Live from Viking Sky on Mediterannean & Adriatic Sojourn

[Hobson1754]

Are you planning on giving the Restaurant another try or are you more content with WC? Really interested as it will probably be our main dining venue as we’re not usually that keen on buffets.

[BellKat]

45 minutes ago, Hobson1754 said:

Are you planning on giving the Restaurant another try or are you more content with WC? Really interested as it will probably be our main dining venue as we’re not usually that keen on buffets.

Kathleen again - yes, we are giving the main restaurant another try tonight - all 6 of us agreed to try again. We are not usually keen on buffets either but have found theirs to be quite good. The only other time we have spent this much time in a buffet is when we were on Azamara in Southeast Asia. Their buffet was great. This was many years ago. 

[Hobson1754]

5 minutes ago, BellKat said:

Kathleen again - yes, we are giving the main restaurant another try tonight - all 6 of us agreed to try again. We are not usually keen on buffets either but have found theirs to be quite good. The only other time we have spent this much time in a buffet is when we were on Azamara in Southeast Asia. Their buffet was great. This was many years ago. 

Thanks Kathleen I’ll be really interested to find out about your next foray at the Restaurant. It’s interesting that you’re definitely not alone in praising the WC - we may have to be open minded about it & give it a go.

[TayanaLorna]

5 hours ago, sugarside said:

Useful tip for future cruisers pack some imodium in your travel medications in the same way as you would routinely pack other non prescription medications you might need.

I am sure that many seasoned travellers already do this.

We pack a small first aid kit with all the OTC meds we might need.  On our first cruise a friend was charged $10 for a couple losenges for her sore throat.  

[Liz Masterson]

1 hour ago, DrKoob said:

. So nice to have someone comment that is not on a crusade. I am on a crusade for the recipe for that Amarone chocolate dessert 😜.

Well if you get that recipe I sure hope you share it! 

 

By the way I love your photos. I was espcially partial to that sweet old donkey. 🙂

 

You should definetly just post the blog link Lots of bloggers do so I am doing it for you. 

 

The write ups are about the same as you've been posting here but the pictures are a delight!

 

https://jktravelredmond.com/

[Liz Masterson]

Also don't miss the pool grill! I had the fancy hot dog with the shrimp and it was terrific. I balked at first... but then decided to give it a whirl... after all if I don't like it I can just get something else! That's life on a cruise!

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, TayanaLorna said:

We pack a small first aid kit with all the OTC meds we might need.  On our first cruise a friend was charged $10 for a couple losenges for her sore throat.  

I already found out the hard way on our first Viking cruise that they don’t carry most over the counter cold or tummy meds that we can get at home. I got a bad cold at the end of the Homelands cruise in 2019 and had to rely on my antihistamines for the next five days in Norway. Found out that the Scandinavian countries will only give you effective cold meds by prescription. Now I always carry DayQuil/NyQuil & pepto bismol.

 

On our Hong Kong to Bangkok cruise in Nov. 2019, I got food poisoning from a private street food tour that several of us from the cruise took on our Saturday eve in Saigon. I developed “Uncle Ho’s Revenge” about 24 hours later. I was glad to ask for help from the medical center because I didn’t know that it wasn’t norovirus or something else. I was confined to quarters until 24 hours after symptoms resolved but I didn’t mind at all because all I missed was our day in Sihanoukville, Cambodia—apparently a cruddy place, but they had a nice tropical view from the harbor! 

[DrKoob]

Climbing the walls in Dubrovnik

Before I start on Dubrovnik, I will provide an update on our situation onboard. Yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, around 4:00, I received a call from the Hotel Director. He had seen my posts on this blog and on Cruise Critic. He asked me if he could come up and see me. I told him I had been thinking about doing that, but I wasn't sure what to say. But I said I would love to discuss it and I would come down to his office. Suffice it to say; everything has been settled; he is a wonderful person and has assured me that things were taken care of. I believe him, although we still had problems last night in the dining room...for a while. More about that later.

But the big news here is that while Kathleen was locked away in food poisoning prison, I got to do the shore excursion tour I had planned to do. I had already planned to do this one on my own as it was listed as "strenuous" and it was—STRENUOUS!

 

Before I start on Dubrovnik, I will provide an update on our situation onboard. Yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, around 4:00, I received a call from the Hotel Director. He had seen my posts on this blog and on Cruise Critic. He asked me if he could come up and see me. I told him I had been thinking about doing that, but I wasn't sure what to say. But I said I would love to discuss it and I would come down to his office. Suffice it to say; everything has been settled; he is a wonderful person and has assured me that things were taken care of. I believe him, although we still had problems last night in the dining room...for a while. More about that later.

But the big news here is that while Kathleen was locked away in food poisoning prison, I got to do the shore excursion tour I had planned to do. I had already planned to do this one on my own as it was listed as "strenuous" and it was—STRENUOUS!

The tour was called "A Guided Tour of the Top of the Walls in Old Dubrovnik." What that meant was we climbed to the top of the Old Dubrovnik fortifications (see photo above) and walked all the way around the city. My watch told me that my elevation had changed enough for me to have climbed 37 flights of stairs and the walk itself is around three miles with a ton of ups once you are on top of the wall. Funny that I can't remember anything going down until we finished the walk and were leaving.

 

Suffice it to say that the views were amazing, the walk was an awesome place to take pictures, and the guide (Nicolina) was the best we have had on the entire trip. We left the ship at 9:45 (I wish we had left earlier so the climb would be a little cooler) and took a coach downtown arriving in about 20 minutes. Lots of one-lane roads make for some really fun traffic. As soon as we were off the bus and in the old city, Nicolina had us climbing the walls. From that point on, I am going to let my pictures do the talking (or viewing), but I do want to say upfront that you may recognize some of the things in the photos because this is where much of Game of Thrones was filmed. Dubrovnik was the stand-in for Westeros. So keep an eye open for things you might recognize if you are a fan of the show. Please stop by my actual blog at wwwDOTjktravelredmondDOTcom. 

 

I think that is where I am going to stop with Dubrovnik. We are about to get to Chioggia, our port for Venice. Just a note that we will be off the ship until Sunday and staying in Venice. We will be back on the ship on Sunday and I will fill you in on our visit to Split, Croatia, as well as on our three days in Venice and our time onboard.

 

 

[miami mama]

DrKoob if one did not want to walk the whole wall, are there several places (entrances/exits) that one can use to shorten the walk or pick it back up if doing something else in the city center?

[TayanaLorna]

4 hours ago, DrKoob said:

Climbing the walls in Dubrovnik

Before I start on Dubrovnik, I will provide an update on our situation onboard. Yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, around 4:00, I received a call from the Hotel Director. He had seen my posts on this blog and on Cruise Critic. He asked me if he could come up and see me. I told him I had been thinking about doing that, but I wasn't sure what to say. But I said I would love to discuss it and I would come down to his office. Suffice it to say; everything has been settled; he is a wonderful person and has assured me that things were taken care of. I believe him, although we still had problems last night in the dining room...for a while. More about that later.

But the big news here is that while Kathleen was locked away in food poisoning prison, I got to do the shore excursion tour I had planned to do. I had already planned to do this one on my own as it was listed as "strenuous" and it was—STRENUOUS!

 

Before I start on Dubrovnik, I will provide an update on our situation onboard. Yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, around 4:00, I received a call from the Hotel Director. He had seen my posts on this blog and on Cruise Critic. He asked me if he could come up and see me. I told him I had been thinking about doing that, but I wasn't sure what to say. But I said I would love to discuss it and I would come down to his office. Suffice it to say; everything has been settled; he is a wonderful person and has assured me that things were taken care of. I believe him, although we still had problems last night in the dining room...for a while. More about that later.

But the big news here is that while Kathleen was locked away in food poisoning prison, I got to do the shore excursion tour I had planned to do. I had already planned to do this one on my own as it was listed as "strenuous" and it was—STRENUOUS!

The tour was called "A Guided Tour of the Top of the Walls in Old Dubrovnik." What that meant was we climbed to the top of the Old Dubrovnik fortifications (see photo above) and walked all the way around the city. My watch told me that my elevation had changed enough for me to have climbed 37 flights of stairs and the walk itself is around three miles with a ton of ups once you are on top of the wall. Funny that I can't remember anything going down until we finished the walk and were leaving.

 

Suffice it to say that the views were amazing, the walk was an awesome place to take pictures, and the guide (Nicolina) was the best we have had on the entire trip. We left the ship at 9:45 (I wish we had left earlier so the climb would be a little cooler) and took a coach downtown arriving in about 20 minutes. Lots of one-lane roads make for some really fun traffic. As soon as we were off the bus and in the old city, Nicolina had us climbing the walls. From that point on, I am going to let my pictures do the talking (or viewing), but I do want to say upfront that you may recognize some of the things in the photos because this is where much of Game of Thrones was filmed. Dubrovnik was the stand-in for Westeros. So keep an eye open for things you might recognize if you are a fan of the show. Please stop by my actual blog at wwwDOTjktravelredmondDOTcom. 

 

I think that is where I am going to stop with Dubrovnik. We are about to get to Chioggia, our port for Venice. Just a note that we will be off the ship until Sunday and staying in Venice. We will be back on the ship on Sunday and I will fill you in on our visit to Split, Croatia, as well as on our three days in Venice and our time onboard.

 

 

I have your blog book marked now and view it on my tablet (not phone) and the photos are absolutely fabulous.

[shmabbies]

miami mama,  My wall experience is a number of years old but my recollection is that there was only one place to start, because there IS a fee (previously it could only be paid in Croatian currency, but Croatia is supposed to be going on the euro next year, though it is something you should monitor just in case the transition gets delayed).  There were a number of places you could abandon ship, so to speak.  I don't recall if there would be a way to get back up (show a ticket, for example?) as we did not do the entire wall but did not try to get back on.   Here's a website that may help:  City walls Dubrovnik - Official site for Dubrovnik heritage.   If there's a difference between what I said and what the website says, go with the website!   We walked on a rainy, gloomy day (still worth every minute) but my sense is that it could be brutal up there depending on the time of year, because there is no real shade.

[debbieandnorm]

7 hours ago, miami mama said:

DrKoob if one did not want to walk the whole wall, are there several places (entrances/exits) that one can use to shorten the walk or pick it back up if doing something else in the city center?

Hi there! We’re currently on this cruise too - embarked in Athens. We climbed the walls in Dubrovnik on our own. We’re in our 70’s. It seemed easy after climbing the uneven steps to the fortress in Kotor! 
We entered the walls at Pile gate & exited at the marina. To my knowledge you cannot re-enter the walls after you exit.

We took our time, stopped for an iced coffee along the walls, used the washroom at the cafe (long line at the public washroom further along).

We were booked on the first included tour out at 8:45 that morning. Our guide showed us where to find the entrance to the walls & where to buy tickets. It wasn’t busy at that time. We left the tour early in order to do the walls.

We took the shuttle bus back to the ship later that afternoon. It was a great day!

[miami mama]

Thank you both, Shmabbies and Debbieandnorm. We are in our early 70's and do want to do part of the wall. When DrKoob said he did the equivalent of 37 flights of stairs, I knew we would be taking a shortened version. 

 

Also interesting to know that Croatia is changing over to the Euro. We still have Croatian currency from 3/2020 when we were originally going to be taking the Mediterrean Odyssey cruise. Had wanted to finally get rid of it but may be out of luck. Will look into this. Thanks Shmabbies.

[shmabbies]

You're welcome, miami mama.  I don't know if there will be an interim period where they accept both currencies.  I'm happy about it because Croatia has been the currency "outlier" for a while for this type of itinerary.   I believe Montenegro is still not in the EU but adopted the euro as its currency a while ago - go figure.  There is a part of the wall that "some" suggest be done if you're only going to do a part of it.  If memory serves me, it's the part along the ocean vs. the "land" side, but maybe those who have done it more recently than me have better advice.  Dr. Koob's photo will give you a great idea of this.

[LouChamp]

Have visited Croatia and Dubrovnik many times. There are several exit points.

[debbieandnorm]

21 hours ago, miami mama said:

Thank you both, Shmabbies and Debbieandnorm. We are in our early 70's and do want to do part of the wall. When DrKoob said he did the equivalent of 37 flights of stairs, I knew we would be taking a shortened version. 

 

Also interesting to know that Croatia is changing over to the Euro

As I mentioned, we’re also in our 70’s. We entered the Walls at Pile Gate which is the steepest climb but I just kept my head down & stepped up each step!

We exited at Ploce Gate by the marina, which was an easy climb down.

If you just go at your own speed you should be fine.

 

In regards to Kuna vs Euros, we noticed some places in Split were taking both. Not so much in Dubrovnik.

[DrKoob]

On 9/9/2022 at 6:26 AM, TayanaLorna said:

I have your blog book marked now and view it on my tablet (not phone) and the photos are absolutely fabulous.

Thanks! Photography (especially travel photography) is a true love for me. Wait until you see what I got in Venice.

[DrKoob]

Let's Split

 

Well, it could be worse; I could have made a banana joke. We are back from our three days in Venice, and now I can resume our story.

 

When I last wrote, it was Thursday, and we were in Split, Croatia. It is a truly beautiful walled city. Those Romans certainly knew how to build. We had a great time on Kathleen's first day out after her time in food poisoning jail.

 

We both got off the ship and had a nice walk around the center of the old town. Of course, I took a lot of photos. You can see all my Split photos on my personal blog at wwwDOTjktravelredmondDOTcom. But before I post them, I want to mention our day onboard. We had a great room service breakfast (because Kathleen was still in food poisoning jail). But right after breakfast, the doctor called her and set her free, and we were off to see Split.

 

That evening we decided to give The Restaurant dining room another chance. We were given an excellent table in the far aft of the dining room where we could see the wake of the ship. It's like the best place to eat in the place. But again, our service was sporadic. At the start of the meal, things went as usual. Not offered a wine list, one bread basket for six people until we finally got more. Then I made the mistake of saying I liked the breadsticks, and all of a sudden, we had three baskets of nothing but breadsticks. We asked for more "regular" bread, but that never did show up. We asked for more butter, but that didn't show up either. But when my brother asked for olive oil and vinegar, it appeared in less than five minutes. They went all the way to the buffet to get it. Do you see what I mean about sporadic? It just went from good to bad service and back again all evening.

 

We got our appetizers in a hurry, and then the entrées took a while, followed by dessert a few moments later. I should add that the desserts were excellent, but not so much the entrées. The prime rib I had was close to raw, even though I had asked for medium rare. Since I had seen people at the tables near us getting it before we ordered, I specifically asked for much closer to medium. But that was not to happen. And a number of people at the table ordered the lobster thermidor because they saw the HUGE lobster tails coming to the tables nearby. But when they got theirs, they found a huge lobster shell with about three tablespoons of Thermidor in it. Once again, the dining room kind of failed us. They provided an adequate meal, but as my brother pointed out on our last, if this were a restaurant we went to at home, we would probably not go back.

 

The same cannot be said for the buffet. We love pretty much everything we have had from that venue. It has been amazing. This is very unusual for us because we can't remember a previous cruise when we have eaten dinner in the buffet more than once or twice in a cruise, and then only when we were returning late from a shore excursion. This buffet is the epitome of class. You never have a second when your glass gets less than full, or they are whisking away your dirty plates. Just a fabulous experience.

 

We have also tried Mamsen's, which is a great little Scandanavian snack bar (but so much better than a snack bar). We have had breakfast there twice. They make extraordinary, ultra-thin Norwegian waffles that come with yogurt, berries, and some very interesting Norwegian cheese. Put it all together; it is wonderful.

 

I went there for lunch a few days later and had a superb open-face smoked salmon sandwich. It was truly delicious. Kathleen had open-faced roast beef that she liked just as much.

Enough about food, here are the Split photos (below). Come back tomorrow for my Venice pics and report. My pre-dawn photo walk around Venice was everything I was hoping for and more!

[Hobson1754]

Sounds like you’re enjoying yourselves considering all the ups & downs. Restaurant still seems pretty poor - can I ask what the Hotel Manager had to say about the Restaurant service etc. when you met with him.  

[DrKoob]

16 hours ago, Hobson1754 said:

Sounds like you’re enjoying yourselves considering all the ups & downs. Restaurant still seems pretty poor - can I ask what the Hotel Manager had to say about the Restaurant service etc. when you met with him.  

We really didn't discuss that but then the head waiter (I know the M word but never spell it right) came to see me when we were starting dinner. We were in the midst of the other waiter trying to take our order when he wanted to talk to me and said he would come back later but he never did. 

 

We thought about all of this and decided that the real problem might be that we have eaten in The Restaurant twice and never had the same server for an entire meal. We are served by a group. Usually by the seventh day of a cruise, I know my server by their first name. I have no clue of any of the servers we have had in The Restaurant or in Manfreddis. When the rest of our party went back to Manfreddis on the day Kathleen was quarantined they said they had an excellent server named Fatima and that they would ask for here there if they went back. 

[longterm]

On 9/8/2022 at 4:13 AM, sugarside said:

Useful tip for future cruisers pack some imodium in your travel medications in the same way as you would routinely pack other non prescription medications you might need.

I am sure that many seasoned travellers already do this.

A physician friend of mine told me long ago to always pack Pepto-Bismol tablets; he said that if we were to eat these every day we'd never suffer from a stomach ailment while in a country like Mexico, where tap water is notoriously unhealthy. We did the smarter thing and avoided tap water, but if you get a mixed drink with ice, it's probably made with tap water.

 

We also bring the antibiotic Cipro as well; having travelled a good bit in Southeast Asia, I learned long ago to prepare.

[Mr Luxury]

21 hours ago, DrKoob said:

Let's Split

 

Well, it could be worse; I could have made a banana joke. We are back from our three days in Venice, and now I can resume our story.

 

When I last wrote, it was Thursday, and we were in Split, Croatia. It is a truly beautiful walled city. Those Romans certainly knew how to build. We had a great time on Kathleen's first day out after her time in food poisoning jail.

 

We both got off the ship and had a nice walk around the center of the old town. Of course, I took a lot of photos. You can see all my Split photos on my personal blog at wwwDOTjktravelredmondDOTcom. But before I post them, I want to mention our day onboard. We had a great room service breakfast (because Kathleen was still in food poisoning jail). But right after breakfast, the doctor called her and set her free, and we were off to see Split.

 

That evening we decided to give The Restaurant dining room another chance. We were given an excellent table in the far aft of the dining room where we could see the wake of the ship. It's like the best place to eat in the place. But again, our service was sporadic. At the start of the meal, things went as usual. Not offered a wine list, one bread basket for six people until we finally got more. Then I made the mistake of saying I liked the breadsticks, and all of a sudden, we had three baskets of nothing but breadsticks. We asked for more "regular" bread, but that never did show up. We asked for more butter, but that didn't show up either. But when my brother asked for olive oil and vinegar, it appeared in less than five minutes. They went all the way to the buffet to get it. Do you see what I mean about sporadic? It just went from good to bad service and back again all evening.

 

We got our appetizers in a hurry, and then the entrées took a while, followed by dessert a few moments later. I should add that the desserts were excellent, but not so much the entrées. The prime rib I had was close to raw, even though I had asked for medium rare. Since I had seen people at the tables near us getting it before we ordered, I specifically asked for much closer to medium. But that was not to happen. And a number of people at the table ordered the lobster thermidor because they saw the HUGE lobster tails coming to the tables nearby. But when they got theirs, they found a huge lobster shell with about three tablespoons of Thermidor in it. Once again, the dining room kind of failed us. They provided an adequate meal, but as my brother pointed out on our last, if this were a restaurant we went to at home, we would probably not go back.

 

The same cannot be said for the buffet. We love pretty much everything we have had from that venue. It has been amazing. This is very unusual for us because we can't remember a previous cruise when we have eaten dinner in the buffet more than once or twice in a cruise, and then only when we were returning late from a shore excursion. This buffet is the epitome of class. You never have a second when your glass gets less than full, or they are whisking away your dirty plates. Just a fabulous experience.

 

We have also tried Mamsen's, which is a great little Scandanavian snack bar (but so much better than a snack bar). We have had breakfast there twice. They make extraordinary, ultra-thin Norwegian waffles that come with yogurt, berries, and some very interesting Norwegian cheese. Put it all together; it is wonderful.

 

I went there for lunch a few days later and had a superb open-face smoked salmon sandwich. It was truly delicious. Kathleen had open-faced roast beef that she liked just as much.

Enough about food, here are the Split photos (below). Come back tomorrow for my Venice pics and report. My pre-dawn photo walk around Venice was everything I was hoping for and more!

What a shame that you didn't mention to the waiter that you liked wine lists then you might have had one.

[Sleep7]

2 hours ago, DrKoob said:

I know the M word but never spell it right

🤭Maitre de, Mediterranean, and hors d'oeuvres are the impossible to spell with out googling them first!😅

Edited September 12, 2022 by Sleep7

[Mr Luxury]

4 minutes ago, Sleep7 said:

🤭Maitre de, Mediterranean, and hors d'oeuvres are the impossible to spell with out googling them first!😅

It's Maitre d'

Abbreviated from Maitre d'hotel

Edited September 12, 2022 by Mr Luxury

[Sleep7]

5 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

It's Maitre d'

Abbreviated from Maitre d'hotel

Ahaaaa!! Even with googling it I can't get it right!😆😆