cocopico

Viking has officially announced what everyone suspected -- all cruises for the remainder of this year have been cancelled.  Fortunately, they are continuing the 125% voucher if you choose to leave your money with them.  I suspect, though, that future cruises are going to get harder and harder to book as a lot of folks scramble to move their 2020 cruises into 2021 and beyond. 

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/my-trip/current-sailings/index.html

Plenty of seating right now  . . .

On 2/23/2020 at 3:41 PM, Jack E Dawson said:

cococipo,

Thanks for the great review. I'm impressed by your ability to make lemonade out of lemons. But even more impressive are your amazing pictures that you linked. They are National Geographic quality. You must be a professional photographer. Can't wait for our April, Empires of the Med. journey, however I might be a bit intimidated on posting any pics. 

My only advice is to not close the door on a trans-Atlantic cruise. We have taken two on the QM2, a ship designed, staffed and programed for just that route. Each time the 7 night crossing left us wanting for a few more days.

Thanks again for sharing.

 

Jack

Thanks for the kind comments, Jack, and for the advice about trans-Atlantic crossings!

We did the South America and Chilean Fjords Cruise aboard the Viking Jupiter in January, sailing from Buenos Aires to Santiago.  This was our sixth Viking Ocean cruise and the ship and crew were great.  Unfortunately, the weather was not as welcoming.  We had the expected hot days in Buenos Aires, mild days right next door in Montevideo, and returned to the heat in Puerto Madryn.  The sail to the Falklands was nice, but by the time we arrived in the morning, the winds had kicked up and the Captain made the call not to tender anyone ashore. He thought we could probably make it on shore, but the expected 50-60 mph winds would prevent him from getting us back to the ship in the afternoon.  This was a major disappointment for us, but the captain clearly made the right call.  The weather conditions began to deteriorate rapidly. So, we turned around and headed for Cape Horn and Ushuaia, where we would get an unplanned night in port.  (As it turned out, that was one of my favorite nights of the whole cruise!)  The two-day passage to Ushuaia was rough — very rough!  Lots of passengers were seasick, despite the ubiquitous patches people were wearing behind their ears. Viking put out candied ginger as an additional remedy, and of course freely distributed seasick pills to guests who hadn’t thought to bring their own.  Again, rough seas in that part of the world are not unexpected.
 

Despite high winds and rough seas, we did manage to round Cape Horn, which was great.  Our trip up the Chilean Fjords was hampered by strong winds, low dark clouds and, at times, thick fog. Nevertheless, the landscapes were beautiful, especially if you were on the starboard side of the ship, where you could watch the mountains and glaciers roll by from the comfort of your cabin or balcony.  We also got very close to the Amalia Glacier, which was beautiful despite the terrible weather.   Amazingly, we had the place to ourselves and the captain took full advantage to give us a lot of time there. 
 

The weather in Punta Arenas was sunny, but again high winds played havoc with our plans.  Having missed the excursion to see the King  Penguins on the Falklands, we were looking forward to our visit to a penguin colony in the Straits of Magellan, but alas high winds caused that excursion to be cancelled too.  We went from thinking we had booked too many penguin excursions to seeing very few penguins at all.  Instead, I walked from the ship to the amazing Punta Arenas cemetery - definitely worth a visit!

The stop in Puerto Montt was largely forgettable.  We did get some great views of the Osorno Volcano and had a nice ride on Emerald Lake, but many of the stops were very crowded and it was very hot.  We ended the trip in Valparaiso, but the situation at the port made it difficult to get around on your own. The current “unrest” in Chili also was more noticeable in the big port city (and in Santiago).  We never felt unsafe or anything, but there was graffiti everywhere as a reminder of the current political climate. 

The transfers to Santiago were perhaps the most frustrating part of the trip.   We made our own air arrangements but paid for the Viking transfers to the airport, both arriving and departing.  Most of the international flights depart Santiago late at night, starting at around 10:00 p.m.  Of course, disembarkation from the ship is typically before 9:00 a.m.  For those of us with Viking transfers, we were going to be transported to the airport right away, meaning we would get to the airport approximately 12 hours before our flight!  If you booked your air through Viking, though, you would be transported to a hotel in Santiago, where you could wander around the new part of the city or hang out in the hotel ballroom for the day, where they provided drinks and snacks, until you were transported to the airport at a more reasonable time. For those of us with transfers only, we could take advantage of this hotel stop for an additional charge.  Viking also offered a tour of Santiago on the way to the hotel for yet another additional charge.  I think we paid something like $49/person for the tour and hotel option, which was on top of the $49/person we had originally paid for the transfer to airport.  I didn’t mind paying extra for the tour, but I think anyone paying for a transfer to the airport should have been included in the hotel holding area option for no additional charge.  Viking had to know that no one in their right mind who pre-paid for a transfer would want to spend 12 hours at the airport.  
 

All in all, it was an interesting trip and most of the “negatives” were beyond Viking’s control.  We ended up spending 9 of our 18 cruise days at sea, which cured us of earlier thoughts of doing an ocean crossing!  We love the ships, but like to spend more time ashore than this cruise offered. (Again, we knew what we were getting into so can’t complain — just making an observation.)   If you are fortunate to get favorable weather, I think the cruise would be amazing.  I’ve included a link to some photos from the cruise below, and would be happy to respond to any questions anyone might have about this itinerary. 

https://milsteen.smugmug.com/Travel/Viking-South-America-Chilean-Fiords/

Chocolate?  Did someone say chocolate?  In addition to the usual chocolate offerings, we had this chocolate extravaganza on our Cities of Antiquity and Holy Land cruise aboard Viking Jupiter last March/April!

We’re on Jupiter now and they televised the playoffs this weekend and last.  The games were showed on the cabin TV’s and on the big screen by the pool. The Pool Grill stayed open extra hours during the games as well. 

On 12/28/2019 at 4:25 PM, SM77 said:

Hi, we are back home and with the holidays, I didn't get a chance to post.  We did the included tour of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. Had great weather that day - It was a very good bus tour and gave us a good introduction to the area.  Traffic was extremely heavy in Valparaiso and I was surprised at the amount of graffiti everywhere.   Such a beautiful day, we sat outside at the Aquavit Terrace overlooking the Bay in the afternoon.   

 

On disembarkation day, we were up very early - meeting in the atrium @ 6:45 AM, getting off the ship and departing by 7:15 AM for a tour.  Well, the good news is that Viking broke up the departures by buses.  Over 500 passengers had evening flights so most were headed out for an included Santiago City tour, the hotel and then the airport.  Your bags were collected the night before, you got off the ship for the last time, rode the port shuttle to the terminal, were directed to the area where your color-coded luggage was being held, you identified them, & a porter took them away to be trucked separately to the airport.  And you got on your bus.   The bad news is if you have someone assigned to your bus who doesn't show up.  We waited for one couple who hadn't identified their luggage & were MIA. Eventually we left by 8:00 AM for our tour.  So it was a good hour & a half to drive to Santiago - minimal traffic since it was Saturday, once we hit Santiago, tons of traffic.  Good bus tour of Santiago, we drove up into the hills into a very expensive area to see the view of the city from above.  Lots of graffiti and damage from protestors (though we didn't encounter any issues that day) - they even marked up the walls of one of the major museums, spray painted historic monuments & statues - it was very sad to see.  We stopped at Centro Artesanal Los Dominicos where there are some fine quality handicrafts, restaurants, etc.  It was an excellent place to do some souvenir shopping.  And then we were dropped off at the hotel.  I can understand since it was the holidays, that Viking may have had some difficulties finding hotel space to accommodate 500 but it was very crowded in the conference rooms, with limited refreshments.  They did set up a ballroom for lunch if you wanted to pay for a meal.  Otherwise, it was coffee, tea, water, some juices, cookies, and some  snacks.  We asked one of the Viking reps if we could go on an earlier bus to the airport and she said that it was fine.  We figured we could check in a little earlier and go to the AA Lounge since we were flying business.  Well, AA doesn't open the counter until 6 PM.  Delta, United, Latam had counters open to check in @ 4:30 PM.   There is no place to sit in the public areas outside of security at SCL(unless you go to a restaurant).  It was easy to pick up the luggage, they were organized by color and they had Viking staff help you identify your bags.  Finally we checked in and since AA doesn't have a lounge, we went to Latam's.  It was fine.  Not the best lounge but it was clean, had alcohol, and some snacks, places to sit.  So I hope that give you some idea of what to expect when disembarking.  Flights home were fine; only issue one of our bags didn't make it on the flight (even though we check in first & the bag was marked priority since we were flying business).  We eventually got the bag by Christmas Eve.  It had to be driven from Reagan National Airport to Williamsburg VA - a three hour drive on a good day.  

Thanks for the disembarkation information for folks on late flights.  I'm surprised they made you get off the ship so early -- I would have thought you would be among the last off.  One question - were you able to take carry-on luggage with you on the tour bus and to the hotel, or did you have to check it as well?  I like to keep mine with me if possible.  Thanks again for this and all your earlier information.  We board on the 7th! 

We did this cruise in March/April of 2019 and had a great time.  We never made it to Ashdod -- high winds caused the captain to stay in Haifa for an extra night -- but I have every confidence that Viking takes security very seriously and would not dock in a dangerous port.  Setting that aside, though, Israel has one of the best security operations in the world and I wouldn't hesitate to visit.  I posted a review of our trip here:

On 12/4/2019 at 11:21 PM, Cyber Kat said:

We had this issue on our Eastern Seaboard cruise. I wanted to check prices on the Viking website for a cruise we were interested in before we met with the future cruise rep. I couldn’t get the US site only the UK site with prices in pounds. Not much help 

We even tried using our VPN but we still got the UK site 

We had this problem as well.  The on-board future cruise consultants on two different cruises gave us a different website address to type into the web browser to bypass the English site.  It worked fine both times.  

On 10/22/2019 at 5:34 PM, OnTheJourney said:

I just came across this trip while looking through ocean voyages that I might be interested in. This one looks really nice, having never been anywhere in that area. I've always wanted to do a Holy Land trip, and this itinerary presents some opportunities to visit some of the sites. Thanks for any advice or suggestions!  

We did this cruise on Viking Jupiter in March/April and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I posted a review and a link to photos taken on the cruise here if you are interested:

19 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

I don't understand the difference between a day room and a hospitality room.  Glad your hotel is in Santiago.

I gather a day room is just a private hotel room that you have for the day.  A hospitality room is a large, common room (maybe a big conference room, a ballroom or the like, where you and your fellow passengers can hang out, store your luggage, have some refreshments, etc.  

1 hour ago, Viking Cruises said:

Dear @cocopico,

 

We hear your concerns and did want to take this moment to offer some clarity regarding our recent communication about the hospitality and day rooms in Santiago. 

 

While guests with Viking arranged transfers and flights departing in the evening are most certainly welcome to take advantage of the hospitality room, those guests with flights departing after 11:15 p.m. will have access to a day room. 

 

We hope this helps and kindly invite you to contact us at 1-855-300-3970 should you have any lingering questions ahead of your voyage. We look forward to sailing with you soon!

 

Warmest,
Viking Cruises

Thanks for your clarification (and for reading CC posts and responding!).  The notification did not include any reference to day rooms or distinguish in any way between day rooms and a hospitality room, so I think that is where the confusion started.  The information provided here clears that up.  Again, thanks for the additional information!

7 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

Cocopico.  We also received an email from Viking regarding being transferred to a hotel and then being shuttled to the airport in the evening.  It was for people with flights after 10:30 pm.  However we are on the January 24 itinerary ending in Buenas Aires and the hotel is in the city center which is one hour or less from the airport.  The question for those flying out of Santiago is where the hotel is located - Valparaiso or Santiago.  If the hotel is in Valparaiso, there is at least a 2 hour drive to the airport.  To give you a 3 hour leeway for an international flight, the transfer from Valparaiso would need to begin 5 hours before a given flight or 4:50 pm for you.  Transfers may not begin that early for night flights.  Unless they said otherwise in your email, i suspect the hotel would be in Valparaiso as thr logistics would be simple.  A few minutes to a Valpo hotel, then the 2 hour transfer to the airport vs a 2 hour transfer to a Santiago hotel and another 1 hour transfer to the airport.  When people disembarced in Valparaiso from the Viking Sun World Cruise SA segment last January, Viking put them in a hotel in Valparaiso.

 

If Viking sends us an email saying specifically that we with late night flights are to be transfered to a hotel for the day, then i would expect it to happen.  

My understanding from the notification from Viking is that the hotel is in Santiago, not Valparaiso, so only an hour away from the airport.  I also note below that Viking has responded in this thread and clarified the situation, making clear that folks with transfers will be accommodated in the hospitality room and given a later transfer from there to the airport at the appropriate time.

We are on Jupiter for the January 7, 2020, South American and Chilean Fjords Cruise.  Apparently, many of the flights out of Santiago after disembarkation depart late in the evening.  Our flight, which was arranged independently (not through Viking Air), departs at 9:50 p.m. on disembarkation day.  We did, however, purchase Viking transfers to the airport.  There have been some messages on CC suggesting that under similar circumstances Viking will often transfer passengers to a hotel hospitality room for the day, and then later take them to the airport nearer in time to their late-night departure.  Yesterday, we received an email from Viking saying that they would indeed provide such a room, including city tours, and later transfers to the airport FOR PASSENGERS WITH FLIGHTS DEPARTING AFTER 11:15 p.m.  Thinking this must be a typo, I called Viking and was told that in fact the 11:15 p.m. reference was correct.  Of course, my reaction was that surely Viking did not intend to transfer us to the airport after disembarking at 9:00 a.m. for a 9:50 p.m. flight.  Basically, I was told to talk to the folks on board the ship, and that it was likely they would agree to transfer us to the hospitality room and then transfer us to the airport from there later in the evening.  Just thought I would pass this along.  I don’t understand for the life of me why Viking would draw the line at 11:15 p.m., unless every other passenger leaving on Viking Air-procured flights that night depart after 11:15 p.m.  (Our flight is a non-stop to Atlanta and I’m pretty confident other cruisers will be on that flight too.)  I would understand treating folks differently if they were traveling on their own, but once a passenger has been allowed to purchase a Viking transfer, they ought to be treated like all the other passengers who are using Viking transfers.  I’m hopeful, and even fairly confident, that Viking will take care of us and include us in the use of the hospitality room and later transfer to the airport, but I don’t understand why they wouldn’t just say so up front and not introduce unnecessary uncertainty into the process. 

15 hours ago, Susnyk said:

We are considering booking a cabin on the Viking Sky, cabin number 8106.  I am concerned about a couple of possible noise factors and hope someone can give me some advice.  This cabin is directly under the sports deck, so I am concerned about hearing pounding feet early in the morning.  The other concern is that the fairly short hallway where 8106 is located leads to the upper entrance of the Explorer's Lounge.  I don't know what to expect regarding likely noisy late nighters.  Does anyone have something to say about either of my concerns?

  Thanks, Susan

We've stayed in 8017, which is essentially the same cabin on the starboard side.  We found it to be extremely quiet.  There is very little traffic in the hallways on the eighth deck.  The layout on the website is not exactly correct.  8016 and 8017 are really right at the elevator lobby, rather than forward of the lobby as shown on the diagram.  We never heard any elevator noise, though, and truthfully there are so few cabins on deck eight that the elevator rarely goes to that floor.  Also, the exits from the upper deck of the Explorer's Lounge into hallway are rarely used (at least that was our experience).  The cabin you are looking at is also located aft of most of the activity areas of the sports deck.  (And frankly, on all of our cruises, the sports deck has been very underutilized.)  So, at least in our experience, the PS cabins on deck eight were extremely quiet. 

We’ve been in PV-1’s on four cruises and always forward of the forward elevators.  Very quiet, very little traffic and the forward stairs and elevators are usually very uncrowded.  We have never had any noise issues at all.  As mentioned by VNB2003, we also prefer the cabins with slider doors.  Of the forward cabins, and not counting 6000 and 6001 (which I think are too close to the bridge “wings” when out on the balcony), the slider cabins are 6006, 6007, 6008, 6009, 6014 and 6015.  I’m not sure where I read it, but I have a note that says to avoid 6061, 6063, 6060 and 6062 near the rear elevators due to noise.  I haven’t stayed in those cabins, so can’t verify that they might be noisy, but I just throw it out there for what it’s worth. 

5 hours ago, molymoo said:

 

     The port talks were organized differently this trip … they had them two or three day out rather than the night before arriving in the port.  They were very honest about the shore excursions; which I appreciated, and it was nice to have this important information early enough to cancel or make changes if, after hearing the descriptions you decided it wasn’t for you.    

·     

 

 

Thanks for your review. I was particularly happy to read the comment quoted above. I have raised this issue in previous reviews and to the good folks at “Tellus” that the port talks, which contain the most detailed information regarding excursions, come too late to be able to cancel existing excursions or swap them for another.  This change definitely addresses that issue, and I applaud Viking for making the change.   Great news indeed. 

24 minutes ago, Mitina said:

 

After the museum visit, we walked on our own to the central market and then the Plaka district. Shuttle picks up from the nearby Hadrian's Arch to get back to the ship. 

We did the exact same thing.  In general, whenever we opt to take an included tour in any port we try and get the earliest one so we an hang out on our own afterwards.  

42 minutes ago, oceanview64 said:

Hi all,   We are booked for Sept 2020 Viking Sea for the Empires of the Mediterranean starting in Athens and onto Venice.  We went to Athens in 2010 and have been to the Acropolis and Parliament and also gone on a tour to Cape Sounion.   For the 2020 trip we plan to go into Athens a day early and want arrange a tour but we don't want to duplicate what Viking will be offering us for the day and a half that we will be docked in Piraeus.  If anyone has kept or knows what the included tours are in Athens this September perhaps you could let me know.  Many thanks in advance.  Jan

There is only one “included” tour in Athens, which is a “panoramic” tour of the city.  It is described on the Viking website as “See the highlights of Athens by motor coach and visit the National Archaeological Museum. From the port of Piraeus, journey with your guide into ancient Athens. You will pass the small harbor of Zea, whose 5th-century BC dock still survives, and the elegant promenade at Mikrolimano. In the center of historic Athens, you will see the Hellenic Parliament and Syntagma (Constitution) Square, as well as the distinctively uniformed Presidential Guard, or “Evzones,” at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Your scenic drive also includes views of Panathenaic Stadium and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Following the panoramic tour, you will visit the National Archaeological Museum, one of the world’s great museums. With more than 11,000 exhibits, it provides a panorama of Greek civilization from the beginnings of prehistory to Late Antiquity. If you would like, enjoy a coffee at one of the many local cafés during your free time.”

10 hours ago, Oville said:

We were booked on a January cruise with Viking and ended up canceling due to penalties we could possibly be charged after final payment date. So my question had nothing to do with mega ships but many, many weeks later what has Viking done with these cruises.  Your response was less than comfy.😕

 

There is another recent thread on this topic.  I don't believe there is a specific answer to your question yet, but when it comes I suspect you'll find your answer here and on Viking's website: 

On 7/12/2019 at 11:51 PM, Krisval said:

My husband never wears jeans (grew up at a time when jeans were a sign of poverty), so his Restaurant attire is slacks and a nice shirt- usually long sleeve button down collar, no jacket. I like to be more dressy, but have worn white denim slacks that don’t have traditional jean stitching- never been questioned. Our traveling group has “themes” for many nights, so that dictates our evening attire (all within the guidelines of the code). 

Just to be clear, sparkly hats are always optional! 🙂

9 minutes ago, Jack E Dawson said:

My wife and I are on the Empires of the Mediterranean - Viking Sea voyage in April of next year that disembarks in Athens. We have arranged our own flights (using points) back to Chicago on Swiss Air with a change of planes in Zurich. Unfortunately the first flight (ATH-ZRH) departs at 6:30AM. Can anyone tell me what time Athens security and/or Swiss Air open in the morning. Ideally, we would like to check in and drop off our bags at 5:00AM, 90 minutes before flight time. 

 

Thanks

Jack

I can't speak specifically to Swiss Air, but there are many early morning flights out of Athens and I don't think you'll have any problems checking in around 5:00 a.m.  We had a 6:10 a.m. flight out this past April on Air France and used the Viking transfer.   They had us there by 4:30 a.m., as I recall, and we checked right in. 

This question has been the subject of much debate in the forum.  The official Viking dress policy says:

“During the day, dress is casual including shorts (if the season is warm), slacks or jeans and comfortable shoes for walking tours. Swimsuits, brief shorts, cover-ups and exercise attire should be reserved for the Fitness Center, pool areas and Sports Deck. There are no “formal nights” in the evening; evening dress is “elegant casual” for all dining venues, performances and special events. On these occasions, required attire for ladies includes a dress, skirt or slacks with a sweater or blouse; for gentlemen, trousers and a collared shirt. A tie and jacket are optional; jeans are not permitted. The evening dress excludes World Café where the dress remains casual after 6:00 PM.”

My experience is that folks generally wear what they are comfortable wearing.  The World Cafe is very casual for all meals.  The dress policy is usually posted outside The Restaurant and the specialty restaurants, presumably to discourage shorts and jeans, but the policy is often ignored without consequence.  You definitely do not need a suit or sport jacket — slacks and a button-down shirt are fine in any of the restaurants. 

And the waiters in the World Cafe always seem to have a carafe of orange juice in their hands so no problem getting plenty of refills! 

I have not done that particular cruise so I'm sure someone who has can give you a more definitive answer, but in most ports if the town is not "walkable" then Viking will generally run a shuttle bus from the port to the town center.   There are not a lot of shipboard activities on port days - Viking's whole emphasis is on spending time in the port cities -- but the ship amenities are all available:  spa, pools, restaurants, sports deck, games in the Viking living room, movies, etc.  The limited shops are usually closed while in port and the ship is generally pretty empty and quiet.