Live from the Viking Sky (Ft Lauderdale to London) December 20, 2023 - May 6, 2024

[Liz Masterson]

Thank you for posting about the crew enjoying their time while waiting for the passengers to return! I felt the same as you but your post changed my mind. Thanks for all your amazing posts. Now what will I read before bed… sigh….

[cruising denise]

On 4/25/2024 at 5:56 AM, Groovybusybee said:

I’ve been following both World Cruise threads since the beginning, and have thoroughly enjoyed living vicariously through you. Thanks.

 

I’m just a little curious though………as your adventure comes towards its end, what are your emotions? Are you ready for home and your own bed? What will you miss the most? Would you do it again???  Was there a point when you were home sick?

 

feel free to answer or ignore.

 

Debbie

 

 

 

 

 

On 4/25/2024 at 4:49 PM, Clay Clayton said:

Hopefully some other WCers will weigh in also. 
 

The last sea days before we started this stretch of final port days, I was melancholy.  Not because the cruise was coming to an end (though that was certainly the root cause), but because I realized that taking a world cruise had always been a “some day” goal.  With that goal fulfilled, what to look forward to? What to try to plan?  
 

Thankfully, we are now fully engaged with our port days so as Scarlet would have said, “I’ll think about that tomorrow.” 😂

 

To answer your questions:

Not opposed to home and my own bed, but would be happy to stay on board 

 

Other than not having someone cook, wash-up, make beverages, go grocery shopping, clean our bathroom twice a day, the things we will miss the MOST are the wonderful crew.  On a “regular” cruise you get to kinda know the crew but  after four months, many have become more like friends and I will miss knowing how their lives are going. Our favorite bartender’s wife is due in June-would love to know how they are doing….will our favorite waiter and waitress end up getting married….etc. 
 

We have said we would definitely do it again!

 

Never homesick. (See cooking, cleaning, etc😂)

I'm only weighing in because Clay invited others to weigh in - Clay deserves #1 headlining here as he has kept this forum so lively and engaging - thanks so very much, Clay!

 

@Groovybusybee:  My own musings on your questions which will have a slightly different perspective...we took a slightly different path than Clay and Mike (and many of our other friends aboard).  We decided to disembark in Cape Town and spend five days there.  We were to receive a prorated credit for the days we didn't complete.  Since we have two other cruises already booked, with payments coming due starting this December, when we did the hard math we decided it was a better financial decision to apply the credit towards the balance for our next cruise, than spending it on the itinerary following Cape Town.  I had lots of second thoughts in the days leading up to our disembarkation, mostly because I hated leaving the ship and our friends, but ultimately have felt very comfortable with our decision (especially now that our next cruise is almost fully paid for!).  

 

We are so happy that we completed as much of the world cruise as we did.  Although we wish we could have completed the original itinerary, the places we have seen on this cruise were so worthwhile, and many are places we never otherwise would have seen.  So it was a wonderful and fulfilling experience.  Not a single regret about taking the cruise.

 

That's a really long-winded partial answer to your first question.  Here's the rest of the answer:

as your adventure comes towards its end, what are your emotions?:  I had second thoughts about leaving the ship as Cape Town neared, but came to peace with it.  Having five days in Cape Town was a gratifying experience for us.  I can't say how I would have felt had we stayed aboard, although my thoughts over the past few days have been with my shipboard friends, some of whom we will undoubtedly remain in touch with, and continue to see in person.  I know they are feeling quite sad about this ending.

Are you ready for home and your own bed?

I will admit that it felt very good to be home in our own bed.  I will also admit that it took a day or so till I consistently went to the right drawer/cabinet for utensils/glasses, etc 🫢 (Old age or long time away??)  It also felt good to resume some of my regular activities when home.  I got so many hugs at Pickleball 🥰!

 

What will you miss the most?

Being able to just go "upstairs" (to Explorer's Lounge) at the end of the day and hang out with good friends for an hour or so before bed.  Because many of us were together for so long, with shared experiences, it was like living in a small town where you get to know most (but not all) of the people.  Some you like and want to sit with when you see them at World Cafe, or at least have a chat with them, some you like a lot and make an effort to spend more time with.  Some you're not so fond of and just tend to, well, sit on the other side of the World Cafe from them 😂.  Like any small town!  I love small town living so this suited me well.

 

Would you do it again???  

Not sure if we would (though not totally ruling it out).  As we look back at the last four year's world cruises (beginning with 2019/2020), three out of four have had significant disruptions to the itinerary.  We're not just talking a couple of missed ports. Since much of the attraction with the cruise was the itinerary, we realize that not only do you have to be flexible and adaptable to the changes that will inevitably come, but it may mean you don't get to see a number of places you had your heart set on - i.e., the changes may be very significant, as they were in our case.  We have two more cruises booked now so yes, we will still cruise.  And I still prefer longer cruises.  But I think for targeting specific destinations, we may be doing more land-based travel.  

Was there a point when you were home sick?

Never!!!

 

Hope this helps.  I'll be including a post in our blog (see signature below) talking about life onboard for such a long cruise, since so many of our friends have asked about this.  Probably posting it in the next couple of weeks in case you have any interest.

[cruising denise]

I've been meaning to share this info for a while.  But geez...turns out that life gets busy when you get home - you have all these foreign activities to do, like grocery shopping, housecleaning, cooking...etc...  Anyway - I wanted to share some thoughts about how Viking treated us despite the "bumps in the road" (er, waves in the sea??) with our itinerary and the changes that became necessary given world events.

 

1.  Credits.  Although nothing was ever shared in writing, we were told that we would be given a future cruise credit based upon the # of days we gave up by disembarking early, as applied to our cost for the cruise.  With nothing in writing we were a little anxious but they were good to their word.  Although the wording in the email which we received a few days after disembarkation says "This voucher can be used on any new Viking river or ocean cruise and will be applied at time booking.", it was automatically applied (a few days later) to the cruise we had booked while onboard.  I had understood (verbally) that I would not have a problem applying it to an existing booking, and I preferred that it be applied to our next cruise, with payment due this December.  I had to jump through a couple of hoops but they did come through within a few days and transferred the credit to the cruise with the soonest payment.

2. Yellow fever vaccine and malaria pills:  I really credit Viking with quickly reversing course on their initial position that they would not cover these treatments, once the new itinerary had been announced.  We were able to obtain, on board and at no cost, both the yellow fever vaccine and malaria pills (to cover us while on the safari excursion).  I am grateful to Viking for doing the right thing here.

3.  Credits for excursion bookings cancelled due to itinerary change:  This was done automatically and expeditiously.  A+ on this.  Except for the following problem.

4.  Pre-boarding credits being "shuffled" inappropriately:  A number of us learned that credits available pre-boarding are treated inappropriately in the Viking accounting system.  (See a number of prior posts on this topic from a few months back)  We used ALL our pre-boarding credits when initially booking our shore excursions, which we did last September.  We took ALL of those excursions.  In late November, a new excursion (Sri Lanka overland safari) was made available.  We charged this on our credit card.  With the itinerary change, this very expensive excursion (I think $1700/person) was reduced from two to one game drive, and would have chewed up all our port time in Sri Lanka.  They were offering only a $200 credit for this change.  We decided to cancel and assumed that we would receive a credit to the charge card.  No.  It turns out that their system "shuffles" these credits (their words, not mine).  The pre-boarding credits magically had been moved to this safari and the credit upon cancellation appeared on our account as nonrefundable credits.  Which, with a few weeks left, we never could have spent.  As it turns out, we did apply them to the African overland safari so in the end it wasn't an issue for us.  But it remained an issue for others in similar situations.  I wish I could remember the user name for the guy who finally found a contact to help sort all this out but it took him a lot of perserverance, legwork and effort to get it resolved.  This is really unacceptable on Viking's part.  It's probably specific to a long cruise with very expensive multi-day excursions but still, buyer beware.  IMPORTANT CHANGE:  They have made a policy change that if you signed up for one of these overlands, involving planes, hotels, etc, it is now nonrefundable.  This is understandable since Viking is on the hook once they book this stuff on our behalf.  And they had trouble with the India overland initially in this regard.  However, when we booked the Sri Lankan overland this policy was not yet in place.  Viking needs to get its act together on this.

 

On the whole, Viking dealt with all these issues fairly.  Obviously I still have concerns about the "shuffling" of preboarding credits.  My other concern is that even though all our concerns were ultimately resolved, it can sometimes take a while to find the right person to help you.  It shouldn't be this hard.  

[DogSaysStayHome]

34 minutes ago, cruising denise said:

I've been meaning to share this info for a while.  But geez...turns out that life gets busy when you get home - you have all these foreign activities to do, like grocery shopping, housecleaning, cooking...etc...  Anyway - I wanted to share some thoughts about how Viking treated us despite the "bumps in the road" (er, waves in the sea??) with our itinerary and the changes that became necessary given world events.

 

1.  Credits.  Although nothing was ever shared in writing, we were told that we would be given a future cruise credit based upon the # of days we gave up by disembarking early, as applied to our cost for the cruise.  With nothing in writing we were a little anxious but they were good to their word.  Although the wording in the email which we received a few days after disembarkation says "This voucher can be used on any new Viking river or ocean cruise and will be applied at time booking.", it was automatically applied (a few days later) to the cruise we had booked while onboard.  I had understood (verbally) that I would not have a problem applying it to an existing booking, and I preferred that it be applied to our next cruise, with payment due this December.  I had to jump through a couple of hoops but they did come through within a few days and transferred the credit to the cruise with the soonest payment.

2. Yellow fever vaccine and malaria pills:  I really credit Viking with quickly reversing course on their initial position that they would not cover these treatments, once the new itinerary had been announced.  We were able to obtain, on board and at no cost, both the yellow fever vaccine and malaria pills (to cover us while on the safari excursion).  I am grateful to Viking for doing the right thing here.

3.  Credits for excursion bookings cancelled due to itinerary change:  This was done automatically and expeditiously.  A+ on this.  Except for the following problem.

4.  Pre-boarding credits being "shuffled" inappropriately:  A number of us learned that credits available pre-boarding are treated inappropriately in the Viking accounting system.  (See a number of prior posts on this topic from a few months back)  We used ALL our pre-boarding credits when initially booking our shore excursions, which we did last September.  We took ALL of those excursions.  In late November, a new excursion (Sri Lanka overland safari) was made available.  We charged this on our credit card.  With the itinerary change, this very expensive excursion (I think $1700/person) was reduced from two to one game drive, and would have chewed up all our port time in Sri Lanka.  They were offering only a $200 credit for this change.  We decided to cancel and assumed that we would receive a credit to the charge card.  No.  It turns out that their system "shuffles" these credits (their words, not mine).  The pre-boarding credits magically had been moved to this safari and the credit upon cancellation appeared on our account as nonrefundable credits.  Which, with a few weeks left, we never could have spent.  As it turns out, we did apply them to the African overland safari so in the end it wasn't an issue for us.  But it remained an issue for others in similar situations.  I wish I could remember the user name for the guy who finally found a contact to help sort all this out but it took him a lot of perserverance, legwork and effort to get it resolved.  This is really unacceptable on Viking's part.  It's probably specific to a long cruise with very expensive multi-day excursions but still, buyer beware.  IMPORTANT CHANGE:  They have made a policy change that if you signed up for one of these overlands, involving planes, hotels, etc, it is now nonrefundable.  This is understandable since Viking is on the hook once they book this stuff on our behalf.  And they had trouble with the India overland initially in this regard.  However, when we booked the Sri Lankan overland this policy was not yet in place.  Viking needs to get its act together on this.

 

On the whole, Viking dealt with all these issues fairly.  Obviously I still have concerns about the "shuffling" of preboarding credits.  My other concern is that even though all our concerns were ultimately resolved, it can sometimes take a while to find the right person to help you.  It shouldn't be this hard.  

Thank you for posting the follow-up information. We have taken 2 prior Viking cruises and had similar reimbursement issues. In the end, they do the right thing, but the process leaves much to be desired, mainly requiring the cruise to be over before fixing anything. That's a hard ask with the WC duration. It's also nice that you summarized things in one place, as it gets difficult to find the various posts and comments. 

 

Your blog is one of several I've read with great interest, so thank you for sharing with us. As others have noted, my daily bit of reading about future joy is coming to an end. It appears that nobody is continuing on to NYC. Maybe that wasn't an option this year. For us, we will have over a month left after London and the joy of family joining us for the last 2 weeks onboard. 

[mariners]

As the World Cruise itinerary changed, come people chose to leave, and others chose to remain onboard.  Thank you to all of you who posted on this thread as it has given a wonderful overview of everything to take into account if one was to book a World Cruise as well as what can happen once the cruise takes place and/or changes while one is on a sailing.  It has been fabulous to follow you while you were/are on the sailing, and/or when you left the ship.  

 

cruising denise, your analogy of a World Cruise to a "small town" resonates with me, and, for me, it makes a World Cruise more appealing.  I'm not an "uptown girl" so it's a much better fit than I previously thought.

 

Clay, thank you so much for your posts and photos.  The only thing better than sailing with you vicariously would be to sail with you in person! 

 

This has been a great thread!

 

 

[cruising denise]

22 minutes ago, DogSaysStayHome said:

Thank you for posting the follow-up information. We have taken 2 prior Viking cruises and had similar reimbursement issues. In the end, they do the right thing, but the process leaves much to be desired, mainly requiring the cruise to be over before fixing anything. That's a hard ask with the WC duration. It's also nice that you summarized things in one place, as it gets difficult to find the various posts and comments. 

 

Your blog is one of several I've read with great interest, so thank you for sharing with us. As others have noted, my daily bit of reading about future joy is coming to an end. It appears that nobody is continuing on to NYC. Maybe that wasn't an option this year. For us, we will have over a month left after London and the joy of family joining us for the last 2 weeks onboard. 

Wow, yes, that is a great thing about continuing on to NYC!  No, we didn't have that option this year!  Now it will be our turn to follow you all!  I just found the roll call today and have started "lurking" (and butting in 😁).  Jealous!!!

 

Glad you enjoyed our blog....as with posting here, I've fallen a bit behind and still have to finish up the last several posts over the next couple of weeks!  Eddie has stayed very faithful with the photos but I guess I've been the lazy one!

[janetcbl]

May I add  my thanks to all of you WC travelers for “taking us along”. If we couldn’t be onboard in person, we could enjoy the trip vicariously. We join the Mars in Bergen in 19 days; wonder if there will be any remaining WC passengers going on to NYC?

[Kountess]

I would like to join everyone in thanking Clay and all the other World Cruise bloggers and posters.  Your commentary and photographs have made this journey come alive for all of us who are following along.  As someone who is waiting in the wings, so to speak, I have especially appreciated the recommendations, advice, and thoughts you have generously shared.  My husband and I will be following in your shoes in about seven months when we board Viking Sky for our world cruise.  Luckily, we'll be going all the way from Ft. Lauderdale to NYC for 180 days. 

 

I hope someone on our cruise will take the lead in starting a "Live From" thread.  I'll try to add to it, and I'll also be blogging, although I can't imagine being able to keep it up-to-date like Cruising Denise was able to do so well.

 

Enjoy your memories as you look back on what will likely be a once in a lifetime experience.

[Hobson1754]

4 hours ago, janetcbl said:

May I add  my thanks to all of you WC travelers for “taking us along”. If we couldn’t be onboard in person, we could enjoy the trip vicariously. We join the Mars in Bergen in 19 days; wonder if there will be any remaining WC passengers going on to NYC?

May I just reiterate what #janetcbl has said above. Many, many thanks to all the WC travellers (particularly Clay) for their sustained contributions. I have to hold my hands up and say, from personal experience, good intentions at the start of a cruise to begin & sustain posting throughout a journey demands great discipline - I applaud you all 👏👏

[Clay Clayton]

When we got back yesterday afternoon, there were a few of the entertainment staff and other crew out on the pier with music playing. As we went up the gangway, the wait and bar staff were coming down. Soon there was a long line of welcomers. As each bus arrived the party got louder and soon all of us on the balconies were in the party too. 
 

I have always thought the welcome back on the piers was a bit much-the crew works so hard for us to then ask them to come out and clap and dance was not for me.  But after watching how much fun they were having together between buses-when there were no guests on the pier has changed my mind.  They aren’t being forced to be happy, they are having a good time together.  

 

 

We just docked in Dover after a beautiful morning of getting closer and closer to the White Cliffs. 
 

 

 

[Clay Clayton]

Writing this on Tuesday morning from our balcony overlooking the Thames and London just before they arrive to throw us off. I will post something after we get home with fuller thoughts (don’t forget we have a week in London with our newly college graduated niece who arrives tomorrow morning) but for now I’m going to repost what I put up on Instagram last night:

 

The last few weeks onboard Sky have been bittersweet as all aboard -passengers and crew realized this amazing adventure was coming to an end. That hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. One of the cafe servers made a special effort to thank me for suggesting to other passengers to let her and other crew board a shuttle bus back to the ship in Tenerife before the guests. This allowed them to get back before their shifts started.  She said she would “never forget how kind that was”. While that brought me close to the edge, it was when she said, “ Smile when you get off tomorrow, please don’t cry” that the tears started and have been coming and going the rest of the day.  
 

While we always get to know a crew member or two, after four months we have really become so much closer to so many more.  We have learned about their families, their hopes for their careers, the baby that is due next month back home, the toddler at home being cared for by granny while Mom is onboard making a better life for her family. Each of these people who work so hard to make our lives onboard a breeze have a story and it’s only because we have been together so long that we have heard them. We just finished our end of cruise survey and had to add paper to be able to commend all the wonderful people who have taken care of us for the last 120 days.
 

Mike and I talked about it last night, and while we loved all our adventures and have great memories of so many places, cultures, and people it will be the memories made onboard with fellow passengers and especially the crew that we think will stick with us the longest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Groovybusybee]

Well you might be a bit teary Clay, but your beautiful post has made me cry too. 
 

Thank you for taking us along on this adventure. I can’t see us ever doing such a long trip so it’s been fabulous to tag along with you and your WC family.

 

I understand the weather in London isn’t great today, we are basking in warm sunshine up here in North Yorkshire, but I’m sure it will get better. Enjoy your week in London and safe travels home.

 

Debbie

[Jim Avery]

6 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Writing this on Tuesday morning from our balcony overlooking the Thames and London just before they arrive to throw us off. I will post something after we get home with fuller thoughts (don’t forget we have a week in London with our newly college graduated niece who arrives tomorrow morning) but for now I’m going to repost what I put up on Instagram last night:

 

The last few weeks onboard Sky have been bittersweet as all aboard -passengers and crew realized this amazing adventure was coming to an end. That hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. One of the cafe servers made a special effort to thank me for suggesting to other passengers to let her and other crew board a shuttle bus back to the ship in Tenerife before the guests. This allowed them to get back before their shifts started.  She said she would “never forget how kind that was”. While that brought me close to the edge, it was when she said, “ Smile when you get off tomorrow, please don’t cry” that the tears started and have been coming and going the rest of the day.  
 

While we always get to know a crew member or two, after four months we have really become so much closer to so many more.  We have learned about their families, their hopes for their careers, the baby that is due next month back home, the toddler at home being cared for by granny while Mom is onboard making a better life for her family. Each of these people who work so hard to make our lives onboard a breeze have a story and it’s only because we have been together so long that we have heard them. We just finished our end of cruise survey and had to add paper to be able to commend all the wonderful people who have taken care of us for the last 120 days.
 

Mike and I talked about it last night, and while we loved all our adventures and have great memories of so many places, cultures, and people it will be the memories made onboard with fellow passengers and especially the crew that we think will stick with us the longest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clay,

Your well spoken post about how you loved the relationships with the crew put it exactly as I also feel.  That's why we have gone back for more.  Guess yall will just have to go home and plan the next one.  Safe travels and thanks for the memories.

 

[SailorPaulH]

Clay - thanks so much for your reports and photos - always a good read and kept us looking forward to our next VOC.

[Clay Clayton]

After 121 days with only a few hour of rain, I guess we can’t complain about the downpour while disembarking, but it seemed to capture my feelings perfectly 😂

 

After hauling our bags out to the Gypsy Moth pub, we ordered up an UberXL and it finally arrived 15 minutes later. XL in London isn’t as XL as at home but we and our bags fit (barely).  An hour or so after that we made it to the Premier Inn Paddington-both us and the luggage still damp but not dripping like when we got in.  

 

 

The room is similar to our DV home except no balcony, closet, or storage space but it does come with mood lighting!😂

[janetcbl]

Thank you Clay for your beautiful updates…your posts were often a highlight of my day. Enjoy London and safe journey home.

[shipboy]

@Clay Clayton great posts in this thread. If you do join the Southern Atlantic Crossing next year, I’m looking forward to the reports already 😀

[Ranger Mom]

I always look forward to WC season and follow along (plus individual blogs). Next season's cruisers will have big shoes to fill! Thank you so much for bringing us along with you. All the best to you. 

[stretchcruz]

I'm sad today that I no longer will have daily updates. I've enjoyed following you so much. Enjoy London!

[AvidCruiserToo]

@Clay Clayton thank you, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these updates daily. It has made this cruise a dream that hopefully one day we can do. 

[Liz Masterson]

Sigh….

 

😔 

 

I cheered myself up by booking a cool transfer/tour from our Santiago Hotel to board Jupiter in Valparaiso this winter.  Going to explore Zapallar and take a boat ride around an island of penguins and have a tasting of local cuisine and wine before we make our way to the ship. 
 

Made me feel a little better! 

[Clay Clayton]

Thanks to Resident Historian Mike Seigelfor sharing his poem about our World Cruise Adventure.

[Clay Clayton]

Amazing qualities!

[big_red5312]

21 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Amazing qualities!

Pretty sure they low balled the cookie numbers!

[vslparis]

12 minutes ago, big_red5312 said:

Pretty sure they low balled the cookie numbers!

Me too, especially with Michael in the Living Room bar being the resident

“ Cookie pusher “ 🤣