The Other Tom

We used frequent flyer miles and flew business class LAX to Brisbane. That's not as popular a route as LAX to SYD so maybe you could get a deal. You might investigate consolidator tickets. There are pros and cons so do your homework if you go that route. Other than that, I would do what @rljan said above...fly to Hawaii, spend a few days there, and then on to SYD.

If you have the time, you could break up the air portion. Fly to , say, NYC, spend a few days, then to Miami, spend a few days, then to BA.

I've seen in other reports that the Chinese are helping with infrastructure (roads, schools, bridges) in remote areas.

Agreed. Even if 90% are tested, the remaining 10% could infect everybody. Could it be that they are testing capacity limited?

That's one way to do it, but I would've taken a picture with my cellphone.....

I know you don't like/want a cell phone, but you might consider an iPod touch. It's similar to an iPhone but without the phone part. So you can connect to the internet, use it as a GPS device, text, etc, all for free since there's no "phone bill" or contract. Apple discontinued the iPod touch but you can still get them at WalMart and Amazon and probably other places.

Here's a link to their blog. Scroll to the bottom of each blog for a link to the pics. "Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann (cruisingwithbillandmaryann.blogspot.com)

It was warm in BA and Santiago when we went in February, but cold and windy in the Falklands. Layers are best. We also encountered hurricane force winds (75 mph) and heavy seas after we exited the Beagle channel into the Pacific. It lasted for about a day. The captain said it was worse the week before. We were on the NCL Sun which is a larger ship than Viking. Although the ship was rocking and rolling, my wife, who normally gets sea sickness in that type of weather, was fine. Maybe it was because we were excited about the adventure. Edit: We did a private excursion to Volunteer Point (Falkland Islands) to see the Penguins. We used Patrick Watts and it was one of the best excursions we have been on. Highly recommended.

Thanks for the info. We're going in Feb.

We are going on the NL cruise. Which tour did you book?

I, too, purchased the IMG plan. Note that you have to be diagnosed by a doctor for the covid portion of the insurance to pay. Steve explains all this on his website but sometimes people may skip over the details.

They usually have masks that have "corrective lens" faceplates. I can't see the big "E" on the eye chart but they gave me a mask that worked. I'm not sure all tour operators have them, you should ask.

Thanks for the info.

Yes, the original post states that "He shared more info on his friends that left for other cruise lines. Many of them had no choice." The puzzling part is why they had no choice.

So they were booted by HAL?

Following

I haven't done it but I have read good things about Norway in a Nutshell, which is a boat/train trip from Bergen to Oslo or vice-versa.

Viking air is similar to other cruise air fares. You get what you get, usually flying in the day of the cruise with sometimes short connections. If you decide to go with Viking air, absolutely pay the extra fee and get air+. This allows you more control over your connection times, etc. You can even fly in a day or two early and extend your stay for a few days.

Apparently, you don't need to fill out the form if you are vaxed and boosted. See this thread from the Princess board Edit: If you're like me, you'd go ahead and fill out the form. I'd put the ship name in place of flight number.

See post #3, which indicates they will be powered by fuel cells. Fuel cells aren't engines and can't use diesel. Fuel cells generate electricity, which is typically stored in batteries, which power electric motors. I'm assuming the motors on Viking ships are electric, normally powered by diesel generators. If this is true, then using hydrogen is just another way to generate electricity.

We did B to A because we wanted a direct flight back to the US. You have to change planes if you fly back from B. We used Viking air+ which allowed us to pick our own flights, layover times, etc for an extra fee. Most times, though, we prefer to deal with the airlines directly. We did a pre stay in B on our own which I recommend. B is a delightful small European town with some good museums. A post stay in A is a no brainer (which we also did on our own). You've already paid for your air to get to Europe, so stay a few days extra and enjoy what Europe has to offer. If you can, go in the spring when the Kukenhof Gardens are open. Our hotel (Hilton near the train station) arranged a tour for us.

I haven't looked at excursions that Viking offers, but when we did the partial transit with NCL a few years ago, they had an excursion where you transferred off the ship in Lake Gatun and were bussed to a point about halfway through the canal, where you boarded a smaller ship and sailed all the way through to the Pacific. Then you were bussed back to the ship in Colon. Well worth in, IMO. Seeing the canal (and actually touching it) was quite the experience from the small ship.

I'm not sure I would want to cruise on a ship with hydrogen tanks on board. 🤔

Good advice, especially the length they collapse to. They have to fit in your luggage. Also good advice about REI. They have expetrs in store to help and they have a generous return policy. If you don't have an REI near you, you can order online.

Simple instructions: 1. Put your phone in airplane mode (this also turns off wifi) 2. Go to your wifi settings and turn wifi back on 3. Use the ship's wifi (or public wifi onshore) for text/email. Note that it might not be secure so think twice about sending sensitive information.