Captain_Morgan

As i say, the hard product itself is very nice but its the behind the scenes (i.e. corporate) aspect where they fail miserably.  From what I've been told they've got their sales office in LA, flights/travel office in Boston and operations in Basel, where they also run the river ops from.  Sounds to me like a bit of a mish mash operation given the complete lack of apparent industry know-how in comparison to the likes of Regent, Silversea, etc...

10 mil is the opening ask....its going to be a lot more i guarantee it, it always is

10 mil divided by 930 = just over 10k per person, so even if they halve that to 465 of the passengers its only 20k per person and i'm yet to see any successful lawsuit against a big company where the returns were that low....

Somehow i think the $10 million dollar figure is going to look like pocket change when the whole thing finishes as i'm sure its going to end up costing them a heck of a lot more than that!!

Whether or not people are in agreement, the fact of the matter remains that people were injured due to circumstances outside of their control and as such they're seeking compensation.  Also its important to remember that injuries are not limited to physical cuts & bruises....

2 hours ago, Pushka said:

 

Vancouver, Ketchikan, Juneau and Icy Strait Point are all tenders on our cruise. There are no “anchors” that indicate tender on our confirmation itinerary.  I cannot sit on a hard seat for long or I will have real trouble. My usual method of dealing with this is a heat pack on my back and ibuprofen and bed rest. I am fine with prolonged sitting as long as it’s on some kind of cushion. 

 

We have been told it will will be catered for. However I trust it won’t be just snack food but proper food as it will be some hours after 5pm until we get the chance to eat a meal. 

 

This site gives all the berth and tender information for every port. 

http://claalaska.com/?page_id=1250

 

The only tender I can see for those ports for the previous cruise is, as you say, Sitka but there may be ports I don’t know you are going to. 

Looking at the Alaskan port information site, it shows all but 2 calls in Juneau throughout the entire season are anchor; 5 of 10 calls to Icy Straight are anchored; 6 of 10 calls to Ketchikan are anchored; no anchor calls to Skagway; no anchor calls in Valdez; 1 of 10 calls to Sitka are anchored.  Considering Juneau and Ketchikan are by far the busiest of ports, its going to be interesting...

Now the question remains, when are Viking going to update their guests with this information or are they just going to play dumb and hope nobody reads these forums or knows how to use a google search?!?

i think this is going to be a recurring theme in Alaska as they're literally flying blind, not to mention they're clearly late to the party where the likes of HAL and Princess, etc. have the berths locked up years in advance.  I wouldn't be surprised if you find yourself at anchor more than on a berth...

if you're embarking in Greenwich and using Blackberry Cars just tell them you're going to the Cutty Sark as its literally the single best landmark for reference.  unfortunately there's no option for vehicle transportation to get right to the top of the embarkation (tender) platform so it will be a short walk from the car drop.  i did this last year and had no issues, although the drive in from LHR is a bit long depending on traffic but its a lot easier and definitely not a bad price in comparison to other options.

saw this yesterday but forgot to post it....

Although all of the 'glass half full' and positive thinking is good, its not going to change the facts which i think are very important in this case:

• Viking knew of the berth space issues long in advance, as did the intrepid reporting here on CC but decided to do nothing by way of informing guests until 2 1/2 weeks out.  We can speculate as to their reasons but i'm sure its partly arrogance in thinking their clientele is so dedicated they won't mind, and partly due to their apparent and seemingly regularly displayed ineptitude when it comes to ocean cruising
• It sounds like its going to be a 4 ship day in Vancouver which means from early morning until early evening its going to be a gong show both in and around the terminal building.  Yes Vancouver is a beautiful city with a lovely waterfront (hopefully it doesn't pour rain) but with that many people milling about with luggage its going to be a zoo and not somewhere I would think many people would want to hang about waiting an extended period of time for their embarkation
• The likelihood of having anything but either folding metal or plastic lawn chairs is slim at best given this does not appear to be a convention centre, but instead an empty hall.  Furthermore, i don't see them catering the event either which means lukewarm coffee/tea and bottled water
• This screw up is solely of Viking's making and no matter how much they'd like to divert attention and cast blame on Customs of either Canada or the US, its just a smokescreen to shield themselves from their inadequate planning/execution

I'm sure more will come out as the date gets closer but as i say, Viking have really dropped the ball on this one and no amount of positive thinking is going to change that.  Sure some people will take it all in stride as part of the experience, but others like to be organized and expect the cruise line to do the same....after all, it IS a one-sided game here given that the ship can depart late or when it chooses to, but if a passenger shows up 'late' they're likely watching the ship sail into the distance without them 🙄

One more thing, lets not forget this is called Cruise CRITIC after all and not Cruise Fan Club so i think its fair to say that criticism is definitely needed in situations such as these

1 hour ago, Pushka said:

 

Oh yes. Viking have blamed US customs alright. And say it is out of their control. Neglecting the fact that US customs have said No because as outlined above, the use of tenders to board us means that we will need to cross back into Canadian territory. That is not the cause but rather the consequence of Viking booking us into a port where they didn’t have a berth. 

 

This is our ‘hospitality suite’ for the afternoon. What an awful place. This is on the link sent to us in their email today. 

 

As opposed to the meal we would be receiving onboard and refined atmosphere. And I’ve read that it can take up to 3 hours just in US immigration alone for non US citizens. As in us! If they stagger boarding from 5pm then we may not get onboard until 9pm. Dinner anyone? 

 

 

 

talk about an absolute farce on behalf of Viking to drop the ball in such a major way, and then to shift blame and responsibility when they are wholly responsible IMO for the major screw up here.  we all know that itineraries are planned well in advance by ALL lines so if they were doing their due diligence they would have or should have known there was limited or no berth availability on the day, so why not adjust the itinerary??

irrespective of whether clearing customs takes 3 hours or 3 minutes, the fact of the matter remains that Viking are playing their well paying passengers as fools and are no doubt running out of chances to fix their continuous mistakes.  i will be very interested to see/hear how the first full trip to/from Vancouver goes given Viking have never been to the ports in question and if history is any indicator they're in for a litany of surprises as it relates to shore excursions, arrival/departure times and of course trying to source adequate transportation options in towns already inundated by the major players in the area.

wonder who they'll blame then?? 😏

Is it just me, or does this sound more like an amateur oversight from a line new to the business as opposed to a well planned and communicated decision from a supposed 'world's best' company? 🙄

As has been mentioned, the fact they've had more than 12 months to plan and disseminate information to people, only to seemingly fumble along hoping that the majority won't mind spending a day sat in a large, mostly empty hall with cookies and bottled water?  I guess they've had success with this model from the Sun naming ceremony in Shanghai?!? 🤣

Jokes aside,  this is a failure on the part of Viking on a number of levels and if i were a paying guest on this cruise i'd be annoyed, insulted, and extremely frustrated at the contempt being shown to think their lack of planning somehow overshadows my first full day of an already short cruise and the planning most people put in to their travel arrangements.  I would be waiting now for the laundry list of excuses coming in as it relates to blaming US Customs or Canadian Customs, because the public of course has no recourse there when the reality seems to be the one person planning the itineraries appears to be on an extended coffee break and is hoping nobody will notice their absence...

If this were the very first time that a change in itinerary or berth location occurred, than so be it but it seems to me that Viking like to make a habit of flying by the seat of their pants when it comes to these things, all the while betting that the die-hard customers will take it all in stride, just because...

I agree that the industry is regulated; however, the issue comes from enforcement of said regulations which seems to be the biggest sticking point.  Look no further than the issues coming up as of late relating to Carnival Corp. and their continued illegal dumping of waste and other pollutants, of which they were only fined and not more severely admonished.  

In the US, there are several 'good' regulations (i.e. CVSSA) but if issues relating to these regulations are not properly reported/enforced then the regulations are nothing more than good ideas.

I also think there's a false equivalency being given to Viking in comparison to other mainstream brands in suggesting that they too are making use of training simulators, or have a comprehensive SMS, etc as in the case of Carnival Corp and others these have been implemented and honed over many years of operation.  Of course Viking will have an SMS in place in accordance with IMO regulations, but thats not to say its as in depth as a company with 100+ years in operation.  In speaking with senior officers onboard during meet & greets, I've found the majority have said they rely on their prior industry experience and that Viking are still operating in a fledgling system whereby they seem to be focusing more on the customer service element and much less on the technical side, which could very well be the river boat mentality coming to the forefront.

As has been said, how an incident is handled is equally if not more important but apart from the good will gestures being offered to those affected, I've seen nothing significant coming from Viking apart from a well timed 'puff piece' article in Forbes painting Hagen as some kind of underdog made good.  Pardon my cynicism but it seems like the spin doctors are hard at work trying to shift focus which i suppose is what they're expected to do...

As it relates to shuttles it seems there's two different types....those put on by the port due to either being an industrial type pier where walking isn't allowed, in which case its usually only to the port gate, or those arranged by Viking to take people into town at an agreed upon location/times.  

Problem with the latter of course is not every port has the means to provide shuttles, and of course these are not free so unfortunately like many things in life, it often comes down to cost versus benefit with someone in a cubicle on the other side of the planet making those decisions.  For the most part though, our experience has been the majority of ports on a Viking cruise have had shuttles or at the very least easy access to public transport.

As for leaving the included tour and making your own way back, i'm sure its not an issue provided you let the guide know so they can in turn let the tour staff know so they're not 'missing' anyone when the bus returns.  We also always make sure to double check the all aboard time either at the gangway or tender landing pier shore side as sometimes things change and its not always reflected in the Daily.

i'm not taking away from the gesture, but if anyone thinks that Hagen is bank rolling the entire operation off his own back they're mistaken, and I clearly misspoke and intended to write investors, not shareholders.  Quick google search for MISA Investments will tell the story, case in point is one such article here https://www.pehub.com/2016/09/tpg-capital-and-cppib-acquire-stake-in-viking-cruises-for-500-mln/#

Lofoten - can't recall whether or not there was a shuttle

Lerwick - there is shuttle which runs regularly

Newhaven (Edinburgh) - tender port with a relatively long ride from ship to shore, no shuttle into Edinburgh that I recall as i believe the included tour(s) went there but this might have changed.  Conversely if you're in Rosyth instead of Newhaven you'll be berthed alongside, even further from Edinburgh and the only transport there was via tours

ref. the 'maiden voyage' being offered, i'm almost certain this will be on what is referred to as the 'shakedown cruise' which is what Jupiter was on when it struck the pier in Athens.  think of it like a dress rehearsal where 'friends and family', select media types, and corporate get a sneak peek at the product before the full revenue cruise begins.

although there is much fanfare and gratitude being shown for the offers being made, Viking is a business and as such has shareholders who've no doubt taken a hit from the incident so any goodwill gestures will surely be done with a fine balance of minimizing lost revenue, and trying to keep their customer base happy.

not trying to rain on anyone's parade, just adding some context.

2 hours ago, gatour said:

I haven't seen anywhere that Viking is using the incident on Sky as a reason/excuse for not updating passengers.  A fellow poster here proposed that as a reason, but it did not come from Viking.

I stand corrected....but the complete lack of ANY comms coming from Viking proves my point...

For those who've mentioned concern about the clean up efforts taking time, it should be mentioned that they have a crew of 300+ service staff who aren't servicing passengers, and as such will be doing all of the sweeping, polishing, tidying, etc. so even with all the broken dishes, etc i'm sure that number of people working 24hrs a day would make short work of the mess...

As expected it sounds like another 'Viking scramble' to get their act together while trying to present an organized appearance to the paying public.  Although it 'sounds' like they might have a plan, I would bet more on the information coming from the port as being accurate in comparison to the sounds of crickets chirping coming from Viking...

I believe i mentioned earlier the possibility of Canada Customs boarding and clearing the ship at anchor, which is totally feasible given it will be a face to face inspection and based on comparable experiences with US and UK inspections it should go pretty quickly, provided of course people have their act together on all sides.

The fact that Viking is using the incident on Sky as a reason/excuse for not updating passengers just indicates how woefully incapable they appear to be when it comes to dealing with more than one issue, whereby the advising of a schedule change would in my mind be a pretty simple endeavor?  Sure its not tomorrow, and some people don't seem to care too much but for others who've made plans and paid for things in advance based on a schedule given to them by Viking which hasn't been changed officially, its no doubt frustrating and i can bet those who did the same and are not getting up to date information via this form will be extremely disappointed if they have to make last minute changes.

If this were the first time it's happened I would pass it on as part of the process, but we were on the Sea a couple years ago, expecting to embark in Barcelona but were told last minute that we were being bused to Tarragona to embark which is over an hour away from the city we landed in and expected to enjoy, only to then sail back to Barcelona the following day?!?  It came out that the change was due to traffic in the port, which now as i say seems to be a recurring theme.....

this is just the current Brazilian president trying to remain in the good books of Trump as was mentioned during their televised love-fest last week....so as soon as a politician in either country changes and decides to change the rules again, the tit for tat will continue....

in the meantime though this is definitely good news for those planning a trip to Brazil later this year and beyond(?)

well they've got time to sort it, unless of course they want to run a pending disaster of a day....guess time will tell how it all unfolds

I would like to think that something so simple as crossing the date line would not be the cause of this misstep on the part of Viking's schedulers, but I could be wrong.

I would more likely chalk it up to hubris in thinking that they could show up to the dance and be given a spot at the table on relatively short notice in comparison to the likes of those already scheduled and confirmed for berth space on the day....

It will be interesting to hear from those affected as to how it all goes on the day in question, and sadly the lack of information sharing seems to be a frequent trend with Viking...

4 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Not sure how they handle this, but Viking has a fair bit of experience with tendering at TAR ports. Every cruise going to Greenwich (London) tenders all pax, baggage and stores, as they have no berth to go alongside.

big difference between Greenwich and Vancouver as has been mentioned is the river versus a harbor, not to mention the operation in Greenwich is done using local tenders and a barge, all of which are purpose designed for the operation.  not to mention there's not the same immigration formalities in the Greenwich as there would be in Vancouver.

as i say, i think there's going to be a big logistics headache given the split time alongside, but at least there's a nice big terminal to make use of whenever they can which is a major upside in comparison to the parking lot in Greenwich

Logistically that sounds like a nightmare for operations shipboard, being all fast alongside by 0300hrs and then being off the berth by 0600hrs so Regent can go in for the day, and then returning for 4 hours in the evening before departure.

That God forsaken early hour sounds like what Sea/Star did in San Juan which made little to no sense to me given nobody was off the ship before 0500-0530hrs and the luggage wasn't off any earlier (i know this as i heard the operation from above), but the difference being they stayed alongside throughout.

So the question remains, will they do immigration onboard (face to face) in that short window of time, or bring the officials onboard to anchor and do it then?  offloading luggage between 0300-0600hrs will no doubt be a massive cost to the company as well given the stevedores will not be working 'normal' hours which translates into big $$$ so they either go with a barge arrangement as has been said, or they have some other cunning plan?!?   

I just have visions of tenders running ashore between seaplane arrivals/departures and other traffic as its quite a busy waterway from what I recall.  Although trying not to sound terribly pessimistic, I see more problems than solutions with this planning so it will be interesting to see how they pull it off...

as has been mentioned, the media report in USA Today by a supposedly trained and informed crew member is nothing more than sensationalism at its finest.  there's no way the ship was listed 45° and the issue of the lifejackets being stored outside is not as bad as it sounds, albeit not as ideal as has been mentioned on other lines where they're in the staterooms/cabins.  from what i've been told from sources with direct knowledge, the lifejacket lockers for the crew are on Deck 3 (boat deck is Deck 2) and although technically they are accessed via an outer deck, the area is still relatively close inboard and not open to the sea, with just a railing between them and the deep blue.

the mention of a 'human chain' is again something which has been misconstrued as the area is such that if you don't form a line/queue there's no other way to get to the locker where the lifejackets are being held and there are apparently crew designated to hand them out as crew get to the locker, so an orderly exercise or as close to it as can be imagined.

i too was shaking my head with the video of the people sat in the Explorers Lounge on Deck 7, looking out the windows as the furniture and potted plants went sailing across, followed by ceiling panels coming down on their heads.  anyone who's been at sea knows that the higher up you are, the worse it feels due to being further away from the center of gravity, so even though the general alarm hadn't sounded yet, you'd think being up high and near the front of the ship would be the last/worst place to just hang about and watch the weather get worse 🤔 

best guess is that they will disembark all the guests over the next 24-48hrs and after an assessment has been done by the Norwegian authourities and clearance given to sail, they will no doubt head for Bergen or a larger port between there and Molde where the repairs can be carried out.

i recall when the Sea was laid up with technical issues after departing Barcelona, they ended up back there and stayed put when they were closer to smaller French ports, which would have been more difficult to work with from a logistics perspective.

on a side note, i'm disappointed by what i've seen as well of some of the videos clearly being shot by crew who were out on deck...very reckless behaviour to say the least!!