Fantastic trip! As totally novice cruisers we were apprehensive about our first trip overseas. Booking directly with efficient/knowledgeable Viking staff went smoothly. A little confusion on short time span to add trip insurance (ask a lot of questions). Took the discount 3.3%.

Made a big mistake in filling out personal data by NOT including passport numbers by the time we made full payment. (We had gotten our passports later). This apparently led to a delay in getting our plane reservations well after the stated 60 days before departure!! We had made multiple calls to Viking to try to rectify lack of reservations and on three occasions were told to "wait a few days, and you will get the info". We Didn't!

Tip: Fortunately my wife had been accessing a VIKING travelers Facebook page - This was a GREAT source of info! One of the super Viking travelers gave us a Viking contact that immediately got our plane reservations!!! The running commentary on the site was extremely helpful - You should use it! Because of the delay we were booked on Delta flights from Phil to Atlanta (2.5Hrs), then flew back north past Phil to Amsterdam?? We wisely used our airline/upscale credit cards to enter Delta's courtesy clubs and enjoyed a few anniversary drinks and food. Tip: Contrary to popular belief traveling the day before the fourth of July (Thurs) the courtesy clubs were devoid of business travelers because of the mid-week holiday! Read more