Heidi13

The size of a ship has very little to do with the ship's ability to handle seas. The design, scantlings and stability have greater impact on sea keeping qualities. To put it in perspective, the inaugural RCCL 200K ship received damage during her initial crossing of the Atlantic, in seas we used to cross comfortably at about 20 kts. I have completed many trans-Atlantics & trans-Pacifics and encountered Meddy storms on 20,000 to 40,000 ton liners - Oriana, Canberra & Uganda and they were all vastly superior ships to any current ships of over 100,000 tons. Best current ship for a trans-Atlantic is QM2. Personally, I would pick the ship that best meets your cruising style - smaller more luxury, or a floating mega resort.

Viking can be assigned either one of the World Cruise Centre berths (92 or 93), or berth 46 in the outer harbour. You can check the port's website a few months ahead to determine if a berth has been assigned.

A very well written letter to Viking post cruise. In my experience, the customer service levels provided by Viking's Los Angeles Office are dreadful. The customer service provided onboard is normally vastly superior to that provided by L/A. May I suggest that shore-ex issues are best resolved by bringing the matter to the attention of the Shore-ex Manager, shortly after returning from the tour. If shore-ex feedback forms are not provided after the tour, feedback can be provided to the Manager, or one of his/her subordinates. With respect to cruise line shore-ex, they are all provided by contractors in the respective ports, and as the vendor supply is limited, many cruise lines use the same vendors. The cruise lines endeavour to monitor the vendors, with crew members provided complimentary seats, regular formal audits and pax feedback. The comp crew seats are limited and formal audits aren't overly frequent, so pax feedback is the primary reporting tool. Therefore, it is critical feedback is provided onboard. In our experience, the Shore-ex staff do accept responsibility for vendor failings and were very quick to provide refunds, even when they weren't expected. Note - I don't have specific experience with Viking audits of shore-ex, but have myself completed them for another cruise line. I fully expect Viking do the same. I have also seen crew members, lecturers, etc receiving comp tickets on excursions. Regarding the winery tour - you mentioned being brought into a room immediately upon return to the ship. The vendor's failings were probably brought to the attention of the shore-ex Manager by one of the comp tickets attending the tour. The ship did the right thing, as I have also experience. Had you brought the other issues to the attention of the shore-ex dept, I have little doubt you would have had similar resolutions.

Thanks for providing this comparison, as I took one look at the Viking binoculars and stowed them under the desk for the duration. Based on a full-frame sensor, your zoom lens at 400 mm should be the equivalent of 8x binoculars. The best magnification in the marine environment is 7x or 8x, so a 350 - 400 mm lens should be comparable, if Viking provided standard maine binoculars. Discounting the quality of the Viking binoculars, this comparison really shows the poor specifications on the binoculars provided. Personally, I bring my 10x50 perma-focus, which are stronger than recommended, but I've used them for many years.

Negative, sea legs is a reference to your ability to walk around on a moving ship without hitting bulkheads, falling, etc. Having that sense of movement once ashore, I believe is from the inner ear. Usually clears fairly quickly.

Thanks Michelle - An interesting change and it can't be based on segments, as this year's WC doesn't have any. Probably realised that the alternative restaurants on previous World Cruises were rarely full, so they removed the limits.

Since the arrival time is an ETA (Estimated) and having experienced Piraeus/Athens traffic many times, I'll suggest Viking have provided excellent advice. Personally, if booking our own flights on points/miles, we would get a hotel and fly out the next day.

The balconies have a privacy screen that remains closed while at sea, as it also acts as a windbreak. To open the privacy screens normally requires approval of the Master.

Negative, even on 100+ night World Cruises, you get the same number of reservations as on a 7-night cruise. Doesn't bother us, since we never make advance reservations.

Based on your initial post, you indicated the cruise was initially booked for November 2020, so was a COVID cancellation. When Viking cancelled the initial cruise, you were provided a choice: 1). Full refund in cash, as per the Viking terms & conditions, OR 2). Future Cruise Voucher, with Viking probably offering 125% FCV for all money paid. If unused for 2-years, the original FCV would be void and Viking would return your original cash payment. However, if you accepted the vouchers and then used them to book a new cruise, they were considered as being used, so from that point onwards, they were always going to be a voucher, with no refund available in cash, either partially or in whole. This information has been discussed extensively, especially on cruise critic and should be known to all competent Travel Agents. If you accepted vouchers and used them for booking future cruises, then as per the terms of the vouchers, you are not eligible for any refund. This is a well known risk of accepting the vouchers. Viking didn't provide 25% uplift for no risk. However, if you paid for the cruise, SSBP, tips, tours, etc with cash, then you are entitled to receive refunds for unused portions. At this late point, this is usually provided by refundable onboard credit.

At present (Sunday) the forecasts are showing 40 kt winds and seas of 20 to 30' off the East Coast.

You may want to contact tellus and ask if you can book the Manfredi's private room. If not, this is also an option once you embark.

You have a couple of reasons for empty tables. Each of the alternative restaurants can handle a maximum number of covers each night (120 if memory is correct), which are spread out across the opening hours to ease the load. The entire room is not fully booked at 18:00 and then again at 20:00. Each galley has an electronic board that tracks the number of covers each night and the number of each entree ordered. Since reservations are made so far in advance, the percentage of no shows is another factor for empty tables and why you can often get a table many nights by turning up at the host/hostess desk.

Approximately 1 week prior to the cruise, the booking is removed from the website and sent to the ship. Therefore, from that point onwards, the booking is managed by the ship. Since the ship has no ability to issue cheques, they provide shipboard credit for any money paid in advance that is not used - shoreex in cancelled ports, gratuities for days missed, etc. These are notated as "Refundable Credits" in a pax shipboard account. Pax have the option of spending this money onboard, or having it refunded at the end of the cruise. We had this experience and received a cheque from Viking, shortly after we got home. The T&C do not specify how Viking provide refunds.

Due to this unfortunate extreme weather situation, the Master is making decisions based on the safety of the vessel, crew & pax. As a mariner, with many years of command experience, I note that 100 kt winds and 60' seas are serious risks to both the safety and comfort of the pax. You booked a cruise along the Norwegian coast during the winter months, which are notorious for extreme winter storms. If you book this type of cruise you should know the potential for delays and missed ports is extremely high. Especially in this region, at this time of year, the cruise itinerary is little more than a suggestion. Yes, the Master will endeavour to complete the itinerary, as published, but safety prevails, so weather changes are very likely. An informed consumer should be aware of these risks and only book this cruise, if prepared to accept changes. If you expect to receive the posted itinerary, I suggest the Caribbean is a more suitable itinerary. Since this is a high risk itinerary, I hope you protected the financial risks with travel insurance, so you can submit a claim for any missed ports. With respect to any refund, Viking's liability is clearly outlined in the Terms & Conditions you accepted by paying the deposit. If you are a "No show" as per the T&C you get no refund. In my experience, when ports are cancelled and any payments are refunded to your shipboard account, they are clearly identified as "Refundable Credits". When spending money onboard, the ship debits your "Non-refundable credits" if you have any. Therefore, at the end of the cruise, any "Refundable Credits" are sent by cheque to your home address within about 6 weeks.

To put it in perspective - the lead agency in any marine accident/incident is the Flag State, which in this case is Norway. The US, as an interested party, can request and assist the investigation under the direction of Norway. The interim and final reports will be published by Norway. This is similar to the Sky incident where both the UK and US were interested parties and assisted.

Wasn't able to leave a comment on your blog. On the ship's tour post, you mentioned the General Manager is 3rd in Command of the vessel and runs everything except engineering. This is not correct. The General Manager is a Department Head, same as the Chief Engineer and Staff Captain. The 2nd in Command is the Staff Captain, and if both the Master and Staff Captain were incapacitated, the 3rd in command is assumed by the Safety Officer, then one of the 1st Officers. They will all be command qualified. The Master is in overall command, with his/her direct reports being: - Staff Captain runs the Deck Dept, - Chief Engineer runs the Engineering Dept, and - General Manager runs the Hotel Dept. The General Manager has silver stripes, which means, although he is a Department Head, he is not a certified officer. I certainly hope the GM did not state he is 3rd in command.

While your Canadian TA is unable to book a cruise with Viking UK, there is no restrictions on you booking the cruise with your family member in UK. Your UK family member can book the cabin, providing both names at time of booking. You would then have to transfer funds over to UK to cover the cost. We have booked cruises in UK from Canada, without any issues. The primary risk is currency fluctuations.

I suggest contacting Viking directly for advice - tellus@vikingcruises.com

That is most disappointing feedback from what I assume is the ship's General Manager. This is definitely not our experience with the 3 we have experienced. Those are definitely comments to be included in the end of cruise survey.

Thanks Michelle - I would have enjoyed the tour, but DW not so much, as she doesn't do well on mountainous roads.

Suggest starting a new thread in the Venus Roll Calls. Here is a link. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2468-viking-venus-roll-calls/

We used them prior to our last cruise. They sent a package with labels, instructions and a list of prohibited items about 6 weeks before departure. We were provided a number of options for pick-up, so contacted them directly to reserve a 3 hr pick-up window. Place a label inside the case and attach another on the outside. You are provided with a tracking number so you can track the case(s). After being picked up from your door, you next see them in the cabin. If not included with the cruise, it can be costly, but it is a great service. When flying First/Business, cases are included in the flight cost, but using Luggage Forward saves lugging cases to the check-in and picking them up at arrivals. Great service, which we will use again.

Best guess is the distance from Gdansk to Ronne is about 190 to 200 n/miles. Using 195 nm at 15 kts requires 13 hrs steaming, to which you also need to add an hour for departure and 1 hr for anchoring and set-up. Total time required at 15 kts is about 15 hrs. Therefore, with even more speed available (costs more fuel) they could easily stay later in Gdansk. However, there are additional factors we are not privy to, such as longshoremen/tug/pilotage costs, which can significantly increase with overtime, or if an additional shift is required. We also are not privy to berth availability, tides, etc. The other potential factor is wanting to further reducing the transit speed, as this requires less fuel, which is the largest operational cost. They are also operating in an Emissions Control Region, so that may also factor into the fuel cost equation.

Pax on the ship(s) with combo washer/dryers, if not satisfied with the performance, need to include feedback directly to the GM or Customer Service Manager and on the end of cruise feedback. If the Neptune, as the newest ship has traditional machines installed by the shipyard contract, when they break down, Viking Operations must be replacing them with combo machines. Unless we provide feedback, they may continue to purchase replacement combo machines.