Heidi13

While many pax bring personal hair dryers, they are included on the list of prohibited items, which was posted above, as they are a potential fire hazard. Since they are on the prohibited list, they can be seized at any time, being returned at the end of the cruise. As the Chief posted above, any electronic appliance may not work due to the specific nature of marine wiring.

We have completed the Sydney flights from Vancouver - since we use One World Alliance, we flew Sydney - DFW- YVR. If we used Star Alliance, we could have flown direct Sydney to YVR on Air Canada. From Toronto: - One World - I'll suggest you have 2 options, both with 1 stop - YYZ to LAX (American) then LAX to Sydney (Qantas) - YYZ to DFW (American) then DFW to Sydney (Qantas) - Star Alliance - YYZ to YVR then the same plane departs direct to Sydney (Air Canada) In our experience, the Qantas flight in Business Class aboard the A-380, is vastly superior to Air Canada's B-777 Business Class. However, the American flight from DFW to VYR, in Business was no more than glorified economy.

On our last Viking cruise, our cabin steward noted DW's sandals were requiring repairs. He took them away and returned a couple days later and they were repaired. Another pax on the same cruise put sandals in the bin. The cabin steward rescued them and had them repaired, returning them a couple of days later. However, as the Chief mentioned, this isn't always available.

Haha!! That's one I don't have any worries, since I learned at an early age they are doffed prior to going inside.😁

Affirmative, no issues with electric toothbrush

Affirmative, the door to the cabins is on the Port side by the Library. They also have an exit on each side with stairs leading up to the fwd seating areas on Dk9. I attach a photo of the area showing the door.

Prohibited items are rarely identified during embarkation, as they should be noted by the cabin stewards, who then submit a request for engineering to investigate. The reason heat generating appliances are prohibited is the increased fire risk. Remember, on board the ship you have no 999, 000, 111 or 911 service. While the officers and crew are trained, I can provide some perspective from my first fire-fighting course in South Shields, UK. It was taught by professional firemen, who advised we learn in 4-days what they learn in about 2-years. They advised, those still alive after 4-days pass and the failure option was self explanatory. While the ships have exceptional fire containment and fixed extinguishing systems, when bringing electrical heating appliances onboard, you may wish to consider that fire is considered the greatest risk at sea for a very good reason.

Less than 50% of capacity is available for online booking pre-cruise and in addition a good percentage of online reservations are cancelled/changed once onboard. Once you board the ship you should be able to make reservations and in our experience, many evenings you can walk up and be seated with minimal delays.

Further to LM's great response, when we were at White Bay, Viking provided the Water Taxi service about ev 20 to 30 mins from about 08:00 to early evening. After the water taxi shut down they provided a bus until almost midnight.

For the Viking experience feel free to check out my blog posts from the 2020 World Cruise, which stopped at a number of S/Pacific islands. It should provide some ideas of what life is like aboard a Viking ship, on an ocean passage. www.andyandjudi.com

Only you can determine why you want to cruise Alaska, with your reasons impacting the positives & negatives of a late season cruise. Personally, having spent way too many months on a ship's Bridge watching the scenery and wildlife for 8 hrs per day, seeing even more of the scenery and wildlife is my primary objective. Therefore, late season cruises don't work for me, as you have reduced daylight, potential fog, low cloud base shrouding the mountains and visibility reduced by precipitation, which can be heavy. These condition are more prevalent late season, which significantly reduce the potential of wildlife sightings. Weather can be variable, as this year the NW experienced a warmer and drier September. However, temperature would normally be cooler, which may be an issue depending on your temperature tolerance. The potential for storms increases significantly by mid-September, as I have experienced 70 kt storms in each of the 2 years I worked Alaska cruising in September. Ports are both a positive and negative, as less ships remain in Alaska, so less ships and therefore other pax in port, but many of the shops and tour operators have already shut down and departed SE Alaska.

Over the years I've been to most of the South Pacific Islands. Having been on a river cruise, this would be the polar opposite, as it entails lots of sea days.

The day prior to Whittier is scenic cruising in Prince William Sound, so the ship docks in Whittier early morning, while pax are sleeping. Disembarkation doesn't start upon the berthing. From Whittier you require transportation through the tunnel to get to Anchorage, which is about 60 miles. We have always done R/T back to Vancouver, but disembarkation started at the usual time, with most pax taking cruise line buses into Anchorage. In our experience, most pax flew out the same day, but staying overnight or a few days is possible. If you wanted to disembark upon the early morning arrival, you would have to arrange that with the cruise line/ship and arrange your own transportation, as walking/cycling through the tunnel is not permitted.

We are sorry that you won't be enjoying Viking again, but that's good news for those of us that enjoy Viking, as it leaves more cabins available. Perhaps in this post COVID world you may have unrealistic expectations. If I am flying, I am happy to find the flight isn't cancelled and/or changed multiple times, I don't have to stand in a security queue for 3+ hrs, I find a fully crewed plane at the gate and upon arrival, find our luggage. Those might be fairly low expectations, but these days, I'll suggest they are realistic. Knowing the schedule before the cruise is a minor detail, as especially in that part of the world. When you book an expedition cruise in the furthest reaches of the World, you need to accept the local limitations. Personally, since departing Ushuaia you are depending on a local charter, I would be happy to ensure we arrived at BA in sufficient time to catch the connecting flight. For a short flight, I didn't see an issue with the legroom, seen worse in Europe and some of the local flights I've taken on small aircraft. Considering the charter flights we got when going to/from work, that would have been the equivalent of business class, if it was available. Our flights were also 3 to 3.5 hrs each way.

Wow, that a new one for me. We have had to disembark a number of times and remain ashore, or even in the terminal until the ship reached zero count. Fortunately, we never had to pack up the cabin and take everything ashore.

The Ship's Security Manual, required by the ISPS Code, should require some level of security screening in every port, either conducted by the shore facility, or onboard the ship. With respect to Immigration, for "In transit pax" I have seen this requirement in a few ports. Can't recall all of them, but Vancouver and St Petersburg come to mind.

The procedures can vary depending on the port, but in most similar situations, pax already having boarded are treated similar to pax in transit and you are normally directed straight to the queue for Security Screening, if required by "In Transit" pax.

Will do. Haven't seen any for about a week, but will forward when received.

Janet - Affirmative, we started receiving them the day after we cancelled the WC.

You are one of the few who clearly understand the hierarchy aboard ship. Even these days, it's still a benevolent dictatorship. Article 5.2 of the ISM Code, provides the Master overriding authority to make decisions for safety or pollution prevention, and s/he can request Company assistance. Therefore, the Master can make any decision, even those contrary to Corporate policy, if deemed necessary for safety or pollution prevention. Upon request, the company must assist.

Negative, this is factual. Spaces closer to the CoG move less, so m'ship and lower deck cabins move less in a seaway. When the ship is moving, the Lounge Bar is a better option than Explorers. Also in the MDR, if the ship is moving, request a table closer to the entrance.

Regardless, when discussing passenger comfort aboard a ship in a seaway, many factors impact their comfort, with size of the ship having minimal impact. Bigger ships being more stable and more comfortable than smaller ships, is a common passenger myth. When I went to sea, working on ships built in the 50's & 60's, those ships didn't have the technology of modern ships, but they were designed and built to handle seas way better than most modern ships. In addition to the ships being better built to handle heavy seas, we also operated in a different environment, where pax comfort was not given the same priority as it is today. I can provide numerous examples: - In 1977, DW embarked SS Oriana in Vancouver bound for Sydney. On clearing Juan de Fuca we encountered a significant Pacific storm. We maintained over 20 kts, pounding through the storm, arriving on time in Hawaii. Modern ships, regardless of size could not maintain that speed and in the current environment, greater emphasis is also placed on pax comfort. With vastly improved forecasting and excellent weather routing advice, current Masters would reduce speed to prevent damaging the ship and steer weather courses to avoid the worst of the storm. The downside of current practices is while the pax had a more comfortable cruise, the ship would miss the next port. - As a new Master in the 80's, I sailed regardless of the weather. Somehow, we got the ship away from the dock and safely docked at the destination. During the passage, I used a number of options to get the ship safely to the destination. The ship easily handled the seas, the passengers, not so much. Over almost 30 yrs in command, I have commanded many ships from 150' to 550' and size had no bearing on pax comfort. The alternative route selected, and how we adjusted course and speed in a seaway, majorly impacted pax comfort. In those days, after taking 3 - 4 hrs to complete a 90 min voyage, passengers used to thank us for getting them to the destination safely. These days, once the ship starts moving the cell phones are out and video is sent to the media. Therefore, before retirement, when writing fleet wide operational procedures, I developed the first operational matrix for Master's guidance. Basically, when the winds reach 40 kts the ship probably doesn't sail. In my last company, ships no longer sail in known heavy weather, departing the dock in 70 kt winds. - A few years before retirement, one evening my "Gut" screamed bad weather, but none of the forecasts, or even the live lighthouse station reports agreed. I sailed the last trip of the evening in about 30 kt winds and within 1/2 hr sailed into 70 kt winds. We adjusted course and speed to ease the passage. For the return sailing, I monitored the passage of the frontal system, determining that the winds should ease in a couple of hours. I delayed sailing by 2 hours, then stayed in sheltered waters until the front passed. The passage across open waters was eased and we docked in about 40 kts. Passengers from years ago would have experienced a rough crossing, as in those days, I would have sailed regardless and docked in 70 kt winds. The older ships were smaller, so pax assume the easier passage on the newer and larger ship is because of the ship's size, which couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, we can still get caught in storms, but enhanced forecasting, weather routing and the current focus on pax comfort ensures that few ships experience some of the wild rides we routinely experienced 30+ yrs ago. The Master knows the limitations of the ship, and regardless of the size, will make decisions based on that ship. So, in addition to the design and scantlings, lots of factors impact passenger comfort more than ship size.

Negative, once I declined the multiple vouchers they realised I wasn't budging from my walk away position, as the risks of accepting any vouchers was excessive.

With a 7 to 14 day cruise there would be no benefit, but the Expedition cruises and longer cruises are also candidates to request splitting FCV's. As with any negotiation, it pays to research and prepare your arguments, as clearly Viking's position is that they want to keep your money. You need to determine your walk away position, so it is irrelevant how tough they want to negotiate, if you don't get what you want, you fall back to your walk away position. However, regardless of the value of cruise being cancelled, I expect Viking's position will always be to keep the pax money, and shift the risk to the pax.

Thanks Dee