Question about length of time in ports

[Ready to Sail!]

This is our first Viking cruise. While researching Viking one thing that I read numerous times is that they tend to offer longer time in ports compared to other lines.

 

The times listed on our confirmation don't seem to support that. Most port times are 8-9 hours, which is pretty standard with other cruise lines we've been on . We do have 10 hours in one port and 15 in one other. I will admit that 8 hours is the shortest and we have been in ports where only 5-6 hours are allowed. I guess I was just expecting mostly 10-12 hours with Viking, especially since there is very little travel between ports on our itinerary (Empires of the Med.) And yes, I know this is not the only determining factor.

 

Do these times ever change once excursions are posted?

[cocopico]

I think what you're seeing is pretty standard in terms of port times on Viking Ocean cruises. Unless there is an overnight stay in port, you generally get a full day in port to participate in excursions or explore on your own. On the four cruises I've done, the arrival and departure times on our cruise documents rarely changed unless there was an unexpected issue, such as bad weather or a late refueling, that required a last-minute alteration to the times listed. I must say, though, that we've always felt we had adequate time in the ports we visited, knowing that they had to leave sufficient time to get to the next port on time. (Of course, there were many places we would love to have stayed longer, but we knew going in how much time we would have.)

[roothy123]

I agree that the times in port are fairly standard compared to other lines, or at least compared to those on the 3 other lines we've used.  However, Viking often does an overnight at least at the start or end of the cruise, which definitely gives you more time in that port, so I don't think they're being deceptive in making their "more time in port" claim.  Early on, I took quite a few cruises where the embarkation/disembarkation ports really interested me, but then I learned that by the time I got to the city and to the ship, I wasn't able to go back out, so all I saw was scenery between the airport and the port.  Of course,  flying to the city early would have solved that, but back then my time and money situation usually kept me from doing that.  So I have to admit that I like that overnight thing that Viking usually does, especially since many of the embarkation/disembarkation ports are ones in which it's not easy to go out and see the city once you're on the ship.  Since those early days, I've learned to fly early and/or stay late, or both.  I've also learned to do a lot of pre-planning, get up early on cruise ships, and do a lot on my own in a port that really interests me.  It's not possible to see everything, but it's possible to see a lot!

 

With that being said though, I HAVE heard at least one person say that Costa is one line where you need to worry about port times, as they frequently have shorter times than most cruise lines.  However, I don't know if that's true or not.  I DO know, however, is that from what I've seen, the larger, more popular lines tend to have more days at sea.  That may be fine for some people, but I'd prefer to be in a port as many days as possible, and do my relaxing (or going to the spa, bar, casino, pool, doing activities, etc.) in the evening.  

We've had some itinerary times change a bit, but normally once the actual times are announced, they stay pretty much the same.  Of course, the itineraries are usually made up years in advance, and aren't often the tried and true, back and forth and back and forth trips that many cruise liners make, so things are always subject to a little change.  One other thing that may affect timing of itineraries is the size of the ship.  Some of these huge new ships can go 26 knots an hour, which is a lot more than that of most or all medium and smaller ships.  

Edited October 22, 2018 by roothy123

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, roothy123 said:

 One other thing that may affect timing of itineraries is the size of the ship.  Some of these huge new ships can go 26 knots an hour, which is a lot more than that of most or all medium and smaller ships.  

 

Just a quick clarification, as the size of the ship really has little correlation with ship's speed, which is mostly dependent on hull design and installed power. The mega ships have a slight advantage with hull speed, as max hull speed varies with the ship's length at the waterline. To calculate max hull speed in knots,  it is 1.34 x square root of length in feet.

 

The Royal Caribbean mega ships attained over 25 kts on trials, but few if any ships attain the trials speed when cruising. I believe they are rated at max 22 kts and due to fuel costs, probably cruise at < 20 kts most of the time.

 

The primary reason for cruise lines having reduced port times, is slower steaming to reduce fuel costs. When I worked on cruise ships we rarely did less than 20 kts, but now you rarely find ships at that speed, unless they are delayed.