Live from the Viking Neptune World Cruise 2022-23

[mbviking2023]

52 minutes ago, Margaretwelker said:

I have a small fold up bike I would like to take with me for riding in some areas. Did you see anyone doing that?  Bali, New Zealand, Australia?  I have friends who always take them on river cruises. 

 

We didn't see anyone with a fold up bike.  I would think they would be inconvenient on the ship.  Hard to store, and kind of intrusive to take off the ships.  When you disembark at various ports, there are usually lines to get off the ship - customs, passport control, etc.  And people on shore excursions are lined up as well, so it's rare to just walk off yourself.  I would think having a bike would be an annoyance to a lot of people.

[SantaFe1]

1 hour ago, Margaretwelker said:

I have a small fold up bike I would like to take with me for riding in some areas. Did you see anyone doing that?  Bali, New Zealand, Australia?  I have friends who always take them on river cruises. 

Well, on our WC, the Captain brought his bike.  So, I guess it might be possible. I’d contact Viking and ask.

[Mich3554]

3 hours ago, Margaretwelker said:

I have a small fold up bike I would like to take with me for riding in some areas. Did you see anyone doing that?  Bali, New Zealand, Australia?  I have friends who always take them on river cruises. 

River cruises frequently dock on rivers near towns.  Ocean cruises dock at working docks, and most do not want people walking about.  You get off the ship and are directed directly onto either a shuttle to take you to where the busses are waiting, or directly onto busses. Most towns we were docked in not very nice areas of the city.

 

[Margaretwelker]

3 hours ago, Mich3554 said:

River cruises frequently dock on rivers near towns.  Ocean cruises dock at working docks, and most do not want people walking about.  You get off the ship and are directed directly onto either a shuttle to take you to where the busses are waiting, or directly onto busses. Most towns we were docked in not very nice areas of the city.

 

Thanks.  I guess I’ll just leave it home. 

[Moonlion]

Deleted. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Moonlion
Posted in wrong post.

[esrol]

On 5/22/2023 at 4:33 AM, JaMa1991 said:

Thank you Becky!

That’s the info for the world journey beginning in January. The mileage for the World Cruise which began in December was an additional 4,500 we were told. 

[Floater69]

On 5/21/2023 at 8:03 PM, BeckySt said:

yes! 

BTW, the wine category (and maybe, Beer) are per MONTH, so 4X for total

[cruising denise]

7 minutes ago, Floater69 said:

BTW, the wine category (and maybe, Beer) are per MONTH, so 4X for total

Haha - I was wondering about that!!!!  Thanks for the clarification!

[calmingwaters]

On 5/22/2023 at 11:55 AM, mbviking2023 said:

 

We didn't see anyone with a fold up bike.  I would think they would be inconvenient on the ship.  Hard to store, and kind of intrusive to take off the ships.  When you disembark at various ports, there are usually lines to get off the ship - customs, passport control, etc.  And people on shore excursions are lined up as well, so it's rare to just walk off yourself.  I would think having a bike would be an annoyance to a lot of people.

 

[Jazmyn49]

As for the bike, we lived on a boat and had them to take to shore in various countries.  We learned that some countries require a license on the bicycles which added to the difficulty.  We did see rental bikes on the World Cruise, the first in Bora Bora where we circumnavigated the island, then often in various ports.

[Margaretwelker]

2 hours ago, Jazmyn49 said:

As for the bike, we lived on a boat and had them to take to shore in various countries.  We learned that some countries require a license on the bicycles which added to the difficulty.  We did see rental bikes on the World Cruise, the first in Bora Bora where we circumnavigated the island, then often in various ports.

 

2 hours ago, calmingwaters said:

 

Thank you for that information!!!!   

[Voyager82]

On 4/19/2023 at 2:08 PM, cruising denise said:

Hi Joanne and Tom - yes!  We are Denise and Ed from Madbury, NH and we are on the Sky.  If you are interested, I'll keep track of your info.  My email is DENISEDLD@ATT.NET, in case you want to shoot me an email, sometimes that might be more direct than communicating via CC.  I will also post about this excursion on our Sky WC roll call and see if there are two others who might be interested.  I'm thinking six is probably ideal for a group size but will wait to see if those who went recently weigh in on that.  

Denise:  Brian and I are from Michigan.  Have you filled up your group yet?  We are interested in this tour and hope you can send us the details (re: cost, etc.)  I will send you an email so you have our information as well.  Thanks.

[cruising denise]

1 hour ago, Voyager82 said:

Denise:  Brian and I are from Michigan.  Have you filled up your group yet?  We are interested in this tour and hope you can send us the details (re: cost, etc.)  I will send you an email so you have our information as well.  Thanks.

Hi!  Suggest you go over to the Viking Sky 23/24 WC roll call - I have filled the group but there are several others who are now actively working on a second group - they have been posting about this on that roll call over the last couple of days and you may be able to piggyback with them - hope this helps!

[Voyager82]

43 minutes ago, cruising denise said:

Hi!  Suggest you go over to the Viking Sky 23/24 WC roll call - I have filled the group but there are several others who are now actively working on a second group - they have been posting about this on that roll call over the last couple of days and you may be able to piggyback with them - hope this helps!

Thanks, cruisingdenise.  I have been switching between the various roll calls so will check that one out again.  Looking foward to meeting you onboard.

[Dcsfuture]

On 4/4/2023 at 12:14 AM, spangler said:

To add to Mark's comments the tour was exceptional.  I wish to thank all the previous WCs that recommended Memphis Tours.  They were great to work with and did a excellent job pulling the tour together for the 27 that went on it.  I can share details of organizing the tour for a group if you have interest in doing the same on a future Viking WC.  

yes please share.  Somewhat leery of leaving for overnights in India but reading posts it seems to be quite easy and worth it for Taj Mahal.  We are on the Neptune 23/24

[Dcsfuture]

On 4/5/2023 at 5:15 AM, flowsue said:

We just did an up and back excursion (24 hours) and after doing it would not do it any other way.  We flew out early in the morning, Mumbai to Delhi, drove to Agra, saw the Taj Mahal and Fort Agra, had a delicious buffet lunch and got in a little shopping.  Drove back to Delhi and flew back to Mumbai.  Got back on the ship almost exactly 24 hours after we walked off. It was helpful not having luggage to check or carry.  We understand some in other overnight groups had their luggage delayed.  Hopefully, you will hear from them. Sure we were a little tired for a day, but we had a great day with no issues.

Would love info about this up and back 24 hr trip.  We are on Neptune 23/24  debandjackcan at gmail.  Thank you!

[MarkTapley]

3 hours ago, Dcsfuture said:

yes please share.  Somewhat leery of leaving for overnights in India but reading posts it seems to be quite easy and worth it for Taj Mahal.  We are on the Neptune 23/24

In 2018, off Viking Orion, we did the Taj with an overnight in Agra.  There are nice hotels there, so not sure why you need to be concerned about staying the night.  Total time off the ship was about 36 hours.  One advantage of an overnight is that you will go to the Taj before sunrise, when it is not so hot and the crowds more manageable.

 

We arranged the excursion with cultureholidays.com  They are New Delhi based and have a USA 800 number.  They put together a custom trip for us.

[Dcsfuture]

5 minutes ago, MarkTapley said:

In 2018, off Viking Orion, we did the Taj with an overnight in Agra.  There are nice hotels there, so not sure why you need to be concerned about staying the night.  Total time off the ship was about 36 hours.  One advantage of an overnight is that you will go to the Taj before sunrise, when it is not so hot and the crowds more manageable.

 

We arranged the excursion with cultureholidays.com  They are New Delhi based and have a USA 800 number.  They put together a custom trip for us.

Thank you! Only concern is getting back in time with no extenuating circumstances, not just in INdia but anywhere on a long private tour.  Getting over it in my head... lol. Will check with them.

[spangler]

20 hours ago, Dcsfuture said:

yes please share.  Somewhat leery of leaving for overnights in India but reading posts it seems to be quite easy and worth it for Taj Mahal.  We are on the Neptune 23/24

Understand concern of overnights and travel from the ship but we organized the trip to depart at noon on a Saturday as soon as Neptune docked and returned by midnight on Sunday.  That provided us a window of being able to return on Monday if any glitches as the ship did not depart until Monday afternoon.  There are numerous flights daily between Delhi and Mumbai which helped reduce the stress of returning on time.  Send me a DM or provide email address as I can provide our experience of organizing a tour that grew to 27 fellow passengers.  Our visit to the Taj Mahal was the highlight of the WC and so glad we made the trip.  

 

[DJVKN]

3 hours ago, spangler said:

Understand concern of overnights and travel from the ship but we organized the trip to depart at noon on a Saturday as soon as Neptune docked and returned by midnight on Sunday.  That provided us a window of being able to return on Monday if any glitches as the ship did not depart until Monday afternoon.  There are numerous flights daily between Delhi and Mumbai which helped reduce the stress of returning on time.  Send me a DM or provide email address as I can provide our experience of organizing a tour that grew to 27 fellow passengers.  Our visit to the Taj Mahal was the highlight of the WC and so glad we made the trip.  

 

This is what we are doing with a small group of 8. I did not organize it myself except to put the group together. Memphis Tours is our organizer to secure air, hotel and tours. 

[mstadleraz]

38 minutes ago, DJVKN said:

This is what we are doing with a small group of 8. I did not organize it myself except to put the group together. Memphis Tours is our organizer to secure air, hotel and tours. 

https://www.memphistours.com/

[spangler]

39 minutes ago, DJVKN said:

This is what we are doing with a small group of 8. I did not organize it myself except to put the group together. Memphis Tours is our organizer to secure air, hotel and tours. 

We used Memphis Tours and they did a outstanding job.  We had no concerns during the entire planning and/or during the trip. The tour guide that provided escort service from the dock (gate entrance) to the airport in Mumbai and reverse when we returned was available on Monday to give 6 of us an outstanding tour of Mumbai.  I can provide his info if you are looking for something to do the day following your return from Agra.

[cruising denise]

2 minutes ago, spangler said:

We used Memphis Tours and they did a outstanding job.  We had no concerns during the entire planning and/or during the trip. The tour guide that provided escort service from the dock (gate entrance) to the airport in Mumbai and reverse when we returned was available on Monday to give 6 of us an outstanding tour of Mumbai.  I can provide his info if you are looking for something to do the day following your return from Agra.

Hi!  We aren't doing the overnight trip however are interested in making the most of our time in Mumbai.  I'd love to have the name of your tour guide who gave you the great tour in Mumbai.  Thanks!

[spangler]

12 minutes ago, cruising denise said:

Hi!  We aren't doing the overnight trip however are interested in making the most of our time in Mumbai.  I'd love to have the name of your tour guide who gave you the great tour in Mumbai.  Thanks!

His name is Husain Tin, mobile number +91 80821 07352.  You can message or call him via What's App.  Tell him I said hi.  Thanks, Keith

[DJVKN]

28 minutes ago, spangler said:

We used Memphis Tours and they did a outstanding job.  We had no concerns during the entire planning and/or during the trip. The tour guide that provided escort service from the dock (gate entrance) to the airport in Mumbai and reverse when we returned was available on Monday to give 6 of us an outstanding tour of Mumbai.  I can provide his info if you are looking for something to do the day following your return from Agra.

That would be awesome if you could provide me his contact information. My email is avahondj@gmail dot com

Thanks!

Diana