Viking Expedition Great Lakes/Canada

[Denny01]

Hi All - It was suggested I start a thread on the upcoming Great Lakes/Canada itineraries so here goes! 

 

Viking is building a number of new ships, and a thread was started that discusses those. The ships will be used for the Arctic and the Antarctic, and when not there, will be cruising the Great Lakes. They are designed to handle the ice, but also the Great Lake Locks. The ships look very interesting, and very different than the normal cruise ships. 

 

So we are going to give the a Great Lakes itinerary a go. We had a river cruise from Bucharest to Budapest cancelled that we were suppose to be flying to tonight, so we will use the FCC to book one of these.The Great Lakes itineraries aren’t cheap by any means, but are very unique. And one very personal positive, my wife and I would love to spend time in Milwaukee before or after the cruise and attend a major craft show that is held there in early June 2022. Yup, these cruises start in 2022. Heck, I’ve booked more than a year ahead before!

 

So what do you guys think about these Great Lakes/Canada itineraries; the ships look fun;. the SRs look very unique. If any of you have cruised on the Celebrity Edge ship with it’s Infinite Verandas,  with a large window which opens up, its much the same for these ships. We loved it. Hopefully, the Viking Expedition approach survives all of what is occurring to the industry and we can take one. 

What about you?  

 

Den

 

 

[duquephart]

How can a ship "look fun?"

[Denny01]

Easy. Cruising is ‘fun’. The ship’s design is different than most others and appears it will be very interesting to explore and experience. The SRs differ from the ‘norm’. So the ship ‘looks fun’.  
 

People can have fun experiencing something different then what they are accustomed to can’t they? I cruise for itineraries and I cruise to experience the shipboard time. I’ve not gone ashore at.a port I have little interest in, sometimes because the ship is ‘fun’ to be on.....and ‘looked fun’. 
 

den

Edited March 19, 2020 by Denny01

[Larry2021]

We just booked The Great Lakes Explorer for May 2022. We are excited to spend time on this ship and the upper Great Lakes.

[Denny01]

We are booked on the Viking Octantis 28 May 2022 from Thunder Day Ontarioto Milwaukee. That should be fun! It’s an 8N cruise and we are very interested in exploring the Exploration Viking ships! And cruising the Great Lakes which will be very new for us. 

 

Looking forward to all the new experiences!

 

Den

[Larry2021]

We are booked on the Octantis May 21, 2022. Milwaukee to Thunder Bay. This should be a fantastic cruise on a beautiful ship! Can’t wait. We have been to Perry Sound by car before and it is gorgeous. Can’t wait to see it from the water.

[Peregrina651]

16 hours ago, Larry2021 said:

We just booked The Great Lakes Explorer for May 2022. We are excited to spend time on this ship and the upper Great Lakes.

 

🙋‍♀️Hey, Larry2021!  Welcome to Cruise Critic!!👋

[LHT28]

15 hours ago, Denny01 said:

We are booked on the Viking Octantis 28 May 2022 from Thunder Day Ontarioto Milwaukee. That should be fun! It’s an 8N cruise and we are very interested in exploring the Exploration Viking ships! And cruising the Great Lakes which will be very new for us. 

 

Looking forward to all the new experiences!

 

Den

 Bundle up & take  your seasick meds with you

 May in the Great Lakes is still cool & bumpy

[Denny01]

5 hours ago, Larry2021 said:

We are booked on the Octantis May 21, 2022. Milwaukee to Thunder Bay. This should be a fantastic cruise on a beautiful ship! Can’t wait. We have been to Perry Sound by car before and it is gorgeous. Can’t wait to see it from the water.

Welcome and we will walking on as you are leaving the ship! fun! Probably going to spend a day or so in Thunderbay area prior since never been up there.

 

And LHT28, we Will get ready! I’ve now lived in Fla panhandle since 1989 so I think winter weather is when it goes below 60!

 

Den

[LHT28]

12 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

And LHT28, we Will get ready! I’ve now lived in Fla panhandle since 1989 so I think winter weather is when it goes below 60!

 

Den

 LOL

 My brother lives in Texas  & says the same  thing

I see it is 12 C today in TB 

 Enjoy  the trip 

 

[OnTheJourney]

These Great Lakes cruises do look nice, but I'm still a bit more attracted to Pearl Seas' longer itineraries (especially the 15-night Portland to Toronto). Will probably try one of these with Viking sometime as well. St. Lawrence Seaway is lovely. We vacationed there the other year at Alexandria Bay. If you get a chance to visit Clayton, NY sometime I highly recommend the Antique Boat Museum. Absolutely an amazing place - spent about 5 hours there and could have spent a good deal longer. Viking's itineraries are nice for the pre and post extensions. 

Edited May 15, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 5/13/2020 at 1:23 PM, LHT28 said:

 Bundle up & take  your seasick meds with you

 May in the Great Lakes is still cool & bumpy

 

You took the words out of my month!  Granted, it's only May 16th today, but then you might get lucky--weather this coming week will be nice, today in TB 17C, with the 21st predicted to be 22C.  Of course, it can be quite cool at night.

 

I've thought about doing this route (I live in Toronto.)  But if I did, I'd do it later in the summer, like late July or early August.

[Denny01]

Never been on the Great Lakes, and I’m probably setting myself up for this, but I think our 4 TransAtantlic crossings in May and Oct/Nov couldn’t have been less risky than than sailing the Great Lkes. I realize there’s always chances of high seastates and the Lakes could have storms, but higher risk than North Atlantic? 

 

Den

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Denny01 said:

Never been on the Great Lakes, and I’m probably setting myself up for this, but I think our 4 TransAtantlic crossings in May and Oct/Nov couldn’t have been less risky than than sailing the Great Lkes. I realize there’s always chances of high seastates and the Lakes could have storms, but higher risk than North Atlantic? 

 

Den

Ever hear the song   about the Edmund Fitzgerald  😉

 

The lakes  can be nasty  at times  even Lake Erie ..long & narrow so the waves build up

then again it could be smooth as glass 🙂

[deec]

We live in  SE Michigan.  I would not do this cruise in May unless you prefer cool weather.  We have a sailboat and it was put in the water May 6th!  We have 2  snowy mornings and record breaking cold since.  Yesterday was finally warm and dry enough to venture down to marina to start washing the the decks!  Rain in the forecast today so we can't finish.

 

It will be a great cruise!!!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

13 hours ago, Denny01 said:

Never been on the Great Lakes, and I’m probably setting myself up for this, but I think our 4 TransAtantlic crossings in May and Oct/Nov couldn’t have been less risky than than sailing the Great Lkes. I realize there’s always chances of high seastates and the Lakes could have storms, but higher risk than North Atlantic? 

 

Den

 

As you can see from other posts, the lakes can be quite stormy, especially Erie and Superior.

 

But it's the weather I'd worry more about--cold, rain, even snow.  Then again, it could be lovely.

[Heidi13]

17 hours ago, Denny01 said:

Never been on the Great Lakes, and I’m probably setting myself up for this, but I think our 4 TransAtantlic crossings in May and Oct/Nov couldn’t have been less risky than than sailing the Great Lkes. I realize there’s always chances of high seastates and the Lakes could have storms, but higher risk than North Atlantic? 

 

Den

 

You have the potential for nasty weather in both the Atlantic and Great Lakes. The biggest difference is the larger Atlantic Ocean provides more routing options to bypass rough weather. The Great Lakes, although they are large don't have the same routing options, especially the long, narrow lakes.

 

Therefore, with current forecasting standards and routing services, you have a better chance of bypassing a storm's centre in the Atlantic than in the Lakes, if you encountered similar storm systems.

 

I agree with Wendy, as the potential for snow and cold temperatures in May is a show stopper for us.🙁

[OnTheJourney]

Beyond the potential weather / storm issues, another significant problem of the past few years has been the level of flooding in the Great Lakes. Last five years have been the wettest in history in the Great Lakes watershed, with last year the wettest on record in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Increasingly intense storms and rainfall - undoubtedly associated with climate change - are causing issues. We did several cruises through the Thousand Islands last year and it was pretty amazing to see how high the water was on garages in "millionaire's row" and, obviously, how far up it is on some people's yards. The captain of our boat was lamenting all the problems of the past few seasons. Millions are being spent on reinforcing waterfront infrastructure. Some of our favorite walkways at a few of the lakefront parks on the Seaway Trail appear to be permanently barricaded from use. 

Edited May 17, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[Wendy The Wanderer]

32 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Beyond the potential weather / storm issues, another significant problem of the past few years has been the level of flooding in the Great Lakes. Last five years have been the wettest in history in the Great Lakes watershed, with last year the wettest on record in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Increasingly intense storms and rainfall - undoubtedly associated with climate change - are causing issues. We did several cruises through the Thousand Islands last year and it was pretty amazing to see how high the water was on garages in "millionaire's row" and, obviously, how far up it is on some people's yards. The captain of our boat was lamenting all the problems of the past few seasons. Millions are being spent on reinforcing waterfront infrastructure. Some of our favorite walkways at a few of the lakefront parks on the Seaway Trail appear to be permanently barricaded from use. 

 

That's really interesting to hear, since I'm kind of at the other end, up the Ottawa River northwest of Montreal, and we have had flooding 2 of the last 3 years (not sure about this year.)  Lots of property damage, boaters unable to get their docks out, etc.  I feel very fortunate that our cottage is high up, about 50 feet off the water on a cliff.

[Larry2021]

Welcome and we will walking on as you are leaving the ship! fun! Probably going to spend a day or so in Thunderbay area prior since never been up there.
 
And LHT28, we Will get ready! I’ve now lived in Fla panhandle since 1989 so I think winter weather is when it goes below 60!
 
Den

Thanks! We are eager to see TB as we have always wanted to get there. Several years ago we spent some time in Parry Sound and enjoyed our time there. We were even fortunate enough to take a float plane over the archipelago. Truly beautiful area.

I agree with LHT28. Bring some warm clothes with you it could be cool.

[OnTheJourney]

On 5/17/2020 at 6:38 PM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

That's really interesting to hear, since I'm kind of at the other end, up the Ottawa River northwest of Montreal, and we have had flooding 2 of the last 3 years (not sure about this year.)  Lots of property damage, boaters unable to get their docks out, etc.  I feel very fortunate that our cottage is high up, about 50 feet off the water on a cliff.

 

I so want to visit Montreal!!!  I was part of the amateur entertainment corp from the US at Expo '67 and haven't been back since. I've read all about Parc Jean-Drapeau and would love to see what remains of the original buildings. 

[Jim Avery]

52 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

I so want to visit Montreal!!!  I was part of the amateur entertainment corp from the US at Expo '67 and haven't been back since. I've read all about Parc Jean-Drapeau and would love to see what remains of the original buildings. 

Schwartz’s Deli is still there.😎👍

[OnTheJourney]

I have very few memories of the entire area. We drove from PA and were only there for about 5 days. I did my performances twice a day, and then we walked around and visited various sites at the Expo. What was pretty cool was that we had access to the "VIP lounge" as part of the entertainment corps. Pretty heady stuff for an 11-year old kid from a row home in center city Allentown 😮

[Denny01]

There are a number of Viking Roll Calls that are set up for these cruises now. I just started one for the Viking Octantis Great Lakes cruise on 28 May 2022 departing Thunder Bay Ontario and ending in Milwaukee.  

 

So take a look at the roll calls for these cruises and come join in. Should be fun to start planning......it’s only 22 months away for our cruise!!

 

Den

[OnTheJourney]

I like the idea of these cruises. Depending on what happens with our January cruise, we might have a substantial amount of voucher money available to use for something else. I've been looking at Great Lakes cruises for years. There is a line called Pearl Seas that offers real nice itineraries. Only one ship!!