CurlerRob

While your cruise does come up when one looks at all the "Canadian Dollar at Par" cruises, it is listed as subject to the ongoing Black Friday promotion. As per @PhD-iva's experience, I suspect that the Black Friday continuation negates the Cdn $ promo. Will be interested to hear what your TA has to say. 🍺🥌

@millybess - lot's of concern on the Regent board as well. It may be useful to follow that one for additional insight (if you are not already). 🍺🥌

I'm familiar with the waiver document. If you are comfortable that your interpretation of the waiver negates your requirement to comply with Viking's requirement for evac insurance, no problem. Your money, your choice. My point was that I consider it high risk to willfully ignore a cruise line's stated requirement and I would refrain from suggesting that it can be ignored. 🍺🥌

My comment was from personal experience. I've never seen a tender filled anywhere near to rated tendering capacity. Loading to lifeboat capacity or even near it, would be a nightmare to be avoided. YMMV. 🍺🥌

From Viking's FAQ: In order to participate in a Viking Expeditions journey to the Arctic or Antarctica, each guest must have Medical Evacuation Insurance coverage for a minimum of $250,000. For a trip of this nature, I would not be ignoring a condition set by the cruise line. It might work out fine - conversely it might be embarrassing to wind up waving to the ship from the pier in Ushuaia if you were denied boarding. I don't think "but I read it was OK on CC" would be an acceptable excuse. 🍺🥌

Sometimes it's worth looking at the number of posts listed by a poster, prior to assuming they are unfamiliar with cruising ... PS - Viking tenders are nowhere near a couple of hundred people, more like 50-75 per. 🍺🥌

In addition to @PhD-iva's observation, the T's and C's of the offer make mention of "capacity limits" and "subject to removal", so it may also be a timing issue. Not sure which cruise you are looking at, but if it's Voyager Istanbul to Athens, the Cdn website does show a Verandah F at $10,199 CAD (all-inclusive). 🍺🥌 Canadian Dollars at Par offer is capacity controlled and applies to new bookings only made between 10/1/23 and 12/31/23. Offer is available to Canadian residents only. On select voyages aboard Seven Seas Navigator® and Seven Seas Voyager®, Canadian guests sailing in Penthouse Suites through Deluxe Veranda/Deluxe Window Suites (Category A-H) will enjoy pricing where Canadian Dollars are at par with U.S. Dollar prices. Cancels and rebooks will not be permitted, and bookings will be vetted for eligibility. Availability is limited — applicable voyages are subject to removal; applicable suite categories are subject to change; offer may be withdrawn at any time. Offer is combinable with Special Savings for Kids. Certain restrictions apply.

Just as an FYI, while Viking does have a much earlier PIF than other lines, their cancellation dates and penalties are in line with other carriers. So, the early PIF should not affect your thinking regarding trip insurance, but it's reasonable to figure the additional cost of money from the earlier PIF into the total price for your analysis. 🍺🥌

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Glad you didn't hesitate, as a different opinion, backed up by logical reasoning (as you provided) is always useful. My analysis has always been the following. Cancellation/interruption insurance has typically cost me about 7% of the trip cost. The math says that if I can complete 14 (similarly sized) trips without insurance and without a claim, I have saved the cost of one new trip by self-insuring. If one of the 14 blows up, I'm ahead by having paid for insurance. In my case, my risk assessment and risk tolerance does not extend to believing that I will be fortunate enough to take that many trips without a hiccup, so I pay the premiums. Congrats to those with better nerves than I, and who successfully navigate the odds! 🍺🥌

Think that's OK on the boards - Manulife and CAA (underwritten by Orion). Below is the relevant page from the CAA/Orion policy - I just confirmed this with Orion this week. Please note that if even a modest cancellation fee is applicable once booked (even if it's given back as a FCC), then it's treated as a cancellation penalty and the 72-hour rule takes over. You must be able to recover all of your deposit to qualify under the "before penalty" clause. 🍺🥌 BENEFITS 1. TRIP CANCELLATION (before departure) In the event of a Trip Cancellation please advise your CAA Travel Consultant (if travel arrangements were booked through CAA) or your travel agent or your travel supplier on the day the insured risk occurs or on the next business day after the insured risk occurs prior to the departure date. Only the sums that are nonrefundable on the day the insured risk occurs shall be considered for the purpose of the claim. In the event you must cancel your trip, the following benefits will apply to you and to your travel companion(s) named as Insured(s), subject to the Sum Insured and to all terms and conditions of this policy: Important Restriction to Trip Cancellation benefits a. and b.: Cancel for Any Other Reason benefit(s) a. and b. are covered only if you purchase your policy within 72 hours of booking your travel arrangements or before cancellation penalties come into effect. Subject only to the General Exclusions and Conditions described on page 5 and 6. a. reimbursement of 75% of the nonrefundable portion of your fully prepaid travel arrangements booked through CAA (Canadian Automobile Association), if you elect to cancel your trip 3 hours or more prior to the scheduled departure date and time for any other reason; or b. reimbursement of 50% of the nonrefundable portion of your fully prepaid travel arrangements, if you elect to cancel your trip 3 hours or more prior to the scheduled departure date and time for any other reason; or ...

CFAR is available in Ontario - however, the offering underwriters have quite different approaches than you may see here, especially compared to the US. The two companies I'm aware of that offer CFAR (there may be others) both require that you purchase the cancellation/interruption insurance within 72 hours of booking the trip, or prior to the start of ANY penalties (this includes even a trivial "administrative fee" of $150 or so). So, as most lines have some degree of holdback once booked, to qualify for CFAR you generally must initiate the policy immediately after booking. Both companies will only cover up to 50% of the insured amount under CFAR, although one will go up to 75% if you use them as your TA. You are able to "start small" by just insuring your deposit and later upping the coverage amount - your CFAR will stay in place. On the more positive side, there is no difference in the premium from these two companies whether you qualify for the CFAR or not - the CFAR is essentially an enticement to buy your insurance with them immediately. I have found cancel/interrupt insurance premiums to generally run about 6-9% of the insured amount. I use the technique of booking the minimum policy size immediately at cruise booking to secure the CFAR benefit, then increasing the coverage amount as I reach penalty or PIF dates - but that takes some care and management. 🍺🥌

We have flown to or through KEF numerous times, always on Icelandair. From IAH, you would likely route through JFK, but from there, the flight is 5:40 in length. Our experience is that the Saga class seating is just fine for that length of trip. While they do not have lie-flat seats, the seats are spacious, lots of leg room and comfortable - similar to old style domestic business class. Their pricing is unbeatable, as it appears to be subsidized by the Icelandic government to promote tourist stopovers in the country. The only downside is that KEF is something of a circus inside the terminal, but it has always worked out fine. Excellent food and drink, and the Saga lounge in Reykjavik is a seafood lover's delight. Easy to book yourself as well. I'd suggest at least having a look. 🍺🥌

In 2019, we engaged the firm below - spent the day with our driver/guide touring the Causeway, Dunluce castle, much of the incredibly scenic Antrim Coast, the Belfast murals / wall, lunch at a country pub and one of the GOT filming sites (which we had no idea about!). Topped off with a complimentary Guinness from the boot as we stopped to check out some additional scenery. As with most private tours, they are very flexible. I would not expect any issue with docking in Bangor. They are still in business and we were extremely pleased with their professionalism and service. Cheers! 🍺🥌 https://belfasttours.com/tours/cruise-ship-day-trips-excursions

We have had excellent service from Blacklane in Europe and Oz, finding them to be reasonably competitive with other options at the same quality level. As you illustrate, their pricing is insane in USA/Canada. From YYZ to my home is $100 by airport limo, usually $85 by "luxury" Uber, but pushes $300 for Blacklane low end. I conclude they don't really care to play in the US/Cdn market. 🍺🥌

During our 2019 transit (not on O) of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, we had a piracy drill that consisted of a special horn signal - when heard, we were to move into the hallways so as not to be visible through the windows. It was clear that multiple precautions and installations of special gear had been done on the outer decks (I have redacted them from the onboard letter and won't describe them) and I was certain that there were other, not revealed precautions in place. That said, there has not been a serious incident involving a cruise ship for many years, so most of us treated the exercise as simply one more intelligent precaution. 🍺🥌

Port Everglades to MIA is about 48 km and takes about 35-40 minutes by car. Three options ... As mentioned by others, sign up for the Viking bus transfer. If it's your first cruise, this may be the low-stress option. Taxis are readily available at the cruise terminal - cost should be about $80 - $100 USD (plus tip, as you're in the US). If you use Uber, pickup is very easy at the cruise terminal as well. Cost should be quite a bit less - about $50 (again, the ubiquitous tip is extra). Enjoy your first cruise experience - it's normally very special! 🍺🥌

Perhaps it was "silence = consent"? 🍺🥌

Unfortunately, their knowledge does not make up for bad accents like mine. When we embarked Regent in Barcelona in September, our taxi driver thought I said "Virgin" and was off to the long pier with us! Our ship was downtown ... Knowing where the ship was saved a few dollars on retracing our route and a bit of pride 🙄! 🍺🥌

Jim is quite correct, although even the port website schedule is always subject to change. I've taken to using MarineTraffic to do a final check for the actual dock on the day of embarkation (or earlier if the ship is in port already). They won't normally switch to adjacent ports, but changes to a posted dock are quite common. 🍺🥌

I am not aware of any situations where Viking does the visa work FOR you. On World Cruises, it is common that Viking includes the cost of the 3rd party visa service that they recommend - but you need to take action to initiate and complete the process. The item on the website is likely the connection to their recommended service. If you are not doing the visa work yourself, I suggest you contact Viking ASAP and clarify who does what. Then, you need to get in touch with their (or another) service and understand the process. In the end, we, as pax, are ultimately responsible to have the appropriate visas, no matter who assists us. From our past experience, Australia is simple to do yourself - it's an online application that is straightforward. On our last stop in Singapore, the ship (not Viking) handled the visa - no action required by us. For the other 3 countries, I have read various painful accounts. Good luck - don't delay on this ... 🍺🥌

Thank you for posting this. Fortunately, I have no dog in this hunt, but a couple of observations ... The phrase "open ended offer" indicates a lack of any time limitation, inconsistent with the withdrawal of the offer. The phrase "first come basis" (which I presume was intended to mean first come, first served) speaks to the order of processing of the requests, not any cap on availability. The phrase "oversubscribed" indicates a predetermined level of availability, inconsistent with both offers above. If it were me and I chose not to sail, I would dispute the CC charges and advise O that they had 30 days to pony up the FCC first offered. If they refused, I'd take the story to any and all media that would accept it. I could care less if they refused me future passage - who would want to do business with a company who acts this way? If I chose to sail so as not to potentially lose the fare, I would write again, requesting at least some degree of compensation (even if I would never use it should they provide FCC). Failing that, I'd still try on the media approach after the cruise. The letter you received makes it clear that Oceania offered, then arbitrarily rescinded FCC, acting both unethically and in bad faith. I cannot comprehend the thinking of an organization that would act this way. Best of luck. 🍺🥌

As has been said by the others, no issues / corkage with your own alcohol - this is a major feature that distinguishes Viking. Regarding gratuities, it is correct that you can adjust them onboard should you choose. That aside, I have had gratuity rates increase between booking and sailing on several lines in the past - always was charged the new rate as they are not locked by a booking. As you said, a small amount, and just reflects the increase from $15 to $17 USD. Enjoy your trip! 🍺🥌

I believe the route that Dee is referring to is the Greenland, Iceland, Norway & Beyond trip. 29 days, only 7 sea days with no two seas days together. Still 25% at sea, but not the same stretches as a 'real' TA. Apologies if you were referring to the same cruise! 🍺🥌

Unfortunately, I would not hold my breath on deals for that cruise ... for many years, HAL has had a somewhat similar (though not nearly as port attractive) trip called the Voyage of the Vikings. The HAL trip is legendary for always selling out and never being discounted. We had to cancel Viking for 2023 but rebooked for 2025 - just too good and itinerary to pass up! 🍺🥌