CharTrav

FYI -- husband read an article yesterday about Viking going public.  An IPO planned for I don't remember when.  Much as investing in Viking sounds interesting -- we established a policy many years ago that we only invest in mutual funds.  We got stung pretty badly when we invested in a single stock many years ago.  It was Exxon -- which had been going great guns just before we bought it.  And then -- a few months afterwards -- the Valdez incident happened.  We got out at a loss and said never again!🤪

FYI -- not a schedule update -- but just an announcement that I've posted the Viking Dailies from British Isles Explorer and Into the Midnight Sun that we did back to back last July.  Note that I regularly scan and post the Dailies from all the cruises we do with Viking -- be they Ocean, Expedition, or River.  Our first VE cruise is booked for next year.  These dailies are posted in the folders for each cruise contained in the following DropBox folders -- Ocean (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ndlhq33ccwbdzs3/AAAGWLc9zZwNE6VU4WPTG9pba?dl=0),

Expedition (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9lrwpbdudm82hxr/AABzHx6LexrQf6imEklmM1aTa?dl=0 ) ,

and River (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gn6c0ksfrske43v/AAB7cWswBU83_6RY4DQ8vqLTa?dl=0).

Hope you all find this useful.  Will use this thread to share when I post Dailies from a recent cruise.

Just an update.  Response to my email was a call from Viking two days later, can't remember who.  Forgot to write down his name. Gave me assurances that not only would he pursue the issues I'd described in my detailed email but that there would be a server update, scheduled for last weekend.  Well...sadly.. the issue I reported is still there with "Find a Cruise" for VE -- cruises not being displayed in "Find a Cruise" but which, if you search for them by name, clearly are. Am referring to Chilean Fjords & Scenic Shores in Oct 2025 and Niagara & the Great Lakes for 2026 as a whole.  And now there's a really odd one for VO: Mediterranean Discoveries on the Vela in Jan 2026.  It was shown in Find a Cruise last week but as of  March 2nd (when I first checked) isn't.  If you search for it by name you find it is scheduled; however -- and this is the weird part -- only shows the airfare.  Which makes me think the cruise is still in flux and most definitely not available to be booked.  A true head scratcher.  Will keep checking and hold off firing off another email for at least another week.

6 minutes ago, irishwitchy said:

Emergencies do happen, but I’m curious do you know what the issue was?   It seems like this Scenario has happen frequently and causes the cruise to divert.   Since,  there is an extensive medical forms to be filled out, are the emergencies  more of the broken bone or heart attack or something else?   

Viking is very protective about folks having medical emergencies. Unless you know the passenger affected or passengers who know them - the Viking crew will not share details about a passenger's health.  

Have updated the spreadsheet and uploaded it to DropBox.  If you already have a copy, you know how to download a fresh copy of it (the link on the ReadMe page. If this is your first time to this thread, open this folder in my DropBox (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8pm1betyh91wlhf/AABBcPIWuqWJQtR5JrNSFOqMa?dl=0).

and download the file called "Viking Ocean & Expedition Cruises (2024 to 2026).xlsm"  No DropBox account required.

With regards to the changes since my last update on 27 Dec 23:

For VO:

* Cities of Antiquity replaces Cities of Antiquity & the Holy Land on the Star in 2024 and Feb 2025.  Itinerary modified to avoid ports in Cyprus & Israel.

* Viking World Cruise and Viking World Journey added for Sky in Dec 2025 and Jan 2026, respectively.

*  Iberian & Mediterranean Odyssey added for Saturn and Vela in Oct 2025.

*  Mediterranean Discoveries added as 15 day cruise on Vela in Jan 2026 (with 8 day Iconic Mediterranean and Iberian Explorer as segments within)

For VE:

* Added From the Arctic to Antarctica for Polaris in Sept 2026.

* Added two new Longitudinal World Cruises: 70 day LWC VI (Octantis) and 63 day LWC VII (Polaris) from BA to Milwaukee.

Please note the the "Find a Cruise" page (the one I use) is fixed for Viking Oceans but, unfortunately, NOT completely fixed for Viking Expeditions.  It's in a state of "mostly but not totally fixed"; a situation that drives me absolutely bonkers. It's clear their IT gang broke the dang thing.  It should have been completely fixed by now but it's not.  I decided to fire off ANOTHER email to Customer Relations about it and, for good measure, cc'd Chairman Hagen. Should prepare myself for a phone call tomorrow.

4 hours ago, PeabodyMa said:

@CharTrav  Do you know when Viking Polaris will be out of service for repairs, and when in April 2024 Polaris is expected to re-start cruises?

Sorry - don't know about either. News to me that she is scheduled for repairs. FYI - the "Find my Cruise" pages for VO and VE for sure and possibly (haven't checked) VR in 2026 are seriously out of whack. Viking is aware and their IT folks have been working on it since last weekend. Definitely works OK for 2024 and I think 2025. Don't know why it's taking so long to fix but it is. sigh...Until they do I can't check it for updates.

Haven't uploaded the updated spreadsheet for this single change but will post this last minute change to the VO schedule.  A new 20 day cruise - Iberian & Mediterranean Odyssey -- starting in London and ending in Venice -- has been added for Saturn and Vela in Oct 2025.  If you want, I'll upload it but would rather wait until I've got more changes.

15 hours ago, CharTrav said:

Sky.

(3) for VE -- From the Arctic to Antarctica scheduled for Polaris in Sept 2026.

I would expect that the intermediate segments of this 87 day itinerary will be published in the near future. Will keep an eye on it. Expect that Octantis' transition from the Great Lakes to Antarctica in 2026 will also be scheduled soon. 

Just uploaded a revised version of the spreadsheet.  Just a few changes:

(1) Cities of Antiquity & the Holy Land replaced by Cities of Antiquity in 2024 and in Feb 2025.  Heavily modified itinerary with same duration that excludes Israel or goes anywhere close to it.  This change was made earlier this month but I didn't want to call it out, assuming that folks affected by the change were being notified.

(2) for VO -- Viking World Cruise and Viking World Journey scheduled for Dec 2025 and Jan 2026, respectively, on the Sky.

(3) for VE -- From the Arctic to Antarctica scheduled for Polaris in Sept 2026.

As always -- if you already have a copy -- use the DropBox link provided on the ReadMe tab to download a fresh copy.  If you don't already have it, download it from this DropBox folder - https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8pm1betyh91wlhf/AABBcPIWuqWJQtR5JrNSFOqMa?dl=0.

3 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Same here @Peregrina651

I have a step by step process.  I guess too many years working in IT has ingrained data organizational habits 🙂

 

I use a mobile app called ToDo Cloud in which I have a vacation template that I duplicate, rename, and then populate for each new trip. I too am a retired IT/Info Systems person. 🙂 

11 hours ago, Azulann said:

Thank you so much !  I have a cruise in 2026 on Vesta , but I have not even started a roll call for my viking Sea in 2025....I think I will wait a bit to start a roll call for my sailing....😊

Finding or creating a roll call is one of the  first things I do after booking a cruise. It's part of my standard ToDo list. 😎

FYI -- have just uploaded the updated spreadsheets for Ship Classes, Cabin Classes, and ShoreEx Costs.  If you already have a copy of these spreadsheets, just use the link provided within each to get a fresh copy.  Otherwise use the link provided earlier for the schedule -- basically the DropBox folder I use for general Viking stuff --

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8pm1betyh91wlhf/AABBcPIWuqWJQtR5JrNSFOqMa?dl=0

26 minutes ago, JM0115 said:

Does anyone know what changes they made to the Sun to make it the Yi Dun? Are the crew mostly from China? Food chinese influenced? Is it mainly for the Chinese market or US?

Good question. I've been wondering too. You might try posting your question to the explorer's Lounge thread. 

4 hours ago, bookbabe said:

Out of curiosity, where is Sky scheduled to be in May?  Just wondering what the likely start and end ports for the world cruise might be?

Actually - thanks for inspiring me to look at May '26 for the Sky. Would have reduced my earlier guess to a near certainty. 

57 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

Out of curiosity, where is Sky scheduled to be in May?  Just wondering what the likely start and end ports for the world cruise might be?

London (Greenwich). She starts British Isles Explorer on May 6, 2026. 

Decided not to wait a full week given that it seems like the schedule has reached a steady state .. for now.  Just uploaded the 2024-2026 edition of the spreadsheet.  To be thorough, uploaded the final version of the 2023-2025 edition yesterday, which contains updates through 1 Dec 2023.  As always, if you already have a copy of the spreadsheet, use the link on the ReadMe tab to access the folder containing the 2024-2026 edition (Viking Ocean & Expedition Cruises (2024 to 2026).xlsm).  If you're new to this thread, use this link to download the file (https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/062f9aow9gvpfr9oruzji/Viking-Ocean-Expedition-Cruises-2024-to-2026.xlsm?rlkey=x2hrknzryauv1xd4b1ksji4op&dl=0).  No DropBox account required.  As I update this spreadsheet over the coming year -- use the links provided in the ReadMe tab to get a fresh copy.

Changes since last big spreadsheet upload:

VO (Viking Ocean)

* 2 ships added to the Ocean fleet:  Vesta - a sister ship to the Vela and the Yi Dun. 

    - Yi Dun is the reflagged Viking Sun, which was transferred to a joint venture with China in 2021. She sails along China's coast between Beijing and Hong Kong via Shanghai and is only scheduled (for now) between Sept and Nov 2024.

    - Vela & Vesta scheduled into September 2026 with first sails in Dec '24 and Jul '25, respectively.

* Star, Sea, Sky, Orion, Jupiter, & Neptune: scheduled into August 2026

   - Sea is scheduled to join Orion in Alaska in 2025 & 2026

   - Sky has a gap between Dec '25 and May '26 that I'm guessing will be filled by a World Cruise given she will be in Ft Lauderdale in Dec '25

* Venus & Saturn scheduled into September 2026

   - Venus is scheduled to join Orion in Australia traveling from the Med  starting late 2024 thru 2026

* Mars scheduled into early October 2026 (only cruise that month so far)

* Itineraries added:

   - China Discovery, Classic China & the Coast, and Wonders of China (Yi Dun only)

   - Caribbean & Panama Canal

VE (Viking Expeditions)

* From the Arctic to Antarctica has been repurposed:  lengthened from 47 to 87 days and travels to Ushuaia starting from Nuuk, Greenland rather than Tromsø, Norway.

* Itineraries added:

   - Antarctica, Chile & the Americas  and The Americas, Chile & Antarctic, segments of Longitudinal World Cruise V and From the Arctic to Antarctica, respectively.

  - Great Lakes Treasures, Niagara & Great Lakes Treasures, and Panama Canal & the Americas

* Octantis and Polaris scheduled into Oct '26 and Sep '26, respectively.

Dang!  The 2026 schedule is still churning. That or I was really bad when I was entering stuff yesterday. Sail dates on one cruise at least have changed since yesterday. Maybe I should wait a week to let the web site settle down.  🙄

9 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

We just booked the new Vesta for Malta March 2026.  Cruise consultant on board said Vesta debuts in Jan 26.  Maybe you’ll be on an inaugural cruise!

he also said the newly released Malta itineraries were selling fast - big demand.

I think the onboard cruise consultant mixed up the year and the month that begins with "J". Vesta's first cruise is 2 July 2025 - Mediterranean Odyssey.  I'm double checking my work to make sure I didn't inadvertently confuse Vesta with Vela.  No maiden voyage for you @Peregrina651🥲.  Sorry!!!

FYI -- haven't finished updating the spreadsheet yet.  Finished updating VO today but.. discovered that VE's schedule in 2026 has been extended into September.  And ..  the VO schedule is still being updated.  For ex -- a  new cruise was added today that wasn't there yesterday.  Also -- it looks like the Sky will be doing a World Cruise from Dec '25 to May '26 given that in Dec '25 she will be in Ft Lauderdale and has nothing scheduled after that until May '26. But that is merely speculation on my part.  Also -- a new ship will be joining the fleet starting in 2025 -- the Vesta -- a sister to the Vela. And..the Yi Dun (the Sun, reflagged to China in 2021) seems to have (re)joined the Viking fleet but I can't tell if this is just for 2024.

Received email today from Viking informing me sailings in 2026 thru Oct have been posted. Need to set up my 2024 to 2026 spreadsheet!  Not sure if all ships are scheduled. To be discovered.😁

Will try to post the new sheet sometime next week. 

Heads up to those following the viking expedition schedule. There have been some updates to the Octantis schedule in 2025 that might be of interest. I’m waiting to see what else gets updated over the weekend before I post the updated spreadsheet, but did want you guys to know about what’s happening here.  Basically they have repurposed what was the 47 day Arctic to Antarctic cruise that used to start in Tromsø. It now starts in Nuuk, takes 87 days, and combines a whole bunch of itineraries including dedicated time exploring the northwest passage above Hudson Bay, as well as, Antarctica. 

On 11/28/2023 at 11:06 AM, Frenchberet said:

Bonus is a shot of akvavit at the end!

Or champagne. That's what they did during our into midnight sun last July. 

2 hours ago, disudds said:

So do you have to actually participate in the plunge to get the certificate?

No. I got a certificate and I didn't do the pool plunge. Took pix instead. Such as the one I shared. 

1 hour ago, OnTheJourney said:

LOL..that was a truly humorous event to watch during our Northern Lights cruise. Didn't participate but enjoyed seeing some of it.

 

They filled up the hot tub with tons of ice. I think you had to completely submerge.

Not necessary to go down totally.  Most do but some just went down enough to cover their shoulders. Other idiots actually dove in scaring the medical staff who were monitoring things. 

2 hours ago, maren91 said:

Hi All- Huge thread and tried to go through it but I apologize if I missed this. Looking at Viking Polaris and wondering if they allow for a polar plunge and if they have any sort of arctic crossing ceremony? Thanks!

Going by our recent experience on the Sky doing into the midnight Sun there indeed is a blue nose ceremony. Can’t imagine that this would not also be done on the Polaris.  This is my husband earning his blue nose last Summer. They filled the hot tub with many bags of ice. 

Tried to post other pix but file sizes too big when posted from mobile phone. Might have had better  luck from my workstation.  

🙄