Heidi13

Since she was delivered in 2018, my best guess is she is heading to drydock for the 1st Special Survey. Singapore yards are popular repair yards, then she would deadhead to Hong Kong for the next sailing.

Here are my thoughts London - if Greenwich, you have a number of local attractions and can take the DLR or Thames ferry up stream to Tower Hill/Westminster. If Tilbury, unless you want to take the adjacent small ferry over to gravesend, a shore-ex/private tour is probably best. Dover - cruise ships dock at the west end of the harbour, which is a fair distance out. It is about 1.5 - 2 mls walk to the castle. The marine promenade is a pleasant walk, but the beach isn't fine sand. Could always taxi up to the castle and then walk downhill and through town. However, the surrounding area has some great attractions, so probably worth investigating shore-ex/private tours. Dublin - Viking will provide a shuttle service to Dublin from the port. You can walk around or catch one of the Ho-Ho buses. Holyhead - This is one port I haven't visited, but my researched had the cruise dock at the end of a jetty, sticking out from an island. Fair distance to shore. We had planned a private tour in this port into the Welsh countryside. Liverpool - ships dock by the Royal Liver/Cunard buildings, so easy to walk ashore. Belfast - I've been at a couple of berths, but you'll probably be using the berth close to the city airport, which is an industrial complex. I expect Viking will have shuttles to town. Lots of attractions in town and the surrounding area. We planned a private tour. Ullapool - tender port, where the tenders go to Ullapool Pier. Very small town/large village. We planned to book one of the local cruises and then wander around the town. Orkney Is - this is another port I haven't visited. We were tendering into Kirkwall Harbour. Lots of great attractions outside town, so we planned a private tour. Edinburgh - tender port, with tenders heading to newhaven harbour. The former Royal Yacht is a short walk and the area has lots of restaurants/cafe. Ready access to public transport to visit Edinburgh. Invergordon - the town is a short walk. This port also has many great local attractions, so we planned a private tour. Shetlands - another port I haven't visited. Again, we planned a private tour.

On the current World Cruise, I believe I recall reading of galley and Bridge tours being provided. Not sure about the shorter cruises.

Every cruise line has different pre-cruise and onboard perks for repeat pax and those that spend more on a cabin. On Viking, once onboard, which I'll suggest is the most important part of the entire cruise experience, all pax are treated equally and have consistent access to all dining areas and public spaces. As Jim noted, on Cunard and an increasing number of other cruise lines, the ships are re-introducing class systems, with specific dining areas, open decks and lounges restricted to certain pax, based on cabin class and loyalty status. They just don't call it First Class these days. You won't find this on Viking. Personally, I couldn't care less if the suites book shore-ex before me. If Viking can't provide the tours I want, at the times I want, I'll happily take my money elsewhere, finding a private operator. As pax, we are not obligated to avail ourselves of Viking shore-ex, as those are only 1 of many options available to us.

The cutbacks and service reductions started as far back as the 1960's, so are not a new initiative. They are all about maintaining a price point, so they have nothing to do with a cruise line's preferred age demographic. They have been common on the mainstream mega ships for many years, but since COVID are somewhat prevalent on all cruise lines.

The ice cream/gelato is made daily in the galley - it is beside the bakery, on the Stbd side, just aft of the Manfredi's galley. Unfortunately, I don't have photos, but recall chatting with the ice cream cook, when the final 8 pax toured the galley on Viking Sun.

In addition to Federal requirements, you should also check with the cruise line your are considering, as our preferred cruise line still requires mandatory vaccinations.

Monarch OTS is the ship that hit a reef departing Phillipsburg, opening up a number of compartments. The Master grounded the ship on a sandbar to prevent it from sinking. The ship was transferred to RCCL subsidiary Pullmantur and renamed Monarch. When Pullmantur collapsed in 2020, the Monarch was sold for scrap in Turkey.

Pax spending a number of nights ashore on world cruises is fairly common, however you have a number of checks to complete. Your first task should be contacting the cruise line to determine their policy on pax leaving the ship and returning at a later date. Whether they will charge depends on the ports and any potential additional costs from local authorities. If the cruise line accepts this practice, you would need to research that the ports you are considering disembarking and re-embarking do not contravene any Cabotage Laws. You will also have to research any additional Visa requirements, as different Visas may be required to disembark the ship from those in transit. As always, if spending time ashore, it is always recommended to provide your contact details to the ship so they can contact you to advise of any itinerary changes.

When P&O bought Sitmar they were after the 3 new ships they had on order, as P&O had only built the original Royal Princess since SS Canberra in 1960. Not sure why the family was convinced to sell, as I had already left P&O. In the mid-70's, I recall P&O almost purchasing the 3 Royal Viking ships, around the same time they purchased Princess, but they backed out in favour of building gas tankers.

Royal Viking Line might be history, but the CEO is still going strong - Torstein Hagen. Had Mr Hagen succeeded with his management buyout of Royal Viking, the current Viking Ocean may have operated since the 1980's, rather than 2015.

We still have numerous cabin 4000 labels from the 2020 World Cruise and even 1 or 2 remaining from our 2015 World Cruise. Unless they fall off, we don't remove them, as they are ironed on with strong adhesive. Every ship I worked on, or have cruised as a pax uses the same system, since I went to sea in 1975. If the tags are an issue, the self-service machines are a better option.

Chief - I concur, especially having witnessed collars deflate that are about 2x working pressure. Since the collars deflate, even if they were at 9 psi, I can't imagine how someone was thrown up in the air. I still maintain the boat hit something or a mammal surfaced below the boat. If they hit something, the hull would show the damage, so I am still leaning towards contact by a mammal.

For those of us not from the U.S. what is a tube of American Silver Eagles?

That's the best of the 2 options.

My experience is a little different, as I had no choice in the cruise line, ship or dates. I received joining instructions and flights to board SS Uganda of the British India SNC (BI) in Malta, back in January 1976.

In addition to the previous suggestions, you can also check out segments on the Princess World Cruise, which departs Australia around May. Stops in UK around early July, then heads over to USA.

Returning onboard times may depend on where the ship is docked/moored. At Tilbury, you are alongside, so should have continuous access to the ship. If moored at Greenwich, the ship is secured to buoys in the river, adjacent to the Cutty Sark. Viking use local transportation between the ship and quay, not the ship's tenders. Therefore, Viking are dependent on local resource to provide 24 hr access to the ship. Since local resources are not always available these days, I wouldn't guarantee you will have continuous access, as per previous cruise. Before finalising plans, I suggest checking the Viking daily for the shore accessibility hours and frequency.

Haha!! Jim - so was I, but I have the cure sitting beside me. Highly recommended.😁

Kent - I am presently sipping a rather pleasant Destiny IPA from Fuggles & Warlock Brewery, Richmond BC. Only 62 IBU, but it is a healthy 8.8%. Donated by SIL, as he isn't partial to the really hoppy IPA's. He prefers them fruity with lots of Citra hops.

Regardless of whether it is an included/optional shore-ex or a private tour, I have no preconceived ideas regarding on whether we will provide a tip, and if so, how much. Firstly, we research local customs, as in a number of countries, tipping is not required and is even considered offensive in some. If tips are accepted, we rate the performance of the guide and if they have provided us with great service, we provide a tip, with the amount commensurate with the value we received. If the guide just does their job, they receive nothing.

I have cruised out of Australia on P&O and Princess ships and P&O ships in Europe where gratuities were included, and they definitely weren't "Luxury". So included gratuities are no reflection on whether a cruise line is luxury or not.

I concur with Azulann, as the definition of "Luxury" is highly subjective. You may consider the 3 cruise line's mentioned as "Luxury", but based on my early experience on liners, I certainly don't. All-inclusive most definitely, but luxury???? How can you consider it luxury when they don't provide a flawless silver service dining experience. A true luxury experience also requires pax to dress accordingly, but Seabourn now accept elegant jeans at dinner. Personally, if I attend a luxury event, I will be attired appropriately in a dark suit/tuxedo and my wife in a full length dress or ball gown. When the dress code is elegant casual, I can't imagine how that can be considered "Luxury" Clearly Viking wasn't a good fit for your needs and expectations, so probably time to move on.

Jim - So true, as that was our experience as Elite on Princess. Invite to a crummy party where non-diluted drinks are rare, some free (ultra-slow) wifi and free fabric bleaching (I believe they may have called it laundry service) - sorry not interested. When > 1/2 a Princess ship is Elite, with Viking's repeat pax percentage, the higher level would have a higher percentage on Viking. If they want to recognise those of us with more days, increase the discount, delay the payment in full dates, provide access to competent customer service staff ashore, etc. Based on my heritage, my vote is for increased discount.😁 Since this is the Explorers Lounge and the sun will be at the yardarm in a few hours, I think I'll start with a rather hoppy West Coast IPA, followed up with an Irish Stout, if you please barman.

If LHR security is striking hopefully the Govt will replace them with the Armed Forces, similar to when the Border Force went on strike. Heathrow passport control ran quicker and smoother than normal.