Jump to content

Viking Ship Locations


Dukefan
 Share

Recommended Posts

Five of the six Viking Ocean ships are currently docked:

Viking Star - currently docked at Tilbury, UK

Viking Sun - currently docked at Kristiansand, Norway

Viking Jupiter - currently docked at Portmouth, UK

Viking Sky - currently docked at Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Viking Sea - currently docked at Kristiansund, Norway

Viking Orion - currently Northwest of Australia headed North toward Indonesia

Edited by Dukefan
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update (4/25/2002):  It currently appears five of six of Vikings Ships are currently docked in the UK (1 Ship) or Norway (4 Ships).   

·       Viking Star - docked at Tilbury, UK

·       Viking Sun - docked at Kristiansand, Norway

·       Viking Jupiter - docked at Kristiansand, Norway

·       Viking Sky - docked at Alesund, Norway

·       Viking Sea - docked at Kristiansund, Norway

·       Viking Orion - South of Indonesia and appears to be headed Northeast

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Dukefan said:

Update (4/25/2002):  It currently appears five of six of Vikings Ships are currently docked in the UK (1 Ship) or Norway (4 Ships).   

·       Viking Star - docked at Tilbury, UK

·       Viking Sun - docked at Kristiansand, Norway

·       Viking Jupiter - docked at Kristiansand, Norway

·       Viking Sky - docked at Alesund, Norway

·       Viking Sea - docked at Kristiansund, Norway

·       Viking Orion - South of Indonesia and appears to be headed Northeast

Thanks for the update .. I keep checking too.  Last update from Orion was April 19 presumably cuz it's in the open sea but according to its track on that date, she was certainly heading north towards Indonesia. I'll be very happy when her location data is more recent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, CharTrav said:

Thanks for the update .. I keep checking too.  Last update from Orion was April 19 presumably cuz it's in the open sea but according to its track on that date, she was certainly heading north towards Indonesia. I'll be very happy when her location data is more recent.

 

The Orion has been essentially stationary in the same location for weeks.  I had just checked to see if the notation  “For Orders”for destination had changed since last night and indeed it now shows destination as Singapore with ETA April 30 at 04:00.  However speed is still essentially stationary.

 

Maybe something is happening.

Edited by LeRenardrouge
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, LeRenardrouge said:

 

The Orion has been essentially stationary in the same location for weeks.  I had just checked to see if the notation  “For Orders”for destination had changed since last night and indeed it now shows destination as Singapore with ETA April 30 at 04:00.  However speed is still essentially stationary.

 

Maybe something is happening.

You're right!  Didn't bother to check the Ship Details when I saw the date on the map hadn't changed. Still says April 19 re location but no longer "For Orders" in the Ship Details. Yay!  

Edited by CharTrav
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Orion has just entered the Bali Sea, proceeding at 11.2 kts. ETA Singapore April 30th at 12:00 LT (Z+8).

What app are you using? VesselFinder has its current status re destination and ETA but not its current location. That is still 8 days old. Thanks!

Edited by CharTrav
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, CharTrav said:

What app are you using? VesselFinder has its current status re destination and ETA but not its current location. That is still 8 days old. Thanks!

 

Marinetraffic.com has been quicker to show the updated position.  Vessel finder yesterday still had not shown her movement but as Andy said, she is entering the Bali Sea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, CharTrav said:

What app are you using? VesselFinder has its current status re destination and ETA but not its current location. That is still 8 days old. Thanks!

Mostly I use Marintetraffic.com, but also check vessel finder. The position is now 10 hrs old, but by satellite, they show a pax vessel just north of East Java, which I expect is the Orion - steaming NW about 12 kts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use cruisemapper.com and it showed the Orion 20 mile NE of Pulau Bawean Island traveling NW at 12 knots at 23:06 April 27 (11:06 AM April 27 EDT) in Moderate Breeze and Calm Seas.  Temperate is 84 degrees F (28.9 degrees C). 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Dukefan said:

I use cruisemapper.com and it showed the Orion 20 mile NE of Pulau Bawean Island traveling NW at 12 knots at 23:06 April 27 (11:06 AM April 27 EDT) in Moderate Breeze and Calm Seas.  Temperate is 84 degrees F (28.9 degrees C). 

 

Just a heads up on CruiseMapper.

 

The free versions only provide shore based AIS receivers, with the various websites contracting with different numbers of shore stations, The websites I use (MarineTraffic & Vessel finder) both provide the age of the signal received. When a signal is lost, both these show the last known position, but also show a current satellite position, without naming the vessel or giving data. However, if tracking daily, it is often easy to figure out which vessel you are looking for.

 

Cruisemapper provides a local time, which is impossible to determine the age of the signal, as on ocean voyages we don't know the ship's local time. When no current AIS signal, I believe cruisemapper calculates a Dead Reckoning position, based on last known course and speed. If course and/or speed changes, the position becomes increasingly inaccurate, until picked up by another shore station.

 

Most times it may not be an issue, but something you should be aware of.

 

If anyone is interested, here is a list of AIS websites from one of the marine journals.

 

https://www.marineinsight.com/know-more/top-8-websites-to-track-your-ship/

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't want to start a new thread for an interesting couple of articles I read this morning.

 

A couple of weeks ago, Viking moved all ships, with the exception of the Orion to Europe, disembarking all non-essential crew that could get home safely. This is based on my experience on Viking Sun, as when we disembarked April 10th, many crew already had confirmed flights for April 16th & 17th in Portsmouth.

 

Since other ships have also docked in Portsmouth, my assumption is they did the same with those crews,

 

Compare the Viking treatment of crew the the article I read this morning. More than 114 cruise ships are alongside or steaming/anchored in US Waters, with 93,000 crew members aboard, unable to get home. Another separate article indicated Princess/HAL are planning to sail ship to Europe & Asia to repatriate crew.

 

Yet again, Viking puts crew and pax first. 

 

It is > 30 pages with various articles, if anyone is interested here is a link

 

https://www.mna.org.uk/images/mna/documents/Pulse/MNA_Pulse_22nd_April_2020_.pdf

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Heidi13 - thanks for sharing this. I've been appalled at the way other cruise lines behaved towards their passengers and their crew and positively proud of Viking's response resulting in all their passengers getting home safely, all but their essential crew able to get home, and all their crew continuimg to draw pay of some sort even if they're at home. You might also be interested in an article from the Washington Post from yesterday which described how other cruise lines flat out lied to their passengers. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/cruise-ships-coronavirus/

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

@Heidi13 - thanks for sharing this. I've been appalled at the way other cruise lines behaved towards their passengers and their crew and positively proud of Viking's response resulting in all their passengers getting home safely, all but their essential crew able to get home, and all their crew continuimg to draw pay of some sort even if they're at home. You might also be interested in an article from the Washington Post from yesterday which described how other cruise lines flat out lied to their passengers. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/cruise-ships-coronavirus/

Thanks - interesting article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Before the other lines are vilified and Viking anointed as the greatest of all (I know its too late for some on this forum) I think it needs to be said that no individual cruise line has been able to influence the repatriation of the passengers and crew and all lines are subject to government rules and regulations.  

Furthermore, the perspective needs to be changed somewhat to accept and acknowledge that Viking by comparison are a much smaller operation compared to the likes of Princess, HAL, RCCL, etc. so naturally they will have significantly less crew (approx 460 per ship x 6 = 2760 total minus approx. 300 total essential crew) in comparison so they no doubt had a much 'easier' time in comparison when it came to arranging commercial and/or charter flights for their crew.  

Looking at Marine Traffic and I see Viking Orion is anchored in Singapore....a country that just recently had a huge spike in cases of COVID after believing they had peaked and were past the worst of it....is that really somewhere you would want to disembark from??

Looking at the same site, you can see that Manila Bay is like a ship parking lot with various ships from various companies all parked, waiting to repatriate their crew but they're being held in a mandatory 14 day government sanctioned quarantine before they can disembark anyone.  Looking at the coast of India there is an Indian crewed cruise ship Karnika from Jalesh Cruises which is at anchor and can't repatriate their crew because India is on lock down until at least 03 May when their Prime Minister is said to re-evaluate but its believed he will further extend the closure which means every Indian crew member onboard Viking ships (and others) can't get home.

 

As I say, there is no company or cruise line that is doing any better or worse when it comes to repatriation IMO because its completely outside of their control the relatively small numbers are always going to be 'easier' to move than the tens of thousands spread across the larger ships.  As has been said on another thread in this forum, sheer luck is playing a factor in many aspects.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Captain_Morgan - I do not know for sure but I would think that Viking let its non-essential crew disembark and head home during the extended period it was docked in Melbourne, Australia.    I would also believe the stop in Singapore is to refuel and restock before heading on to the US/Alaska and that no crew will be leaving or getting on the Orion while it is in Singapore.   Even though the fact that Viking is smaller than some of the other Ocean Cruise Lines, it does not take away from the very positive way they have treated their passengers and crew.  For example, Viking sailed their ships to places they could disembark their non-essential crew so they could get home before heading to a location to park their ships during this period of cruise uncertainty Their priorities, their attention to detail and the way they have managed this situation has been impressive. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Dukefan said:

Captain_Morgan - I do not know for sure but I would think that Viking let its non-essential crew disembark and head home during the extended period it was docked in Melbourne, Australia.    I would also believe the stop in Singapore is to refuel and restock before heading on to the US/Alaska and that no crew will be leaving or getting on the Orion while it is in Singapore.   Even though the fact that Viking is smaller than some of the other Ocean Cruise Lines, it does not take away from the very positive way they have treated their passengers and crew.  For example, Viking sailed their ships to places they could disembark their non-essential crew so they could get home before heading to a location to park their ships during this period of cruise uncertainty Their priorities, their attention to detail and the way they have managed this situation has been impressive. 

 

Dukefan - great response. Affirmative on bunkering, as when I checked this morning they have a bunker barge alongside. No information yet on where they are bound after Singapore, as AIS still shows destination as the anchorage.

 

Having actually been a passenger aboard a Viking ship throughout the entire COVID issue, I have first hand experience on how well the pax and crew were treated and kept informed. Per my previous thread, > 100 mega ships remained in US waters where the Govt wouldn't permit crew repatriation, but not Viking. Viking sailed across the Atlantic to Portsmouth, where they had Govt approval to repatriate non-essential crew who could make it home.

 

The other consideration is although Viking Ocean doesn't have as many crew as mega lines (although they also have 75 + river ships), they also have less shore resources, so it is all relative.

 

I believe the proof is in the pudding - many Viking crew members are already at home receiving a portion of wages, while almost 100,000 mega ship crew remain aboard in US Waters.

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Dukefan said:

Captain_Morgan - I do not know for sure but I would think that Viking let its non-essential crew disembark and head home during the extended period it was docked in Melbourne, Australia.    I would also believe the stop in Singapore is to refuel and restock before heading on to the US/Alaska and that no crew will be leaving or getting on the Orion while it is in Singapore.   Even though the fact that Viking is smaller than some of the other Ocean Cruise Lines, it does not take away from the very positive way they have treated their passengers and crew.  For example, Viking sailed their ships to places they could disembark their non-essential crew so they could get home before heading to a location to park their ships during this period of cruise uncertainty Their priorities, their attention to detail and the way they have managed this situation has been impressive. 

 

The stop in Singapore might very well be a service call for bunkers, but if they think there's going to be an Alaska season to sail to I think they're in for a shock!  Canada has stood by its decision to close ports to all cruise traffic until 01 July and there's nothing to say it won't be extended if the situation doesn't improve.  Furthermore, if anyone thinks the industry as a whole will just come roaring back to life on 01 July they're living on a cloud...

 

As for the repatriation of the crew, considering India is still closed and has been for some time I find it hard to believe that Viking have somehow managed to disembark and repatriate their Indian crew.  Even most Eastern European countries are still 'closed' and the last time we sailed on the Sea I seem to recall a lot of crew were from the Balkan countries so there's a likelihood as well that some of them might still be waiting to be sent home.

 

Sailing somewhere to lay up a ship is not the same as being able to disembark and repatriate crew, which as mentioned with 5 ships (not including Orion) sitting in Europe its hardly the same as 18 ships from a single company having to try and repatriate crew and find somewhere to 'park' 

 

As there are no passengers onboard ANY ships at the minute, any guess as to the compliment of essential vs non essential is nothing but that so until Viking fill a ship and sail it to the Philippines or India I would say they've done nothing any more exceptional than any other company of similar size.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Captain_Morgan - You have an interesting perspective.   That said,  even though the the University of Washington Covid-19 projection model has British Columbia 7 days past its peak of hospitalizations and has Alaska 27 days past its peak of hospitalizations, I agree that the Alaska cruise season is very 'iffy".   We will find out more over the next couple of months.  In any case Vikings ships have to be some where and Alaska is as good a place as any other, maybe even better.  Their Covid-19 numbers are significantly lower than most other places.  

 

It has been posted by folks on several of the Cruise Critic sites about Viking being able to disembark their non-essential crew to return home by sources that I consider creditable.  You may not regard them as such, that is of course your choice.  I'm not sure I fully understand your logic that getting crew home from 6 ships (disregarding their 75+ river ships) is significantly easier than 18 ships, since it is managed on a ship by ship basis.  The larger companies that you believe under the circumstances are doing as good a job as Viking, all have more ocean cruise line experience and a significantly larger staff with resources in many more ports.   With this, I have not seen anything that says that they are handling this situation well as Viking.

 

I, like many other Viking Passengers, am an experienced cruiser  having cruised on many on the other cruise lines.  I currently happen to believe that the Viking experience for the dollar paid is the best I have found.   I had two cruises with them booked for this year and they have worked with me fairly in delaying both these cruises.   I have had great experiences on several non-Viking cruises, which is why we enjoy our cruise vacations.   If Viking would go away, I would return to several of these other lines, but until I find a more customer focused cruise line with equal value I will be cruising Viking if they are going to the places we wish to travel.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Dukefan said:

Captain_Morgan - You have an interesting perspective.   That said,  even though the the University of Washington Covid-19 projection model has British Columbia 7 days past its peak of hospitalizations and has Alaska 27 days past its peak of hospitalizations, I agree that the Alaska cruise season is very 'iffy".   We will find out more over the next couple of months.  In any case Vikings ships have to be some where and Alaska is as good a place as any other, maybe even better.  Their Covid-19 numbers are significantly lower than most other places.  

 

It has been posted by folks on several of the Cruise Critic sites about Viking being able to disembark their non-essential crew to return home by sources that I consider creditable.  You may not regard them as such, that is of course your choice.  I'm not sure I fully understand your logic that getting crew home from 6 ships (disregarding their 75+ river ships) is significantly easier than 18 ships, since it is managed on a ship by ship basis.  The larger companies that you believe under the circumstances are doing as good a job as Viking, all have more ocean cruise line experience and a significantly larger staff with resources in many more ports.   With this, I have not seen anything that says that they are handling this situation well as Viking.

 

I, like many other Viking Passengers, am an experienced cruiser  having cruised on many on the other cruise lines.  I currently happen to believe that the Viking experience for the dollar paid is the best I have found.   I had two cruises with them booked for this year and they have worked with me fairly in delaying both these cruises.   I have had great experiences on several non-Viking cruises, which is why we enjoy our cruise vacations.   If Viking would go away, I would return to several of these other lines, but until I find a more customer focused cruise line with equal value I will be cruising Viking if they are going to the places we wish to travel.

 

I agree completely that Viking's value for dollar is superb in comparison to other lines and its truly mind boggling (in a good way) how they manage to provide high quality food & beverage for example at the same value.  My mouth is watering at the thought of a steak in Manfredi's or the crab legs and sushi offered in the World Cafe as if it were nothing...yes, they offer much better value than the majority of the mainstream lines!

 

The comment about their ability to better repatriate their crew is the question however, because they are at the same mercy as every other cruise line when it comes to dealing with government red tape.  If Hagen flew crew home on his private jet I would tip my hat and say they've gone above and beyond, but to say they as a company have limited experience is a bit of a cop out given all of their staff both onboard and in the office have been compiled from other cruise lines so is not like they're going in blind.  As for the fleet size, surely you've got to accept that repatriating 2000 crew (round number for arguments sake) is a much easier task than having to repatriate 20,000 crew and with a large number of Europeans onboard the logistics would be a much easier to accomplish and likely more cost effective if the ships are 'closer' to 'home'.  

 

As for the Alaska season i think the true barometer should be what the likes of HAL and Princess do in that sector given they've had the itinerary locked down for decades.  Although there might be a willingness for companies or passengers or states to re-open, I don't think any company with half a clue is going to willingly walk into the lion's den that is dealing with Coronavirus without some kind of vaccine.  Look at Cunard for example who were meant to have one of their ships (Queen Elizabeth) sailing in Alaska and since the parent company (Carnival UK) recently extended their operational pause until 31 July they decided to scrap the entire itinerary for Queen Elizabeth which I think is a smart move, albeit a tough one no doubt.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In Alaska the cruise lines need a foreign (Canadian) port in order to operate within the law/rules. What Canada is going to do in regard to "opening up" is anyone's guess. Mine would be they would demonstrate a reluctance to be invaded. Then there is the overall issue of cruising before an effective vaccine is widely available. Wanting to cruise and being smart about it are two distinctly seperate things.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Captain_Morgan - I agree with most of what you say in the most recent post.   

 

I do think, however, with so many planes parked and airlines really hungry for sales that chartering planes to take 20,000 crew home would allow a major cruise line with the desire to do so to move more crew home at a lower cost per crew member than Viking.   Also, Viking never had a reported case of Covid-19 on any of its Ocean Cruise Ships (which was not the case with many of the larger cruise lines you reference) and most of the ships had traveled more than 14 days before they reach a crew disembarkation port without any new folks getting on the ship except for pilots. Furthermore, Viking had a quarantine process for crew that came in contact with pilots when they came on board.   This I believe could help with the repatriation of crew when dealing with the various government authorities.   

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Dukefan said:

Captain_Morgan - I agree with most of what you say in the most recent post.   

 

I do think, however, with so many planes parked and airlines really hungry for sales that chartering planes to take 20,000 crew home would allow a major cruise line with the desire to do so to move more crew home at a lower cost per crew member than Viking.   Also, Viking never had a reported case of Covid-19 on any of its Ocean Cruise Ships (which was not the case with many of the larger cruise lines you reference) and most of the ships had traveled more than 14 days before they reach a crew disembarkation port without any new folks getting on the ship except for pilots. Furthermore, Viking had a quarantine process for crew that came in contact with pilots when they came on board.   This I believe could help with the repatriation of crew when dealing with the various government authorities.   

 

Great points, as if the Carnivals of the world really wanted to get their crews home, they would find a way.

 

I read an article where a mega ship received Govt approval to disembark US citizens at a US port, with the proviso they use non-public transport from the port to home of record. The cruise line retained the crew members on board, as it was too expensive. I can only assume cost is the same excuse for not following the Viking ships and others to Portsmouth/Southampton/Tilbury and flying crew home from LHR.

 

If Qatar isn't still flying, there were hundreds of planes sitting on the ground that could be chartered. With thousands of crew, they could easily fill multiple aircraft.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...