wpklee

I believe when you sailed in February 2023, the submersible ride was free or included in the fare. I can imagine the demand must have outstripped the supply of seats, with lots of disappointed guests. Viking changed the rule in June and for our sailing, they charge $499 a ride, most likely to mitigate the issue and complaint. I've watched a couple of You Tube videos of the sub ride. I'll be honest, what you can see on the Antarctica sea floor is really underwhelming to me. Maybe my expectation is skewed by the colourful coral and fishes that you frequently see on those brilliant National Geographic TV programs. Did you get a chance to ride the sub yourself? Would you have done that if you had known that's what you'll get, and had to pay $1K for 2 for the "been there, done that" bragging right. I know $1K is nothing compared to the cruise fare in the grand scheme of things. I suppose this is all personal too.

Hi Kchand, based on my conversations with Viking Air recently for a couple of cruises, it gave me comfort that Viking Air's flight booking system would not route you with more than 1 connection from anywhere in the mainland to EZE, nor backtracking. Miami is a big hub for South America bound flights and I bet that's what Viking Air would assign. That said, going for the Air Plus may be an overkill, imho. If you want to arrive in BA early for a pre-cruise, then by all mean use Air Deviation. I don't need a pre-cruise, but flying out from Toronto in the winter is always risky and susceptible to airport closure and flight cancellation caused by snowstorm. Air Deviation assigned us YYZ / DFW / EZE with arrival one day earlier. It seems that Viking uses both the Hilton and Intercontinental interchangeably for Antarctica cruises.

Hi everyone, we're booked on the Feb 21 Antarctica Explorer on the Polaris. We are late to the game and the kayaking activities are all sold out. I understand that guests are allowed only one kayaking and one special operation boat cruise per cruise, but multiple Zodiac cruises and landings, and all subject to weather and sea conditions. For those who have done the Antarctica cruise on either ship, can you please shed some light on your actual experiences related to the availability of these excursions and how many of these did you end up getting. Thank you in advance for your info. Wallace