Live from Mediterranean Odyssey - March 28 thru April 9, 2022

[jtwind]

32 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Are those two cases actually sick?

Guessing 'sick' enough to fail the test to get back to the US, if they are from the US.  And maybe sick enough to infect others, to keep them from getting back to the US.

[Oceans 8]

1 hour ago, Jim Avery said:

Are those two cases actually sick?

Found out there was actually only one case onboard, at the start of the cruise. They quarantined the individual for 5 days onboard the ship and they’ve already been released from quarantine. We didn’t get any information on whether the individual was actually sick

[Jammy Bun]

1 hour ago, Oceans 8 said:

Found out there was actually only one case onboard, at the start of the cruise. They quarantined the individual for 5 days onboard the ship and they’ve already been released from quarantine. We didn’t get any information on whether the individual was actually sick

Good that they were able to quarantine onboard, and not whisked off to a hotel.

[Eggtuary]

I'm behind on my updates!

 

Day 5 - Corfu, Greece

 

The day started gray, but the sun came out and made it a nice afternoon.  Our tour guide wasn't great.  Not awful, but kind of boring and repetitive.  I struggled to pay attention.  We went to the Theotoky Wine Estate (which had some nice wines) before riding the bus to the top of a mountain which normally would have enjoyed gorgeous views, except that a heavy fog came in and made it hard to see anything.  At least there was a good café at the top of the mountain, where we picked up a killer baklava.  

 

As we drove back to the port, the weather improved quite a bit.  We had time to grab the shuttle to Old Town and explore on our own, which was considerably more fun.  

 

Day 6 - Sea day

 

We would have liked to sleep in, but no such luck.  I had asked our cabin steward on the first day if we could leave the saliva samples outside, or just inside, the door.  But he said he needed to get in and do other things, and I didn't try to argue it.  I wish I had brought it up again, because they called a few minutes after 9 a.m., asking if they could come by and pick up our samples.  I said we had overslept and would need just a couple of minutes to fill our vials.  Less than two minutes later, we got another call.  I'm jealous of cruisers on other Viking ships who were able to work it out with their cabin steward to leave samples outside or just inside the door, which would have been more convenient.

 

We had our first experience in the thermal suite in the afternoon.  That's a wonderful freebie!  The warm jetted pool (not the hot tub) was a great way to start. From there, we spent a few minutes in the snow grotto.  We had both worried it would be a shock to the system, but it really wasn't.  In fact, we followed the advice to pick up some of the snow, turn it into a snowball, and rub it on our arms.  Again, far more pleasant than I would have guessed!  Next was the steam room, which is an assault on the senses.  It was hard to breathe in there.  Also, I highly recommend sitting away from the door, because very hot steam shoots out from under the bench near the door.  I was feeling somewhat adventurous, so before I could change my mind, I left the steam room and immediately did the cold water bucket pull.  Yes, I yelped, but it wasn't too bad!  And I had a strange feeling of accomplishment, for lack of better words.  I think getting really hot in the steam room is key to doing the cold water bucket, because then the body is ready to cool down.

 

At this point, I was feeling cocky, so I did the steam room again, and then made my way to the cold water plunge pool in the men's changing room.  The cold pool is a MUCH bigger shock to the system than the bucket.  I couldn't stand even 30 seconds of it.  I wrapped up my thermal suite time with the Experience Shower.  It's pretty cool having water spraying from multiple angles.

 

We capped off the evening with a performance by our cruise director, Jenna Beaudoin, whose singing is very, very good.  Her version of "I Will Always Love You" sounded remarkably like Whitney Houston's.  She was rewarded with a standing ovation at the end of her one-hour show.

 

Day 7 - Naples, Italy

 

We didn't get much sleep last night, as there was a good bit of motion from the waves.  We've had 3 nights like that.  But we got a much better tour guide this time!  Flavia was entertaining and knowledgeable.  After showing us around in the lovely town of Sorrento, she gave us some time to explore on our own before getting back on the bus and heading to lunch. I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant, as it was the most beautiful restaurant my wife and I have ever been to.  Our group ooh'ed and aah'ed just walking into the garden outside.  I have video of it that I'll have to post whenever we get decent wifi again.

 

Next was Pompeii, which we explored for a good long while.  Such an amazing step back in time!  Again, our guide kept it interesting and entertaining throughout.

 

Back on board, we enjoyed the Chef's Table, this time with the California Cuisine menu.  The crab cake was the best either my wife or I have had in our lives.  Maybe we're not the biggest crab cake connoisseurs, but we've had a fair number of them around the US.  The halibut was also delicious.  The dessert was decent on its own, but even better with the paired wine.  

 

Tonight, we're just relaxing and hoping to get to bed a little early since tomorrow's excursion leaves at 7:45.  Hopefully we can catch up a bit on sleep!

[stretchcruz]

On 4/2/2022 at 10:52 AM, Cadodge said:

On the Orion right now. Masks became "recommended " yesterday, rather than mandatory. This morning about 1/3 of passengers seem to be maskless. That said, we seem to have a lot of passengers coughing and sneezing, and some don't seem to have learned much over the past 2 years about how to not spread your illness to others, whatever it may be. Finally, I got a scare upon my return from an excursion yesterday afternoon in the form of a phone call from the Dr. He said I to remain in my cabin until they re-ran my morning test because the first was "inconclusive." It took another two hours (no new sample, they used the same one from the morning) and he called to tell me I am negative and could again leave the cabin. Whew!

I'm on Orion as well and wish they had continued masking. Yesterday in the Daily it said that no reservations were needed for the thermal spa. We had a reservation and went down. We were told that reservations were still needed, that the ship is on high alert because of new cases.

[austinetc]

4 minutes ago, stretchcruz said:

I'm on Orion as well and wish they had continued masking. Yesterday in the Daily it said that no reservations were needed for the thermal spa. We had a reservation and went down. We were told that reservations were still needed, that the ship is on high alert because of new cases.

Is contact tracing still a thing?

[stretchcruz]

Yes we are still wearing our tracers.

[PWRWAGN]

3 minutes ago, austinetc said:

Is contact tracing still a thing?

FWIW, we embarked on Viking Sea today.  Masks optional.  Spa requires no reservations.   Contact tracing still required

[20Cruise20]

I'll catch up, too!  Sea Day & Naples

 

Sea Day: 

 

WIFI continues to remain sluggish. The winds, however, remain at a fairly high speed and made for very difficult deck 2 walking.    

 

Our noteworthy daily activities revolved around dinner and a show.  A delicious lobster dinner in The Restaurant. Despite the very busy dining room, service didn't miss a beat. Cruise director Jenna's show was nice. Her version of "I'll Always Love You" was magical. Jenna shared her current contract ends with our cruise. She does plan to return to Viking in the future.  

 

Day Six - Naples: 

 

The weather has returned to warmer (around 60) with more sun. Our schedule revolved around a trip to Pompeii. So very, very amazing to see the ruins. Our guide was average, at best, and her habits impacted the pace of our tour. We spent way too much time covering the early walking tour stops and allowing other groups to move ahead of us. Consequently, we were very rushed in the last hour of the tour. We had hoped that we would have a few minutes to take photos in the Forum, but, time expired. (We had no interest in shopping or picking up a coffee, but, others did. Likewise, they were disappointed.) This was also the first time that we were disappointed in our fellow passengers.  Late arrivals to the start time, one passenger would not wear her Quiet Vox, another complained about the walking before we even entered the historical site, and one didn't understand that there was walking involved in the tour. (Before entering the site, the last cited passenger left the group to go shopping and stay at a cafe. She rejoined us at the departure time/location.) Regardless, we were impressed with Pompeii and suggest it. 

 

We enjoyed dinner at the Chef's Table. The crab cake and the halibut were delicious. We were seated in a different section than our previous experience and had exceptional service.

 

The weather and the seas are forecasted for improvement. It's heard to believe that we have been on-board for a week.   

 

 

 

[austinetc]

Love these updates. FYI, I plan to carry it forward for our Venice to Istanbul cruise, beginning with a two day pre-cruise extension on 4/21. The Roll Call I created has had two respondees. CC participation still needs a lot of renewed interest to return to its glory days.

 

Side note: It's still a disappointment to me that Pompeii is discussed and visited far more than the Herculaneum. It's understandable, considering the better transportation and parking availability at Pompeii. But for me the Herculaneum was a vastly better experience.

[Sprigs616]

Eggtuary and 20Cruise20, I'm thoroughly enjoying your live narratives along with the pictures my DB and SIL are posting on FB. They seem to be taking the same excursions.  I'm a bit surprised that Viking docked in Naples, though, when Sorrento would have been much more convenient.  When I sailed this area on Azamara, we docked in Sorrento, which made for an easy DIY port.  

 

Austinetc, If you have never been to Istanbul, I'm sure you'll love it.  It's also an easy DIY port.  We stayed overnight and took a cab to see a twirling dervish performance the night we were in port.  

[coachma]

1 hour ago, austinetc said:

Love these updates. FYI, I plan to carry it forward for our Venice to Istanbul cruise, beginning with a two day pre-cruise extension on 4/21.

Yes, the updates are very helpful for those of us traveling in the near future. Thank you to all!

Austinetc, I'm especially interested in your embarkation day experience - we also have a pre-extension in Venice in June. We would prefer to spend a few hours sightseeing before making our way to the cruise terminal to check-in and then catch the bus to the ship.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Sprigs616 said:

Eggtuary and 20Cruise20, I'm thoroughly enjoying your live narratives along with the pictures my DB and SIL are posting on FB. They seem to be taking the same excursions.  I'm a bit surprised that Viking docked in Naples, though, when Sorrento would have been much more convenient.  When I sailed this area on Azamara, we docked in Sorrento, which made for an easy DIY port.  

 

I believe Sorrento is only a small boat harbour, so cruise ships must conduct tendering operations. I suspect the advantage of Naples is the ability to dock alongside, rather than tender. Most pax prefer docking to tendering.

 

The other consideration is that going alongside is less likely to be cancelled than a tender port due to weather.

[Sprigs616]

9 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

I believe Sorrento is only a small boat harbour, so cruise ships must conduct tendering operations. I suspect the advantage of Naples is the ability to dock alongside, rather than tender. Most pax prefer docking to tendering.

 

The other consideration is that going alongside is less likely to be cancelled than a tender port due to weather.

 

That makes sense.  I just looked at Sorrento's port schedule on cruisemapper and can see that all of the ships scheduled to stop there are on the smaller side.  For some reason, I was thinking Azamara's ships are about the same size as Viking's ocean ships but I can now see that I was wrong.  Azamara's ship are smaller.  

[Eggtuary]

Day 8 - Rome

 

This was a long day!  Had to be on the buses by 7:45, and it took almost 2 hours to make it to the city (including one restroom break along the way).  I was surprised how busy Rome was, given that we were there on a Monday, and others have posted that Rome was shockingly quiet even just a few weeks ago.  Still, the crowds were certainly tolerable. 

 

We spent a good bit of time in the Coliseum, which was fascinating.  I was thankful they had an elevator that some of the passengers used.  Though we're among the younger folks on this cruise, my wife has some occasional knee issues that have been acting up on this trip.  Today was much easier on her body than yesterday in Pompeii was ... except at lunch, when we ate in the basement of some restaurant.  The food was okay, but nothing to write home about.  The rest of the day the walking was flat and on even pavement, so even though we spent a good number of hours on our feet, it wasn't horrible.  

 

Dinner was at The Restaurant tonight.  I couldn't decide between two entrees, so I asked for a half portion of each.  That is a really handy option for those of us who like variety!

 

My wife and I are really enjoying the heck out of our fellow passengers.  Sure, there's the occasional grouch, or someone who is just a bit too self-important.  But the vast majority of folks we've met are really down-to-earth and seem to enjoy meeting others as much as we do!  It's especially easy to connect when we see the same people on multiple excursions, but even folks we've met for the first time at a nearby table at dinner make for wonderful conversation.  

 

We came back to a letter in our room with a bit of disappointing news:  

 

We regret to inform you that unfortunately our local tour operator has advised us that the venue "La Sagrada Familia" has not been able to provide us with tickets for our ticket reservation to this venue on April 8, 2022.  Due to this we have to cancel some of our booked guests from this excursion.

 

That's a bummer, as La Sagrada Familia was one of the things I was most looking forward to.  Viking did provide in the letter some info about how to try to book on our own, but I can't seem to get tickets through either the church's official website, or their app.  It doesn't say they're out of tickets, but I get an error message every time.  Looking at reviews of the app, this is apparently a common problem.  We'll try calling tomorrow, while we're on our way to Tuscany.  If we get tickets and can explore Barcelona on our own, maybe that will actually work better than a guided tour.  

 

Tomorrow - "Cooking In a Tuscan Castle!"

[austinetc]

I was born and raised in Rome, New York.  Rome, Italy holds a special place in my heart. It was a shock when I realized that the distance from the Coliseum to St. Peters (and all spots in between) was less than the distance from my home to my middle school. So much history, so little real estate.

 

I honestly can't say that I ever had an unforgettable meal in Rome, but I've never had an unforgettable experience while eating in Rome.  Eating in a basement sounds wrong.

 

Can you explain the seating options at the Restaurant? MyVikingJourney offers us the option to reserve a table for two on all of the nights. If we don't reserve these, do we sit first come, first serve at a group table? (This is one of those areas where Viking, with a miniscule effort, could provide more words on the web site to explain themselves better.)

[Sapphire_07]

1 hour ago, Eggtuary said:

Day 8 - Rome

 

This was a long day!  Had to be on the buses by 7:45, and it took almost 2 hours to make it to the city (including one restroom break along the way).  I was surprised how busy Rome was, given that we were there on a Monday, and others have posted that Rome was shockingly quiet even just a few weeks ago.  Still, the crowds were certainly tolerable. 

 

We spent a good bit of time in the Coliseum, which was fascinating.  I was thankful they had an elevator that some of the passengers used.  Though we're among the younger folks on this cruise, my wife has some occasional knee issues that have been acting up on this trip.  Today was much easier on her body than yesterday in Pompeii was ... except at lunch, when we ate in the basement of some restaurant.  The food was okay, but nothing to write home about.  The rest of the day the walking was flat and on even pavement, so even though we spent a good number of hours on our feet, it wasn't horrible.  

 

Dinner was at The Restaurant tonight.  I couldn't decide between two entrees, so I asked for a half portion of each.  That is a really handy option for those of us who like variety!

 

My wife and I are really enjoying the heck out of our fellow passengers.  Sure, there's the occasional grouch, or someone who is just a bit too self-important.  But the vast majority of folks we've met are really down-to-earth and seem to enjoy meeting others as much as we do!  It's especially easy to connect when we see the same people on multiple excursions, but even folks we've met for the first time at a nearby table at dinner make for wonderful conversation.  

 

We came back to a letter in our room with a bit of disappointing news:  

 

We regret to inform you that unfortunately our local tour operator has advised us that the venue "La Sagrada Familia" has not been able to provide us with tickets for our ticket reservation to this venue on April 8, 2022.  Due to this we have to cancel some of our booked guests from this excursion.

 

That's a bummer, as La Sagrada Familia was one of the things I was most looking forward to.  Viking did provide in the letter some info about how to try to book on our own, but I can't seem to get tickets through either the church's official website, or their app.  It doesn't say they're out of tickets, but I get an error message every time.  Looking at reviews of the app, this is apparently a common problem.  We'll try calling tomorrow, while we're on our way to Tuscany.  If we get tickets and can explore Barcelona on our own, maybe that will actually work better than a guided tour.  

 

Tomorrow - "Cooking In a Tuscan Castle!"

 

Just a suggestion....Viator may be an option to get tickets for La Sagrada Familia.  
 

[austinetc]

11 minutes ago, Sapphire_07 said:

Just a suggestion....Viator may be an option to get tickets for La Sagrada Familia.  

Persistence is good too. Back in 2015 we didn't realize that reservations were needed until the night before (novices! at the time). We were able to go online that night and get tickets for the next day. Good luck!

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, Eggtuary said:

but I can't seem to get tickets through either the church's official website, or their app.  It doesn't say they're out of tickets, but I get an error message every time.  Looking at reviews of the app, this is apparently a common problem.

 

 

See if Guest Services can help you. Sometimes just using a different computer can solve the problem.

 

 

 

[Sprigs616]

9 hours ago, Eggtuary said:

 Looking at reviews of the app, this is apparently a common problem.  We'll try calling tomorrow, while we're on our way to Tuscany.  If we get tickets and can explore Barcelona on our own, maybe that will actually work better than a guided tour.  

 

I just checked the La Sagrada Familia website and had trouble on the English site so I went to the Spanish site and got in ok.  I then right-clicked and had Chrome translate the page.  That seemed to do the trick.  The entry times are 15 minutes apart and there appears to be plenty of slots on the 8th.  Tickets are 26 EU/adult (21 EU senior), without a personal guide.  You'll need to download the audio app. 

[Eggtuary]

8 hours ago, Sprigs616 said:

 

I just checked the La Sagrada Familia website and had trouble on the English site so I went to the Spanish site and got in ok.  I then right-clicked and had Chrome translate the page.  That seemed to do the trick.  The entry times are 15 minutes apart and there appears to be plenty of slots on the 8th.  Tickets are 26 EU/adult (21 EU senior), without a personal guide.  You'll need to download the audio app. 

Thanks for the trick, but it errored out at the same point in the ticket purchase process. 😞 

[Peregrina651]

3 hours ago, Eggtuary said:

Thanks for the trick, but it errored out at the same point in the ticket purchase process. 😞 

 

Makes me think that there is something on your computer that is blocking the transaction.  It happens to me all the time. Sometimes it is the security stuff on my browser, so I try a different browser (which I already installed for just these occasions) and if that doesn't work, I try a different computer.

 

 

[Sprigs616]

3 hours ago, Eggtuary said:

Thanks for the trick, but it errored out at the same point in the ticket purchase process. 😞 

I think Peregrina651 might be right about your secruity settings.  If you haven't resolved the problem, maybe some of the following resources will help.  

 

These are direct links to the ticket order pages.  

(Without guide): 

https://tickets.sagradafamilia.org/ca/1-individual/4375-sagrada-familia

(With guide:

https://tickets.sagradafamilia.org/ca/1-individual/4374-sagrada-familia-amb-visita-guiada 

 

Per their website … “If you have any issues with the purchase of tickets or downloading the app, we make the Booking Management Center available to you, you can call 931 980 705 or send an email to reserves@ext.sagradafamilia.org .”  Note that the country code for Spain is +34.

 

Here’s a link to Viator’s page for Barcelona tours.  Viator is an approved ticket vendor for La Sagrada Familia.

https://www.viator.com/Barcelona/d562-ttd

[Eggtuary]

19 hours ago, Sapphire_07 said:

 

Just a suggestion....Viator may be an option to get tickets for La Sagrada Familia.  
 

Thanks for this suggestion!  We have booked with Viator. Now I am thinking we may come out ahead vs what we had booked through Viking. We get two full hours in Sagrada Famiilia, versus fitting it in among a handful of locations scheduled on the Viking tour. And there will be a max of 9 people on our Viator tour. So thanks again!

[Sprigs616]

11 minutes ago, Eggtuary said:

Thanks for this suggestion!  We have booked with Viator. Now I am thinking we may come out ahead vs what we had booked through Viking. We get two full hours in Sagrada Famiilia, versus fitting it in among a handful of locations scheduled on the Viking tour. And there will be a max of 9 people on our Viator tour. So thanks again!

 

I'm glad to hear you got this resolved.  I checked with my SIL and their excursion at 2:30 wasn't impacted so it seems maybe the cancellation was unique to your time slot.  I hope you get a chance to spend some time on Las Ramblas.  It's quite a hopping place.  I particularly love wandering through the Mercado de La Boqueria.  Definitely a feast for the eyes.  Enjoy!