Viking Sun World Cruise ongoing review/comments

[deec]

I did take my own lanyard and Guest Services punched a hole for me ( never have pockets). The wallet worked great for my husband as you do not have to remove the key card to make it work.

[2552phxcrzr]

They don't feed the dragons anymore?? I guess a few plump tourists keep them happy. Reminds me of an old line: "Hey Leroy, those dragons sure are fast." "Yeah, but I'm not worried, I don't have to run faster than the dragon, just faster than you." ;p

 

:') ... the guide did say that the population of deer and the like that the dragons prey on is on the decline, so they may have to begin feeding them again to maintain the dragon population, but they are trying to delay that practice as long as they can.

[Jim Avery]

:') ... the guide did say that the population of deer and the like that the dragons prey on is on the decline, so they may have to begin feeding them again to maintain the dragon population, but they are trying to delay that practice as long as they can.

Yes, deer are scarce, lots more plump tourists available......😳

[Karen_Travels]

Very true. Why buy bags of Komodo Dragon Chow when the dragons can chow down on tourists? We'd be a nice break for the dragons since the goats faster...and have more common sense than many tourists. Death by selfie - it's a thing!

h2so4 - about much per person was your private tour and snorkel on Komodo? How many people did you have to have? Even though they made a few mistakes, it sounded like a great day.

Viking is theoretically offering us a pink beach snorkel optional excursion (4 hours) plus the included Komodo dragon tour (2 hours). Even if the cost is reasonable, I'm not sure about our odds of getting into both excursions. We're down in steerage so there might not be much available by the time we get to pick. Nice that they helped out the guy on crutches. The direct to the watering hole option might be the way to go. That will be day 5 of our trip but I suspect we'll still be trying to re-hydrate and recover from the flight over. Staggering around the island while we're exhausted seems like it would lead to at least one of us tripping and/or being chomped by a dragon. On the brighter side, if I'm going to die in a travel mishap, "eaten by a Komodo dragon" sounds much better than "tripped over her own feet, again" as a way to go!

Thanks, deec, on the info on the Viking pink beach snorkel. I figured they should have offered it to the WC folks and I wondered how it was and if it was possible to do both.

Was there anything interesting to buy in the Komodo shopping? I wouldn't have thought to bring much cash ashore. Were they taking only Indonesian money?

In Brisbane - The Mirimar on the way from Lone Pine sounds great. I'd like to see the view from the river and get the audio commentary. Plus, after wandering around Lone Pine for a few hours, sitting down for a while would probably a top priority.

No typo?!! That's great! I'll have to check into that more. About how long did your husband get to snorkel once on the boat? I figuring it would probably take a little while for a safety talk, getting gear, etc. so a two hour snorkel would be a lot less than that? Did they provide stinger suits? I've read mixed things about whether those are needed on the GBR or if the jellyfish are only a problem closer to the mainland.

Funny Heidi asked about lanyards. Right before I checked this board today I was looking online for lanyards and wondering if they would really be helpful or not. Sounds like that's a yes? Might be worth the investment for me since it would save me time searching for my mom's card. Hahaa! Shhhh...don't tell her I said that. :')

 

Thanks, again, for everyone's help!

Karen

[Jim Avery]

Karen,

The Komodo Merchant's Association has the usual t-shirts, caps, and some local handicraft type souvenirs. I didn't buy anything but there were some interesting doo-dads there. I saw them taking US$. In all the world I have never had a souvenir hawker refuse US$. :cool:

[Heidi13]

Not for us. Just a leather wallet.

 

Thanks Jim

[Heidi13]

I did take my own lanyard and Guest Services punched a hole for me ( never have pockets). The wallet worked great for my husband as you do not have to remove the key card to make it work.

 

Thanks, I have a similar issue with no pockets on some shorts, so the lanyards work well.

[Heidi13]

Funny Heidi asked about lanyards. Right before I checked this board today I was looking online for lanyards and wondering if they would really be helpful or not. Sounds like that's a yes? Might be worth the investment for me since it would save me time searching for my mom's card. Hahaa! Shhhh...don't tell her I said that. :')

 

Thanks, again, for everyone's help!

Karen

 

Karen - although I required one at work, we had never used them on a cruise until our last WC. They were provided on day 1, so we tried them out and it worked well. We applied a hook to the bulkhead with a 3M command strip, so always hung them up when in the cabin.

 

Over the entire WC we probably saved hours looking for a card before leaving the cabin. Although, on Viking, I read one of them has to be inserted by the door to get lights.

[Jim Avery]

Karen - although I required one at work, we had never used them on a cruise until our last WC. They were provided on day 1, so we tried them out and it worked well. We applied a hook to the bulkhead with a 3M command strip, so always hung them up when in the cabin.

 

Over the entire WC we probably saved hours looking for a card before leaving the cabin. Although, on Viking, I read one of them has to be inserted by the door to get lights.

A business card works in the door slot as well. Worst idea in a long time the turn off the lights switch. Also kills the AC. Most hotels have them but ships are generating their own power so what's the point. This huge ship saves measurable fuel because Jim's lights are off??? The door slot switches and associated wiring and controls cost way more I bet.....:eek:

[SantaFe1]

Yes, it’s a pain, and if you don’t know or forget, none of your devices charges while you are out. My solution? I save the card from the last cruise to use on the next one. On the WC in January, I will use the card from the Sea this last spring.

[Heidi13]

Thanks for the great ideas.

[2552phxcrzr]

h2so4 - about much per person was your private tour and snorkel on Komodo? How many people did you have to have? Even though they made a few mistakes, it sounded like a great day.

$100 for trek and snorkel ... $65 to do one or the other. Make sure you collect the money from everyone in advance as people sometimes change their minds after the trek and you don’t want to waste time tracking people down or waiting for them to show up to pay Hendrik. Group size is flexible ... I asked for the walking groups to be smaller and agreed that we would consolidate into slightly larger groups or the boat trip. Of the 33 people who signed up, 28 or so did the boat portion, split up between two boats.

Was there anything interesting to buy in the Komodo shopping? I wouldn't have thought to bring much cash ashore. Were they taking only Indonesian money? We are not shoppers, so I can’t say, though there looked to be the usual tourist stuff ... and I heard that some people bought pearl necklaces ... no idea what the quality was, but they were happy with the price.

No typo?!! That's great! I'll have to check into that more. About how long did your husband get to snorkel once on the boat? I figuring it would probably take a little while for a safety talk, getting gear, etc. so a two hour snorkel would be a lot less than that? Did they provide stinger suits? I've read mixed things about whether those are needed on the GBR or if the jellyfish are only a problem closer to the mainland. I’m guessing it was somewhere between 1-1.5 hours in the water. They do provide suits and a lot of people used them. My husband did not. The operator advises if they are a must or a requirement based on conditions, which I understand change based on time of year, currents, etc.

 

Thanks, again, for everyone's help!

 

Karen

 

I’ve noted some of the answers above.

[deec]

We had a delightful young man father/husband as one of the helpers for our walking tour. His wife was one of the vendors.....I paid WAY too much for some souvenir jewelry, mask and T-shirt in lieu of a tip but I smiled all the way back to the ship knowing that I was contributing to the economy of this unique treasure in our world!! The items for sale are not high quality and probably not not local, as they kept assuring me but the islanders are trying to make a living.

[Jazmyn49]

Thanks to those on the World Cruise for providing such good info. We will go on the next one and had a question about the internet. How secure was it? Did you ever do anything like checking brokerage accounts, credit card balances, etc.?

[Jim Avery]

Thanks to those on the World Cruise for providing such good info. We will go on the next one and had a question about the internet. How secure was it? Did you ever do anything like checking brokerage accounts, credit card balances, etc.?

It is not considered a "secure network" and is hit or miss depending on weather conditions, location, and land facility the signal went through. For example the satellite connection went through a Spanish facility for a while. All pop ups in Spanish....:o Still, it was better than any other ship on which we have used wi-fi. Once a month we were able to check accounts and transfer funds to the one pay out account we had set up. We also were able to download Kindle books from our library account. It helped to do these things upon waking in the morning. Worst time for bandwidth use seemed to be after lunch. We were never able to stream anything (ESPN, Netflix, etc.) but for entertainment, the onboard tv had lots of good movies and tv series available. In all it worked as we needed it and we had no apparent security issues.

[deec]

I could never download my books from my library account but I have to go through Amazon and that seemed to be the issue! I was OK and had enough to get me through. Just keep the kindle in Airplane mode and the borrowed books will not disappear. I did not read read as much as I thought I would...lots to keep me entertained during the day and I was so tired before bed that only a chapter if I was lucky!!!

[Karen_Travels]

Thanks for all the great info. I will plan accordingly. You have all been such a wealth of information. I really appreciate it. You've all been way better than all the guidebooks I've read, combined!

On the lanyards, it's funny because I've resisted wearing them at work and haven't used them on previous cruises. This time, it suddenly seemed like a good idea. This time since this cruise should have a pool, hot weather, and a number of sea days, I might be doing a lot more running around the ship in clothes that are pocket-challenged.

[Jim Avery]

I could never download my books from my library account but I have to go through Amazon and that seemed to be the issue! I was OK and had enough to get me through. Just keep the kindle in Airplane mode and the borrowed books will not disappear. I did not read read as much as I thought I would...lots to keep me entertained during the day and I was so tired before bed that only a chapter if I was lucky!!!

Hi Dee,

Lois uses the Overdrive app which then gets books from local libraries. Don't ask me how it works, way above my pay grade.;p

[deec]

I use overdrive too but somehow I have to go through Amazon although I do not pay anything. I really like the Kindle for travel but I still like a real book when I am home! Hard to believe it was a year ago and we were about ready to sign up for excursions in the middle of the night!!!

[Karen_Travels]

Yes, Overdrive app is great but to get books uploaded to a Kindle, it has to go through Amazon. Other formats might load directly to a smartphone or computer.

I'd read the Viking Ocean ships have plenty of "real" books on shelves throughout each ship. Was that selection of books helpful?

[Jim Avery]

Yes, Overdrive app is great but to get books uploaded to a Kindle, it has to go through Amazon. Other formats might load directly to a smartphone or computer.

I'd read the Viking Ocean ships have plenty of "real" books on shelves throughout each ship. Was that selection of books helpful?

Imho the tons of books lean heavily to what I called "textbooks". I did find some interesting reads but not much entertainment type reading. Still, it is a nice touch.

[deec]

Agree...books are quite dry that Viking had onboard but great for browsing! However, on the WC as the days went on there were great books on the re-cycle shelves in the livingroom!

[Karen_Travels]

That's disappointing. I assumed there would be quite a few coffee table-type books but hoped they would also include a nice supply of fiction and other popular types of books. Glad to hear that people are contributing books to the cause. For those of you on the WC and other long cruises, access to books is important! It always worries me having to depend on my Kindle and being able to download more ebooks.

I'll try to bring a couple of paperback books to read and leave on the ship for future cruisers to enjoy.

[Jim Avery]

That's disappointing. I assumed there would be quite a few coffee table-type books but hoped they would also include a nice supply of fiction and other popular types of books. Glad to hear that people are contributing books to the cause. For those of you on the WC and other long cruises, access to books is important! It always worries me having to depend on my Kindle and being able to download more ebooks.

I'll try to bring a couple of paperback books to read and leave on the ship for future cruisers to enjoy.

We had very little trouble using Kindles. Crossing the Pacific the signal was not as good but when we arrived in Papeete we went to the nearby Tourist Information Center and used their wi-fi to load em up. Almost every port has a Tourist Information Center near the cruise ship docks with free wi-fi. Never had a problem after Papeete other than the high usage times of day. The book sharing shelf in the Living Room was empty the first month or so but, as Dee says, later in the cruise there were lots of good pre read books available for anyone to use. We are constant readers and had plenty of options. :cool:

[Karen_Travels]

Have a terrific trip ... no matter what you decide to do, it’s wonderful to see so many places in comfort.

 

We have booked the helicopter flight/snorkel cruise trip in Cairns! Whooohooo! [insert image of happy dance]

Thanks, again, everyone for all the great information. This flight/cruise seems like a great deal although more than we'd wanted to spend. After hearing about this option and how expensive the Viking GBR excursion was, it seemed like our best bet. Plus, I was afraid to wait until Viking released their excursion information for fear that nothing would be available by then. Honestly, it's great that my mom will be able to check two items off her bucket list at once. I did a scenic helicopter flight into the Canadian Rockies once which was pretty awesome but I'm guessing the GBR is probably one of the most impressive things in the world to see from the air. We're excited!

Jim - Glad to hear you didn't have any problems with Kindle upload. That's good to know. I just always worry that I'll be trapped somewhere and my Kindle will die. I never have to worry about electronic failure or batteries dying when I read paperback books! :')I don't expect to have a lot of time to read on the cruise but I'd hate to be forced to spend my time re-reading the ingredient list on my toothpaste. ;p