Heidi13

The latest 10-year Glacier Bay contracts were awarded by the National Parks Service to 7 cruise lines. Of the 7, only 6 of them are using their permits - Princess, - HAL, - NCL, - Viking, - Cunard, and - Seabourn Of those 6 cruise lines, Princess, HAL and NCL have the most visits.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but your post is simply that, as it is devoid of facts. Jim has experienced true luxury upon the high seas and so is well versed in true luxury sailing and today's faux luxury lines, serving the North American market. After completing the inaugural World Cruise, Jim & Lois completed an Alaska cruise with Seabourn. His post-cruise posts were extensive, providing factual comparisons to his experience on both ships. Personally, since Jim provides details, I tend to favour his reports as having more value, as a true comparison between both cruise lines. I'll also mention the recent situation on the Seabourn exploration ship in Antarctica. The ship had a damaged stabiliser, which a pax reported happened on a voyage inbound to Ushuaia. The next pax were not advised until after departure that the stabilisers weren't operational and they would miss South Georgia. Some pax demanded the vessel return, but any pax disembarking were responsible for their own costs home. They received minimal OBC. This treatment is not what I expect from a "Luxury" line, but is consistent with Carnival, who own Seabourn.

All depends on what you consider as "Luxury", as personally I consider very few of the current ships as being true luxury. Some are more "All inclusive", but since few modern ships provide "Silver Service", I personally don't consider them as being luxury. How many of the "Luxury" ships have butlers/cabin stewards that only have 5 cabins and the Steward brings your morning coffee/afternoon tea to you, wherever you are on the ship. Having experienced the tail end of the 60's/70's liners, few of today's ships are comparable to those standards. Jim experienced the Cunard standards, so I have no doubt he has also experienced the true luxury of liner travel. Since I am no longer looking for mandatory formal evenings, butlers/cabin stewards, silver service, etc Viking provides the ambiance and standards that meet our expectations. Based on my experiences, do I consider Viking as a "Luxury" cruise line - No. However, I also don't consider any of the reputed North American "Luxury" lines as comparable to the levels I experienced.

Based on what I have read and my knowledge of RHIB's, my best guess for root cause is the boat was contacted by a large underwater mammal, causing an upwards force. Another less likely possibility is contact with an uncharted underwater obstruction. The term "Explosion" was used by a passenger to describe the event and has not been proven by facts that have been published, at this time.

Since you experience less kids on TA cruises, the probability of the ship being at full pax capacity is fairly low as few of the 3rd/4th berth cabins will have more than 2 pax. However, the mainstream lines drop prices to fill cabins, so many TA's will be close to double occupancy. Some of the smaller ship cruise lines, who may not discount as heavily, may have lower occupancy. The last Viking TA, if memory is correct, had about 600 pax out of 930 capacity.

First and foremost, Alaska is all about the scenery and the experience, the ship is simply a means of transport. Therefore, when determining priorities, I would place the choice of ship/cruise line well below the itinerary and what you want to experience. Since you mentioned you may not do Alaska again, I'll suggest a longer cruise, visiting more than the tourist SE Alaska ports of Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway. You will also want to maximise your time in port, so pay attention to arrival and departure times, as all cruise lines are not equal. In general, Seattle based ships spend less time in Alaska, as they must stop in Victoria and have longer transit times. Some thoughts to consider: - Sitka is a great port that isn't on too many itineraries, - Glacier Bay, with the Ranger commentary and almost guarantee of seeing glaciers, I'll suggest is your best option for glaciers, although additional options are also worthwhile. My next favourite is Hubbard, but especially early season you may not get into the glacier. Tracy Arm, very few ships get in due to ice. - Prince William Sound is definitely worthwhile, as is a pre/post excursion to Denali, etc. - Ships, again not all are equal. Personally, I would only consider ships with wrap around Promenade Decks and other open deck viewing areas. I would not consider ships with limited manoeuvring capabilities, such as the Princess Royal Class ships. You will find lots of great information in this board to assist you in your research.

Other than Cunard you won't normally find many other cruise ship options for an E'bd TA in September. The other option you can check is freighters, which can carry up to 12 pax and still be classed as a cargo ship. Here is the link to the CC board. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/378-freighter-and-other-non-traditional-cruise-travel/

Rob - In addition to the closed Portside cruise terminal, they built a new International Cruise Terminal, at the mouth of the river. It is out by the end of the airport, so great for turnaround days, but not so good for in transit pax.

Have completed a couple of W'bd transits in Spring, early summer and with every ocean transit, the weather can be different every time. You didn't mention any ports of call, so it's impossible to predict the most probable route, which is a huge factor. The shortest distance is a Great Circle, which heads north, but most Masters when W'bd avoid that route due to adverse currents, so opt for a more southerly, or Rhumb Line crossing. A more S'ly routing has a better probability for better weather and warmer temps. For comparison, my last similar crossing was Antwerp to North Carolina and it was almost flat calm the entire way. We took the longer Rhumb Line to avoid the North Atlantic.

SS Oriana and SS Uganda

I have no pre-conceived thoughts on providing any tips. As the end of the tour approaches we review the guide and driver's performance. If they were excellent and provided personal service and/or value to us, they receive a generous tip. If they did the minimum, they get nothing.

Don - yes, eye relief is a consideration for those that wear glasses. Fortunately, not something I have had to consider.

Rob - When I was trialing Gen III night-vision equipment for our fleet operation, in addition to the night vision gear, the vendor gave me a set of Swarovski binoculars to trial. They were virtually indestructible and had amazing optics. Sadly, when I returned the night vision gear, I also had to return the binoculars. However, even 20 yrs ago they were over $2,000 each. When paying about $60 for Bushnells, even with a life-time guarantee, no way I could write a cost/benefit analysis, to satisfy the bean counters.

You will get loads of suggestions on specific brands, so here is some info on the basic specifications of binoculars. The first number is the magnification. In a marine environment, with a moving ship, to have clear viewing I suggest a maximum of 7 or 8. More powerful binoculars can have blurred picture with ship movement and vibration. Second number is the amount of light able to enter the binoculars. Higher numbers have more light, but are bigger and heavier. Personally, I prefer the 2nd number to be 50. Prisms - usually are bak 4 or bak 7. Bak 7 are generally found in cheaper binoculars and have a tendency for blurred edges. Bak 4 prisms are the better option, but are more expensive. Field of View - this is depends of the magnification and other factors. A larger field of view makes it easier to spot smaller objects. Measured as an angle, or feet at 1,000 yds. I look for about 350' at 1,000 yds. Having spent about 40 yrs at sea with 2 companies, they both used Bushnell for the ahip binoculars. Therefore, I have continued using them. They certainly aren't the best, but they are adequate and reasonably priced. I also like the permafocus option, which provides focus from a few feet to infinity. If I wanted some of the best binoculars, I would purchase Swarovski.

The arrival times may vary depending on the tides in the river.

Sorry, but that isn't correct. The "Inside Passage" extends all the way from about Olympia up to Skagway. In BC waters, the portion to the East of Vancouver Island (Johnstone Strait) is less than half the total Inside Passage, as it continues from the top of Vancouver island from Queen Charlotte Sound to Dixon Entrance. Since I used to complete 2 round trips each week along the BC Coast, it also has a couple of areas where you don't have land on both sides.

If embarking in Vancouver, it could be an issue, as you could be refused entry to Canada, at the Canadian port of entry.

Sailed in these waters many times, during those months and have seen everything from flat calm to storm force winds/seas. Tropical Revolving Storm season, which are known as cyclones, is Nov to April. What somebody experienced on a previous cruise has no guarantee what you will experience. To put it in perspective, I completed an entire season out of Sydney and every 2-week cruise was different.

The size of a ship has very little to do with the ship's ability to handle seas. The design, scantlings and stability have greater impact on sea keeping qualities. To put it in perspective, the inaugural RCCL 200K ship received damage during her initial crossing of the Atlantic, in seas we used to cross comfortably at about 20 kts. I have completed many trans-Atlantics & trans-Pacifics and encountered Meddy storms on 20,000 to 40,000 ton liners - Oriana, Canberra & Uganda and they were all vastly superior ships to any current ships of over 100,000 tons. Best current ship for a trans-Atlantic is QM2. Personally, I would pick the ship that best meets your cruising style - smaller more luxury, or a floating mega resort.

Viking can be assigned either one of the World Cruise Centre berths (92 or 93), or berth 46 in the outer harbour. You can check the port's website a few months ahead to determine if a berth has been assigned.

A very well written letter to Viking post cruise. In my experience, the customer service levels provided by Viking's Los Angeles Office are dreadful. The customer service provided onboard is normally vastly superior to that provided by L/A. May I suggest that shore-ex issues are best resolved by bringing the matter to the attention of the Shore-ex Manager, shortly after returning from the tour. If shore-ex feedback forms are not provided after the tour, feedback can be provided to the Manager, or one of his/her subordinates. With respect to cruise line shore-ex, they are all provided by contractors in the respective ports, and as the vendor supply is limited, many cruise lines use the same vendors. The cruise lines endeavour to monitor the vendors, with crew members provided complimentary seats, regular formal audits and pax feedback. The comp crew seats are limited and formal audits aren't overly frequent, so pax feedback is the primary reporting tool. Therefore, it is critical feedback is provided onboard. In our experience, the Shore-ex staff do accept responsibility for vendor failings and were very quick to provide refunds, even when they weren't expected. Note - I don't have specific experience with Viking audits of shore-ex, but have myself completed them for another cruise line. I fully expect Viking do the same. I have also seen crew members, lecturers, etc receiving comp tickets on excursions. Regarding the winery tour - you mentioned being brought into a room immediately upon return to the ship. The vendor's failings were probably brought to the attention of the shore-ex Manager by one of the comp tickets attending the tour. The ship did the right thing, as I have also experience. Had you brought the other issues to the attention of the shore-ex dept, I have little doubt you would have had similar resolutions.

Thanks for providing this comparison, as I took one look at the Viking binoculars and stowed them under the desk for the duration. Based on a full-frame sensor, your zoom lens at 400 mm should be the equivalent of 8x binoculars. The best magnification in the marine environment is 7x or 8x, so a 350 - 400 mm lens should be comparable, if Viking provided standard maine binoculars. Discounting the quality of the Viking binoculars, this comparison really shows the poor specifications on the binoculars provided. Personally, I bring my 10x50 perma-focus, which are stronger than recommended, but I've used them for many years.

Negative, sea legs is a reference to your ability to walk around on a moving ship without hitting bulkheads, falling, etc. Having that sense of movement once ashore, I believe is from the inner ear. Usually clears fairly quickly.

Thanks Michelle - An interesting change and it can't be based on segments, as this year's WC doesn't have any. Probably realised that the alternative restaurants on previous World Cruises were rarely full, so they removed the limits.

Since the arrival time is an ETA (Estimated) and having experienced Piraeus/Athens traffic many times, I'll suggest Viking have provided excellent advice. Personally, if booking our own flights on points/miles, we would get a hotel and fly out the next day.