captainmcd

When I booked a V-2 cabin on the April 11 maiden voyage from Istanbul, it was mostly just to see how a new cruise line and a new ship manage the complex problems of start-ups. I am ready for anything. I know we will all be well fed no matter where we dine, and the included excursions may well be a bit rushed, but no different than most cruise ship excursions, and since we have been to many of the ports we were not too worried about that. Yes, I expect there to be glitches, and room for improvement, but I have never been on a maiden voyage and that is something I have on my bucket list. I purchased by airfare on my own now that the construction process seems to be on or ahead of schedule. I am sure that we will have a lot of fun, inspite of not knowing every detail of the trip prior to boarding. Travel is an adventure, and sometimes the unexpected things that happen make the trip more interesting.

My lack of comment does not constitute agreement with the prior post.

 

This is not a forum for this discussion.

Sitraveler, The original poster asked if they would need a visa when they arrived in Turkey (Ephasus in this case) aboard the Viking Star in September 2015. It would be up to Viking to inform passengers if visas were needed. We visited many countires aboard curise ships where they were given special visa free entry as passengers listed on the passenger list aboard the ship. Even Russia allows this. I think this forum is a reasonable place to discuss any passengers concerns and in no way am trying to dispute your opinion, which may be accurate, but when I read the Turkish embassy requirement for U.S. Passport holders to enter Turkey we need to pay $20 fee for a tourist visa, multiple entrys up to six months, and can apply on line. If we travel in 2014 we can still apply on arrival as before.

I just checked with Turkish Airlines, since I have booked my flight to Istanbul with them. They said that the visa on arrival now costs $30, and is available for the same price on line. I will wait a few more months to find out if that is really the case.

I don't think that a ship of 900 passengers will be a problem in Ephasus, since much larger cruise ships call there so that local infrastructure is in place. That is true for other ports of call as well. I plan to stick with the included tours, although a smaller and more personal experience would be nice. I do think that now that voyage 1 of the star is less than six months away, they should make and publish more details soon.

We flew into Istanbul two years ago and had to stop at a special line for visa upon entry, and paid $20 each. If you have one before arrival it can save you waiting in another queue, but it was not a long one when we arrived.

Just noticed captainmcd that you said you were on the Empires cruise - the whole 50 days? We are signed up for that too.

I wish! No, I am just on the first leg from Istanbul to Venice.

Yesterday I spoke to Viking about my river cruise next week, and mentioned that I was on the Viking Star for the April 11 Empires of the Mediterranean inagural cruise. The rep. told me that the ship was finished well before the delivery date and was now on sea trials. I was wondering if anyone on this forum has any informaton to confirm this. I don't think it makes sense to leave the ship sit idle in a lay berth for six months.

About three months ago I got an email from viking asking me to contact Viking Air about the service I had booked for our April 11, 2014 cruise on the Star. I called and was told that they were not booking the air for this cruise at that time. Then they told me that I would have to pay a deviation fee if I wanted to arrive a day earlier. By that time the airfare I found on Kayak was close to that offered by Viking, so that I canceled Viking Air and booked it on my own. However I was reluctant to give up the security offered if there were problems with the construction, a delayed maiden voyage, etc. that Viking Air offered. But it is nice to have control of your own itinerary, connecting airports, and layover times. I find that a 90 minute connection in Paris CDG is very stressful and can be impossible on peak travel days.

Thanks to everyone on this thread. I had opened a thread for our October 4 sailing of the Viking Embla from Budapest to Bucharest, and nobody contributed any information, so this thread has been a big help to me. We arrive in Budapest October 2, booked private tours on the 3rd and 4th, and then do the rest of the trip with Viking including the Transylvania extension in Bucharest. I am really excited to start.

Sort of a busman's holiday, eh Captainmcd?

 

Carolyn

 

Yes, perhaps it is a busman's holiday, but it is nice to be a pampered passenger with no worries or cares, other than arriving to a ship with lost luggage. I am now the volunteer captain of the Pacific Link, a small medical ship presently in Port Moresby. We sail the uncharted waters of Papua New Guinea, visiting small villages with no roads or electricity and bringing them medical and dental care. It is a lot of fun for me after retiring from sailing on freighters, and I get to bring my wife along!

I had sailed on Viking Rivers before, and thought it was a well run company. I have worked on ships for over 50 years, and am still sailing. I have taken a few ships to the "bone yard" but have never made a maiden voyage, so I booked the April 11th sailing. It will be interesting for me to see how Viking handles the new venture.

There are a number of travel agents who specialize in freighter travel and you can find them by a google search but CC does not let me give you any names. It should be easy to get to Singapore or Port Kelang (Malaysia) but a bit harder to get to Djakarta. Currently I am in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, which is not too far away from your destination. Good luck.

It is hard to predict a freighter's schedule, but container ships run on a fairly reliable schedule, so that a week should be enough of a cushion to arrive in time for your cruise. I sailed on container ships for a number of years, and we were usually within a day or two of our schedule, but there are no guarantees. Break-bulk freighters are more fun but less reliable because of delays in ports.

Viking just emailed me the video. I am glad to see that they are getting more communicative with their customers! It has been over a year since they sent me anything, when they issued the coin.

bcorre2, Thanks for sharing this great news. Viking Oceans should send this to everyone who has booked a cruise on her in 2015. It is nice to see her exterior finished and painted and ready for sea. I am only booked on the April 11 sailing and was aware that a lot could happen that would delay this cruise, and am relieved that things seem to be progressing on schedule.

I've paid by e-check on a river cruise that was only about six months out, but elected to pay for our ocean cruise with credit card last year, giving us a little more protection in case of trouble with the new company or ship delivery. When you consider the rewards or cash back on the credit card, there is not that much difference.

I'm opening an old thread because last week I got an email asking me to contact viking air to regarding the custom air that I booked over a year ago. When I called them they could not make a reservation. The problem was that they are not booking for Viking Oceans at the present time, only for river cruises. I asked if that was because of an uncertain delivery time for the Viking Star, and they said no, it was a computer program problem. However I wonder if that is the case.

Anyway, I will wait until finalizing a flight to Istanbul, and a return from Venice. At present kayak/air france can give me a price for two in premium economy within $133 of Viking, even with a 2000 viking credit. Of course before booking anything I can cancel viking air and book my own flights, but I will wait and see. I prefer to use viking air in a situation where there may be a delay or cancellation of a particular voyage.

We booked our air through Viking, but paid $100 extra so that we could have input into airlines and schedules for the trip. One time we were routed through Paris CDG and had a 90 minute connection, but with a change in terminals and exiting and re-entering security it took us all of that time even though we had to run. It is nice to have some control over these things.

 

I googled travel insurance, and found many websites, and chose to book through one that showed various features of the policies offered by different companies, and the prices of each. Since we have to pay so far in advance on Viking, I chose to get the insurance when we booked.

The photo shows what appears to be a section of the double bottoms. I am pleased that Viking is now setting the completion date as EARLY 2015 instead of MAY 2015, which is problematic since they have an APRIL 11 Empires of the Med. cruise that is sold out. Since their website shows many sold out cruises, it seems that most people paid 100% a year early.

Bill's presence on this board was a real asset to Azamara. Although I never met him, I know he was a positive influence on the cruise industry. I think I can say that all of us at CruiseCritic will miss his presence here and wish his family and loved ones our condolences.

Feedingfrenzy, Thanks for this link and the good news. I wish that Viking Oceans was better at letting its followers in on the progress, now that we have paid for our 2015 cruises. I wonder if all the passengers who booked were willing and able to pay for a cruise that is over a year away.

 

 

 

The keel for the Viking Star was laid on December 18 at the Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard outside Venice, Italy. The laying of the keel is a formal ceremony marking recognition of the start of a ship's construction. Here is a link to one of the various news sources reporting the event:

 

http://www.traveldailynews.com/news/article/58260/viking-cruises-announces-major-milestone#sthash.21lX2Tlw.dpuf

 

 

As you may have heard, steel was first cut for the ship last June. The laying of the keel is the next major step in its progress toward completion. According to Wikipedia "The event recognized as the keel laying is the first joining of modular components, or the lowering of the first module into place in the building dock. It is now often called "keel authentication", and is the ceremonial beginning of the ship's life, even though fabrication of the modules may have begun months before."

Thanks Andy, It is true Viking Oceans seems to have had great success with early bookings, and I'm glad to see that they are expanding their fleet. The only problelm I have is that their press releases talk about a May 2015 delivery, or later, and I have booked and paid for the April 11, 2015 Maiden Voyage of the Viking Star. I think that thier management needs to adress this issue!

bcorre2, Thanks for the links! I have not seen any articles about the Viking Star since June. At least there seems to be progress, but the in service dates seem to be confusing. We have booked the Empires of the Mediterranean that departs April 11, 2015. It is reassuring that the yard is under utilized and looking for work, so that there is a good possibility that the ship will be ready on time. Keep us updated if you learn anything new. We just made our final payment, but know that many who have booked with a deposit will be glad to know that things are on track before paying the balance due

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I just checked. I used my American Express that has no international transfer fees, but the charge came in U.S. $ from Viking River Cruises, Woodland Hills, CA. That was on November 2 for my final payment for the April 2015 Maiden Voyage.

Anyone know of a trans-lant that does RORO (Roll on-Roll off) for vehicles? We read a book calle "Take your RV to Europe" and we investigating. We have a daughter lives in Germany, so are VERY familiar with European roads, vehicle sizes and such. More looking at the TRANSPORTATION angle at this point. Anyone?????????

This service is popular around the Mediterranean, and allows those interested in RV travel to avoid trouble spots. It has been attempted without success between the United States and Central America. At present I know of no company that offers this service between the U.S. and Europe. It may be possible to containerize an RV and have it shipped with you, but as the previous poster said, it would be a lot cheaper to simply rent an RV when in Europe.