Heidi13

As I previously posted, the Master acts in accordance with the company policy and laws of the Flag State. Since the flag state is not evident from the photo, how can you possibly know this is illegal? Most cruise ships are flagged in "Flags of Convenience" which are known for having minimalist laws. Having spent almost 30 yrs in command of pax vessels, if I recommended charges of child endangerment every time we saw someone securely holding a child on the railing, I would probably be seeking an alternative career. This is unsafe, not illegal and is resolved by requesting they remove the child from the railing and not do it again. If they do it again, it becomes an illegal act by the parent/guardian by refusing to follow the legal order of the Master.

In my experience of 40 years of travel, prescriptions issued by a doctor in 1 country are not valid in another country. Another issue is medications have different names in different countries. There are countries on a World Cruise where medications can be purchased without prescriptions, but you need to be very careful. In Dubai, we visited a chemist recommended by on son, who worked in the country, to replace our stock of anti-biotics and some other meds. Fortunately, DW is familiar with drug names, so with discussions with the chemist knew she was receiving what she wanted, as the names were different.

Prior to booking the 2023 World Cruise, we moved the booking twice to a different cruise and dates. We retained the original booking number with the new Pax Statement showing the costs of the new cruise and also credits for all monies paid for the original, or prior cruise. It included the cruise fare, air plus, tripmate insurance, SSBP, etc. Therefore, in our case, we did receive credit for the Tripmate costs.

Last time we disembarked in Tilbury, on clearing the baggage reclaim shed we walked out to the parking area and were asked what transportation we had planned. We had an executive car waiting, which they called over to pick us up. Those wanting taxis, advised taxi and they called one from the queue outside the gate.

Rob has provided great advice. When cancelling a World Cruise, Viking did offer to provide us multiple vouchers of $10,000K, rather than 1 single large voucher pp. So request your TA to raise the multiple FCV option with Viking. Note - the FCV's issued by Viking, for the CFAR in the insurance policy, are only valid for 1-year. Please read the T&C very carefully.

Yesterday, my wife read a very interesting article from a pax on a cruise ship in this region, about the time of this incident. They reported coming across Drake Passage in rough seas back to Ushuaia and the ship experienced a failure of a stabiliser. They didn't mention the ship's name, but I haven't heard of any other ships in that region having issues. If the ship knew about the issue prior to arrival Ushuaia, but didn't advise the pax on the next cruise until after departure, that is deplorable.

Just to clarify. If you received a cash refund from the insurance company (Tripmate), you did not cancel under the CFAR terms and conditions, as those cancellations only receive vouchers, which come directly from Viking. Since you received a cash payment from the insurance company, you cancelled using one of the covered risks in Part B of the insurance policy. This is managed entirely by the insurance company, not Viking. When you make a claim under Part B, Viking are only the sales agent, similar to your local insurance broker. Should anyone receive one of these emailed cheques from Tripmate, here is my experience I received an email from a 3rd party - Deluxe Cheques, which included a link to the actual cheques. I printed them at home and on presenting them at the bank, it did take some time, as nobody at the bank had heard of this service. They could not be processed as per normal cheques. If you receive these types of cheques, the bank has to follow the instructions printed on the cheque and call the included number, which provided verified me as the depositor and provided the bank a reference number to process. At least this is the process in Canada, might be easier in the US. Other than printing at home, they provided 3 other options for an online direct deposit, but they all reduced the amount by about 5%. Since the cheques are different, my bank advised it could take up to 10 days to clear, rather than the normal 3 - 4 days.

Affirmative. At the control heads you select the area(s) of the ship to receive the announcement. To reach pax cabins they select pax cabins or all ship.

Clay, I believe you are correct, as I recall reading that the Crystal assets were purchased by A&K Travel Group, with a Manfredi company being part owner.

From Tilbury, you can take the train into Fenchurch St Station where you can access the underground. For car service, we use Addison Lee. Dublin - check out these options, hopefully they are all still operating HoHo Bus - 3 different operators Little Gem Tours o Full day tours from Dublin to the countryside o https://www.littlegemtours.com/ Kennedy & Carr o Full day tours from Dublin o https://www.kennedycarr.com/about-us

Since the L/A Office is only a sales office, it is not surprising that they are not privy to operational issues on a current cruise. The ships do not report to L/A.

This is an excellent point, as the initial post-COVID cruises in Iceland, UK, Europe & Caribbean also had numerous challenges. Add NZ starting to enforce their hull fouling standards and it is always going to cause issues of missed ports. The 2 Princess ships didn't help matters either, with the Ruby Princess back in 2000 and then the Majestic Princess with 800 cases immediately after cruising resumed.

Correct, you cannot address every action during the welcome aboard talk. The sitting on a railing is a dangerous act, not an illegal act, so the Master would have to act accordingly, with any punishment being commensurate with the action. I have experienced this a number of times, as the Master of a ship, issuing a stern warning. However, as I noted, if sitting on a railing was addressed during the welcome aboard, then it would be countermanding the order of the Master, which is an offense, which could result in removal from the ship. As a Master, I certainly didn't make decisions based on business, but I am definitely from the old school of ship Masters.

Unfortunately not a reasonable comparison, as the throwing overboard is an illegal act, which the Master will act upon. Sitting on a railing is an unsafe act, not an illegal act.

By booking on the US website you are subject to their Terms & Conditions, which do not include the same consumer protection laws you have in the UK. I would also be diligent in comparing the entire scope, as UK cruises tend to be more inclusive, whereas US pricing has numerous additional costs. Another risk of booking on the US site is currency fluctuations. I have tracked the Sterling exchange rate daily, for the past year, and it has fluctuated widely. Therefore, what seems like a good deal, may end up costing more. However, as with all risks, it pays to research thoroughly and only you can determine if the additional risks of booking on the US website are worth the reward.

Clearly this is both stupid and dangerous, but does it warrant a forced disembarkation from the ship at the next port. If reported to the Master, s/he must follow the Cruise Line's Terms & Conditions, so without knowing them it is impossible to determine what consequences the Master may enact. Unless sitting on a railing is specifically mentioned during the welcome aboard announcements during the Muster Drill, the Master will probably issue a stern warning, with the pax advised of the consequences of a repeat. If sitting on a railing is specifically noted during the announcements, that can be construed as not following the legal orders of the Master, which may get you disembarked.

The ship will advise what requirements have been enacted by the local authorities. In addition to the National Standards, you also have to consider the interpretations made by the local authorities. Therefore, always best to read what is posted in the Viking Daily and if you think it is acceptable to take packaged bars ashore, declare to the local authorities upon leaving the ship.

Travel times by road in London can vary widely. I recall a trip from Canary Wharf, just across the river from Greenwich taking over 1.5 hrs.

Affirmative, owned by RCI

Since Cruisemapper is often inaccurate, for a definitive answer I would only check the Port of London Authority to confirm which dock the vessel is using. It will also be included on your Guest Statement. I'll also suggest that since all the 3rd party websites get their information from the cruise lines that I would tend to believe the cruise line, before a non-affiliated 3rd party.

If the mooring lines are damaged they have spares onboard.

I wouldn't believe anything you receive from the L/A office, especially if it relates to the ship's operation. Ships carry a multitude of ropes for a variety of uses, but the ones they were most likely making reference to were the mooring lines. In 40 yrs at sea I have NEVER seen a situation where a ship couldn't dock because of mooring line issues. I have twice experienced unplanned departures from the dock, once to due a large ship passing at speed and the other an intense squall. In both cases we lost multiple mooring lines, but managed to throw a bowline in the damaged end and send it back out. Once stabalised, we spliced new eyes onto the lines and replaced ones damaged beyond repair. Therefore, the probability of a ship being denied entry into a port due to mooring lines is slim to none.

Wow, a detailed answer to this question, without knowing your preferences, could fill an entire novel, so here is the Cole's Notes version. - My primary preference is to have other cabins on both sides, and above/below to increase the potential for a quiet cabin. - Since DW is subjected to motion of the ocean, we look for a midships cabin on a lower deck. Deck 4 meets both these objectives, with the midships cabins being DV4's above the lifeboats. Have spent 80 days in one of those cabins and provided the Deck Dept know how to correctly stow boats, we never heard any noise, except when preparing the boats for tendering and the small electric accumulator pump running occasionally. - On many cruise lines they suggest not to book cabins by the lifts, laundry, etc. Many on this board have indicated no noise issues. We were close to the laundry and had no noise issues from the alleyway. - Dk 5 cabin also meet the requirements of the 1st two points, but are a little higher, so a little more movement - The fwd suites are significantly larger, but have no fwd accessible balcony, can be affected by thruster vibration during docking and anchor noise in heavy weather and anchoring operations. Spent 3 weeks in a fwd suite and it had way more noise and movement than our DV4. - Aft suites also have the potential for thruster and main prop rumble/vibration, but do have great aft facing views. - Dk 8 cabins have more movement and the potential for noise from the sports deck above. - Dk 6 cabins have potential from noise on the open decks/World Cafe above - Dk 3 cabins above the Star Theatre and Torshavn have the potential for noise from performances. - If opting for a PV, you may have a preference for a slider or hinged door to the balcony. A spreadsheet is posted on another thread showing door assignments by cabin number. - Bed direction - some cabins have the bed on the fwd bulkhead, others the aft bulkhead. If this is an issue you can ask the question for a specific cabin.

Affirmative Chief. We heard them weighing the anchor about 04:00, so with the transit to the canal entrance taking about an hour, we entered the southern approaches about 05:00. If naval ships, or ships chartered to a navy were making the transit, then the cruise ships would start a little later.

The T&C are what governs the use of the card. That is where informed consumers check to understand the coverage and exclusions. If you don't read the T&C prior to purchasing how do you know what risks are covered and more importantly, what risks aren't covered.