Heidi13

We had them posted for the World Cruise when we booked, and it was 25 months before departure. However, now I recall reading a post about 1 to 2 weeks ago that noted port times have disappeared from MVJ. I have cancelled all 3 of our upcoming cruises, so have no booking to check.

Further to Rob's response, in addition to being printed in the Pax Statement you received upon booking, the "Estimated" arrival/departure times are also included in your MVJ daily calendar.

Athens The ship docks in Piraeus and with traffic congestion, it can be a longer trip than in many ports. Athens has an excellent subway system, with a station close to the port. Therefore, it is easy to visit the main sites on your own. Some vendors, I consider in Athens are: · Anker Travel - https://www.ankertravel.net/ · Timeless Athens Tours - https://www.athenstours.gr/best-greece-tours/ o Athens Day Tour - https://www.athenstours.gr/shore-excursion/athens-sightseeing-city-tour/ · Athens Tours Greece - https://www.athenstourgreece.com/ · Niki Olympic Tours - http://www.olympictours.gr/shore-excursions/joined/piraeus o Athens Highlights – 8 hrs o Ancient Corinth & the Canal – 5.5 hrs o Athens Explorers – 8 hrs Ephesus The ship docks at Kusedasi, which again is a good drive to Ephesus, but I have never experienced traffic issues in this port, with our last visit being 2015. Having been a number of times before, I wasn't impressed with any of the Viking tours on the website. Here are the vendors I consider: · Best of Ephesus Tours - https://www.bestofephesustours.com/index.html · Pupa Tours - https://pupatourism.com.tr/tour/ephesus-tour/ · Argeus Tours & Travel - https://argeus.com/tour/ephesus-tour · Anker Travel - https://www.ankertravel.net/t-izm004-full-day--ephesus142 · Levant Solmaz (private guide) - https://leventsolmaz.com/meet-levent-solmaz/ · Ephesus Shuttle - https://www.ephesusshuttle.com/categories/kusadasi-to-ephesus?id=1 Messina The ship tours looked OK. Didn't find too many private vendors of interest. · Italy Tours, EU (https://www.italytours.eu/shore-excursions/) o Mount Etna, Taormina & Surroundings Naples Depends on your interests and how far from the ship you want to venture. Here are the vendors I consider: · RomeCabs - https://www.romecabs.com/ · AP Tours - https://www.aptours.it/Shore-trips-from-Naples · Italy Tours EU - http://italytours.eu/ o Pompeii, Sorrento & the Amalfi Coast o The Classic Amalfi Coast Tour o Naples, Sorrento & Positano · Tuscany Taste Tour - https://tuscanytastetour.com/products/sub-0-cruise-shore-excursions-in-italy-1.htm

Correct, Canada eliminated the arrival testing a couple of months ago. I responded to the erroneous statement that Canada had just rescinded the pre-boarding test requirement. The latest online guidance hasn't changed since 30th June. Since the regulations permit embarkation day testing, yes, Viking can provide this service, but it is still a requirement to board a cruise ship in Canada, or one that sails to a Canadian port. Therefore, if Viking are in fact offering this service, pax have the option of waiting to board a Viking ship until finding out they are negative. Personally, I would be taking a test a couple of days prior, especially if I booked a Southbound cruise from Seward. Boarding in Vancouver for us is no issue, as it is less than an hour's drive home.

Rob, A brilliant response, as it is the model we also use. Another couple of points I consider are: - Payment: Viking shore-ex want full payment at time of booking, while with private vendors, I always negotiate for the latest payment terms, preferably day of tour. Unfortunately, these days, I find most vendors want money at least a couple of weeks early. - Cancellation: Viking shore-ex guarantee full refund, provided you cancel before the deadline. I look for vendors that also guarantee full refunds if the ship doesn't dock and cancel for any reason no more than a week out, preferably less.

This information is NOT correct. As per the Government of Canada website, pre-testing requirements are still in place for pax boarding a cruise ship in Canada, or pax already onboard a cruise ship calling at a Canadian port.

Nothing to be stressed about. In determining the requirement for any country, Google is your best friend. It took me a few seconds to find the current Canadian requirements. https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

Sorry, but that's a rather lame excuse, as that ratio isn't that uncommon with longer cruises. To put it in perspective, on the MMT, after departing Darwin, we only had 3 days ashore in 71 days, until we disembarked in Gibraltar. So much to do on the ship, we had no time to stream anything, even if we did wish to contravene Viking's clear wi-fi use guidelines. Since the wi-fi was always available and useable, I'll suggest most, if not all pax followed the guidelines.

Prior to taking any action, may I suggest contacting the good people at tellus@vikingcruises.com Explain the situation, your concerns with current TA and see if they have any suggestions to assist in eliminating your current TA. Even if you have to cancel, they may be able to assist with a smooth transition to a new booking.

Depends on the number of ships in port, but Invergordon does have 2 berths suitable for Viking ships.

On the 20/21 Magical Mystery Tour, we departed Bali on 10th March and had continuous sea days until disembarking in Gibraltar on 10th April. Fortunately, we had a number of 25 hr days, as it was tough fitting everything we wanted to do, or see, into only 24 hrs.😁

Unfortunately, the memory isn't so good these days, as it was almost 5-yrs ago. However, I didn't prepare a list of questions, just sat down for an informal chat to get some idea of their experience, what service we could expect, how can they assist compared to me dealing with the vendor directly, and probably most importantly - get a feel from them as a person, if it was a good fit. Very low key, nothing akin to interviews I did during my working days, where even interviewing candidates for exempt positions, we had to have prepared questions and record the answers.

The cruise lines do not have access to the NCIS database or the Canadian equivalent, therefore they are not privy to information that any pax would be inadmissible, due to having a criminal record. Even if the pax sailed previously and was removed from the ship, the CBSA does not advise the Master why any pax was removed from the ship. Therefore, the cruise line has no specific information to prevent a pax boarding a subsequent cruise.

I wore out the shoe leather, while I met with and interviewed prospective candidates. Very happy with the result.

They must submit 2 photos with the application, so not sure why 1 of them isn't included with the visa.

Was your test result being 4 hours late due to your flight being significantly delayed, or did you fail to adequately research and plan. Surely, when scheduling your tests, you accounted for the time difference and potential airline delays, which these days are certainly prevalent. Since you didn't mention the flight was late, why were your tests 4 hrs late? Your experience is no different than many nationalities entering the US, even before COVID. If I enter the US on my UK passport, I am treated like a criminal, with mandatory fingerprints and photograph. BTW - this is consistent for all nationalities, except US & Canadian citizens. Do I complain - No, that is the prerogative of the country I wish to visit. Those of us that travel the World extensively are used to the various entry requirements, even before COVID. Personally, researching the requirements and getting it done is part of the travel experience. You stated, "Canada is the most restrictive country in the World" Wow, you clearly haven't travelled to many countries, or have a very short memory. I could tell you some stories about the entry requirements for many of the countries I have visited in the past 50 years. To put it in perspective, in 1 country, which no longer exists, upon arrival, they required us to provide a blood sample, before they would even consider clearing the ship. This was a country behind the iron curtain, which had significantly lower standards than us. Sorry, having to redo tests because you were late, is a minor imposition, in comparison to some of my experiences.

Affirmative, you will be required to upload your vaccination record when completing ArriveCan. It is completely independent of VeriFly.

Suggest calling back until you get an agent that both knows what they are talking about and will also take the time. Other option is to contact tellus@vikingcruises.com

GTY - We have experienced GTY cabins not being assigned until check-in, so no worries.

With Air Plus, you can request a Qatar flight as your first choice. Worst case scenario is you may have to pay extra for your preferred routing.

The pax/crew ratio is more than adequate to provide Viking's level of service, provided the crew are all healthy and able to report for duty. Unfortunately, a side effect to the cessation of daily COVID testing and mask mandates, that many pax pushed for, is increased infections onboard the vessel. As I anticipated, the infections also spread to the hotel crew, who must isolate when they test positive. While those that complained about the daily testing and masking won, when COVID is present on a vessel, we will all now suffer the consequences of reduced pax service, as crew members are quarantined. Unfortunately, at sea, you can't pick up the phone and call in replacements. The remaining healthy crew also have to work longer and harder, which results in fatigue, making them more susceptible to both injury and infection.

You won't find the experienced Alaska cruise lines offering cruises to Alaska in October, for very good reasons - weather, little open and reduced daylight. I've sailed this coast for 35 years and no way I would book an Alaska cruise in October.

We received an email with a promo code (EBD) for the Longitudinal World Cruises on the repositioning of the Expedition ships. Checked it out and it didn't change the regular prices and offers available to everyone on the website.

You raise a very interesting point, with respect to the "Included" shore-ex. Pre-COVID, Viking simply added additional tours to meet the demand. However, in the current situation, do they have sufficient vendor resources available, in any given port, if all pax booked the "Included" shore-ex. I'll be watching this one, with interest, over the next few months.

Short answer is proximity to land, shallow water, extreme currents and lots of small boats. To provide some examples: - Back in my deep-sea days, I have gone many days standing on the Bridge and never altered speed, altered course or even seen another ship. Coastal navigation: - We navigated through a narrow channel that had 2 - 90 degree turns. Currents were up to 6 kts. Southbound, approaching the 2nd turn, we were doing about 20 kts, a mere 500 feet from the rocks. When I started, the entire width of the channel at the corner was filled with small boats out fishing. - Seymour Narrows which is 100 miles north of Vancouver. It also has a couple of 90 degree turns, but current can be up to 16 kts. We ran this 4 times per week at any state of the tide. Cruise ships only go through at slack water. Cruise ships also have a local pilot, whereas we navigated the coast without a pilot. - In coastal waters you have lots of small boats. Unfortunately, most of them have zero training, so their navigation often contradicts the collision regs. - Docking - cargo ships dock a few times a month, while cruise ships dock about 3 to 5 times per week. On the larger Ro/Pax, I did 4 dockings per day (8 hr day) and on the smaller ships, up to 16 dockings per day. We also docked under conditions that cruise ships would not attempt. - Docking times - cargo ships and cruise ships have very slow and relaxed dockings. We approached at full speed (20 - 21 kts) until 1 mile before the dock. From the first reduction in speed to being alongside was about 7 minutes. Cruise ships and cargo ships have reduced to 3 to 5 kts about 1 mile before the berths and could take 3/4 hr+ to complete the last mile. - I recall a very experienced ULCC Master I had for familairisation that couldn't handle the coast. Every time he saw a small boat, even if it was 10 miles away, he wanted to stop. In his experience, a ULCC takes over 10 miles to stop from about 12 - 14 kts, while my ship could stop in 1/3 mile from 21 kts. We had a schedule to maintain, so unnecessary slow down/stops weren't acceptable. He just couldn't transition to the coastal operation - Radar - on a 12 mile range, deep-sea you rarely had any targets, on the coast you could easily have 20 to 30+ targets, all of which must be monitored to determine if a close quarter exists.