Into the Midnight Sun

[2cruisecats]

We sail out of London in June on the Venus and Into the Midnight Sun.  Getting excited to travel again!

Does anyone have recommended tours (Viking or independent)or “not to miss” points of interest on the Into the Midnight Sun cruise?

We’re amateur photographers, so are especially interested in photographic sights or tours.  

 

 

[CCWineLover]

Following this as well.  We are going July 15 (3rd attempt at this cruise - 2020 and 2021 were COVID cancelled).  Also am an amateur photography.

Have been to Bergen before and took the cable car up to the top of the nearby mountain - spectacular hiking and views available there I remember.

I'm currently trying to find out from Viking Tellus whether Viking has changed our departure port from Greenwich (near London) to Tilbury (way more difficult to get to).

[Mehroswitha]

We took this trip in 2019, and it was among our favorite cruises ever!

 

We'd been to London several times before but had never visited Churchill's War Rooms, which we found fascinating. One hint: Budget your time carefully! It appears at first that there are only a couple of rooms to see, so we examined everything very carefully. In fact, there is a whole warren of rooms to visit--all of them fascinating--and we had to rush through the latter ones. This is offered as a Viking excursion.

 

If you have any interest at all in Neolithic Europe, do check out the Megalithic Masterpieces tour by Wild About Orkneys--our all-time favorite shore excursion! Note that the scheduled times posted on their Web site don't line up with the ship's time in port . We contacted the company directly and were able to book a private tour with two other couples we "met" on our CC roll call. We completely avoided the crowds and visited at least one site that would not have been do-able for a larger group. Guide Rosemary was outstanding! Viking offers a similar itinerary, but with three couples the price difference was negligible and worth every penny! Would have been worth the price even if we'd paid the whole cost just for the two of us!

 

Bon voyage!

[2cruisecats]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

Following this as well.  We are going July 15 (3rd attempt at this cruise - 2020 and 2021 were COVID cancelled).  Also am an amateur photography.

Have been to Bergen before and took the cable car up to the top of the nearby mountain - spectacular hiking and views available there I remember.

I'm currently trying to find out from Viking Tellus whether Viking has changed our departure port from Greenwich (near London) to Tilbury (way more difficult to get to).

I found this link when I was researching old Viking Midnight Sun posts.  I remember when we first booked this trip for 2020, like you COVID rescheduled,  that the departure port kept changing.  Sadly, it looks like the Venus is doing Tilbury this year  based on this link.  Hope they change back to Greenwich.   https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/london-tilbury-port-1163?tab=schedule&month=2022-07#schedule

Edited March 8, 2022 by 2cruisecats
updates

[janetcbl]

43 minutes ago, 2cruisecats said:

I found this link when I was researching old Viking Midnight Sun posts.  I remember when we first booked this trip for 2020, like you COVID rescheduled,  that the departure port kept changing.  Sadly, it looks like the Venus is doing Tilbury this year  based on this link.  Hope they change back to Greenwich.   https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/london-tilbury-port-1163?tab=schedule&month=2022-07#schedule

Interesting…we are doing the combination Baltic Jewels & Midnight Sun on the Viking Mars, leaving from Greenwich on June 25, 2022….wonder why the difference for different ships?

[CurlerRob]

2 hours ago, 2cruisecats said:

We sail out of London in June on the Venus and Into the Midnight Sun.  Getting excited to travel again!

Does anyone have recommended tours (Viking or independent)or “not to miss” points of interest on the Into the Midnight Sun cruise?

We’re amateur photographers, so are especially interested in photographic sights or tours.  

 

 

As photographers, for the Shetlands, you may want to consider the private North Mainland Tour, offered by Ruth Dale at  www.scenicshetland.com. You can fully customize the trip and Ruth is a joy to deal with.

 

With another couple, the fees are very reasonable - £220 plus tip plus lunch - cash. No deposit is required in case the ship cannot make the port. Enjoy your cruise! 🍺🥌

[Frenchberet]

This was our first (and favorite) Viking Ocean cruise.  We had many special experiences (and great photos) including:
- Lofoten Sea Fishing - we’re not fishermen/women by any means but we caught a bunch of pollack and had a blast

- Tromso Husky Trek - we had so much fun hiking across the fields with these beautiful dogs

- Honningsvag King Crab Safari - we helped haul the crabs into the boat, learned how to filet and cook them, then had a wonderful lunch

- Orkney Standing Stones of Stenness - magical

- Greenwich Royal Observatory and prime meridian line - very interesting
Hope you enjoy this cruise as much as we did!

[Heidi13]

11 hours ago, Mehroswitha said:

We took this trip in 2019, and it was among our favorite cruises ever!

 

We'd been to London several times before but had never visited Churchill's War Rooms, which we found fascinating. One hint: Budget your time carefully! It appears at first that there are only a couple of rooms to see, so we examined everything very carefully. In fact, there is a whole warren of rooms to visit--all of them fascinating--and we had to rush through the latter ones. This is offered as a Viking excursion.

 

If you have any interest at all in Neolithic Europe, do check out the Megalithic Masterpieces tour by Wild About Orkneys--our all-time favorite shore excursion! Note that the scheduled times posted on their Web site don't line up with the ship's time in port . We contacted the company directly and were able to book a private tour with two other couples we "met" on our CC roll call. We completely avoided the crowds and visited at least one site that would not have been do-able for a larger group. Guide Rosemary was outstanding! Viking offers a similar itinerary, but with three couples the price difference was negligible and worth every penny! Would have been worth the price even if we'd paid the whole cost just for the two of us!

 

Bon voyage!

 

When I researched private tours in Orkney, I found that this vendor has ceased operations.

[TayanaLorna]

21 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Following this as well.  We are going July 15 (3rd attempt at this cruise - 2020 and 2021 were COVID cancelled).  Also am an amateur photography.

Have been to Bergen before and took the cable car up to the top of the nearby mountain - spectacular hiking and views available there I remember.

I'm currently trying to find out from Viking Tellus whether Viking has changed our departure port from Greenwich (near London) to Tilbury (way more difficult to get to).

OMG Kent, another cruise this year?  We did this in 2018, our first Viking cruise and favorite.  We did major FB posts with photos and stories.  I think they are all under Ray's page in Albums.

[CCWineLover]

23 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

OMG Kent, another cruise this year?  We did this in 2018, our first Viking cruise and favorite.  We did major FB posts with photos and stories.  I think they are all under Ray's page in Albums.

Yes, Lorna.  Almost forgotten since it was booked back in 2018 for summer 2020 and of course COVID rebooked for 2021 and COVID rebooked for 2022.   It has been out there so long it has never seemed real!   I'll take a look at the photos.  We have a good friend who took it in 2018 as well.  June or July.

[TayanaLorna]

13 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Yes, Lorna.  Almost forgotten since it was booked back in 2018 for summer 2020 and of course COVID rebooked for 2021 and COVID rebooked for 2022.   It has been out there so long it has never seemed real!   I'll take a look at the photos.  We have a good friend who took it in 2018 as well.  June or July.

Our departure was June 30 Bergen to Greenwich.  We had the best weather!  Being cruising newbees we did not think to book non Viking tours until a month before our trip.  We especially wanted to do private in the Shetlands and Orkneys because there was SO much to see there.

[2cruisecats]

2 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

OMG Kent, another cruise this year?  We did this in 2018, our first Viking cruise and favorite.  We did major FB posts with photos and stories.  I think they are all under Ray's page in Albums.

Are the FB posts on a public page? (msg me? )

[TayanaLorna]

21 hours ago, 2cruisecats said:

Are the FB posts on a public page? (msg me? )

No they are not.  Sorry.  We did it for family and friends at the time.

[TayanaLorna]

If you want to get excited about the Shetland Islands, check out the mystery series Shetland.  We purchased the first 3 series (6-8 episodes per season) through Amazon Prime.  Loved it.  There are six seasons out now and can be watched with Britbox.  Through Amazon Prime, you can do a free 7 day trial of Britbox and then it is $6.99 a month after that.  It really gives you a sense of the people and flavor of the place as well as spectacular scenery.  You will recognize the buildings used in the series too.

[DGHOC]

Love that series!

[CCWineLover]

2 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

If you want to get excited about the Shetland Islands, check out the mystery series Shetland.  We purchased the first 3 series (6-8 episodes per season) through Amazon Prime.  Loved it.  There are six seasons out now and can be watched with Britbox.  Through Amazon Prime, you can do a free 7 day trial of Britbox and then it is $6.99 a month after that.  It really gives you a sense of the people and flavor of the place as well as spectacular scenery.  You will recognize the buildings used in the series too.

Lorna-we’ve been fans of Shetland since the beginning!   Love it!  Have seen all 6 seasons.  We have BritBox and find it well worthwhile.  Enjoy many of their shows.  Acorn is another streaming channel that has Shetland-like shows plus a lot from NZ/Australia 

[timbloom]

We are on this cruise on June 17 from Greenwich. There are some great things to see in Greenwich itself, including the Cutty Sark, Old Greenwich and the Great Painted Hall, which has been described as the UK's answer to the Cistern chapel. The latter is within what used to be the former Royal Navy's officer training school, but now I think occupied by a number of different organisations. Open to the public and if you do go I think immediately opposite the entrance is another into a fascinating church.

I think someone mentioned the Churchill War Rooms in Westminster - a must in my opinion.

Also look at londonwalks.com which offer walks in different parts of London with different themes. We have done several and enjoyed all.

You could also put something like "an American in London" into Youtube search box and find really interesting guides to different parts of London by Americans living over here. Often foreigners sniff out great places to see and things to do that us Brits don't.

 

[2cruisecats]

On 3/10/2022 at 8:23 AM, TayanaLorna said:

If you want to get excited about the Shetland Islands, check out the mystery series Shetland.  We purchased the first 3 series (6-8 episodes per season) through Amazon Prime.  Loved it.  There are six seasons out now and can be watched with Britbox.  Through Amazon Prime, you can do a free 7 day trial of Britbox and then it is $6.99 a month after that.  It really gives you a sense of the people and flavor of the place as well as spectacular scenery.  You will recognize the buildings used in the series too.

I've really enjoyed the books but have not yet checked out the TV show.  On the list.  This will be our second attempt for the Shetlands.  Weather was bad on our TA a few years ago -- a wild ride and we missed a couple of ports.

[TayanaLorna]

On 3/12/2022 at 9:56 AM, timbloom said:

We are on this cruise on June 17 from Greenwich. There are some great things to see in Greenwich itself, including the Cutty Sark, Old Greenwich and the Great Painted Hall, which has been described as the UK's answer to the Cistern chapel. The latter is within what used to be the former Royal Navy's officer training school, but now I think occupied by a number of different organisations. Open to the public and if you do go I think immediately opposite the entrance is another into a fascinating church.

I think someone mentioned the Churchill War Rooms in Westminster - a must in my opinion.

Also look at londonwalks.com which offer walks in different parts of London with different themes. We have done several and enjoyed all.

You could also put something like "an American in London" into Youtube search box and find really interesting guides to different parts of London by Americans living over here. Often foreigners sniff out great places to see and things to do that us Brits don't.

 

When we were in Greenwich with Viking, we took an AM included walking tour but left it after about two hours (telling our guide of course).  We had timed tickets for the Royal Observatory and then the Cutty Sark.  Both fabulous but quite a bit of walking.  Was more then enough to fill a day.

[2cruisecats]

Route Change??

Just noticed Olden has replaced Geiranger.  Did I miss that little note on the routing before or is this new?

 

Edited March 22, 2022 by 2cruisecats
more info

[sarclar]

For the July 15th cruise, that change has been there since I booked a year ago.

[2cruisecats]

15 hours ago, sarclar said:

For the July 15th cruise, that change has been there since I booked a year ago.

Ahhh.  I still had the original list from our booking 2 years ago.  And I've been on myvikingjourney many times these last few months and just noticed it!  SilverSpirits purchased.  Pre-paid gratuities done. Waiting, not so patiently, for excursions to open. Getting excited to travel again.

Edited March 23, 2022 by 2cruisecats
spelling

[Cubs Fan]

We are on the June 17th cruise and are wondering if anyone is booking private tours on this cruise?  We are so looking forward to exploring this part of Norway.

[zukecruiser]

Also on this cruise and wondering about private tours.  Have done private tours in London that we very enjoyable.  Have to search for tours in the Norwegian cities.  Looking forward to this cruise,

[zalusky]

We are on the July cruise I would be grateful to hear summaries from people on the June cruise as to how things are going from Covid/Testing to excursions to just general pearls of wisdom for the itinerary for this particular year.