Heidi13

Hardly a similar comparison, other than the chairman of both companies being the same person. Based on memory, the primary driver of increasing the size of the 3 RVL ships was to make them financially viable, so the increased length was almost 100' and the pax count increased by about 200. Hardly the same as the Viking Ocean ships where the increased size is driven by SOLAS requirements and the pax are increasing by 68. To increase the size of the ship, but retain the same number of cabins would require a complete re-design. By effectively adding a new section the remainder of the ship remains the same, with only the cabin layout changed, and those are all prefabricated in factories outside the shipyard. If the ship size had to increase, this is the most cost effective option that also keeps the ships almost identical.

Moving to a new country by cruise ship/ocean liner used to be a common occurrence. Back in the days of steam liners, we also had cargo holds, so loading possessions on the ship was not an issue. On SS Oriana, prior to departure from Southampton, bound for Sydney, we loaded many crates and even a car. The modern cruise ships have no holds, so shipping possessions on the same ship is no longer an option. You will need to hire a shipping company for that task. Once you have Visas and/or residency permit arranged, arriving by ship is no different than arriving on a flight. However, if the cruise you select does not end in Japan, you will need to advise the cruise line and receive permission to disembark before the end of the cruise. This can incur a premium charge, as it involves additional paperwork. Even if the cruise ended in Japan, I would advise the cruise line of your intent to stay in Japan, as that will be noted on the manifests.

A couple of issues are involved. Since this is Port Everglades to San Pedro, this is a coastal voyage between 2 US ports, so the PVSA is applicable. For a foreign-flagged ship to carry pax between 2 US ports, she must visit a distant foreign port. A distant foreign port in this region includes Cartagena and the ABC islands, it does not include any of Central America or other Caribbean ports. Therefore, on these cruises, Cartagena is normally added for PVSA compliance. If Cartagena is cancelled, then Viking needs to substitute another distant foreign port. Affirmative, Cozumel to Colon is not possible overnight, as cruise ships need to be at the Colon breakwater by about 05:30. Hardly surprising the L/A office, even at the supervisor level, is not aware of this most basic information.

If it was the Sea Spirit, her Ice Classification is 1D, which is the lowest level and capable of operating in 1st year ice 4 - 6". The Viking Ocean ships are classed as 1C, which is a higher level of classification, so can operate in thicker 1st year ice. If it was the nuclear icebreaker then it can handle most ice conditions. The Viking Expedition ships have a newer Polar Class 6, which is significantly higher than 1C or 1D. As I mentioned before, the ice conditions change daily, at times even hourly, so what is not passable today could be clear tomorrow or next week. Pax are also not privy to the ice forecasts, so while it may look like minimal ice, the forecast could be for ice conditions to develop. Pax wanting to cruise these regions need to research the ship, specifically the hull ice classification and the probability of maintaining the itinerary. If the itinerary is critical, pay the money and book a cruise on a Polar Class 6, or even better, a Polar Class 5 hull. With the Polar Classifications, a smaller number handles thicker ice.

Since you didn't mention which port your friend is considering to disembark, it is impossible to provide a definitive answer to your question. Embarking in Vancouver, if you were to disembark in another Canadian port, your friend could be in non-compliance with the Canadian Coasting Trade Act, which restricts trade between Canadian ports by foreign-flagged tonnage, unless approved by the Minister of Transport. However, since very few R/T Vancouver cruises visit another Canadian port, it is most likely your friend is hoping to disembark in a US port. Therefore, the voyage would be an International Voyage, so Canadian or US Cabotage Laws are not applicable. As others mentioned, you would need to advise the ship in advance and pay any premiums charged, if approved.

Since the pax is boarding in Canada, clearly US Cabotage laws are not applicable. Prior to responding, did you research or consider applicable Canadian Laws, as we also have a Cabotage Law, which is called the Coasting Trade Act.

Unfortunately that is an area of the business I have had no involvement. I suspect it will be based on contracts and when reservations were made, rather than ship size.

Having divergence between different ships in a brand is nothing new and has been around since I started going to sea. Back in the 70's, when P&O had 6 ships, although all operated as a single brand, they had 3 distinct groups. - Oriana & Canberra - although totally different ships, were reasonably close. Note - Oriana always had a divergence based on location - the life onboard changed considerably when it sailed to Sydney for the Aussie cruising season. This was not fragmenting the brand, it was providing the pax what they wanted. - Uganda - totally different class of cruising with 1,000 kids and 300 pax who never saw the kids. Although it had 1,000 kids, as far as the adult pax were concerned, it was a kid free ship. - The 3 ships with Princess names were even different, with the Sun having a different vibe from the Island/Pacific. I'll suggest it clearly worked well, since in the 70's/80's, P&O was the world's largest shipping company. Regardless of which ship we worked on, it was a reasonably standard operation, even if the mix of pax was different. Personally, I don't see how the current mix of adult only and kid friendly P&O ships is any different to what I experienced. Selective enforcement of dress codes is also nothing new, as on Oriana the dress code when cruising from Southampton was different from cruising from Sydney. If a cruise line is small they can survive with a small, focused pax experience. However, if the cruise line expands, they usually expand the experience to appeal to a larger demographic. Personally, I don't consider this fragmenting the brand, but expanding, or growing the brand. All within reason. Clearly your higher level mainstream, premium or luxury brands won't grow to include party and/or booze cruises, but having some ships adult only and others kid friendly has worked in the past. Could HAL operate some vessels adult only and still maintain brand consistency, personally I don't see a problem, if they make that change. Based on what I have read, some of the ships/cruises are predominantly kid free already without a formal policy.

I first heard about the small increase in size when onboard the Viking Sun back in 2020. Being retired now for 10 yrs, I don't pay too much attention to SOLAS changes, so I don't know what changes are requiring the increased size. However, in general terms, increasing a ship's beam increases the Metacentric Height (GM) and Righting Lever (GZ), which is the force that returns a ship to the upright, when inclined. All based on a similar distribution of weights.

P&O UK have operated adult only and kid-friendly ships since 2019. I don't believe it fragments the brand and it has been successfully implemented.

The primary reason is the itinerary, but the P2P novelty is also a factor. With the exception of S/America, Norway and E/W Coasts of Africa, I have been in most of the world's ports, many of them multiple times. On each of our World Cruises, I believe only about 3 or 4 of the 35 and 50 ports were new to me. On the P2P, at least 50 of the 60+ ports are new to me. It also stops at the Falkland Islands, which is of interest, as had I not left P&O, I could have been there during the war and knew most of the officers that did serve. It also adds another 10 new countries to my list of those visited. So lots of positives with the itinerary, whereas Viking's World Cruise is almost a repeat of the 2020 and 2023 cruises.

Having just booked our first HAL cruise, in our experience, the price differential can minimal, depending on the cruise. 2023 Viking 121-night World Cruise in a midships balcony - CAN $533/day 2025 HAL 133-night P2P in a midships OV - CAN $439/day Viking includes nearly all drinks, includes a shore-ex in each port, laundry, Visas and included CAN $5,500/pp OBC, whereas HAL has a paultry CAN $500/pp. Viking also includes Business Class flights, whereas HAL provides a paultry CAN $500 credit. By the time we end the cruise, the cost per day on HAL will be significantly more, for what I expect will be a much lower standard

So true. On Island Princess, as 3/0, I had one of the fwd cabins next to the Bridge. My commute was about 2-steps. Tough commute.🤣

Didn't really pay too much attention to the cost, as we had lots of non-refundable OBC to use - probably used to be in the $40-50 range. However, feedback from pax on the recent World Cruise, who attended most cooking classes on previous cruises, is that they are not as good. Less hands-on work, as the Chef did most of the cooking.

Since the mega ships are all newer, most if not all will have Hi-fog systems installed in the E/R. These known down a fire quickly, often in a few seconds. Therefore, on newer tonnage it may not even have resulted in the General Emergency Signal.

They were held on the Neptune during the World Cruise, on sea days. You book them at the shore-ex desk onboard the ship.

Perhaps I can provide some insight into the practice, as someone who has worked on cruise ships. The hotel crew may work up to 12 hr day for 7 days and some of the contracts are from 6 to 9 or 10 months for ratings. However, unlike shore based employment, you have no commute to/from work, you have no house to maintain, meals to cook, etc. When I left cruise ships working 12+ hrs per day to an 8 hr day on the coast, I had less free time due to travel, etc. Landlubbers generally believe the hours are excessive, but from actual experience, my free time on live aboard ships was greater than working shorter shifts on a coastal vessel. Wages - yes, based on western standards the wages are low. However, compared to the cost of living in their home countries, many of the ratings maintain a high standard of living. When I worked as Navigator, I made considerably more than the hotel ratings, but my standard of living was significantly less than most of the ratings. When providing money in advance, the crew will always gracefully accept, showing appreciation. However, as a pax, you are not privy to some of the conversations taking place in the crew bar/rec room. BTW - I've been working and cruising on ships for over 40 yrs, have never offered a bribe, and get the same, if not better service. The crew are happy to accept your money, but there are other factors which enhance a crew member's work life, which tends to improve service levels. Having managed crews for almost 30 years as a Master, I know a little about motivating crew to perform, and other factors are more important than money, especially on a live-aboard vessel.

As for any ocean, weather is highly variable. S/California and Seattle are subject to different conditions, as L/A is at the northern edge of the trade winds, while Seattle is in the predominant SE/NW winds. From Seattle, the SE'ly storms can hit as early as September, but generally the first one is October and they can continue through to March/April. By May the NW winds are more prevalent and are generally less intense than the SE'ly, although over the past 40 yrs of working on the coast, I have experienced a number of good NW'ly summer storms. S/Cal departures have a higher probability of better weather year round, although in the winter months you can get frontal depressions that impact the normal NE Trade winds offshore. You can also experience Tropical Revolving Storms in the Pacific, which are a potential from about August to October.

Done, sent from one of our shaw emails

Affirmative

No argument here. Providing money in advance of service being received is a bribe.

At the reorg creating the Holland America Group, Carnival UK, etc. the management group was reduced, as similar roles from multiple brands with the new groups were assigned to a single manager, in a number of departments. I knew a number of the P&O, Princess & Cunard managers that were re-assigned, let go or retired. If they are creating more groups, the managers may be increasing this time. Unfortunately, everyone I knew is now retired, so I have no contacts left in the office, or on the ships.

Hi Clay - negative, not at this time.

I have no doubt we will enjoy the cruise, since I have survived 9-months on worse ships. Very impressed with the itinerary and visits to numerous smaller less mainstream ports.

For sure, we can meet up for a few pints. We are at our condo next to the Coast Harbourside, from June 30th to July 14th. I have an email address on the blog, so how about dropping me a note and we can arrange.