On Orion now ..

[Little Monty]

Just about to go to bed for our 3rd night Auckland - Sydney.

 

I will do a more meaningful review later .. but so far the on board experience has been wonderful, the food fabulous (the steak in Manfredis really is that good !), staff engaging and helpful, bar staff responsive, tours as advertised (although the winery tour in Auckland would have better with 2 groups of 20 rather than 1 group of 40), queues non existent, and the rooms / cabins / staterooms or whatever you prefer to call them beautifully maintained.

 

The weather and seas have been good / favourable but we know the Tasman Sea / Bass Straight crossings will be a challenge.

 

We are more than delighted so far and hope this delight  will continue.

 

This is our second cruise with Viking .. (we did Homelands in mid 2017) and we board again in May 2019 for Bergen - Reykjavik.

 

Saint John - one of the barman in Explorers Lounge on this cruise - will join us for our Iceland cruise. That is good news 😀

Edited January 1, 2019 by Little Monty
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[Mrs Miggins]

Hi from Viking Sky in Naples.  Ship as beautiful as ever.  Fantastic New Year party last night and a huge and varied New Years Day brunch on the pool deck from 9.30 this morning.  We have blue skies and sunshine.  We are staying one more day here as our port stop in Sicily has been cancelled because of strong winds.  Never mind Viking have stepped up to the mark and organised visits to the Archeological museum for tomorrow morning.

Happy New Year.

[Haworth]

1 hour ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Hi from Viking Sky in Naples.  Ship as beautiful as ever.  Fantastic New Year party last night and a huge and varied New Years Day brunch on the pool deck from 9.30 this morning.  We have blue skies and sunshine.  We are staying one more day here as our port stop in Sicily has been cancelled because of strong winds.  Never mind Viking have stepped up to the mark and organised visits to the Archeological museum for tomorrow morning.

Happy New Year.

 Glad you are having a good time, we are counting down to being back on Viking in March, excursions open for booking on Sunday, enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

Refreshing to read of such a positive attitude to an itinerary change.

[Little Monty]

Hello again Mrs Miggins. Happy New Year to all.

 

It is 4am here and I am wide awake. We are experiencing what I think Jim Avery described last year as the ‘Fincantieri shake’ - not much side to side motion but a constant vibration and shaking from the bow crashing into the swell / the waves.

 

Otherwise all good .. I’ll try to get back to sleep 💤 

[moatenote]

On 1/1/2019 at 9:51 AM, Little Monty said:

Hello again Mrs Miggins. Happy New Year to all.

 

It is 4am here and I am wide awake. We are experiencing what I think Jim Avery described last year as the ‘Fincantieri shake’ - not much side to side motion but a constant vibration and shaking from the bow crashing into the swell / the waves.

 

Otherwise all good .. I’ll try to get back to sleep 💤 

oh no!  We're booked for NZ-Australia in March 2020.  I wondered if the Tasman sea would be rough.  

[Little Monty]

Hello Motenote. We are still in NZ waters .. last night we had wind and rain but I slept ok (and I am a land lubber !!) In Wellington today where it is windy but fine. We cross the Tasman Monday / Tuesday so I can give you an update then. 

 

The whole experience has been excellent so far and the itinerary is ideal. This week busy, next week several sea days. All ports of call so far very worthwhile. You will love it. Best regards, Monty

Edited January 2, 2019 by Little Monty
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[stretchcruz]

Monty, so excited to hear from you. We are on Auckland to Bali Feb 24. Would love to hear about your experiences! We are starting to get excited...booked 2 years ago!!

[Little Monty]

Hello stretchcruise and thanks for your message. Feb 24 is not far away ! If you are interested I just posted a reply in the thread above this one about nightly entertainment. I’ll post a review in CC when we get home. Enjoy the planning. 

Edited January 3, 2019 by Little Monty
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[stretchcruz]

Thanks! I'll look for it. I think I read elsewhere that you missed Christchurch today?

[imcpa]

My wife and I are in the Orion right now as well.  I concur with his general comments.  This has been wonderful so far.  Our stop today in Christchurch was cancelled yesterday but the sea day has been great. 

We haved sailed SS, Crystal, Regent, Seabourn, PG and Windstar and this has been as great.  I would, and hope to, sail any of them again.

we have the SSBP and it has been an ease.....and I think I am getting my money’s worth.

Our DV on deck 3 is small.  I wish we had more storage, but it is in a great location.

More later...

[Little Monty]

Yes Christchurch missed due to high winds .. the port there was badly damaged in the earthquake in 2011 and has never been fully restored. Most ships berth in Lyttelton which is a short distance away - but it is a difficult harbour except in perfect weather.

 

Whilst I’m disappointed for us I am more disappointed for those who have never visited this lovely area. You can stand on the beaches near Christchurch and watch the dolphins playing .. and then turn around and see snow capped mountains in the distance. Just beautiful, seriously - just beautiful.

 

We are very happy to be on the Orion and very much look forward to Dunedin tomorrow. 

 

Regards to to those on Viking ships around the world 🍷