jacquesmm

7 minutes ago, woozles said:

We're looking into a repositiong cruise from Port Canaveral to Barcelona. We're thinking of spending 2 to 4 days after the cruise in Spain/Paris.

 

Will Port parking allow us to leave our vehicle extra days to pick up when we return? What are the logistics to arrange that?

We often leave our car there for more than a week. No problem. For more than two weeks, I would look at one way car rentals.

My wife's preferred cruise line is Celebrity,  mine is Viking.

Comparing Celebrity suite's class (Retreat) to a Penthouse Veranda in Viking, there isn't much difference in cost.

The food is much better on Viking. Service in the Celebrity Retreat class is a little better than Viking but not much. I prefer the atmosphere of Viking, relaxed, nice people.

I like sea days, long cruises and feel very comfortable on Viking.  My wife likes the shows and other activities on Celebrity. For shorter cruises,  we pick Celebrity, for long cruises, it's Viking.

I got it from:

sbpcl@princesscruises.com

I did it 5 days ago and yes, it was sbpcl@princesscruises.com. Filled the form and yesterday, the OBC appeared on my account.

But what is the answer? We are thinking of the same type cruise.

It was a great cruise and as other have said, compared to the US population, the ratio of positives on board was lower. We were very safe. The fact that the bubble protocol was lifted after the first stop made a big difference, we were free to walk around Papeete, go for a drink, shopping etc.

We thought of staying onboard for the following cruise, from LA to Ft Lauderdale but the bubble was reinstated for that cruise and it was, for us, a deal breaker.

And anyway, it was time to go back home and diet to loose the weight gained during that great cruise. We counted 8 visits to Manfredi and 5 to the Chef's Table.

31 minutes ago, ldpetrillo said:

Hello Viking Orion. I am a passenger on the Viking Star WC. Are you allowed to go off the ship independent of a Viking Excursion? Since we left LA on the 12th, we can only leave the ship on an official excursion. They are keeping us in a bubble. 

On this cruise, we are free to go ashore as we want. For now. 

1 hour ago, prunderw said:

Wow, just announced during Port talk that we're 100% covid free, all negative from daily testing.  Allowing independent exploration for remainder of cruise.

Yes, this is great: tomorrow we'll dock in Papeete and we can freely roam ashore. My wife is getting her credit card ready for the black pearl stores.☹️

On the Viking Orion, right now in Polynesia: 477.

3 hours ago, Twitchly said:

They allow dogs on Viking?

Does the dog run around the deck clockwise?

1 hour ago, booksfan said:

Yes, she very clearly stated in radio

Correct, I'm having fun complaining about the trivia.

2 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Not so. For example in Australia horse races in Queensland and New South Wales are run clockwise. 

https://horseracing.com.au/racecourses/

Yes but if look at it from our point of view in the Northern Hemisphere, those horses run counter clockwise.

2 hours ago, prunderw said:

First report from Captain of covid cases at noon.  Hope everything goes well for those with only short onboard quarantine and no one else impacted.

He said "a few cases, asymptomatic or mild symptoms and they were treated well". I hope this will not be a repeat of our previous Viking cruise in which we turned around 3/4 of the way across the Atlantic. Food and drinks are good, we'll survive. See you at 3 PM. PM means Post Meridiem. At the trivia game today, they did not accept AM as being an abbreviation for Ante Meridiem, I am not happy.  🤪

21 minutes ago, janetcbl said:

When we sailed, we asked our room cabin Stewart to replace the liquor bottles in our mini bar ( we were in PV) with a bottle of Merlot  and a bottle of Chardonnay….they were replaced every couple of days by new bottles..No problem!😁

 

Yes, that's what we did. We now have wine in the minibar. We are on the same cruise, ask the steward.

1 hour ago, KirkNC said:

Wow, could you get your money back and go back home?

It certainly changes the value of the cruise. We signed up agreeing to all the restrictions: masks, testing etc. but not been able to leave the Viking group or ship is a game changer. How frustrating will it be to sit on anchor or docked in the islands without the possibility of going ashore? If only there were sufficient excursions, we could explore a little bit but many excursions are full. It's not too late for Viking to do something about it since this is a Viking rule, not a local government restriction.

14 minutes ago, RICHARDandSTEFAN said:

Sea day 1. Hope everyone is rested and growing into their sea legs as the ship rocks and rolls today. 

It's fine but yes, we roll taking a good swell smack on the side, What a relief to be at sea, finally. We celebrated with a little too much brandy yesterday but no seasickness. We have to get used to the routine: saliva test, temperature taking, health questionnaire every day.

It looks like the OP had a bad coffee experience. My wife and I were always happy with the specialty coffees served on Viking, at the small bar at the bottom of the main stair case. We agree that the coffee served at breakfast is not special.

Another point is the value for the $: I compared our last cruise on the Celebrity Edge with one on Viking. Comparing a PV cabin on Viking with the smallest suite on Celebrity, with everything taken in account: spas, specialty dining, drink package etc., Celebrity was about 35% more expensive. 

Service quality  is about the same. My wife likes the Retreat on Celebrity, I don't care.

I feel more comfortable on a small ship but above all, for us, good dining is a priority, For food, Viking is a clear winner.

BTW, we went several times to Manfredi and it was always great.

Maybe this was new crew or a problem with restarting cruises after Covid.

3 minutes ago, Goofyisme said:

We are considering a cruise on the Viking Star.  We would travel in a Deluxe Veranda cabin but all the pictures that I have found seem to show very limited drawer storage space.  For those who have traveled in this category what has been your experience with storage in this class of cabin. 

Thanks for your information.

It is very limited and that is why we get a PV, the size just above. If it wasn't for storage, we would get a DV.

Same here.

Correction:

French Polynesia declared yesterday that starting on Monday, all cruises are suspended over all French Polynesia. Read this:

https://mailchi.mp/f4f431642587/communiqu-press-trade-release-renforcement-des-restrictions-tahiti-et-ses-les-3095342?e=f8000c9c00

It's in French but clear. 

I am not to pessimistic about my reservation: it's in January, things can and will change.

3 minutes ago, JeriGail said:

It's on Viking's site now:

Grand Hawaii & Polynesia Ocean Cruise Overview | Viking (vikingcruises.com)

You are correct, I'll edit my post.

3 minutes ago, JeriGail said:

 

On 8/17/2021 at 9:39 PM, Clay Clayton said:

These cruises are up on Viking’s site finally.  Don’t see anything for Malta to Florida…..

Clay, Susan and Jacques here (Viking Sky Transat). Three days ago, we received a Viking email announcing the 33 days cruise to HI and French Polynesia on the Orion. We reserved right away. I have family in France and keep an eye on the Covid regulations: we have the green light. I assume that it is the same for Tahiti. That cruise is a great deal and if you go, we can put a Trivia team together.😉

Thanks Graphicguy. Thnaks for the pics and thanks for relaying the gossips about the porn stars.

We agree with your opinion about the cruise, it was great. It became #1 on my wife's list, #2 for me but  a close #2. 

The service was superb. I must mention Amber as Retreat concierge and Johannes at the bar on deck 16.

I think we sat next to you at Luminae one evening: there were not many people eating alone.

Fortunately, we never saw the porn stars in the Retreat.

It's not a matter of moral superiority but the Retreat on the Edge is a quiet place, away from the noise and agitation of the other decks. The decks with parties and shows are fun but I love to be able to Retreat to a quiet place.

Besides that, I would be happy with a balcony.

BTW, the porn stars are in a suite.

They are entertaining, we see them everyday. On day 2, I saw one dancing on a bar next to the pool. The next day, my wife saw 6 security guards taking them to quiet corner and giving them a lecture. Yesterday, one of them was taken taken to "detention" but released later.

I don't know about today but we'll hear the gossips later. 

My wife says that they may be looking for temporary sugar daddies to amortize the cost of the cruise.

Or maybe they are YouTube "stars"?

18 hours ago, Reel Love said:

May I ask what cabin you are in???  If you are not comfortable answering until after you are off the ship I completely understand.  As I mentioned in a previous post I have never sailed in a suite before but now considering it, so this is all new territory for me as to how to choose a suite (although I imagine they are all good locations!)

7194

It's next to that Magic Carpet thing. It is the usual Sky suite but we have a very large balcony and we have the remote window curtain and lights gadgets.