Viking Cruise Lines has become a major player in not just river cruises, but ocean cruises as well. Viking has continued to expand their footprint by adding both river and ocean ships each year, and has been voted both the Best Ocean Cruise Line and Best River Cruise Line by Condé Nast Traveler in the publication’s 2021 Readers’ Choice Awards.
We have traveled with Viking on several ocean and river cruises and have several scheduled for the future. We love the smaller ships and service that Viking provides, as well as the excellent itineraries they offer.
Like many cruise lines, Viking also offers ‘extensions’ to their cruise itineraries that provide the opportunity to visit some additional destinations both before and after the cruise. There are many reasons to extend your vacation, but when you do decide to extend, you will need to decide whether to book the extension with Viking, or to create your own extension.
In this article we will explore the reasons you might choose either a Viking extension or one of your own creation. Which one is better? Well, there is not an absolute answer to this question, because it depends on a number of factors that we will explore in this post.
TIP: If you have booked your air through Viking, you can still schedule your own extension. If your extension is in the beginning or ending city of your cruise, Viking refers to it as a ‘Deviation’. If you plan on going to a different city, it is a called a ‘Stopover’. These options are discussed in our article on Tips for Booking a Viking Cruise.
Extensions – Why Extend Your Cruise?
We always try to extend our trip on both sides of our cruise. Here are just a few reasons you may want to consider extensions too.
• Don’t Miss the Boat – If you are flying in the day your cruise starts, a flight interruption or delay could mean that your ship will leave without you. This potential issue is one of the main reasons we always fly in early. If you have chosen a pre-cruise extension and arrive late, you may miss a day of the extension, bit at least you will make it onto the ship. So, in order to reduce stress, we recommend arriving early and taking advantage of some extra time in your chosen destination.
• Time Change Acclimation – Most travelers will be flying internationally for their cruise and will have at least one connection. That likely means flying overnight, followed by a very long day the next day. You might be awake for 24 to 36 hours. By arriving before the cruise begins, you will have the ability to take it easy for a day or two, allowing you to acclimate to the new time zone and renew your energy before starting the cruise.
• Make the Most of that Long, Expensive Plane Trip – Not only are international flights usually lengthy, but you may have noticed that airfare has become more expensive since travel has resumed in earnest. So, why not make the most of your trip by extending your vacation? The incremental cost of staying a few more days is fairly low compared to the overall cost of your trip. Plus, you will have the opportunity to spend time in a new destination or perhaps even an old favorite.
• Explore More of the City – Cruisers sometimes do not realize that even though they are starting or ending their cruise in a particular city, it does not mean they will have a chance to see it. For example, our Mediterranean cruise last year ended in Rome. Most of our fellow passengers were headed to the airport before sunrise on the morning of our arrival. Of course, these folks never got a chance to see Rome! So, be sure that your itinerary is providing you enough time in your starting or ending destinations. If not, an extension will allow you that extra time to see the sights.
Book with Viking
Hopefully, we have convinced you that extending your vacation is a great idea. So now let’s discuss under what circumstances you may want to plan your cruise extension with Viking.
• It is Easier – It is certainly easier to book your entire trip with Viking and this may be the best reason to do so. Many people take comfort in the fact that if there is an issue anytime during the trip, Viking will handle it. This approach can be especially helpful for reducing the stress for first time international travelers, first-time cruisers, or anyone who wants to make their travel planning as easy and streamlined as possible.
• Transfers Included – When traveling to an unfamiliar destination some folks may be uncertain about the best ways to move from point to point. It may be getting themselves (and their luggage) from the airport to the ship, or maybe to and from the hotel. When you book an extension with Viking, all of your transfers are included, even if you did not book your flights with Viking.
In addition, it may be a relief to know that Viking will take care of not only transporting you, but will also take care of handling your luggage between hotels, the ship and the airport!
• Viking Host at Hotel – In addition to having Viking representatives meet you at the airport, Viking will also have a dedicated desk set up in the hotel. Viking representatives will be there to help answer any of your questions, including suggestions for site-seeing and local dining and shopping options. This service is very nice and ensures you always have access to someone who can help you with any issues or questions.
TIP: At the time of booking, be sure to check the hotel location and ensure that you like it. There were times when our hotel was located some distance away from the main sites. In these cases we had to arrange our own transportation or in some cases, Viking arranged a shuttle. Also, be aware that the hotel may change at some point before your trip. So keep any eye out for a potential change.
• Excursions – In some cases, Viking will offer an included or even optional excursions during the extension. The Viking hosts will take care of coordinating these as well, handling all of the logistics and making your vacation pretty much stress free!
• Likely to Cost More – Booking an extension through Viking comes at a premium and it is quite possible that you could create your own extension for less. However, you should consider everything that is included with your extension and you may find that it is well worth the extra money. We will discuss more about cost later.
Book Your Own
While some people love the idea of Viking taking care of everything, other travelers may prefer more flexibility. So now let’s look at the benefits of booking your own extension.
• Choose Your Hotel – When you extend with Viking, they select your hotel and accommodations. Sometimes the designated hotel can even change several times before your trip. On our last cruise, our assigned hotel in Rome changed three times before the cruise, and while the hotel we ended up at was nice, we were not as pleased with its actual location in the city. Booking your own extension allows you total control over the location of your hotel, as well as the room and amenities that work for you. Perhaps there is a certain location within the city where you want to be located so you can walk to many of the sites you want to see. Or maybe you want to leverage your status with a particular hotel chain. Booking you own extension allows you to do all of that.
• Plan the Excursions You Like – Some travelers just want to do their own thing and plan their own itinerary. Maybe you have visited the location before or have specific interests that would not be included as part of a Viking extension. Planning your own trip offers complete flexibility in how you spend your time. Of course, you will have to arrange your own transportation, tours, dinners, etc., but a lot of travelers enjoy doing so and they may even save some money by doing everything on their own.
TIP: If you are booking your own extensions, no transfers will be included. You will be responsible for the transfers to the hotel, airports and ship. Be sure you know where the ship will be docked what mode of transportation you will take and verify the ship location.
Evaluating the Cost and Benefit
Whether you choose to book an extension with Viking, create your own extension, or even develop a hybrid of the two, evaluating the cost/benefit of the options is very important. We have used all three of these options and want to provide some examples from one of our previous trips that may help you understand what to look for when evaluating extensions.
Excursion Example One: Rome
ALL THIS IS INCLUDED:
- 2 hotel nights in Rome (as shown or similar)
- 2 meals: 2 breakfasts
- Services of a Viking Host
- All transfers
Excursion Example Two: Ultimate Italy – Tuscany
ALL THIS IS INCLUDED IN YOUR FULLY ESCORTED PROGRAM:
- 3 nights in a Tuscan villa
- 9 meals: 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches & 3 dinners
- 3 guided tours: Walking tours of Florence, Siena & San Gimignano
- Fully escorted by your Viking Tour Director
- All transfers
Every Viking extension will always include the hotel, transfers, breakfast and a Viking Host at the hotel. Taking a look at the two examples above, notice that those are the only things included for the Rome extension. There are no excursions or other meals included. Guests are ‘on their own’ for everything else.
In the second example, the Ultimate Italy – Tuscany extension, notice that this extension includes transfers, accommodations, all meals, 3 guided tours (which kept us busy all day, every day) and is fully escorted by a Viking Tour Director.
We chose both of these excursions as additions to our Mediterranean cruise last fall, and have some thoughts that we think can be applied when considering extensions in the future. So, let’s take another look at those two examples from above.
All in all, we were not that pleased with the location of our hotel in the Rome extension. When we first selected the extension, the designated hotel was located much closer to the prime tourist areas. However, prior to the cruise, the designated hotel was changed and that hotel turned out to be pretty far from the tourists sites and there were no restaurants or cafes nearby. This extension offered no excursions, just the basic inclusions of hotel, breakfast, transfers and the Viking Host. Based on the cost of this extension, we feel we could have booked our own hotel, transfers and breakfast for about 50% to 60% of the price Viking charged. So, if we had it to do over again, we would have just elected to create our own extension, rather than purchasing the Viking extension.
The second extension, Ultimate Italy – Tuscany, was completely escorted. We were met at the airport and our tour director stayed with us throughout the entire extension. They even stayed at the same villa and had meals with us. The days were long, but filled with visits to many interesting sites and wonderful meals. Our meals were not only at the villa where we stayed, but we also visited many restaurants, including lunch on a farm and dinner at a winery. Although the cost was much higher than the Rome Extension (Tuscany was 3 nights versus Rome only 2), we felt that the fully escorted excursions and meals were well worth the price. This extension was one of the best we have ever done. I don’t believe we could have done this on our own. And with incredible guides, this was truly a stress-free extension with absolutely everything taken care of for us.
Clearly, these two extensions are completely different in terms of what is offered, but of course the price is different too. Be sure to carefully read exactly what is included in any extension so that you understand the value you are receiving before you decide to book.
TIP: If you would like more information on the Ultimate Tuscany extension, or other extensions we have made to previous Viking Cruises, check out the Europe and Viking Tabs.
TIP: You many want to consider a hybrid solution by combining a Viking extension with even more days on your own. We did exactly that for both the Tuscany and Rome extensions, arriving in Tuscany a few days prior to the start of the extension and by staying a few days after the Rome extension.
Summary
Regardless of whether you chose a Viking Extension or plan your own, we are big believers in extending your vacation on both ends of your cruise. So, we hope this information helps you choose an extension that fits your needs and desires.
Finally, when do we pick Viking versus our own? Is it always one or the other? We first look at the extension we are considering to see what Viking is offering and specifically what is included. If Viking is only offering the basics, with no excursions, then we take a look at the price and then determine if it makes more financial sense to create our own. However, if the extension includes a lot of extras such as excursions, meals, etc. then we are likely to book with Viking.
Thank you for reading our article and safe travels!
Great tips. thanks for your insights.
Good tips. I’ve been currently wrestling with this very issue in next year’s Ancient Adriatic Treasures sailing which ends in Venice. I’ve booked the 3 night Lake Como extension which includes some dinners and tours but most importantly the transfer from the now changeable docking Venetian location. I know I can book Lake Como for less but that transfer seems very valuable to me for ease alone. I plan to extend on my own to Milan afterwards so it will be a hybrid situation. So still on the fence on what I’ll do.
We absolutely loved the excursion to Lake Maggiore after we docked outside Venice. Highly recommended!
Did you stop along way from Venice to Lake Maggiore? Did you do any of the group dinners ? If so can you elaborate on those? Of all the add-ons I feel most likely not to take advantage of these as some of our best Italian meals have been in tiny family owned places.
One of our cruises started in Venice, and we did the Florence and Tuscany pre-extension. It included some great group dinners. Check the extension if you are interested in the details. We also arrived in Flornce 2 days before the extension to explore some on our own. We found great places for delicious meals.
James,
My husband and I are finally returning to Viking Ocean cruise, since spring of 2019, and had become quite comfortable with use of Viator pre- post or even during the an Ocean cruise. I have been trying to research if that is a possibility in Italy this April, 2023. We are on the Italian Sojourn Cruise going from Rome to Venice, after the Tuscany pre-extension mentioned in the above article. I am attempting to find information on Cruise Critic, but without success. Any information or advice you have would be greatly appreciated. Understand of course, that Italy (and Viking) ultimately will decide what measures need to occur to keep us safe and healthy. (strong belief in the value of being fully vaccinated) Thanks,
The Ultimate Tuscany extension is offered by Viking on that cruise. I highly recommend it and Viking will take care of your transfers. We have also done many Viator tours and they offer some excellent tours of the Tuscany region.
We did the Mediterranean & Italian Sojourn (Barcelona to Venice) in June and did the 2 day Viking pre-cruise in Barcelona and 2 day post-cruise in Venice. We will always do a pre-cruise, just to make sure we don’t miss the ship and to get acclimated. We then had a day on our own before a 3 day pre-cruise at Lake Como before our 7 days on the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam with a 2 night extension in Amsterdam. We rented a car to get from Venice to Lake Como and did our overnight in Sirmione on Lake Garda. Everything went well and we’re glad we booked the extensions with Viking because of the lack of hassles. Even though we were on our own, a Viking host went with us from our hotel in Venice to the Airport and escorted us to the Avis counter; that was unexpected and alleviated the stress of figuring out how we were going to do that. Our only regret was that we should have chosen a 3 day gap between the cruises to have allowed more time at Lake Garda, or even a couple of more days to spend in Milan.
Can you explain a little further in the hybrid extensions. We are interested in doing that in Rome. Trying to decide if we should do the Viking Rome and add on a few extra days. Our cruise is Barcelona to Rome. We were thinking of going to Madrid and then taking train to Barcelona where we would Viking extension. Not sure which would be the easiest/cost effective way. Any advice would be appreciated thanks
First, we always look at the itinerary of the Viking extension. If it is only the hotel, breakfast and a short transfer to/from airport, then doing your own will save you money. If it is an all inclusive extension, then we will go for it since that would be hard to do on your own. Second, let’s look at your specific case. Usually in Rome, all they offer is the basics, no tour. So I would extend the stay in Rome on your own. I am assuming you are using Viking Air, if so, then you can make Madrid your stopover city and Viking will handle the flights, even getting you from Madrid to Barcelona. Stopovers and Deviations can be a real advantage. And once you pay the charge (about $100 -$150 per person), it is good for both ends of your trip. So it would cover the stopover on the front end and the Rome extra days on the back end.
Thank you!
We really appreciated your ideas and agree with you. We took the Romantic Danube Viking cruise last October and enjoy it very much. We did our own extension “deviation” on the front end and we’re so glad we did. We got a lovely hotel that was about 300 feet from where we boarded our ship 3 days later. We also did the Viking extension to Prague at the end and other than getting a wonderful 5 hour included tour one day, we believe we could have done it all for much less and had a hotel closer to city center.
Thank you for your headsup about the “stopover “. We will definitely try that next time.
Thank you for the comment and we are happy you found it useful. We always evaluate each extension to see what is included to decide if we do our own or use Viking. We do the same for the excursions. Safe travels!
What if the pre-cruise extension reflects ‘sold out’. Are there wait lists? I’d love to do their extension for all the reasons you listed. I want to get acclimated (specifically for time) prior to the cruise.
While there is no wait list that I know of, continue to monitor as some ties people will cancel.
no wait list available
We are doing the Viking Alaska cruise. We were told we could extend our trip on our own after the cruise and still use Viking air planning. Turns out, Viking will fly us home ONLY from Vancouver, and just asking that the flights be one week later cost an extra $100 each.
Viking has a list of approved deviation/stopover cities, so it has to be on the list that Viking can provide. And yes, a deviation or stopover is an added cost. You can always cancel Viking Air and book your own.
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Thank you for your insight! Typically, with a Viking pre-trip extension, approximately what time would we be transferred from hotel to cruise ship? I am asking as we want as much time on “transfer” day to be able to sightsee.
On the night before you check out you will put the luggage tags with your stateroom number on your luggage and set them outside your hotel room. Viking will then deliver the luggage to the stateroom the next day. In the morning, after breakfast, you will usually transfer to the ship around 11 AM. Once you check in to the ship, you are free to leave. Staterooms are available depending on stateroom level, but usually by 1 PM. So you should have the afternoon to explore, but be sure you know the ‘back on board time’.