Hunding

20 hours ago, orchestrapal said:

Loved the Explorer on the aft for 23 days. For us there is nothing like the wake view.

We saw the front Explorer suites on one of our turnover days and would always prefer the rear.

I know it’s a matter of opinion but you’ll like the ship whichever you choose.  

orchestrapal

Thank you very much.

My apologies, I'm sure this has been addressed before on this Forum, but I have been unable to find it.  Might there be someone who can articulate the differences between an ES2 and ES1, aside from one being forward, the other aft (with a so-called 'wrap-around' balcony) - and, if by chance you've had experience with both, which did you prefer?  Is it true that the ES1 has only a side balcony, not a regular (or 'full' balcony) facing forward?  I confess I am not good at 'reading' the plans nor even the homemade videos I have seen.

Thanks.

13 minutes ago, Squawkman said:

We had a port change last year - for political reasons, Tunis was replaced with Naples - which was fine with us.

I'm sorry for you that you didn't have the opportunity to visit Tunis (and environs) - pretty spectacular.

The "current political situation" in Hong Kong will not exist in May.  One way or another.

Ha!  One of my mother's favorite games in the last years of her life.  I always called it "Foot-in-Mouth" - she laughed obligingly.  I'll pass.

2 hours ago, RJ2002 said:

 

The enrollment center is closed.  Global Entry for arrivals is still available.

 

https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2019-07-19/at-lax-global-entry-enrollment-center-is-closed-indefinitely

Thanks so much for the correction - I don't think I had had my morning coffee when I saw this in the paper and posted it!

Sunday's Los Angeles Times reports that Global Entry at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has been shuttered - all personnel have been moved to the southern border.

1 hour ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

Where?

And, does one need to  bring life vests to the mustard drill?

No, but a little relish would be good!

1 hour ago, Pushka said:

Last night we had a beautiful evening gliding out so slowly from Juneau. It was very still and at times I was the only one on the deck outside Explorers lounge. Stunning Serenity. 

 

All we needed was a whale. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pushka

Sorry.  I was home last night.

Love,

The Whale

Pushka

Sensational photographs!  Thank you so much for sharing.

Captain_Morgan is right..."so sad to see this again...."  These fatal crashes occur with greater frequency than one is aware.  

33 minutes ago, Capt_BJ said:

did not do the excursion but you can get fresh king crap in Bergen!! This is from the fish market

 

 

 

I'm told Norway considers "Alaskan King Crab" an invasive species . . .

Thanks for the info, Capt_BJ, though I might eschew the "fresh king crap."  😂

This "issue" was explained to us by our TA thusly:  If your reservation is made in the United States, final payment is due by the last day of the month following the month in which you made the reservation.  For example, book on February 1st, and your final payment will be due by March 31st.  As noted by Heidi13, this policy has been in effect at least since last autumn.

Why this is true for the U.S. and not for citizens of other countries, I do not know.  We are cruising in November with friends from New Zealand, who made their reservations early in 2018.  Their final payment isn't due until July of this year.  Our "cancelled-then-rebooked" reservation, made in February, had to be finalized by the end of March.

It's their sandbox, we play by their rules.  Or we take our pail and shovel to another playground.

CCWineLover

Many thanks for your post - now I'm really looking forward to our three weeks aboard Jupiter!

So appreciative of all these wonderful stories of wonderful people being wonderful......

On 4/5/2019 at 4:17 PM, CharTrav said:

It'll be interesting where Venus will be cruising when it hits the sea in 2021. What will be its principal area(s) of operation? Could that be why Sky's schedule remains for now TBD after March 2021?

Surely Venus will be cruising Mars......................

I am at a loss to understand this.  Last year we booked - and made the deposit for - a cruise in November of this year.  In early January I saw where the price of our E2 had dropped $1000 pp, and there was an enticing new offer for all new "bookers" for a complimentary SS Beverage Package and $500 pp OBC.  I honestly thought I was misreading it.  A quick call to our travel agent - several hours later the response came back from Viking: Passenger must cancel ($100 pp fee), then rebook in order to take advantage of the special offer.  "Could we have the same ES2 if we do this?"  "Yes."  The biggest no-brainer I have ever encountered.  I do not know how to explain it - perhaps there was no demand for our cabin or the itinerary or...I-don't-know-what.

All of which is by way of suggesting - or rather asking - could you possibly cancel, then rebook immediately (obviously, you would first check on cabin availability), and thereby save at least $400?  I am also curious whether you use a travel agent or deal with Viking by yourself....  I simply don't understand this response from Viking for a cruise that is 17 months in the future.

Life suddenly got easier, at least, if you're visiting Brazil.  Beginning June 16th of this year, no visas will be needed...at all!   Nice, huh?

(It suddenly occurred to me...this is probably old news for a lot of people.  I am invariably the last person to hear about something, so if this is "old" news for you - and you're going to Brazil after June 16th and you hadn't gotten your visa - well, you can still celebrate!  Or something.)

5 hours ago, ditmar2007 said:

@chengkp75, you must be one of the most patient men I've encountered.

Thank you for spending so much time answering all the questions.

I, too, am very grateful for the time you have given to explain these matters to us.  It helps to clarify, which, in turn, allows the anxiety levels to drop.

1 hour ago, Outerdog said:

 

This explains it (from Norwegian Star):

 

Are these not called "arks?"  I was on a cruise two weeks ago, and, walking a rotation of a promenade deck, came upon four of these very large "boxes," much taller and wider than a man, at the extreme ends of the decks on both sides of the ship.  My recollection is they were labelled ARK, with a similar diagram to the one above.

17 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

And the "obvious" answer is that the worst place for a large cruise ship to be in a major storm is docked (or anchored) in a port!  The norm is to get the ship out to sea (where it is actually safer) and try to avoid the storm or the worst part of the storm.   In fact, most harbor masters will close ports in severe weather and request that ships depart....generally before the storm reaches the port.

 

What happened here is not necessarily related to the weather but to a major power failure (usually electrical).   None of us who routinely cruise (we have spent over 1000 days on cruise ships) or spend time at sea are "making light" of it!  In fact, I have texted a family member who is on that ship (she is doing fine) to express our concern and inquire about her well-being.  And as I posted earlier, she replied that they are doing OK and waiting to be rescued (they are still thinking by helicopter). 

 

What I find distressing are the comments (such as yours) that immediately want to point the finger of blame to something, or start asking about compensation.  Neither of those issues are appropriate at this point in time when over 1100 folks still remain on that vessel.  Trust me that my wife's cousin (who is on the ship and at her muster station) is only concerned about getting to land..   There will be plenty of time later to deal with the blame game.  For now, it is about saving lives.

 

Hank

Thank God for responses like yours.  Oh, and "Thank You," too!

21 minutes ago, just_dont said:

Not many cyclones in the Med in May.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

Good for you, just_don't!

29 minutes ago, TrumpyNor said:

Sorry that I have been absent for the last 1,5 hours. I just checked the latest Norwegian news, and they now report a total of 9 passengers to hospital with injuries - and 3 of them are reported to be serious but doesn't give any details in that regard, and two have been transferred to Kristiansund hospital and one of them has been transferred (by air) from Molde hospital to the larger Bergen university hospital.

 

Latest report is that 139 persons have  been evacuated until now.

Thanks for this.

I am overwhelmed by  - and very grateful for - the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience brought to this discussion by so many of the individuals posting about this crisis.  It really is - you are - quite extraordinary.

5 minutes ago, $hip$hape said:

To change the subject,

WE will be on the (NEW) Viking Jupiter November 13th, 2019 from Barcelona to Buenos Aires.

Our attraction to this cruise was the itinerary. 

Even though we have been to Rio de Janeiro a few times, thought it would be nice to take this Southern Crossing.

As first time Viking Ocean cruisers, we'd like to chime in to see if anyone has any comments.

Michael and Catherine 

 

As will we.  And, as another set of first-time Viking Ocean passengers, we would also be interested in "comments" and suggestions.

Thanks.