Jim Avery Posted February 8, 2020 Author #976 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Maybe this will help. l Got to love those sea days.... https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&ved=2ahUKEwj74sr_h8PnAhX7CTQIHX4cBR4QFjAGegQIARAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stlyrics.com%2Flyrics%2Ffollowthefleet%2Fwesawthesea.htm&usg=AOvVaw31EJJD-G6ieovA_xZJ--Y4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jukebo1x Posted February 8, 2020 #977 Share Posted February 8, 2020 1 hour ago, Kathryn Ham said: As Mubai "hop ons" we received this email from Viking. As you may be aware, an outbreak of coronavirus, that causes respiratory illness, was detected in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. We are monitoring the situation closely and are heeding travel guidelines from the U.S. Department of State, the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. Please know the safety and security of our guests and crew is always our top priority. While your journey may not be in the general vicinity of the outbreak, as a precautionary measure, we have implemented enhanced health screenings (via a health care questionnaire) for all guests boarding our vessels within the next 90 days. Additionally, any guests who have traveled from or through mainland China within 14 days of the beginning of their trip with us, will not be permitted to embark the ship. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your upcoming sailing, or have recently visited China within 14 days of your itinerary, please contact Reservations at 1-855-300-3970, Monday through Friday, 4:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and Saturday to Sunday, 5:00 AM to 7:00 PM, PT. Thank you for your patience and understanding. That is the “ generic” Viking email. We are doing British Isles in May, and also received that email. Just want everyone to travel safely, and stay healthy.-Jeannette😌 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted February 8, 2020 #978 Share Posted February 8, 2020 More time in Singapore is good! So much to do and see, and particularly, to eat! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_alan_ Posted February 9, 2020 #979 Share Posted February 9, 2020 I don't know if any of these dates intersect with your stops in Aus / NZ or not, but you might notice that Alice Cooper is touring the area and you might find a night to do something totally different: February 11: Adelaide, Australia at Entertainment Centre Feb 12- GOON SQUAD SHOW at Club CherryFebruary 14: Melbourne, Australia at Rod Laver ArenaFebruary 15: Sydney, Australia at Qudos Bank Arena. Feb 15 (after Sydney show) GOON SQUAD SHOW at Frankie’s PizzaFebruary 16: Sydney, Australia at ANZ Stadium- BRUSH FIRE BENEFIT w/ Queen & others.February 18: Brisbane, Australia at Entertainment CentreFebruary 20: Auckland, NZ, The Trusts ArenaFebruary 22: Christchurch, NZ, Horncastle Arena, Christchurch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted February 9, 2020 #980 Share Posted February 9, 2020 The revised schedule, as per this morning's letter from the Captain is: Original Revised 5-Mar Dep Manila Dep Manila 6-Mar At sea At Sea 7-Mar Xiamen At Sea 8-Mar HK At Sea 9-Mar HK Singapore (04:00) 10-Mar HK Singapore 11-Mar At sea Singapore 12-Mar At sea At sea 13-Mar Saigon Saigon 14-Mar Saigon Saigon 15-Mar Saigon Saigon 16-Mar At sea At sea 17-Mar Cambodia Cambodia 18-Mar Bangkok Bangkok 19-Mar Bangkok Bangkok 20-Mar Koh Samui Koh Samui (Dep 18:00) 21-Mar At sea At sea 22-Mar Singapore At sea 23-Mar KL KL Reason given is that China and HK have closed their ports until further notice. It add lots of extra miles heading down to Singapore for TAR, then back tracking north to Saigon, to pick up the rest of the itinerary, but in my opinion, a great decision by Viking, to pick Singapore over some of the alternatives. Providing us the schedule change fully a month in advance is also excellent timely notification. Weather update - we are currently about 17 hrs out of Sydney, with winds and seas picking up. Winds now 45 - 50 kts and seas 15' +. Speed is down to under 10 kts, so not too uncomfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker56* Posted February 9, 2020 #981 Share Posted February 9, 2020 We are Geoff & Sue Moore from Sydney and we will be joining the cruise in Mumbai. It is great reading all the comments on your wonderful journey so far. Can’t wait to see the ship arrive in Sydney in a few days time. Look forward to coming on board in April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker56* Posted February 9, 2020 #982 Share Posted February 9, 2020 On 2/2/2020 at 12:49 AM, Jukebo1x said: Wow Collin! I wish I knew all this in 2014, when we visited your Beautiful city. I totally agree with the Wonderful dairy products, photos of the Opera House & the Bridge. We enjoyed another cleaver activity (if it’s still available). It was lunch on a little train, in downtown Sydney. It was a hoot.-Jeannette😌 As a Sydneysider these are great recommendations especially the walk from Manly to Shelly Beach and back. Plenty of opportunities to have a swim and a great coffee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretchcruz Posted February 9, 2020 #983 Share Posted February 9, 2020 12 hours ago, Heidi13 said: The person you quoted mentioned many more sea days. The difference, based on the new schedule we have, is 2 extra sea days. Not what I would consider many more. I love sea days!! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted February 9, 2020 #984 Share Posted February 9, 2020 7 hours ago, stretchcruz said: I love sea days!! Same here, especially when the cloxs go back and they last 25 hrs. Departing L/A we had 8 in a row, brilliant start to the cruise.😊 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stretchcruz Posted February 9, 2020 #985 Share Posted February 9, 2020 2 hours ago, Heidi13 said: Same here, especially when the cloxs go back and they last 25 hrs. Departing L/A we had 8 in a row, brilliant start to the cruise.😊 Looking forward to that on our transtlantic in October! I wouldn't want to do a TA the other way.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Clay Clayton Posted February 9, 2020 #986 Share Posted February 9, 2020 We have found that loosing or gaining time is equally disruptive. Going one direction we find ourselves sleeping in too late, and in the other up before dawn. So always seem to be tired. #FirstWorldProblems But in either direction it’s soooo much better than dealing with all of them at one time after a plane flight. And having a Real bed to stretch out on, meals served at a real table and a pool to swim in is soooo much better than any business class! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Monty Posted February 12, 2020 #987 Share Posted February 12, 2020 On 2/10/2020 at 4:42 AM, Heidi13 said: Same here, especially when the cloxs go back and they last 25 hrs. Departing L/A we had 8 in a row, brilliant start to the cruise.😊 I just wanted to say how disappointed I am for you and all pax on board about the weather you are experiencing whilst in Australia. I know you left Sydney a few hours ago, where the weather was so-so at best - after missing Melbourne altogether. As well as the torrential rain awaiting you in northern New South Wales and Southern Queensland you now have to deal with a cyclone which has developed west of Fiji. This is not what you would have been hoping for, not expecting. I hope things improve and I hope you enjoy Brisbane, despite the forecasts. Interestingly North Queensland is predicted to have very hot temperatures when you arrive there in a few days time. Cheers from us at Cooloongatta on the Gold Coast of Queensland, and best wishes to all for an enjoyable time whilst you are in our part of the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted February 12, 2020 #988 Share Posted February 12, 2020 11 hours ago, Little Monty said: I just wanted to say how disappointed I am for you and all pax on board about the weather you are experiencing whilst in Australia. I know you left Sydney a few hours ago, where the weather was so-so at best - after missing Melbourne altogether. As well as the torrential rain awaiting you in northern New South Wales and Southern Queensland you now have to deal with a cyclone which has developed west of Fiji. This is not what you would have been hoping for, not expecting. I hope things improve and I hope you enjoy Brisbane, despite the forecasts. Interestingly North Queensland is predicted to have very hot temperatures when you arrive there in a few days time. Cheers from us at Cooloongatta on the Gold Coast of Queensland, and best wishes to all for an enjoyable time whilst you are in our part of the world. Thanks Little Monty, Prior to arrival Sydney they were forecasting 10 continuous days of rain, but we actually lucked out, especially the first 2 days. Mostly overcast to broken overcast, but no rain. Last day not so lucky. On departure, they had the pool deckhead open for a group photo, during sailaway and the heavens opened. Heading up to Brisbane, it isn't too bad, just some gentle rolling and occasional pounding, but nothing like we experienced prior to Sydney, crossing the Tasman and in the vicinity of the previous Cyclone. We haven't experienced anything like you did last year crossing the Tasman. Our max winds since leaving L/A have only been about 60 to 70 kts and worst seas about 20 feet. Can't control the weather, so we enjoy this great ship and make the most of it.😊🍻 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted February 12, 2020 #989 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Considering what relief the rain has given to the Australian fire season, I think we should just all be thankful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted February 12, 2020 #990 Share Posted February 12, 2020 42 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said: Considering what relief the rain has given to the Australian fire season, I think we should just all be thankful. Apparently the downpour that Sydney experienced the day before we arrived extinguished about 1/3 of the fires. One of the guides mentioned that the water supply went from about 40% capacity to over 70% in a couple of days. Many locals said it was one of the worst rain storms they had seen, but nobody was complaining. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Monty Posted February 13, 2020 #991 Share Posted February 13, 2020 2 hours ago, Heidi13 said: Thanks Little Monty, Prior to arrival Sydney they were forecasting 10 continuous days of rain, but we actually lucked out, especially the first 2 days. Mostly overcast to broken overcast, but no rain. Last day not so lucky. On departure, they had the pool deckhead open for a group photo, during sailaway and the heavens opened. Heading up to Brisbane, it isn't too bad, just some gentle rolling and occasional pounding, but nothing like we experienced prior to Sydney, crossing the Tasman and in the vicinity of the previous Cyclone. We haven't experienced anything like you did last year crossing the Tasman. Our max winds since leaving L/A have only been about 60 to 70 kts and worst seas about 20 feet. Can't control the weather, so we enjoy this great ship and make the most of it.😊🍻 That is good to know. And yes, our crossing was an adventure. Thanks for remembering- I haven’t posted anything for 8 months or so but still read the Forum and have been following the WC. I just wanted to come back and say hello. DW and I love your Blog. Best wishes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleopatra99 Posted February 13, 2020 #992 Share Posted February 13, 2020 22 hours ago, Heidi13 said: Apparently the downpour that Sydney experienced the day before we arrived extinguished about 1/3 of the fires. One of the guides mentioned that the water supply went from about 40% capacity to over 70% in a couple of days. Many locals said it was one of the worst rain storms they had seen, but nobody was complaining. Yes - the rain has been a blessing. The fire situation is now well in hand. We are watching the ship arrive across Moreton Bay in bright sunshine. More good news. The Brisbane Port schedule shows an 8am arrival was expected - so I assume there was a delay overnight. Hopefully they can delay departure so you get a full day in Brisbane. Enjoy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted February 14, 2020 #993 Share Posted February 14, 2020 2 hours ago, Cleopatra99 said: Yes - the rain has been a blessing. The fire situation is now well in hand. We are watching the ship arrive across Moreton Bay in bright sunshine. More good news. The Brisbane Port schedule shows an 8am arrival was expected - so I assume there was a delay overnight. Hopefully they can delay departure so you get a full day in Brisbane. Enjoy. With the weather conditions, the pilots could not board safely during the hours of darkness, so pilot boarding was delayed until first light. Came aboard about 05:30, with us docking about 10:30. Departure is delayed until 21:00. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted February 14, 2020 #994 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Itinerary Change Just had an announcement from Bevan the Cruise Director. It is no longer deemed safe to visit Singapore, so we have a major change to the itinerary, with a number of new ports and additional overnights. This segment will now end in Bali. The next segment is still being finalised, but will include new ports. Just heading to the show, so will post the new itinerary later. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Avery Posted February 14, 2020 Author #995 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Thanks for the update Andy. Y'all are certainly having an adventure. As you have said before, when you go to sea, things change. The work Viking is doing behind the scenes must be massive. As long as you all get home safely and see the world it will be a tale to tell for years. There are lots of places out there and I look forward to seeing the updated itinerary. All the best to all the World Cruisers..😎 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted February 14, 2020 #996 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Thanks Jim - You and I certainly know the amount of work that goes into evaluating the risks and then when deemed excessive to planning and scheduling a new itinerary that creates no or minimal changes to the dates of TAR ports. Most of this is completed by Fleet Ops in HQ, but the ship's staff, provisions team and Viking Air also have huge extra work loads. To ensure the safety of the passengers and crew, based on the current conditions, Viking have decided to bypass, in addition to China and HK, Thailand, Singapore and Philippines. Based on the rapidly changing situation with the virus, this again is a bold move by Viking, as it routes the ship further South and necessitates a significant itinerary change. Date Itinerary #2 New Itinerary 14-Feb Brisbane Brisbane 15-Feb At Sea At Sea 16-Feb Airlie Beach At Sea 17-Feb Cairns Noumea, New Caledonia 18-Feb At Sea Noumea, New Caledonia 19-Feb Thursday Island At Sea 20-Feb At Sea At Sea 21-Feb At Sea Cairns, Queensland 22-Feb Darwin Cairns, Queensland 23-Feb At Sea Airlie Beach - Whitsundays 24-Feb Komodo Is Townsville, Queensland 25-Feb Bali At Sea 26-Feb At Sea Thursday Island, Queensland 27-Feb Samarang At Sea 28-Feb At Sea Darwin, Northern Territory 29-Feb At Sea Darwin, Northern Territory 1-Mar Kota Kinabalu At Sea 2-Mar Kota Kinabalu Komodo Island 3-Mar At Sea At Sea 4-Mar Manila At Sea 5-Mar Manila Semarang, Java 6-Mar At Sea Surabaya, Java 7-Mar At Sea At Sea 8-Mar At Sea Bali, Indonesia 9-Mar Singapore Bali, Indonesia Viking Air are reworking all flights for those who have booked through Viking and for those pax that elected to book their own flights, Guest Services will provide some assistance in them making the changes. Unfortunately, when booking your own flights for a cruise, you must be aware of and accept these risks. A very interesting new itinerary, which will no doubt cost Viking a ton of extra fuel, as we criss-cross a number of ports, which is entirely based on berth availability. At this late stage, many ports are already full, so are not available. Personally, we know that we will get off in London on May 2nd and part of the adventure is going to all these new ports that I haven't had the opportunity to research. These changes are completely outside Viking's control and at very short notice they have developed a reasonable revised itinerary. Sadly, not everyone will agree. This adventure confirms my expectation of every cruise, in that the itinerary is confirmed the day we disembark.😊 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Azulann Posted February 14, 2020 #997 Share Posted February 14, 2020 What an adventure unfolding for everyone on board. My thoughts are how does the ship get resupplied, how do the passengers doing a segment both go and come on board going forward? Then there is the crew, port personal and putting together some tours in new places on short notice. So glad you are posting the latest updates and sharing this unqiue world cruise. Cheers to everyone on board. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Avery Posted February 14, 2020 Author #998 Share Posted February 14, 2020 Thanks Andy. I really don't know how they do it. I suspect many cruisers have no maritime background so it is understandable that they don't realize the effort involved. As you know, you can't just show up in a port and say I want a space to park my cruise ship. And as Azulann says, just trying to get adequate supplies to a moving target. All thanks and respect for all the hard working people ashore and afloat at Viking. Y'all are sailing on a World Cruise like no other.🍸 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted February 14, 2020 #999 Share Posted February 14, 2020 29 minutes ago, Azulann said: What an adventure unfolding for everyone on board. My thoughts are how does the ship get resupplied, how do the passengers doing a segment both go and come on board going forward? Then there is the crew, port personal and putting together some tours in new places on short notice. So glad you are posting the latest updates and sharing this unqiue world cruise. Cheers to everyone on board. You mention just a few of the many challenges experienced when these itinerary changes are required at short notice. Passengers booked with Viking Air have no worries, as alternative flight arrangements will be issued on or before 21st Feb. Unfortunately, pax who elected not to employ Viking Air are realising the major risk and having to rebook their flights. However, Guest Services will provide assistance. Pax booked on pre/post extensions have the option of changing to the new port or receiving a full refund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi13 Posted February 14, 2020 #1000 Share Posted February 14, 2020 2 minutes ago, Jim Avery said: Thanks Andy. I really don't know how they do it. I suspect many cruisers have no maritime background so it is understandable that they don't realize the effort involved. As you know, you can't just show up in a port and say I want a space to park my cruise ship. And as Azulann says, just trying to get adequate supplies to a moving target. All thanks and respect for all the hard working people ashore and afloat at Viking. Y'all are sailing on a World Cruise like no other.🍸 So true Jim. These little changes are all part of fun of gallivanting around the world at sea. Sure beats a boring Caribbean or Meddy cruise.😁🍻 Every day, we turn up in port and surprise, we are in ............. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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