Iceland's Natural Beauty General - 2022

[Heidi13]

2 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Heidi, when I use Marine Traffic (free version), I can click on each blue "ship" (dot or arrow) and the ship name pops up.  But I'm using a desktop computer and the live map.  Maybe less is available on the app, if that's what you're using. But I can't get on the site what I used to get, which was intermediate waypoints with times.  Those used to help me figure out how long it was taking an Oceania or Viking ship to pass a landmark like a lighthouse after leaving a port.  So are you saying that I can probably do that by using what you described above?

 

TayanaLorna, thanks for that "Tiki" link.  Most of the links on there for the individual ships revert to a part of Viking's website.  I'm assuming that's because those ships are "parked" somewhere with their cameras turned off.  Or am I missing something?  

 

When the ship's AIS transmissions are picked up by a shore station, that is also what I see on the live map. When hovering over a ship within range of a shore station, you should get a text box showing name, Flag State, Co/Spd, destination and freshness of the position. Clicking on the ship provide a larger info box with more information.

 

For ships outside shore station range, I still see the ship, but when hovering, the text box only tells you the type of ship (kind of pointless since they are colour coded) and position is by satellite.

 

I believe the waypoints disappeared during a recent upgrade, probably another feature only available to paid users.

 

I also only use the "Free" version on a Win 10 laptop. Have used it for many years, even tracking my own ship, back when I was working.

 

 

[TayanaLorna]

4 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

When using Marine Traffic and the ship is outside shore station reception, it picks up the AIS signals by satellite.

 

With a "Free" account we don't receive any navigation data, or see the ship's name, but it still displays the ship's satellite position. On the ship's info page, at the bottom you will find the length of time since the last position was received. Using this, the ship's speed and the map's range scale, most of the time I can figure out which of the blue dots is the Viking ship.

 

 

Yes, I have noticed the time of last position reported but never took the time to do the calculations.  I miss our paper charts and navigation tools.

[Peregrina651]

11 hours ago, TayanaLorna said:

Might be better to get rain/windbreaker over pants.  If your jeans get wet you will be cold thermal leggings or not.

 

Agreed! Staying warm and dry is important. If you are wet and cold, you are just going to be miserable.

 

 

[Heidi13]

48 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

Yes, I have noticed the time of last position reported but never took the time to do the calculations.  I miss our paper charts and navigation tools.

 

So true.

 

The electronic charts with live position display/radar overlay, which were accurate to a couple of feet (most of the time), are definite a great aid when doing 20 to 40+ kts in confined waters.

 

However, I still miss the good old paper charts, as many functions were just so much easier and faster with a paper chart and tools. Sadly, we are developing a generation of Deck Officers that now have never taken a sun sight or fixed the ship's position on a chart.

[Travel2Learn]

Vesselfinder dot com is easy to use.  

[Heidi13]

19 minutes ago, Travel2Learn said:

Vesselfinder dot com is easy to use.  

 

This is another of the free AIS trackers, which similar to Marine Traffic does not provide Dead Reckoning (DR) positions when ships are out of shore range.

 

I have also tried this one, but overall, I find the shore station coverage is not as quite as good as Marine Traffic. Most of the mariners I know use Marine Traffic.

[PeabodyMa]

On 5/30/2021 at 6:31 AM, TayanaLorna said:

Earliest time allowed is on your Guest Statement as a warning if you are doing your own airfare.  They don't want flights until after 9 am.  They probably can't get us off the ship and to the airport by 7 am.

Most likely, the issue is due to saliva tests results before departure.

[Heartgrove]

10 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

So true.

 

The electronic charts with live position display/radar overlay, which were accurate to a couple of feet (most of the time), are definite a great aid when doing 20 to 40+ kts in confined waters.

 

However, I still miss the good old paper charts, as many functions were just so much easier and faster with a paper chart and tools. Sadly, we are developing a generation of Deck Officers that now have never taken a sun sight or fixed the ship's position on a chart.

 

Your discussion of the old navigation methods reminded me of one of my former shipmates being assigned to the LORAN station in Sellia Marina, Italy in the early `70s. Quite a change from the USCG lifeboat station where we served on Lake Michigan to Southern Italy. But that was better duty than a former shipmate from when I was on a USCG cutter. He had been attached to the LORAN station on French Frigate Shoals in the Pacific. Most of the shoal lies only one foot above sea level!

 

Edited June 1, 2021 by Heartgrove

[TayanaLorna]

11 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

So true.

 

The electronic charts with live position display/radar overlay, which were accurate to a couple of feet (most of the time), are definite a great aid when doing 20 to 40+ kts in confined waters.

 

However, I still miss the good old paper charts, as many functions were just so much easier and faster with a paper chart and tools. Sadly, we are developing a generation of Deck Officers that now have never taken a sun sight or fixed the ship's position on a chart.

The only additional aid we had in our early sailing days was Loran C.  When we got electronic charts they were on a laptop strapped down in the nav station in the cabin.  We still kept our position plotted on a paper chart in the cockpit.  The electronic chart was handy for adjusting position for current and drift.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

It's going to get crowded in Icelandic ports this summer.  Now we have another cruise line diverting to Iceland cruises this summer.  No wonder Iceland wants us to stay in bubbles on excursions .. Cruise Critic reports: 

 

(9:15 a.m. EDT) – Silversea is resuming service on fully vaccinated ships in Iceland and Alaska this summer, making it the first luxury line to announce a return to service in Alaska....

 

Silver Shadow meanwhile, will circumnavigate Iceland with the launch of three new country-intensive 10-day itineraries, starting July 30. The ship will homeport in Reykjavik and visit Grundarfjordur, Isafjordur, Siglufjordur, Akureyri, Husavik, Seydisfjordur, and the island of Heimaey.

 

Both ships will sail with a fully vaccinated crew, and require all passengers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

 

On the Iceland cruises, shore excursions are included in the fare, as cruises in the country currently require passengers to travel in a protected "bubble", which means passengers are not allowed to explore independently.

 

Highlights include a half-day tour from Akureyri to Iceland’s lava fields, hot pools and waterfalls; a puffin tour from Grundarfjordur; an all-terrain vehicle adventure from Heimaey to visit the Vestmannaeyjar Archipelago and the Eldfell Volcano; a 4x4 glacier safari with an ice cave visit; and a journey into Iceland's herring tradition in Siglufjordur with a tasting.

 

Silversea joins Viking and Crystal Cruises, which have both announced 2021 sailings from the island.

 

 

 

[Lugar28]

On 5/18/2021 at 3:05 PM, AKexplorer said:

Evidently I missed out on the included Silver Spirits package - didn't see anything about that on the 8/3 cruise when we booked 😞

 

I missed out on this too.  Maybe you've resolved this by now, but I called the Customer Service line and it was added to our cruise no problem.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

5 hours ago, PeabodyMa said:

Most likely, the issue is due to saliva tests results before departure.

I never book a flight in any city for at least 3 or 4 hours after the stated ship's anticipated arrival time on disembarkation day.   While it's tempting to get away and home as soon as possible, it can really upset things if you cut things close.  And especially with a lot of travel anticipated this summer, Covid precautions, etc. there's an even bigger risk of delays.

[Peregrina651]

4 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

No wonder Iceland wants us to stay in bubbles on excursions ..

 

I always thought that it was Viking behind the bubble not Iceland.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

My TA told me it was Iceland rules. And this article implies that's true, at least for cruise ships .  But who knows. Maybe it's both - at least for a while.  Next summer it will likely/hopefully be nobody's rule, but I wasn't willing to wait until next year.  But it may kill me, because I'm normally a real roamer/free spirit!

[LindaS272]

13 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

I always thought that it was Viking behind the bubble not Iceland.

Really? Not me. I think early on Viking even said it was the condition for being allowed to cruise off (and on) Iceland. It’s similar currently for Malta as well.

[patchicago]

Has anyone sailing in July on Jupiter seen menus for The Chef’s Table? Can you share a screenshot of the menu and dates if you know them, please. Thank you.

[Clay Clayton]

10 minutes ago, patchicago said:

Has anyone sailing in July on Jupiter seen menus for The Chef’s Table? Can you share a screenshot of the menu and dates if you know them, please. Thank you.

Unless I’ve missed it, no one has seen Chef’s Table menus for any of the cruises. While some have reported that they were able to see menus prior to boarding, our experience (admittedly only based on four VO cruises) is that only a sample menu has been available before embarkation. 

[patchicago]

21 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Unless I’ve missed it, no one has seen Chef’s Table menus for any of the cruises. While some have reported that they were able to see menus prior to boarding, our experience (admittedly only based on four VO cruises) is that only a sample menu has been available before embarkation. 

That has been my experience also but I too have read reports from people who claimed  they saw the chef’s table menus ahead of their sailings so I thought maybe practices had changed.

[SantaFe1]

Yes, on our 2019 WC we were able to see all the menus as we signed up, and we could pick the ones we wanted.  I don’t think they are going to release the menus to those of us who have booked already because it would cause havoc with everyone trying to cancel and rebook. But I have never yet had trouble booking once onboard.  

[Dukefan]

8 minutes ago, patchicago said:

That has been my experience also but I too have read reports from people who claimed  they saw the chef’s table menus ahead of their sailings so I thought maybe practices had changed.

On each of our previous Viking Ocean Cruises we were able to see the Chef's Table menues when we made our reservations over two months in advance.  When you are on longer cruises you often times want to select the Chef's Table nights based on which menu they are serving so it isimportant to know what is the menu each night of the cruise.  On a seven day cruise if you can make 2 or 3 reservations for the Chef's Table that is not as important.  Since traditionally the menu changes every three days,the most different Chef's Table menus you can experience on this couse is three. If you are on a 14 day cruise there would normally be 5 or 6 different Chef's Tables based on where they are on their three day cycle when you board.  If you can only make one reservation in before you board, then selecting the Chef's Table for the meal you think you might enjoy most is important to you.  On the longer cruises as soon as you board and can make additional reservations it is normally one of the first things we do.

[Australia08]

11 minutes ago, Dukefan said:

On each of our previous Viking Ocean Cruises we were able to see the Chef's Table menues when we made our reservations over two months in advance.  When you are on longer cruises you often times want to select the Chef's Table nights based on which menu they are serving so it isimportant to know what is the menu each night of the cruise.  On a seven day cruise if you can make 2 or 3 reservations for the Chef's Table that is not as important.  Since traditionally the menu changes every three days,the most different Chef's Table menus you can experience on this couse is three. If you are on a 14 day cruise there would normally be 5 or 6 different Chef's Tables based on where they are on their three day cycle when you board.  If you can only make one reservation in before you board, then selecting the Chef's Table for the meal you think you might enjoy most is important to you.  On the longer cruises as soon as you board and can make additional reservations it is normally one of the first things we do.

 

Yes, our 22-day Amazon cruise, Dec/Jan 2019/20, allowed us to see the specific Chef's Table menu for the specific night we were reserving (as our 2 priority reservations per restaurant).  I really liked that since we wanted to experience a mix of a menu we'd done before that we liked and a new menu that sounded good.  We could see the menu for every night of the voyage so I knew exactly which additional nights I wanted to reserve once we got on board Day 1 of the cruise.  

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, Heartgrove said:

 

Your discussion of the old navigation methods reminded me of one of my former shipmates being assigned to the LORAN station in Sellia Marina, Italy in the early `70s. Quite a change from the USCG lifeboat station where we served on Lake Michigan to Southern Italy. But that was better duty than a former shipmate from when I was on a USCG cutter. He had been attached to the LORAN station on French Frigate Shoals in the Pacific. Most of the shoal lies only one foot above sea level!

 

 

Before Sat Nav, then GPS was introduced to the merchant marine, I used LORAN C for many years on the West Coast - also used Decca & Omega in various parts of the world.

[patchicago]

42 minutes ago, Dukefan said:

On each of our previous Viking Ocean Cruises we were able to see the Chef's Table menues when we made our reservations over two months in advance.  When you are on longer cruises you often times want to select the Chef's Table nights based on which menu they are serving so it isimportant to know what is the menu each night of the cruise.  On a seven day cruise if you can make 2 or 3 reservations for the Chef's Table that is not as important.  Since traditionally the menu changes every three days,the most different Chef's Table menus you can experience on this couse is three. If you are on a 14 day cruise there would normally be 5 or 6 different Chef's Tables based on where they are on their three day cycle when you board.  If you can only make one reservation in before you board, then selecting the Chef's Table for the meal you think you might enjoy most is important to you.  On the longer cruises as soon as you board and can make additional reservations it is normally one of the first things we do.

I’ve been on 2 VO cruises (each 13 days or longer) and don’t remember being able to see the chef’s table menus before sailing. I didn’t book any specialty restaurants before sailing on either of those cruises. Each day I decided where I wanted to have supper and either tried to book a table earlier in the day or just showed up when I was hungry. I was never turned away, maybe because I travel solo and was happy to sit at a shared table when asked. For this cruise I thought I would book a few tables in advance because it adds to my trip excitement especially because I can’t see shoreX yet. And because, as of right now, they do not plan on offering shared tables in the specialty restaurants. I do have reservations for the MDR each night and will replace those with a couple of Manfredi’s reservations if available. Once Jupiter start sailing perhaps someone on a July itinerary can post chef’s table menus for me.

[id4elizabeth]

So today is June 1st and still no ShoreX for the July 17th sailing (promised for May 1), so I friutlessly contacted Viking and got a NEW EXCUSE.  Get this!

 

"Current world events in Europe prevent us from offering excursions ahead of time like we usually do.  Please check back with MVJ periodically."

 

So what do you think this means?  "Current world events in Europe"???  "Ahead of time"???  Does this mean there will be no ShoreX before we get on board?   I was told that's all the information they've been given.  Which is even less than we've been given before.

 

My guess is this applies to all the subsequent sailings after the first 3 sailings, which have had their ShoreX for over 3 weeks now.

 

I realize some folks may be fine with just sailing around Iceland for 8 days, but is everyone else OK with no ShoreX?

[Dukefan]

53 minutes ago, patchicago said:

I’ve been on 2 VO cruises (each 13 days or longer) and don’t remember being able to see the chef’s table menus before sailing. I didn’t book any specialty restaurants before sailing on either of those cruises. Each day I decided where I wanted to have supper and either tried to book a table earlier in the day or just showed up when I was hungry. I was never turned away, maybe because I travel solo and was happy to sit at a shared table when asked. For this cruise I thought I would book a few tables in advance because it adds to my trip excitement especially because I can’t see shoreX yet. And because, as of right now, they do not plan on offering shared tables in the specialty restaurants. I do have reservations for the MDR each night and will replace those with a couple of Manfredi’s reservations if available. Once Jupiter start sailing perhaps someone on a July itinerary can post chef’s table menus for me.

On every other Viking Cruise that I have been on (three), I have been able to see the Chef's Table menu by clicking on the day on the reservation site. What I would do was click on each day before making my reservation to determine which of the days I wanted to book based on the menu.   To be clear the actual menu does not appear. What appears is Xiang, Asian Panorama, Mexico, La Route Des Indes, Erling's Scandinavian Bistro, Lotus, Venice Carnval, Sweet and Salty or one of the other Chef's Table Menu titles.  I made a list of what is the menu for each of these so it was easy to pick my favorites of what was available on each cruise.   If you are interested I have attached the various menus that I have seen or eaten in a word document.

viking chef's table.docx