Heidi13

BTW - I read njhorseman's post, and based on my experience in the industry, what he posted, is entirely true. The requirement to send the manifest is 96 hrs or immediately after departure from the port prior to Canada. If they send it 96 hrs before, if the manifest changes, they must update it after the last port. As njhorseman noted, the cruise lines do not have access to convictions databases, so they have no data to prevent pax boarding that may be ineligible in any port, not just Canada. The cruise line T&C most likely make reference to pax being responsible to ensure they meet the requirements of all ports.

Yes, we have a preferred cruise line, but frankly, when cruising to Alaska the cruise line should be almost irrelevant. Alaska should be all about the scenery and ports. The ship is only an asset to transport you through the amazing scenery. With 2 seasons working as a navigator and numerous cruises as a passenger, these are my thoughts, if you want to really see Alaska: - Avoid R/T cruises, unless you are starting in Seward/Whittier, as a land based pre/post tour provides a great opportunity to see more than the coast. This option isn't available for R/T out of Vancouver/Seattle and points south. - Most cruises state they cruise the "Inside Passage", but few of them cruise it extensively. Look for smaller ships that sail predominantly in the confined and scenic waters of the BC & Alaska Inside Passage. - Avoid ships that use the Pacific Ocean. If your objective is to see Alaska, why spend numerous days pounding through the Pacific Ocean. - SE Alaska is OK, but most ports are too touristy, going up to Prince William Sound is amazing with the scenic cruising past multiple glaciers and snow-capped mountains. - Glaciers - With the exception of Prince Willian Sound, Hubbard is probably the most impressive, but you aren't guaranteed access. I have missed Hubbard a couple of times due to ice in the channel. Glacier Bay - have been way too many times (couple dozen +) and never failed to see at least 1 glacier. Bonus is the commentary from the Park Rangers. Tracy Arm - the ship rarely gets up to the glacier and often doesn't even get into the inlet. - Look for the smaller ports that don't have Diamond International, etc - Time of year is also a factor, as by late summer daylight is significantly less to enjoy the scenic cruising, as the ship spends the day in port. In early summer it is daylight well into the evening. - Weather - Alaska and the open ocean can have weather issues at any time, but the potential increases significantly by September. - In addition to the ports of call, check the amount of time in port and also what the actual alongside times are. An 07:00 arrival and 14:00 departure may be 7 hrs, but what is open that early in the morning. Therefore, rather than picking a ship, I suggest researching Alaska and deciding what is of interest and picking an appropriate itinerary.

We also book DV cabins and have never made a dinner reservation pre-cruise. To be honest, we don't know what's for dinner tomorrow night, never mind a few months in advance. If we fancy eating at one of the alternative restaurants on any given day, we check on the telly and make a reservation. Never failed to get one within 1/2 hr of our preferred time. Some nights, we even stop by the host/hostess desk and request a table. Never waited more than 1/2 hr for a table. Note - our experience is World Cruises, which tend to be more relaxed.

Here is a link to the collection of Viking ship roll calls. Scroll down and select your ship. You can then look for your sailing, where pax on that cruise can discuss tours, etc. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/768-viking-ocean-roll-calls/

How was the town last week for The Open Championship - did you manage to get any tickets. Brought back some great memories watching it on the telly, especially when they showed a shot of the Jigger Inn.

We have been in ports where all bags/packs are subjected to a search by local authorities and in other ports where they do spot checks. If local regulations state "Zero" food can be removed from the ship, it is best to comply, as getting caught can result in severe penalties.

Please see responses in red.

Here is the link. Viking Mars is scheduled for Quay West. Saltburn should be the long finger pier and Quay West is the docks a short distance to the West. https://pocf.co.uk/cruise/

Shouldn't need a new SIM card in each country, as while UK was still in the EU at that time, we could use the phone in each EU country we visited.

The ship must send the crew/pax manifest to Canada Border Services shortly after leaving the previous port. This is reviewed and the ship is provided a list of any pax that Border Services have an issue with. These pax are normally prevented from going ashore until they are cleared by Border Services. Since you completed the ArriveCan and it is linked to your passport, they had no need to delay you heading ashore. Had you not completed the ArriveCan process, you may have been included on the list of pax that required face to face interviews with Border Services.

Once we get to Europe, we purchase a local SIM card, as plans over there are way cheaper than we pay. We don't get into contracts, we just purchase 30 days of service, which can be renewed online, if still over there. Back in 2017, it cost us about UKP 10 per month for calling, text, reasonable data and limited calling back to Canada. For this to work, you require an unlocked phone.

The other factor to consider is if the ship experiences any heavy weather in the Pacific Ocean, she could be late arriving in Victoria.

Google "ArriveCan" and you will find out the reporting requirements depending on whether you embark or just visit a Canadian port.

Hey Jim - your turn to scare everyone next Monday😁

The Southern Cross (Crux) can be seen from the northern hemisphere, but Bermuda's latitude puts it too far north. We used to see it from the tropics, so below 23 N. Best guess is that it is visible from south of about 25N. Hawaii should work.

While the Viking ships have less pax, which relates to a smaller audience, I find it all depends on the specific roll call. On the 2020 World Cruise, the vendor I used in Tauranga was amazed, as I filled his 10-seat bus and had a waitlist in less than 24 hrs. On the 22/23 World Cruise, for the Sydney tour, I filled 2 - 20 seat buses in a little more than 24 hrs and they will probably require a 3rd bus. All depends on how active the roll call is, and I also find the organiser's knowledge of the port, the vendor and the proposed tour helps to allay the fears of many pax that unless they are on a shore-ex, they could miss the ship.

Might be worth checking out the Roll Call for the Neptune's 22/23 World Cruise, as it is now over 5,000 posts and 200+ pages. You could get some ideas on how to generate discussion once fellow pax join.

You have a couple of options: - In those ports you have a number of vendors available that provide private tours. - Once you get onboard stop by the Shore-ex desks and they are normally able to work wonders, as they have cancellations and can often add additional resources. Not sure the issue with the TA being on holiday, as we when using a TA for the booking, we book all our tours ourselves. The shore-ex are booked directly through MVJ.

British Airways still has that configuration on the older aircraft where the window seat pax has to climb over the aisle pax when the seats are in lie-flat mode. Never liked that configuration.

Ships such as the Roald Amundsen are designed as Expedition Ships and I do not believe they have any vehicle decks, so they are small cruise ships. It is most unfortunate that many people still relate a ferry to bare bones transportation, but many of them are now as luxurious, and provide similar level of service as modern cruise ships. Especially in European waters, but even in Canada we have ferries with significantly enhanced the pax experiences operating on both coasts. On the West Coast, we have a ship that daily, alternates northbound and southbound 15 hr voyages through the BC Inside Passage, the parts of the coast that the cruise ships no longer sail. Built as a Cruiseferry, it offers a reasonable standard of passenger service and amenities, and the scenery is spectacular. However, prior to departure they load the cars and trucks onto the vehicle deck and discharge them upon arrival, so it is still a ferry. This would be close to your experience on the Norway coast with Hurtigruten. Even my last command, which carried 470 cars and 2,000 pax had 2 full passenger decks, with 3 venues to eat - snack bar, cafeteria and buffet. The quality in the buffet was consistent with your mainstream cruise lines. That was on a short run of only 1 hr 30 mins.

Unfortunately, only you can determine if the insurance is a good deal, based on your financial risk and level of risk tolerance. The financial risk depends on the length of cruise booked, as the short cruises only require about a $500 deposit and can be cancelled more than 120 days out, with a loss of $100 pp. Longer Grand Voyage and World Cruises have a significantly higher deposit, with a loss of $1,000 pp if cancelled more than 6 months out. You also would need to carefully read the entire policy document, as even the CFAR and pre-existing conditions waiver have exclusions. The other consideration to note is the Viking insurance has very low medical coverage, well below what we consider acceptable. When we use Viking insurance for trip cancellation/interruption, we always supplement it with additional medical coverage.

We brought our own tea mugs and pre-COVID, they were happy to fill them at the LR Bar.

Yes, if the Captain and Officers were in the World Cafe and chatting/mingling with pax that is a reasonable sign that the virus load onboard was low.

The Captain's Tiger is the Captain's Steward. They know everything.

In the marine industry, the Hurtigruten ships are known as I described them in my post - Ro/Pax, which is any Roll On/Roll Off ship that also accommodates passengers. Some of the larger ships with extensive accommodation and pax services are known as Cruiseferries. While they may provide many of the same services and standards as modern "Cruise Ships", they are not classed as cruise ships. With almost 30 yrs in command of Ro/Pax, and many years as Navigator on cruise ships and ocean liners, I do know the difference. Since the enclosed vehicle decks should be off-limits to pax when the vessel is at sea, it is hardly surprising many pax are not aware of the vehicle decks.