Heidi13

The entire "Inside Passage" runs from south of Seattle to Skagway. These days, cruise ships sail a very limited part of the Inside Passage. Provided the Princess ship is not a "Royal" Class, they normally sail the narrow channels between the mainland and Vancouver Island. The timing is dependant on the tides at Seymour Narrows, which is around Campbell River, as ships can only transit the narrows +/- 1 hrs of slack water. Departing Vancouver at 17:00, it takes at least 5 - 6 hrs to sail the 100 miles up to Seymour Narrows. Therefore, Northbound you transit this area at night, as by sunrise, the ship has already cleared Blackney Passage. On a Southbound, they again aim for a Seymour Narrows tide that permits early AM arrival Vancouver. This provides most of the Inside Passage in daylight, at least close to the Solstice in June/July.

At Canada Place, I've seen some getting off shortly after 07:00 when everything goes well. You have numerous variable that dictates when a ship docks and the local authorities clear the ship and permit pax ashore. Not in Vancouver, but at another turnaround port, I have experienced the ship being alongside by 07:00 and the ship wasn't cleared until late afternoon.

The Deck & Engineering Officer schedules depend on the cruise line and country of origin. Traditionally it was 4 months on and 2 months off. However, an increasing number are now working day for day schedules of 3 - 4 months on/off. Country of origin, or the officer's contract can have significant impact on the schedule and benefits. When DS started with Princess, he was on a North American contact that paid him in cash on board the ship. Zero benefits, other than the company paid to get him to/from the ship. The company paid none of his college fees as a Cadet. As 2nd Officer, he convinced them to switch him to a UK contract, as he also has a UK Passport. His salary increased significantly and he received a number of benefits, which included paid study leave for completing his Master FG in UK. On his original North American contract, he would not have been paid attending college and would have paid all the college fees and exams himself. Hotel Supervisors when I last sailed with Princess worked 6 months, with 2 months off. The Hotel Manager was day for day.

The only cruise line that I know where the Hotel Ratings work 6 month contracts is Viking Ocean. The rotation is 6 months on and 2 months off. The crew generally know their schedule 3 contacts ahead. On most of the other cruise lines, the ratings work 8 - 10 months, with 1 or 2 months off. Am not aware of any 6 month on/off rotation. Day for day rotations are often 10 -12 weeks on/off. DS mostly works 10 wks on/off as Master or Chief Officer.

Sorry, that isn't even close to being factual. Since you mentioned "Cruise ship worker" that includes the Master, Officers, PO's, Ratings and Contracted Employees, not all of them receives the normal expectation of free room and board when working aboard a ship. When our DIL met our son, she was a "Steiner" aka hairdresser aboard a Princess ship for a 10-month contract. During her entire time aboard ship she paid a daily "Room & Board" fee to the ship, regardless of the amount of tips she received on any given day. Therefore, on a slow day, it actually cost her money to be on the ship. While aboard ship, she also maintained a residence, or she would have nowhere to live upon returning home. Our son maintained a residence while working onboard ships for almost 20 years. Same for myself, when I went to sea, my wife still needed a roof over her head, meals, vehicle, etc. Therefore, for many of us the cost of living is not lower. Having spent 35+ years, with a few years managing a shipyard, I cannot agree that shipboard jobs are more demanding or unconventional schedules. Possibly, if compared to office workers, but certainly not In the shipyard, where I worked 12-14 hrs at least 6 days a week. DW was a Trauma RN, also working 12 hr shifts, with her shifts being just as demanding as mine. Our SIL is RCMP and also works, at a minimum 12 hrs shifts, with 16 - 20 hrs some days. At sea, the hours of rest requirements prohibit 20 hr shifts, so cruise ship workers may have less demanding hours than our SIL.

I thought @Ex-Airbalancer post was right on the money. They did 1 TA and consider themselves experts and made a short film. I completed 2 TA's in my first 4 months at sea, spending over 35 years at sea, so have lost count of the number of TA's completed. BTW - I never watched the film, since I know from extensive experience what it is like crossing the Atlantic, in most months of the year, and know that very few TA's are a similar experiences. If you want qualified opinions on a TA, I suggest asking some real experts, who have crossed in both directions, in most months of the year. Personally, I don't pay any attention to clickbait films designed to make revenue for the publishers. With some research, you will find lots of relevant info from pax and Officers/Crew that have more experience.

Bahamas may be the largest register of cruise ship tonnage, but I certainly wouldn't say virtually all cruise ships are registered in Bahamas or Panama. This is the HAL Board and all their ships (11) are registered in The Netherlands. The entire Viking Ocean & Expedition fleet (12) are registered in Norway. P&O UK, P&O Aus, Princess and Cunard (29) are registered in UK or Bermuda. Aida Cruises (11) are registered in italy and Costa (10) are also Italian. Celestyal Cruises (2) are registered in Malta and Azamara (4) are also registered in Malta.

Negative, the rubber cheques are in the post and should be bouncing through mail boxes soon.😁 I do feel sorry for everyone involved, but as with all aspects of life, when making significant financial decisions you need to complete a detailed risk analysis. No way this venture from day 1 should have passed at anything but moderate/high risk, with risk increasing the entire time. Had I taken this to my TA and/or financial advisor they would have laughed, advising I needed a new agent/advisor.

Most, if not all policies we have purchased included Bankruptcy or Default as one of the exclusions. Don't believe it is available in the USA, but a number of countries do have Consumer Protection Laws that include a Travel Fund. Must purchase from a licenced agent and a few other requirements, but these are generally available as a last resort.

This will depend on the Terms & Conditions of each policy, specifically the list of exclusions. On most of our policies I recall seeing Bankruptcy or Default as being a listed exclusion, so pax would join the list of unsecured creditors. However, some countries do provide consumer protection with a travel fund, provided the holiday was booked through a licenced agent, and a few other requirements. This is available in UK and also our home Province.

The greatest majority of the included shore-ex are the basic "Panorama" aka bus tour, or a guided walking tour. These are the basic tours that most cruise lines offer and provide a quick overview of the local area. However, in some ports Viking do offer a couple of Included options, of which you select one or the other, not both. In some ports the Included shore-ex is excellent - Komodo Island being the classic example, as they include the guided walk around the island. In Safaga, the included was a 10 hr tour to Luxor. As with all cruise lines, the actual tour quality is highly dependent on the guide and Viking is no different. The quality of the tour in any port can depend on which bus and guide you were assigned. In comparison to Princess, who had exceptional, detailed shore-ex descriptions, Viking tour descriptions are very basic. Any tour we considered, I researched thoroughly, actually plotting stops and attractions in Google Maps. On the previous WC, I recall a pax complaining about a tour in Wellington that included 4+ hours on a bus with 1 to 1.5 hrs at attractions. This tour was of interest to us in 2020, but once I plotted everything into Google Maps and saw the distances involved, we had no desire to sit on a bus that long. Most of the optional tours were good to excellent. We often would book both the included and an optional or private tour in a single port. We were very happy with the Viking onboard shore-ex team and were also happy with the Princess shore-ex team. The included tours are complimentary and you also receive substantial OBC, which pays for many, if not all optional shore-ex you book. Since everything onboard is included, with the OBC, you are basically purchasing shore-ex in the base fare. The included wines are certainly cheaper options, but we found a number of them that we enjoyed. Crew members were excellent in suggesting alternatives you may enjoy based on naming wines you liked. We are certainly not wine snobs, so the included wines worked for us, while others with more discerning tastes may not agree. I am however a craft beer snob and am very particular with the type of beer I drink. Viking had an IPA, Stout and Amber Ale that I enjoyed. They also purchased other local beers in various ports.

It really is time to stop discussing a subject you clearly have very limited knowledge. Yes, Viking, as do many other cruise lines, have an exceptional safety culture, but that doesn't eliminate accidents. Classic example is the 2019 Viking Sky incident, where the vessel lost all propulsion and almost grounded. You also have the 2022 incident on Viking Polaris, where the vessel allegedly impacted a rogue wave. Neither incident has had the final report published, so the true facts are not known. I also note that convictions of Mariner are common place. I spent almost 30 yrs in command knowing that if any other vessel, including private sailboats hit my vessel, I could be charged and convicted, even though I followed the regulations and company procedures. Rule 2 of the International Collision Regulations is the classic example of why the Master will be at fault in any collision, as it requires Master to NOT follow the Collision Regulation Regulations. Classic Catch-22 situation. Before discussing marine convictions, may I suggest you conduct some research into the Acts and pursuant Regulations that Masters operate under. Reading investigation reports will also provide you with information of what actually happened and the causes.

I'll try to expand on my previous post to better explain the cost differences we experienced. The following per person number are from memory, so are approximate: - 2015 Princess WC R/T Sydney - $35,000 - 2020 Viking WC L/A to London - $64,000 Cabin category was both a balcony midships on a lower deck. Pre/Post Cruise The Princess fare included nothing, except crew gratuities, which are included in the base fare in Australia. Just getting to/from and onboard added considerable costs to the Princess fare. Again, these are approx from memory: - Port Fees: $2,500 - Flights: $15,000 - Visas: $500 - Transfers to/from port: $200 - Hotel: $300 With Viking, all costs listed above were included in the base fare, however we did opt to spend a few days in L/A pre-cruise, so did incur hotel costs. Cruise Expenses On Princess, with the exception of meals in the basic restaurants, everything costs extra, settling your shipboard account at the end of each segment. Since we had "Elite" status with Princess, we did not incur laundry or internet fees, and at the beginning of each segment received a few individual bottles of drink in the mini-bar. Travelling with our son for so many years, who also work for Princess, we got so used to receiving comp shore-ex tickets in most ports, so out of habit booked Shore-ex in many ports. Therefore, our total onboard spend at the end of the cruise was over $15,000. We also had additional spend on private tours and incidentals ashore, but couldn't hazard a guess as to those numbers. On Viking, almost everything onboard was included, which includes an complimentary shore-ex in each port. Pax also have the option of booking additional tours that cost extra. Over the years, I had visited 3/4 of the ports multiple times and have taken most of the tours at some point, however we still booked one or multiple tours in each port. We used both shore-ex and private tours. With respect to the included tours, we booked about 15 of them in the 50+ ports, normally when we could also fit in an additional shore-ex or private tour. Our total onboard and tour spend per person was about $7,000, with Viking providing $5,500 OBC, so our additional spend was about $1,500 pp. Most of which was private tours and incidental spending ashore. We disembarked the Viking vessel with no bill and did not have a bill to settle at any time during the cruise. Unfortunately, I lost my spreadsheets when my last laptop crashed, so these numbers are all from memory. However, I do recall posting detailed numbers a couple of years ago on a thread in the World Cruise Board. You may be able to locate that post by searching. As I have said many times, these are the numbers that worked for us. Other pax will have different results based on preferences. The big cost factor on the 2015 cruise was flights, so anyone that wants to fly economy for 20 hrs would have saved about $8 -10 K.

Personally, I don't get my information from the media or the court system, I prefer to read and study formal investigation reports from the relevant Flag State authority. In addition, having worked in the industry, I am also privy to information not in the public domain. Can't comment on river incidents, as I have never worked in that environment, so have no knowledge or experience of those operations, regulations or procedures. I only provide comments and/or opinion in the areas of the industry, where I have the required knowledge and/or experience.

I am well aware of the water quality standards on cruise ships and that chlorine is added to the RO & evap water made onboard. Although I am not privy to the Dutch Shipping Act and pursuant regulations, I have dealt with other Flag States, and am not aware of any regulation against filtered water. Filtered water, both still and sparkling, was readily available on our last cruise with Viking. Supplied twice daily to the cabins and at the Buffet filling stations. Hence my question if the HAL filling stations also filter out the chlorine that is added to the potable water.

This has also been our experience and why we no longer will sail with Viking. I had separate issues on 2 cruises, which were raised to the management level. Sadly, they were no better than the supervisors, using lies and an avoidance strategy. The shipboard experience is amazing, but we will never deal with their US Office again. Onboard, the reduction in standards has been caused by financial challenges and crew availability. Even though Viking paid their crew more than other cruise lines and also got them home quickly in 2020, by sailing to UK ports, many of the crew did not return after the pandemic. Coupled with a significant increase in tonnage, they required large quantities of new crew, whereas pre-pandemic their crew return rate was about 95%. The new crew need trained and also existing crews are promoted to supervisory positions before fully developing their skills sets. Other cruise lines may not have the same tonnage increases, but they probably have higher percentages of non-returning crew.

Are the water filling stations in the Buffet regular chlorinated potable water, or do they have a filter, removing the chlorine.

Don't believe everything you read in the media. Without getting into details, which are not public knowledge, I can assure you this was a classic example of poor operational safety and operational "Culture". Show-boating was a symptom, it was NOT the "Root Cause'" Yes, I expect Costa have changed significantly, which is the classic proof that, "Every company pays for safety at some point." Some do it early, incorporating human factors, risk analysis, closed-loop communications, etc into their revised and enhanced Bridge & Engineering Resource Management procedures. Another key factor in both the airline and marine industries is changing the culture in the Cockpit and Bridge. When I went to sea, nobody dared question the Captain, who did all the handling. If the Captain was going to run the ship aground, it would take a very brave officer to point this out before the grounding. The airline industry had a similar culture, with the classic example being the 1977 Tenerife Airport disaster. Airlines had a head start with changing the culture, but quality cruise/ferry operators started changing over 20 yrs ago, well before the Concordia incident. I am also very well aware that procedures can be changed quickly, but "Culture" can take many years, or even generations, to effectively change. With almost 30 yrs as Master I have seen a huge change in the culture in the three companies I worked for, two of which are now Carnival Brands. Both those companies started the transformation 10 yrs before the Concordia incident and I also implemented similar standards on my Po/Pax, and then developed company wide procedures that were implemented by 2012.

May I suggest reading the HAL WC Roll Call for 2023 and finding the URL of some of the travel bloggers from last year's cruise. I kept a number of them, but unfortunately cleaned out the bookmarks a few months ago. A number of the regulars were not overly happy with the post COVID changes. We have friends in Ontario that sailed in both 2020 and 2023 and were not overly complimentary with the changes. I read this also in a number of the blogs. I find daily travel blogs of pax onboard to be a valuable aid to getting a feel for the cruise.

On completion of the Princess cruise, I created a spreadsheet that captured all costs associated with the entire holiday from departing the house to returning. Since this cruise was R/T Sydney, we incurred two International flights, whereas the Viking cruise was 1 International + 1 Domestic flight, in business. Viking also provided about $11,000 in OBC (per couple), so that covered almost the entire cost of the optional shore-ex and minor incidentals onboard. At the end of the cruise, you have no bill to settle. I have flown long-haul flights around the World many times in my younger\ days joining and leaving ships. At that time, I thought nothing of being stuck in an economy seat for 24+ hrs (Sydney to London) or 18 hrs (London to Narita). Now in our 60's, long economy flights are no longer of any interest, so we only fly First or Business, for flights over 3 - 4 hrs. After the Viking cruise, I again captured all costs on a spreadsheet and was surprised at the fairly small differential. Since the Princess cruise was > 2 weeks shorter, I converted each cruise cost to per day, with the total daily cost being within pennies.

Bridge & Engineering procedures and culture have a huge impact on the overall safety of the operation. Many cruise lines boast that "Safety is their # 1 priority." Having worked in the industry, I am well aware that some cruise lines do actually operate with safety as the # 1 priority, others only if it doesn't cost money. Viking certainly operate with safety as the # 1 priority, regardless of cost. The pax on Costa Concordia were certainly impacted by that cruise line's procedures and Bridge culture. That is entirely your prerogative and why so many different options of various quality are available in this industry. Surely you aren't insinuating that I am making false statements. I have a Scottish heritage so am very well versed in managing money and have performed the Treasurer function for many non-profits, maintaining the chart of accounts. I am more than capable of developing an Excel spreadsheet to compare the total costs of 2 separate cruises. That both cruises were identical daily costs is Factual. However, as I noted other pax may not experience similar results, as cruising styles vary. The Costa model clearly works for you and that is great. Personally, the Costa model, culture and standards do not work for us, so even if it was considerably cheaper, we would not book with that cruise line. We booked on Viking due to a poor experience on Princess, which sadly is consistent with most, if not all, mainstream cruise lines. Mainstream cruise line standards have been dropping steadily for the past 20 - 25 yrs. When booking the Viking cruise, we never expected the daily cost to be the same as Princess, so was very pleasantly surprised to note the actually daily cost was no more than Princess. Our outlook is also different, in that we are happy to pay for what we perceive as quality. We spent many years skimping and struggling to survive, but are now more comfortable. Personally, we prefer a single quality and comfortable experience over two cheaper experiences.

Although we don't ski, the timing of the Sydney WC just worked better for us than the option out of L/A. Big mistake.

Having completed 2 World Cruises and booked, then had to cancel a 3rd, I'll suggest you need to consider more than the base fare. Our Princess WC (less expensive Line) was about 1/2 the base fare of the Viking WC (more expensive Line). However, once both cruises were over, the actual cost per day was virtually the same. I note this is highly dependant on cruising style and some pax may not want/need the extras included in the more expensive Line. Oceania and Viking are fairly comparable in standards, as those were the 2 Lines we shortlisted after dumping Princess after 40 years. Some of the key differences for us: - Number of pax and the available space is vastly superior on Viking and I assume also Oceania. Nowhere on the ship was crowded and they had quiet areas all over the ship to sit and read. On Princess, the ship had more than double the pax and always felt crowded, with queues for everything. - World Cruise and Segments, on Princess, to fill the ship they had 2 separate World Cruises, 4 segments and a series of coastal voyages. On departure Sydney < 500 pax of 2,200 were on the same WC. A couple hundred departing Sydney were only aboard 1-night disembarking in Melbourne and another couple hundred got off in Freemantle. Throughout the entire voyage, we got the impression it was a series of B2B2B.... cruises, not a World Cruise. On Viking, we also had 4 segments, but at least 50% of the pax were on for the entire cruise. Viking did a vastly superior job of creating a WC atmosphere. Note: subsequent Viking WC's have no segments. When paying the premium for a WC, it is important that the atmosphere is appropriate and it isn't a series of B2B's - Two of the key human necessities are a roof over our heads and food on the table. On WC's lasting up to 6-months these are important considerations. - Cabins, we booked m'ship balcony cabins on a lower deck on both ships. The Viking cabin was 50% bigger and had a better layout. The Viking bathroom was bigger, so it could be used by both of us and the shower was huge. On Princess the bathrooms are tiny. The Viking balcony was also vastly superior. The Viking cabin stewards ( yes plural) were way more attentive than Princess. On Princess the single steward could bid for more cabins, so to increase their tips, with our single steward handling about 20 cabins. On Viking, out primary steward had about 10 - 12 cabins and had an assistant he shared with another cabin steward. The Viking cabin service was significantly better, especially since they had more time. - Ship design, the Viking ships are very well designed and their fleet is maintained well. I only recall minor issues on the Viking cruise and the cabin steward noted most of them and requested work orders to fix before we even knew about an issue. With Princess, the ship resembled a Greek Tramp Ship, the hull was in poor condition, the balcony doors in many cabins leaked, with no repairs made. When it rained the cabin stewards had to place towels in the tracks to save the cabin getting wet. The ship had plumbing leaks everywhere and they didn't use buckets on most of them, They placed an extra square of old carpet letting the leaks drop into the floor. Lots of alleyways smelled damp. We had a number of electrical power interruptions, including the entire aft section of the ship one day. - Food, clearly very subjective and highly dependant on the Executive Chef. On Princess the food quality was the worst we had ever experienced with the Line, having noticed it gradually decreasing for over 30 years. Meals were well presented, but generally served below optimum temperature and the meats were low quality. I recall Lamb chops one night and every table sent them back. Needed a chainsaw to cut them. Menus on Princess were repeated every cruise and were just your basic Princess menus. On Viking, the menu never repeated, although some dishes were repeated, an entire menu was not repeated. Viking did a vastly superior job of including local options on the menu under the "Destinations" section. The meals on Viking were as well presented as Princess and are actually cooked to order, rather than being mass produced per mega ships. The quality of products on Viking was vastly superior. The Viking buffet has vastly superior option to Princess. Oceania is known for the best cuisine at sea, so may even be a step up from Viking. - Since Viking, and I assume Oceania, deal with an older demographic on all their cruises, they are well prepared to deal with an older demographic for a number of months. All the entertainment on Viking was well done, not glitzy broadway shows, but excellent vocals and audio/visuals. The lectures are again excellent and relevant to the age group. On Princess the entertainment was rubbish and they still promoted the usual wacky pool games, marriage shows, etc. - On board experience, when on an extended cruise, I am on holiday, wanting to relax during sea days and make the most of every opportunity in port. I'm not interested in photographers sticking cameras in my face, shops expanding into alleyways peddling inches of junk and receiving reams of promotional material in the cabin. On Princess the daily adverts received went straight in the bin. I'm also not interested in having better quality meal items in the MDR at an extra cost. These are common on many mega ship Lines, but not Premium/Luxury Lines. By the time we left the Princess Cruise, the constant bombardment with upsell was annoying, whereas on Viking you are left alone to enjoy the cruise. - Another key factor is Viking consider the Pax as responsible adults. They have no restrictions for bringing drinks aboard and will even serve your own brought aboard wine in the MDR, with no service charge. Same in the bars, with the only cost being mixers. On Princess and most mega ship Lines they even restrict bringing water aboard, never mind alcohol. - When heading ashore, Viking provide unlimited bottles of water for each pax, at no charge. Mega ship Lines charge a fortune for a bottle of water. Viking also provide filtered still or sparkling water in the cabins daily. - Although I have been retired for 12 years, I spent many years in the industry, so knowing something of a Lines operating procedures, especially Bridge & Engineering, is of interest. When we dumped Princess and researched a new cruise line, this was one of my criteria. Having researched Bridge procedures across the cruise industry extensively, I eliminated one of the cruise lines based in mainland Europe that does WC's. Their procedures may have change now, but I still wouldn't sail with them. Overall, our 2 completed WC's on a mega ship and smaller ship cost virtually the same per day, but the overall standards on the smaller, higher base fare cruise was vastly superior.

Affirmative, they are at the fwd end of Decks 10 & 11, with the Bridge being deck 12 On both decks, these areas can be accessed from either the port or stbd alleyways, which, if I recall correctly have a X-alleyway fwd. It's been > 10 yrs since I sailed on either ship, so memory might be slightly hazy. Note - at times they did close the areas, but normally they were open for arrivals, canal transit, etc.

Not sure where the reference to repositioning cruises came from, since nobody has mentioned them in this thread. Having worked in the industry and spent almost 30 years as Master on pax vessels, I am very well aware of the voyage definitions. A repositioning cruise, or as they used to be called "Line-Voyages", can be any cruise where a ship is repositioning from 1 home port to another. Some of these voyages are long, being considerably more than an ocean crossing. Back in my days on cruise ships, SS Oriana did two 7-week repositioning cruises each year, departing Southampton, crossing the Atlantic, sail the entire west coast of North America to Vancouver and then down to Sydney. She retraced the route 4 months later, returning to Southampton. Not technically a Grand Voyage, but an impressive itinerary and longer than most of the options you posted. Viking also has about 4 lengthy repositioning cruises annually on Orion and Mars. The Viking Orion is based in Sydney/Auckland during the southern hemisphere summer then repositions up to Vancouver for the Alaska season. In August/September she returns to Sydney/Auckland. The entire journey lasts 93 days, but again this is a repositioning cruise, not technically a Grand Voyage, which also has numerous shorter segments. Personally, cruises of only 30 - 40 days don't meet my definition of a Grand Voyage, as those are just nice relaxing short cruises. I consider a true "Grand Voyage to be about the same length as the shorter World Cruises, they just focus on specific regions, rather than circumnavigating the globe. A classic example of my expectation for a Grand Voyage is the HAL 133-day Pole to Pole cruise R/T Ft Lauderdale in 2025. Without knowing the cruises you quoted, I'll suggest some of them are segments of longer World Cruises, or repositioning cruises.