Brett and I will celebrate our 50th anniversary at the end of March 2029, and we’ve been talking for the last few years about wanting to do something extra special together to celebrate the occasion. We had thought for a while that a luxury train journey across Canada might be the ticket but ultimately decided we wanted to try something we had never done together before as well as visit a new-to-us destination or destinations.
We received a pamphlet from Viking Cruises about a month ago and for some reason, instead of tossing it straight into the recycling bag, both of us flipped through it. I raised the question (sort of as a joke): Is this maybe something we could do? Take a Viking cruise? Are we ready for something like this? We ended up talking about the idea for a while and surprisingly decided it just might be what we were looking for. We looked at all the many cruises Viking offers, both river and ocean, and while several of the ocean cruises appealed to us only a couple of river cruises did.
A cruise would be a first for us: Brett served his time on the water during his naval career and up to now has had no desire to get on another ship for any reason. I took a two-week cruise to Japan from San Francisco when I was 18, and that one trip has been enough for me. Until now we’ve never considered any sort of cruise-related travel.
But, it turned out we both feel ready now to try one. We both think Viking will be a good fit for our interests, and that one of their cruises and what it offers will make a worthy big goal for us. After some deliberation we decided Viking’s eight-day Venice, the Adriatic + Greece cruise is the one we’re going to take. We’ve both wanted to visit Venice, and also Greece, and the addition of stops in Croatia and Montenegro are exciting too. We plan to add days on to the front and end of the cruise to spend more time in Athens and Venice.
Once we decided on the cruise for our anniversary, the decision to rent in Portland versus out at the coast was made for us, and we’re very happy to be returning. Staying in Portland means we’ll be able to save more and still enjoy all the Pacific Northwest has to offer. We’ll also be more easily able to travel back east to see our kids and grandkids every year. The payment schedule for the cruise will give us deadlines to meet, and the cruise adventure will help us to stay focused on being active and healthy.
We plan to use Military Cruise Deals to book the cruise as they offer extra discounts and other benefits with Viking on top of their sale pricing. We are going to book for March or early April of 2028, a full year before our actual 50th anniversary, to start of a year of celebration for 50 wonderful years together. We will be doing other fun and exciting things throughout the year, and will end with a big finish in 2029. Although nothing is settled yet, it looks like our family will gather on Kaua’i where Brett and I will renew our vows on our anniversary. From Hawaii, Brett and I would like to fly to Japan for a last visit before returning to Oregon and getting ourselves ready to move south to California, but we’ll have to see how the money is holding out at that point and if we have the energy to continue on.
We love having a Big Goal again! We are already motivated, excited, committed, and making plans. Once we get settled in Portland we can work on choosing the actual dates for the cruise and such. For now our focus will remain on our move to Portland and getting settled there.
P.S. If you’ve ever taken a Viking cruise, ocean or river, we’d love to hear your thoughts!
We are going on our first Viking Ocean Cruise Italian Sojourn starting in Venice to Rome with two extra days in Rome this November 3rd it is for 10 days. I am VERY excited since I have never been abroad! This will be a once in a lifetime event. Just to let you know Viking ocean cruises are Very expensive $$$$$$ but you get the royal treatment. It is adults only no crazy casinos and the included excursions seem really great. They even did our airline reservations which are very good. Customer service is great. My recommendation is to book early.
We looked very carefully at the cruise you’re taking but decided we wanted to visit Athens as well as Italy. We’re currently thinking we’ll fly to Milan first and visit there and Verona before arriving in Venice for the cruise, and then spend three or four extra days in Athens at the end before flying home.
Agree with you about the cost, but we did not want a casino, nightclub, parties, etc. Everything is paid for upfront with Viking as well, and the servie and food is said to be superb. We plan to do our own touring ashore (we love to do food tours or walking tours). Military Cruise Deals pricing is less than Viking’s sale prices – we plan to book early next year for our 2028 tour.
I’ve been on ocean cruises with Carnival and Royal Caribbean, but not Viking, although I have been enticed by their brochures that come in the mail and their commercials. The big cruise ships have stabilizers and you barely even feel like you’re on a ship. Your plans to go to Hawaii and then Japan also sound great.
There’s another military travel site called American Forces Travel. I wasn’t in the military but have access to it due to some volunteer work I do. I haven’t used it for any travel yet so I can’t say anything about it, other than it’s another option if you want to compare prices. I checked and they have Viking cruises.
I checked out American Forces Travel and their cruise prices seem to be the same at Military Cruise Deals, but I’m grateful to know about them – thank you!
We saw a Viking tour excursion group, from a river cruise, when we were in Strasbourg – it was HUGE and I don’t know how the people in back could even hear the guide. We think we’ll do our own research and touring on the days we go ashore. I’ve heard that some of the Viking excursions outside of the free one can be quite expensive. But we have lots to learn so who knows what we’ll end up doing?
Brett is excited about visiting Athens again – he spent some time there with the navy, but that was over 50 years ago so he’s pretty sure he won’t recognize most of it. We wondered at first if we should a cruise that stops at Santorini, but they’ve suffered from over-tourism and we decided it just wasn’t worth it – there are other islands we’d rather see more..
I’ve been on many vacations through large tour companies like Trafalgar and Costsaver (a sister brand of Trafalgar). I also went to Japan with a company called Affordable Asia, which is now called Affordable World. There are pros and cons to large tours, but as Tamara said below, they now have listening devices, which they didn’t have back when I last did a large tour, so it shouldn’t be like what you witnessed in Strasbourg. Since you and Brett have always traveled independently, it may take a little getting used to since you are not on your own schedule, but that’s also nice in a way because all you have to do is show up and the logistics are taken care of. Since I’m still working, the best way I can travel is by using a tour company because I have limited time and I have enjoyed every trip I’ve been on.
You mentioned booking outside excursions instead of through Viking and that can be cheaper, but some cruise lines will not hold the ship for you if your excursion returns late. They will hold the ship for excursions booked through them. I don’t know if Viking does this but it’s just something to be aware of. Since Viking offers a free tour in every port, that sounds great!
I went to Norway in March using a boutique travel company and the trip was only for a group of friends. That was the first time I had done that and I enjoyed it because there were only 17 people on the trip and we mostly all knew each other. That could be another option for future travel if you can get enough people together who can go, although they tend to be more expensive since they are personalized.
We have nothing against Viking Tours and will probably try a couple of them and see how they go. We plan to do Venice on our own, but the first stop in Croatia we know nothing about so Viking’s tour may be the way to go. Depending on how much time we have in Dubrovnik though we’ll probably make our own plans. Same for Athens. It all just depends on what is offered, and how much time we get. We’ve heard that the free tours that are included can be so-so, and the other tours you sign up for can be quite expensive. But in some areas we couldn’t find a walking tour or food tour so the ship’s tour may be all that’s available.
I appreciate all your points though – lots for us to think about. We are cruise newbies and have a LOT to learn.
Lots of great travel plans! I think you’re smart to stay on the ocean w/ Viking. We have heard multiple stories of people being bussed between cities and/or having to change boats en route because of low river levels in Europe. One of our friends exchanged ships with another identical cruise because of this, but they just all transferred to the exact same room numbers, etc. 🙂 Anyway, those are some wonderful adventures to work toward and look forward to! Let’s hear it for Big Goals!
We had a lot of fun planning and putting this goal together. We started with long and super expensive cruises before coming to our senses and settling on a shorter and more affordable one. We both think we’ll have fun and it will be a learning experience as well. We like where the cruise starts and finishes as well as the stops along the way.
The river cruises just didn’t appeal to us and we’ve heard the same about lots of bus travel because the rivers are so low right now. But we have friends who have done the river cruises and loved them so who knows. With summers getting warmer and warmer a river cruise may no longer be as nice as they used to be.
So happy to have a new BIG goal for the future. Right now though we just want to get to Portland in one piece!
What a wonderful trip to look forward to! Both your start and end destinations are fabulous and worthy of as many days as you can give them – we particularly loved/enjoyed Athens.
We have Viking ocean cruises on our list as well. Re: their tours: All excellent per our travel agent. And most all tours now include small listening devices to assure everyone can hear well. Some cities now actually require them in order to prevent tour guides from shouting or talking too loudly. Plus you can linger a bit to take photos or whatever and still hear. If I start to lose connection with tour guides voice, it’s a hint I need to stop taking photos and catch up with group, lol.
We are really excited about this goal – it’s achievable, time sensitive, specific, measurable, all the things we like with a goal. Plus it involves travel! Will keep things up-to-date here with how it goes. We plan to book early in 2027. We have read that Viking’s “wave sale” has their lowest prices, and the Military Cruise Deals will beat that price. We’ll do the airfare on our own though.
I want to read more about the tour groups. Brett and I do not like big groups and always try to book small, but they do offer a free tour in every port so ??? We saw one Viking tour when we were in Strasbourg that was HUGE and it sort of terrified us. But if they’re as good as you say they may be the way to go.
These sound like awesome plans! I’ve heard great things about Viking,and while we are not quite at a phase where we are looking to go on a cruise, if we were, this is one we would consider.
It feels very good to have a big goal to work toward again. From everything we’ve read and heard, Viking is one a very few cruise lines we would consider. We are not casino, etc. people and appreciate that they are not trying to sell you all sorts of things. Of course you pay for all of that but the food and service is said to be amazing, and every stateroom has a balcony. I think we’ll both feel very spoiled (especially Brett).