Heidi13

You can purchase tickets for the castle online for a given date and time. This saves waiting in any queues. If interested in some private tours, I have 3 local vendors that I would consider for tours of Edinburgh and the surrounding area.

May I suggest having your TA call the L/A Office until they receive an agent that knows the booking rules. Sadly, dealing with L/A agents lacking in training/experience is all too common. I expect my TA to ask the Viking agent on what grounds they are refusing to rebook the same cruise once you cancelled, as that is the question I would be asking my TA.

Won't comment on tipping, but I'll suggest that most cruise ship crew members have higher protection than many employees in the US service industry, based on some of the wages and conditions mentioned recently. The International Labour Organisation's MLC 2006, as amended clearly specifies the minimum employment standards for seafarers. It also specifies minimum wages, which from memory are about $650/month. I believe the US minimum wage for tipped employees is only $2.13/hr, which is less than the equivalent minimum wage of the tipped crew members. The marine industry is highly regulated and all crew members have employment contracts and they sign articles of agreement, outlining employment standards. Since this is the Viking Board, I note that all Viking Ocean ships are flagged in Norway, hardly an unexpected country. With the exception of Viking and a couple of others, most cruise lines flag their ships under "Flags of Convenience", which must still comply with minimum international conventions. How many employees in the shoreside service industry also receive free room and board and paid transportation to/from work. The crew members on board also receive free medical/dental care, which is certainly not available to many US service industry employees.

Just booked a R/T from Vancouver, but not until June 2025. Departing Vancouver 6th June, so it will be 12 yrs since our previous Alaska cruise. My largest gap between Alaska cruises since my first in 1979. Just under 800 days to go😁

When I go to Richmond with my Chinese friends we enjoy Dum Sum at the Royal Seafood restaurant at Blundell & Garden City Way. I'm sure they have English menus, but since I don't do the ordering, I've never seen one. Arrive before 11:00 and receive a 20% discount.

Affirmative, they are making permanent repairs to the vessel after the Drake Passage incident. It is just over 80 miles, so with arrival/departure it can easily be accomplished dock to dock in under 6 hrs. The vessel also has no pax to disembark, so embarkation could start immediately upon arrival. They could sail from the shipyard at 06:00-07:00 tomorrow morning and easily make the sailing from Fort Lauderdale.

Lots of private tours available in most ports. In addition to the previous suggestions, google small group private tours in xxx (enter port name) Once you get past Trip advisor, viator, trip advisor, etc you should find some small local tour providers.

The pollution zone is Stbd side Dk 8 aft of the main pool and just fwd of the funnel. For the smoke to affect the dk 8 cabins, on a ship at sea, you need to consider the relative wind. For smoke to move towards the cabins, the wind would need to be from right astern and higher than the ship's speed. Even if you experienced those conditions, the low volume of smoke would be dissipated before reaching the cabins. Is it possible - yes, but is it a very low probability.

Comparing a cruise from Seattle to one from Vancouver is similar to comparing apples to oranges. Seattle may only be about 100 miles south, but those cruises sail west of Vancouver Island through the Pacific Ocean, while Vancouver cruises use the more sheltered Inside Passage. The definition of rough weather is also very subjective, as what you consider as rough, for me is an average day at the office. It is further compounded by the ship's movement in any given seaway being influenced by many factors, not least of which is the ship's stability and type/direction of seas experienced. I have seen 35 kt winds result in a gentle rocking, while others have been a violet corkscrewing motion, all depends on ship's course in relation to wind/swell. Based on my experience at sea, you cannot accurately specify that another person shouldn't have any problems, without knowing them and more importantly, the ship and conditions to be experienced. I've seen old sea dogs, who got sick as soon as they sailed and then were fine for the remainder of their contract and others who had never been sick, but experienced a specific combination of ship loading and sea state that triggered sickness. You can NEVER predict.

I believe my post on this subject was on the tread discussing the Norwegian Sea movement. The ship's centre of gravity doesn't roll or pitch, but everywhere else rotates around the CoG, with parts of the ship further from the CoG moving more than those closer. Best simple comparison is a kid's see-saw Therefore, being midships you experience less movement than being further fwd or aft. The movement is further multiplied as you head to higher decks. When the ship is pitching (bow going up/down) the Explorers Lounge fwd on Dk 7/8 experiences significantly more movement than the Lounge Bar on Dk 1. Even in the Lounge Bar, seat closer to the ship's centreline have less movement than seats at the windows, if the ship is rolling. Similar considerations between World cafe and Main Dining Room. A further strategy, when the ship is pitching, is to request a seat in MDR closest to the entrance, as further aft gets more movement. Affirmative, a PV on Dk 6 will have more movement than a midships DV on Dk 3 &4, but less movement than Deck 8.

Best guess is lack of space

The science behind ship movement doesn't change. By booking a more fwd PV on Dk 5, rather than midships DV, you will experience more movement in the PV than the DV. From experience, this was proven when on Viking Sun - our initial midships cabin on Dk 4 had significantly less movement than the fwd suite on Dk 4 that we had for the final 3-weeks.

When it comes to motion of the ocean you have so many variables that affect the motion, it is difficult to predict how you will react. I wouldn't overthink crossing the Pacific Ocean, as any body of water can provide the conditions for uncomfortable movement. If you have cruised extensively and not experienced seasickness, the probability of experiencing it on the World Cruise is fairly low. However, it does pay to be prepared, especially on a 4-month World Cruise. The Scopolamine patch is prescription only in the U.S. so you may wish to discuss the pros/cons with your GP. However, I suggest considering some lower risk strategies: - Seabands, it is critical to research and learn how to properly position them for maximum effect - OTC meds, such as Gravol - Ginger sweeties - Onboard and feeling queasy, use some of the strategies I posted a couple of days ago by staying lower and more midships, avoiding Explorers, World Cafe, etc.

Well said, that is such a true statement, but sadly is contrary to what is happening these days. Academia dictates that learning on a ship isn't effective, as they can only control the learning in a classroom. However, in my experience, responding effectively to incidents, such as the Viking Sky, is best learned by experience, serving on an actual ship. I spent over 3 yrs as a cadet, of which only 6 months was in college. The college phases were to pass the exams, as we certainly didn't learn this job in a classroom. When I worked cruise ships, after completing the cadet program, I expected to be 3rd Officer, who is the junior watchkeeping officer for about 7 years, before being promoted to 2nd Officer and being in charge of a navigation watch. It would have been another 5 - 7 yr wait for promotion to Chief Officer and another 7 - 10 yrs for Captain. Our son did the local Vancouver cadet program, which was a 4 yr program. After 12 months in school and 6 months seatime he was sailing as 3rd Officer on cruise ships. Upon completion of the cadet program and with only another 6 months seatime, he could be promoted to 2nd Officer. Our son was actually promoted to Senior 2nd Officer, with a few months more seatime than I had upon completing my cadet program and starting as 3rd Officer. Fortunately, while promotion through the junior ranks is fairly rapid, I am pleased to see that Viking have only highly experienced Masters and Staff Captains. Having first sailed as Master at only 28 yrs old, on our local Ro/Pax, I can now look back and wonder how I survived those first few years. I had all the necessary training and certification, but certainly didn't have the same experience as some of the older Masters.

When proceeding to the checkout, in our experience, the shore-ex was automatically paid with by OBC. Once we ran out of OBC, it requested a credit card number or electronic transfer. On the purchase where we ran out of OBC, it used the last of the OBC and then requested payment for the remaining balance. We found the process seamless between using OBC and credit card.

Haha!! only worked on 1 or 2 from the Tyne, most of mine were from the Clyde, Barrow-in-Furness & Belfast.

Ships will naturally flex in a seaway, but much of the noise comes from poor fit and finish. Back when I was at sea, it was common to find pieces of folded up cardboard etc jammed into spaces to reduce the noise. Since you mentioned Sky Princess, if you ever sail on Diamond or Sapphire, those were both built in Japan and were vastly superior build quality to the Italian or French builds.

All the Deck 8 cabins have the potential for walkers above, as Deck 8 & 9 is used as an alternative to completing laps on Deck 2.

When reserving optional shore-ex online, they are not guaranteed until you complete the payment process. Therefore, if you are selecting for multiple ports, if you leave tours in your basket, they may not be available when you go to the checkout. Yes - tours are paid in full at time of booking Cancellation - how you are refunded depends on how many days you cancel before the cruise. If you cancel when MVJ is available, we received refunds to the same method used for payment (credit card). About 1-week before departure, MVJ is not available, as the information is sent to the ship. If you called Viking to cancel a shore-ex, during this period, you would most likely receive refundable OBC at the ship. If cancelled onboard you receive refundable OBC.

Your pax statement and MVJ will advise how much OBC is available for purchasing optional shore-ex pre-cruise.

Affirmative, always metal, but not always steel, as aluminium is also used in ship construction on some ships.

Since the discussion is centred on nautical stuff, it looks like I may have enjoyed an IPA this morning, rather than a cup of tea, The typo in the last paragraph of my previous post should read 6 hours, not 6 yrs. DW applies the patch 6 hours before the ship start rocking, so the medication can build in her system and replaces the patch after 3-days.

Based on the previous newbuilds, the probability of Saturn having the planetarium is low. Viking installed them on ship 5 (Orion) and ship 6 (Jupiter), but have not been included on subsequent newbuilds, with Saturn being # 10. FYI - cruisemapper often includes incorrect info.

Wow, lots of questions in the multiple posts. Hopefully, memory works and I get you a response for all questions. Fortunately, I am not afflicted by motion of the ocean, but DW is. With respect to remedies, everyone reacts differently, so it is trial and error, to determine what works best for you, in those particular situations. However, the one constant is pre-cruise book you can book a cabin that it is as close to midships and on a lower deck. The further you are from the ship's centre of gravity, the more movement. Therefore, ship movement increases the further fwd or aft you move from the middle of the ship and is multiplied by going to higher decks. In addition to selecting a cabin, when in rough seas, avoid Explorer's Lounge - the Living Room on Deck 1 is a better option, as are seats closer to the ship's centre line rather that seats at the windows. Avoid the World Cafe, favouring the main restaurant, and request a table close to the entrance. Tables further aft get more movement. Recording sea conditions from current/previous cruises really isn't worth the effort, due to the number of variables. Sea state is greatly influenced by water depth and tidal currents, and ship movement depends of factors such as the ship's stability (GM), which changes based on water & bunkers (plus many others), swell and/or wind waves, wave period and direction, fetch, wind speed and ship's speed, to name a few. The ship's course in relation to wind/swell is also a significant factor. Therefore, one cruise in 35 kts winds could be uncomfortable sailing, but another cruise in similar conditions could have gentle rolling. Weather and sea state forecasts are always best from the source, which is the local region's meteorological office. However, for a quick world wide summary I find windy.com to be the most user friendly. As with all 3rd party software, there is no guarantee regarding the accuracy, unless they are a professional weather routing service. For motion of the ocean remedies, DW uses a layered approach. Once at sea she normally applies her pressure wrist bands and provided they are positioned correctly, work well for most conditions. As the motion increases, she starts with gravol, then if heavy weather is expected, she applies a patch about 6 yrs prior. Fortunately she doesn't experience the known issues with the patch, which was available over the counter in Canada. Sadly, it is no longer available for sale, so not sure what she will do once her current supply is expired.

The AIS now shows that the ship has been reflagged from Italy (builders) to Norway (owners), so seatrials must already have been completed.