Has anyone done the "Cities of Antiquity and Holy Land"?

[OnTheJourney]

I just came across this trip while looking through ocean voyages that I might be interested in. This one looks really nice, having never been anywhere in that area. I've always wanted to do a Holy Land trip, and this itinerary presents some opportunities to visit some of the sites. Thanks for any advice or suggestions!  

[Haworth]

We did the trip in 2017, leaving from Athens 23rd November and returning to Rome on 7th December, if we had to list our top 3 cruises this would be in the list, we had great weather, a little rain in Cyprus other than that warm and sunny all the way certainly able to eat lunch outside most days.

 

Any questions please feel free to ask, we would do the same trip again in a few years very happily.

[worldtraveler1234]

We are booked for this trip next Nov. Would be interested in your thoughts on the excursions. Did you use Viking or outside tours? Which tours did you experience? We are staying in Rome after. Any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks

[RJMAROB]

We completed the Cities Of Antiquity cruise on Viking Jupiter in March. It was our 4th Viking Ocean cruise and one of the best. The crew was exceptional and the weather very good. Israel is obviously the highlight of the cruise and having three days in the port allowed for us to see many great sights. We used Viking for all excursions. The Jerusalem and Bethlehem tour allowed for a visit to the West Bank as well as the iconic sights in the Holy City. Masada was spectacular and visiting the Dead Sea was an added bonus. We also chose the Nazareth and Galilee tour and it was better than expected. The tour included a number a Holy sights and each was interesting. All three guides were professional and well informed regarding the history of each sight. We took the included walking tour in Limassol which was good. Viking arrived ahead of the tours for the day and set up two tents to provide local snacks and drink as you ended the tour which was a very nice touch. On Rhodes we took the included tour as well as one titled "Rhodes Cultures and Traditions". This was the only tour we felt was not run well. There were a number of logistical issues that delayed the tour and the guide was poor and unable to physically keep up with the tour. The home tour was in a run down area and not worth a visit. We also chose the Pompeii tour in Naples which is an iconic sight and had a great tour. All in all a great cruise. It was impressive that although the Viking Jupiter was only a sea a few months the staff was well trained and provided great service throughout the journey. 

[OnTheJourney]

Great info already in this thread! Thanks much. I'm trying to come up with some options to use the vouchers we got from the March Sky sailing. 

Edited October 23, 2019 by OnTheJourney

[Haworth]

50 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Great info already in this thread! Thanks much. I'm trying to come up with some options to use the vouchers we got from the March Sky sailing. 

We are doing the Imperial Jewels of China, next March with ours!

[OnTheJourney]

1 hour ago, Haworth said:

We are doing the Imperial Jewels of China, next March with ours!

 

"Undiscovered China" is one of our top options, along with "Passage to Eastern Europe". What I want to make sure of is to use the entire voucher amount - don't want anything left over. Air charges can be part of the total. What I'm finding is that if not booking an Explorer Suite, many of the river trips will not use our amount (unless adding air). No problem with Ocean, since as we all already know, the price of the various room categories is enough to use all of it.

Your choice sounds great!!!  We already have a cruise booked for March and another trip in October (I prefer not to travel much in the summer months), so then as we get into 2021, we're into the inaugural followed by the Iberian Explorer that we already have booked, so I'm thinking to use the vouchers anytime after that - preferably '22 or '23. Hate to push it off too long though. 

[Haworth]

14 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

"Undiscovered China" is one of our top options, along with "Passage to Eastern Europe". What I want to make sure of is to use the entire voucher amount - don't want anything left over. Air charges can be part of the total. What I'm finding is that if not booking an Explorer Suite, many of the river trips will not use our amount (unless adding air). No problem with Ocean, since as we all already know, the price of the various room categories is enough to use all of it.

Your choice sounds great!!!  We already have a cruise booked for March and another trip in October (I prefer not to travel much in the summer months), so then as we get into 2021, we're into the inaugural followed by the Iberian Explorer that we already have booked, so I'm thinking to use the vouchers anytime after that - preferably '22 or '23. Hate to push it off too long though. 

You sound like us, home for the spring, summer and early autumn, travel to warmer climates outside those times, we got a very good deal with Viking on upgraded air and the Shanghai extension, just needed to a very small top up to our voucher credit.

Enjoy your future travels, will you be on board in January 2021? 

[OnTheJourney]

Yes...planning on the Venus sailing. That's why we booked the "Iberian Explorer" cruise that leaves on the 26th (Barcelona to London). Did not want to fly to Europe for just the 7-8 days. So, HOPEFULLY this time we'll actually get to London, and then are doing Viking's extension - same thing we had booked on the Northern Lights trip. 

 

As to the issue with summer traveling, my wife and I were both teachers, so our only opportunity to travel was always during summer - never anytime else, so now that we're retired we enjoy going in the not-so-hot seasons. 

 

I might consider doing air through Viking. Thing is, I like to research and book my own so that I know where I'm sitting. Not sure what the best value for the voucher money is, i.e. for an ocean trip - book a higher-priced room and pay air out-of-pocket, or book a slightly less expensive room and use the remainder of the voucher towards air (especially if doing business class). 

[lackcreativity]

10 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

I might consider doing air through Viking. Thing is, I like to research and book my own so that I know where I'm sitting. Not sure what the best value for the voucher money is, i.e. for an ocean trip - book a higher-priced room and pay air out-of-pocket, or book a slightly less expensive room and use the remainder of the voucher towards air (especially if doing business class). 

If you do use Viking Air, check on the Viking Air Plus option. For a small fee (usually $50 per person for most itineraries) you can work directly with the Air Department and have input in the selection of your flights. We usually have gotten seat assignments at the same time the flights are booked. We fly economy, so I don't know how it works if you want to upgrade, but it is worth looking in to that.

[cruisinchrissy]

21 hours ago, Haworth said:

We are doing the Imperial Jewels of China, next March with ours!

You will love China. We had a wonderful cruise with Viking on that cruise a couple of years ago.

[cruisinchrissy]

19 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

"Undiscovered China" is one of our top options, along with "Passage to Eastern Europe". What I want to make sure of is to use the entire voucher amount - don't want anything left over. Air charges can be part of the total. What I'm finding is that if not booking an Explorer Suite, many of the river trips will not use our amount (unless adding air). No problem with Ocean, since as we all already know, the price of the various room categories is enough to use all of it.

Your choice sounds great!!!  We already have a cruise booked for March and another trip in October (I prefer not to travel much in the summer months), so then as we get into 2021, we're into the inaugural followed by the Iberian Explorer that we already have booked, so I'm thinking to use the vouchers anytime after that - preferably '22 or '23. Hate to push it off too long though. 

Have you managed to book pre extensions on the inaugural? 

[cocopico]

On 10/22/2019 at 5:34 PM, OnTheJourney said:

I just came across this trip while looking through ocean voyages that I might be interested in. This one looks really nice, having never been anywhere in that area. I've always wanted to do a Holy Land trip, and this itinerary presents some opportunities to visit some of the sites. Thanks for any advice or suggestions!  

We did this cruise on Viking Jupiter in March/April and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I posted a review and a link to photos taken on the cruise here if you are interested:

 

 

Edited October 24, 2019 by cocopico

[OnTheJourney]

13 hours ago, cruisinchrissy said:

Have you managed to book pre extensions on the inaugural? 

 

Have heard nothing further on the inaugural sailing other than the initial "save the date" email that the Sky passengers got from Viking. Several agents have told me that with these types of sailings it's likely there will be no pre / post extensions. 

Edited October 25, 2019 by OnTheJourney