Viking Ocean - Combined Cruise Schedule

[Donaghadee]

1 hour ago, CharTrav said:

Learned about some changes today. Basically - it looks  like Hawaii remains closed to cruise ships until mid January 2022, which means both sailings of Hawaiian Islands Sojourn on Orion in Dec 2021 are off the table. I also noticed today that all sailings of Amazon and Caribbean Adventure on the Sea in Jan, Feb, Mar 2022 have been removed from the VO schedule. In both cases, I'm sure Viking is coming up with a Plan B. When these Plan B's are posted to the VO page, I'll update the spreadsheet and post it. 

We have some friends booked on a February Amazon & Caribbean cruise.  They've not receivedany cancellation notice.  Yet.  Past experience has shown  Viking "disappears" cruises from their calendar when doom is imminent.   Last I looked, those cruises were nearly full.  Pity.

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by Donaghadee

[CharTrav]

6 minutes ago, Donaghadee said:

We have some friends booked on a February Amazon & Caribbean cruise.  They've not receivedany cancellation notice.  Yet.  Past experience has shown  Viking "disappears" cruises from their calendar when doom is imminent.   Last I looked, those cruises were nearly full.  Pity.

 

I'm counting on Viking developing a comparable Plan B. 

[CharTrav]

46 minutes ago, slewis7 said:

Us Hawaiian Sojourn passengers are expecting an email soon from Viking offering an alternate itinerary.  My wife and I are not sure if we will go for it or not but anxious to see what it will be.

 Good luck to you!

[CharTrav]

"Plan B" for the Sea's cancelled Amazon & Caribbean Adventure is now official and posted to the main VO site (after affected passengers offered first dibs on it).  It is Caribbean Islands Adventure starting and ending in San Juan. It's basically an extended version of West Indies Explorer -- adds an extra day in Bridgetown (Barbados) and Philipsburg (St Martin).  Not posting an updated version of the spreadsheet unless you folks want me to.

[CharTrav]

VE sked just got some big updates (last checked a few days ago).  It looks like the 2023 schedule is being extended for both Polaris and Octantis including a number of new itineraries in 2023 while  other cruises are only scheduled (so far) for 2022. Will try to update and post the revised schedule in the next day or so. Until I do, suggest taking a peek at the main VE site. 

[CharTrav]

OK .. have updated the  2022-2024 spreadsheet and uploaded it to DropBox.  Contains a minor update (reported earlier) regarding the Sea and the replacement for her cruise to the Amazon. No other changes to the VO schedule from 2022 to 2024. 
 

The big change in the 2022-2024 spreadsheet is for Polaris and Octantis (VE). A bunch of cruises added to take care of returning from Canada to the Antarctic region, as well as, cruising between Buenos Aires and Santiago (refer to the Log Notes tab where I provide details on the 9 new cruises). Basically -- the pattern that seems to be emerging is that Polaris and Octantis will do the Great Lakes/Canada and the Antarctic region every year and .. here I'm speculating but think I'm right .. will alternate who does the Arctic during August and September starting with Polaris in 2022.  I had assumed Arctic cruises could/would be scheduled all Summer starting in July or even June .. but it doesn't like that's the case.

 

If you already have a copy of the 2022-2024 spreadsheet, just use the link on the ReadMe tab to download a fresh copy.  If you don't -- here's the direct link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/smx4xeq1yhq8ymi/Viking Ocean Cruises (2022 to 2024).xlsm?dl=0.  No DropBox account required to download this file.

 

Have not yet seen the replacement for Hawaiian Sojourn in 2021 posted to the VO site.  When it is, will post an updated version of the 2021-2023 spreadsheet -- keeping in mind it now only contains updates for 2021. 

[Peregrina651]

7 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

Have not yet seen the replacement for Hawaiian Sojourn in 2021 posted to the VO site.  When it is, will post an updated version of the 2021-2023 spreadsheet -- keeping in mind it now only contains updates for 2021. 

 

Viking Orion is still sailing out of LA on December 4 and December 20. The replacement is "Mexican Riviera Sojourn" -- La Paz, Mazatlan, Puerta Vallarta, Manzanillo and Cabo San Lucas plus 8 sea days (previous itinerary had 10). I don't expect that it will be published to the website; we won't even be able to book shorex until we board.

 

It is too late to book for December 4 but if you are still trying to make plans for Christmas and New Year and are interested in a sail to anywhere warm, call Viking and ask if they are taking new bookings for December 20 on the Orion. Sounds like a great opportunity for those who are driving distance to LA.

 

[CharTrav]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Viking Orion is still sailing out of LA on December 4 and December 20. The replacement is "Mexican Riviera Sojourn" -- La Paz, Mazatlan, Puerta Vallarta, Manzanillo and Cabo San Lucas plus 8 sea days (previous itinerary had 10). I don't expect that it will be published to the website; we won't even be able to book shorex until we board.

 

It is too late to book for December 4 but if you are still trying to make plans for Christmas and New Year and are interested in a sail to anywhere warm, call Viking and ask if they are taking new bookings for December 20 on the Orion. Sounds like a great opportunity for those who are driving distance to LA.

 

thanks! better that this news comes from you who is going on it. 

[Peregrina651]

22 hours ago, CharTrav said:

thanks! better that this news comes from you who is going on it. 

 

Now posted. Plenty of cabins available

 

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/caribbean-americas/mexican-riviera-sojourn/pricing.html

[CharTrav]

13 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Now posted. Plenty of cabins available

 

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/caribbean-americas/mexican-riviera-sojourn/pricing.html

Thanks much!  Not that we are going on it but am sure others might be interested in it!  

 

Have also just posted the updated version of the 2021-2023 schedule -- the last and final update for it.  Probably of no use to anybody but I have this thing about being thorough. 😄

Edited November 30, 2021 by CharTrav

[photopro2]

21 hours ago, CharTrav said:

Thanks much!  Not that we are going on it but am sure others might be interested in it!  

 

Have also just posted the updated version of the 2021-2023 schedule -- the last and final update for it.  Probably of no use to anybody but I have this thing about being thorough. 😄

And just when you thought you were up to date..........😁

I see that Viking have just published a whole lot of new Ocean cruise dates through to September 2024!

Thanks for all your efforts curating such an excellent resource 👍

[CharTrav]

3 hours ago, photopro2 said:

And just when you thought you were up to date..........😁

I see that Viking have just published a whole lot of new Ocean cruise dates through to September 2024!

Thanks for all your efforts curating such an excellent resource 👍

Yup!! Just noticed that and was getting ready to post a heads up that the VO sked got some big updates today.  Which, of course, I'm working on.  In addition to that .. which you've done quite nicely -- thank you! -- is the cancellation of Orion's sailing in January 2022 of Grand Hawaii & Polynesia.  No longer posted on the VO sked but will keep an eye out for how Viking handles this.

 

Will try to post the updated spreadsheet this week.  If I don't get it done this week, it'll have to wait until after I get back from a conference I'm attending all next week (omicron or no...).  (Yeah -- I'm retired but I have a little side gig I'm involved in that keeps me happy).

Edited December 1, 2021 by CharTrav

[CharTrav]

11 hours ago, photopro2 said:

And just when you thought you were up to date..........😁

I see that Viking have just published a whole lot of new Ocean cruise dates through to September 2024!

Thanks for all your efforts curating such an excellent resource 👍

Just finished updating the spreadsheet -- will post tomorrow.  Spent some time studying a hole in Jupiter's schedule in 2023  (Sep/Oct). Clearly needs a way to travel from Bergen to Barcelona (Trade Routes of the Middle Ages?) and then a number of Med cruises like she is doing in 2022 so that her cruise from Rome to Barcelona in November makes sense.

[CharTrav]

Okey dokey -- spreadsheet updated and posted.   It's a definite grab bag of updates and there were alot.  Here's a summary of where things stand for each of the VO ships starting in Jan '22 --

Active:

• Jupiter: thru Sept '24 with a gap in Sept/Oct '23.
• Orion: thru Sept '24 (assuming Grand Polynesia in Jan '22 which is not yet posted to the VO site but is intended to take the place of the cancelled Grand Hawaii & Polynesia as I've learned in another CCF thread);
• Sea: thru Sept '23, and then Apr to Sept '24 (a 6 month gap -- wonder how it's going to be filled?)
• Sky: thru Aug '24;
• Star: thru Sept '23:
• Venus: thru Mar '24

Under construction/planned:

• Mars: May '22 thru Aug '23
• Neptune: Nov '22 thru Aug '24 (extra Med sailings added to 2022)
• Saturn: May to Sept '23 (for now)

I'll keep an  eye out for updates on Jupiter especially but if they happen during the next week I won't be able to deal with them until the week of Dec 13th.  And yes .. part of the delay today in posting this is I decided to tinker with the spreadsheet .. I'm hopeless that way..😉

 

To repeat my standard guidance:  If you already have a copy of the 2022-2024 spreadsheet, just use the link on the ReadMe tab to download a fresh copy.  If you don't -- here's the direct link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/smx4xeq1yhq8ymi/Viking Ocean Cruises (2022 to 2024).xlsm?dl=0.  No DropBox account required to download this file.

[CharTrav]

Just posted another updated spreadsheet.  As I stated earlier, I've been watching Jupiter's scheduled in 2023 with regards to the clear schedule gap in Sept/Oct '23.  It seems that it's been filled but not entirely . There is still a gap between October 25th and Nov 8th, where in both cases she's in Rome, a 15 day gap during which EITHER she does two 8 day cruises from Rome to TBD and then back or a 15 day cruise that starts and ends in Rome. I have scoured thru VO site and have come up dry. 

 

Checked the rest of the schedules -- no change for the other VO and VE ships (being helped by a little furry feline while typing this...she has no sense of propriety at all!)

[CharTrav]

On 12/23/2021 at 7:17 PM, CharTrav said:

being helped by a little furry feline while typing this...she has no sense of propriety at all

Here she is. Being good. Not standing on my keyboard!

[Clay Clayton]

On 12/24/2021 at 7:36 PM, CharTrav said:

Here she is. Being good. Not standing on my keyboard!

Haven’t heard anything from you in awhile…..hopefully the Kitty didn’t eat your computer?  😂

[CharTrav]

2 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Haven’t heard anything from you in awhile…..hopefully the Kitty didn’t eat your computer?  😂

Thanks for asking and worrying about me. All good here. Just keep checking our MVJ to see if the excursions for our cruise in May are being displayed yet. So far no joy. 😂Pussy cats definitely rule.😎

Edited January 28, 2022 by CharTrav

[Clay Clayton]

6 hours ago, CharTrav said:

Thanks for asking and worrying about me. All good here. Just keep checking our MVJ to see if the excursions for our cruise in May are being displayed yet. So far no joy. 😂Pussy cats definitely rule.😎

Must be nice to have one planned!

[CharTrav]

12 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Must be nice to have one planned!

By the way - so you know - the Biden's new cat Willow may be cute but not as cute as our Monica! The latest actually good pic of her. Brother Joey is easier to have good pix of - he's a ham. She's a bit more difficult. Think this one is pretty good.  It's a heated kitty bed by the way and where she is right now. 

[Azulann]

On 1/28/2022 at 7:08 AM, Clay Clayton said:

Must be nice to have one planned!

Clay,  you didn't book a future cruise when you were on your Iceland cruise? 

I booked while on the Venus in Oct: an Alaska cruise for June 2023. I could move to another one up to 120 days before sailing.

I really want a cruise that has two stops in Denmark  but not the Baltic/ Russia one, which is the only one Viking is offering currently.

 

[Clay Clayton]

14 hours ago, Azulann said:

Clay,  you didn't book a future cruise when you were on your Iceland cruise? 

I booked while on the Venus in Oct: an Alaska cruise for June 2023. I could move to another one up to 120 days before sailing.

I really want a cruise that has two stops in Denmark  but not the Baltic/ Russia one, which is the only one Viking is offering currently.

 

No, we didn’t book anything then and came close to booking the Hawaii/French Polynesian one that is heading back to the US now.  

We remain concerned about all the cruiselines’ ability to remain financially afloat (pun recognized) and therefore haven’t wanted to tie up our limited resources way before a cruise-that’s why we did Iceland, felt pretty comfortable that it was going to go. We took too long to decide about the Hawaii/Poly cruise and it sold out but given they dropped Hawaii we were happy we didn’t go. Though given the current reports from the cruise I’m sorta sorry we didn’t as it was such a bargain (if something that cost that much is ever a bargain 😂)

 

We are looking at the Reykjavik to Bergen cruise in 2023 with some friends…that would enable us to see the parts of Iceland we missed and see waaaay far north Norway and then likely spend some extra time in Scandinavia on our own. Our baltic cruise missed Stockholm so would like to spend some time there.  One of the pluses of the Reykjavik departure is they Iceland Air is going to start flying nonstop from RDU to KEF so would be an easy port.  And their prices for the return from Bergen (if we elected to not extend our trip) are very reasonable. 
 

We shall see…

[CharTrav]

Another "proof of life" from here -- just posted an updated version of the Consolidated Schedule.  No changes to the VO schedules but some changes to the VE schedules, changes that I think (and may be wrong) are temporary/one-offs for just the Feb/Mar 2022 timeframe.  As those who are are on the Viking Expeditions thread have covered pretty well, cruises in Feb & early March 2022 that were to start in BA heading back eventually to NYC will now start in Miami, flying by private charter to BA and then Ushuaia (getting around the issue of commercial flights).  This affects: Antarctic Explorer (Feb), Antarctic & South America Discovery (Mar), and Antarctic & Americas Sojourn (Mar) all starting a day earlier (to account for the flight from Miami). The March sailings of Caribbean & Brazil's Coastal Jewels and Brazil's Vibrant Coast have been cancelled; however, the October sailings remain. In their place -- and here I think these are temporary replacements -- will be Atlantic Ocean Sojourn and Caribbean & Atlantic Ocean Sojourn, both shorter segments of the longer (42 day) Antarctica & Americas Sojourn starting from BA after its 2nd stop at BA. I admit to some confusion with regards to these new ones -- I guess the assumption is that by late March, conditions will allow using commercial air to BA.  Hopefully they won't need to make a last minute change to private charter flight from Miami.

 

To repeat my standard guidance:  If you already have a copy of the 2022-2024 spreadsheet, just use the link on the ReadMe tab to download a fresh copy.  If you don't -- here's the direct link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/smx4xeq1yhq8ymi/Viking Ocean Cruises (2022 to 2024).xlsm?dl=0.  No DropBox account required to download this file.

 

And..to be fair to dear Joey .. perhaps I should post a picture of him .. of which I have tons!  But only if you folks ask....😀

[CharTrav]

Updated the spreadsheet again today to reflect changes made to cruises involving Russia in response to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The main VO site reflects the altered routing for 2022 only for Viking Homelands and Baltic Jewels & the Midnight Sun but has not yet been updated to reflect the changes I'm sure have been made to  Scandinavia & the British Isles and Viking Homelands & Majestic Iceland but haven't hit the main VO site yet.  Russia & the Baltic Sea has been replaced for 2022 only by Scenic Scandinavia.  The basic pattern is to remove port stops not only in St Petersburg but also Tallinn and Helsinki replacing them with, e.g., new stops in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway (the case with Viking Homelands). 

 

Apologies for not noticing these changes earlier; my method for checking for changes failed me. Checking for number of itineraries per month doesn't work when an itinerary is simply swapped out (have other more detailed ways of checking for changes too).  I didn't discover the changes until today when I thought to check out Russia & the Baltic Sea in 2022.

[CharTrav]

Not specifically related to Cruise Schedules but don't want to start up a separate thread for this .. but if you recall I also maintain spreadsheets about the Viking Cabin Classes and Viking Ship Classes covering VR, VO, and VE ships.  If you already have copies of these two sheets, just use the link provided on the first tab of each to get a fresh copy. If you don't, just go to this link and look for Excel files with those names -- https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8pm1betyh91wlhf/AABBcPIWuqWJQtR5JrNSFOqMa?dl=0

The nature of the changes made to each of these sheets is described in the Change Log tab. In the case of the Ship Classes sheet, the major change there was to add the number of cabins for each cabin class.  In the case of Cabin Classes .. updated the number of days prior to sailing to pre-book excursions on VE ships, which was reduced quite a lot from what it was before.