Viking Expeditions Debuting in 2022 With Two Cruise Ships, Great Lakes Sailings

[Host Jazzbeau]

New article on Cruise Critic:

Viking Expeditions Debuting in 2022 With Two Cruise Ships, Great Lakes Sailings

Viking still hasn't got permission to sail the Mississippi, but they will be doing the Saint Lawrence.  This looks very interesting!

[TravelerThom]

While the article discusses the ships in detail, it doesn’t provide much on the cruises themselves. https://www.Viking *****/expeditions/search-cruises/index.html has considerable information on itineraries and pricing. 

[pontac]

Thanks both

 

Great lakes sounds interesting, but pix of ice? Brr….

[Host Jazzbeau]

Most Great Lakes itineraries are criticized for skipping Lake Superior, but Viking it making it the focus of theirs.  Good job.  I just wish there was a combination of the "Great Lakes Explorer" and "Undiscovered Great Lakes" itineraries at 10 nights.  

[amypete]

We are very interested in the one that goes from Niagara Falls thru the lakes. Have never been on a river cruise before and use a big boX as a travel agent so am a little clueless as where to go from here. Off to read this board! 

[Roz]

Way too expensive for my budget....

[steverhodes]

1 hour ago, Roz said:

Way too expensive for my budget....

We fly business when going overseas but coach when we don’t. This means these 8 days cruises are slightly CHEAPER for us than the 8 days ones in Europe. 

[amypete]

I did it....I booked it. It's stopping at quite a few places we wanted to see. So now we can get a "taste" and decide if we want to spend more time - Niagara Falls and Mac Island were two on our list...and grandkids live in Detroit. Plus we liked it goes through most of the lakes. I know we could drive to these places, too, but don't always want to make DH drive everywhere! Booking now added in the air fare and a better drink package which helped add it on. And it's a refundable deposit...(minus a bit) so that's a good choice to me. 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

For those who like to 'pack lite' this will be a real attraction:  There will also be a floor-to-ceiling "drying closet" where circulating warm air dries clothes and expedition gear.

 

[lackcreativity]

This sounds like an ideal Viking version of this type of a cruise. Perfect for those who are seeking this type of adventure. That would not be me. All that cold and ice and snow is not my idea of fun. I'll stick with Viking in the Mediterranean, the Adriatic, the Aegean, and the rivers of Europe! 

Edited January 18, 2020 by lackcreativity

[chengkp75]

With all the comments about pictures of ice, and mention of the Great Lakes, I had pictured Viking wanting to operate these ships in the Lakes in winter.  Looking at the fact that they are only Polar Class 6, this means only summer/autumn operation in medium first year ice.  So, for us in the northern hemisphere, that is winter/spring in the Antarctic, and summer/autumn in the Artic.  But the Great Lakes would require Polar Class 4 or 5.  So, I looked and saw it was summer cruising in the Lakes.

[ronrythm]

Please note that all those “pictures” with the ice in the background were not actual photos, but artists representations from the marketing department. We all know how well the marketing department relates to real life.

For those sailing Lake Superior, here’s a song:

enjoy

Ron

Edited January 22, 2020 by ronrythm
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[Denny01]

Although one of our hosts started this thread here in the River Cruise section, I started a thread for Viking Expedition Great Lakes cruising on the Viking Ocean Forum......hope that’s OK. Didn’t think about checking here. So if it’s not moved off the Viking forum, that might be a great place to share.

 

We are going to book a Great Lakes Thunder Bay to Milwaukee in late May 2022 and then stay in Milwaukee for the week after to join a major craft show that goes on there each year. Should be fun.

 

And yup, these cruises aren’t cheap by any means, but not flying to Europe and since we now have FCC from our cancelled Bucharest - Budapest cruise this month. 

 

Den