Heidi13

Clay, Affirmative, the AIS still has her at Ancona and flying the Italian flag, so not yet handed over to the owners. She left the berth back in December, but only for a short period, so not sure if she has completed sea trials.

On a westbound cruise from North America to Australia, the cloxs are put back on multiple nights. On this type of cruise, most changes are 1 hr per night. The objective is to keep Meridian Altitude, when the sun is at the highest point, close to Noon (ship's time). Most cruise lines also endeavour to have the ship at the correct local time in each port. When cloxs go back, my experience is the change is always implemented at 02:00. Depending on ports of call, you may cross the International Date Line (IDL) multiple times, but they usually only adjust the ship's date once. Westbound you miss a day, putting cloxs ahead by 24 hrs. When sailing eastbound from Australia to North America, the cloxs are put ahead on multiple dates. The same objectives, as per westbound sailings, drive the time changes. However, some Masters will adjust the cloxs at Noon, or close to Noon, rather than the more traditional 02:00. While this has a pax benefit of not losing sleep, it is primarily to assist with managing the mandated crew hours of rest. Crossing the IDL, you gain a day, so cloxs are put back by 24 hrs, so you experience the same date twice.

Whether you are booked on a 7-day or 121-day cruise, the process for being referred to shore medical facilities is the same, in any given port. However, the assistance provided can vary depending on your issue and whether Viking have permanent staff at that port. As per the previous response, whether you have Viking insurance, or a 3rd party policy, makes no difference to any ship assistance you may receive. If hospitalised, once picked up from the ship by ambulance, the insurance coverage, provided your claim is accepted, is responsible for your treatment and repatriation. In some ports, if Viking has a staff presence, you may receive some visits, but I certainly wouldn't expect that service. You can also receive assistance from your country's consulate. When the ship's doctor recommends treatment and/or tests ashore, the ship may arrange transportation (taxi) to the medical facility where they booked the appointment. The taxi may be at your expense and the treatment/test will also be at your expense. Again, it is best to ensure you are covered by the insurance. Will the ship send a crew member with you to assist - possibly, but in reality probably unlikely. In summary, plan to be on your own and depending on which port and the ship's staff, you may get some assistance. As with any insurance policy, please ensure you have read it thoroughly, knowing what is covered and what is NOT covered (exclusions). It is also critical to know the reporting a claim procedure and the time limits. Late reporting can be reason to deny a claim.

Since you used a US travel agent, they do not have the same consumer protections, as are available in the UK. As wowzz mentioned, your only recourse to getting money back may be through your credit card. When you use a US based TA, you are accepting the higher risks.

Totally agree. After suffering with a cell phone 24/7/365, I haven't had one since I retired 10 years ago. Been around the World 3 times, a couple of African safaris, 5 months in UK and many thousands of miles in the RV and never needed a phone. Never missed the darn thing.

Haven't experience that before. I believe most will accept bookings until the day before departure. Haven't tried that ourselves, but have met pax that booked day before.

Unfortunately, determining wave heights, especially from a Bridge about 80' above the water is little more than an educated guess. At least in my days, some of the officers may have embellished information provided to pax and then waited for the inevitable laundry rumours to start circling around the ship. Although you don't see the Deck Officers around the ship too often, these days, similar situations could possibly still occur.

Having worked on ships and had uniforms sent to the laundry by our steward, I have experienced the significant wear and tear that multiple visits to ship's laundry can cause to garments. We again experienced this on our 2015 Princess World Cruise, as pax. Based on these experiences, our preference is using the included self-service laundry services on our preferred cruise line.

Certainly won't dispute the wave heights, but that close to the coast, with very little fetch, 50' waves are highly unusual. In that area of the Meddy, I believe Storm Gloria in early 2020 had the largest recorded significant wave height, at about 28 feet. I recall this violent storm from the news, as we were on a World Cruise in the South Pacific. Rough seas and the effect on ships are more than just wave height, as any swell, confused seas, wave period and direction all play a role in ship movement.

Assuming you are not on a cruise that requires Visa applications, if the cruise isn't sold out they are keeping the maximum cabin categories open for any late bookings. Had the cruise been sold out, you would probably have a cabin assignment already. Yes, with a guarantee cabin then can delay the assignments until check-in at the pier, which we have experienced more than once. A couple of times we sailed with our son, we didn't have a cabin assigned until after departure, so our bags were sent to our son's cabin.

Just looked at Seabourn's cabins and the base cabin on most of them is an oceanview cabin of 295 sq feet that doesn't even have a balcony. On other ships, the base cabin is a Veranda Suite of about 355 sq feet. The comparable Viking cabins are DV & V (270 sq feet) for the oceanview and a PV (338 sq feet) for the Veranda Suite. Hardly much smaller than the equivalent cabins on Seabourn ships, as the DV & V cabins are 20 sq feet smaller and the PV is 17 sq feet smaller. I note Carnival (Seabourn) even refers to the "Oceanview" cabin as a "Suite", sorry but a 295 sq foot cabin with no balcony is hardly a suite. Reading the blogs from the current World Cruisers, I seem to recall the port talks are at 18:30, but they are also recorded and available to watch at your convenience in the cabin. You mentioned lack of entertainment or activities - I'm not certain which Viking you researched, as on our cruise we were glad to have experienced a couple of dozen 24.5 hr or 25 hr days, as we needed the additional time to sleep after all the activities. While Viking will provide all the arrangements, this is certainly not our reason for Viking being our current preferred cruise line, as I am more than capable of making our own arrangements, subject to risk and respective costs. Viking is all about the thinking person's cruise, with numerous exceptional lectures and low key entertainment.

We also have other reasons than accepting children for not considering Seabourn, primary being they are owned by Carnival, the cruise line that invented "Carnivalisation", a process that has decimated at least 3, once great cruises lines, one of which I worked for. Their treatment of pax in Antarctica was also a disgrace, when their new expedition ship damaged a stabiliser and they continued to operate across the Drake Passage. Sadly, that is the standards we experienced on Carnival brands and why we no longer sail on any of their brands.

It's acceptable to post the names of guides and tour companies that you have used.

OMG Jim, I can see a pie, washed down with a few pints, but Mickey D is really stooping to the low end. Even food on Princess would be gourmet after suffering Mickey D.😁

Although we avoid getting that close to the shoreline, I have multiple similar experiences in the Atlantic, Bay of Biscay and Western Approaches.

This is boiler plate text that is included in the Terms & Conditions of every cruise we have taken. Fuel is the largest cost for cruise lines, so they have to protect themselves against significant price increases. I have never experienced a bunker surcharge in over 45 yrs of cruising.

Food is highly subjective, but on World Cruises, Viking tend to ramp up the standards. I suggest checking out any of the current travel blogs from the Neptune, the live thread from the current World Cruise and the live thread from the 21/22 World cruise on Star. Going back to 2020 WC, you can also check out our daily posts from the Sun - www.AndyandJudi.com

CruiseMapper is not a reliable source. The quote has at least 2 significant errors: - The bar is not open 24 hrs per day. Hours are posted in the Viking Daily, with normal times being 06:00 to 23:59. It may open earlier for early arrivals. - The Atrium covers 3 decks, not 2.

Yes, but similar information is available from any of the met offices and has been for many years. Windy.com is just an easy resource to find.

Rob, I heard this about 6 months ago, that Viking can't sell Canadians Tripmate. However, for those of us with existing policies, they still honour the policy and pay out claims.

..... or 2😁

Sadly, my favourite ship is long gone - SS Oriana Of current ships, any of the Viking Ocean tonnage, as they are virtually identical.

Even for World Cruises of > 120 days, we only pack sufficient clothes for a week, or the longest stretch of port days in a row. On a TA, you don't have many ports days, so we would pack for about 1 week. Higher level cabins on Viking have included laundry, while the others have access to the complimentary laundry facilities on each deck. Viking also includes the laundry soap. Most decks have 4 washers & driers in each laundry room, with an ironing board and iron. If you want additional info check out the Viking Board https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/689-viking-ocean/

The projections on Windy.com are based on forecasts and computer models, so those that are 7-days out, are no more accurate than you get from the local weather office. Windy.com is a great resource for current conditions and possibly the next 24/48 hrs, but a week out is about as accurate as using a crystal ball, especially mid-ocean. While they have satellites, lots of the mid-ocean raw meteorological information is still provided by mariners on ships completing reports every 6 hours.

It will assist receiving suggestions if we know which country you reside.