OnTheJourney

Yeah but that's exactly where we ran into problems - in the area of Hustadvika (Norway) right off the west coast. Wish we WOULD have been much farther out to sea since the potential danger was being driven against the rocky coastline, especially with all the engines having failed. Luckily the anchor held and after a bit we got one engine restarted. It was later determined that we came within a ship's length of grounding. What we encountered was a rather freak storm though. https://www.dsb.no/globalassets/dokumenter/rapporter/assessment_of_the_viking_sky_incident.pdf Definitely take 'em. North sea weather - unpredictable conditions. I don't do any cruise without them. Yep...it was for us also! Loved it (well, except for the aforementioned storm and how the journey ended rather abruptly). Best wishes for a fantastic trip!

Can't believe this thread is STILL going....amazing!

Yes...same as crossing the Drake on the way to Antarctica, although of the two I'd place my bets, generally speaking, on encountering significantly less turbulent seas doing the NL sailing as opposed to the Southern Ocean.

Well, we were on this one.. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/23/passengers-airlifted-from-viking-sky-cruise-ship-in-storm-off-norway.html There's a long thread about all this on CC (Viking Sky Survivors). It was the last Northern Lights sailing of the season. However, don't let all this scare you away. It was a pretty unprecedented situation for sure. It's a truly marvelous trip, amazing scenery, plus we had several real nice aurora sightings. It was also our first time with Viking and have done several since. I love what Viking offers and everything about their ocean ships. The issue we ran into on the cruise happened on the way back. Of course, North Sea / North Atlantic can get rough anytime. I'd say, go and enjoy, and may the wind be at your back! We were looking forward to the extension in London but unfortunately never got that far. Hard to believe it'll be 5 years soon since that trip.

exactly...you beat me to it 😉

Some do, some don't. In recent years it seems to have all been going more casual. I don't even take a tie along anymore, let alone a sport coat. I think that many of those who enjoy dressing up on formal nights probably also plan to get pictures taken. Thankfully it seems the photographers don't come around like they used to during dinner, etc. Not sure but I believe you have to schedule a time if you want photos taken (?) or else show up at a designated location. Haven't been with RCL for awhile though so I may be wrong.

Oh my. I'm also greatly saddened to hear this news. Hoping that things will improve. I'll send up prayers for you and your family. Take good care. 🙏

Thanks, JD. All the best to both of you.

Sure hope so. The ending of this year is one I'm ready to move on from due to significant medical issues for DW that started during the summer and will hopefully resolve or at least start to improve in the coming months. So no travel for us anytime soon and nothing whatsoever planned or booked. We were lucky that we made it through the Mississippi trip without the need for medical intervention. If the current situation, for whatever reason, wouldn't improve as hoped for, I'm grateful for all the many and varied travel experiences we've had the good fortune to enjoy these past 43 years, not the least of which was our most interesting adventure with all of you! Stay healthy and well everybody. That's the most important thing, always. Money / travel plans, etc. don't mean a thing if you're not well enough to make use of it.

Merry Christmas to everyone in our Sky 'survivor' family!!! Wishing you all the best in '24.

So you got the "lake" instead of the "shake"! Or else the seas are perhaps rough but the ship rides it extraordinarily well. Either way, enjoy! We loved it down there and had smooth sailing in both directions across the Drake.

Except that "warmer" is the operant word. Still not hot/warm enough for what I'd prefer.

Agreed. I wouldn't pay anything for it. Last time we used it (on Summit) we also didn't find it to be as good as a previous experience, and so aren't sure we want to go with Aqua class next time. I've never done Suite on X so that might be worth a try.

I agree with this policy. 250k should be more than enough, at least based on what I'm reading. I'd never go down there without medical evac coverage. For that matter, I never cruise without trip insurance coverage that includes it.

Both are things I don't miss when on Viking. Along those same lines, I think it's sad how Celebrity took away the chance for everyone but suite guests to access the front of the ship due to it now being the "retreat".

I'm willing to try it, if one of the big ships comes into Bayonne or Baltimore. Surely wouldn't fly anywhere to do a large ship solely for the sake of seeing how I like it, unless it's some amazing itinerary. I strongly suspect any large-ship experience would be once and done. Our cruises with Viking, with only 900+ passengers (let alone no kids!) has really got me liking their smaller ship feel. Easier to navigate for one thing. And, all their ocean ships are exactly the same! That works for me too. Less time spent learning a new ship layout = more time spent just enjoying being out on deck and such. With being 'directionally challenged', by the time I'd sort of learn my way around something like the Icon, the cruise'll be over.

I wouldn't do any cruise without a balcony. One of my favorite things is to just sit out there, enjoy the view, peace and quiet, and do some reading. I've spoken to this also in a few posts. Generally speaking I agree with you. Primarily itinerary-oriented vs. cruising moreso for what the ship offers are, I feel, two somewhat different motivations, though of course there are gradations in between as to personal preference. \ Good point, which is why I spend as little time as possible with ship-sponsored (indoor) activities and such. If I want to spend large amounts of time inside, I'll do a land tour with fancy hotels. The real attraction, for me, is whatever there is to see outside, even if it's just the waves.

Amazing for sure, and neat article. Somehow, though, I have zero interest in sailing on that big a ship. Largest I've ever been on is the Adventure. I wouldn't mind trying Oasis class at least once I suppose.

Same here. A bit of video actually. I watched for a little, and then had enough. Not my sort of thing.

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.

I'm with you on this totally. Somehow, for me, the time passes by more quickly when we're doing our driving tours. There I can do almost 3 weeks and it doesn't start to feel 'long'. We don't mind hotel hopping either and sort of like researching and staying in different places. I like the spontaneity that is often associated with that mode of travel. Even in a nice suite onboard ship, it's still the same room every night. Advantage to cruising, of course, is only unpacking once - and we do like it for that although either way you wind up living out of a suitcase to some extent. As we near the end of a cruise, we start to pack up clothes we won't be using anymore. Yep...for sure. We've only done two B2B, and loved both of them; however, both had just about completely different itineraries the 2nd week. Simply repeating the exact same - or even very similar cruise (and itinerary) back and forth wouldn't appeal to me, unless there were at least a few changes the 2nd week (or longer). If, however, you're only cruising for what the ship offers - as I've discussed previously - then it really doesn't matter. There's somewhat of a difference, I do believe, between solely being a diehard "cruiser" and an avid 'traveler" who pursues many different modes of travel to many different parts of the world. I think these are different groups of people with not quite the same interests. Those who, for instance, are content to keep going back down to the Caribbean - over and over - on very similar itineraries each time, are the latter category and are folks whom I deem more into cruising for the ship rather than where it goes. But, hey, that's why they make vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. My inlaws have often admittedly said that they often really don't care where they're going as long as they're cruising. I get it, but that's not me. I think a mix of land / sea travel experiences is what works best for us. If I cruise once or twice a year, I'm well satisfied. BTW - I see you're headed to Antarctica with Celebrity in January. ENJOY! We did that on the Infinity back in '17 and loved that trip. Absolutely amazing. Yes, it was a "drive by" but it worked for us since we'd never been to South America before.

Yeah I'm sure that's nice. We've done mostly RCL and X cause we can sail on either without having to fly. That said, if Viking went out of Baltimore or Bayonne (our two closest ports) I'd be tempted to go with them probably most of the time. Love the smaller size and quiet / relaxed feeling of their ocean ships. Our most recent was their Mississippi ship. Really a beautiful vessel but unfortunately our northern sailing was not very successful in terms of the planned itinerary. Doing the entire river from New Orleans to St. Paul is a most interesting journey. We have a voucher from the MS trip so might book the Octantis for their Great Lakes cruise. With X we've only been on the Summit and Infinity. A friend of mine who sails frequently with X loves the newer ships - Edge and Beyond. I have no interest in flying down to Florida to try one of them however. Unless it's someplace we really want to go, I'm good with going out Baltimore or Bayonne. One of our favorite cruises is Canada / New England. Unfortunately, X is starting to do alot of them roundtrip out of Boston. No interest in flying to or driving up there either. Sounds like you're a very frequent cruiser. We enjoy it alot but my favorite mode of travel is still DIY by car.

Even if you do, and would get a bit tired of repeat entrees or shows, I assume the whole point of the trip is to visit the four main destinations you mentioned. Are there going to be repeat port stops? If not, I'd say the varied travel experiences alone will override whatever else might take place on the ship that could engender a modicum of boredom -which might not even be the case anyway. Sort of all comes back, as I've mentioned before, of primarily traveling for the itinerary or for what the ship offers. If occasionally eating meals ashore, that would help to compensate for repeat offerings of the ship restaurants. I'd say you're good to go. If I'd have whatever it takes to enjoy traveling for extended periods of time, I suspect the last thing I'd be concerned with is what the shows and menus are. But, some folks are all about that sort of thing and want to know even before the cruise what shows or entertainment are going to be onboard. I really could not care less and will check out whatever it is once I'm on the ship. Can always get up and leave. We do often look at menus online before boarding, thanks to the wonders of apps, but I'd be just as happy finding out once on the ship. Go and enjoy.

Surely the best way. I have neither a landscaper or a house sitter, but would likely consider it were we to plan any extensive time away. Luckily for me, I have no interest in anything longer than a 3-week trip so it all works out. Auto bill pay is great regardless of traveling or not. Often happens that I'd have to quick make a payment for a credit card that comes due on the 15th of the month, let alone forget a payment right before a trip and then wind up paying charges. For an in-house person to whatever degree the person spends there - either live-in or stop-in - gotta really have someone that you trust. I have a hard time envisioning my cat getting used to a stranger coming in - since she always hides whenever someone visits or stops in even for a few hours! Computer controlling / monitors / cameras, etc. sounds great as well, but I just have no interest in stressing myself out with all that and probably STILL worrying about everything while away. Having been robbed many years ago and then, ever since that event, having put in an alarm system with internal motion sensors, another thing I'd be worried about is whether the person remembered to turn it back on every time they leave. Oh well, sacrificing an extensive level of travel in exchange for peace of mind is, for me, probably a good trade-off. If I do two or three 2-to-3-week-long trips a year, along with maybe some shorter trips sprinkled in there, I'm fine. I've come to realize there are a good many places on the "bucket list" that'll likely remain as such as opposed to actually happening. But, hey, go for it!!

Not being any sort of wine connoisseur, I've been fine with whatever red or white is offered. Not fussy. One time we had complimentary silver spirits package but I didn't even think to choose from it. Most of the wines are really too dry for me anyway, but I've gotten used to drinking dry or semi-dry wine on cruises so it's all good. Otherwise I never buy anything but sweeter wine at home. On our recent Mississippi cruise, one of the presentations was by the chef, explaining all about the food prep on board, etc. but it also included numbers on how much or how many of certain items were consumed. His one comment was, "you guys drink aLOT of wine.." 😁 Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Don't drink and drive.