Viking Expeditions Thread

[amyr]

1 hour ago, emileg said:

A little side story. We took Rovos Rail (a cruise on a train) from Cape Town to Victoria Falls. Every night was scheduled to be a formal night. The coaches looked right out of the film Orient Express. You were expected to dress up to play the part, so to speak. (No one was murdered!) HOWEVER, if the safari vehicles were late returning, you were instructed to come just as you are, and directly to dinner as there was only one seating that had to start on time, lest the food be cold.

I would love to do that trip, but the formal dress in the evenings is what has given me pause.  The Mr. said NOPE NOPE NOPE on dragging fancy dress to Africa.  I read that they will serve you in your cabin/berth if you don't have proper dress?  Do you know if that's true?  I want to do all the great train journeys - The Ghan, that Belmond one in Peru, and I wanted to do one of the fancy ones in India, but we did a Ganges River Cruise/land tour combo instead.  

[Heidi13]

I heard that Viking is accepting the first ship Viking Octantis from the builders today

[CharTrav]

54 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

I heard that Viking is accepting the first ship Viking Octantis from the builders today

woo hoo!

 

btw - while searching for that news I discovered this press release from last Summer about Polaris. 

https://www.vikingcruises.com/press/press-releases/2021-07-28-viking-marks-float-out-of-second-expedition-ship.html

Typing with one finger with a cat draped across my body. He thinks I'm a protoplasmic bed. 😁

Edited November 11, 2021 by CharTrav

[emileg]

On 11/10/2021 at 9:23 AM, CharTrav said:

No formal nights EVER! On River, Ocean, or Expedition. Check out the FAQs for each under Life on Board - what is the dress code? In the case of VE, it's

"During the day, dress is casual—slacks or jeans and comfortable shoes/boots that are appropriate for excursions/landing or enjoying the ship. Swimsuits, brief shorts, cover-ups and exercise attire should be reserved for the Fitness Center and pool areas. There are no “formal nights” in the evening; evening dress is “elegant casual” for all dining venues, performances and special events. On these occasions, required attire for ladies includes a dress, skirt or slacks with a sweater or blouse; for gentlemen, trousers and a collared shirt. A tie and jacket are optional; jeans are not permitted. The evening dress excludes the World Café, where the dress remains casual, including jeans and boots, after 6:00 PM."

The wording is similar for VO and VR. 

 

Thank you. This is very helpful.

[emileg]

On 11/10/2021 at 9:56 AM, amyr said:

I would love to do that trip, but the formal dress in the evenings is what has given me pause.  The Mr. said NOPE NOPE NOPE on dragging fancy dress to Africa.  I read that they will serve you in your cabin/berth if you don't have proper dress?  Do you know if that's true?  I want to do all the great train journeys - The Ghan, that Belmond one in Peru, and I wanted to do one of the fancy ones in India, but we did a Ganges River Cruise/land tour combo instead.  

Sorry, I don't recall if anyone was served in the cabin. My guess is everyone knew the rules. BTW, for men, it didn't have to be a tuxedo. A suit was fine.

[Harrietq]

Regarding dinner reservations, I’ll be interested to see if the MDR reservations “stick”. In October, we were on the Venus and all MDR reservations were tossed out (and unneeded) as there were only 480 pax aboard. Also, Chef’s Table and Manfredi’s tables were routinely available for walk-ins.

 

Since we’re in the lowest cabin class, I’m hopeful. I’m happiest with the MDR. I really don’t care for the World  Cafe at night - but the dinner vibe could be very different on an expedition ship. Any road, we certainly will not go hungry. We sail 2/14!

[CharTrav]

3 hours ago, Harrietq said:

I’m happiest with the MDR

we have yet to eat in the MDR.  On our past 2 cruises -- we principally ate in the World Cafe with a few forays into Manfredi's and the Chef's Table.  Our plans for our cruise next May is to make sure we expand our horizons to include the MDR.

[emileg]

Sadly, the January 12, 2022 expedition to Antarctica has been cancelled due to supply chain problems. We were rebooked on the February 14 cruise, but rearranging flights will be a costly nightmare. I will keep you informed as we learn more.

[Harrietq]

17 minutes ago, emileg said:

Sadly, the January 12, 2022 expedition to Antarctica has been cancelled due to supply chain problems. We were rebooked on the February 14 cruise, but rearranging flights will be a costly nightmare. I will keep you informed as we learn more.

Emile, I was sorry to see that news. If you can rearrange your flights, I’ll look forward to meeting you on board on the 14th. I must admit, I’m holding my breath now for the 14th. 

[emileg]

5 hours ago, Harrietq said:

Emile, I was sorry to see that news. If you can rearrange your flights, I’ll look forward to meeting you on board on the 14th. I must admit, I’m holding my breath now for the 14th. 

If we can work out the air (changeable, but not refundable), then we look forward to meeting you as well. I will post on the February 14 thread.

[emileg]

On 11/19/2021 at 2:27 PM, emileg said:

If we can work out the air (changeable, but not refundable), then we look forward to meeting you as well. I will post on the February 14 thread.

We were able to sort out the flight change today with American Airlines. So, it is definitely a go for us on the February 14 expedition.

[brosen1]

Emile, I'm glad that you are finally able to get on the antarctic cruise.  We're still hoping for January 23rd.  Enjoy!  Barry

[2017VikingWorldCruiser]

Very disappointed in Viking.

 

In October 2019, while on our second Viking World Cruise, Viking announced and gave “first opportunity” to those on our cruise to be the first to travel to Antarctica on their brand new expedition ship. The included perks were a $1,000 price discount, the “Silver Spirits” drink package and prepaid tips. We signed up on 10/15/2019, and paid for the cruise in full on the required payment date 9/18/2020 (16 months before the cruise date).

 

Forward to 11/18/2021, (less than 60 days to Jan 13, 2022 embarkation) we get an email telling us that Viking “must cancel the first planned departure of the Antarctic Explorer itinerary”. Without consulting us for our preferences, Viking moved us to a date and room location that did not work for us.

 

I called on 11/19 to discuss options and was told we could cancel and receive a full refund or take a future cruise voucher for the amount we paid or select a different sailing date. I was also told the perks we received with the initial booking would follow if we picked a different sailing date, that turned out to be false!

 

Our initial inclination was to cancel and get a cash refund but after sleeping on it we thought we’d push the booking to December 2022, (one of the options we were given). When my travel agent called to verify the booking would push everything as initially booked she was told that ALL the perks we had received would no longer be provided. I called Viking again and was told firmly that my agent was correct and all my perks would be lost.

 

I am very disappointed that Viking would penalize passengers after THEY cancelled a trip by removing promised perks. I used to tell friends that Viking takes care of its passengers, they have proven me wrong. I’m so disappointed in Viking.

 

I have told my agent to cancel my booking.

 

[photopro2]

1 hour ago, 2017VikingWorldCruiser said:

Very disappointed in Viking.

I certainly would be too, given your experience.

 

The difficulty of obtaining reliable information from their customer service agents via the phone is one of the very few criticisms that I have of Viking. There have been numerous posts such as yours, detailing issues of this kind. I also have first hand experience of office staff apparently trying to make up policy "off the cuff" regarding refunds for airfare upgrades on cancelled cruises.

 

Despite what the Viking agent told you the fact is that we had a promotional drinks package carried across from an Ocean cruise (which we chose to cancel) onto an Expedition cruise without any difficulty. This was in line with the information you were originally given.

 

My strong suspicion is that you and your TA encountered poorly trained Viking agents (which sadly seems to happen more often than it should) and an email to tellus@viking.com would have solicited a very different result from senior management. Unfortunately as you have already cancelled this is not an option and you will now never know. 

 

However, I would suggest to others that if you ever run into a serious problem such as this do not take what you are told by an agent on the telephone at face value. Instead pass the issue up to management by using the email address and get a definitive written response.

[Hallie0812]

Since the January 2022 Antarctica cruise was cancelled, does anyone know when the first sailing will be in 2022.

[CharTrav]

On 11/27/2021 at 2:08 PM, Hallie0812 said:

Since the January 2022 Antarctica cruise was cancelled, does anyone know when the first sailing will be in 2022.

VE site says Feb 3 for Antarctic Explorer. I'm assuming that's the one you're asking about? The sailing for Jan 23 indicates Sold Out but given your experience that may mean that instead of being really Sold Out, there's a hold on new bookings until the decision is made to cancel or not. Feb 3 is still open for new bookings as are all the dates afterwards. 

[CharTrav]

Separate news for those on this thread.  Just checked the VE site and it looks like the schedule has gone thru big updates in the past few days. New cruises added in 2023 for both Polaris and Octantis. Will be updating my consolidated schedule spreadsheet to post soon but thought you all would appreciate a heads up about this development. Suggest you give a gander to the VE site to see what's been added. The schedule now goes out to October 2023 with both ships plying the Great Lakes. 

[brosen1]

Viking says that our January 23rd Antarctic cruise is still on, and we were just given reservations for the restaurants.  We just hope that Omicron doesn't change everything. 

[CharTrav]

4 minutes ago, brosen1 said:

Viking says that our January 23rd Antarctic cruise is still on, and we were just given reservations for the restaurants.  We just hope that Omicron doesn't change everything. 

Good to know and glad that my guarded pessimism was unwarranted!!! 👍🏼

[emileg]

18 hours ago, brosen1 said:

Viking says that our January 23rd Antarctic cruise is still on, and we were just given reservations for the restaurants.  We just hope that Omicron doesn't change everything. 

I sure hope this January 23 expedition is a go. We also were able to book dining reservations for the January 12 cruise and a few days later, we know what happened. There is insufficient data on Omicron for at least two weeks. My big concern is whether Argentina closes its borders again, and whether Viking is able to put the finishing touches on the ship, as well as provision it.

 

This website appears to have very up to date information on travel bans, country by country:  https://travelbans.org/south-america/argentina/  I checked other countries that made changes two days ago, and the information was accurate.

[Porcupine 52]

3 hours ago, emileg said:

I sure hope this January 23 expedition is a go. We also were able to book dining reservations for the January 12 cruise and a few days later, we know what happened. There is insufficient data on Omicron for at least two weeks. My big concern is whether Argentina closes its borders again, and whether Viking is able to put the finishing touches on the ship, as well as provision it.

 

This website appears to have very up to date information on travel bans, country by country:  https://travelbans.org/south-america/argentina/  I checked other countries that made changes two days ago, and the information was accurate.

I just have a feeling most countries are going to be hesitant about closing boarders.  We are dang near into this 2 years now and most of the tourist areas have been hard hit.  Would not be surprised if many areas will be requiring 3 shots.  What else can you do?  If they shut down again ( for how long? ) many to the tourist industries will go broke.

 

Just got back from Maui.  Think Hawaii is doing the best they can... maybe an example for other areas?  Still many shops in Lahaina are shut down.  If they go one more year it will be bad.....I sure hope the Feds have a lot of money...

Thanksgiving dinner.. plated... Luau that was my Son in laws first  was also plated....I'm just fine with that.

Shots and/or a Neg. test 72 before flight... think that is the way to go.  Kind of the same as Iceland.

 

JMHO

[CharTrav]

Two things - 

1. is it true that fitting out the Octantis is behind schedule? I heard that as a rumor. Hopefully somebody on this thread knows more about Octantis present status. The most I was able to determine today is that it is docked in Sovik, Norway. Is that the shipyard?

2. I have posted an updated version of my combined schedule spreadsheet. Details here - 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2651194-viking-ocean-combined-cruise-schedule/?do=findComment&comment=62223489

 

[Heidi13]

12 hours ago, CharTrav said:

Two things - 

1. is it true that fitting out the Octantis is behind schedule? I heard that as a rumor. Hopefully somebody on this thread knows more about Octantis present status. The most I was able to determine today is that it is docked in Sovik, Norway. Is that the shipyard?

2. I have posted an updated version of my combined schedule spreadsheet. Details here - 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2651194-viking-ocean-combined-cruise-schedule/?do=findComment&comment=62223489

 

 

I was chatting with one of the VP's from Basle a couple of weeks ago and he was in Alesund for taking delivery of Viking Octantis. However, haven't seen any press releases and she is still docked in the local Vard shipyard.

Edited November 30, 2021 by Heidi13

[CharTrav]

6 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

I was chatting with one of the VP's from Basle a couple of weeks ago and he was in Alesund for taking delivery of Viking Octantis. However, haven't seen any press releases and she is still docked in the local Vard shipyard.

Honestly!!!  I don't why .. sometimes when I post a response including a quote  from either Safari or Chrome on my iPhone .. I'll hit submit reply and the dang thing goes off it into the ether never to be seen again.  So... let me try again .. this time from my workstation desktop browser!!!

 

It's wonderful you are able to reach out to such contacts .. VP in Basel indeed!  Woo hoo!  Seriously -- it helps the rest of us.  If you should be chatting with that VP again, would you mind asking about the status of the Polaris please?  I know she's out of the shipyard in Romania and being outfitted up in Norway but that's all I know so far.  We will be on her first cruise next year.  Thanks much!

Edited November 30, 2021 by CharTrav

[brosen1]

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