Heidi13

Couldn't be further from the truth. I believe the Viking Ocean ships are classed as Ice 1C, which is the lowest level of ice classification. When you book cruises in these regions you need to expect changes due to ice conditions, unless the vessel has a Polar Ice classification of 5 or better. With Ice 1C, the vessel cannot legally sail in other than minimal ice, regardless if the hull is pristine, or has a few minor dents. Ice conditions are constantly changing, so what is legal for 1 cruise may exceed the vessel's ice class the next cruise. When booking a cruise in ice regions on a ship that isn't PC 5 or better, you need to have realistic expectations and expect significant itinerary changes. We have a similar cruise booked in 2025, on a non-Polar Class ship and if we make any of the ports we will be happy. If you don't want to miss ports, may I suggest the Caribbean and Meddy are better options.

The Master and Chief Engineer will inspect the internal spaces to ensure the hull plating is not cracked or holed. If the hull is compromised a Class Surveyor (Lloyds probably) will specify any temporary repairs required and issue a "Condition of Class Certificate", which states the repairs required and any operational restrictions. The condition of class remains until permanent repairs are made good. Cracks can be ground out and clad welded fairly quickly. This was a common repair when I managed the shipyard. Another option I have seen is a cement box, having crossed the Pacific on a ship with one. Permanent repairs will probably be at the 1st Special Survey drydocking.

When mentioning the Skytrain option from YVR, I suggest you should also mention the $5 pp YVR surcharge for trips departing the airport. For 1 or 2 pax it is still cheaper than the fixed priced taxis to downtown, but with 3 it is very close to the cost of a taxi.

January 1976 on SS Uganda of British India SNCo. Cruised the meddy for a fortnight with 1,000 kids and 300 1st Class pax.

Kent, On Viking, another chap arranged curry nights, which were served family style in a closed off section of the MDR. I believe the last one had about 90 attendees. He arranged it with the Executive Chef through the GM. On the 2023 WC, had we not cancelled, I would have met with the GM to arrange and provide a plan where the numbers were managed carefully. Back in 2015 on our Princess WC, I arranged a curry dinner for our table of 8. I arranged it with our section's A/Hd Waiter.

I disagree, as swapping cards completely negates the system, as the system only works if Gangway Security confirms each person has the correct card. The system is designed that when specific pax and/or crew cannot go ashore, their individual card is flagged accordingly. This is applicable to all crew on IPM and any crew/pax flagged by local authorities for interview. If I was flagged for interview by the local authorities and took my wife's card, it would not alarm at the gangway. If the security staff do not notice the incorrect photo, I could depart the ship. I would not relish being Master and explaining to CBSA why the pax was permitted to disembark unchallenged.

Unfortunately, when humans are involved, no system is failsafe, especially when open to single person errors. The gangway security crew is tested periodically by one of the officers (often a newly signed-on officer) testing the system by boarding with an incorrect card. Woe betide the gangway crew if the boarding officer wasn't challenged. I have also seen this drill escalated to the officer, once through security making a run up the stairs towards the Bridge. When Security is lax, I assume the Master & Seco are not scheduling many tests. However, when a blocked pax or crew card is entered the resulting sound certainly alerts the security staff.

Thanks Clay - This was going to be one of the questions I asked on the HAL Board. Do they supply Indian food upon request, similar to what we did on both Princess & Viking. Most of my deep sea ships, both pax & cargo had mostly Indian galley staff, so we had some brilliant curries onboard. The cooks could be seen every morning out on deck grinding the herbs and spices.

Unfortunately, the Youtube film provides minimal insight into what is conducted in drydock, as it mostly shows a very high level summary of some of the maintenance work on the hotel side. It doesn't include any of the primary reasons for the ship heading to drydock. Yes, the hotel crew had their visit to the bottom of the drydock, but only after all the work was complete, as noted by the condition of the hull. Based on numerous drydockings from a ship perspective and also having managed a shipyard for a few years, this really provides minimal insight to what is included in drydocking a pax vessel.

Our TA voices a similar opinion, Viking L/A Office is by far the worst cruise line they deal with. We are not her only pax that have moved on due to the booking process.

Thanks Clay. Affirmative, just booked the 133-day Pole to Pole with HAL, which encompasses 3 longer Viking cruises we were planning. Based on my research, that confirms my expectations, but as I mentioned in a previous post, we are adjusting our expectations accordingly. The onboard experience will be a significant downgrade from Viking, but the booking process was seamless. Final payment 4-months before and full refund of all monies paid until 4-months before departure. Therefore, no financial risk and no need for trip cancellation insurance until making final payment.

Other than confirmation of receipt and that it will be escalated, nothing yet.

Sadly, one of the many losses from the Carnivalisation process after P&O Princess Cruises was purchased by Carnival in 2003.

Thanks, I've read a few of his posts in the past, back when I did a similar job prior to retirement, but it hasn't been part of my regular reading lately. Thanks for the reminder, I'll check it out more frequently.

Much of the hull cleaning these days is completed in water with divers, between regular drydockings. It is only cleaned in drydock as part of the preparation specifications for the application of new coatings. With respect to ADA improvements, it depends on the scope of work, as unless it involves structural changes, or other significant work, many of these can also be completed while the ship is operational.

Drydockings are scheduled to complete the required regulatory inspections, most of which are under water or within the tanks. The hull is also cleaned and recoated with anti-fouling. While in drydock, they will endeavour to complete some hotel maintenance, using the crew and contracted resources. This includes all aspects of the hotel operation, such as plumbing, electrical, flooring, upholstery, painting, etc. Exterior areas will also receive maintenance with scaling/painting. On longer drydock they may schedule some capital projects.

Send me a note with ports of interest and if I have them, I'll forward.

I concur with the others, as I never travel without a reservation. You cannot arrive more than 1 hr before departure and must be at the ticket booth at least 30 mins before departure. Arriving outside these times voids your reservation. Yes, you can contact them and make changes for a small cost, but they will only change a reservation to a sailing that has reserved space available. In the summer, many sailings are fully booked a number of days in advance. From YVR, you have to negotiate the tunnel, which can start to back up anytime after 14:00. At times it can take an hour or more to reach Tsawwassen. Personally, I would book the 17:00, which gives you lots of time if the flights are late, YVR arrivals is busy, or the tunnel is backed up. If you make good time, you can always stop into Ladner or Tsawwassen. When making a reservation, they give you the option of paying only the reservation fee, at time of booking, or paying everything up front. Personally, I always only pay the reservation fee up front and any balance at the ticket booth.

Your insurance options may be limited depending on which World Cruise you are considering, specifically, the deposit amount, total cost and how early the full payment is due. When researching insurance options, I look for, at a minimum: - Trip cancellation/interruption - insuring the deposit amount at time of booking, which for us can be up to 2-yrs before the cruise. Then increasing the amount when full payment is made, which can be as early as 6 - 12 months before sailing, depending on cruise line - Medical - we look for a minimum of $5 million pp, to as high as $10 million, c/w emergency evacuation and repatriation. - Pre-existing condition waiver Unfortunately, when booking our 2nd and 3rd World Cruises on Viking, no local or online broker would accept the risk, due to the cruise cost, early booking and 6 month PIF date. Our only insurance option was the cruise line insurance, which we supplemented with a local medical policy.

Since most port visits are fairly short, I research extensively and have the day planned to maximise the opportunities available. During the research phase, I create a Word Document for each port, which upon completion are saved in a ports folder. Probably have 150+ ports listed, do date. In addition to online research, I request various travel books from the local library. My port documents include the following sections: - Port Info: includes some general info, day and date of arrival, ETA, ETD, docking/tendering and any info on where ship berths/tenders, distance to town, availability of shuttle bus, currency, exchange rate, other cruise ships in port. - History: some brief history of the port and surrounding area. - Local Attractions: list of local attractions of interest with some notes - Local Restaurants/Pubs/Breweries/Wineries: name and address of any that are of interest - Private Small Group Tour Providers: list with contact details of tour providers - Ship Shorex: list and description of any tours of interest - Notes on risk analysis with respect to taking private tours/shore-ex: this includes probability of arriving at port, distance of attractions from port, any local traffic issues, safety, ability/cost of getting to next port in unlikely event of missing ship, etc. On completion of the research, I broadcast each port file from my laptop to the TV, so we can both see the info. We review the attractions, deciding our preferences. Then review the private tours and shore-ex, finally making a decision to book a specific private tour, a shore-ex or independent exploration. Once the decisions and bookings are finalised, I update each port file with our plan - Tour name and URL - Contact name/details - Meeting point and time - Description of tour - If independent exploration, how we depart ship (walk into town/shuttle/taxi), and a rough plan of what we hope to see. Once complete, I print each page and ask the printer to bind them. Prior to arrival, we can review our plan for each port. Not that important for shorter cruises, but when visiting 50+ port, after a few ports you can't remember what the plans were for the remainder. -

If Butchart Gardens was the draw in Victoria, in Vancouver, you may wish to check out VanDusen Botanical Gardens.

We had minimal smoke last week at the tail end of the heat wave, but nothing similar to the interior. Regardless, it would not impact marine operations, as ships continue sailing, even in dense fog.

On both previous World Cruises I have had 1 haircut onboard about mid-cruise, as time ashore is too valuable to waste on a haircut. In future, I will bring the clippers and do it myself, as I do these days at home.

If my memory is correct, I recall the tides around Tilbury can be up to an hour different from Central London, so rather than checking London Bridge, you may want to check the tides at Tilbury, which I expect are also available online.

Personally, we don't use the ferries without a reservations, so my estimate of 4 hrs downtown to downtown included making a reservation. Even on a tour, it is still about 8 hrs travel for 4 hrs sightseeing. You also need to consider risk of ferry delays, which can be traffic, weather, mechanical, etc. Only benefit of a bus is they don't have to arrive at least 30 mins before departure to confirm the reservation.