CharTrav

2 hours ago, FoggyEthan said:

It definitely seems like a one-off for Viking, since it's mostly visiting ports that are far off the beaten path. I'm hoping that Viking manages to create a good selection of excursions, despite their lack of familiarity with the regions. 

I'm that nutty lady who maintains a spreadsheet on Viking Ocean and Expedition cruise schedules and from what I can tell, I do not think the GrandJourney cruises (4 of them -- the big one plus 3 segments) from Tromsø to Ushuaia via Cork is a one-off. I've just spent a little extra time today looking at the schedules for Polaris and Octantis. From what I can tell .. and I may be completely wrong but don't think I am .. the cruises that cover the transition from Tromsø to Ushuaia will occur every year but will alternate between Polaris and Octantis on even and odd years, respectively. 

This year (2022), Octantis will start out in Antarctica, travel up to the Great Lakes, and then return to Antarctica while Polaris will start out in Tromsø to do the Arctic, then travel to Antarctica to join Octantis.  The next year (2023), both of them will travel up the west coast of SA thru the Panama Canal and then to Toronto to do the Great Lakes.  Polaris will then return to Antarctica retracing her previous path.  In the meantime, right now, Octantis remains unscheduled after July, which is when Polaris is doing the Arctic this year.  What I'm expecting is that Octantis will do a cruise (still not defined) that carries her from Toronto to Tromsø so she can spend a few weeks doing Arctic Adventure before returning to Antarctica using the same routing Polaris used in 2022, i.e., via Cork.  And that's how it will go -- both of them doing Antarctica and the Great Lakes every year and one of them doing the Arctic on alternate years.

Make sense?

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

The ship will clear customs and immigration in each port of call, just like any other cruise anywhere, and it will depend on the country involved as to whether or not that involves the passengers directly or not.  Yes, when you disembark in Cork, you will go through customs and immigration, just like you do for any other cruise, even those disembarking in the US, but again, it will depend on the country as to whether or not it is a "green/red zone" customs or a full inspection/written declaration, and a "wave through" or quick "look at the ID" immigration like most of US cruises have. 

to expand on this .. and this is based on pre-COVID experiences .. I agree with this completely.  When we did Viking Homelands in 2016 we were .. except for our stop in St Petersburg .. entirely within the EU and/or countries in the Shengen area.  Thus, the only time we had to putz with customs/immigration was in Russia (we had already taken care of EU immigration when we landed in Oslo).  When we did Central America & Panama Canal in 2018 we didn't have to do customs/immigration anywhere (some other kind of agreement that covers this??).  Sometimes we were told to take our passports with us but typically it was just our stateroom key so we could re-board. But do agree that when it comes to COVID procedures, each country has their own procedures.

16 minutes ago, eylarson said:

Curious on how the expedition clothing sizing works out.  We board ANTARCTICA & THE AMERICAS SOJOURN on 9 March.  

That's why this thread is so valuable!😁

56 minutes ago, RavensFan2011 said:

I created a Roll call for my Octantis Great Lakes 8/5 sailing.

Will I get a notification if someone joins the roll call? 1st time I’ve started one.

The default is to automatically send notifications whenever you create or initially follow a thread. You can control how you're notified for the threads you follow or create from your profile settings. For ex I receive an email anytime somebody calls out or quotes a message I post to this thread. I can change that to be daily or weekly but choose the default for immediate notification. 

Fyi to all of you who are booked on a specific VE cruise, in addition to this thread strongly recommend that you find or create a roll call for your specific cruise. I believe @emileg recommended the same. Let me reiterate what he said. For ex I created a roll call for the 16Aug22 sailing of Arctic Adventure. Even tho it's been ...to date...pretty quiet I fully expect it'll get more active this Spring 

On 12/23/2021 at 7:17 PM, CharTrav said:

being helped by a little furry feline while typing this...she has no sense of propriety at all

Here she is. Being good. Not standing on my keyboard!

1 hour ago, emileg said:

Thank you for the links. I already know my shoe size in US, UK and EU as well as the length of my foot, which is consistent with the shoe sizes. The problem is I don't know if an M8 is really the right size for my foot because it is the smallest size and there are many foot sizes smaller than mine. I guess I could order the M8. If it is too small, I guess I could get the cabin steward to exchange it.

are you using for reference your shoe size or boot size? would recommend checking out the size of your snowboots if you have a pair. from what I know there are really three different types of shoe sizes - dress, sport and boots in ascending order of sizes. Measure your foot length wearing the kind of socks you'll be wearing with boots.  If you already know this then forgive me. 

38 minutes ago, Oh2Bcruisin said:

Of course you’re forgiven. Just don’t feed the gremlin after dark. Happy Holidays and hope you have a cruise planned sometime soon. 

thanks. I'll enlist the bravest of my two fur babies to scare it away.  and happy holidays to you! looking forward to singing at our Christmas Eve service tomorrow evening. Have 4 cruises planned over the next 2 yrs with the first one next May in the Med. 

49 minutes ago, Oh2Bcruisin said:

BTW, I never implied a shakedown cruise was a bad thing. Being a test engineer I know how important it is to ensure everything is working correctly. 

Sorry. Don't know what got into me. Must have been a terrible gremlin sitting on my shoulder. 😔

Am I forgiven?

Just posted another updated spreadsheet.  As I stated earlier, I've been watching Jupiter's scheduled in 2023 with regards to the clear schedule gap in Sept/Oct '23.  It seems that it's been filled but not entirely . There is still a gap between October 25th and Nov 8th, where in both cases she's in Rome, a 15 day gap during which EITHER she does two 8 day cruises from Rome to TBD and then back or a 15 day cruise that starts and ends in Rome. I have scoured thru VO site and have come up dry. 

Checked the rest of the schedules -- no change for the other VO and VE ships (being helped by a little furry feline while typing this...she has no sense of propriety at all!)

10 hours ago, Oh2Bcruisin said:

Looks like the Octantis is just doing some shakedown cruises. Marine traffic shows her returning to Sovik on December 28th. 

You wouldn't want her NOT to do some shakedown cruises before she takes on paying passengers, would you?   This is good news indeed for those who are scheduled to do Antarctica next month.  My SIL&BIL are heading down to BA next week to do Antarctica with a different cruise operator.  They are still holding their breath until they actually board their ship.

Okey dokey -- spreadsheet updated and posted.   It's a definite grab bag of updates and there were alot.  Here's a summary of where things stand for each of the VO ships starting in Jan '22 --

Active:

• Jupiter: thru Sept '24 with a gap in Sept/Oct '23.
• Orion: thru Sept '24 (assuming Grand Polynesia in Jan '22 which is not yet posted to the VO site but is intended to take the place of the cancelled Grand Hawaii & Polynesia as I've learned in another CCF thread);
• Sea: thru Sept '23, and then Apr to Sept '24 (a 6 month gap -- wonder how it's going to be filled?)
• Sky: thru Aug '24;
• Star: thru Sept '23:
• Venus: thru Mar '24

Under construction/planned:

• Mars: May '22 thru Aug '23
• Neptune: Nov '22 thru Aug '24 (extra Med sailings added to 2022)
• Saturn: May to Sept '23 (for now)

I'll keep an  eye out for updates on Jupiter especially but if they happen during the next week I won't be able to deal with them until the week of Dec 13th.  And yes .. part of the delay today in posting this is I decided to tinker with the spreadsheet .. I'm hopeless that way..😉

To repeat my standard guidance:  If you already have a copy of the 2022-2024 spreadsheet, just use the link on the ReadMe tab to download a fresh copy.  If you don't -- here's the direct link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/smx4xeq1yhq8ymi/Viking Ocean Cruises (2022 to 2024).xlsm?dl=0.  No DropBox account required to download this file.

1 hour ago, eylarson said:

Our Internal Medicine Physician asked us to come in before signing off.  I suspect he wants to know more about the trip.  He is always interested in our journeys and has provided prescriptions for "just in case" drugs.    

I suspect when it comes time for us to get our Dr to sign off on our forms next year he'll be just as interested. I've been telling him all about our plans. Is your Dr with IMAR by chance?😉

11 hours ago, photopro2 said:

And just when you thought you were up to date..........😁

I see that Viking have just published a whole lot of new Ocean cruise dates through to September 2024!

Thanks for all your efforts curating such an excellent resource 👍

Just finished updating the spreadsheet -- will post tomorrow.  Spent some time studying a hole in Jupiter's schedule in 2023  (Sep/Oct). Clearly needs a way to travel from Bergen to Barcelona (Trade Routes of the Middle Ages?) and then a number of Med cruises like she is doing in 2022 so that her cruise from Rome to Barcelona in November makes sense.

3 hours ago, photopro2 said:

And just when you thought you were up to date..........😁

I see that Viking have just published a whole lot of new Ocean cruise dates through to September 2024!

Thanks for all your efforts curating such an excellent resource 👍

Yup!! Just noticed that and was getting ready to post a heads up that the VO sked got some big updates today.  Which, of course, I'm working on.  In addition to that .. which you've done quite nicely -- thank you! -- is the cancellation of Orion's sailing in January 2022 of Grand Hawaii & Polynesia.  No longer posted on the VO sked but will keep an eye out for how Viking handles this.

Will try to post the updated spreadsheet this week.  If I don't get it done this week, it'll have to wait until after I get back from a conference I'm attending all next week (omicron or no...).  (Yeah -- I'm retired but I have a little side gig I'm involved in that keeps me happy).

6 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

I was chatting with one of the VP's from Basle a couple of weeks ago and he was in Alesund for taking delivery of Viking Octantis. However, haven't seen any press releases and she is still docked in the local Vard shipyard.

Honestly!!!  I don't why .. sometimes when I post a response including a quote  from either Safari or Chrome on my iPhone .. I'll hit submit reply and the dang thing goes off it into the ether never to be seen again.  So... let me try again .. this time from my workstation desktop browser!!!

It's wonderful you are able to reach out to such contacts .. VP in Basel indeed!  Woo hoo!  Seriously -- it helps the rest of us.  If you should be chatting with that VP again, would you mind asking about the status of the Polaris please?  I know she's out of the shipyard in Romania and being outfitted up in Norway but that's all I know so far.  We will be on her first cruise next year.  Thanks much!

13 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Now posted. Plenty of cabins available

 

https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/caribbean-americas/mexican-riviera-sojourn/pricing.html

Thanks much!  Not that we are going on it but am sure others might be interested in it!  

Have also just posted the updated version of the 2021-2023 schedule -- the last and final update for it.  Probably of no use to anybody but I have this thing about being thorough. 😄

Two things - 

1. is it true that fitting out the Octantis is behind schedule? I heard that as a rumor. Hopefully somebody on this thread knows more about Octantis present status. The most I was able to determine today is that it is docked in Sovik, Norway. Is that the shipyard?

2. I have posted an updated version of my combined schedule spreadsheet. Details here - 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2651194-viking-ocean-combined-cruise-schedule/?do=findComment&comment=62223489

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Viking Orion is still sailing out of LA on December 4 and December 20. The replacement is "Mexican Riviera Sojourn" -- La Paz, Mazatlan, Puerta Vallarta, Manzanillo and Cabo San Lucas plus 8 sea days (previous itinerary had 10). I don't expect that it will be published to the website; we won't even be able to book shorex until we board.

 

It is too late to book for December 4 but if you are still trying to make plans for Christmas and New Year and are interested in a sail to anywhere warm, call Viking and ask if they are taking new bookings for December 20 on the Orion. Sounds like a great opportunity for those who are driving distance to LA.

 

thanks! better that this news comes from you who is going on it. 

OK .. have updated the  2022-2024 spreadsheet and uploaded it to DropBox.  Contains a minor update (reported earlier) regarding the Sea and the replacement for her cruise to the Amazon. No other changes to the VO schedule from 2022 to 2024. 
 

The big change in the 2022-2024 spreadsheet is for Polaris and Octantis (VE). A bunch of cruises added to take care of returning from Canada to the Antarctic region, as well as, cruising between Buenos Aires and Santiago (refer to the Log Notes tab where I provide details on the 9 new cruises). Basically -- the pattern that seems to be emerging is that Polaris and Octantis will do the Great Lakes/Canada and the Antarctic region every year and .. here I'm speculating but think I'm right .. will alternate who does the Arctic during August and September starting with Polaris in 2022.  I had assumed Arctic cruises could/would be scheduled all Summer starting in July or even June .. but it doesn't like that's the case.

If you already have a copy of the 2022-2024 spreadsheet, just use the link on the ReadMe tab to download a fresh copy.  If you don't -- here's the direct link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/smx4xeq1yhq8ymi/Viking Ocean Cruises (2022 to 2024).xlsm?dl=0.  No DropBox account required to download this file.

Have not yet seen the replacement for Hawaiian Sojourn in 2021 posted to the VO site.  When it is, will post an updated version of the 2021-2023 spreadsheet -- keeping in mind it now only contains updates for 2021. 

4 minutes ago, brosen1 said:

Viking says that our January 23rd Antarctic cruise is still on, and we were just given reservations for the restaurants.  We just hope that Omicron doesn't change everything. 

Good to know and glad that my guarded pessimism was unwarranted!!! 👍🏼

Separate news for those on this thread.  Just checked the VE site and it looks like the schedule has gone thru big updates in the past few days. New cruises added in 2023 for both Polaris and Octantis. Will be updating my consolidated schedule spreadsheet to post soon but thought you all would appreciate a heads up about this development. Suggest you give a gander to the VE site to see what's been added. The schedule now goes out to October 2023 with both ships plying the Great Lakes. 

On 11/27/2021 at 2:08 PM, Hallie0812 said:

Since the January 2022 Antarctica cruise was cancelled, does anyone know when the first sailing will be in 2022.

VE site says Feb 3 for Antarctic Explorer. I'm assuming that's the one you're asking about? The sailing for Jan 23 indicates Sold Out but given your experience that may mean that instead of being really Sold Out, there's a hold on new bookings until the decision is made to cancel or not. Feb 3 is still open for new bookings as are all the dates afterwards. 

VE sked just got some big updates (last checked a few days ago).  It looks like the 2023 schedule is being extended for both Polaris and Octantis including a number of new itineraries in 2023 while  other cruises are only scheduled (so far) for 2022. Will try to update and post the revised schedule in the next day or so. Until I do, suggest taking a peek at the main VE site. 

"Plan B" for the Sea's cancelled Amazon & Caribbean Adventure is now official and posted to the main VO site (after affected passengers offered first dibs on it).  It is Caribbean Islands Adventure starting and ending in San Juan. It's basically an extended version of West Indies Explorer -- adds an extra day in Bridgetown (Barbados) and Philipsburg (St Martin).  Not posting an updated version of the spreadsheet unless you folks want me to.