Viking Venus - What is the status of her build?

[duquephart]

On 11/15/2020 at 4:00 PM, GoesBoom said:

Well, our 40th anniversary likely to be spent in a Holiday Inn Express with a bucket of Popeyes chicken and a bottle of MD 20/20.

 

Glad you splurged for the good stuff!

[Peregrina651]

16 hours ago, GoesBoom said:

I worked as an Engineer in a shipyard.  Been on many sea trials for 1,000’+ ships.

 

As a civilian, I love the fact that we have so many professionals who can bring us behind the scenes and teach us more about the how the industry really works.

[OnTheJourney]

According to the captain in the recent Viking.tv video, the Venus is "undergoing sea trials" and hopes to sail sometime in the spring - so I'm thinking the Chairman's cruise still will be on the Venus. I'm quite honestly doubtful about this spring being that we're already hearing cancellations (I have a few) for May and beyond. 

[GoesBoom]

MarineTraffic has a picture of Venus taken last week.  Copyrighted or I would post.  Also shows last recorded position of Venus as of a few days ago.  She is still docked. Her navigation systems are powered down.  I think seatrials are a couple weeks away.  Just my opinion.  If you like to track any ship in the world, I suggest you download the MarineTraffic App.

[What was that?]

11 minutes ago, GoesBoom said:

MarineTraffic has a picture of Venus taken last week.  Copyrighted or I would post.  Also shows last recorded position of Venus as of a few days ago.  She is still docked. Her navigation systems are powered down.  I think seatrials are a couple weeks away.  Just my opinion.  If you like to track any ship in the world, I suggest you download the MarineTraffic App.

GB: That app tracks a LOT of ships! Here's a snippet to illustrate:

Hover over a ship icon for more details (in the app, not this image), including the ship name.

[GoesBoom]

1 hour ago, What was that? said:

GB: That app tracks a LOT of ships! Here's a snippet to illustrate:

You can use the search function to track any one ship.  You should see it going through the Red Sea. Click on the ship and it will give you lots of info, such as it’s planned course.  OBTW, the Star has left Norway and should dock in Germany tomorrow.

[GoesBoom]

Looks like Viking just canceled all ocean cruises thru March

[OnTheJourney]

Not a surprise. What IS a bit of a surprise however is no verbal update yet on viking.tv from Mr. Hagen. Last one was August. 

[GoesBoom]

57 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Not a surprise. What IS a bit of a surprise however is no verbal update yet on viking.tv from Mr. Hagen. Last one was August. 

Well, they took down my bookings from MVJ and deleted Feb and March from their bookings page, but have not announced it or directly told anyone.  I expect something in a couple of days.  Now why is Viking assembling their fleet in Germany?  Sun, Sky and Star now huddled together in Mukran.

Edited December 7, 2020 by GoesBoom

[What was that?]

1 minute ago, GoesBoom said:

Now why is Viking assembling their fleet in Germany?  Jupiter, Sky and Star now huddled together in Mukran.

Isn't that where Star had the PCR lab installed?

[GoesBoom]

3 minutes ago, What was that? said:

Isn't that where Star had the PCR lab installed?

Good point.  Likely trying to retrofit the entire fleet before sailings resume.  But, if the vaccines roll out quickly, won’t the labs be OBE?

[What was that?]

1 minute ago, GoesBoom said:

Good point.  Likely trying to retrofit the entire fleet before sailings resume.  But, if the vaccines roll out quickly, won’t the labs be OBE?

I thought so, too, but since we don't have data about post-vax transmission capability - or not - there may still be a need for them. By the time cruising resumes, even if proof of vaccination is required, customers will still be going ashore and coming into contact with a population that contains a mix of immunized and not-immunized people. If vaccinated people can acquire the virus and not show symptoms, and pass on the infection, it would be a deterrent to ports allowing passengers to land.

These types of questions are probably under investigation now, in addition to how long the period of immunity lasts. That will vary, of course, but the current state of our knowledge in this regard is woefully inadequate - nobody's fault, but some things just take time.

[Peregrina651]

4 hours ago, GoesBoom said:

Well, they took down my bookings from MVJ and deleted Feb and March from their bookings page, but have not announced it or directly told anyone.  I expect something in a couple of days.  Now why is Viking assembling their fleet in Germany?  Sun, Sky and Star now huddled together in Mukran.

 

There will not a public announcement until all guests who are effected have been notified.

 

Those of who don't have skin in the game won't see anything official until it is posted here:  https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/my-trip/current-sailings/index.html

[Heidi13]

8 hours ago, GoesBoom said:

 Now why is Viking assembling their fleet in Germany?  Sun, Sky and Star now huddled together in Mukran.

 

Mukran is a major rail and logistics hub. It is also where I suspect they had the PCR lab installed. Probably being installed on the other 2 ships and Star could be getting warranty work competed.

 

She also stopped at Skagen, so probably topped up with bunkers.

[CharTrav]

I'm doing my schedule update scrub, which I haven't finished. Looks like Venus won't start until May. Have gone thru all cruises that would have started in Feb and March. Tomorrow will look thru those that start in April and May.

[hoosier quilter]

My Viking account is no longer available for my British Isles Viking Cruise in April.  I had filled

out the personal information and it isn’t even there.  As recently as last week the cruise and

cabins available was listed on Viking website.   I expect any day for the cancellation to be

announced.  I have until Dec 18 to cancel it myself.  

[CharTrav]

1 hour ago, hoosier quilter said:

My Viking account is no longer available for my British Isles Viking Cruise in April.  I had filled

out the personal information and it isn’t even there.  As recently as last week the cruise and

cabins available was listed on Viking website.   I expect any day for the cancellation to be

announced.  I have until Dec 18 to cancel it myself.  

Wait for the email from Viking. As I wrote last night, Venus, ie the British Isles cruise, will not start sailing until May.  Venus' sailings of the British Isles in March and April are no longer scheduled. 

[GoesBoom]

Got my email!

[Geoffa30]

10 minutes ago, GoesBoom said:

Got my email!

Me too. We were scheduled to be on the Star around the Mediterranean in March. Instead we are moving to two B2B cruises on the Venus spanning November and December 21. Fab itineraries too which sort of sweetens having yet another cruise cancelled.

[deec]

Geoffa30...what B@B?  I am hoping to do SOMETHING late fall !!!  may not be able to wait for B2b2b in March 2022!!!

[Geoffa30]

24 minutes ago, deec said:

Geoffa30...what B@B?  I am hoping to do SOMETHING late fall !!!  may not be able to wait for B2b2b in March 2022!!!

It’s not on sale as a B2B at least in the U.K. We are combining Ancient Mediterranean Treasures on 25 November and Greek Odyssey on 2 December to give a 17 night voyage. A couple of port repeats but do not feel this is a problem. Will be my 50th birthday cruise.

[deec]

Repeating Ports is always OK....learn something new every time!!!

[Peregrina651]

6 hours ago, hoosier quilter said:

My Viking account is no longer available for my British Isles Viking Cruise in April.  I had filled

out the personal information and it isn’t even there.  As recently as last week the cruise and

cabins available was listed on Viking website.   I expect any day for the cancellation to be

announced.  I have until Dec 18 to cancel it myself.  

 

By now, you have probably gotten the e-mail saying that your cruise has been cancelled. The booking will no longer be accessible on MVJ but your PIF should remain under your account. BTW, sometimes in this process other bookings get deleted; it is easy to add them again.

 

The e-mail that we received cancelling our cruise said that operations were now suspended until March 31 for all cruise plus for select April itineraries.

 

A quick glance on the Viking website for April cruises shows only Mediterranean cruises available.

 

For those who are not effected by these cancellations (and thus do not get an e-mail), the announcement is now available on the Viking website: https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/my-trip/current-sailings/index.html

[OnTheJourney]

1 hour ago, deec said:

Repeating Ports is always OK....learn something new every time!!!

Depends on where....I'd never want to keep going back to the Caribbean over and over again. Unless one is really into the beach excursions, the other types of activities are all pretty much the same after awhile. Plantation visits, island drives, rum distilleries, etc. I think I've done enough glass-bottom boat trips to last me for the remainder of my days. 😆

Edited December 8, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[What was that?]

This will make 385 days of total "pause" with partial "pause" extensions beyond that!