Heidi13

This Board is for Western Canada - Pacific Coastal & Alaska May I suggest posting on this one https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/9-canadanew-england/

We have also sailed with Viking and never experienced any of the issues you mentioned. Yes, we have read them, but they are mostly from pax new to Viking. Some people complaining just need to chill. These are our experiences with 4 months on Viking ships. Shore-ex - we booked a DV, which is the 2nd last to book and never had any issues. We got every tour and even the preferred times we wanted. Many pax cancel tours and even the cruise, so even if they aren't available the day booking opens, they nearly always have spots available, at some time prior to the tour. Once onboard, they get more cancellations and the shore-ex staff can add resources to the tours. Since Viking doesn't tend to fill buses to capacity, you can often approach the staff on the dock and get added at the last minute. Dinner Reservations - we don't know what we are eating tomorrow, so never make any reservations prior to boarding. We don't even make them once we get aboard, as we make a decision that day. I check the schedule on the cabin telly and always find something available within about 1/2 hr of our preference. We have also wandered down to the host/hostess desk on any given night and most nights have been accommodated.

The size of the ship has little to do with her seakeeping abilities. Many of the old ocean liners were vastly superior to the current behemoths of the seas. The seakeeping abilities are more about the ship's design, stability and scantlings. The bigger ships can actually experience more movement at the extreme ends and upper decks, as by virtue of their size, they have greater distance from the centre of rotation. With respect to Tropical Revolving Storms, I have less concerns sailing in TRS zones throughout the World, than in the Atlantic/Pacific with frontal depressions. TRS are well reported and forecast, with many days for shipping to avoid the dangerous quadrant. Deep frontal depressions form quickly and although not published like TRS, can be just as violent. In 40+ years at sea, I have avoided all TRS, only experiencing the outer edges, but have been hit by numerous frontal depressions.

Due to volume of changes in the airline industry, Viking are suggesting that they only deal with air reservations within 2 months of departure. I suggest having your TA call back repeatedly until you get a representative that will get you flights booked.

Thanks for posting the link, which I just read. Interesting to note that their standard for Canada effective 3rd September is contrary to the current Govt of Canada regulations. The current regulations still require vaccinated pax with very few exceptions. The requirements are under review, but I'm not aware of any changes to the vaccination requirements being approved. Possibly Oceania have some advance notice, time will tell.

I can't read the article, as I use ad blockers. Based on the OP, it sounds like the cruise was cancelled by Viking, so the pax will have been provided the offer of vouchers (110% or 125%), or cash back. Looks like they accepted the vouchers. After 2-years, one of them is unable to travel, so used the option available with the initial vouchers of getting the original cash back. He then booked the cruise as a single pax. As is standard practice throughout almost the entire industry, cruise fares are based on double occupancy. With taking the cash for his partner's vouchers, he should have expected to pay the single supplement, as is charged to other single pax. Why should he expect to be treated any differently? For those of us that have cancelled the 22/23 World Cruise, due to health issues of either the husband or wife, using this chap's logic, we should have taken the refund for 1 pax, then made Viking let us travel as singles with no supplement.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Unfortunately, with such a large group, some of whom have already been to Alaska, there is no easy answer to, what is the best ship and cruise line. I suggest it takes brainstorming to determine the group's preferences and then research to determine what ship and itinerary meets most of those preferences. I have included a link to the Alaska Board on Cruise Critic, where you will find many topics. May I suggest your group reads through the topics on this Board to assist in developing preferences. I will also suggest that Alaska is all about the scenery, so the itinerary and especially time in ports is way more important that entertainment and facilities aboard the ship. Another question - do you only wish to see the touristy SE Alaska, or do you also wish to experience the pristine Prince William Sound? https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/

Theory is great, but having watched many pax from my 40 + yrs of pax vessels, I suggest it doesn't work so well in practice, for many of them. Seen lots come out on balconies or on deck, watch the horizon and quickly depart inside ...... Back in the days when we did regular Bridge visits, they would arrive in the Bridge handling the motion OK, but seeing the horizon moving, caused many pax to make a quick exit. The other issue being that most spots that afford views of the horizon experience more motion. Don't see much of the horizon, on lower decks, midships and in the middle of the ship, where motion is the least.

Easiest and most convenient is to fly. They have multiple flights per day, which take about 1 hr gate to gate. No border delay issues. Hiring a car, or catching the bus has potential issues with traffic through Seattle and potential border waits. Cross border traffic is increasing, so we are again experiencing lengthy border delays. Depending on the time of day, you may also experience traffic delays from the border to downtown Vancouver. Unless you are arriving in Seattle a day early, I would fly. If going by road, we can do Seatac in 2.5 hrs, if we time it correctly, but I would allow up to 5 hrs from departure Seatac to arrival Canada Place, if in the middle of the day, especially if it's a weekend.

That is what I also expect. When I negotiate the TA's agency providing OBC, I would expect it to be on the TA's invoice. As I mentioned to the OP, any OBC provided by your TA is not visible in the Viking world, until you board the vessel. It does not show on the Viking invoice, is not included in MVJ, and consequently cannot be used prior to boarding.

If you like German beer and are flying Business, suggest checking out Lufthansa's business lounge in Frankfurt. At least before COVID they had a couple of self-service taps with draft beer. Few years ago, 4 of us were returning home from a business trip and spent a few hours in the lounge - heavenly.😁

We were in the pool on Viking Sun when somebody complained to the spa desk it was cold. They tested it with a thermometer, and it was low/mid 90's, which they indicated is the standard. Yes, cooler than body temperature, but still very comfortable and you can enjoy it for a lot longer than a hot tub.

Is that the invoice received from your TA, or the Guest Statement from Viking. We have it listed on the invoice from our TA, but we have never seen the OBC received from our TA included on Viking's Guest Statement.

Negative, they are both on the Neptune's World Cruise, one boarding in Port Everglades and the other in San Pedro.

Especially with the first ship in a class, it is not too uncommon for cruise lines to add prior cruises to the existing maiden voyage, when the shipyard advises they will finish early. Build contracts will have penalties for being late, but may have premiums to finish early. Why the schedule has slipped backwards has been discussed extensively. I have seen very little information on this build's progress. At present, it is alongside the fitting out berth and the AIS is transmitting, so the Bridge equipment is operational. It indicates a short voyage of 1/2 hr last month, but since I don't pay for the premium version, I can't see if it completed sea trials prior to that voyage. If you want to track the ship, use one of the AIS tracking programs - my preference is Marine Traffic. Enter Viking Mississippi and it shows you where the vessel is located.

Thanks, I concur as having always lived within a few miles of an ocean, and spent 40+ years at sea, I know a little about the effects of humidity. In the Persian Gulf we experienced > 50C with 100% R/Humidity.

It's based on science and ship stability. Inside cabins experience less transverse motion, as they are closer to the centre of rotation. DW finds it better not to watch the horizon, as it extenuates the appearance of movement.

DW is afflicted by motion of the ocean, but has cruised extensively - 2 World Cruises, multiple trans-Atlantics, multiple trans-Pacifics, Tasman Sea and the Great Australia Bight. All are renowned as being susceptible to motion. On our last WC we experienced 2 cyclones and a deep frontal depression. Her strategies include: - Cabin selection - midships on a lower deck, which minimises the motion. Our preferred cruise line has no inside cabins, but if they are available, they also have less motion - When the ship is moving, stay on lower decks, closer to midships. In the restaurant, we request tables at the entrance, as it has less movement than back aft. - Seabands - she starts with these on her wrists, ensuring they are properly positioned. - When heavy weather is expected, she applies a "patch" 12 hrs before required and replaces it every 3 days, as required. She has no side effects and has used them for over 20-years.

On the West Coast we consider 85F/30C is comfortable, we start complaining when it hits 104F/40C and really didn't enjoy the 118F/48C we experienced last summer.😁

Jim, We used the same rationale for keeping the sterling after the last World Cruise. No point in exchanging them to only purchase them back a year or so later. Who would have thought 2+ years later we still haven't returned. Over the years, I've had some strange looks when using any of the Scottish bank notes down in England.

Welcome to cruise critic. When booking a cruise with a TA, the cruise line pays them a commission. Some TA's will share a portion of the commission with the customer - OBC, bottles of wine, shore-ex, etc. Viking has a policy that states the maximum "Gift" a TA may provide. As you noted for cruises of 15 days or longer, this is $500 pp in the currency used to pay for the cruise. It is purely voluntary and if the TA provides OBC, the TA will send the money to Viking shortly prior to embarkation. This OBC does NOT show in MVJ and is only visible in your on-board account once you board the vessel.

Rob - the other reason I would prefer not to exchange the sterling at this time is the exchange rate has tanked over the past few months. Since I also sold a house in UK a couple of months ago, my currency trading timing isn't the best. I'll probably get the 50's deposited at RBC this week.

Negative, when using the RFG you get zero cash back. When you cancel, you must decide between accepting the Risk-Free Guarantee, or the standard cancellation terms and conditions. Since we have no guarantee that we can cruise again, we opted for the cancellation terms, receiving exactly what I expected, nothing more, or less. RFG - You do not receive any cash, but you receive vouchers for all monies paid to Viking. They will also include the return of any vouchers used for payment. Since we had a significant amount of money involved, Viking did offer to create multiple vouchers in increments of $10,000. They will include the cost of Viking insurance. Cancellation terms - provided you cancel prior to 120/180-days, based on length of cruise, Viking will provide a cash refund less the retained deposit, which for the World Cruise is $1,000 pp. If you purchase Viking insurance, they do not refund the premiums. Any vouchers used for payment are NOT returned. If you have Viking's insurance, you can claim the retained deposit amount, but not the loss of the value of the vouchers, as you don't pay any premium on these. This was our recent experience, hope it helps explain the system.

If Viking stocks spare furniture, wasn't a specific question I asked the Engineers, so best guess is that it's unlikely they had spare couches. Possibly small items and they may also have spare cushions and components for furniture that can be disassembled. All furniture is easily damaged, but not so easy to repair. Even with a dedicated Upholstery Department with 6 full-time tradesmen, I couldn't keep up with the volume of repairs.

Here is a link. I had to check it out, as I have a number of paper 50's in the safety deposit box and we won't be in UK before the deadline. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes