Heidi13

Based on our experience in Canada, I concur with Peregrina's suggestion of contacting Viking UK, who I suspect will offer some type of insurance. While we have to use the Viking US booking office, they now provide a separate insurance provider for Canadians.

Our son has ordered it for his boat and will install it when home on leave. It does provide unlimited data, but it is expensive both for the capital cost and monthly fee. Time will tell how well it works once they have a large user base and if they can maintain the stated unlimited bandwidth???

Spent 100-days above L/B #2 and other than hearing the quiet electric motor topping up the accumulator pressure, it was quiet, other than tendering days. However, on the previous cruise, Jim had already taught them how to secure the boats properly. If the boats are making noise at sea, they haven't been properly stowed and secured. All it should take is a single trip to the Purser's Desk to request the Deck Department address the issue. Otherwise, call Jim or I and we will teach them.😁

During the 2019/20 WC, they only had about 57 pax doing the entire 245-day cruise. Each of their photos were posted in the crew spaces and all crew were expected to know them and treat them as V-VIP's. Every Viking pax is considered a VIP, so these were very, very important!!!

Don, Good points. I mainly use binoculars in the marine environment and nearly always for distance. I tested the minimum DoF when I first picked up a pair of Perma-Focus, after reading and understanding the technology, and they are about 30-40 ft. I rarely use binocular for distances less than this. Totally agree with requiring at least a minimum quality. While the Bushnells aren't of the quality of Swarovski, they are a reasonable quality and price. I normally don't consider any binoculars under about $100, but also prefer not to spend over $200. I can purchase many Bushnells for the price of a single Swarovski, which 15 yrs ago was $2,000. I don't go out birding or nature walks, so I have no experience with that use. Consequently, I would not make any recommendations for binoculars in that environment.

The point being is if you require certification to operate an amateur radio, in all probability, said certification is not valid on a flag of convenience foreign-flagged ship. The amateur radio operator should know that use of the radio, when the certification is not valid, is illegal.

Based on your posts, you probably have some amateur radio certification and stated you don't know if your radio was legal onboard. Yet you expect the ship's crew to know!!! Clearly the security searching bags and the hotel staff don't know the regulations and even junior deck officers do not have a thorough knowledge of some regulations.

When requesting a quote we normally ask for both economy and business flights. In our experience, most US Airlines don't have Business on domestic flights, as it is referred to as First Class. However, the flights we have taken were not lay flat seats, pods, etc. Our last flight with AA, it was standard economy seats with the middle seat empty. On Air Canada, an increasing number of domestic flights have the full Business Class, which is comparable to International Flights.

In these situations, the cruise line will often send some of the hotel crew to other ships and then re-crew when operations resume. While the fixed costs remain, the operational cost can be reduced by, reducing crew size and slow steam to the next destination, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bunkers. They will also not be spending money of port fees, pilots, tugs, guest entertainers and the stores budget will have a significant surplus. With only a couple of months to plan and sell cruises, they have a reasonable chance of losing less money by dead heading the ship. They also have time to conduct additional maintenance, both deck/engineering and hotel operations. Trying to schedule cruises on short notice probably would receive considerable negative feedback, especially with respect to shore-ex. This is one of the biggest complaints on CC. The shore-ex can't be planned until the ports are confirmed, with arrival and departure times confirmed.

Cabin 3057, on the aft end has the fwd end of the lifeboat deck and the Atrium. Just aft of the cabin you have a door that provides access to the upper Stbd alleyway in the Atrium.

I've spent a few years cruising Alaska and our current preferred cruise lines has zero non-balcony cabins. Even with a balcony, I am out on deck, at the fwd end and on both sides, which provides greater views than from your balcony, which only sees 1 side. BTW - when scenic cruising in Alaska, you normally have land on both sides of the ship. If we cruised on another cruise line, the choice of a balcony would not be high on our list.

So true, the science of the propagation of radio waves through steel bulkheads or decks couldn't care less about the nature of the communication. It doesn't work for any communication, unless you have access to the repeater system.

Yes, most of them are not legal for use on a ship. In addition, for higher powered radios, the operator must have at a minimum a restricted radio operator certificate acceptable to the Flag State. Amateur radio certificates aren't valid on ships.

The issue was the bunker barge could not be removed, if the tugs were on strike. Without removing the barge, the ship couldn't sail. In most conditions, cruise ships do not require tugs for departing Vancouver. If the other ships also had bunker barges alongside, they could have contracted with other towing companies.

I spent over 40 years working on passenger ships and before we got built in repeater systems the portable radios we used - expensive, commercial 5W UHF/VHF were basically useless. UHF had better propagation through steel, but no more than a couple of bulkheads or decks. Even our 25 W ships station VHF radios did not penetrate much through the ship. Worked well in line of sight outdoors, but not so well inside. Your consumer walkie talkies are lower power, probably 1 W or less, so will be even worse than what we achieved with our commercial radios. Basically, as most others suggested save your money, it isn't worth the frustration. As a mariner, I suggest disregarding the information provided in the links on a previous post, as higher-powered radios are not exempt from Marine Radio Regulations. Non-exempt radios must be included in the Ship's Radio Station Licence and must meet Flag State technical requirements and operator certification.

Since you are new to cruising, may i suggest that comparing base prices does not provide a reasonable expectation of the total cruise cost. When comparing cruise lines, it is critical to compare all the additional costs, both fixed and optional: Some points to research, include: - Port fees & taxes included? - Are transfers to/from the port included, if not, what cost - Gratuities included ? - Internet included, if not, what cost - Drinks included, if not what costs and do they tack on 18% gratuity - Laundry - do they include self service machines, are they complimentary and do they provide the soap liquid. If not, what cost. - Do they provide bottles of water, if not, what cost - Do they provide filtered still/sparkling water, if not, what cost - Do they provide any included shore-ex - Comparison of shore-ex costs - Are alternative restaurants included, if not, what cost - Cost of photographs - Is room service 24/7 and included, if not, what cost - Do they provide extensive TV programs and films on the cabin TV, is it included, if not what cost The luxury/premium cruise lines include, most if not all of the above, so if you plan to use most of those the bases fare difference is quickly eroded.

When considering Viking, the budget process is significantly simpler than a mainstream cruise line. Having completed both Viking and mainstream cruises, although the base fare with Viking is considerably more expensive, by the end of the day, the total cost per day was virtually identical. I note, this will not work for everyone, as if you cruise mainstream, but spend minimal on board, you do not balance out the cost.

Affirmative, Viator are a reseller, they sell tours for other vendors, taking a percentage of the revenue.

It is unfortunate that you consider my posts as being rude, as that was never the intent. Those of us with extensive experience are more than happy to share our knowledge and experiences, with most members appreciating the information provided. With 2 seasons of looking out the Bridge windows for at least 8 hrs per day, I clearly have sufficient experience in Alaska.

Brilliant idea, since we have numerous examples, I started a new topic based on your suggestion.

Thought I would run with Peregrina's great idea and start the thread to discuss some of our many experiences with amazing service aboard a Viking ship While we had literally hundreds of these experiences, these 3 really standout. 1). During a T-Bone special evening on Aquavit Terrace, both of our steaks (medium & MR) were at best "Blue". The waiter noted the issue when he cleared the plates and passed a note up the food chain. The following day, we received a call in the cabin from the Executive Chef. Most apologetic for the experience the previous evening and wanted to make it right, by personally cooking steaks to be delivered to our cabin. They even took one of our regular table waiters out of the MDR to deliver the meals to our cabin. OMG!! they were cooked to perfection. Our regular wine and IPA was also included. Everyone can have a bad day, but how you respond makes the difference. 2) Star Theatre - every night in the Star Theatre, Von delivered us additional drinks just prior to the lights going down. No need to order, they just arrived. 3) When we were down to 8 pax on the Magical Mystery Tour, the Chef made a special Beef Wellington and cake for Judi's birthday and our Turkish A/Waiter got permission from the Chef to work in the galley and make Baklava, which was amazing.

Whether we use a Viking shore-ex or private tour is based on a risk assessment. In port with significant traffic issues we will stay with a shore-ex and when the cost of getting to the next port is significant and/or takes a number of days, we also stick with shore-ex. When booking private tours we avoid bulk resellers, preferring to find a quality tour provider. Takes a little more research, but we find it worth the effort.

From experience I've always thought the US was rather laid back, compared to the UK and Australia, especially back in the days when the pubs closed early. You have also never been around a UK football match, in the pubs after the match, or the supporter buses going home. From a cruising perspective, having worked on cruise ships world-wide, the heaviest drinking culture was Aussie cruising. The US cruises were rather tame, especially when you consider the beer is so weak.

Chief - Am I correct in assuming that everything must be US built and that they can't import cabins from European manufacturers. Must admit, our local shipyards are the same in that they have no local supplier.

With the free version of Marine Traffic you only pick up the ship's AIS signals from shore stations. You can pay a fee and receive satellite signals. Other websites may use satellite positions, but normally update the sat once per day