CurlerRob

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I did not do extensive research, but it appears that Nuuk's airport may be expanded, with a longer runway that will support wide-body jets in late 2024. Can't tell if the project is on time and it does not appear that it will be in play for your trip. Until then, only short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft can fly into Nuuk - the most common of which is the Dash 8. The 11.5 hour flight you reference from JFK is actually an Icelandair 737 max 8 into KEF (~6 hours), a short layover, then a Dash 8 from KEF to GOH (~3:45 duration). The Icelandair 737 has business class, but the seats are not lay flat (they are comfortable). Dash 8's are wonderful turboprop commuter planes, but tight economy seating only (as an example, standard carry-on bags will not fit in the small overheads - have to go under the seat in front). I would not bet on a charter - and if there is one, it would still have to be a smaller STOL and most likely would go to KEF in any case. No matter who is booking the flights, Nuuk is tough to get to - the cruise will be terrific, but I would advise adopting a very high level of tolerance and flexibility for the travel to and from Nuuk. 🍺🥌

OP suggests they will still sell airfare, but separately. As long as O plans to offer pax a price for future air travel, especially outside the airlines' release dates, whether it's included or not in the fare has no effect on the financial assumptions regarding profit.🍺🥌

Not possible to dispute your choice regarding the level of comfort! Best of luck for sightings in Svalbard. 🍺🥌

Svalbard is a unique place and completely worth the visit. However, if people really want to see polar bears, consider Churchill, Manitoba: https://www.churchill.ca/p/polar-bears This from Ny Alesund, Svalbard - it is never just a suggestion ... 🍺🥌.

We were in Seward on another cruise line in May - their excursion used Kenai Fjord Tours, who I suspect Regent would use as well. We opted for the 7-hour trip and were thrilled with it. Great scenery, excellent narration from the tour company (avoided non-stop chatter), humpbacks, mountain goats, sea otters, sea lions and two glaciers. Also a simple but good lunch. We were never bored on the whole trip and would highly recommend it. One teaser attached ... 🍺🥌.

Interesting. Given that the airlines don't publish pricing anywhere near that far out, it suggests that Oceania will be making "educated guesses" about pricing. That may require them to include significant contingency in their pricing to pax, or pressure them to arrange low-cost carriers/routings if they have guessed wrongly. Perhaps @FlyerTalker will offer some insight here based on his knowledge. 🍺🥌

Always referred to as "harmless black-tip sharks" in every cruise line brochure 😈. Generally they are small and well fed (not on tourists), so are usually quite placid. It was always the barracuda, hovering just at the edge of underwater vision, that bothered me! 🍺🥌

@CCWineLover kindly posted the wine list as of 2023 when he was cruising then. Just in case it was not clear - whether you purchase the SSBP has no effect on the availability of wines - it's just a different way to pay for those available by the glass (or discount bottles). You are always free to order and pay for a glass even if you don't have the package. 🍺🥌

Thanks Clay. I note the family retains 87% of the voting rights - basically no change in governance. Hopefully, this should reassure those who seemed to equate an IPO with an automatic decline in service quality. 🍺🥌

I can't speculate on that particular reason, but as I said, while my experience is that it's better than the cruise ship norm, Starlink is far from perfect. 😬 On a recent northern transpacific (different line), Starlink was out or degraded at times that made little sense. My best guess was shipboard mechanicals or diversion of capacity to groups other than the pax. 🍺🥌

You are confusing terrestrial access plans offered by Starlink (your map link) with satellite coverage - which what marine vessels need. https://satellitemap.space/ That said, Starlink is far from perfect as well. 🍺🥌

Viking is indeed an outlier when it comes to PIF dates, but for pax unfamiliar with Viking, let's please be accurate: First time pax may see PIF dates 12 months prior, or occasionally more, for some sailings. Agree - that's roughly 4x vs the industry. If you are on, or have another Viking cruise booked, you can shrink that time to 6 months. It's simple to book a future "placeholder" with a $25 deposit that allows a booking with the 6 month PIF. Don't confuse PIF with penalty start times - Viking conforms to industry norms with regard to penalty terms - 90 days for shorter trips, 180 days for long hauls. Their approach is anathema for some pax, others don't find it a deal breaker. 🍺🥌

T's and C's for both Silversea and Seabourn expedition vessels indicate they will allow children over 5 or 6, but shore landings are at the master's discretion. Suggest you review the Terms and Conditions for both lines or call them. 🍺🥌

We were on Star the cruise just before yours. Both crossings were fairly rough and it rained all 4 days in Hawaii. Not the normal "rain then clear" in the islands, all day rain. Conversely, we have sailed transpacific many times, always marveling at how well-named the ocean was, as it was nearly always dead flat. December 2023 was just a tough month - to the OP, there is never any way to successfully predict sea state or any "good times" necessarily. Even if it's rocky, it's still a great trip - enjoy! 🍺🥌

I think you've somewhat misunderstood. When you call Viking, you will be connected to the 'general' support system. Tellus@ is a higher-echelon group, staffed with senior and more knowledgeable people who are capable of dealing with more complex situations. You can't call Tellus@ - you have to start the conversation by email. They usually call back - part of the enhanced service. The advice you were being given was on how to connect to the support team at Viking that is more likely to solve your issue or at least explain it coherently. 🍺🥌

Integrity compels me to admit that much of the content was cribbed from a journal that my charming spouse keeps on each of our cruises. But I'm a good thief! 🍺🥌

Clay, we are booked for Jan 25 - maybe we'll meet! In my research, you would have to be extremely unlucky not to land at all and I have not found a single cruise that has missed entirely thus far. You'd need a terrible combination of poor weather and likely a mechanical or medical emergency to lose the whole thing. That said, "00" in on the roulette wheel for a reason 👿 My larger concern with our timing is actually Avian flu. There are areas of South Georgia that are currently off limits to all expedition landings, and no-one knows for sure how the disease will progress in the far south. It has been detected in wildlife on the Peninsula, but no restrictions thus far. We've decided to roll the dice - not getting any younger, but you may want to monitor the expedition threads for Silversea and Seabourn. Here's one I found, it's over now, so not completely current. I think it was post #212. Best of luck! 🍺🥌

The two Viking expedition ships are quite different in their approach to dining than the larger Viking Ocean ships. On the Ocean ships, there are 2 specialty eateries - Manfredi's and Chef's Table. Both require reservations. On Ocean, the Restaurant (table service main dining room) or the World Cafe (buffet) do not take reservations - just show up. Most of the comments you see on CC regarding restaurant reservations will be associated with Viking Ocean and the 2 specialties. On the expedition ships, there is only one specialty eatery - Manfredi's. However, on an expedition ship, Manfredi's and the Restaurant are both quite small, and both require reservations. The primary dining area on the expedition ships is intended to be the World Cafe (buffet), which has a number of upgrades in food availability compared to the Ocean ships. I'll need to leave it to someone who has spent time on the expedition ships to weigh in on whether you can easily dine every night in the Restaurant, but hope this clarification assists a bit. 🍺🥌

Agreed. We are quite used to the cruise lines’ normal markups of 2X or more but found O’s to be simply ridiculous - sometimes as high as 4X versus a DIY tour. An example - on an East Coast sailing, the Newport cliff walk and Breakers tour was $300 for a couple. We precisely replicated the tour for $73 for the two of us (Uber to the cliff walk, bought our own tickets at the Breakers, tram back to ship that included narration). We use both approaches in different circumstances, but like to be informed consumers. 🍺🥌

There was a request on the general Viking Board for excursion experiences, as well as a request to post on this thread. So, I'm posting my thoughts on a few of the excursions we took on the April/May Far East and Alaska trip - which includes this voyage Hope it's of some help to others! 🍺🥌 Far Eastern Horizons.pdf

OK, I'm not who was asked, but we were on the Orion April/May for the Far East and Alaska, which includes this trip. I'll post this over on the FEH board, but am attaching it here as well. Hope it's of some use to others! 🍺🥌 Far Eastern Horizons.pdf

In you other post, you were reluctant to have to handle your luggage yourself at the airport (no trams / buses was your comment). While the walk from your hotel is not long and reasonable flat, there are a few narrow sidewalks. You will have to cross the road and walk by an area where many oil tugs dock - the pavement can be a bit rough. It's a 2 minute taxi ride if handling luggage is a concern. 🍺🥌

We've used both taxi and private car, but never found any issues with availability of taxis at the airport. FYI, your hotel is about 750 meters from the cruise dock - Bergen is quite compact. Enjoy your stay in Bergen - one of the nicest spots in Norway, even when it's raining (which happens a lot)! 🍺🥌