Random thoughts about our British Isles cruise

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

We are on Bergen to London July 2023. travelijkkk's post makes me concerned, did you have Viking Air or were you on your own? Also, can someone clarify, is travelijkkk's experience typical? 

[Twitchly]

33 minutes ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

We are on Bergen to London July 2023. travelijkkk's post makes me concerned, did you have Viking Air or were you on your own? Also, can someone clarify, is travelijkkk's experience typical? 

We disembarked in Bergen, and I can vouch that Viking leaves you to handle your own transportation once you’re off the ship UNLESS you booked a transfer to the airport with them. I believe that’s included with Viking Air but others will have to verify since we book our own flights. We are staying for a few days in Bergen and found our own way to our hotel.

 

If you are staying in London after your cruise, I suggest either setting up a pickup ahead of time (through Blackberry or one of the many car service companies) or take the Thames Clipper (now owned by Uber) into London. I highly recommend the latter if you don’t have a ton of luggage and are comfortable getting a taxi to your hotel from one of the Clipper stops. It’s a wonderful ride up the Thames and much cheaper than hiring a car. 

 

 

[CCWineLover]

34 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

We disembarked in Bergen, and I can vouch that Viking leaves you to handle your own transportation once you’re off the ship UNLESS you booked a transfer to the airport with them. I believe that’s included with Viking Air but others will have to verify since we book our own flights. We are staying for a few days in Bergen and found our own way to our hotel.

 

 

 

Yes, Twitchly, that is true.   It has always been true (even before COVID) that if you don't do Viking Air or book their transfers, you are responsible for yourselves and your own transportation once you pick up your luggage in the terminal when you leave the ship for the final time.  Similar to airline flights - there should be no expectation that the airlines will usher you from picking up your bags to a taxi stand or the metro or whatever.

 

In fact, if you do your own flights and don't buy Viking transfers, your luggage will always have the black tags.  You just pick them up and go on your way (either to a hotel or the airport on your own).  We've done it both ways (transfer with Viking and on our own).  We prefer flying on our own to Viking Air now that COVID has relaxed.  I like the control.   As I said before, we have the luxury of spending some time in the final city on our own - no stress.   We did it once (get up at 3 AM to do the Viking transfer to airport).  Will never do it again as it kind of spoiled the last day and evening on board.

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

We are on Bergen to London July 2023. travelijkkk's post makes me concerned, did you have Viking Air or were you on your own? Also, can someone clarify, is travelijkkk's experience typical? 

 

I would hesitate to say that Viking "dumps" you.

If you are on your own (no Viking transfers or Viking Flights), then your baggage is in the terminal for you to pick up - no different than getting off an airplane.  There has NEVER been any expectation that they will take care of you beyond that if you don't have their transfers or air.  And I'm not sure where that expectation would have come from.

 

However, if someone does have Viking transfers and/or Viking Air, then they WILL take care of you, and your luggage.   As they say, there is a price for everything and a choice to be made.  If this had not been their expectation, then the fault lies with communication and understanding between Viking/Travel Agent and the customer who mistakenly expected being taken care of if it was not purchased.

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Yes, I totally understand if you do not book Viking Air or transfers, you would be on your own. It just sounded a little extreme to be dumped and I didn't know if they meant everyone or just those not having transfers. We typically do Viking Air just because it is easier. 

[Moonlion]

In our experience, if you use Viking Air or have a post-extension with Viking, Viking guides you to your next destination (shuttle to airport, next hotel, etc.).  If not, you pick up your luggage and go on your way (on your own).  

[BrendaEDH]

We were on the same cruise as @travelijkkk disembarking in Greenwich on September 13.  We were staying on for a few days in London and therefore knew we had to arrange our own transportation.  Upon disembarking at about 8:15am we found our bags with black tags, asked one of the Viking representatives about a taxi and was directed to proceed about two blocks (across uneven roads during busy commute time) to a cafe with taxi stand.  We may have just been lucky as there were two taxis available and off we went into London.  

I did not feel that we were "dumped" off at the dock by Viking, but have always traveled independently and therefore aware of the process.  Greenwich does not have a large cruise terminal, so not the normal disembarkation process or volume of cruise passengers for waiting taxis.  

[Heidi13]

23 hours ago, traveljkkk said:

We were on this cruise.  You are right, while the weather forecasts were mostly bad, the weather was great.  The staff on board were good. The guitar player was particularly good. We were disappointed in the changes they made, however.  The cancelled port Invergordon, the change in location of the dock farther away and on the opposite shore at Edinburg, the cancellation of opportunities to go to St. Andrews and Loch Ness, the less than stellar food (versus that of the Jupiter which we were on a week before), the total lack of tender coordination at Greenwich the day of arrival and a combination of other cruise differences made this the worst of 4 Viking Ocean cruises for us.

 

To top it off, it was an incredibly stressful disembarkation in Greenwich for many.  We were on our own once off the ship.  Viking just dumped us out on the docks from the tender.  We found our bags with the others leaving the ship about one hundred yards away outside on the dock area, all night it appeared.  After securing our luggage with the help of a friendly porter we found a lone Viking representative and asked where the cabs were.  She directed us "over there".  This happened another time as we continued to walk around the "terminal" (just a restaurant and gift shop) toward the Cutty Sark exhibition where we could now see several more Viking staff.  There, the non-specific pointing changed to "over there, past those buses, across the street and to the right about a block".  It was another block and a half on two 9am-busy streets.  With our helpful porter it was up curb and down, avoid this and that, avoid cars, adjust the bags, cross cracked sidewalks and construction, cross the final intersection where we joined a group of people at an empty two-position cab stand.  We "thanked" the porter, marshaled our bags into a pile and then said, "Now what?"  "Just flag one down" we were told by the group standing there with more combined luggage than at my local airport on a quiet morning.  We observed the lack of process for a few minutes as others continued to join and few left, so we phoned Uber. They cancelled on us twice after about 10 minutes each time - too far from London.  Finally, my wife flagged a cab, fought another woman for our deserved spot (it was our turn) and we were out of there.  A stressful hour plus.  Not an effective way to "dump" passengers after 2 weeks.  Viking should be ashamed.

 

AND .... How could they call this a Bergen to London cruise? We were nowhere near London; the included tour, while informative, was in Greenwich just off the dock area. We arrived in Greenwich late in the afternoon and had to send out luggage by 10PM - 6 hours.  Some passengers had to leave the ship at 1:30 AM for the airport.  They were in Greenwich for less than 12 hours. This cruise should be labeled "Bergen to Greenwich".  A post cruise inclusion is essential to being able to call this a Bergen to London cruise.

 

Let me provide some perspective to some of the points you raised, since I used to live in St Andrews and know both areas well.

 

1). Docking and anchoring locations are never guaranteed, as they are at the discretion of the local Harbourmaster and subject to operational requirements. In many ports, our berth or anchorage was not confirmed until the Pilot boarded, and I have often seen it change prior to docking.

 

Since few cruise ships dock in Leith, due to tidal constraints at the lock, most Viking ships use Newhaven Harbour in Leith, with the vessel anchored a short distance off-shore. This is the south side of the Firth of Forth. If your cruise went to the opposite shore, or north side, you would have anchored by North Queensferry, or docked in Rosyth, adjacent to the Navy Base. Regardless, any location on the north side of the Firth is closer to St Andrews.

 

2). When we booked a British Isles Cruise, we considered heading up to St Andrews to see family and check out our house. However, the 08:00 to 17:00 times, with the ship using tenders, did not provide us with a reasonable amount of time in St Andrews. Even being picked up by family at Newhaven and driven there and back, I estimated a max of 3 hrs in St Andrews.

 

If using public transport, it would be even less. Therefore, unless using a Viking shore-ex, a trip to St Andrews, providing sufficient time to actually see the town, would be extremely high risk.

 

3). When booking a cruise, we have the option of travelling independently to/from the ship, or purchasing transfers and flights from the cruise line. Based on your post, you did not purchase additional services from Viking and elected to travel independently. Viking completed their contractual requirements by disembarking you safely ashore and re-uniting you with your luggage.

 

As an independent traveller, surely you researched the Greenwich area, with respect to transportation options and distances to travel. A simple search on Google Earth would have provided you with the distances involved, route and that the area is a pedestrian only region for 200 - 300 yds.

 

Since you hired a local porter, I'm having difficulty understanding why Viking are at fault for not leading you to a taxi rank. Didn't the local porter know where to find taxis and explain that unlike other cruise terminals that they don't have queues of empty taxis. Personally, when in London, I book an Executive Car Service, which are way more comfortable and cheaper than the Hackney Cabs. 

 

4). Viking's description of the cruise is accurate, as the Royal Borough of Greenwich is part of Greater London, in accordance with the London Government Act of 1963. Although Greenwich isn't the official cruise terminal, as it is even further from London at Tilbury.

 

Sorry, but Viking didn't "Dump you", they disembarked you, reunited you with your luggage and as an independent traveller, expected you to implement your onward travel plans. If you hadn't taken the time to research the area and make a plan, that is your fault, not Vikings.

 

Greenwich is a spectacular location, but definitely not the easiest place to travel to/from with luggage. Therefore, we planned to be met by an Addison Lee car & driver, who we would meet at a pre-determined location, just outside the pedestrian area.

[PasadenaDave]

Thanks for all the input here.  We get the Oceana inserts with the Wall Street Journal and my wife found the Oceana London to London cruise which sounded interesting but that got me thinking.....does Viking have a similar itinerary?

What time of year would you all suggest?  I'm thinking early May or early September.  Would September have better weather?  I think possibly May could still be very damp and chilly and since my wife has arthritis (spent full day in bed in Vancouver due to rain in September prior to cruise) expected wet and chilly is a factor.  Having said that we avoid travel if we can between Memorial Day and Labor Day....leave that to people with children

[Nippy Sweetie]

May in UK can be absolutely beautiful. Certainly here in Scotland it can be the best month of the year.

[sugarside]

Getting into September the nights have started to get longer.Can be dark quite early.

May and June would be my recommendation.

[claranda]

I think an alternative method of getting into central London from Greenwich may be the Thames Clipper service, which calls at the pier close to the Cutty Sark. 
https://booking.thamesclippers.com

[Twitchly]

3 hours ago, claranda said:

I think an alternative method of getting into central London from Greenwich may be the Thames Clipper service, which calls at the pier close to the Cutty Sark. 
https://booking.thamesclippers.com

 

That’s what we did (going the opposite direction). Wonderful views of the city from the water and much cheaper than a taxi. Highly recommended. 

 

 

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

11 hours ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

May in UK can be absolutely beautiful. Certainly here in Scotland it can be the best month of the year.

What about July? We will be there July 2023 and I've been wondering what to expect. 

[Nippy Sweetie]

First two weeks can be very wet. Variable though. You could be lucky. It can be different every day. July is busy tourist season. May or September would be a bit quieter. 

[sugarside]

July was exceptionally hot in the UK this year but can often be disappointing weather wise..School holidays start here second half of the month with airports very busy as a result.

[molymoo]

On 9/27/2022 at 4:14 PM, traveljkkk said:

We were on this cruise.  You are right, while the weather forecasts were mostly bad, the weather was great.  The staff on board were good. The guitar player was particularly good. We were disappointed in the changes they made, however.  The cancelled port Invergordon, the change in location of the dock farther away and on the opposite shore at Edinburg, the cancellation of opportunities to go to St. Andrews and Loch Ness, the less than stellar food (versus that of the Jupiter which we were on a week before), the total lack of tender coordination at Greenwich the day of arrival and a combination of other cruise differences made this the worst of 4 Viking Ocean cruises for us.

 

To top it off, it was an incredibly stressful disembarkation in Greenwich for many.  We were on our own once off the ship.  Viking just dumped us out on the docks from the tender.  We found our bags with the others leaving the ship about one hundred yards away outside on the dock area, all night it appeared.  After securing our luggage with the help of a friendly porter we found a lone Viking representative and asked where the cabs were.  She directed us "over there".  This happened another time as we continued to walk around the "terminal" (just a restaurant and gift shop) toward the Cutty Sark exhibition where we could now see several more Viking staff.  There, the non-specific pointing changed to "over there, past those buses, across the street and to the right about a block".  It was another block and a half on two 9am-busy streets.  With our helpful porter it was up curb and down, avoid this and that, avoid cars, adjust the bags, cross cracked sidewalks and construction, cross the final intersection where we joined a group of people at an empty two-position cab stand.  We "thanked" the porter, marshaled our bags into a pile and then said, "Now what?"  "Just flag one down" we were told by the group standing there with more combined luggage than at my local airport on a quiet morning.  We observed the lack of process for a few minutes as others continued to join and few left, so we phoned Uber. They cancelled on us twice after about 10 minutes each time - too far from London.  Finally, my wife flagged a cab, fought another woman for our deserved spot (it was our turn) and we were out of there.  A stressful hour plus.  Not an effective way to "dump" passengers after 2 weeks.  Viking should be ashamed.

 

AND .... How could they call this a Bergen to London cruise? We were nowhere near London; the included tour, while informative, was in Greenwich just off the dock area. We arrived in Greenwich late in the afternoon and had to send out luggage by 10PM - 6 hours.  Some passengers had to leave the ship at 1:30 AM for the airport.  They were in Greenwich for less than 12 hours. This cruise should be labeled "Bergen to Greenwich".  A post cruise inclusion is essential to being able to call this a Bergen to London cruise.

 

Assuming you did not avail yourselves of the use of Viking air or purchased a transfer Viking was under no obligation to provide "transfer services" to you ... but, had you contacted guest services prior to your disembarkation they would have happily arranged a taxi for you ahead of time.   

 

FWIW ... Greenwich is one of the boroughs of London ... technically it IS London.

 

 

[montythecat]

Moly moo is absolutely right. Greenwich is as much London as Brooklyn is part of

New York.

[m2inor]

We are on the Aug 9-23, 2023 Viking British Isles Cruise from Bergen to London.

The marketing materials indicate that our Viking Jupiter ship will dock in Greenwich, the cruisemapper.com website says it will dock far from London at the Tilbury International Cruise Terminal which is quite fare from everything.

For anyone booked in the comping months, are you getting confirmation from Viking as to the real disembarkation location? Our travel agent is pursuing, but for right now, there is no consistent information. We asked the simple question, "can we purchase a transfer from the disembarkation on August 23rd, 2023, and what is the specific time and duration of the transfer to London City Airport and/or Heathrow. We plan to fly directly to Dublin later that day. We do not have Viking Air.

Thank you.

[Heidi13]

7 hours ago, m2inor said:

We are on the Aug 9-23, 2023 Viking British Isles Cruise from Bergen to London.

The marketing materials indicate that our Viking Jupiter ship will dock in Greenwich, the cruisemapper.com website says it will dock far from London at the Tilbury International Cruise Terminal which is quite fare from everything.

For anyone booked in the comping months, are you getting confirmation from Viking as to the real disembarkation location? Our travel agent is pursuing, but for right now, there is no consistent information. We asked the simple question, "can we purchase a transfer from the disembarkation on August 23rd, 2023, and what is the specific time and duration of the transfer to London City Airport and/or Heathrow. We plan to fly directly to Dublin later that day. We do not have Viking Air.

Thank you.

 

Since Cruisemapper is often inaccurate, for a definitive answer I would only check the Port of London Authority to confirm which dock the vessel is using. It will also be included on your Guest Statement.

 

I'll also suggest that since all the 3rd party websites get their information from the cruise lines that I would tend to believe the cruise line, before a non-affiliated 3rd party.

[oskidunker]

47 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Since Cruisemapper is often inaccurate, for a definitive answer I would only check the Port of London Authority to confirm which dock the vessel is using. It will also be included on your Guest Statement.

 

I'll also suggest that since all the 3rd party websites get their information from the cruise lines that I would tend to believe the cruise line, before a non-affiliated 3rd party.

43 minutes by taxi to Heathrow. 24/minutes to downtown London

Edited January 30, 2023 by oskidunker

[Heidi13]

16 hours ago, oskidunker said:

43 minutes by taxi to Heathrow. 24/minutes to downtown London

 

Travel times by road in London can vary widely. I recall a trip from Canary Wharf, just across the river from Greenwich taking over 1.5 hrs.

[m2inor]

On 1/29/2023 at 7:16 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

Since Cruisemapper is often inaccurate, for a definitive answer I would only check the Port of London Authority to confirm which dock the vessel is using. It will also be included on your Guest Statement.

 

I'll also suggest that since all the 3rd party websites get their information from the cruise lines that I would tend to believe the cruise line, before a non-affiliated 3rd party.

Thanks for that. Yes, the Port of London Authority does indicate Greenwich as the docking location arriving August 22, where we overnight. We just need to get to Heathrow for a 12:30pm flight back to Dublin. We'll book a Viking transfer to get there.

[Mrs Miggins]

Up until recently I had a second home in Greenwich.  The journey to Heathrow is best via the M25 rather than through the centre of London.  On average the journey should take just under an hour and a half.

 

Hope that you get a chance to enjoy wonderful Greenwich before you go home.

[Island2Dweller]

43 minutes from Greenwich to Heathrow???  At 3am on a Sunday morning perhaps, not a chance of achieving that at any other time.

If you are flying to Dublin, go from City (airport code LCY), which is almost within touching distance of Greenwich.  (About four to five miles in reality).  You'll see the airport as you sail up river to the mooring.