Clay Clayton

17 hours ago, WestW said:

Hi Clay,

We took this cruise this past June 26- July 10th, originating in Greenwich.  Although we packed puffer jackets, we never used them and found layers worked best (base, 1/4 zip fleece & rain jacket / shell) - even during the midnight sun.  

 

We were fortunate to have only 4 rainy days (2 in Scotland, 2 in Norway). Rain jacket is a must & pants are nice to have just in case of really bad weather. We also packed lightweight waterproof hiking shoes/boots and found them versatile for the excursions.    We took the optional 4 hour hike in Lofoten (Tjonndalen Scenic Hike - highly recommend) and it rained (& rained) the entire time.  Turned out the rain was too much for my "water repellant" pants and I found myself wishing I had packed my rain pants.  

 

One of our favorite cruises on Viking... have a fantastic time!

16 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Besides what has been suggested above, make sure you pack a Merino wool neck gaiter. Wind can be ice cold and you can pull it up to protect your face.

Oops, I posted my question on the wrong thread!   We are going in January to search for Northern Lights. 
 

thanks for the responses and sorry for my mistake. 

Any advice on outer wear?  We have “packable” puffy jackets that we bought for Iceland and wore once or twice but found that layers of thermal and a wool shirt with it were more than enough.  But Lamds End is having a two day sale on their parkas so got to wondering if we would need something that heavy for the “chase” night…but would probably never wear them again. 
 

Decisions Decisions.  Any advice from those who have gone will be most appreciated. 

18 minutes ago, millybess said:

Yes, we do.  Recently we have used Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta and United.  Three of these have had changes and we haven't been notified even with push notifications enabled.  I don't think that's uncommon.

Interesting-we always get notifications from AA. 

11 minutes ago, millybess said:

We book the cruise through Viking and transfer the cruise to our TA.  We book our flights ourselves, which I highly recommend.

 

We are flying to Auckland from Toronto and return from Sydney. Our flights have changed a few times over the past couple of months with no notice from the airline. Our only notice that the flights have changed is if I visit the airline website.  No email from the airline at all, and I can only imagine what that would look like if we booked our air through Viking or a TA.

Do you have the airline’s app?  For the ones we use, we see the changes as a push notification from the app. 

47 minutes ago, gma lalo said:

Did Antarctica with Viking, and did multiple excursions per day. At least one shore landing plus excursions in the special operations boat and we did get to kayak one day. That was outstanding but it’s hit or miss with weather and we were cancelled twice. Everything is weather dependent regardless of the cruise line or number of passengers. 
my next cruise will be Atlas and I’m looking forward to seeing for myself. 

Please do a detailed review after and compare and contrast the two!

1 hour ago, OnTheJourney said:

Greetings to a fellow "Survivor"!!!  Yep, my wife and I were there also. Hard to believe it's 5 years ago already. Not sure I have anything to add for Clay's inquiry other than what you already stated. While the evening excursion was fun (well...except for really cold), what we saw at the place near Alta (I seem to recall they also did evening trips out of Tromso as well) was not near as good as right from the ship.

 

Clay:  It's 'luck of the draw' for sure. As Frenchberet indicated, on his cruise they didn't have any sightings at all. I've seen some amazing pictures posted from the evening trips however. We did it with Viking, but others (such as already posted here) used private companies. The best part of the evening was occasionally going into the lodge for hot chocolate and muffins! Would I go out on an evening sojourn again? Quite honestly probably not. I think the one Viking group stayed out REALLY long and drove well over a hundred miles - got back to the ship at something like 3 a.m.

 

All that said, GO!  It's an amazing trip. The scenery sailing north just got better and better as it went along. You're very well traveled, and so have already been to Norway according to your list of cruises. We hadn't been there before, so it was all new and exciting (perhaps a bad choice of words given what happened at the end!). And, some of the ship excursions were great. I'll gladly share more on any of those if you're interested. It was a most unique journey in several ways for sure. I'll never forget seeing those lights. As far as a van with or without a restroom, at my age I'd opt for the restroom every time over not having one 😁

 

Here's an interesting link regarding solar cycles. We're currently in cycle 25. https://www.space.com/what-is-solar-maximum-and-when-will-it-happen

I would strongly recommend getting an aurora app for your phone that helps determine the Kp index. I had downloaded one of those and also a northern lights photo app. I'm not into fancy camera gear, but got a few decent pictures with my phone. My regular 35mm 'point and shoot' as well as my Sony camcorder were useless. You really should have a tripod also.

 

Hope some of that helps. Safe travels, and wishing you amazing sightings if you decide to go.

Oh we are going-already booked.  Now it’s the fun stuff, the planning!  Thanks for your input. We recognize that we may see no lights but want to take as many opportunities to do so that we can afford-both financially and physically. Right now we are likely to do Viking’s included excursions everywhere except Tromso since the other ports are new to us.  We’ve been to Amsterdam before but since we have a short day there, don’t dock actually there, and don’t think we’ve done a canal cruise figure it’s the best thing for us to do. Any suggestions in the other ports (except for helicopter evacuations) will be appreciated 

21 hours ago, The Other Tom said:

We took a bus tour out of Tromso.  It was called Chasing the lights, or something like that.  (I can look it up and post a link if you can't find it).  The bus was about half full but of course that will vary.  It had a restroom, and the guides almost encouraged us to use it.  My experience with Viking busses is they encourage you NOT to use it.

Anyway, we followed the Viking bus for a while, and they stopped in a cloudy area.  Our bus continued on to a clear area where we were awarded with a good show.  Our guides said they call this the "chasing lights" tour because that's exactly what they do, sometimes going into Finland if necessary. (We overnighted in Tromso so it didn't matter if we got back late).  I highly recommend this tour.  Note:  I wish I had taken hiking poles for stability because there were some icy patches where we stopped.

This is a time of maximum solar activity and if the night is clear, you will see them from the ship.  Make sure you tune your TV to the bridge channel and leave it on so you can hear the announcements about the lights.

We embarked from Tilbury so I can't answer your question about transfers. 

 

Thank you so much!

17 hours ago, JDincalif said:

We too were on that voyage. In Alta we signed up for a private 8 passenger van tour. The driver was in constant radio contact with other drivers to locate good viewing spots, and the small group size - congenial folks all - allowed the flexibility to pack up and move quickly and easily to another site.

5 hours ago, Meander Ingwa said:

I did a private, small van tour on Tromso first day.  We had rest stop at a local service station ( 7/11 type).  Small group would always be my choice since they are so nimble.  Our guide said all the local guides are in touch with each other to make sure not to over impact any one area.  We had a nice spot on a frozen lake which made for excellent photography.  If you are a photographer, make sure you have back up battery.  We also lost a full port day in Narvik and very altered port times due to stormy seas.  We did see lights from the ship in Tromso and I saw in Alta with effort

 

The NL themselves were not at the overwhelming level that some of us experienced earlier this year from our homes.  But they were there

 

For safety buffer I suggest booking your private night tour for your first port day.  This gives you freedom to stay out very late.  Most of the private tour companies understand the challenges of port time and of the issue of weather.  They offer generous refund policy.

 

I did London / Bergen circuit so cannot offer that info.  As a dedicated UK traveler, though, get to Gatwick by rail is easy if you are mobile you should have no issue.  Gatwick is served by trains from Victoria.   I would caution, however that it might be wise to build in a buffer day for the end.  A 2023 sailing was 2 days late arriving in Tilbury due to weather 

 

Thanks for the advice!  Decisions, Decisions!

9 hours ago, SoCray4Cruz said:

Our cruise (Iberian Explorer) ended in Tilbury. I don’t think transfers to Gatwick were offered.  Very expensive transfers to Heathrow were.  We spent time in London afterwards & got a private car into town using the Rome2Rio app

Thanks!   I’m surprised the transfer wasn’t $49pp that’s the usual and what I believe friends paid to Heathrow last year. 

20 hours ago, cruzzzinma said:

 My husband and I were on the Viking Sky March 2019. We saw Northern Lights from the ship two or three times. We went on a private 14 pax van Chasing the lights tour in Alta, I think. We saw a few lights but the clouds really limited visibility. The tour guide was really good and we tried more than one spot but it was just cloudy.

 

If I were doing it again, I’d sacrifice the small group for a warm bus and a bathroom.

 

Our cruise was supposed to end in Tilsbury but we disembarked in Molde and flew to Gatwick on a charter.

You must of been on Sky when it had its “incident”. Glad you made it home safely!

On 9/18/2024 at 6:23 PM, carolinetodd said:

Lights in Tromsø shouldn't be much of a problem, and in Alta even less.  We lived in Tromsø a couple of winters, and saw the aurora nearly every evening, usually around dog-walking time - 9:30ish?  While it's true that there may have been a fair amount of development since then, I'd worry more about the ship's lights.

On 9/18/2024 at 9:02 PM, Frenchberet said:

We did the NL cruise in Feb 2019.  Nice itinerary but we didn’t see the lights ☹️.  We did an optional excursion with Viking (Alta) but there were several busses filled with too many people going to one location.  If we were to do it again, we’d absolutely arrange to do one or more small private tours.  Loved “Lifestyle of the Sami” and “Arctic Landscapes by Husky” excursions.

Thanks!

Would love answers and/or advice from previous cruisers of the “In Search of the Northern Lights” itinerary. 

1. Considering booking one of the “Chasing Northern Lights” tours independently. If you have done one of these did you find it a good value or do you think we can stand about as good a chance of seeing them from Alta or Trømso from onboard or perhaps using city transport to get away from the city lights?

2. If we decide to do one of these tours, we have the option of a bus with a restroom (and potentially 48 new friends) or a 14-16 passenger van with no restroom.  Any advice on either if you’ve done one or the other?

3. If your itinerary ended in Tilbury, do you recall if Viking offered transfers to Gatwick?

TIA!

On 9/14/2024 at 7:01 PM, PelicanBill said:

 

Banks and similar financial apps and sites are very secure.  The SEC, OCC and auditors crawl all over these things.  No US financial institution sends data in the clear. In fact, almost no web communications are unencrypted. Interception is super rare now.

 

This is my work. Here's how bad things happen:
#1 risk: your machine. Software not up to date, antivirus out of date, or you got tricked by a phishing email and are compromised. (and nobody runs antivirus on phones and tablets...)

#2 risk: The company you are communicating with has a breach inside, usually from an employee being tricked by a phishing email.

#3 risk: The company's software is not up to date, or has a fault that makes it weak and it is broken into.

#x somewhere down the list- various other risks like insider theft, and connecting to a compromised public network

 

Sometimes a VPN just carries your connection to somewhere of their choosing, but you have to them go over the public Internet to get to the target web site.

 

Also

When you use a phone away from home you are often on a huge public network provided by AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon

Bill

can you email me at BigNCBear@aol.com.  I want to ask you for a cost on your upcoming Cruise from New Orleans. 
TIA,

Let me add another possibility for your consideration. On the WC last spring we elected to take the optional day long excursion to Rabat. It wasn’t cheap but we were using Viking’s money so that wasn’t much of a concern for us…YMMV. 
 

it was a long day but the 1 hour drive each way wasn’t as awful as I feared. We got a panoramic tour of Casablanca coming and going and because we were back in plenty of time, we got a drive by of Rick’s and a short stop at the Mosque and at a souvenir place that supposedly was all locally made. I didn’t see anything special but I’m not a shopper. 
 

The day in Rabat included a stop and exterior walk at the Palace, visit to the Mausoleum of Mohamad V, a visit to the Oudaya and its view of the beach, delicious and fun tagine lunch and a walk through the casbah before we headed back to Casablanca. 

On 9/4/2024 at 12:51 PM, PelicanBill said:

They have a limited number of channels available at sea, but usually I have seen Monday and sunday night games on in the Whiskey bar at least. Thursday games are now on Prime so probably not. Other Sunday games just depends on what they can tune in. Sometimes a major soccer game or world series game is on instead of American football.

Bill

Can you email me at BigNCBear at aol dot com please. Would like to ask you a question about a completely different NCL subject. 
TIA

14 minutes ago, mrbluesea said:

Hi,  first viking ocean cruise coming up.  Where is the best place to get a properly cooked poached egg in the morning (with a runny egg yolk).  I've seen the pictures of the world café and I can imagine those sitting under the heat lamps going hard.  Thanks.

Just ask them to make you one. While most guests order omelettes, they will gladly make you poached, fried, basted, scrambled, etc. I’ve also had good poached eggs in The Restaurant. 

I just noticed that I am “following” several members.  I have no idea how that happened but would like to follow some others. Can anyone advise on how to do so?  
 

I’ve gone to their profiles but don’t see a “follow me” button. 🤔

TIA!

Just fyi for anyone whose interested, we ran across a YouTube on Atlas and after going down a rabbit hole and then posting questions on the Atlas forum, and getting a quote from Atlas for January 2025, here is what I posted in response to someone who said Viking was 30-50% more expensive:

Just got quotes from Atlas, if booking without any promos from either line your price difference % appears to be about correct if you intend to purchase Silver Spirits and don’t have a TA that provides onboard credit sufficient to pay Viking’s gratuities.  However, the promo pricing is much closer to the same when taken on a per person per day basis.  While I recognize that Atlas has fewer passengers thereby supposedly increasing the number of landings, given all their cruises are shorter in length, I suspect that there are an equal number of landing possibilities. 

On 9/1/2024 at 11:03 PM, GICNJC said:

They both generally do one landing excursion per day.  Staff attention to detail is the same.  Food is slightly better on Atlas.  Viking has a Submarine, Atlas does not.  The entry on to the zodiaks is easier on Viking.  Major difference is price, Viking is 30-50% more than Atlas.

Just got quotes from Atlas, if booking without any promos from either line your price difference % appears to be about correct if you intend to purchase Silver Spirits and don’t have a TA that provides onboard credit sufficient to pay Viking’s gratuities.  However, the promo pricing is much closer to the same when taken on a per person per day basis.  While I recognize that Atlas has fewer passengers thereby supposedly increasing the number of landings, given all their cruises are shorter in length, I suspect that there are an equal number of landing possibilities. 

1 hour ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Thanks, unfortunately I want it for Iceland's Natural Beauty and that cruise is not on the list.

 

I will ask VIking, but fear that this one won't work.

Try it online.  There were several cruises that I tried for which it works

16 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

Anyone have a promo code for September?

 

Looking for a new booking, but we are previous Viking guests and have other bookings live now.

The Labor Day one I posted is good until the 8th. 

11 minutes ago, 81Zoomie said:

Thanks so much for the link. Are the $8 wines by the glass the silver spirit wines?  First time booking Viking, so I’m a bit confused by the wine list for the premium spirits. I thought I read beverages up to $18 and sommelier’s wine selection. Are the sommelier wines by the glass annotated somewhere?

There isn’t a separate list of Silver Spirits wines or spirits.  Anyone on board can have any thing on the menu. If you have silver spirits you can have any wine by the glass or any cocktail that costs less than $18.  Silver Spirits is simply a different way to pay for your cocktails. 

2 hours ago, Australia08 said:

Just in case you had questions about the expedition ship. Or maybe you have done expedition before. I know you are the expert on everything with Viking Ocean. I follow your travel reports all the time. They are great!
 

Are there any Atlas threads on CC?  

There are some and most everyone seems to love it.   I’ve posted a question over there to see if anyone can compare the two, so far no one has been able to answer from their own experience. 

4 hours ago, Australia08 said:

Let me know if you have any questions. I’ve been curious about Atlas based on the brochures that come to the house. Looks wonderful. 
 

I will say that the food and rooms on Viking were great. I usually go for the PV on the Ocean ships, but they were too expensive on the Expedition ship. The Nordic Balcony was great. Seemed so much roomier than the DV on the Ocean. We loved the drop down window, too. 

No questions about Viking, wish I could find someone who has sailed on both them and atlas but I suspect there are few that do Antartica more than once.