Which 2 week(ish) itinerary have you enjoyed most?

[daleybread]

I guess when i really think about it, this would not be the best option for me. I do like the port heavy itineraries better. I have not been to a lot of places because we camped with our kids mostly while we raised them so seeing new places is exciting for me.

 

I have to admit though that on Mediterranean Odyssey we skipped Rome. We were pretty tired from the Formula 1 race and didn't think spending 4 hours+ on a bus sounded like much fun. The whole ship was empty so we did laundry and walked around the little town we were in.  

[daleybread]

21 hours ago, SoDakPirate said:

My favorite was Southeast Asia which began in Bangkok and proceeded to Cambodia, Vietnam and ended in Hong Kong. We experienced so many new things that are so very different from the European cities and ports we commonly visit. 

 

On 12/30/2023 at 8:53 AM, bookbabe said:

This year or a previous year?  Maybe we just had bad luck?

 

Just pointing out that the itinerary pre-cruise is not necessarily what you get, and people’s experiences can vary greatly from one cruise to the next, so the OP should take all the recommendations with a grain of salt…

 

Very true. So much can impact things (good and bad). On my last cruise there were 30 people who never got their luggage! Most made the best out of it but that would be a drag.

 

I like hearing what people like. I don't see much about specific itineraries on this forum. There was a ton about British Isles. I felt well prepared for that one.

[SM77]

I know you are limiting your time frame to 15 days - others have mentioned the Buenos Aires to Santiago Southern American cruise that I thought was simply wonderful, especially going around Cape Horn, the Falkland Islands and seeing penguins.  

 

If you have time, we did a B2B from Auckland to Tasmania, Australia to Bali Indonesia.  It is lengthy, about 35 days and expensive.  New Zealand was a real surprise for me, it is such a beautiful country, wonderful climate and great towns to visit.  Australia was a bucket list for me, just loved Sydney, but it does get very hot as you head up the coast.  And visiting Komodo Island, Indonesia is incredible - definitely prehistoric.

[millybess]

4 minutes ago, SM77 said:

I know you are limiting your time frame to 15 days - others have mentioned the Buenos Aires to Santiago Southern American cruise that I thought was simply wonderful, especially going around Cape Horn, the Falkland Islands and seeing penguins.  

 

If you have time, we did a B2B from Auckland to Tasmania, Australia to Bali Indonesia.  It is lengthy, about 35 days and expensive.  New Zealand was a real surprise for me, it is such a beautiful country, wonderful climate and great towns to visit.  Australia was a bucket list for me, just loved Sydney, but it does get very hot as you head up the coast.  And visiting Komodo Island, Indonesia is incredible - definitely prehistoric.

What time of year did you visit?

[SM77]

20 minutes ago, millybess said:

What time of year did you visit?

late Feb - March 2019.

[millybess]

13 minutes ago, SM77 said:

late Feb - March 2019.

We’re doing the same route in March 2025. Might I ask how you routed your flight home from Bali?  To return to Toronto we are thinking we will take Emirates from Dubai as that is a nonstop and Emirates seems to have a good product. 
 

Thread drift, but it might be helpful to others too 😊

Edited January 3 by millybess

[SM77]

American Airlines had canceled part of our flight home back to Dulles telling me to figure it out with my travel agent.  Luckily I had Viking Air and was able to email them (while I was in Bali) and I was re-booked on a much better flight, flying nonstop on Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong to Dulles.  We flew Garuda Air from Bali to Hong Kong (about 5 hours).  We loved flying Cathay Pacific - I would imagine that Emirates would be stellar.

[WanderingBrit]

We just recently enjoyed Iceland's Majestic Landscapes, and it's a great way to see places that can otherwise be challenging to visit - and only 2 sea days. Empires of the Mediterranean is up next for us.

[tobique33040]

Oh golly! That is good information. I’m prone to seasickness and plan to avoid the routes most commonly affected by rough seas. It’s good to hear from people who have been on various itineraries and to get their impressions. We are booked on a Mediterranean cruise Athens to Barcelona end of January. I understand the Mediterranean can occasionally be rough in winter, but I guess I thought as we are essentially hugging the coast it would be ok. 

[Islander500]

On 12/29/2023 at 2:45 PM, LindaS272 said:

My favorite was In the Wake of the Vikings—Bergen to Montreal. Next favorite was Santiago (Valparaiso), Chile, to Buenos Ares. Haven’t been on a port intensive one yet. We tend to prefer ones that take us to far flung places that we wouldn’t go to on our own as a destination (Faroes, Falkland, Chilean fjords, throw in Svalbard, too.)

We have been Celebrity cruisers but are planning our first Viking cruise for 2025. I haven't seen that one so will have to look for it. Thank you. 

[OneSixtyToOne]

3 hours ago, tobique33040 said:

Oh golly! That is good information. I’m prone to seasickness and plan to avoid the routes most commonly affected by rough seas. It’s good to hear from people who have been on various itineraries and to get their impressions. We are booked on a Mediterranean cruise Athens to Barcelona end of January. I understand the Mediterranean can occasionally be rough in winter, but I guess I thought as we are essentially hugging the coast it would be ok. 

We were on Athens to Rome last January. There were gale force winds leaving Athens as a major winter storm arrived. It was pretty rough. Some people were very seasick. You can never tell. I get seasick too but took Bonine and never had an issue.

View from our aft cabin leaving Athens:

 

Edited January 4 by OneSixtyToOne

[tobique33040]

Oi! That looks unpleasant. I have Meclazine prescription which is probably the same as Bonine (?) so I’m hoping I’m good to go. I guess this is travel, eh? I love cruising so much I’ll just have to stick to certain routes, and realize that even those can be unexpectedly rough occasionally. Love river cruises too, but after my three Viking ocean I’m hooked. Thanks so very much for that information. 

[2cruisecats]

My DH and I can't agree on a favourite cruise with Viking.  His choice is Homelands, our first Viking cruise.  When we did this cruise, it still included St Petersburg which was a great memory for me, being able to compare it to a student trip in the 70s.

 

My favourite would be In The Wake of The Vikings.  Yes, crossing the North Atlantic in the fall can mean missed ports and rough seas. We missed Shetlands and one Greenland stop but the captain made up for that day with a great fjord cruise to a fab glacier. The Faroes was a wonderful.  L'Anse aux Meadows was a rough tender ride but we made it! (Friends who did this on Princess warned us that NFLD was often skipped.)

 

One we can both agree on -- Into the Midnight Sun.  Fabulous cruise but missed the Shetlands on this one too. And if you are looking for a river cruise, check out the Grand European. (But take some time in Prague and Budapest too).