MikeD1000

We stayed Premier Inn Portsmouth Dockyard. Very clean, helpful staff and a reasonable dinner and breakfast.Do book all in package it’s cheaper. You also need to book your times. It’s an easy taxi ride to the ship.

PS forgot to say we have saliva test and temperature test every day

Hi. We are on board. We waited 4 hours for the results of a pct test on the lady. We were told by a crew member that it was ok. We feel incredibly safe with all the precautions  being taken. We are issued with disposable face masks, hand sanitisers and wipes. An incredible amount of cleaning going on.

The crew are absolutely wonderful, food fantastic, ship beautiful and we are unbelievably happy to be at sea again.

Thank you so much pcolmer that was so helpful. One query did the men wear jackets in the evening?

Sorry, we don't

Still looking for more info and hints from the cruise returnees please. We love Anstruther fish and chips and their ice cream also.

Please does anyone have any reflections on the cruise which ended today?

Hi, we phoned Viking today. They were very positive. Further details will be sent out in about a fortnight.

The only proof of jab is the little blue card. They don't supply masks so we need to take a supply.

Still planning for excursions to be by bubble/

If anyone hears anything else please let us know.

A bit late catching up on the booking and vaccination discussion.

We managed to get all restaurant bookings a couple of weeks ago, probably the first day that MVJ returned from its two-week break.  We only tried one reservation for each of the specialist restaurants, and I imagine it will be hard to change anything once we sail.  We don't especially want to do the included coach trips, so haven't made any bookings for excursions.  It will just be lovely enjoying being back on a ship again.

We are on the 5 June sailing, and assume that pre-cruise arrangements will be mad gradually.  We would be most grateful if those on the first staycation cruise could let us know how embarkation went  and anything else of interest about on-board behaviour.

We have had both vaccinations (Pfizer) and do have the little card to show, if that is enough.  Actually, I wasn't given one for the first jab, but went back the next day and asked for one.  I think many injectors feel under pressure and just forget to offer the card.  It is going to be hard for those who haven't yet been offered vaccination, but surely Viking will be able to go back to what they first offered which was to accept on-the-spot tests.

Looking forward to meeting others who have joined this thread, and Minnie who has started a roll-call.

28 minutes ago, old biddy said:

Several years ago we stayed at the Holiday Inn on the outskirts of Portsmouth then got a taxi to the port. I remember finding long term parking in Portsmouth an impossibility. The hotel did a 'cruise package', parking and overnight stay. I can't remember the cost but I don't think it was too horrendous.

Many thanks.  We'll give it a try.

We have used the Holiday Inn in Southampton in the same way (free parking), and it happens to be within walking distance of one of the ports, but a taxi ride to the other.

It does begin to look promising that we will cruise.

We have no idea of boarding time allocation, but we live several hours' drive from Portsmouth.  Does anyone have a recommendation for a hotel in Portsmouth?

Last time I tried I also had a message that the site (which we couldn't access) was "read only".

Another Viking thread suggested that this happened when a cruise was about to be cancelled.  I do hope not, but it was an ominous message.  We'd dearly want to do this cruise, but nobody we have phoned seems to have any answer to why myvikingjourney should suddenly be offline just when cruises are about to restart.  Typically those we can phone never seem to have any knowledge about what is happening and why the site is out of action.

Last time we phoned we were told that it would be active by Thursday.  We'll see! 

I am still unable to get into myvikingjourney to book anything.  Is everyone else in the same position?

3 hours ago, arlowood said:

It would seem that the 3 UK based cruises have "sold out" in a very short time.

As a fan of Viking cruises, both river and ocean, my hope is that the obvious demand from UK based customers will be a hint to Viking that at least a proportion of their annual itineraries could feature round trip cruising from a UK port.

Many of us are now at an age where the hassle and stress of international flights is one factor that we would rather avoid as part of our cruise planning.

It might sound a tad selfish to our transatlantic and antipodean colleagues but I'm sure they would not grudge us a few UK based cruises each year.

It is quiet clear that P&O UK is moving its passenger demographic to a younger family clientele with the introduction of larger ships and the threat to sell of the smaller adult-only ships.

If that trend continues then Viking could benefit from a large swathe of disaffected P&O customers.

We agree.  Admittedly we already have a round-Britain in 2022 with Regent, but Britain offers a wide range and variety of ports of call.  Bring it on!  We do hope our American cousins will want to join in, as we enjoy their company.

I have to make an apology about something I posted earlier.  The Café is not going to be closed, but will not be self-service.  That's in line anyway with some of the cruises we have done, where passengers don't use the tongs and spoons.

Thanks to all who have replied - most helpful.

Unfortunately My Viking Journey is being refurbished, we're told, and not currently available.  Perhaps by the end of the week they say.  A pity, given that they've had a fallow year to do all that.

My wife says I should have mentioned that we are quite seasoned cruisers, just not Viking Ocean (yet).  

We are Viking Ocean novices, and wonder if we can ask a few questions of detail.

First, our history.  We hadn't had a contact from Viking as many of you did (possibly because we have only sailed longships) but I phoned on Saturday and was able to make a booking for the cruise of our choice.  By then only Penthouse Veranda and above available, but that's fine, especially in view of the number of cruises lost in the last 12 months.

The Penthouse description mentions that the refrigerator has alcohol.  Does this have to be paid for, as in a hotel, or is it included and refreshed?  What does it consist of?

Is the Silver drinks package worth buying?  It isn't obvious that there will even be a Captain's reception on these cruises!  We note what has been said about the flights of wine at the Chef's Table.

Are the Speciality Restaurants free (apart from those drinks in the previous paragraph)?  Something I saw mentioned reservations at the speciality restaurants and then separately at "restaurants".  Does the Café turn into a different kind of restaurant (not self-service) in the evenings, as I was told that it probably wouldn't be open for breakfast and lunch?  Is it really open dining in the Restaurant, or does everyone rush in at once, as on the river boats?

We spoke yesterday to a representative of Regent Seven Seas in the UK.  She said they were expecting there to be an announcement about May cruises either this week or next.

Very much agree that it would be good to know what is happening to Regent cruises.  We are booked on what is currently meant to be the first cruise for Splendor, and it's claimed that she is wending her way towards Southampton.  On the other hand, we (in the UK) are banned from travel of any kind, France has closed its borders, and it's hard to imagine that our cruise in May will happen.  We do have hopes, having lost three cruises in 2020 including one on Splendor.  Perhaps we are going to cruise for 12 days and not land at all?  I can think of worse things to do in May.

One suggestion to Regent.  Why not give cruise days for cancelled cruises towards Seven Seas Society?  It would cost little, and certainly less than the cruise credit that was offered.

Thanks, Pcardad.  We can still have some hope.  If you hear any more please keep us posted.

Have a good holiday.

Thanks for various replies.  We booked all our three 2020 cruises in 2019, so never expected there to be a problem.  May 2021 was booked last spring, in hope.  I wonder if Pcardad knows about Splendor.  At least she appears to be already in Europe.

It looks as if the Caribbean in December is going to be our best bet.

I checked our account with RSSC and it still says 9 February.  But thanks for the tip - we'll put pressure on our TA.   

Please - does anyone have any information, gossip or clairvoyance as to when Splendor will sail again?  We are booked on her in May 2001.  All cabins are currently waitlisted, which is often a bad sign, and we are due to make the final payment in January.

We are really excited at the thought of being on Splendor, but having lost three cruises so far this year we are anxious.

Happy Christmas everyone

3 hours ago, atabs12 said:

Best of luck to you. I understand holding off on flights in this current  situation. I also recommend checking  on covid 19 entry protocols for Barbados before travel. The protocols are very fluid and change often.

 

 

Of course you are right.  What seemed a good idea back in January seems laughable now.

 

We will hope to have a good break in Barbados, and almost certainly forgo our deposit with Seabourn.  With luck, by December it will be easier to travel.
 

 

 

We have booked the seven-day cruise on 12 December Barbados to Barbados.  Luckily we don't have to worry about St Maarten, and we planned to spend extra time in Barbados.  We have to book extra hotel nights if the cruise is cancelled, but we can't do this without cancelling the cruise ourselves and losing the deposit.  Despite Seabourn's early notice of cancelling summer cruises, it does look as if they are joining the club and only cancelling after the full cruise has been paid for.  We can't believe that Seabourn is not intending to cancel the whole of December, and perhaps the whole Caribbean season.

13 hours ago, Pcardad said:

I will give you my best guess as long as you understand that I don't have a secret contact in Regent management - I just make full use of their established communication chains and follow up on things like a rabid dog. Mostly I make educated guesses about the puzzle based on the pieces I can see.....and we all know I am wrong sometimes too.

 

Which cruise are you booked on?

We have a booked cruise on Splendor on 14 October in the Med.  The spreadsheet show the relaunch of Splendor as being its first round-trip Miami cruise.  As I have mentioned in the past, there has been no news about October, and the date of final payment is past.  We were not happy about losing our £5K+ deposit, and with interest rates almost non-existent it isn't too bad to have to wait 3 months from cancelation date to get our refund.  We are still waiting to hear from Oceania about a refund from a May sailing, cancelled only in April.  

It does seem obvious that Regent must know that Splendor won't cross to the Med for only September and October, especially as she is currently off LA.  We are so disappointed that Regent is so secretive about its plans whereas the honest solution would have been an upfront statement about the next three months.

We'd be interested in your views.