Viking Expeditions Thread

[PeabodyMa]

8 minutes ago, brosen1 said:

We made restaurant reservations for the 1/23 Octantis cruise and just received medical clearance forms from Viking, so things look promising. 

Does an MD need to sign medical clearance forms?

[brosen1]

Yes, it's a fillable PDF that an MD has to sign. 

[PeabodyMa]

3 hours ago, brosen1 said:

Yes, it's a fillable PDF that an MD has to sign. 

Any chance you can post the blank form? It would be extremely helpful. Thank you.

[brosen1]

Here's the form. Pretty standard.

Viking-Expedition-PreBoarding-Medical-Assessment_R02b.pdf

[eylarson]

Our Internal Medicine Physician asked us to come in before signing off.  I suspect he wants to know more about the trip.  He is always interested in our journeys and has provided prescriptions for "just in case" drugs.    

[CharTrav]

1 hour ago, eylarson said:

Our Internal Medicine Physician asked us to come in before signing off.  I suspect he wants to know more about the trip.  He is always interested in our journeys and has provided prescriptions for "just in case" drugs.    

I suspect when it comes time for us to get our Dr to sign off on our forms next year he'll be just as interested. I've been telling him all about our plans. Is your Dr with IMAR by chance?😉

[eylarson]

15 hours ago, CharTrav said:

I suspect when it comes time for us to get our Dr to sign off on our forms next year he'll be just as interested. I've been telling him all about our plans. Is your Dr with IMAR by chance?😉

No he is not.  

[brosen1]

Did anyone make their airline reservations with Viking Air?  We re on the Jan 23 cruise and made ours directly with Delta for a 9 pm return on Friday, Feb 4.  I just talked with Viking, who told me that the charter from Ushuaia arrives in BA very late, and that they expect passengers to stay overnight at a hotel in BA and return on a flight the next day.  They never told us that, maybe because we made our own airline reservations.  But I assume that Viking Air would have told passengers their airline reservations are on the day after the cruise and put them up at a hotel. Anyone have any info about this?

[Frenchberet]

1 hour ago, brosen1 said:

Did anyone make their airline reservations with Viking Air?  We re on the Jan 23 cruise and made ours directly with Delta for a 9 pm return on Friday, Feb 4.  I just talked with Viking, who told me that the charter from Ushuaia arrives in BA very late, and that they expect passengers to stay overnight at a hotel in BA and return on a flight the next day.  They never told us that, maybe because we made our own airline reservations.  But I assume that Viking Air would have told passengers their airline reservations are on the day after the cruise and put them up at a hotel. Anyone have any info about this?

Our Guest Statement has an itinerary with port arrival and departure times.  What does yours show?

[Harrietq]

2 hours ago, brosen1 said:

Did anyone make their airline reservations with Viking Air?  We re on the Jan 23 cruise and made ours directly with Delta for a 9 pm return on Friday, Feb 4.  I just talked with Viking, who told me that the charter from Ushuaia arrives in BA very late, and that they expect passengers to stay overnight at a hotel in BA and return on a flight the next day.  They never told us that, maybe because we made our own airline reservations.  But I assume that Viking Air would have told passengers their airline reservations are on the day after the cruise and put them up at a hotel. Anyone have any info about this?

This was on our first invoice. We arranged our own air and we booked an overnight in BA. We’re on the 2/14 sailing.

Due to the cruise schedule for this itinerary there are limitations on flight times. If you are arranging your own flights, please be aware of the restrictions below and ensure the criteria is met.
Arrival:
Arrival flights into BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (EZE) must arrive no later than 5:00 PM on the day of February 15, 2022.
Departure:
Departure flights out of BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (EZE) must depart no earlier than 12:01 AM on the day of February 26, 2022.

[brosen1]

Sorry, but I'm having trouble with simple arithmetic.

 

If you arrive on the 14th and stay o/n, then your charter flight is on the 15th.  Does that mean that the charter flight is later than 5 pm on the 15th?

 

If you cruise ends on the 26th, and you fly to BA on the 26th, then how can you departure flight be out of BUENOS AIRES be 12:01 AM or later on the day of February 26, 2022?

 

 

[Harrietq]

Sorry, but I'm having trouble with simple arithmetic.

 

If you arrive on the 14th and stay o/n, then your charter flight is on the 15th.  Does that mean that the charter flight is later than 5 pm on the 15th?

 

If you cruise ends on the 26th, and you fly to BA on the 26th, then how can you departure flight be out of BUENOS AIRES be 12:01 AM or later on the day of February 26,2022?

 

That’s how I read it. However, I couldn’t find a flight before 10:00, so we decided to play it safe and stay the extra night in BA and leave on the 27th. I guess we’ll. spend our day looking for a COVID test.

 

Another snip I gleaned from reading around is that a charter flight may arrive into AFP, necessitating a cab to EZE. But, I do not know that the Viking charter lands there or EZE. 

[emileg]

23 hours ago, brosen1 said:

Did anyone make their airline reservations with Viking Air?  We re on the Jan 23 cruise and made ours directly with Delta for a 9 pm return on Friday, Feb 4.  I just talked with Viking, who told me that the charter from Ushuaia arrives in BA very late, and that they expect passengers to stay overnight at a hotel in BA and return on a flight the next day.  They never told us that, maybe because we made our own airline reservations.  But I assume that Viking Air would have told passengers their airline reservations are on the day after the cruise and put them up at a hotel. Anyone have any info about this?

 

21 hours ago, Harrietq said:

This was on our first invoice. We arranged our own air and we booked an overnight in BA. We’re on the 2/14 sailing.

Due to the cruise schedule for this itinerary there are limitations on flight times. If you are arranging your own flights, please be aware of the restrictions below and ensure the criteria is met.
Arrival:
Arrival flights into BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (EZE) must arrive no later than 5:00 PM on the day of February 15, 2022.
Departure:
Departure flights out of BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (EZE) must depart no earlier than 12:01 AM on the day of February 26, 2022.

 

20 hours ago, brosen1 said:

Sorry, but I'm having trouble with simple arithmetic.

 

If you arrive on the 14th and stay o/n, then your charter flight is on the 15th.  Does that mean that the charter flight is later than 5 pm on the 15th?

 

If you cruise ends on the 26th, and you fly to BA on the 26th, then how can you departure flight be out of BUENOS AIRES be 12:01 AM or later on the day of February 26, 2022?

 

 

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I agree. The arrival and departure flight times into Buenos Aires make no sense at all. However, I requested a new invoice. It now reads departure flights our of Buenos Aires must depart no earlier than 5:01 a.m. on the day of February 26 (for the February 14 cruise). While better than 12:01 a.m. it still makes no sense. Unless they are are going to fly us to Buenos Aires shortly after the ship arrives in port at 12:01 a.m. HAH!

 

I called Viking just now regarding the charter flights from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires. A very pleasant and thorough rep named Franklin advised me that neither the charter flights nor the first night hotel have been arranged yet for our February 14 expedition. He said the flight information should come in a separate email.

[emileg]

8 hours ago, Harrietq said:

That’s how I read it. However, I couldn’t find a flight before 10:00, so we decided to play it safe and stay the extra night in BA and leave on the 27th. I guess we’ll. spend our day looking for a COVID test.

 

Another snip I gleaned from reading around is that a charter flight may arrive into AFP, necessitating a cab to EZE. But, I do not know that the Viking charter lands there or EZE. 

It's true. There is another airport in BA for domestic flights. But, it seems likely the charter may arrive at EZE, since everyone's flight back, whether booked by Viking or independently, will leave from EZE.

 

Because of Omicron variant, it has just been announced that Covid tests have to be within 24 hours of the return flight, instead of 72. It doesn't have to be a PCR test. A home administered antigen test such as Abbott's BinaxNOW, will suffice. However, it must be supervised online, which the Abbott one is.

 

Further, the ship has its own PCR lab. I don't know if they could administer the test the morning of departure and give everyone their results in time. We bought the Abbott tests, just in case.

[brosen1]

My travel agent just got off the phone with Viking.  He said that we will have no problem making our 9 pm flight on Feb 4th (our last day).  Viking has multiple shuttle flights to EZA during the day, and passengers can get on depending on their departure time from EZE.  In fact, he said that people will get there so early that Viking is arranging sightseeing in BA.  A big relief! 

 

Viking will administer a PCR test the last day that can be used for the airline.  The COVID test is good for the entire next day, not just 24 hrs from administration.  That means that if Viking takes a test early on the last day, it's still good until midnight the next day, so you might not need another test if you're in that window.  If you do need a COVID test, Glenn at Secrets of Buenos Aires is very helpful https://secretsofbuenosaires.com/covid-19-measures-traveling-argentina/.  If you email him, he'll give you very good advice.  He offered to make reservations for us at his favorite tango show as well.

 

We will (hopefully) be back before you leave, so we'll tell you what happens.

[brosen1]

EZE, not EZA - sorry

[deec]

I will be so interested in your cruises ...we will spend New Year's Eve 2022 on Antarctica!!! 

[brosen1]

We moved to Florida from Shorepointe Village in Detroit, a few blocks from Grosse Pointe Park. 

 

Enjoy New Years in Antarctica!

[emileg]

4 hours ago, brosen1 said:

My travel agent just got off the phone with Viking.  He said that we will have no problem making our 9 pm flight on Feb 4th (our last day).  Viking has multiple shuttle flights to EZA during the day, and passengers can get on depending on their departure time from EZE.  In fact, he said that people will get there so early that Viking is arranging sightseeing in BA.  A big relief! 

 

Viking will administer a PCR test the last day that can be used for the airline.  The COVID test is good for the entire next day, not just 24 hrs from administration.  That means that if Viking takes a test early on the last day, it's still good until midnight the next day, so you might not need another test if you're in that window.  If you do need a COVID test, Glenn at Secrets of Buenos Aires is very helpful https://secretsofbuenosaires.com/covid-19-measures-traveling-argentina/.  If you email him, he'll give you very good advice.  He offered to make reservations for us at his favorite tango show as well.

 

We will (hopefully) be back before you leave, so we'll tell you what happens.

 You are right. I stand corrected. The Covid-19 test can be done the day before, not within 24 hours of the flight.  Here is the announcement from the CDC.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/p1203-covid-testing-tightens-intl.html

 

Thank you for the good news on the flights from Ushuaia to Buenos Aires. I also assumed we would all be on the same plane, like a 747. I feel relieved there are multiple flights. I imagine that will be the case from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia.

 

Your post has been especially helpful.

[emileg]

After reading a post about the "Panomax" camera on the Viking Orion, I was wondering if I could find one for the Octantis. Simply by changing the web address to Octantis brought up this camera showing the view from where the ship is now. You can use your mouse to move the image around. We can provide our friends and family this link when we are in Antarctica.  Enjoy.

 

https://viking.panomax.com/octantis

 

[deec]

21 hours ago, brosen1 said:

We moved to Florida from Shorepointe Village in Detroit, a few blocks from Grosse Pointe Park. 

 

Enjoy New Years in Antarctica!

I don't know where Shorepointe Village is? On Jefferson? Florida is a definite plus this time of the year!!

[emileg]

1 hour ago, emileg said:

After reading a post about the "Panomax" camera on the Viking Orion, I was wondering if I could find one for the Octantis. Simply by changing the web address to Octantis brought up this camera showing the view from where the ship is now. You can use your mouse to move the image around. We can provide our friends and family this link when we are in Antarctica.  Enjoy.

 

https://viking.panomax.com/octantis

 

Forget this post for now. The recording says it is from 2018 when the ship did not even exist and I could not get it to go to the present. When I substituted Polaris for Octantis, I got the same results.

[CurlerRob]

6 hours ago, emileg said:

Forget this post for now. The recording says it is from 2018 when the ship did not even exist and I could not get it to go to the present. When I substituted Polaris for Octantis, I got the same results.

 

I noticed that the website name (not the URL) had "TestImages" in it, so likely that's one of the issues - other ships have not had reliable streams over the past few months, so that may be a contributing factor.

 

I really hope that there will be camera images from Antarctica, as I'd love to see them as well, but my experience is that satellite access is touchy at best in high latitudes - poor line of sight to the satellites, and sometimes you are blocked by land masses such as fjords (or icebergs perhaps).

 

Andy has weighed in on this in prior threads as I recall - I defer to his expertise.

 

Take lots of pictures either way! 🍺🥌

[deec]

those going to Antarctica..Did viking send a list of suggested packing items...there was a slide during the presentation but have not seen anything else.

 

What kind of mittens are you taking and what are you going to wear UNDER your supplied waterproof pants?

[Heidi13]

12 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

I noticed that the website name (not the URL) had "TestImages" in it, so likely that's one of the issues - other ships have not had reliable streams over the past few months, so that may be a contributing factor.

 

I really hope that there will be camera images from Antarctica, as I'd love to see them as well, but my experience is that satellite access is touchy at best in high latitudes - poor line of sight to the satellites, and sometimes you are blocked by land masses such as fjords (or icebergs perhaps).

 

Andy has weighed in on this in prior threads as I recall - I defer to his expertise.

 

Take lots of pictures either way! 🍺🥌

 

Affirmative. The sats are in geosynchronous orbit many miles above the equator. When operating in high latitudes, the sats have a very low altitude, being low in the sky. They are easily blocked by land masses.

 

Never been that far north so can't comment on the footprint overlap, but they may also have some dead areas.