JDincalif

Pepin's association with the cruise line definitely influenced our initial choice to sail on Oceania. We were fortunate to see him live in conversation with a food/wine writer at the Fairmont SF, part of the Commonwealth Club lecture series. His relaxed warmth and wit were even more defined in person. And both he and the moderator carried on the chat while sipping red wine.

Appreciate all your insights to date and happy to wait for any additional response when you have time. Thank you.

Thank you. After five years of waiting for the final report, we're certainly content to wait for a response at your convenience!

Request for our experts' consideration: On report page 101 under discussion of the decision to sail, there's a statement that, among the decision makers on board, "None have reported that not leaving port was an option (emphasis ours)." The report then provides some potential contributing factors, but is there any significance to that statement which suggests that remaining in Tromso wasn't even among the options considered?

Heidi13 and chengkp75 are indisputably the MVPs - most valuable posters - of the Viking Sky Survivors. They've supported us with expertise and provided trustworthy information from practically the first moment of the crisis through all these years of speculation. And now that we have the final report, they're devoting a lot of time reviewing and analyzing the findings, then sharing their insights with us. We are exceptionally fortunate to have them among us.

Immediately following the incident, we set up news alerts for his name, yielding only a few hits in the first month; nothing since.

😳 Thank *you* for posting *this* 👆🏻 So good to hear from you, D - hope that you and C are well and happy.

Among the findings and recommended remediations, the report again emphasized the extreme peril: The complex and extended helicopter operation was carried out effectively with no accidents or casualties, however both the first rescue helicopter and the first tug arrived after the vessel would have grounded if propulsion had not been regained. And provided this insight with which most would undoubtedly agree: This underlines the importance of not losing propulsion and steering and of avoiding situations where an evacuation is required.

Of special interest to the survivors, from the report pdf linked to the recommendations summary: The complex and extended helicopter operation was carried out effectively with no accidents or casualties, however both the first rescue helicopter and the first tug arrived after the vessel would have grounded if propulsion had not been regained. Then this wise observation, with which we wholeheartedly agree: This underlines the importance of not losing propulsion and steering and of avoiding situations where an evacuation is required.

Direct link to report: https://www.nsia.no/Marine/Published-reports/2024-05

The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority has released a report: Report on loss of propulsion and near grounding of Viking Sky, Hustadvika, Norway 23 March 2019 In the afternoon of 23 March 2019, the cruise vessel Viking Sky experienced a blackout, causing loss of propulsion and steering, during a storm in the Hustadvika area of the Norwegian coast. The vessel is estimated to have come within a ship’s length of running aground with 1,374 persons on board, and the accident had the potential to develop into one of the worst disasters at sea in modern times. The accident was caused by insufficient lubricating oil in all of the operating diesel generators’ lubricating oil sump tanks, in combination with pitching and rolling in rough seas. The investigation has identified operational, technical, and organisational safety issues that in different ways contributed to the blackout. https://www.nsia.no/Marine/Published-reports/2024-05

We just received this notification. Let's read it and let's discuss it! The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority has released a report: Report on loss of propulsion and near grounding of Viking Sky, Hustadvika, Norway 23 March 2019 In the afternoon of 23 March 2019, the cruise vessel Viking Sky experienced a blackout, causing loss of propulsion and steering, during a storm in the Hustadvika area of the Norwegian coast. The vessel is estimated to have come within a ship’s length of running aground with 1,374 persons on board, and the accident had the potential to develop into one of the worst disasters at sea in modern times. The accident was caused by insufficient lubricating oil in all of the operating diesel generators’ lubricating oil sump tanks, in combination with pitching and rolling in rough seas. The investigation has identified operational, technical, and organisational safety issues that in different ways contributed to the blackout. Read the full report at nsia.no If you wish to unsubscribe from notifications from NSIA, click here.

Relating a couple of one-off situations that we probably could have handled on our own, but these illustrate some of what what a good TA can and will do to provide service and support in difficult situations. As the Viking Sky limped back to port after the 2019 near disaster, our TA actually got up in the middle of the night to check on us, offer support and coordinate our unexpected early return home. Our TA contacted both Viking and the airline to arrange the most optimal itinerary. More important, *she* was the one to give us our flight information while Viking was struggling to reschedule the other 900+ passengers. In 2011 a week before a scheduled cruise, my mother suffered a medical catastrophe. Our TA not only handled the cancellations but provided us with all the forms and documents we needed to submit a claim to our travel insurance.

Booking directly through a tour provider is optimal, but third party vendors may provide some advantages. We booked through Shore Excursions Group successfully last November and found it useful in several ways. Because searches start by entering cruise line, ship and itinerary, the results will be specific to tours available during your scheduled port times. The site allows one to easily locate excursions that pick up at the port rather than requiring passengers to make their way to an off-site central location; less wasted time. And while the search results can be used to locate and contact tour vendors directly, in one case we found that a specific tour was available only when booked through SEG, with the vendor's site showing no availability.

We'll look forward to sharing with you by email.

Strange. We do see signatures on our Android devices so unsure what else to recommend. If you want to contact us by email we can send you a copy of our signature - along with other conversation, of course!

If you're not seeing anyone's signatures, you can go to your Account Settings > Signature > then toggle the View Signatures? switch (it's just above the text box where you can edit your own signature). We're jdincalif [at] gmail [dot] com

Montreal has been one of our favorite destinations. In May 2015 we embarked on a transatlantic voyage from Montreal to London on the Oceania Marina. In Montreal we stayed at the Auberge Bonaparte in the heart of the old city and within walking distance (admittedly down a few cobblestone streets) to the cruise port. Always happy to discuss further; our email information is at the end of our signature.

What a great experience and memory for you! We recall having a clear view of the site from our docked cruise ship in 2015. It looks as if both public transport and local tours provide access to the park.

Southern California had it far worse than those of us in the bay area but it was interesting here. We spent one Sunday afternoon just watching the wild cycling among sun/wind/rain from our living room windows.

Happy engagement anniversary! Our warm good wishes for health and happiness are with you both.

On what survey was Viking rated #1? Different surveys, different results. And the hundreds of posts here already give insights as to why/why not.

Good to hear from you OTJ. Hope that you and DW are doing well this Valentine's day.

Perhaps taking your issue to Guest Services/Hotel Manager would result in some positive action.

Here's another site that has current and historic temperature data along with lots of other info https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/