Pre/Post Cruise for BIE Cruise

[LostInQuilts]

We are in the process of making plans/saving up for our first cruise. We've decided on Viking's British Isles Explorer cruise. We were thinking of extending our trip a little on both ends. 

 

Has anyone done the Oslo & Scenic Train pre-cruise extension? Any pros or cons you care to share?

 

We're also thinking of spending a week or so after the cruise exploring the London area. I've never been to London & my husband hasn't been since he was a college student. We're looking for suggestions of things to see that are not the super touristy things that everyone goes to. Things more off the beaten path. Any suggestions?

[LindaS272]

There are many threads on CC about your questions, here’s one of the most recent about the train:

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

35 minutes ago, LostInQuilts said:

We are in the process of making plans/saving up for our first cruise. We've decided on Viking's British Isles Explorer cruise. We were thinking of extending our trip a little on both ends. 

 

Has anyone done the Oslo & Scenic Train pre-cruise extension? Any pros or cons you care to share?

 

We're also thinking of spending a week or so after the cruise exploring the London area. I've never been to London & my husband hasn't been since he was a college student. We're looking for suggestions of things to see that are not the super touristy things that everyone goes to. Things more off the beaten path. Any suggestions?

There is a thread about the Oslo Began train extension here:

We will be on the train in a couple of weeks and I will be doing a review. Check back in a few days as we start our trip to Iceland as I’ll be live posting. 
 

As far as London, I guess it depends on what interests you. 
 

The Courtauld Institute has an incredible Impressionism art collection as well as an amazing collection of pietra dura.

https://courtauld.ac.uk

It’s a short train ride to Bletchley Park where the Enigma code was broken and is the birthplace of the modern computer.

https://bletchleypark.org.uk
 

Take the tube to Uxbridge and visit the Battle of Britain Bunker

https://battleofbritainbunker.co.uk

 

We always take one or more London Walks tour when there. They feature some very offbeat tours. You don’t need reservations for most of them. Just show up at the meeting point at the designated time. They are always entertaining and Informative. 

One offbeat walk we enjoyed a lot was Brunel’s London. After a trip down the Thames, we went to the site of the first tunnel built under the Thames and entered one of the old ventilation shafts. It was fascinating.

https://www.walks.com

For one of the most quirky places in London, visit Sir John Soane’s mansion.

https://www.soane.org

The Silver Vaults are worth a visit.

https://silvervaultslondon.com

 

Edited July 31 by OneSixtyToOne

[LostInQuilts]

5 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

There is a thread about the Oslo Began train extension here:

We will be on the train in a couple of weeks and I will be doing a review. Check back in a few days as we start our trip Iceland as I’ll be live posting. 
 

As far as London, I guess it depends on what interests you. 
 

The Courtauld Institute has an incredible Impressionism art collection as well as an amazing collection of pietra dura.

https://courtauld.ac.uk

It’s a short train ride to Bletchley Park where the Enigma code was broken and is the birthplace of the modern computer.

https://bletchleypark.org.uk
 

Take the tube to Uxbridge and visit the Battle of Britain Bunker

https://battleofbritainbunker.co.uk

 

We always take one or more London Walks tour when there. They feature some very offbeat tours. You don’t need reservations for most of them. Just show up at the meeting point at the designated time. They are always entertaining and Informative. 

One offbeat walk enjoyed a lot was Brunel’s London. After a trip down the Thames, we went to the site of the first tunnel built under the Thames and entered one of the old ventilation shafts. It was fascinating.

https://www.walks.com

For one of the most quirky places in London, visit Sir John Soane’s mansion.

https://www.soane.org

The Silver Vaults is worth a visit.

https://silvervaultslondon.com

 

Thank you for all the links! Lots for me to check out.

[OneSixtyToOne]

39 minutes ago, LostInQuilts said:

Thank you for all the links! Lots for me to check out.

From your handle, I assume you’re into quilting. The Victoria & Albert Museum has a fantastic collection of quilts and textiles. The V&A is a must see for a lot of reasons.

https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/quilting-and-patchwork
 

Edited July 31 by OneSixtyToOne

[LostInQuilts]

Just now, OneSixtyToOne said:

From your handle, I assume you’re into quilting. The Victoria & Albert Museum has a fantastic collection of quilts and textiles. The V&A is a must see. 

https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/quilting-and-patchwork
 

The V & A is definitely on our list. The British Museum too. I think I may have to go with my husband's suggestion to extend our trip for 2 weeks instead of 1. We were also thinking of taking a day or so to go to Normandy, France. If I get a chance to see the Bayeaux Tapestry on this trip, I may lose my mind. 

[OneSixtyToOne]

28 minutes ago, LostInQuilts said:

The V & A is definitely on our list. The British Museum too. I think I may have to go with my husband's suggestion to extend our trip for 2 weeks instead of 1. We were also thinking of taking a day or so to go to Normandy, France. If I get a chance to see the Bayeaux Tapestry on this trip, I may lose my mind. 

We visited Bayeaux and saw the tapestry on a Viking River cruise to Normandy. It was amazing. If you ever have the opportunity to take their Commonwealth excursion instead of the America oriented excursion, you visit Bayeaux. It was fantastic and there were only eight people on the tour as everyone wanted to go to Omaha Beach instead. On that particular river cruise we were on the Oxford extension, took the Chunnel to London, and did the whole Downton Abbey experience. That included privileged access before all the tourists arrived.
 

There is a copy of the tapestry in the stairwells of Viking Ocean ships. They typically do an educational tour of it lead by the resident historian. They usually schedule it on a sea day. Check with guests services because if offered, you sign up for it after boarding.

 

London Walks does a great overview tour of the British Museum. You skip the line and use the group entrance. The walk concludes in the Museum where you can continue viewing the collections at your own pace. We took it when we were there last summer. It was our third time to the museum and we learned so much about the museum that we never knew. For example one great room full of bookcases and no books was originally built to house King James’s library. That collection is now the glass enclosed centerpiece of the British Library, another place that you should visit.

 

One other place I highly recommend is the Imperial War Museum. They operate Churchill’s war rooms, which are worth seeing, but the main museum on Lambeth Road is phenomenal. I’m a former museum president and IMO it has some of the best exhibits I’ve ever seen in the world.

https://www.iwm.org.uk

For day trips, two places on your list should be Hampton Court and Windsor Castle, both are easily accessible by train.

Edited July 31 by OneSixtyToOne

[OneSixtyToOne]

One other thing about the V&A.

They have the enormous full sized cartoons Raphael created to weave the famous tapestries he designed for the Sistine Chapel. Don’t miss them. 

 

 

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

They have the enormous full sized cartoons Raphael created to weave the famous tapestries he designed for the Sistine Chapel. Don’t miss them. 

 

Damn! We missed them! Now we will just have to go back to see them.

 

Don't forget theater tickets in London.

 

Check the big museums for special exhibits -- and don't forget the National Gallery of Dublin when you are checking for special exhibits.

 

Get your entrance tickets for the museums in advance -- and early ticket timed ticket at the British museum will get you into a special line. And so many more little hints.

 

We got off BIE at the end of May. Did our own Bergen-Oslo adventure with an overnight in Flam using Norway in a Nutshell to book. Shipped our luggage from the ship to our Oslo hotel (travelled with a backpack each). I will say that very surprisingly, Oslo was unseasonably hot when we were there.

 

Check out the following threads for BIE.

 

Semi-LIVE from Venus British Isles Explorer 4/19 with Churchill Pre-extension

LIVE: British Isle Explorer - May 9, 2024 - Neptune

 

If these two recent LIVE threads aren't enough, try any of the following threads that I collected during our run up to our May 2024 sailing:

BIE Cruise Questions - Ports, London extension

Random thoughts about our British Isles cruise

British Isles Explorer Cruise excursions 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2862566-viking-british-isles-cruise-tips-for-others-going-on-this-cruise/page/6/#comment-64571383

British Isles Explorer Past Cruisers - Questions

British Isles Explorer Cruise

Favorite British Isles Explorer port souvenirs

Live thread: Onboard Neptune now - British Isles Explorer

See especially posts #132 and 136

British Isles Explorer 2023 - terrific video diary!

"Churchill's Britain": pre-excursion on BIE cruise

Advice on British Isles Explorer excursions

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2984274-county-wicklow-excursions-on-bie-cruise/

 

 

 

[wine-wine-wine]

12 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

There is a thread about the Oslo Began train extension here:

We will be on the train in a couple of weeks and I will be doing a review. Check back in a few days as we start our trip to Iceland as I’ll be live posting. 
 

As far as London, I guess it depends on what interests you. 
 

The Courtauld Institute has an incredible Impressionism art collection as well as an amazing collection of pietra dura.

https://courtauld.ac.uk

It’s a short train ride to Bletchley Park where the Enigma code was broken and is the birthplace of the modern computer.

https://bletchleypark.org.uk
 

Take the tube to Uxbridge and visit the Battle of Britain Bunker

https://battleofbritainbunker.co.uk

 

We always take one or more London Walks tour when there. They feature some very offbeat tours. You don’t need reservations for most of them. Just show up at the meeting point at the designated time. They are always entertaining and Informative. 

One offbeat walk we enjoyed a lot was Brunel’s London. After a trip down the Thames, we went to the site of the first tunnel built under the Thames and entered one of the old ventilation shafts. It was fascinating.

https://www.walks.com

For one of the most quirky places in London, visit Sir John Soane’s mansion.

https://www.soane.org

The Silver Vaults are worth a visit.

https://silvervaultslondon.com

 

Love this list!

 

In London I would add the Cabinet War Rooms. 
 

In Norway be sure to check out Norway in a Nutshell as referenced in the included threads. 
 

In both cases you will likely save a lot of money if you’re willing to plan for yourselves instead of using Viking extensions. 

[JerryInIL]

We took a London Walks tour to Hampstead Heath that was very interesting.  They have lots of other unusual walking tours.  
 

 

[LostInQuilts]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful suggestions. There are so many options for amazing things to see & do that it's a little overwhelming. 

[longterm]

18 hours ago, LostInQuilts said:

Has anyone done the Oslo & Scenic Train pre-cruise extension? Any pros or cons you care to share?

We just finished our BIE cruise on the 18th; a few thoughts:

 

It was an excellent cruise; we came home feeling like we got a good primer on what we'd want to see in the British Isles on a land tour at some point.

We spent 5 days in London before the trip, and did lots of touristy things; some of the highlights:

London Eye - even though I'm afraid of heights, this didn't scare me at all, and was a lot of fun and a great place for photos;

Churchill War Rooms - one of our favorite things to see;

British Museum - easily our favorite; get there early, make a beeline to the Rosetta Stone, because it gets crowded and stays that way;
Tower of London - okay, really touristy, but worth seeing if you've not done so;

Shakespeare's Globe Theater - ditto; 
Westminster Abbey - interesting but very crowded; not as spectacular to see as I remembered;

Fish & chips - yes, and we had it several times! One of the best was from a food truck just under the London Eye;

IN GREENWICH:
If your ship leaves from Greenwich, be sure to visit the Maritime Museum; if you're a clock enthusiast as I am, you'll enjoy seeing the 4 Harrison clocks; also, the Cutty Sark is beautiful and I really enjoyed seeing it as well. The Greenwich Market turned out to be very small.

IN NORWAY:
Our cruise ended in Bergen; when we docked, we took a Norway in a Nutshell excursion (you can find the website here: https://www.fjordtours.com/en/norway/tours), which takes a day. You start on a train from Bergen (about a 20-min. cab ride from the port); the train left at 10:30am and returned us around 8:30pm. The 2-hour train ride then stops in a little town where you get on the Flam Railway, which takes you on a beautiful hour-long journey through mountains, passing lots of waterfalls. Then a 2-hour boat ride on a fjord (a little long for me, but it was beautiful), then back to Bergen on a train (another 90 minutes). A long day but really beautiful. Bring food, because other than the boat ride, food availability is spotty.
 

 

[LostInQuilts]

3 minutes ago, longterm said:

We just finished our BIE cruise on the 18th; a few thoughts:

 

It was an excellent cruise; we came home feeling like we got a good primer on what we'd want to see in the British Isles on a land tour at some point.

We spent 5 days in London before the trip, and did lots of touristy things; some of the highlights:

London Eye - even though I'm afraid of heights, this didn't scare me at all, and was a lot of fun and a great place for photos;

Churchill War Rooms - one of our favorite things to see;

British Museum - easily our favorite; get there early, make a beeline to the Rosetta Stone, because it gets crowded and stays that way;
Tower of London - okay, really touristy, but worth seeing if you've not done so;

Shakespeare's Globe Theater - ditto; 
Westminster Abbey - interesting but very crowded; not as spectacular to see as I remembered;

Fish & chips - yes, and we had it several times! One of the best was from a food truck just under the London Eye;

IN GREENWICH:
If your ship leaves from Greenwich, be sure to visit the Maritime Museum; if you're a clock enthusiast as I am, you'll enjoy seeing the 4 Harrison clocks; also, the Cutty Sark is beautiful and I really enjoyed seeing it as well. The Greenwich Market turned out to be very small.

IN NORWAY:
Our cruise ended in Bergen; when we docked, we took a Norway in a Nutshell excursion (you can find the website here: https://www.fjordtours.com/en/norway/tours), which takes a day. You start on a train from Bergen (about a 20-min. cab ride from the port); the train left at 10:30am and returned us around 8:30pm. The 2-hour train ride then stops in a little town where you get on the Flam Railway, which takes you on a beautiful hour-long journey through mountains, passing lots of waterfalls. Then a 2-hour boat ride on a fjord (a little long for me, but it was beautiful), then back to Bergen on a train (another 90 minutes). A long day but really beautiful. Bring food, because other than the boat ride, food availability is spotty.
 

 

That looks absolutely glorious. Thanks for the suggestions.

[deec]

we had been to London previously so did not to stay there .... so we opted for the pre-extension of Grand Homes, Gin and Gardens.  You do day trips from Oxford.  It was a fantastic tour!  We did the Oslo post and then spent two more days in Oslo which IMO you need to really enjoy all that Oslo has to offer.

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, LostInQuilts said:

That looks absolutely glorious. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

What longterm did as a day trip, we did as an overnight in Flam on our way from Bergen to Oslo. And it IS gorgeous. 

[Frisky070802]

We did that last August.  Unfortunately the train was canceled due to mudslides and we had to fly a low-budget airline over instead.  It's possible that if we'd taken the train we'd have thought it wonderful and that it would justify doing the extension.  Without it, we thought the extension was waaay too expensive for what we got, and that we should have just done it on our own.   The tour of Oslo was very disappointing (unlike cruise excursions, they didn't use audiovoxes and were typically very hard to hear).  The tour of Bergen was OK but nothing special.  In both cases, we were sitting around in hotel lobbies way too long waiting to get into our rooms.  

One bright side, the hotel in Oslo had the best breakfast buffet I've ever seen, and the one in Bergen was a close second.  

[deec]

Which hotel did you use in Bergen.  We will come in early next summer and will be on our own...Viking's cost seems high. 

[Frisky070802]

20 hours ago, deec said:

Which hotel did you use in Bergen.  We will come in early next summer and will be on our own...Viking's cost seems high. 

If you're asking me, we were in the Hotel Norge by Scandic.  It was walking distance from the waterfront, and pretty decent.  It was part of the extension.  (The one with the fabulous buffet in Oslo was Clarion Hotel The Hub.)

[Mich3554]

21 hours ago, deec said:

Which hotel did you use in Bergen.  We will come in early next summer and will be on our own...Viking's cost seems high. 

We were in the Clarion Collection Hotel Havnekontoret.  It’s a charming hotel, great staff and next to the Raddison (which Viking typically uses).  There is a bus stop in front where the airport bus drops off, picks up but we never used it (found out on our last stay there).  The taxi from the airport was about 50€.  You can walk to the port, but we didn’t as there was about 1’ of snow on the ground when we went.  I think it was a 10€ Uber.  

[deec]

thank you, Mich3554...no snow next June I think we will book here..we have spent time in Bergen previously on 2 other cruise and have always had terrific weather much to the locals surprise, so trying to decide if we should come in early 1 or2 night.  Did Oslo this past May so won't start in with the train?

 

We will look for a fjord cruise or maybe a day trip close by.

Planning now for our September Zurich to Paris River Cruise!

 

[Mich3554]

11 minutes ago, deec said:

thank you, Mich3554...no snow next June I think we will book here..we have spent time in Bergen previously on 2 other cruise and have always had terrific weather much to the locals surprise, so trying to decide if we should come in early 1 or2 night.  Did Oslo this past May so won't start in with the train?

 

We will look for a fjord cruise or maybe a day trip close by.

Planning now for our September Zurich to Paris River Cruise!

 

The other advantage is that the hotel will also provide dinner.  We didn’t go most evenings, but there was one evening we were beat and didn’t want to go looking.  They had decent soup, and good bread and we were good with that.

[deec]

1 hour ago, Mich3554 said:

The other advantage is that the hotel will also provide dinner.  We didn’t go most evenings, but there was one evening we were beat and didn’t want to go looking.  They had decent soup, and good bread and we were good with that.

and Begen is quite expensive for food and drink...we had costly but so enjoyable drinks up on Mt. Flyen with delightful sunshine and WHAT a view!

[LostInQuilts]

I think, instead of doing the Viking pre-cruise extension stuff in Oslo, we're going to fly in a couple of days early and explore Bergen. I've been looking around at what there is to do in Bergen & I didn't realize there were so many options. I don't think we'll lack things to do before the cruise & it should be less expensive than the extension option through Viking.

[deec]

I think you will like Bergen.  However, if this is the only time you will be visiting Norway a visit to Oslo would add to your overall view of the area.