Little Monty

Not sure what is happening .. but the post above 16 minutes ago is from last night ?

But yes, Daniel is very good.

Yes Christchurch missed due to high winds .. the port there was badly damaged in the earthquake in 2011 and has never been fully restored. Most ships berth in Lyttelton which is a short distance away - but it is a difficult harbour except in perfect weather.

Whilst I’m disappointed for us I am more disappointed for those who have never visited this lovely area. You can stand on the beaches near Christchurch and watch the dolphins playing .. and then turn around and see snow capped mountains in the distance. Just beautiful, seriously - just beautiful.

We are very happy to be on the Orion and very much look forward to Dunedin tomorrow. 

Regards to to those on Viking ships around the world 🍷

Every night is different .. photos attached are an example from 2 days ago (2 ABBA shows). We do our own thing most nights - but the ABBA show was quite good.

New Years Eve was pool party, night was Elvis, 

Tonight at 6pm there is a NZ Wine and Cheese night on Aquavit deck area as we cruise away  .. that is more our kind of entertainment 🍷

Hello stretchcruise and thanks for your message. Feb 24 is not far away ! If you are interested I just posted a reply in the thread above this one about nightly entertainment. I’ll post a review in CC when we get home. Enjoy the planning. 

Every night is different .. photos attached are an example from 2 days ago (2 ABBA shows). 

New Years Eve was pool party, last night was Elvis, tonight Jane Cho - a classically trained violinist who has worked with many big stars. She performs classical material as well as pop, rock and her own arrangements.

We will attend.

However we start tonight at 6pm - there is a NZ Wine and Cheese night on Aquavit deck area as we cruise away  .. this is heaven 🍷

Hello Motenote. We are still in NZ waters .. last night we had wind and rain but I slept ok (and I am a land lubber !!) In Wellington today where it is windy but fine. We cross the Tasman Monday / Tuesday so I can give you an update then. 

The whole experience has been excellent so far and the itinerary is ideal. This week busy, next week several sea days. All ports of call so far very worthwhile. You will love it. Best regards, Monty

My pleasure. I probably should have added .. we are in a PS2 on deck 7. Happy New Year. 

As as an addition / afterthought - it hadn’t occurred to me previously but the SS Package kind of makes the mini bar obsolete. Anything we need we pick up or order and we haven’t yet used the mini bar.

If we had just the mini bar and not the package that would of course change.

We always get the package simply because of the convenience and we don’t add up the dollars spent or saved .. but on this cruise we saved heaps. As this was the 3rd cruise we booked in 2018 they threw in the SS Package for free 🍷

Hello Wendy, yes you can order a beer on room service if you have SS package.

For example in our mini bar we have a bottle of white wine. If I feel like a red or a port before bedtime I can call room service (or I can walk about 20 steps to the Explorer Lounge).

I am on-board Orion. Photos of our mini bar attached.

Hello Jim .. I just quoted you in another post re Orion. I hope you don’t mind.

Regards to all World Cruisers - past and almost present 🍷

Hello again Mrs Miggins. Happy New Year to all.

It is 4am here and I am wide awake. We are experiencing what I think Jim Avery described last year as the ‘Fincantieri shake’ - not much side to side motion but a constant vibration and shaking from the bow crashing into the swell / the waves.

Otherwise all good .. I’ll try to get back to sleep 💤 

Just about to go to bed for our 3rd night Auckland - Sydney.

I will do a more meaningful review later .. but so far the on board experience has been wonderful, the food fabulous (the steak in Manfredis really is that good !), staff engaging and helpful, bar staff responsive, tours as advertised (although the winery tour in Auckland would have better with 2 groups of 20 rather than 1 group of 40), queues non existent, and the rooms / cabins / staterooms or whatever you prefer to call them beautifully maintained.

The weather and seas have been good / favourable but we know the Tasman Sea / Bass Straight crossings will be a challenge.

We are more than delighted so far and hope this delight  will continue.

This is our second cruise with Viking .. (we did Homelands in mid 2017) and we board again in May 2019 for Bergen - Reykjavik.

Saint John - one of the barman in Explorers Lounge on this cruise - will join us for our Iceland cruise. That is good news 😀

Thank you for the review palermo22 ... you confirmed what we had been expecting. Puska is right about many of the Asian ports being remote / undeveloped and we were aware of that - what we didn't know was if Viking would perform some sort of miracle and overcome these issues. Obviously not. On the basis of your review and others we have read, we will book Viking South America for 2020 rather than Asia (we already have bookings for 2019). 

We were in 8019 last year and have booked it again for 2019. There was a little noise from some sporting activity above one afternoon, but not enough to be a concern and not at night (as the sports equipment gets put away). We liked the location and can recommend it.

I hope it is Ok to share this article in CC forum ?

If so I found it interesting and I thought others may, particularly the comparison luxury v deluxe -

https://cruisepassenger.com.au/viking-orion-sets-a-new-standard-for-value/?fbclid=IwAR127m4Sc9SVxHnemZ3Pxt-Oouk99ri22oEX73GPh_AUVkpR4W9PyvZhdrQ

Apologies harbourside .. my error (I mis-read the port schedule). The schedule is actually showing the Orion at 'Station Pier' (which I think is where the Orion was yesterday). I better change that hire car booking  😲. And yes, the inclusion of Milford / Doubtful Sound would be a great addition. Thanks

Thanks Rod ... appreciate the advice 👍

hello Rod .. thanks for the photos. That itinerary sounds great, enjoy the planning. 

I have also been following Orion over recent times as we board in Auckland on 30 December and will be in 'Melbourne' in early January. We actually dock in Geelong so rather than visit Melbourne (which we have done before) we have a hire car booked to drive part of the Great Ocean Road that day (which we have not done before).

I agree, advice received in this forum is almost always helpful and informative - so I second your final comments.

Regards, Monty (ex-Brisbane)

Thank you Peregrina651 ... you are right, he should have known. In fact your reply reminded me it was the on-board consultant who had to arrange the refund. I told him what our A-based agent said (in her email) and he disagreed at first. He claimed there was no issue with his offer being honoured in Australia. He said leave it with him to sort out. A couple of days later he advised us we would be getting a refund. I am getting old and my memory is fading ... but the rest is correct  

Of course there is a gain for you on the way home. A few years ago we flew Sydney - Vancouver, a 14 hour flight with an 18 hour time difference. We left at 10am and arrived at 6am the same day. We didn't know whether to have breakfast, lunch or dinner. It was a long day 

For those who are reading this thread from locations other than US - be aware on-board bookings are done under 'US' rules. We booked on-board last year and received what philw described (in writing) from the consultant. I emailed our Australian based Viking consultant to ask her to take over the booking and to let her know what a sweet deal we had received - and she said the deal would not be honoured ... especially the last point about zero penalty.

I was told these booking conditions do not apply in Australia and they may not apply elsewhere (I don't know, I just assume).

After some back and forward the Viking Australia rep received approval from 'Head Office' to refund our deposit and cancel the booking. Her advice to me was .. don't book on-board, get the best deal you can (in writing) and then email an A-based consultant to see if they can match it / honour it.

Sounds crazy, but true. 

That is just my experience and of course others may have a different view - FYI for those not US based.

PS ... this is an add on / edit. I just remembered, the Australian based consultant also told me we would not get gratuities included if we booked on-board (if we book in Australia these are included - although no doubt built into the price). Again, just my experience and just another FYI

imcpa ... Dunedin is 2 hours in front of Hobart time wise. Our two days crossing the Tasman Sea will each be 25 hours long. See you on-board. 

Hello ropomo. We board Sky 27 May 2019 in Bergen - disembark in Reykjavic on 8 June and staying for Iceland extension 8 and 9 June. We then fly to Italy to do Empires of the Med on Star a week later. My DW retires next Friday and 2019 will be her retirement extravaganza - as we are also doing Auckland - Sydney on Orion in 16 days time. Happy days.

Thank you molymoo .. we are booked on the Iceland extension next June and your comments are reassuring.

Yes, oh dear.

At the bottom of this page 'Cruise Reviews'. Then select Viking Orion. The heading of the review is .... We have a Noroviros on board right now. All of the pools and spa area are closed

There is a review just posted in CC indicating norovirus outbreak on Orion. FYI