Shore excursions, included versus optional

[CJANDH]

Can you help me understand the difference between included and optional excursions. Is there just one included excursion? Is there an upcharge for the others? Is there a capacity restriction that makes it necessary to book as soon as the booking date is open? Thanks. Still trying to understand what needs to be considered for my first Viking ocean cruise.

[formernuke]

Yes there is only one included tour in each port. All other ‘optional’ tours have a cost. Yes some sell out early so if there are particular ones you really want you need to be sure to book when your window opens. There are several threads that cover the topic

 

[CJANDH]

3 minutes ago, formernuke said:

There are several threads that cover the topic

 

Where do I find them?

[lackcreativity]

Thanks for great tips and advice on booking optional excursions! - Viking Ocean - Cruise Critic Community

 

The link above I found just a page or two later than this first page. I didn't really scan much of the thread, but I did want to offer you one example. This is a pretty frequent question, and if you scroll through a number of pages of the Viking thread I am sure you will find a number of others. 

 

[lackcreativity]

Sold Out Excursion Question - Viking Ocean - Cruise Critic Community

 

Excursion booking - Page 2 - Viking Ocean - Cruise Critic Community

 

Here are two more, again I didn't preview them, just copied them for you. There are several tricks of the trade for booking excursions, most likely you will find them in these links above, as the Viking crowd is generally a helpful bunch.

 

Just a few highlights:

Spots on an optional excursion are not yours until paid for, just putting them in your cart does not complete the process.

 

Sold out excursions frequently have places that open up, so check back frequently.

 

Even from our Veranda cabins (last to book), we have always been pretty satisfied with our bookings. We missed out on a couple over our five cruises, but overall good.

 

Read excursions carefully to determine if you will be mostly on a bus for a panoramic tour, or will there be a walking portion. Also, note the difference between "see" a sight versus "visiting" the sight. See most often means from the outside, Visit usually means go inside. For example, you might see the Colosseum from the outside, or you might go inside.

 

Enjoy your first Viking cruise!

 

 

[CDNPolar]

11 hours ago, CJANDH said:

Where do I find them?

 

Do you have your MyVikingJourney account set up?  If not, then do that.

 

Once excursions open then you will go to the Shore Excursions section of MVJ and you will see day by day all the excursions.  One will have a small banner indicating "Included" and others will have a price associated.

 

 

 

[CJANDH]

Thanks for that.

[WanderingBrit]

Yes, Yes, and Yes.

 

Many included excursions will be a bus ride to local sights, with commentary by a guide and stops for photos or exploration.

 

In some ports, especially where the ship is able to dock close to the historic center of town, there will be walking tours with a guide - and these are very much our preference. We have tried to focus on itineraries where, much like river cruising, the town around the port is the focus rather than a launch point to somewhere 3 hours away by bus.

[CJANDH]

It seems that the Viking claim of "One complimentary shore excursion in every port of call" has to be taken literally. I was under the assumption that you would get one complimentary excursion from a choice of included excursions as you do on Regent and Silversea. Instead it seems that they are offering a range of extra cost excursions and a pretty lame free tour as a fall back. Not what I think of as "all inclusive" luxury cruising.

[WanderingBrit]

1 hour ago, CJANDH said:

It seems that the Viking claim of "One complimentary shore excursion in every port of call" has to be taken literally. I was under the assumption that you would get one complimentary excursion from a choice of included excursions as you do on Regent and Silversea. Instead it seems that they are offering a range of extra cost excursions and a pretty lame free tour as a fall back. Not what I think of as "all inclusive" luxury cruising.

"All inclusive" is certainly subjective, and Viking don't present themselves as a "luxury" cruise line. If it's not for you, it's not for you.

[rmalbers]

Ya, you can't go by the 'marketing' of any cruise line, you have to look at what you actually get for the base price and go from there.   Just skip the marketing part.

[CDNPolar]

18 hours ago, CJANDH said:

It seems that the Viking claim of "One complimentary shore excursion in every port of call" has to be taken literally. I was under the assumption that you would get one complimentary excursion from a choice of included excursions as you do on Regent and Silversea. Instead it seems that they are offering a range of extra cost excursions and a pretty lame free tour as a fall back. Not what I think of as "all inclusive" luxury cruising.

 

I will object to your comment that they offer a pretty lame free tour as a fall back.  

 

This has been discussed here many times too.

 

We are very well travelled and we are looking for excursions that are informative and enriching and we probably on any Viking cruise book 30% optional and 70% included and we have very little - if any - negative to say about the included tours.  For the most part we find them to meet or exceed our needs.

 

I will say that it would be nice if Viking did offer more than one included choice, but they offer what they offer and we have not found them "lame".

 

And, I would add that we have paid for optional tours that we have not enjoyed and would never do again.

Edited May 11 by CDNPolar

[CJANDH]

As I cannot see yet what the included excursions are for my cruise, I was basing my "lame" comment on WanderingBrit's description: Many included excursions will be a bus ride to local sights, with commentary by a guide and stops for photos or exploration.

 

Glad that this may not be as lame as it sounds.

[rmalbers]

2 minutes ago, CJANDH said:

As I cannot see yet what the included excursions are for my cruise, I was basing my "lame" comment on WanderingBrit's description: Many included excursions will be a bus ride to local sights, with commentary by a guide and stops for photos or exploration.

 

Glad that this may not be as lame as it sounds.

It just depends on the port location, some included are very good and I wouldn't call them lame.   They announced numbers last time and it seemed like around 2/3 of the people were taking the included tours.  If people didn't like the included tours I think VO would be in big trouble, and they are not.  In ports where the ship is in a more industrial part you generally see more of a bus type of thing.  In ports right in a town you tend to have more walking tours included, but it varies widely.     

[oskidunker]

6 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I will object to your comment that they offer a pretty lame free tour as a fall back.  

 

This has been discussed here many times too.

 

We are very well travelled and we are looking for excursions that are informative and enriching and we probably on any Viking cruise book 30% optional and 70% included and we have very little - if any - negative to say about the included tours.  For the most part we find them to meet or exceed our needs.

 

I will say that it would be nice if Viking did offer more than one included choice, but they offer what they offer and we have not found them "lame".

 

And, I would add that we have paid for optional tours that we have not enjoyed and would never do again.

I have seen two free tours in some ports. Rare, but possible.

[rmalbers]

37 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

I have seen two free tours in some ports. Rare, but possible.

I was thinking the same thing but I can't remember where, so I didn't post, maybe it was Iceland at some stop/s.

[CDNPolar]

1 hour ago, oskidunker said:

I have seen two free tours in some ports. Rare, but possible.

 

Yes, somewhere there is a discussion about this but we have never seen this happen yet.

[2cruisecats]

3 hours ago, oskidunker said:

I have seen two free tours in some ports. Rare, but possible.

 

2 hours ago, rmalbers said:

I was thinking the same thing but I can't remember where, so I didn't post, maybe it was Iceland at some stop/s.

Yes, there is one port on our upcoming Iceland cruise (Heimaey) where there are 2 included tours offered -- Heimaey on Foot and Snapshots of Heimaey. You may only select one of the free tours when booking on MVJ.   On another post I read that if the one not selected has space, you can get on it the day of the tour.  Don't know if this is true but I'm going to test this out in August!

[rmalbers]

11 minutes ago, 2cruisecats said:

 

Yes, there is one port on our upcoming Iceland cruise (Heimaey) where there are 2 included tours offered -- Heimaey on Foot and Snapshots of Heimaey. You may only select one of the free tours when booking on MVJ.   On another post I read that if the one not selected has space, you can get on it the day of the tour.  Don't know if this is true but I'm going to test this out in August!

Yes, if there is room on a tour you can get in, last minute, I've done it.  Just go to guest relations and talk to them. 

[CDNPolar]

44 minutes ago, 2cruisecats said:

 

Yes, there is one port on our upcoming Iceland cruise (Heimaey) where there are 2 included tours offered -- Heimaey on Foot and Snapshots of Heimaey. You may only select one of the free tours when booking on MVJ.   On another post I read that if the one not selected has space, you can get on it the day of the tour.  Don't know if this is true but I'm going to test this out in August!

 

The day before at the Port Talk, speak with the Shore Excursions manager right after the talk - don't wait until the day of.

 

If there is room, the port talks generally foster some interest and you may lose a spot if you wait.  They will sign you up immediately and charge your stateroom account.

[rmalbers]

59 minutes ago, 2cruisecats said:

 

Yes, there is one port on our upcoming Iceland cruise (Heimaey) where there are 2 included tours offered -- Heimaey on Foot and Snapshots of Heimaey. You may only select one of the free tours when booking on MVJ.   On another post I read that if the one not selected has space, you can get on it the day of the tour.  Don't know if this is true but I'm going to test this out in August!

BTW: That island is great.  If it's your thing and weather permits climb to the top of the volcano.  The views from up there are incredible.  The trail starts (among other places) up the hill from the museum and it's a nice hike back to the tender dock.

[Zippeedee]

7 hours ago, CJANDH said:

As I cannot see yet what the included excursions are for my cruise, I was basing my "lame" comment on WanderingBrit's description: Many included excursions will be a bus ride to local sights, with commentary by a guide and stops for photos or exploration.

 

Glad that this may not be as lame as it sounds.

The opposite is also true. As one with mobility issues (the literal definition of “lame” I suppose) if the included excursion is a walking tour, I have to hope I can book an optional tour before they sell out. 

[OneSixtyToOne]

5 hours ago, oskidunker said:

I have seen two free tours in some ports. Rare, but possible.

We have two included tours on our stop in Bergen for our next cruise in August. It should be noted that you can only select one.

Edited May 11 by OneSixtyToOne

[lackcreativity]

9 hours ago, CJANDH said:

As I cannot see yet what the included excursions are for my cruise, I was basing my "lame" comment on WanderingBrit's description: Many included excursions will be a bus ride to local sights, with commentary by a guide and stops for photos or exploration.

 

Glad that this may not be as lame as it sounds.

It is possible to view the likely offering of excursions for a given cruise before your exact ones are listed in My Viking Journey. On the Viking website, find your cruise and on the Day by Day listing of ports, click Read More (no excursions on Day 1). Scroll down for a list of possible excursions. One will be labeled Included. You can click on each option for a more detailed description. All the ones shown may not be offered on any given cruise.

[dlh015]

3 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

We have two included tours on our stop in Bergen for our next cruise in August. It should be noted that you can only select one.

That is interesting. On our Egypt river cruise, a couple ports have two 'included' excursions and we've been able to reserve both. They are, of course, at different times and don't cancel each other out.

 

I shall keep this in mind when our VO cruise excursions open up...