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Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212416 04/10/09 02:06 PM
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petlover Offline OP
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Trying to update this VIKING roll call....I know Mike & June cancelled, Ray & Penny cancelled, Kristin & Greg cancelled, Margo cancelled and now Joanna & Tony switched to 2nd segment.

What else needs changing....??

Ngaire and Ken
Marcie & Tom #648
Leslie & Brad #655
Peggy & Jerry #650
Gary and Carol
John and Christina #665
Andi and Doug #643
Tom and Mona #644
Joanna and Tony #646


Marcie

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212417 04/14/09 09:47 AM
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petlover Offline OP
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I'm adding cabin #'s now....anyone want me to add theirs?


Marcie

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212418 04/14/09 11:31 AM
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Leslie B Offline
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We're in #655.


Leslie

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212419 04/14/09 11:33 AM
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pwolftx Offline
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We're in 650.


Peggy
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212420 04/14/09 11:56 AM
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captjohn Offline
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Hallo'

We are in herbergi #665

Takk,
John & Christina

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212421 04/14/09 12:50 PM
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Marcie,

We have cancelled this one. Now on CAPTAINS.


Frank and Wendy
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212422 04/14/09 12:53 PM
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petlover Offline OP
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Sorry to hear that but know CAPTAINS will be lots of fun too!


Marcie

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212423 04/14/09 12:55 PM
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sedona Offline
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We are in the elegant F GTY :woh: :woh: ... never stayed in this room before, Usually just stay in one of the H cheapies, for which we are waitlisted and hope we get.

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212424 04/15/09 05:34 AM
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Tom G Offline
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Tom and Mona are in 644. Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212425 04/16/09 06:33 AM
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sedona Offline
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Andi and Doug are now happily in 643. Also looking forward to seeing everyone!

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212426 04/16/09 09:50 AM
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ITravelNow Offline
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Marcie....I'm so sorry to miss traveling with this wonderful group..but I have a wonderful chance to travel to Norway, Sweden and Spain with a wonderful new friend - maybe I can talk him into cruising with everyone in the future!


Margo
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212427 04/16/09 09:56 AM
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petlover Offline OP
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Good decision Margo....I think most of us would have made the same choice BUT you know you will be missed!! :hug:


Marcie

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212428 04/16/09 02:00 PM
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joannapv Offline
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Margo: I so hope you succeed in convincing your friend to try an LCT trip with you - how about TUT October 2010?? Very happy for you! :hug: :hug:


Joanna
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212429 04/17/09 06:18 AM
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Tom G Offline
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What are your pre and post cruise plans?

We arrive in Reykjavik on the 19th and are spending two nights at the Hotel Holt.

At the end of the cruise we're spending one night in Southampton (hotel TBD) before flying home.

Also, did you notice that Mark Conroy is going to be on board when the cruise begins? Tom.

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212430 04/17/09 06:36 AM
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joannapv Offline
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We arrive the 19th at 6:30 am from JFK - waiting for hotel info from Regent and then we'll know where to book as full 23 nighters get one night comped - try and get in same hotel. Have made no pre plans for Rey. What are others doing?? Leave Heathrow June 1, overnight at airport May 31. My TA, Marcie, made those arrangements at Crowne Plaza London Heathrow. Flying coach to Rey and biz(Delta)back from London. Another $1500 to fly biz from JFK to Rey decided to grin and bear it -


Joanna
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212431 04/17/09 07:07 AM
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petlover Offline OP
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We're 5 nights pre-cruise in NYC then fly to Reykjavik on 5/18 @ 6:25pm.

The Reykjavik hotel Regent is using is the Grand. http://www.grand.is/grand_hotel/english/

I booked Joanna & Tony and us for 2 nights (we'll cancel one of our 2 nights when we find out which one is free). You can book a double room on otel.com for $197. per night...best price i could find anywhere and it includes breakfast. Whatever you do do NOT book through Regent....they're charging $625. per person...ridiculous beyond words.

We 4 are also at Crowne Plaza Heathrow airport the night of 5/31. You can get it on hotwire for $49. per night, I just got Joanna & Tony's room.


Marcie

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212432 04/17/09 07:26 AM
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pwolftx Offline
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We've got basically the same itinerary as Joanna and Tony. Still waiting for word on the hotel in Reykjavik, but on Marcie's recommendation we made a preemptive reservation at the Grand. If you make a reservation on the hotel website, the rate is $190/night (including breakfast) using todays exchange rate. We're staying at the Sheraton Heathrow for one night post cruise. When we get closer to the travel date, I plan to try to line up transportation from the ship to the hotel or airport after the cruise. I have a fairly extensive list of private companies that provide transportation from Southampton to the London area. A van for six people is about $45/person or a minibus for 12-14 is about $20/person. Anybody interested in joining?


Peggy
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212433 04/17/09 07:29 AM
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sedona Offline
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Due to the fact Doug and I have differing days off, I am arriving on the 17th and he is arriving on the 20th. We are coming through London on BA and taking Icelandaire over. We're staying at the Hilton where we're using a combo of points and good rates. Post cruise, we have to go straight back home unfortunately. We will be glad to share limo to airport.

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212434 04/17/09 07:56 AM
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We arrive on the 16th - we're staying 3 nights at the Hilton. Planning an excursion to the South Coast & Thorsmork on Sunday and then a super jeep Golden Circle tour (with Andi?) on Monday. Now that we've received a pretty definitive indication from Mark Conroy about the sailing I will go ahead with booking the excursions.

We're picking up a car the morning of the 19th and exploring the Snaefellsnes Peninsula (west coast) for 2 days staying at the Hotel Budir then dropping the car and boarding the ship on the 21st.

For those who need transfers from the Reykjavik airport you may want to look at Flybus which will drop you at your hotel for 2200 ISK, less than $20.

The Iceland krone had strengthened a bit in March but as of late has resumed its slide vs. the dollar, which is good news for all of us for hotel rates, excursions, etc.

We're flying home from London the afternoon of the 31st so we would like to share the transfer too Peggy.


Leslie

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212435 04/17/09 08:18 AM
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:app: I'm so glad everyone's plans are coming together! I can feel the lemonade coming on! ;)

We sure will miss you all. I couldn't quite talk Greg in to that 2nd leg, unfortunately.


Kristin

Paul Gauguin's Tere Moana-12/14
Voyager-10/08, 11/10
Navigator-05/07, 5/09, 10/11
Paul Gauguin-6/06, 12/07
Silver Shadow-12/06
Silver Whisper-11/05, 12/04
Silver Wind-4/04
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212436 04/17/09 08:23 AM
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Ngaire Online
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Still in London Heathrow. Long layover.

Ken and I need a transfer to Heathrow airport.

Some may need either Gatwick or Heathrow and others hotels in Town. It would make sense for those with the same destinations to travel together.

There are a lot of companies that offer transfers and it seems each time we use someone different since the really good company sold out. Peggy if you have done that research and a company in particular caught your eye would appreciate you posting the link.

Just need to figure out who needs a transfer and to where.

I know Peggy and Jerry and their friends are spending the night in London, as are Marcie, Tom, Joanna and Tony.

Leslie and Brad - Heathrow as well? We can plan on going together and we will see how many more for Heathrow there are for our van.

If you would like me to do this I can organize this when I get back or if you all want to do your own thing that is fine also.

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212437 04/17/09 08:41 AM
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Leslie, my daughter and I used Flybus, and it was fine. Took us straight to the hotel, and easy because this is not a big airport.

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212438 04/17/09 08:54 AM
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Leslie B Offline
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Thanks Olivia - did you book ahead or just buy tickets from the kiosk when you got to the airport?

Ngaire - yes, Heathrow - 4:35 PM AA flight to Chicago.

Andi & Doug leave from Heathrow too, on BA, I think around 1:30 PM.


Leslie

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212439 04/17/09 09:18 AM
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pwolftx Offline
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Actually at this point we could get a minibus as it looks like those who have posted are all going to Heathrow or that area. At this point there would be 10 of us unless Joanna and Tony also want to join us--then it would be 12. Marcie and Tom get Regent transportation and are probably planning to use that. I'd be glad to line that up--I have three potential companies that will supply a minibus. I planned to contact them and see who offered the best price. Let me know if I should try to get a large vehicle or not.
I also have a couple companies that will do smaller vehicles with fewer people. I'll post those if someone wants to do a smaller group: www.atstaxis.co.uk and www.westquaycars.com.


Peggy
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212440 04/17/09 09:24 AM
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joannapv Offline
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Unless Marcie has some other plans for us count us in Peggy appreciate it! - sure Marcie will chime in shortly -


Joanna
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212441 04/17/09 09:35 AM
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pwolftx Offline
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Forgot to mention, I also did a little research on getting from Reykjavik airport to the hotel (in case Regent doesn't choose to get us there). The Flybus works fine (we used it last time we were there) but depending on your hotel you have to go to a central terminal and then transfer to a smaller vehicle that takes you to your hotel with stops along the way. Since the Grand Hotel (if that's what Regent is using) is a ways from downtown, you would have to transfer. You can also get a private van for 6 or 8 that costs about the same per person(14,900 ISK total) through Private Shuttle that will take you directly to the hotel or you can just get a taxi that holds 6 people for about the same or a little less than Flybus (12,000 ISK for 6 people, 10,000 for four people). You'd need to book the Private Shuttle in advance, but the FlyBus and Taxi you can arrange when you get to the airport. You have to buy the FlyBus ticket at their kiosk when you exit the airport. All this information is on the Keflavik Airport website in the Transportation area (at the top of the website www.kefairport.is ). Click on the little British flag on the upper righthand corner or you'll probably have a hard time reading the information.
Private Shuttle and the taxis will also do city tours or other tours before you go to the hotel if you want.


Peggy
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212442 04/17/09 10:21 AM
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captjohn Offline
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Aloha

Christina and I need to get to London post cruise (InterContinental). Is anyone going our way? Would love to share.
We arrive Iceland from LHR on the 19th and will stay at "Viking Village Hotel" in Hafnarfjordur.

John

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212443 04/17/09 11:06 AM
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petlover Offline OP
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Peggy, we do have transportation provided from pier to Heathrow airport (we EARNED it :) so don't need anything on 5/31.

Since it's about the same cost, I like your idea of a direct mini bus from Reykjavik airport to Grand Hotel for the 6 of us since we're on the same flight from JFK. (If you end up at a different hotel, we'll stop there too). Sounds a lot better than transfers to a smaller vehicle along the way.

If you booked Grand Hotel for $190. that's great. The lady there told me the price converted to $230. per night plus I was afraid there would be a fee for foreign credit card usage, liked paying in USD....anyway, at least we have cancellable rooms just incase Regent changes their plans.


Marcie

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212444 04/17/09 11:35 AM
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pwolftx Offline
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Marcie, sounds like a plan. If need be, I'll contact Private Shuttle and line up transportation for the six of us after we hear what Regent is going to do or not do). As far as the rate at the hotel--you're right, who knows what the exchange rate will be on the days we're actually there--it could be better or not as good, and yes, there will be a foreign exchange fee. It was just easier to book on the hotel website while I was there looking.


Peggy
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212445 04/17/09 01:39 PM
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< plus I was afraid there would be a fee for foreign credit card usage, liked paying in USD.>

Marcie: Just a head's up on the foreign credit card usage fee... I just got a notice from Bank of America that the fee (on their cards) will now apply to charges made in US Dollars IF those charges are made in a foreign country. No FX exposure as your charge would be in USD, but they will charge the fee. I would fully expect other card companies to follow in short order.
As always, it really pays to be aware of these sneaky fees.
CapitalOne still has no fees. It is the main card I use when I'm outside the USA.

Doug
Can't wait to see everyone!

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212446 04/17/09 02:20 PM
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petlover Offline OP
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Good to know Doug. When we're outside USA we too use Capital One. When I booked this hotel I used my AmEx....the charge already showed up @ $190. x 2 nights = $380. in USD. (booked 2 nights but will be cancelling one), hopefully no sneaky fees yet.

Looking forward to seeing everyone too!!


Marcie

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212447 04/17/09 02:49 PM
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joannapv Offline
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Just checked my Amex - $394 charged for hotel in Rey - 2 nights @ $197 per night - let's hope it is "the" hotel -


Joanna
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212448 04/18/09 07:57 AM
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pwolftx Offline
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FYI for those 12 who were interested in transportation from Southampton to the Heathrow area. I emailed a couple companies and have received a reply from one of them. I forwarded the email to you with comments. Let me know what you think.
Capt.John -- not sure where the Intercontinental you're staying in post cruise is--is it near Heathrow?


Peggy
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212449 04/18/09 09:52 AM
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captjohn Offline
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Peggy, thank you for your reply. Our hotel is in central London, not at an airport. Hope someone out there is heading downtown.

Mahalo,
John & Christina

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212450 04/18/09 02:43 PM
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sedona Offline
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For those of you not settled on hotel in Reykjavik yet, I called today to firm up our room at the Hilton. Room rates have plummeted. A standard room is $107. An executive queen with breakfast, hor d'hoevres, beverages, access to lounge and spa, sea views, sitting area, free internet is now $200.86 per night. I booked directly through Hilton. The hotel got very nice reviews.

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212451 04/18/09 02:52 PM
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joannapv Offline
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WOW Andi!!!! the ex queen sounds wonderful!!!! Hope my TA, Marcie, reads this - but I understand many, Marcie included, will want to take advantage of the one night Regent comp at Regent's hotel -


Joanna
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212452 04/18/09 03:44 PM
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sedona Offline
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I agree that being comped can't be beat! Can't wait to see you again.

Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212453 04/18/09 05:29 PM
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joannapv Offline
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Great group, Andi, and we are sooo ready to chill and be with good buddies - can't wait!!!!! Anxious to see PRIME 7...


Joanna
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212454 04/19/09 06:28 AM
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azgkrudi Offline
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We got Regent's new brochure the other day and it is wonderful - lots of pics of refurbished Voyager - and even has the Prime 7 menu listed! I'll be anxious to hear about Prime 7 from you, Joanna, and all the rest of the ING'ers!


Kristin

Paul Gauguin's Tere Moana-12/14
Voyager-10/08, 11/10
Navigator-05/07, 5/09, 10/11
Paul Gauguin-6/06, 12/07
Silver Shadow-12/06
Silver Whisper-11/05, 12/04
Silver Wind-4/04
Re: Update 5/21 VIKING rollcall (ING now I guess) #212455 04/19/09 07:12 AM
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Tom G Offline
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Thanks Andi. Those rates look great. I may switch hotels. But I think the rates you quoted are for one person in the room. When I search using two guests I get rates about $20 per person per night higher, still a good deal given the rates at other hotels. You can also save a few dollars with the AAA rate.

On Trip Advisor the Hilton is he number 2 rated hotel in Reykjavik. It's also a bit out of town but has a shuttle bus. See you soon. Tom.

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