Ultimate World Cruise 245 days and all the parts. Ongoing review, questions, opinion

[Wendy The Wanderer]

So, it'll be interesting to see how they re-work the schedule for the Sydney to Hong Kong segment, given current events.

[Kathryn Ham]

Has anyone made arrangements for a city tour of Mumbai on the day we leave port?

 

[pask]

I was wondering if anyone would know if the hair salon will do hair coloring if you bring your own colors?  
 

[Heidi13]

The Galley & Restaurant staff excelled yesterday, with 3 special meals

• Breakfast at Aquavit - Muesli Bar
• Lunch at Pool Stage - Burgers & Lobster
• Dinner at Pool Grill - Tomahawk Steaks

Tomahawk was at least 1.5" thick and about 30 ozs of meat. We shared 1 steak between 4 of us. While the Galley & Wait Staff are always exceptional, today they even went the extra mile.

[SantaFe1]

20 minutes ago, pask said:

I was wondering if anyone would know if the hair salon will do hair coloring if you bring your own colors?  
 

Yes, I brought mine on the 2019 WC and they did a great job.  They also have color there, if you want to take your chances.  

[Jim Avery]

Haha, those Tomahawk steaks were outrageous.  I certainly met my match....🍺

[pask]

19 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

Yes, I brought mine on the 2019 WC and they did a great job.  They also have color there, if you want to take your chances.  

 

[pask]

Thank you so much.  My hairdresser is sick so I cannot get it done before we leave on Saturday.  

[SantaFe1]

2 minutes ago, pask said:

Thank you so much.  My hairdresser is sick so I cannot get it done before we leave on Saturday.  

One thing I will share with you, though, check it through, don’t carry it on.  Mine was powder, and when they caught it I was all but strip searched.  I just kept apologizing to everyone, and my husband thought he might be spending the next 128 days alone!

[pask]

6 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

One thing I will share with you, though, check it through, don’t carry it on.  Mine was powder, and when they caught it I was all but strip searched.  I just kept apologizing to everyone, and my husband thought he might be spending the next 128 days alone!

Oh no!!   Mine is liquid so it will be in double plastic bags in my suitcase and hopefully makes the flight.

[Liz Masterson]

4 hours ago, pask said:

Oh no!!   Mine is liquid so it will be in double plastic bags in my suitcase and hopefully makes the flight.

It’s dye... maybe triple bag it. 

[Heidi13]

12 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Haha, those Tomahawk steaks were outrageous.  I certainly met my match....🍺

I survived the 20 oz T-Bone, although it was a struggle. Chatting with a couple of 245'ers, they remembered the Tomahawks from the 1st half and couldn't finish it between them. Hence the reason we shared between 4 of us.

[pacruise804]

14 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

The Galley & Restaurant staff excelled yesterday, with 3 special meals

• Breakfast at Aquavit - Muesli Bar
• Lunch at Pool Stage - Burgers & Lobster
• Dinner at Pool Grill - Tomahawk Steaks

Tomahawk was at least 1.5" thick and about 30 ozs of meat. We shared 1 steak between 4 of us. While the Galley & Wait Staff are always exceptional, today they even went the extra mile.

 

 

 

 

The steak looked amazing 😮 I am both really looking forward to the food in November and also thinking I need to pray for extra self control and discipline because I don't want to regain the 35-40# I plan to lose between now and then 😉 

 

I recently tried a local burger with crab dip on top and wasn't sure but thought "surf and turf" why not?  It was wonderful and your burger looks really good.

[Jim Avery]

Part of me still feels like I am on this cruise and I am watching developments in Asia daily.  While the Sun is still a couple of weeks away from Asia I was just wondering if any changes/cancellations have been announced onboard.  The situation with the virus continues to expand with no real solution yet.  Y'all stay safe and enjoy those Tomahawk steaks..🍸

[Wendy The Wanderer]

11 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:

Part of me still feels like I am on this cruise and I am watching developments in Asia daily.  While the Sun is still a couple of weeks away from Asia I was just wondering if any changes/cancellations have been announced onboard.  The situation with the virus continues to expand with no real solution yet.  Y'all stay safe and enjoy those Tomahawk steaks..🍸

 

I asked that a couple of days ago and there was silence.  Maybe you can get an answer.  Or maybe Corporate is working feverishly on this, as other cruise lines are doing currently.

[Clay Clayton]

Not directly related to what will happen with Sun, but we received an email from Viking yesterday advising that for our Transatlantic departing March 6 to expect  enhanced health screening at checkin (I’m thinking they will take our temperature) and that anyone who had been in China in the 14 prior days will not be allowed aboard. 
 

I thought I had seen elsewhere on the board that Viking had started canceling port calls in China...but I could be misremembering. 
 

Wonder if Tomahawks will become a regular thing aboard or will I HAVE to take a WC? 🙏

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Part of me still feels like I am on this cruise and I am watching developments in Asia daily.  While the Sun is still a couple of weeks away from Asia I was just wondering if any changes/cancellations have been announced onboard.  The situation with the virus continues to expand with no real solution yet.  Y'all stay safe and enjoy those Tomahawk steaks..🍸

Jim,

 

Viking is monitoring the situation and developing contingency plans for a variety of potential itinerary changes. On the Roll Calls, pax boarding in Sydney have said that Viking has advised we are not going to China. However, that has not been stated on board. At present the Captain is trying to ease the passage through a storm and get us to Sydney.

[Jim Avery]

23 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Not directly related to what will happen with Sun, but we received an email from Viking yesterday advising that for our Transatlantic departing March 6 to expect  enhanced health screening at checkin (I’m thinking they will take our temperature) and that anyone who had been in China in the 14 prior days will not be allowed aboard. 
 

I thought I had seen elsewhere on the board that Viking had started canceling port calls in China...but I could be misremembering. 
 

Wonder if Tomahawks will become a regular thing aboard or will I HAVE to take a WC? 🙏

HAVE to take a WC??  Well, there are worse things you could do......😎

[Jim Avery]

10 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Jim,

 

Viking is monitoring the situation and developing contingency plans for a variety of potential itinerary changes. On the Roll Calls, pax boarding in Sydney have said that Viking has advised we are not going to China. However, that has not been stated on board. At present the Captain is trying to ease the passage through a storm and get us to Sydney.

Saw on a news service quoting Viking that they are not going to go to Hong Kong or China ports.  It did not specifically reference the WC.  More of a generic statement. Said they were substituting Singapore.  At least Raffles renovation is over and the Long Bar is working again.....  Our thoughts are with y'all and hoping for the best.  A few less storms would be a good start.  🍺

[stretchcruz]

29 minutes ago, Insanityx4 said:

Also received an email from Viking today with more details on our trip. We will be on the Sun leaving from Sydney in two days on our way around Australia, then on to Indonesia and China. Our itinerary has changed from Manila to Xiamen, flying out of Hong Kong on March 9,  to Manila, 3 days at sea, arriving in Singapore and flying out the same day. Bummer as I would love to spend some time in Singapore, maybe next time.

 

[Kathryn Ham]

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.

[stretchcruz]

2 hours ago, gacruisefan said:

The advisory has changed again.  So, now we're changing from Hong Kong to Singapore - nowhere near each other.  This will make the cruise many more days at sea, which we do not want.  FYI.

 

Coronavirus Update, February 7

We are monitoring the Wuhan coronavirus situation closely and are aware of the travel advisories issued by the U.S. State Department on January 30, 2020, in addition to updates issued by the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.

As the safety and security of our guests and crew is always our top priority, we have implemented enhanced health screening procedures for all guests boarding our vessels within the next 90 days. Please note, any guests who have traveled from or through mainland China within 14 days of beginning their trip with Viking, will not be permitted to embark the ship.

For sailings scheduled to visit the area within the next 90 days, we will be replacing Xiamen and Hong Kong with Singapore. Guests on impacted itineraries and their travel agents will be contacted directly within the next two weeks.

 

[Heidi13]

On board Viking Sun this morning we have received the revised itinerary, as Xiamen and HK is closed until further notice. Departing Manila we now have 2 additional sea days, as we are bound for Singapore, where we now have 3 days.

 

Deaparting Singapore we have 1 sea day before Saigon. The original 1 day stop in Singapore is cancelled, so we get additional time in Ko Samui, then 2 sea days to Port Klang.

[Heidi13]

54 minutes ago, stretchcruz 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.

[Insanityx4]

17 minutes 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.

 

As the health and well-being of our guests and crew are always our top concern, we have cancelled our visits to Xiamen and Hong Kong, and will now visit Singapore instead.

Please see the revised portion of your itinerary below:

Date	Original Itinerary	Revised Itinerary
March 6, 2020	At Sea	At Sea
March 7, 2020	Xiamen	At Sea
March 8, 2020	Hong Kong	At Sea
March 9, 2020	Hong Kong	Singapore

 

Your are right, one day was already a sea day, but 3 sea days from Manila.

Edited February 8, 2020 by Insanityx4