

We decided which cities we wanted to see and how long  a trip it was.  It was an unforgettable experience.  Our guide, Ray, spoke English impeccably and was very knowledgeable.  The places we visited were amazing.  Walking the Great wall,  seeing the Terracotta soldiers,  Tianamen Square, The Forbidden City exceeded our expectations.  The one problem was the river cruise.  The food was delicious, the crew was excellent and provided us with interesting talks before each port.  However, since China does not allow for any ships other than their own, it was not up to typical Viking standards and we were disappointed in that one aspect.  Hotels in Beijing, Shanghai and Xian were top notch!  Thanks for the  info about Empires of the Mediterranean.  We are looking forward to that cruise as well.

Edited November 12, 2018 by SandC2011
spelling error

[SandC2011]

1 hour ago, lackcreativity said:

 

I would love to see it. Would you post the link? Though to be honest, every time I look at the flight information to China I cringe! Athens is the farthest we have flown so far, and by the time we arrived there my husband was at his limit.

See our other post about this trip.  Our flight experience was very nice. 14 hours  was not as bad as first thought. However, we did book extra leg room.  

[BruceB NYC]

4 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

 

I would love to see it. Would you post the link? Though to be honest, every time I look at the flight information to China I cringe! Athens is the farthest we have flown so far, and by the time we arrived there my husband was at his limit.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g294217-d7592595-Reviews…

 

FYI- here is the link. Let me know if it works plus any other questions. Yes, the flight is long, 14 hrs non-stop from Newark.

 This was on Air China. 

BruceB 

[lackcreativity]

3 hours ago, BruceB NYC said:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g294217-d7592595-Reviews…

 

FYI- here is the link. Let me know if it works plus any other questions. Yes, the flight is long, 14 hrs non-stop from Newark.

 This was on Air China. 

BruceB 

It did work, so thanks for that. Sorry for sidetracking this thread. Now back to Venice to Athens for those who came to read about that itinerary......

[BruceB NYC]

46 minutes ago, lackcreativity said:

It did work, so thanks for that. Sorry for sidetracking this thread. Now back to Venice to Athens for those who came to read about that itinerary......

In Athen the Viking shuttle bus,

where was the pick up/ drop off point?

[lackcreativity]

3 hours ago, BruceB NYC said:

In Athen the Viking shuttle bus,

where was the pick up/ drop off point?

I can't remember precisely, but it was a convenient walk from the outdoor cafe where we had lunch after the walking tour of the Plaka district.

[Marykatesmom]

On 5/25/2018 at 10:32 AM, lextrvlr said:

Can you, or anyone, tell me if there is a venue open for lunch that offers table service? Buffets or self service and I don't get along.

 

Thanks.

 

If you are concerned about it being crowded, don't be.  I never had a problem getting a seat and it was easy to move around.  If you are concerned about carrying your plate to the table, don't be.  There are plenty of waitstaff to help.  If you are concerned about food sitting there, quite a bit is made to order.  Nothing was every dried out or sub par.

 

Food is a huge factor in my vacations.  And I was thrilled with how good the buffet food was, especially the quality.  As it turned out I prefered the Buffet most nights because it was much faster than a sit down and the food was almost identical to the Main Dining Room.   The gelato is very, very good.  The pool grill makes all of its sandwiches made to order and the burgers are excellent.  They may be open for lunch also and dining al fresco was absolutely lovely!!