CDNPolar

We had to wait for one smaller ship to leave the area at one landing point before we could land. There is a max number of people allowed on the continent at one time at any landing point, so if a ship is there you cannot start your landing. This is not per ship max, it is a max at that landing point. We passed and saw other ships, but there was never another ship landing at the same time, or kayaking in the same bay. My impression is that the ships book these landing points in advance and have to stick to their times otherwise it would always be chaos. We looked frequently on the cruise tracker and there were often 15+ ships on the vicinity map.

Very true, and I would never push this with crew... I would ask politely and offer them the option of not answering.

There seem to be a lot of opinions of how gratuities are distributed, and from an email inquiry that I just received a call back for this was Viking's response: All monies received in the gratuity program are distributed directly to all onboard staff as a bonus. No monies are put into enrichment programs or equipment for the staff - all is as a bonus. I asked if this was per cruise, or per contract and the response was: We don't have that information available to us. Any additional question that I asked such as % to different departments, the response was: We don't have that information available to us. We will ask crew that we get friendly with directly in future cruises.

Right on! We knew that we were faced with a lottery on the size of ship we were travelling and we would not have liked it if we got nothing, but we were prepared for getting nothing.

...should have mentioned Pergrina651 did, and that is that for purchasing transfers you must arrive when Viking would bring you in if you bought your air through Viking. Arriving early or late will not work. Oh, and the Viking Air that we are using in August is because the promotion was FREE AIR, and the cruise cost was not higher, so we would be foolish to book our own air. What we did was book Premium Economy and that ended up as a $1,299 CDN cost per person, but if we did that without the free air, it would have been a cost of about $3500 per person with PE.

We have booked with Air Plus, with the TA and on our own. There are pros and cons to each. We don't find that the cost of Viking flights booked through Air Plus are more expensive. Before we make any decision on who to book air with we do a full analysis of airline, route, aircraft type, seating configuration, connection time, etc. We look at all that plus cost. We have done our pricing and then we will compare to Air Plus and we are talking "give or take" number of dollars difference. We would rather book our Air through Viking than through our TA because if that flight booking goes south for any reason, Viking Air Plus are on it - in our experience. If we book through the TA, then we have one more layer to deal with. We actually book more air direct ourselves now for more overall control. You will see many situations on CC where people are upset with Air Plus because of airline changes or schedule changes that were done without their knowledge. In reality - to us - this is not Viking but the airlines that are still impacting travel itineraries around the world without recourse. When you book on your own, you get the notification that something is changing and you get to deal with it over someone else just slamming you on another flight that you may or may not have wanted. We have a cruise in March that we booked our own air, and we have a Viking cruise in August that we are using Air Plus. So clearly we saw an advantage using Air Plus for the August one. Oh, and yes, the transfers are included, but you can purchase those through Viking if you book your air yourself. Even if the air with Viking were a few dollars extra, the convenience of landing and finding the Viking rep and handing over your luggage is much simpler than finding your own transport.

"Cancelation" fees don't kick in until 120 days before the cruise date and you would have also paid in full at that time. (This for Canadian and USA bookings) If you are cancelling before that they can only take the deposit, but you always have the option with Viking to "revise" the booking to a different date or itinerary and not lose anything.

STOP STOP - no, do not book a flight that early back to Canada. I believe that the Hurtigruten information states to not have a connecting flight in BA before 9:30pm the same day. The first flight - of three - that we were on did not leave Ushuaia until 12:30pm and these small charter airlines are often late. This is a 3 to 3.5 hour flight so the first flight would not get you back in time for that. The second flight was 1:30pm or something but the last flight did not leave Ushuaia until 8pm. These flights are only announced as to the departure time - like the lottery - on the wall of deck 5, about 2 maybe 3 days before the end of the cruise. I would personally recommend that you stay the night in BA and fly home the next day. Safest option. We stayed 4 days in BA on our own after. There were several people that were on our first flight out of Ushuaia that had 9pm'ish or 10pm'ish flights out and they were good. If you are intent on going same day, then book as late as possible but cover this with Hurtigruten before you pay for the flight or you may be having some expensive change fees.

We did not ask, but the Expedition Crew claimed that the lottery is a real lottery. You sign up and then randomly you are chosen - or not - to do 4 or maybe 5 different activities. The activities in the lottery are: Snowshoeing, Kayaking, Camping, Science Boat, and one other that must have been insignificant to us because I cannot remember. All of a sudden there is an announcement and the results of the lottery are posted on the wall of Deck 5 atrium. The crowds rush and you battle the crowd to get close enough to see if you were chosen. We got one of four that we signed up for, but it was clear immediately as I looked across the lists that one cabin number with 3 people in it was chosen for 3 different things. Why it is clear to see is we were two in the cabin and then our cabin number appears twice in the list indicating that both of us go. This cabin appeared three times in a row on the lists and just stood out. We talked to 2 couples that signed for 4 things and got nothing, where one cabin of 3 people got three things. Is it fair? To the cabin that got three things yes, but to the cabin that got nothing, no. It is a lottery. The truth of the matter is this: Only 100 people can go ashore at one time and the expedition crew are busy with transiting people back and forth. Only 16 people can kayak at one time and it takes almost 2 hours to get that 16 suited up, briefed/coached/trained and then out and back in. Camping has a limit too. The science boats have a limit as there are limited science expedition team. All of the above is also dependent on weather. If the weather changes - which it does in a minute - then excursions are cancelled or moved to another destination. We lost all excursions in our first day of five days at the continent because of weather and you cannot make that time up. Lottery "winners" are also chosen as Group A, B, C etc. If A is to go this morning and weather does not permit, then B gets bumped and A goes in their time slot. If this continues, some of the lottery winners get bumped all together and are out of luck. We were coached by our TA many times and by the posted information from Hurtigruten, that you must be flexible and ready to accept changes in schedule and activities. It is conceivable that you could have several days of poor weather that severely impacts excursions. For instance, we never go the polar plunge because the two places that were set for people to participate the weather or conditions were not ideal, so it did not happen at all. If you want to guarantee that you are going to get the expedition excursions you want, then you want to travel on a smaller ship. We had friends go on a much smaller ship and they got every activity and also got to land on the continent twice a day. We were only promised once a day at best. Smaller ships have more flexibility to ensure that you get what you want, but weather still can impact what they can and will deliver. You cannot go into this with the expectation of Kayaking and then be devastated if you don't get it. If you go on a cruise like this with that expectation you will most likely be disappointed and there is no recourse with the cruise line. Oh, and no, having a more expensive cabin does not give you privilege in the lottery, or it would not be a fair lottery. If you don't win the lottery do you have other fabulous options? If the weather is good, you have one landing per day and potentially a boat cruise that are promised to everyone. Other fabulous options are gaze at the enchanting scenery from your balcony, or the Explorer Lounge with a drink? There is nothing much else to do on this ship if you are not on excursion other than gaze at the landscape, the icebergs, and whale watch.

We have both a Uniworld and a Viking River cruise in the coming months. I have never asked the Stateroom Attendant what happens and if they have to turn in their cash tips. I will ask on both lines. I have also emailed Viking to directly ask what the tipping policies are. Let's see if and how they respond. Like one poster above, I have also seen the faces light up with a $20 USD bill. This is huge for them. When you look at the value of the currency of a country like the Philippines, and then take $20 USD and convert it, this is big for them.

We are fortunate to have work related medical insurance, so we only purchase cancelation and interruption insurance. BUT, a year ago I was faced with potentially losing my work medical and I have a pre-existing heart condition and over 60. The best rates and the best experience in pricing insurance for stable pre-existing conditions was CAA.

Everything that is "Pre-existing" with insurance has a stability period attached to it. I am playing insurance underwriter now... Your leg will have to heal and be free of treatments and potentially from physical therapy for a period of time before it would be considered "stable" as a pre-existing condition. With any pre-existing condition, if they don't consider it stable, you can travel and your insurance will generally cover you for anything that happens OTHER than to the pre-existing condition. So, if you fell and it was deemed because of the previous leg injury, then you would not be covered. Other new issues would still be covered as long as they are not directly a result of the leg or pre-existing condition. This is how I understand it. Call the insurance company and talk it out with them. You have to get the information from the source.

This is MY opinion. The airline staffer don't have to prove anything, but the passenger may. You may get asked to prove by US customs and immigration. The airlines don't want to be the vaccine police, not in the past or now, but they were plagued with that for many months... The US government wants every non US citizen to attest that they are vaccinated but they don't want to clog the airline, or customs and immigration with the whole verification process now. So, instead, they are asking you to attest - legally - that you are vaccinated. If they happen to check you and you cannot prove that you are vaccinated, then you would be subject to whatever legal prosecution and/or fines they want to throw at you. Again - my opinion. Always carry proof and if you are not vaccinated and you are transiting through or going to the USA, and you are playing the system, then you risk whatever you get.

We pay our expected daily gratuity amount on our invoice with the hope and trust that they are going to be distributed fairly to all crew that deserve a piece of that pie. We also do the following in Viking: When we arrive in our Cabin and the attendant(s) come to welcome us we generally have a couple of needs that we outline at that point and we also give each of the two cabin attendants $10-$15 USD. We will match this again half way through the cruise or a few days before the end of the cruise. So, the cabin attendants will get from us between $20 and $30 USD each. We enjoy having the same servers in The Restaurant nightly, so if we like the team we have the first night we ask for them again and again. We generally tip the host at The Restaurant on this request - $10 USD. We will then tip each of our dining team $20 USD half way through or towards the end of the cruise. We decide who else on the ship that we may tip as the cruise goes on. Last year I tipped a lobby housekeeping person who struck up a conversation with me near the Living Room Bar on day 2 or 3 and from that point forward greeted me by name when she saw me. We ENJOY this additional tipping and do it because we WANT to on top of the standard billed gratuity. We would not replace the billed gratuity with this because there are many people behind the scenes that will benefit that we never see, but are as responsible for our great experience as those we do see. I work with the Philippines and other countries in my daily work life. I know that these people are working these jobs away from their family and homelands because it is a better life financially than if they worked at home. We are privileged to be able to travel the way that we do, and this is my way of thanking these people who are only trying to create a better life for themselves and their families. I would love to know where the tips go, but I have faith that they are going where Viking say they are going. Perhaps I am stupid and naive but this is what I think.

I am aware of these tools, I am looking for individual experience as of late these weather sites and stats do NOT give current weather patterns. We have used these of late and found them very inaccurate.

We embark on Passage to Eastern Europe the 15th of August for the next 10 days. What will we expect in temps (C Please) for these countries/cities? Bucharest Bulgaria Serbia Croatia Hungary We are fearful that it may be overwhelmingly hot for these dates and want to pack accordingly. Thank you.

Does not matter if you procrastinate, Viking just increased my SS with a new invoice when I asked for a change. Even though my existing invoice was lower, they increased it. Nothing like honouring the price originally quoted.

Absolutely. Assuming that you are staying at the Emperador Hotel, when you arrive the day before you will go through covid testing in the lower level ballroom. At this time you will be given the time of your flight and the pick up time of the bus. You will also be given luggage tags and the time that your luggage must be in the hallway that night for pick up. The luggage will go separately to the airport from the busses on a luggage truck. Our PICK UP TIME was 2:30am - meaning our bus LEFT the hotel at 2:30am. I think that when we left there were four buses all staged in a row to depart. Yes, the coffee was ready in the lower level ballroom at 1:30am. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6am. We were at the airport at 3:30am'ish and thought that this is ridiculously early, but the airport was buzzing with people and flights leaving at 4:30am and 5:00am. The airport departure lounge was standing room only and hundreds were sitting on the floor. As a seasoned world traveller, I reasoned that for a charter of this size, if the time is cut too short, there would be all kinds of potential issues with lines, people not down in time, etc., and I then supposed that even though this was probably one hour too early, it was just one hour. There will be at least 3 charter flights all with staged departure times - I think by 30 minutes - and whatever bus number you were on to go to the airport you will look for in Ushuaia when you land. The worst part is that our flight was an hour delay. We were all on board for 6am but then we sat on the tarmac for 60 minutes with no explanation why. When you land in Ushuaia you will identify your checked luggage and leave it with Hurtigruten representatives and it will go to the ship and you will go to your bus and be taken to a parking lot a stones throw from the ship and then you have several hours of free time in Ushuaia. They will not allow you to walk to the ship when you want, you have a bus departure time from that parking lot to go to the ship. You will be issued your cruise cards and lanyards on the bus when you arrive in Ushuaia, so the check in on the ship is basically scanning your cruise card to indicate that you are on the ship. In the first couple of days there are many things that you will have to do in preparation - you will be given an "animal" group name and you will go with your animal group to do all of these things. Everyone will do the Muster drill on day one before departure. The other activities are and some of these are day one, and some are day two / three while in the Drake Passage. Picking up your Hurtigruten red jacket Picking up your rubber boots and your animal patch that you velcro to your jacket Vacuuming your outerwear Attending mandatory seminars on the rules/laws of Antarctica All of these activities will be by animal group and some with tight timelines. The first couple days I listed all the activities and seminars on a piece of paper to keep it all straight. Lots of groups and activities are listed and posted on the wall of Deck 5 around the elevator. This is where you go to see if you have made the lottery for some excursions like snowshoeing or kayaking. This is also where your return flight schedule will be posted near the end of the cruise. NOTE that the Expedition Team announce the animal groups for landing, and you may be in your cabin when this is happening waiting to get ready because what you have to wear is too hot to dress too soon. The announcements are not heard in the cabin unless you enable the phone speaker to do so. This phone speaker also defaults to off if you make a call to the reception desk or anywhere else on the ship - you have to turn it back on after a call.

It is not just the cruise line, but potentially any country / island that you want to disembark on... To me it is always a consideration that the passport is valid for six months after the END OF THE TRIP, not the beginning. Folks will now come on and say that there are countries and cruise lines that only require 3 months from the trip, and this is the case - you must do your research - but I always use the rule of 6 months so that I am never caught short. In Canada we can start the passport renewal process one year in advance of the passport expiry. We always renew for 10 years, so I choose a time to renew when I have a gap in travel one year out from expiry.

I am surprised that no one has recommended Viking. Both Viking Ocean and River are designed for the older adults and there are no kids on board under 18. We have sailed on 7 Viking cruises now and we love them. Ocean are only 930 guests and River are 80-160 guests depending on the river and size of longship.

We uploaded our vaccine status in the Delta FlyReady portion of the app. This was simply dates and vaccine type. No QR Code or scanned vaccine proof. We did read that we also were required to have electronic and/or paper proof of our vaccine status, but we were never asked to produce this. Be prepared. Upload to the airline site, and always carry the paper / electronic (both) proof with you for anywhere in the world that you travel. If we have learned anything in this last 3 years it is that anything can change in a moments notice and so just go prepared.

I am out and proud at work and when I finally had the courage to be out and proud that was when I truly grew in my career and found my greatest success. As a Canadian, I feel comfortable in my country and culture to be out and proud. However, I work with and we hire a lot of new Canadians that come from countries where homosexuality is not accepted and they don't land in Canada with an immediate change in values, so I am always up against potential negative reactions. This we will never overcome in the diverse world that we live in. My husband is Chinese and we are very lucky that his parents and immediate family accept me and our relationship because that is not always the case. We travel to China and inside of the family circle we are accepted, but not the case in the general public. We travel with the thought like you - we are aware and we make decisions to travel to or not based on our knowledge of the country. In some cases we will only travel on a cruise or organized tour because we don't trust travelling outside of the safety of a group. It is the way things are...

We just flew back (two days ago) from Buenos Aires through Atlanta and we had to prove our Vaccine status just to transit in Atlanta. We also had to prove to the airline flying there in late December. Toronto to Atlanta to Buenos Aires. So, YES, you must be fully vaccinated to transit or land in the USA or face testing and potential quarantine.

While I appreciate your comments and concerns at various points of your reply here, I am a married gay man that works with Australia, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, and the UK. My husband is Chinese and I am white Canadian. I work with cultures that don't openly accept me as gay. I have run diversity councils for my current company and other companies. I am a beacon for inclusion in everything that I do... I have to respectfully state that from purely MY PERSPECTIVE you may be looking for too much especially from tour operators in countries like Jakarta. I do not think that you cannot expect all these people in countries like this to be open and inclusive. Being gay may not fit their norm at all and that is not Viking's fault. We as LGBT people - again in my personal opinion - must be aware that we may live in a culture and society that is welcoming and open, but many of the countries that we choose to visit are not as advanced or open in their thinking. I am sorry that you found Viking crew to not be open and inclusive because that has not been our experience on now 7 Viking cruises. That is unfortunate for sure. As much as I am an ongoing advocate for diversity and inclusion, I do strongly believe that we are not in a global state where we can expect this in every corner of the world that we travel. Just my opinion, and not meant in any way to offend.

We primarily sail Viking, but just recently came off an Expedition cruise NOT with Viking. To our surprise, the buffet quality and selection on this other cruise line was superior to the Viking World Cafe but the a la carte menu at dinner was substandard to Viking. We just had a friend come off a Viking Australia cruise and she was very disappointed with the World Cafe food, as we were in our most recent cruise last June.